Selene smiled at her parents, trying to bridge the gap between the violence they had just witnessed and the love she felt. "I haven't won everyone over yet," she said, glancing at Christian with a look that wasn't angry, but pitying. "But I will. I know I will."
After dinner, the walk to the West Wing was a somber one. The air here was different- colder, smelling of dust and ancient roses. Leo unlocked the heavy doors to the Luna's office with a key that looked like it belonged in a museum.
The room was breathtaking. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the moonlit valley. The walls were lined with books bound in white leather, and a desk of pale ash wood sat in the center. It was a room designed for a woman who commanded both grace and power.
"I'll leave you with your parents," Leo said, kissing her forehead. "I have a Beta to hunt." He looked at Shay and John. "She is safe here. My guards are at the door."
Once he was gone, Selene sat behind the desk, feeling the weight of the wood beneath her palms. Her parents sat in the plush chairs opposite her, looking older and more tired than they had that morning.
"Selene," John Star began, "what is happening? That girl... she tried to kill you. And the King... he acts as if you are a Goddess."
"That's because I am, Dad," Selene said softly.
Over the next hour, she told them everything. She told them about the fall from the heavens, about the white light, about the way she could feel the love and hate in the world like a physical melody. She told them about Aggie, the prophecy, and the war that was being fought not for land, but for the very concept of Love.
Shay wept silently throughout the story, her hand over her mouth. "We always knew you were special, sweetie. When we saw you in that clearing, the flowers were blooming in the middle of winter. But this... this is so much more than we ever imagined."
"Is that why you won't mark him?" John asked, his eyes sharp. "Because you're afraid of losing that part of yourself?"
"I'm afraid of what happens if I do it for the wrong reasons," Selene admitted. "Christian wants me to do it for politics. Leo wants it for safety. But if I am the Goddess of Love, shouldn't my own marking be based on nothing but that? I don't want to be a tool of war."
"Sweetie," Shay said, reaching across the desk to take her daughter's hand. "Love is the only reason to do anything. But sometimes, love is also a choice to protect those who rely on you. Look at the King. He doesn't want to mark you to control you; he wants to mark you because he knows he cannot breathe in a world where you are not anchored to him."
Selene looked out at the moon. "I know. I can feel his 300% love every time he looks at me. It's overwhelming."
A soft knock at the door interrupted them. Mack stepped inside, his presence so faint he almost blended into the shadows of the bookshelves. He held a small silver tray with three new cups of tea. He set them down and then, to Selene's surprise, he bowed deeply- not to the King's mate, but to her.
He pulled out his notepad.
'The Beta has been caught. He didn't even make it to the gate. Marie is safe in the cells. The King is waiting for you in the gardens.'
Selene nodded, a sense of finality settling over her. "Thank you, Mack."
She turned to her parents. "I have to go to him. Will you stay here? Read the books? They're fascinating."
"We aren't going anywhere, Selene," John said, standing up to kiss her cheek. "We're right here."
Selene found Leo in the center of the garden, standing amidst the stone flowers she had summoned. The moonlight hit his pitch black hair, making him look like a statue of an ancient god.
"The Beta is in the dungeon," Leo said without turning around. "He will be questioned. And then he will be executed."
"Leo..."
"No, Selene," he turned, his face hard. "He tried to take you from me. He used a child to do his dirty work. There is no mercy for that. Not in my kingdom."
Selene walked up to him, stepping into the circle of his heat. "I'm not asking for mercy for him. I'm asking you to look at me."
Leo looked down at her, and the raw, jagged pain in his eyes was almost too much to bear. "I almost lost you tonight. Before the war even began. A cup of tea... a simple cup of tea could have ended everything."
"But it didn't," she whispered. "Because I felt it. Because I am what I am." She reached up, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw.
"Leo, I've decided. I want to see the office you gave me as a beginning, not an end. I want to win over Christian. I want to show this pack that I am their Luna because I choose to be, not because I'm a Goddess who fell from the sky."
"And the mark?" Leo asked, his voice a low, pained rumble.
"Soon," she promised, her eyes shining with an ethereal violet light. "But first, I want to show Marie what a real bond looks like. I want to help her. Can we do that? Can we be a King and Queen who heal instead of just tearing out throats?"
Leo stared at her for a long time. The monster in him, the Lycan that wanted blood and vengeance, battled with the man who was utterly enslaved by the light she radiated.
Finally, he leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers. "You are going to be the death of my reputation, Selene. They will say the Lycan King has grown soft."
"No," she smiled, "they'll say the Lycan King finally found something worth more than power."
Leo groaned, a low sound of surrender, before pulling her into a kiss that tasted of shadows and starlight. Behind them, the stone flowers seemed to glow a little brighter, the magic of the garden responding to the surge of love that filled the air.
The war was coming- they both knew that. The Shining Star wouldn't stop at one poisoned cup of tea. But as they stood in the heart of the palace, surrounded by the scent of ancient roses and the weight of a thousand years of history, it felt like the void was a little further away.
"Come," Leo said, tucking her under his arm. "Your parents are waiting, and Christian is probably still sulking in his wine. Let's go show them what our future looks like."