Chapter 5 - Farting In The Face Of Gods

𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐀

"According to the myths, they are the heirs of the Wolf god Lycaon himself—not werewolves, but lycans."

I had lost count of how many times my father's words had replayed in my mind, but he had been very wrong. The Lycans were neither myth nor legend—they loomed over me now.

"Answer the question!" The long-haired one bellowed, his violet eyes piercing me.

But I could only open my mouth and close it. I couldn't form a sound, or words, or sentences—much less convince them of my innocence against the tales that Sonya had woven.

Not when the look on their faces told me they had already made up their minds.

Maggot.

I winced, but it only made the hot-blooded one madder. "Cut the act," Kaleb glowered, anger radiating off him in waves that singed my skin.

There's no act! I wanted to scream.

They both watched me, muscles strung taut with rage, mouths twisted in disgust.

Cyrus circled behind me like a predator, his footsteps deliberate. "You really thought you could steal from us?" His voice was silk over steel. "A human?" He laughed—sharp and cruel. "That's almost adorable."

I shook my head frantically, eyes pleading, trying to get them to understand.

But it had the opposite effect.

My jaw was grabbed, fingers digging with surgical precision. Red eyes bored into my soul as silver strands of hair caught the light. "Refusing to speak will not do you any good, princess," Cyrus drawled. "Your Alpha and lover are testifying against you. This silent act only makes you look more guilty."

My stomach dropped as I shook my head again, harder this time.

They are lying. Please, you have to believe me. I had no idea about that place. You have to believe me.

But they would never hear any of that.

Fresh hot tears stung my eyes, desperation clawing at me, the hopelessness sawing at whatever was left of my strength.

I'd been framed, and now, for the first time, I faced something worse than Caspian's wrath.

"Cyrus, she won't concede," Kaleb scowled, violet eyes burning with impatience.

"Maggots never change," Cyrus said, his voice almost conversational as he released my jaw. "Thieves from the very beginning to the bitter end."

I bit my tongue until it bled, but it quickly healed, the comforting pain fading too quickly. My chest pulsed, not the way it normally did. Something had changed since the moment I touched what they had called the Moon Core.

My senses had heightened, the shattered bones had mended, my body weighed lighter despite the exhaustion that should have crushed me. I could hear things I'd never heard before—the shifting of their muscles, the controlled rhythm of their breathing, the thundering of my own heart that no longer felt like it was giving out.

The Core was keeping me alive. Remaking me into something I didn't understand.

And they wanted to rip it out, yet it wouldn't let them.

"I will never let them hurt you." That familiar, soft, haunting voice threaded through my thoughts.

I stilled, horror weaving through my entire body.

The Core was speaking to me. Not out loud—inside my head, intimate and invasive, like it had burrowed into the spaces between my thoughts and made a home there.

"You're mine now, Rora. And I protect what's mine."

My breath caught. The voice was so tender, so sickeningly gentle, like a mother's whisper in the dark. But there was something wrong beneath it, something ancient and hungry that made my skin crawl even as warmth spread through my chest.

"Kaleb," Cyrus's voice cut through my panic, all mockery gone. "One more attempt. If the Core reacts again, we reassess."

Kaleb's jaw tightened. "Fine. But this time I'm going deeper. I'm carving it out of her—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence.

The Core moved before I could even think to resist.

My hand shot out, faster than anything humanly possible, and caught Kaleb's wrist mid-strike. His eyes widened, shock bleeding through the fury as I held him in place with strength that shouldn't exist in my body.

Something snapped in my chest. It was painful, but profound, like a tether slamming into place. My vision fractured with harsh white light, and through it I heard laughter. A child's laughter. Bright and cruel and delighted.

Soft violet eyes—not Kaleb's burning rage, but a child's eyes, gleeful and wild—flashed in my vision for a heartbeat.

Then it was gone.

I gasped, vision clearing. Kaleb stood frozen, staring at me like I'd grown a second head. His chest heaved like he'd been punched.

"What the fuck was that?" he rasped.

I didn't know. But the Core purred in my chest, satisfied—like it knew something we both didn't.

"You fucking bitch," Kaleb roared, ripping his hand free. "Using powers that don't belong to you." He grabbed the metal table and hurled it into the far wall, where it folded like paper.

"But it's two against one," Cyrus said, red eyes gleaming with something darker than anger. Something anticipatory.

"And under the Core, you're still human," Kaleb smirked, fangs gleaming as he stepped closer.

Fangs—

"Breakable. Bendable." Cyrus murmured, almost fondly, his intense gaze raking my body like he was looking forward to testing both theories.

The word hung in the air like a death sentence, and I felt the Core's grip on my body tighten, preparing for another fight I had no control over.

Kaleb's jaw began to widen, unhinging as he started to shift. My heart lurched into my throat, horror winding around my spine as I anticipated a gory demise.

Then the door burst open.

A gamma stumbled in, dragging his feet, looking exhausted and exasperated. "Alphas—I apologize for the interruption, but this wolf refuses to sit still. He's been tearing through the medical wing looking for—"

He didn't finish.

The wolf from the cell barreled past him, his green eyes wild and searching. His fur was clean now, his injuries healed, but the desperate energy radiating from him was exactly the same.

Those fluorescent eyes locked onto me, and he charged.

The Lycans' formation shattered as the massive wolf plowed between them like they were made of paper.

He skidded to a halt in front of me, his tail wagging so hard his entire body shook.

"Get that mutt away from here," Kaleb snarled, moving forward.

The wolf's head whipped toward him, lips peeling back in a snarl. A low, threatening growl rumbled from his chest.

The Lycans froze.

"Did that wolf just growl at us?" Cyrus asked, incredulous.

"Move," Kaleb commanded, his voice sharp as a whip. "Now."

The wolf didn't budge. Instead, he pressed closer to me, his massive body acting as a shield between me and the Lycans who wanted me dead.

Then, as if to punctuate his defiance, he turned to face me, his hind to the Lycans and tail lifted.

A long fart erupted through the chamber.

The smell hit immediately—rancid and overwhelming, like something had died inside him.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Kaleb gagged, covering his nose.

Cyrus stumbled back, his red eyes watering. "What is that thing eating?" His composure cracked as he coughed into his sleeve. "Fuck." He scowled, stomping out the door. 

The gamma at the door looked mortified. "I tried to warn you—he's been doing this all night—"

Inside my head, the Core's presence flickered with something that almost felt like... amusement.

The wolf sat down beside me, looking immensely pleased with himself, his tail still wagging as the Lycans regrouped at a safe distance, glaring at both of us through streaming eyes.

"Unbelievable," Kaleb muttered, stomping out.

For the first time since this nightmare began, I felt the smallest, most fragile spark of something that wasn't terror.

The wolf looked up at me with those familiar green eyes, and despite everything—I reached down and buried my fingers in his fur.

He leaned into my touch, whimpering softly.

Thank you, I thought, knowing he couldn't hear me but hoping somehow he understood.

Still, I knew this nightmare was far from over as the door was slammed shut and locked with a click.