Chapter 37: The Balance

“It is time,” Vivian’s voice echoed in the wind, her cloak gold and her face empty of emotion.

My heart raced, and my alphas stood to the side, so it was just me facing the witch in front of me, them to the right and the pack behind me.

The moon was rising, highlighting me like it dared me to say what I had on my lips.

Vivian said she wanted a decision. I had made one. I just wasn’t sure if it was going to be accepted.

“I’ve made my decision,” I said quietly, avoiding the eyes of my alphas.

“Then speak it so we may bind you to the alpha you have chosen,” the witch’s words were heavy in the air.

I pulled in a breath, finding courage in the freshness of the night air. Then I let it out.

“I’ve decided that I can’t decide. I don’t want one of the alphas. I want all three of them.”

The night went quiet at my declaration.

I looked at the alphas, each of them staring at me with wide eyes.

The pack was silent; even Vivian was.

“We work better together. They’re each a part of me now.” I reinforced my decision. It felt so right saying it out loud.

I turned back to Vivian as the alphas came over.

“Is that allowed?” Dorian asked.

“We asked you to choose one,” Vivian’s voice said, echoing with the voice of the other witches.

I nodded. “I know you did. But you said the realm reacted and gave me this magic because of the power on the blood moon claiming. Well, they all claimed me. It makes sense to claim them all in return. Isn’t that balance?” I argued.

I couldn’t fight in combat like my alphas, but I could fight for what I wanted. And I wanted all three of them.

Vivian was silent for a moment, magic buzzing around her, coming in waves before she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, the white of them seemed murky.

“Your connection has grown. More than expected.” Her voice was a murmur in the night. “In a human, it would have consumed you. But you have protected the magic given to you. Fed it in ways that have changed it.”

“What does that mean?” Atticus grumbled.

I wanted to know the answer to that too. Vivian strode forward, stopping in front of Atticus. She put her hand on his cheek, then closed her eyes. We waited for a tense moment before she moved and did the same thing to Dorian.

Another tense, silent moment passed. She skipped me and went to Zachariah on my other side, cupping his cheek in the same way.

Once she was done, she stepped back.

“You would choose her too,” she said, her words to the alphas.

“We would,” Dorian spoke for all three of them.

“This is an unexpected outcome,” she murmured, and I was sure if her face could have frowned, it would have.

“Unexpected good?” I asked.

She was silent again, then finally nodded. A whoosh of relieved air left my body.

“The decision is being approved?” Zachariah asked, a hint of hope in his voice that I didn’t dare have yet.

Vivian was still as she spoke, her hands hidden in the long sleeves of the golden cloak. “The realm has spoken. On this night, a lunar cycle ago, a virgin siren was claimed by the three alphas of Werewolf Territory. A balance must be made.” She spoke, and I knew the decision was coming.

The make-or-break decision on whether my choice was to be accepted or not.

“The magic that rests in you, Kassandra Kane, is of siren and realm. The realm magic demands three to be sated. Therefore, it has been decided,” the witch paused—whether for dramatic flair or to piss us off—but we waited with bated breath.

“That Kassandra Kane shall be accepted as the true Luna and magically mated to the three alphas of Werewolf Territory.”

My heart stopped.

Everything stopped. My breath couldn’t make it past my throat.

Stuck, with wide eyes and a dropped jaw, I looked at my alphas.

Dorian didn’t hesitate—the information moving fast through his genius-level brain.

He picked me up and stole the first kiss. When he put me down, he left his hand in mine. I wasn’t sure why until Vivian strode forward with a gold ribbon. She wound it through our entwined hands, whispering under her breath.

“For the Moon Goddess and the realm. Tied together in sight of the moon, this connection shall be blessed and nurtured.”

Once she finished, Dorian pulled me in for a kiss—and I almost buckled.

The power that radiated between us was something else. It hadn’t ever felt so potent. Vivian kept whispering the words, and as she did, my shoulder burned. I gasped and broke the kiss, looking down at it. A tattoo of a forest started drawing itself in gold ink.

I smiled and watched, then looked up at Dorian. He looked so proud.

He kissed me again through the rest of Vivian’s words.

