Chapter 26: 26. Preaparation for Moonflower bloom event
A FEW DAYS LATER
MICHAEL
The next few days were... weird. For once, no one was breathing down my neck. The three other alphas kept their distance well, except Adrian, who kept finding excuses to ’accidentally’ run into me in the halls, but Zavier would just step between us like a wall and stare until he left. Charlie, meanwhile, was everywhere. Somehow the boy had decided we were siblings, and there was no arguing with him. He followed me into the library, the training yard, the kitchens — once even the bathhouse until Rose physically dragged him out by the collar.
"You’re fun when you’re grumpy." He told me cheerfully one morning as he stole a piece of bread from my plate.
"I’m not grumpy." I grumbled, pulling it back.
"You are grumpy." He sang, grinning. "But it’s cute."
Zavier, sitting next to me, actually snorted. The traitor. Three days into this new domestic chaos, I was just starting to think maybe we’d all collectively agreed to pretend nothing ever happened, and then the door to the sitting room opened, and in walked Rose and Selene together. They looked... terrifyingly composed. Rose in emerald silk, hair gleaming like fire, eyes sharp with that dangerous Saintess calm. Selene in white, her moonlit presence filling the room so heavily it almost made my knees give out. Charlie perked up like an excited puppy and ran to hug them both.
"You came!" He chirped. "Wait, does this mean-"
Rose smiled, slow and knowing, before looking straight at me.
"Yes. It means what you think."She said.
Selene stepped forward, the weight of her gaze pinning me in place.
"Michael." She said softly. "You’ve done well."
For a second, I just blinked at her, brain lagging.
"...What?"I asked.
Rose’s lips curved into something wickedly amused.
"Congratulations." She said. "You’ve completed the Moon’s first trial."
My stomach dropped.
"That, that wasn’t a trial. That was my life falling apart!"I groaned.
Selene’s serene smile never wavered.
"And yet you stood your ground. You claimed your place."Selene said.
Behind me, Zavier shifted, his hand resting against my back, warm and grounding. Rose’s gaze slid to him, then back to me.
"You even let him mark you." Her smile widened. "Brave, considering the whole hall was watching."
My ears burned.
"I didn’t, I wasn’t, it is not my fault but Zavier’s!"I argued.
"Oh, hush." Rose said, waving a hand. "The Moon is pleased. That’s all that matters."
Charlie gasped dramatically.
"See?! I told you she liked you best!"Charlie smirked.
"She likes him." Selene corrected." But whether he belongs to Zavier completely will depend on the next challenge."
My heart sank.
"There’s a next challenge?"I asked.
Rose’s grin turned positively wicked.
"Oh yes. The Moonflower bloom is in three nights."Rose grinned.
Charlie clapped, clearly delighted.
"This is gonna be so fun!"Charlie grinned.
I turned to Zavier, panic rising in my chest.
"Moonflower bloom?!"I asked.
Zavier just smirked faintly, silver eyes glinting like he knew something I didn’t.
"Oh." Rose added sweetly. "And if he passes, she says you get to keep Michael all to yourself. Officially."
The room went dead silent. Zavier’s arm tightened around me. The other three alphas, who had just walked in, looked like they’d been collectively stabbed. Charlie giggled, absolutely unbothered by the tension.
"Guess we better start training you, huh?"Charlie grinned.
Rose raised her glass, where did she even get wine in a first place and smirked.
"To the happy couple."Rose said.
Selene nodded, serene but faintly amused.
"Try not to faint this time, Michael."Selene added.
I buried my face in my hands. This was my life now.
Day one of training. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe some mystical moonlight meditation, some bonding exercise where Zavier whispered affirmations until I glowed or something. I was not expecting to be standing knee-deep in mud, staring at what looked like the creepiest fairy-tale forest in existence ,while Charlie perched on a rock with a bucket of berries like he was here for a picnic.
"This is it?" I asked, gesturing at the dark, vine-covered clearing that looked like the set of a murder documentary.
"This is it." Zavier confirmed, completely unbothered as usual, his arms crossed, silver eyes already scanning the path like he was plotting a military siege.
"I hate it." I said immediately.
Charlie giggled from his rock, berry juice staining his fingers like he was watching the best play of the year.
"You haven’t even tried yet!"Charlie said.
"I don’t need to try." I said, stepping back. "Because I already know what happens if I step in there, I trip, get tangled in vines, break my nose, and you all laugh."
Zavier’s mouth twitched.
"You’re not wrong about the tripping part."He said.
I whirled on him.
"Not helping!"I groaned.
He sighed like I was a particularly difficult puppy.
"Come on, little wolf." He reached out a hand. "We just run the path once. Slow."
"Slow?" I repeated skeptically.
"Yes." He said, stepping closer, that annoyingly calm alpha presence radiating off him. "I’ll pace you."
"Like a dog walker." I muttered.
He didn’t even blink.
"Exactly."Zavier said.
Before I could protest further, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me forward. My feet hit the trail, roots twisting underfoot, and of course, of course five steps in I caught my toe and nearly ate dirt.
"See?!" I yelped, flailing, only for Zavier’s arm to catch me around the waist, hauling me upright like I weighed nothing.
"You’re leaning too far forward." He said mildly, like we were having tea instead of me fighting for my life.
"Maybe I’m leaning forward because I’m running for my life!" I snapped.
"You’re not even running yet."Zavier frowned.
Charlie wheezed from the rock, nearly falling off it.
"You look like a baby deer!"Charlie said.
"Shut up!" I yelled over my shoulder, which made me miss a step and nearly face plant again.
Zavier caught me again, this time with a growl.
"Focus."He said.
"You focus!" I shot back, heat climbing up my neck.
"I am." He said flatly, and before I could argue, he just... picked me up. Full on threw me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes.
"PUT ME DOWN!" I shrieked, pounding a fist against his back.
"No." He said simply, and then he started running the path. With me over his shoulder.
Charlie completely lost it, clutching his stomach, tears in his golden eyes.
"Oh my gods, this is better than I imagined!"Charlie grinned.
"THIS IS HUMILIATING!" I shouted, dangling upside down while Zavier vaulted over a log like some kind of smug wolf parkour champion.
"You weren’t moving fast enough." He said, his voice maddeningly calm, like this was a logical solution.
"I HATE YOU." I yelled.
"You’ll thank me later."Zavier smirked.
When he finally stopped and set me down at the end of the trail, I was flushed, panting, and covered in leaves. Zavier just looked mildly winded, silver eyes glinting with amusement.
"Not bad for a first attempt." He said, deadpan.
"Attempt?!" I screeched. "That wasn’t me attempting anything, that was YOU playing fetch with my dignity!"
Charlie had fully fallen backward into the grass by this point, laughing so hard he was wheezing. Rose, who had apparently joined us at some point, was leaning against a tree, smirking like she was watching her favorite soap opera.
"Honestly." She said. "That might be the most efficient training method I’ve ever seen."
"Whose side are you on?!" I demanded.
"Whichever one makes you blush more." She said sweetly.
I growled under my breath, which only made Zavier’s mouth twitch like he was trying not to smile.
"Again." He said, completely unfazed.
I glared at him, my wolf puffing up indignantly, but somehow... somehow I still let him pull me back to the start.