"No. Freaking. Way." Henry shoves sour gummies into his mouth despite his sickness. "That's insane. And she really is opposed to it?"

I nod before shrugging, shaking my head. "It looks that way, Micah and just about everyone else at the pack house thinks it will blow over but who knows? If anyone can evade the all powerful bond then it's her."

He shakes his head. "And you of course, I am surprised he even let you see her considering your position. I mean he has been going on about destiny and fate and that you just don't get it because your human and now it looks like that wasn't true."

I bite down on my lower lip, flicking my attention to the plush blue blanket he has wrapped around him as he sits on my bed. "Yeah."

"Athena," he warns and I glance at the gummy bowl next to him, now free from his hands. He's serious. "You are still trying to evade this bond, aren't you? Has he done something else? Made a deal? Because remember what Gabe said, its downhill after you make a deal with the devil."

My face constricts. "He's not a devil." If I were a wolf, my hackles would be raised.

"You get what I mean. What happened this weekend to completely change your perspective from the last one. Have you forgotten how he made you feel? Please Thea. You don't... you don't actually like him, do you?" I feel repulsed with myself and I can't place why.

I don't know if its over what we did, if it's because I'm not fighting against it as hard as everyone wants me to be or if its because despite everything, I consider Micah a friend and maybe that makes me a naive idiot.

"You promise you won't be mad at me?" I pick at my nails so hard that I draw blood and he pulls a pillow to his lap, hugging it — a nervous habit of his own. "It was... I don't want you to judge me anymore than you are Henry. I value your opinion but I just... promise me, please."

His nod is solid, assured. "Thea I won't be mad at you, I promise. And I would never judge you, if I can see you pee your pants in front of our entire playgroup and not care then I doubt whatever happened will shake me."

I cringe at the childhood memory and focus on the small dragon figures lining my windowsill behind him. I can't look him in those sad eyes.

"Okay, well it was overall a good trip I would say. And we only argued a bit, I mean one was due to the whole Gabe situation but I don't know... they both fizzled out. We don't really talk much about our arguments once we have had them and never really come to a mutual understanding, its just... swept under the rug."

I realise I am not setting my confession up well at all. I can't try to gently tip toe around this. "That's not good, Thea," he tells me and I give him my attention once more.

"I know... I know. But we had a lot of good moments too and he's actually funny and kind of a nice guy when you get to know him. And, well we were in the same room and we may have kind of like done stuff." I tear my eyes back to my plants before I can register his expression.

"Stuff? What kind of stuff, Thea what do you mean?" I groan into my hands, relaxing my frustration. I don't want to tell him but I put myself in this position, it's my actions that have got me here. Maybe it will help make him lay off Micah, give him some slack and see that I trust him as a friend — enough to do that.

"We sort of made out." I blurt, clenching my eyes shut as I turn to face him.

"What?" I have never heard Henry speak in such a low tone, with such shock and concealed rage.

"Yeah, I mean we were just talking things through on a couch and then one thing led to another and I don't know it kind of just happened. A few times. So I don't really know where that leaves us, he's not my boyfriend — that we had another argument on. But... yeah."

I peel my eyelids open, my face still bracing for the impact of his explosion but when I look at him I just see shock. His mouth is ajar slightly and he shakes his head, slowly at first but then in swift, sudden movements.

"You are kidding." His conclusion is accompanied by a dry laugh and then a cough. "This is a joke, you have got to be kidding."

He stands up at my silence. "I'm not," I say firmly. "Look it really all just happened and maybe it was the bond but it... I don't know. My point is that things are complicated and I've probably just made things a whole lot more complicated but I do consider him to be a friend."

His chest rises and falls in a heavy motion, like he is trying to get rid of his emotion before they can form words. "Athena... I don't get it. Do you actually want to be with him? To be his mate and Luna? The guy is a freaking wolf and he's staking some claim over you like a wild animal, like you are his possession and I just—I don't get it. And honestly worse than the fact he has some fucked logical need to tie you to him, he is a smart guy, Thea and I don't trust him." I clench my hands around the fabric of my night shirt, fisting it into a tight ball.

