Filed to story: Luna Riannon and Alpha Brayden Novel
The South loved everything made of glass. Or plastic.
Which spoke volumes to Astrea. Her heart belonged in countries like the Northern Lycan Kingdom with its old-fashioned charm and the East, which gave her peace she never knew before.
“Forrest, seriously, cut the cr*p. What do you want?” The Serpent was losing patience. Forrest was one of the few who knew his true identity, and he didn’t like to play around with him.
“We need to call an urgent vote,” Romero said in a lower-than-usual voice. “Alpha Lothgar, the High Chancellor, is dead.”
Astrea watched her Teacher go pale and a part of her enjoyed it. However, she wasn’t clueless. She knew exactly what they were talking about.
The High Chancellor was basically the ruler of the Southern Republic. Although most questions were decided on during the Convocation meetings, the High Chancellor was ruling the country in their absence. He was also the one capable of vetoing any decision.
Not to mention that this was the position Joran expressed he wanted for himself just a few minutes ago.
“How did that happen?” Joran snarled. “I put the best protection in place for him. He was guarded by my Firstborn warriors!*
“A heart-attack,” Forrest rolled his eyes. “You can’t foresee everything.”
“I need two more years to prep the South for me taking this position,” the dragon deity closed his eyes, trying to contain his fury.
He needed people to elect him for his plan to go well. This ruined it because he failed to bring the North to their feet.
His ratings were mediocre at best, and despite being a deity, he couldn’t just conquer the city. He needed at least one country truly on his side for his grand plans to work the way he intended.
The South was perfect for that.
“That’s not the worst part,” Forrest said, and Astrea noticed he was enjoying this just a little bit.
“What else?” Joran tilted his head to the side.
“His son is on the way here,” the other man informed him, rolling his eyes, “and he wants to take his place until we have a proper vote.”
Astrea didn’t think this terrible day could get better.
However, at the very least, it was getting entertaining.
Seeing Joran’s plans crumble was very satisfying, even though her mind wandered to Fenrir every time she got a spare second. She could only hope he was back in Solace by now and had no idea what any of them would be doing next.
She was entranced by her thoughts when a strong scent of blue spruce brought her back to reality. It was incredibly pleasant and so strong she was surprised its owner wasn’t in the room still.
“What the hell,” Joran swore under his breath, and at the same moment, the tall doors opened, revealing a tall man with long brown hair looking directly at her with some sort of familiar longing.
Nova became restless inside of her, agitated with the sudden revelation.
“Mate,” Astrea whispered before she realised what she was saying.
“Mine,” the man’s resounding reply echoed through the glassy room.
Fenrir hated that this was the exact moment she had to make an appearance.
Selene, the Moon Goddess, was watching him struggle against the remnants of Gleipnir, the only chain in the world capable of binding him. Someone went into the trouble of getting it and reconnecting the links just to stall him here.
Someone powerful.
There was a list of people he despised, and Selene was definitely at the top of it.
“Came to gloat?” He raised his chin, offering her a defiant glare and trying to channel his anger into breaking the damn binding. “Happy?”
“I haven’t been happy for a while.” The woman before him sighed, and for some incomprehensible reason, he knew it was true.
It’s been a while since they last saw each other. Just one look at her was enough to believe her. Selene seemed young, and her skin had that celestial moon glow, yet small wrinkles gathered around her eyes and above the bridge of her nose. They didn’t ruin her beauty but gave her that tired look she never had before. Her eyes lacked their usual magical gleam. They were dull now, nothing ethereal
“Who ran a bus over you, and can I buy them a drink?” The wolf chuckled, not sparing the goddess’s feelings. She never spared his.
“Sure, you can.” The woman shrugged nonchalantly. This was the relationship they had. “He is your brother, after all.”
“Ah, Joran!” Fenir nodded understandingly. “I thought you two could work together this time, considering where Astrea was brought up.”
“Work isn’t the word l’d choose,” Selene frowned.
“This is probably killing you.” A hearty laugh rumbled through Fenrir’s chest.
“You have to cooperate with another
-what was the word? Abomination.”
“Do we have to do this?” The Moon Goddess rolled her eyes.
“No, we don’t. So, off you go,” he grunted, wishing for her to leave him alone as soon as possible.
“We have to speak,” Selene insisted, giving up first.
“We really don’t.” Fenrir tried to stifle a scoff. “We had many conversations, and none of them ended well. Remember?”
“It’s about Astraea-“
“It is always about Astrea! And one thing we can always agree on is that we will never agree on anything!” He pulled the chains again, but the concentration wasn’t there. It was a useless move, and once again, he loathed the fact she was witnessing his failure.
“I was wrong,” she said so quietly that he could barely hear her voice.
Yet it made him stop in his tracks. Never in a million years, he thought he would be able to hear anything like this from her lips.
“I didn’t hear you,” Fenrir stated bluntly. Not to be.a jerk. He was sure he imagined that. Surely, she wasn’t-
“I was wrong!” Selene repeated louder this time, furrowing her brows. “I thought I was right, I thought sooner or later she would forget you and move on. And I was wrong.”
He couldn’t find what to say to her. Centuries ago, he allowed himself to imagine this moment sometimes. He never thought it would happen in a portal void with him in chains, but he did think that when Selene finally admitted her mistakes, he would be able to gloat or say something smug to her.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case.
He did not care for the Moon Goddess anymore. He didn’t count on her. All he thought of was Astrea, who was waiting for him back in Solace, and that someone close to him betrayed him. What if she was their goal?
He was too happy and too distracted by the birth of the promised baby. He rushed, and this was the result.
“What do you want, Selene?” He asked her, tired of their usual banter already. If she could admit her faults, he could skip that part.
“I want my last daughter to be happy.” The woman blinked away a single tear that formed on her long lashes. “I had many children once upon a time, but they all died. Astraea is the last one.”
He knew that much, but it still never helped him to see her side of things.
“I only sought for a way to protect her.” She turned away, unable to face him. “An eternity with a son of Odin seemed like a good idea once. She would have ruled all the divine realms together with him. He could give her anything she wanted Protect her It was a good plan.”
“Well, that worked out great!” He let out a heavy breath. “All those lives wasted on being miserable!”
“If she could accept her mate-“
“It could only happen if I was her mate!” A growl escaped his chest, but for the first time, she didn’t comment that he was an uncivilised animal. That was the most progress they had made in centuries.
“That’s impossible,” Selene admitted dryly. “You know that much.”
“I know you ruined all our lives!” The familiar flames ignited inside. A little more, and he could escape. For once, that woman was helping.
“I am sorry,” she whispered, and his lips parted. Shock coursed through his veins. It was one thing to admit some of her mistakes, it was another to apologise properly. For a moment, he wondered if it was really Selene, but her aura was unmistakable.
“Did someone poison you or something?” Fenrir decided to clarify and saw her letting out a nervous laugh.
“Everything’s changed, Fenrir,” Selene couldn’t hold back tears anymore. “Astraea has no more lives to waste.”