She finished, and Dorian pulled back. The last of the tattoo finished, and I gasped. The connection between us glowed inside me. Everything he felt, so did I. I felt his soul as if it was my own.

My eyes snapped to his. “What is this?” I asked.

He smiled, holding my face, “This is what it means to be mated, Sweet Siren. It will allow us to sire heirs. To be together for as long as we both live. It means we are connected in the most intimate way the realms can give us.”

Tears stung my eyes, and I kissed him again, the warmth and love between us making the kiss more than just a touch.

Vivian spoke then, “This is the part the witches can do. Once all three of you have been attached to the soul link, you must consummate the connection to solidify it. Right here where you were first claimed.”

“We can do that,” I smiled, looking at my alphas. Atticus went to step forward, but Vivian went to Zachariah first.

“In order of the claiming,” she said. Zachariah pulled me into him, kissing me deeply, his hand going in mine.

Vivian repeated the words with him, and my shoulder down the top of my arm burned. When Zach pulled away, I looked down at it. Blades of grass and sweet wildflowers stretched from where the tree and vines ended at my upper arm.

I smiled up at Zach, who kissed me, holding my hand tight in our binds. Vivian finished her words, and the same glow on my soul came back as before.

It was bright and beautiful with all things Zachariah. His love, his peace, his family. I had it all, and he had me.

Atticus was next, and his kiss was much more demanding and inappropriate, but he didn’t seem to care. He kissed me enough that I didn’t notice the burning of his territory tattoo until it was over.

When it was, he pulled back, his eyes glistening. I looked down at my arm that was now complete. It had waves going down to my forearm now, and all the ink was in gold.

It burned for a moment longer while Vivian linked our souls.

And then it was complete. We were.

And after all the years of vampire torture, I finally felt it.

That whole feeling that I’d heard people talk about was finally mine.

I grinned, and Vivian faced us again, stepping back to address us.

“The link is complete. Consummation must begin and finish before the moon is gone. Then the balance will be accepted. Congratulations.” That was all she said before she was gone, her gold cloak evaporating her into gold glitter that floated away.

I stepped forward where she had been standing and turned to my alphas. I had been worried they wouldn’t want me, that choosing them would piss them off because it would take away their choice, but I didn’t have to worry now.

I felt everything they felt. I knew in my soul that I now shared with them that, given the choice, they would have picked me too.

“I couldn’t choose just one of you,” I admitted softly since we hadn’t really been able to speak until then.

“Thank fuck for that,” Atticus growled, then came forward, gripped my face, and stole a kiss that seared my soul as fully as the mating link we had been given.

I kissed him back, all of the magic and connection turning around us.

The packs started howling together as Dorian and Zach started pulling off their clothes.

Standing there in just their pants, my alphas pulled me to the front of them.

“Werewolf Territory, your new Luna!” Zachariah called out.

The howls got so loud, the trees shook, and the ground rumbled.

The wind whooshed through the clearing with a whistle on it. Every werewolf went to their knees, bowing low.

I grinned and bowed back, releasing them. All of their eyes looked to me like they were waiting on me to do something, but all I wanted was to fuck my alphas.

***

Atticus leaned in by my ear. “Then tell them that, Fox. They feed off the energy we give them.”

I smiled and eyed each of them. “Shall we consummate this connection then?”

The wolves cheered, hollered, and clapped. I laughed and turned. Dorian caught me, kissing me, taking me between the rocks.

The pack spread out over the clearing, dropping their clothes.

The alphas did the same thing.

I grinned and knelt between them. Each of their cocks pointed at me—one with throbbing veins and a curve that knew how to reach my core with one stroke; one with a pierced end that detonated me with one touch of it on my clit; and one that was big enough to fill every part of me and keep me deliciously sore with every move.

I licked my lips. I wanted to taste all of them.

So I did. Like the siren—no, like the Luna I was.

We fucked like only alphas and their Luna could—power, song, and magic wrapping us in all they could until we were at the edges of reality.

We hadn’t defeated Silas, but we had silenced him. For now. He couldn’t come for me in my lifetime. He was bound by oath. It was enough to keep him from my mind and entirely on my alphas.

They claimed me again, savagely and perfectly under the moon just as they had on the blood moon.