"I'm smart too, you know?" I say meekly. "And I trust him, he's nice and I think looking at how mates historically act he is setting the bar high. And I've made my position with him clear." A lie. To myself maybe more than him.

His lips turn downward and the harsh lines of confusion between his brows soften. "That's not what I'm saying, you are smart, one of the smartest people I know. But he has all the knowledge on this bond and all of the power that goes with it, that's a scary thing Thea, don't you get it? If you don't want him without a doubt then you need to realise giving him crumbs, leading him to his conclusion before realising what you want will drive him insane. He is getting exactly what he wants from you, bit by bit, every moment of friendship I can guarantee is a step for him to attaining his goal: you. And the longer you pretend that he's nice and that its okay to go along with it for appeasement sake then the more trapped you will become. You are drifting from what you truly want and heading into a territory determined by him."

His tone becomes slightly louder and I flick my attention to the trap door on the floor — if my parents even register some of this argument... I turn to Henry with wide eyes. "You promised you wouldn't be mad." His lips thin.

"I'm not mad, not at you anyway. I just think this is a terrible idea and I can't support it. I thought we planned on you laying low until we figured something out, on keeping contact to a bare minimum. Of finding you some other options, at least." I hate the way his words strain into each other, tight with the ball of emotion he tries to gulp down.

"What options? What choices do I really have and maybe I wasn't thinking when I decided to hook up with him but I just don't get why I can't have something casual, what if that's the alternative to all of this?" I say and he looks like he might outburst but he coughs instead.

"Thea." The plea is a mere croak. "Not with him. That... if you don't want to be his mate why sleep with him? Just to get some advantage from the bond? Because if it really outweighs the negatives that will come from it then I'm lost as to how many negatives there are in this for you."

I watch as Henry clasps his phone, clicking it open. "I have a running list of the negatives, maybe it will help jog your memory. One, he literally wants you to fill a role in his life. Two, said role is predestined, incredibly restrictive and will force you into a life of servitude and motherhood for a pack that isn't even really for people like us. Three, he believes it to be okay to quite literally own you, to have full "parental" level rights on what you do and where you go as if you were his infant. Four, he has acted on those rights. Five, he is intrinsically jealous and would quite literally resort to murder if you acted on your free will outside of him. Six, our friendship won't ever be the same because that same jealousy would eat him alive. Need I continue? There are nearly thirty other points that I have written I can elaborate on if you'd like."

I hate when he does this. His intelligence makes any of his arguments a weapon and I'm not often at the receiving end but it wounds me greatly. Like he has cut me with a sword dripping with magical potion designed to deteriorate my body from inside out. It's as though he is a wizard of wordsmithing.

"I don't think it's all as simple as that. It is wrong to completely discount his side of the story you know? The bond, the goddess—for him that stuff explains it, we can't just sit here and pretend that his entire belief system is voided because of mine. It's counterproductive."

He throws his phone onto the bed, standing up. "Thea, no, it's not. That is his religion, his belief. Why is it okay for him to force that down your throat?"

"Henry he has told me that's not how it will be. He has said that I don't have to have his kids, and that I can study where I want, when I want and I don't even have to fill the role of Luna. I just can't sleep around with anyone else and that's down to a force greater than any of us, something he certainly had no bearing over. I believe him when he says I physically won't be able to."

Hurt guttered in his eyes, the flames of his anger snuffing under my truth. "I just don't trust it, Thea. What if he just snaps and takes you prisoner or hurts you again?" He glances at my wrist and I wince under his stare.

"That was an accident." And it's nearly healed now anyway, I can get the cast off tomorrow.

"Thea I'm your best friend and I do not approve. You need to put your foot on the brakes, seriously. Kissing him, entertaining that idea is stupid—after everything with Gabe it's obvious he's a possessive freak and the more he gets from you, the more on edge he will beceome." His logic is hard to follow, maybe because each word is so tightly woven with emotion. But I understand what he is saying.

