< The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jaxon\u2019s POV:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
The night had been absolute hell. My wolf had been pacing nonstop, growling, restless as f**k. Every muscle in my body was tight, and my patience? Yeah, that was long gone. He kept pushing, clawing, snapping at me to move, go, and find her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Go back. Now.\u2019 His voice was a raw demand in my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That alone pissed me off. He never acted like this-hever got like this over anything. Unless we were in danger. Or unless I was \u201cwasting time\u201d with some she-wolf that wasn\u2019t her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hypocritical bastard tolerated the hookups, but he never let me forget they were just that- empty, meaningless distractions. And yet, every single time, he had the nerve to sulk afterward like\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was the one in the wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My brothers weren\u2019t faring any better. Callum, normally the one who kept his s**t together, looked ready to break something. Rory was twitching like he was seconds away from snapping someone\u2019s neck. And Seth? The cocky asshole was actually quiet, which meant he was barely\u00a0<\/p>\n
holding on too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But did we acknowledge that something was off?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hell no.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pride was a motherfucker, and we had way too much of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, sitting through this goddamn Alpha Accession Meeting in Ridge Storm\u2019s packhouse, listening to these Alphas dote on their Lunas like they weren\u2019t all just playing a political game, I was done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Bro, you good?\u2019 I mind-linked Callum, watching him rub his temples like he had a migraine from\u00a0<\/p>\n
hell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018My wolf\u2019s been on edge since last night. Like he\u2019s searching for something\u2026 someone. And watching these Alphas fawn over their Lunas isn\u2019t exactly f*****g helping.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. That feeling? I knew it all too well. That burning at the back of my skull. That irritating, relentless pull toward something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or rather\u2026 someone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air in the room thickened. My father\u2019s voice cut through the tension.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMay the Alpha Quadruplets bring honour and prosperity to Ridge Storm Pack. May the Moon Goddess bless their reign. The Alpha ceremony will be held Sunday; I hope to see you all here with your Lunas and families.\u201d Our father boomed\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/11\u00a0<\/p>\n
< The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lunas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word made my wolf growl in my head. \u2018Ours is waiting.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was she?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
My jaw clenched as I forced myself to stay seated while the meeting wrapped up. The second it\u00a0<\/p>\n
was over, Callum turned to us, his jaw tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething\u2019s f*****g off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rory snorted. \u201cNo s**t. I feel like I\u2019m coming out of my skin.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seth leaned back lazily, but his voice was sharp. \u201cWe can sit here bitching about it, or we can grab a drink and pretend we\u2019re not all losing our goddamn minds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For once? I didn\u2019t argue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second we stepped into the packhouse living room, Aria was on me, her legs wrapped around my waist like she had every right to be there. Her lips skimmed my neck, and her breath was hot\u00a0<\/p>\n
and needy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMissed me, Alpha?\u201d she purred, pressing her t**s against my chest like it would actually do\u00a0<\/p>\n
something for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t. Well, not anymore; yeah, the she-wolf was aw-f*****g-mazing in the sack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wolf snarled. My patience? Hanging by a goddamn thread.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t realize you were back,\u201d she pouted. \u201cHeard it from the other she-wolves in training.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pried her hands off me, setting her down like she was a f*****g child. My voice was flat. \u201cAria, I just got back and have things to handle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her lips parted, shocked at the brush-off. Normally I\u2019d play along and give her a taste before sending her away. But I wasn\u2019t in the mood. I didn\u2019t have the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because something was coming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could feel it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rory\u2019s POV:\u00a0<\/p>\n
The entertainment room, aka the man cave, was normally the best place in the packhouse. Now? I couldn\u2019t f*****g relax.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seth was already pinned to a recliner, Ivy straddling him, her mouth fused to his. They were two seconds away from f*****g in front of everyone, and knowing Seth? He wouldn\u2019t give a s**t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/11\u00a0<\/p>\n
< The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCould you two not?\u201d Jaxon muttered, rubbing his temples.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grinned. \u201cOh, come on, Jax. Let them have their fun. Or are you just mad Aria isn\u2019t doing that for yo\u00a0<\/p>\n
U?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jaxon shot me a look that promised violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could push further, a growl rippled through the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A deep, f*****g dangerous growl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo-our Beta, our best friend, and, un-f*****g-fortunately, our brother-in-law. The bastard loved to rub it in our faces that he was mated to our baby sister like it was some kind of divine joke at our\u00a0<\/p>\n
expense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was bad enough hearing him call her babe or seeing his hands on her like she was some kind of prize he won in a pack lottery. But the worst? The absolute f*****g worst?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Catching them mid-dry-hump session, our sister pinned against the wall like some cheap B-class production movie while our so-called best friend had his mouth suctioned to hers like he was trying to breathe through her damn soul.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That image? Burned into our minds. Forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No amount of bleach, therapy, or near-death fights in the training ring was ever going to undo that\u00a0<\/p>\n
horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes were pitch-black, and his body vibrated with pure rage. Callum stood behind him, his usual cool expression fractured by something dark\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the f**k happened?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo\u2019s voice was ice. \u201cLila\u2019s dead drunk at the pub. Surrounded by unmated wolves. And her\u00a0<\/p>\n
so-called friends didn\u2019t think to call me sooner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room went silent. Then-\u00a0<\/p>\n
SNAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jax was already moving, his entire frame coiled like a predator about to kill something. Seth\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
teasing smirk was gone. And Callum? He was absolutely seething.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila was our sister. And if she was out there, drunk and vulnerable, surrounded by wolves who didn\u2019t know their f*****g place-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone was about to die.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo\u2019s voice cut through the rage. \u201cAlphas, let me handle this. She\u2019s my mate. If you all come\u00a0<\/p>\n
charging in, it\u2019ll only worsen things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
None of us liked it. None of us wanted to stand down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Callum finally nodded once. \u201cFine. Bring her back to the packhouse tonight. We want her here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And call us the second she\u2019s safe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo was gone before\u00a0<\/p>\n
anyone\u00a0<\/p>\n
could argue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. \u201cf*****g hell.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jaxon muttered, \u201cSomething\u2019s coming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Callum\u2019s expression was hard. \u201cYeah. And we\u2019re about to find out what.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rhea POV:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finn had called Theo half an hour ago to pick up Lila, but right now? I was the only thing keeping her upright. She clung to me like I was her lifeline, her fingers gripping my arm while she slurred something about not wanting to leave yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not ready to go back. I\u2019m fineeee,\u201d she huffed, swaying slightly before gripping the edge of the\u00a0<\/p>\n
booth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snorted. \u201cYeah, real convincing, babe. You nearly took me down with you two minutes ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila scowled, her dark eyes glassy as she poked my shoulder. \u201cYou\u2019re judgy when you\u2019re drunk, you\u00a0<\/p>\n
know that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smirked despite the ache sitting heavy on my chest. \u201cAnd you\u2019re clingy when you\u2019re drunk. Also, loud. You do this thing where you over-enunciate words, and I swear to the Moon Goddess, it\u2019s like listening to a Shakespearean werewolf play.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila gasped dramatically, swaying before throwing an arm around my neck. \u201cYou love my voice, you\u00a0<\/p>\n
whore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I chuckled, steadying her as she pressed herself against me. She was warm and undeniably distracting. The scent of cheap vodka and something sweet clung to her skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, okay, let\u2019s get you some water before you start reciting sonnets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila pouted but let me guide her back into the booth. I have no clue how I managed that because I wasted myself. Her fingers fisted the front of my short like she needed me to stay anchored to reality. Or maybe she was just trying not to faceplant onto the sticky ass table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMmm. You\u2019re my best friend forever and ever and over, R, do you know that?\u201d she slurred, her head lolling against my shoulder. \u201cIf this was Theo, he\u2019d be all growly and bossy. Probably throw me over his shoulder like a caveman.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snorted. \u201cProbably? He definitely would.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila giggled, a dreamy, almost wicked look in her drunkenly glassy eyes. \u201cAnd then he\u2019d take me\u00a0<\/p>\n
< The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
home, rip my clothes off-literally, I have lost so many cute outfits because that man has no self-control-and just wreck me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I choked on my drink. \u201cJesus f*****g Christ, Lila-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she wasn\u2019t done. Oh no, she was on a roll.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike Rhea, I\u2019m talking full-on, feral, \u2018f**k like the world is ending\u2019 kind of s*x. Have you ever bit so hard you felt it for days? Because I have. Have you ever had a man so deep inside you that you literally think he\u2019s going to ruin you for anyone else? Because I have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I groaned, scrubbing a hand over my face. \u201cFor the love of the Moon Goddess, please stop talking. I\u2019m actually going to throw myself into oncoming traffic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila just grinned, leaning in like she was about to share some deep, dark secret instead of the explicit details of her s*x life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but R, listen. Mad Theo? That\u2019s the best Theo. When he gets all growly and possessive, his eyes go all dark and then-boom! Next thing I know, I\u2019m pinned against a wall with my legs over his shoulders, and he\u2019s making noises like he\u2019s about to eat me whole. And then he does.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I slammed my head against the table. \u201cI\u2019m actually going to throw myself into oncoming traffic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila burst into full-blown giggles, completely unbothered by the fact that she was making me\u00a0<\/p>\n
suffer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAww, does that make you uncomfortable?\u201d She traced a teasing finger down my arm. \u201cThinking about big, bad Theo just wrecking me-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re so lucky you\u2019re drunk,\u201d I growled, grabbing her hand before she could traumatize me further. \u201cOr I\u2019d make you regret every word of this conversation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila\u2019s grin turned lazy and wicked, her gaze flicking to mine. \u201cOoooh, promise?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed, but it came out a little strained. I wasn\u2019t as drunk as she was, but the alcohol had loosened something inside me-something that had been wound so damn tight since Ethan\u00a0<\/p>\n