And with every touch, every kiss, and every caress, I felt more at home. They were my home. They were mine. It was a connection so deep, I knew it would change the fabric of our realm.

As Vivian had said, it was an unexpected outcome. I was glad for it. I wanted to own my future and set the precedent for what was to come.

Sometimes, even the balance could be adapted. Sometimes the balance wasn’t what it originally looked like.

I succumbed to the pleasure of my alphas, gave it back, and kept up with them for the entire night the moon shone above us.

I knew then that everything I had been through had been preparing me for this. Had been a test to make sure I could do what I had to do and bring the packs together.

“You are thinking too hard, maybe Atticus’ big cock can’t get the job done, hmm, Little Red?” Zachariah teased, tugging one of my nipples between his teeth. I moaned and Dorian kissed me before I could answer.

“I was thinking about taking this back to our place, but I don’t know where that is,” I panted, riding Atticus.

“The realm is our place,” Atticus grunted, his grasp on my hips tightening.

I sucked in a breath, my pussy clamping down on him. “I’m serious, where will we stay?”

Dorian looked between the alphas, and they did that secret communicative link thing that I loved.

I smiled as Dorian kissed me again. “We’ll take turns like we have this last month.”

“Forever?” I asked.

Zachariah kissed along my shoulder. “No. We’ll have a city built. One where we can stay with you and have markets for all the packs.”

It sounded perfect. I moaned as Atticus pushed me further into oblivion.

Except my eyes snagged on someone I didn’t recognize. A man who was leaning against the rock. He was big—bigger than Atticus—and dressed impeccably.

I gasped and stopped on Atticus’ waist.

The alphas followed my gaze, tense before relaxing.

“Alphas,” he said in a gruff voice, a leather patch at his hip. He was handsome in a rugged kind of way. And he had a weird scent. But then again, I’d only had my alpha’s senses for a few hours, so maybe I was using it wrong.

Dorian stood, nodding to the man. “Galen. You’ve been gone a while.”

Galen. I knew that name. The alphas had mentioned him.

“You’re the first wolf,” I whispered.

He looked down, not looking at me on Atticus. “I am, Luna Kassandra. And you are the most powerful siren this realm has seen. I heard you all the way from the mountain.”

Dorian huffed. “It traveled that far?”

He nodded. “It did. Mrs. Valarian heard it first. She sent me back to find out more.”

Dorian put his hands on his hips. “She is not with the witches. You shouldn’t trust her.”

Galen growled and met Dorian’s eyes. “She is the reason you are an alpha and we have shifting magic in our veins. You will not disrespect her name.”

“She is not bound by realm balance is all I meant, Galen.” Dorian sighed.

Galen nodded, then sighed too. “I know. But she sent me with a message. The siren voice. It set something in motion. Something big.”

I tensed, and Atticus sat up, pulling me with him. Zachariah frowned, his cloak over him.

“A war?” Zachariah assumed, his mind going to the vampires like mine had.

Galen met our gazes. “Wars. Neither in your time but in the next two? The realm will change.”

“Why are you telling us if it is already in motion?”

Galen pulled out some herbs from his satchel and handed them to Dorian. “Because your children and your grandchildren will be at the center of it. You must have the heirs needed to carry down your power.”

“And the herbs will help?” I asked, taking some from Dorian.

Galen nodded. “They will. I have to go, and I won’t be back for a while, but I’ll bring more herbs next time I’m here.”

Galen turned and left without so much as a goodbye. He radiated an old power that not even my alphas did.

They all frowned after him until he had disappeared through the brush of the forest.

Once he was gone, my alpha’s attention diverted back to me.

I put the herbs in my mouth and chewed until they were gone. The alphas did the same.

Atticus pulled my lips to his, sealing the moment with a kiss.

We went back to each other, our bodies still alive with need—but there was a darkness there now.

Our legacies would have Silas to deal with. Galen hadn’t explicitly said it, but I knew it in my bones and siren instinct. Which is why, when we fucked, determined to create heirs, I knew we were on the same page.

We were going to make sure our children and their children had the same fight that we had, the same power we did.

Because we all knew they were going to need it more than we ever did.

But we had each other; we were complete now, and despite that warning from Galen, we were happy. Whatever we had to face later on, whatever we had to get through, we would do it together.

~THE END~