Before I kissed him, he was aware that whilst he viewed me as his I didn't acknowledge him in that way. Now I've given that entitlement some ammunition, some foundation to justify his actions in a way.

"Henry I know you don't like him, he knows—by the way telling him that is pretty stupid if you ask me. But I need you to make an effort. He invited you and Gabe to come along on to a get together on the weekend, he is trying to get to know you both and see past what he believes. Maybe you should give him the same benefit of the doubt."

"He invited Gabe?" Henry asks incredulously and I nod. "Me I can understand, I know he see's gaining my trust as a one way ticket to you but him and Gabe won't get along."

I narrow my eyes, sighing. "Why?"

"Thea." He raises a brow to me, an obvious look passing over his face. "C'mon."

"They can get along. I know his past complicates things but Micah is super progressive and charismatic enough that they should be able to hold a conversation."

"His past isn't what I'm talking about." My gut twists and I wish I never spilled the beans. If I could hit reverse and just shove sour gummies into my mouth instead I would.

"I don't know what you are on about Henry." My voice is low in warning, begging him to not continue.

He lets out a frustrated sigh. "He so clearly likes you." All the air leaves my lungs.

"Henry shut up, that's so dumb." My words don't even convince myself.

"The guy has had a crush on you from the minute we had that flour fight in the kitchen. And you... Thea I see the way you look at him. I've only seen you blush so much when Captain Thantos took his shirt off for the first time in the Space series." I don't like the way his accusation makes me feel, like my very bones are queasy.

"There is nothing between Gabe and I, Henry and there never will be."

"But there could've been, if you weren't trapped. Don't you get that? Throw in the fact that any attempts to un-trap you from it and there's enough of a reason for you to hold off from taking things any further with the bond."

I scoff, nearly laughing at the ridiculousness of it. "So what?" I press. "You think I should go cold turkey on Micah on the off chance that one day maybe I could get with Gabe? I don't even like him like that." The admission makes my heart feel a little lighter, like the alternative will set it on fucking fire.

He sends me a look that reads he doesn't buy a word of what I'm selling. "Thea... you know what? It's fine. Let's just drop it. If you really believe Micah wants to get to know us then I won't shut it down. I don't like him, or trust him but I love you like you're my blood, Thea. And I really just want you to have the best life possible, no motive other than that."

His words make tears spring in my eyes because I know he'll drop it. He knows me well enough to see when I'm pushed too far. He really is my personal cheerleader, always has been.

And he's always been protective where potential dudes were concerned but he never discouraged me from finding love, his assumptions with Gabe prove as much.

"I love you, Henry." I say, pouting and he opens his arms, the fluffy blanket opening like wings. I move forward and curl into his chest, sickness or not and grab a handful of sour gummies, mushing them into my mouth. "Hen-bear." I muffle through the food in my mouth and he squeezes me as tightly as a bear would, something he's done since we were little.

"Love you, Athena. Now pass me the remote you big oaf and get your hands outta my gummies."

-

I curl up into the sofa, hugging a fluffy yellow blanket over my body as I devour a comic book that I'm almost certain Gia would love. It's about superheros, sure, but its mega political and the art is insane.

"What's the most beautiful thing in the whole wide world?" Lexie peers up at my dad, her lap resting on his head as cartoons play on the television.

Josh is too engrossed watching some animated trucks talk to each other to engage in her furious line of questioning. Our dad smiles, "Your mom, of course," his brows furrow for a moment. "Though I wouldn't call her a thing."

Lexie giggles furiously. She's taken to finding anyone's grammatical errors totally hilarious, mainly picking on her twin. "I think it's sunsets!" She exclaims and dad grins.

"Sunsets are beautiful. What about tomorrow we go for a picnic down the beach at sunset, we haven't done that for a while." Dad hazards a glance at me, catching my stare with a smile. "What do you say Athena? We can even make some cookies while you are at school."

I place my book down on the coffee table, stretching before relaxing into the soft line green sofa cushions. "Tomorrow..." I mull over my mental itinerary and cringe. "Can't tomorrow, it's that big event up at the pack house."

He stills. " With the Superiors?"

