Steel clashed outside the Keep as warriors met the rogue pack in brutal combat. Selene could hear the snarls, the ripping of flesh, the screams — all muffled by thick stone walls but unmistakably close.
"Get her out," Daxon growled, stepping in front of Selene with the confidence of a king, his tall frame tense, ready to shift.
"No," Cian countered, already reaching for Selene's hand. "She's safest with me."
"Don't touch her."
"You don't own her."
"I never said I did," Daxon bit back, his canines beginning to show. "But your history with her disqualifies you from playing savior."
"History?" Selene snapped, yanking her hand free from both of them. "I'm standing in a hall that's about to collapse, and you two are comparing d**k sizes?"
They both froze.
It wasn't the insult. It was her fire.
"I am not a bone for either of you to fight over," she continued, breath shaky, eyes flashing with something that almost looked like lightning. "And if you want me to trust either of you, start acting like Alphas, not animals."
The chamber trembled with another explosion as a rogue wolf was flung through a stained glass window, spraying glittering shards over the floor. The guards rushed forward, forming a protective half-circle around the inner sanctum.
Selene's heart hammered.
She hadn't been in battle since—
No. She wouldn't think about it. Not now.
"I need a weapon," she said sharply.
"You're not fighting," Daxon said instantly.
She turned on him. "Then protect me. Or get out of my way."
Another crash, louder. A rogue burst into the hall — black-furred, wild-eyed, and massive. One of the guards lunged forward and was swatted aside like paper.
Selene didn't think — her instincts took over.
Before the beast reached her, a blur of golden motion slammed into it. Cian. His wolf was fast, lean, vicious. He took the rogue down with one clean bite to the throat, blood spilling in an arc across the marble.
But another rogue followed.
Daxon shifted next — bigger, darker, his growl shaking the walls. His wolf's eyes were icy silver, and when he collided with the second intruder, the fight was over in seconds. His jaws crushed bone like glass.
It should have terrified her. But her wolf stirred in delight.
They're mine.
No.
No. She didn't want them. She didn't ask for this.
As the chaos calmed and the last of the rogues was dragged away, Selene turned away from the bodies and pressed a hand to her chest. The ache had returned. But not grief. Something else.
Hunger. Desire.
The bond.
Cian shifted back first. He was shirtless, his chest glistening with sweat and blood. There was a cut across his rib, already healing.
His eyes softened the moment they landed on her. "Are you hurt?"
Selene shook her head.
Daxon followed, walking toward them with slow, deliberate steps, naked but unapologetic, wrapping a black cloak around his waist like a king coming back from war.
"We need to talk," he said.
"Later," Cian interrupted. "She needs to rest."
"I wasn't speaking to you."
"Then stop trying to control her like you still own the Moon Court."
Selene stepped between them.
"Enough," she said, voice low but final. "You both saved my life. I acknowledge that. But I won't spend another second being the rope in a tug-of-war."
Her words landed hard. They didn't speak, but their wolves paced beneath their skin. She could feel it — the pull of the bond, wild and electric.
Why was it both of them?
She had known Cian once — long before she ever became a Luna. He was her friend. Her first almost-love. The boy who wanted to be hers until fate chose someone else.
And Daxon?
He was the Alpha who burned every rule just by standing still. The one she hated first — and kissed later.
"Why now?" she whispered more to herself than to them.
Neither answered.
The guards escorted them to the east wing — far from the battle's wreckage. Vaughn appeared again, face pale but composed.
"The Council will reconvene tomorrow," he said. "For now, the Summit is suspended. The rogues got too close. We'll need answers."
"Rogues don't breach sacred ground without help," Daxon muttered.
"They were targeting someone," Cian added. "And I think we all know who."
They both turned to Selene.
She felt cold. "You think they were after me?"
"You were the only unexpected arrival," Vaughn said carefully. "And you're the only one fate has… marked."
Selene didn't respond.
They reached her chamber — large, elegant, suffocating. As she stepped inside, both Alphas followed without hesitation.
"You can't both stay," she said.
"I won't leave you alone," Cian said quietly.
"I don't trust him near you," Daxon said at the same time.
She glared at them. "Then stay. And sleep on opposite sides of the damn room. You're not my mates. Not yet."
That not yet burned all three of them.
Hours later…
The room was silent but heavy.
Cian slept on the couch, arms folded behind his head, wolf always near the surface. Daxon leaned by the window, watching the moon rise over the forest — still shirtless, his skin marred with old scars and fresh rage.
Selene sat in bed, staring at the fire, feeling watched.
"You knew," she finally said, not looking at either of them. "Didn't you?"
Daxon spoke first. "I felt it the moment you stepped into the chamber."
Cian added, "Same. My wolf hasn't stopped howling since."
"How is this even possible?" she whispered. "I already had a mate. That bond is gone."
"Maybe the Moon changed her mind," Cian said softly.
Selene turned to face him.
"You were angry," she said. "At the Summit. I saw it in your eyes."
"You were supposed to be mine," he said, voice cracking. "We both knew it. Until you chose him."
"I didn't choose," she said. "The bond appeared. It wasn't a decision."
Daxon laughed darkly. "That's the curse of fate. No choices. Only pull."
Selene stared at the fire, heart twisting.
"I don't want to belong to anyone," she murmured.
Daxon stepped closer, his presence all heat and danger. "Then don't."
She looked up.
"Make us belong to you."
Her breath caught.
He reached out, fingers brushing the edge of her jaw, not quite touching. "You don't have to surrender, Selene. You can rule."
Her lips parted, pulse racing.
Cian stood slowly, walking toward them. "He's right."
She looked between them — one fire, one storm.
"Claim us," Cian whispered. "Or break us. Just stop pretending this bond doesn't exist."
And for the first time since her first mate died…
Selene didn't feel broken.
She felt powerful.
But power, like fate, always came at a cost.