walked out that door with Nora.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought had bile rising in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled sharply, steadying Lila as we leaned against the booth, the bar\u2019s noise blurring into the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m serious, Rhea,\u201d she murmured, her forehead pressing against my shoulder. \u201cAre you okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My breath hitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The answer should\u2019ve been \u201cyes.\u201d I should\u2019ve smiled, made a joke, and brushed it off like I always\u00a0<\/p>\n
did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\/11\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the words got stuck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because, f**k, I wasn\u2019t okay. I wasn\u2019t okay and had been okay for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claim\u00a0<\/p>\n
And maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was Lila\u2019s warmth or the way her fingers squeezed mine like she already knew, but the dam broke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLila,\u201d my voice cracked, \u201cwhy wasn\u2019t I enough?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stiffened against me. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed the lump in my throat, blinking up at the ceiling to stop the tears burning at the edges of my vision. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t the Moon Goddess choose me?\u201d My voice cracked, and I hated it, hated how small I sounded. \u201cWhy did she choose Nora for Ethan and not me? Why wasn\u2019t I good enough?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila jerked back so fast I nearly fell over. \u201cRhea.\u201d Her hands gripped my shoulders, and despite being drunk as hell, her eyes were deadly serious. \u201cEthan is a f*****g i***t. And if you ever think for one second that you weren\u2019t enough, I will personally beat your ass.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a choked laugh, swiping at my eyes. \u201cThat\u2019s not-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, shut up. You\u2019re everything, Rhea,\u201d she slurred, gripping my face like she was trying to force the words into my soul. \u201cYou\u2019re smart and funny and sexy as f**k-don\u2019t argue, you are-you are the best person I know. And if Ethan was too blind to see that, then f**k him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice wobbled on the last part, her throat tightening as she pulled me into a hug, her drunken warmth wrapping around me like a damn security blanket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she didn\u2019t get it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She never really could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because Ethan didn\u2019t let me go. The Moon Goddess did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked at me-at everything, I was and ever been-and chose someone else for him. Like I had never even been in the running to begin with. Like I had been fooling myself this entire time. And maybe that was the part that hurt the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That no one-not the pack, not a mate, not even the damn Moon Goddess-had ever chosen me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was written in my fate from the start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No family, No past. Just a baby left on the border of the pack with a satchel that held nothing but my birth date. No name. No note. No sign of who had abandoned me or why.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Late at night when I was small, I used to wonder if they had loved me. If they had been forced to give me up. If they had whispered my name one last time before leaving me alone in the dark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But deep down, I always knew the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
< The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0<\/p>\n
They hadn\u2019t wanted me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only thing I had, the only piece of my past, was a single blanket. Soft, warm, with diamonds sewn onto one side, shimmering like little forgotten stars. And stitched delicately into the fabric,\u00a0<\/p>\n
the only thing that had ever truly belonged to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rhea..\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was all I was given. A name, a date, and a lifetime of unanswered questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now, the Moon Goddess had confirmed what I had feared my entire life. That I wasn\u2019t meant\u00a0<\/p>\n
to belong to anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just\u2026 I keep waiting for someone to choose me, I admitted, voice barely above a whisper. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think anyone ever will.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit something deep inside me, something raw and cracked open, but I didn\u2019t have time\u00a0<\/p>\n
to process it-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because the pub door slammed open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Theo stormed in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The energy in the room shifted instantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even through my drunken haze, I felt Theo\u2019s presence\u2019s sheer, bone-chilling, oh-s**t force, like the\u00a0<\/p>\n
entire bar had suddenly gone still.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The freaking Beta of the biggest pack in Lycandra had just stepped inside a grimy-ass college pub, and his mate, who, not to mention, was also the daughter of the alpha? Oh, she was dead drunk out of her mind, clinging to me like a koala, absolutely broadcasting the fact that she was about three shots away from singing karaoke on the bar top.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Welp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lila\u2019s breath hitched, her fingers tightening around mine, nails digging in just enough to ground me\u00a0<\/p>\n
in the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then, before either of us could react-\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air around us shifted, thickening like the universe held its breath. His hands gripped her waist with a force that wasn\u2019t just possessive-it was a f*****g claim. The kind that said mine in every\u00a0<\/p>\n
possible way. And his eyes? Dark. Furious. Hungry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The kind of hunger that wasn\u2019t just about tonight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLila,\u201d he said, voice low, dangerous, the promise of punishment woven through every syllable. \u201cAs much as I\u2019d love to teach you a lesson right f*****g here and now, your brothers are waiting* I expected better from you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shadows Of Passing Time \u2013 Carter Hughes 103 < The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0 The Moon Goddess\u2019 Cruelest Blessing\u00a0 Jaxon\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-melting-the-ice-princess-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}