I nod and Lexie sends me a glare. "You don't ever want to hang out with me!" Her arms fold into a huff and it melts my face.

"Lex... that's not true, I'm hanging out with you now, aren't I?" I question and my logic only seems to make her more annoyed.

"No! You're my big sister and so we are meant to hang out without stinky boys around." My dad punches her side, making her squirm.

"Hey, that's not nice missy," he says, unable to contain his grin.

"You're right, Lex. I'm sorry I haven't given you enough sisterly attention. How about we go out shopping on Sunday just you and me?" She still doesn't seem impressed, more because of her extreme feelings no doubt. "We can get ice cream..."

A sheepish grin fills her face. "Okayyyy. But maybe Henry can come too," she says and I bet its because whenever he joins us for ice cream, a single cone becomes a deluxe sundae and he lets her eat all the chocolate chips on top.

"Henry seems better," Dad says and I nod. Henry was playing cards with my siblings and dad yesterday when I came in, mercilessly destroying my little brother at the game.

"Yeah, I think it was just a slight cold. It wasn't contagious though and he's better now."

My dad raised a brow. "He told me about his visit to the p-r-i-s-o-n." Lexie stares at him quizzically, trying to decode the word to no avail. "With Al's nephew, apparently."

An even more sceptical look. "Yeah, him and Gabe. Have you met Gabe?" It was odd having a friend that wasn't like family. Henry was around so often he was basically my parents fourth kid.

"Yeah I have, back when I was working at the docks I got lunch at the shop a few times. Nice kid, he really takes after his dad—apparently like the trouble like his old man too."

My brows pinch. "You knew his dad?"

"Yeah, we were all pals back in the old days. Henrys dad and I used to go out fishing with him and Al when we were really young. Al and him were super close, basically brothers. He and Mary had just moved to the new city when he died in that car accident." His face falls with the memory, slight grief lining the tired edges of his face.

I hadn't talked with Gabe about his past aside from what he shared those few times, and now I avoid any sort of discussion because it usually ends up with a comparison to my own situation. Maybe that makes me a bad friend. He's had it incredibly rough and I shy away from asking how he is feeling because of my own reaction to it.

"He mentioned that his mom still lives in another pack," I tell him, conveying the other part of that message with my stare and he nods, sighing heavily.

"Yeah, she was a wreck—living in an empty apartment with a newborn. Al sent her money and was going to go over and help her out with everything but then the borders shut and the takeover stopped anything else." His words punch my gut, she really went through all that alone. Homeless, begging on the street with a child just to get taken on top of it all.

"That's awful."

My dad nods. "It is, but Gabe's a good kid and Henry said the arrest was ridiculous anyway." If there was a person in my life my parents trusted, it was Henry. "He mentioned Micah bailed them out."

His eyes assess me in the keen way they do when he's counting on me being completely honest and I still before shrugging, playing it off as cool. "Yeah, I asked him. He's not super keen on Gabe, but he's trying."

"Henry said they were taken into the station near midnight," he says, nodding his head. "I can't imagine he was happy to be woken up that late."

Shit. He knows, he's gotta know that I was not in my own, separate room filled with girls on the weekend. Damn him and his freaky parent ability to X-ray my mind and pull out my secrets. "He was awake, actually." The Gia bombshell will get me out of this one. "There was this whole thing with the Gia, a wolf friend of mine being mated to the Alpha heir of another pack. Anyway it was at a party and she was totally wasted and didn't react super well—which is a secret by the way—and so we were both awake with all that."

"What's this about a party?" My mom asks, coming into the room. "I hope you weren't drinking anything."

She leans down and gives my dad a kiss, placing large basket of toys onto the ground for the twins. "No, it wasn't that sort of party. We played like charades and stuff—it was very chill."

"So you two are getting along then?" She asks, my dad remaining silent for me to answer.

"Yeah, I suppose we are. We're just getting to know each other and it was good these last few days being able to hang out with him and his friends. Micahs a nice guy and he's fun to be around."

"Micah the wolf," Lexie announces, as if she's letting me know. "Are you going to get a wolf too?"

"Athena won't get a wolf," my dad tells her, making her pout.

"He's scary." Lexie folds her arm with the fact, leaning into dad more and Josh turns his attention to us.

"I was reading a story about a wolf that ate a little girl in the library!" He announces, the toy cars suddenly less entertaining. "Is he going to eat you?"

"Don't be silly, Athena won't be eaten," My mom assures them and Lexie nods. "And I don't want either of you mentioning that sort of talk outside of this house."

"Mom, cmon." I say, giving her a look. They don't need to be afraid of speaking about him, he's not voldemort. And they are just kids.

"No chances, Thea. Anyway how's it all going with the boy?" I groan, the grilling from my dad was never fun but my mom... she's a fucking force of nature.

"Good. Things are good, I'm going to the pack house on the weekend for this big event and that's the latest." She nods, her face tight in thought.

"The superiors?" She asks and I gulp, nodding.

"You'll be okay Thea, but if anything goes wrong just call us." As if they'd just be allowed to drive on into the pack house at a high security.

"I'll be fine, if shit gets too much I'll just stake out in the bathroom or fake diarrhoea." My mom scrunches her nose.

"Language, Athena. And gross.

Dad laughs. "Please, I'd like to think my daughter is smarter than diarrhoea."

"Alright, I promise I will James Bond bust out of there then."

"My gosh is that the time?" Mom announces, checking her phone and I look at my own. It's nine pm, not midnight. "Okay kids, off to bed there's school in the morning!"

Dad switches the television off and Josh starts immediately crying, my cue to get up and read the rest of this comic in my room. "I'll see you guys in the morning." I give my parents both a kiss on the cheek, squeezing my mom before she moves to tackle my siblings into their shared room.

One hour later, I'm still laying in my bed, scrolling through a literally insane amount of memes from Henry, laughing at every single one when my phone rings, Micah's name illuminating the screen.

"Micah?" I ask warily.

"Hey Thea, how's it going?" He asks casually and I roll over onto my back, glancing to make sure the trapdoor is shut.

"I'm good, just resting. What's up?"

"Nothing really," he says, his voice somewhat distant. "I just wanted to hear your voice, see how things are going. Is now a bad time?"

"No, no I'm not really doing anything, just doom scrolling. Did something happen?"

"Everything's good for me, I just finished up some training with my dad and I was going to play some video games but then I thought of you and yeah. Figured I'd give you a call." There was a shattered foundation to his words, like he hadn't thought long and hard before calling me, like this was a distraction.

"Was he mad about the whole Gia thing?" I remember the bitter anger on the Alphas face.

The phone line is silent for a moment. "Yeah... he was pretty pissed." His voice drops, almost snuffing into silence.

"I'm sorry, you can tell him that it was all my idea. I didn't mean to get you in trouble," I blurt and he huffs a laugh.

"That's kind but I would never throw you under the bus to be at my dads mercy. And visiting Gia was the right thing to do, I don't regret it. I will admit seeing Elias sneering about the pack house is less enjoyable."

"I thought Elias was your friend?" I ask, eliciting another laugh. They seemed like old friends at the party.

"He is, and he's actually a decent guy—we used to train together back in the day and he'd beat my ass. His wolf was a lot more developed than mine to be fair. But Gia's not wrong, he is a bit of a tight arse and guaranteed fun police if you try do things outside of pack jurisdiction in his presence."

I laugh. "Shouldn't you be like that, considering you're also going to be an Alpha?"

"Probably," he laughs. "He will make a good Alpha, I have no doubts there but ruling isn't always about having an iron fist. Plus, he may have been stronger when I was young but I did beat him four times out of five in training."

I imagined him smirking as he said so, the gloat so Alpha of him it made me roll my eyes, my own slight grin forming. "I don't think the iron fist approach will work with Gia."

"No, definitely not. I think if they met years ago perhaps he would have been able to play his power and position more, force her into some sort of submission—but things are different now. His pack rarely had female leaders, I think down to the amount of physical attacks they'd face but it left some old traditions in place."

My heart twists. "Do you think that's how things would've gone down with us?" I ask. With me, forced into submission and set to bear heirs and dot about the pack house like a loyal little slave. "Without everything, all the reforms do you think..."

He is silent for a moment. "I don't know." The answer is whispered with enough honesty that I don't doubt it. "I... I think that seeing my father change most of his beliefs tells me that I would have. I was never raised to hate humans, or despise them... I was always taught that I was better, superior but that's standard for any Alpha heir."

"Do you think you are superior?"

"There's always bigger fish, Mennison. But I did think I was special for a time, and I'm still stronger, faster harder to kill than most but we aren't living in the dark ages. Maybe if I was transported into the Hell realm of Fire and Fury those skills would be useful but things are more political now."

"How so?" I pry.

"I'm still a leader within the pack as is ordained by the goddess. My Alpha blood gives me authority within the pack, its the natural way of things but many wolves feel that as my natural place is above them, humans are meant to be at the bottom. Not all wolves feel this way, but some do." The superiors coming has to be tied into it somehow.

But his words hollow me out, make my eyes dart to the floor where below, my human family are resting safely. "So wolves want to make things go back to how they were?"

"No." His words are quick, like he sensed the terror underlying my tone instantly. He sighs heavily, tired. "I shouldn't have mentioned it, there is nothing for you to worry about. All the pack politics and hierarchies within our blood is very confusing and I'm probably not awake enough to give you a good explanation."

"I would like to know." About all of it, the Alphas being challenged, the reason the packs won't even entertain the idea of science progressing to end the bond, why even some wolves are still adamant on oppressing humans.

"That's understandable. Maybe I can set some time up with pack officials next week and they can help answer any questions you may have. But I don't want to talk about the pack."

I shift on my bed, rolling to one side of my pillow with furrowed brows. "What do you want to talk about?" I think he'd talk about paint drying over pack politics and I can't say I blame him, he lives and breathes that whole system.

"You. Us." His voice has lowered into a tone that makes my body tighten. "I can't stop thinking about you, about your laugh, your eyes, your lips."

My breath hitched in my throat at the memory of kissing him. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, not that I'm massively proud of that fact.
Henry told me his thoughts and I agree with most of what he says but that feeling... its like a literal drug. "I think about it too," I whisper, my shame evident as day.

Because it's not a good thing, this attraction. It's another ploy in the enticing nature of this bond to make me fall for him, allow his mark on my skin and push me into fulfilling some divine wolf purpose.

"I don't know how I will sleep without you by my side. Last night I barely got a wink of rest, like my body was calling for you." I sucked in a harsh breath because I knew exactly what he meant.

I got sleep but it wasn't as easy as it usually was. The first night after I slept on his chest was the same but after the trip... it was like something was missing.

"It's probably because it's getting warmer, maybe a fan could help," I suggest and there is no response for a moment before he chuckles.

"Goddess, Thea. I wish a fan would work."

"Do you need me to give you a kiss goodnight?" I tease. "Does the big Alpha wolf need tucking in?" He roars with laughter at the cooing tone I adopt.

"Yes, the big Alpha would love to get a kiss goodnight. Maybe some hot cocoa too." He joked back but I could tell deep down, he actually meant it.

I make a contemplating hum, shaking my head even though he can't see it. "I don't think that'd taste too good alongside your cotton candy toothpaste." He laughs again and I join him, unable to stop the infectious joy seeping into me. But a loud knock on my trap door shuts me up, a knock that was definitely made with a broom.

"Athena get to bed!" My dad yells from below. "It's a school night, if I hear you up again I'm taking that phone."

The threat lands and I wince, lowering my voice to a whisper. "I gotta go, or I'm gonna have my own angry dad."

Micah's laugh dies down. "Yeah, it is actually late. Well, thanks for answering Mennison. I'll see you at school?"

I smile softly, gently. "See you at school." But when I turn off the phone and try to close my eyes sleep doesn't find me easily and I don't know if it was the thought of all the challenges or the fact Micah wasn't beside me but either way, even my dreams were plagued by my reality.