Chapter 21- Brothers, Bickering & The Beginning of Power

Kaleb POV

"I still don't like your hair," Arwen growled, pacing the deck like an irritated jungle cat.

I didn't even bother looking up from the ship console. "And I still think your eyeliner's doing more work than your sword arm."

He hissed, low and sharp, and I smirked to myself. We'd been playing this game since we boarded the Nightfang, tossing barbs like throwing knives. Ever since Rhiannan's scream, though, something shifted. Something bigger. That demon mate, whoever the hell he was, had cracked her wide open. And now...we were all cracking too.

But none of that stopped me from baiting the pretty pirate.

"Don't test me, wolf," he warned.

"You'd lose, pirate," I snarled right back.

The tension had been simmering between us since day one. But we were trying. Or pretending to. Because like it or not, we were both hers now. And if we didn't get our shit together, we'd tear this whole damn pentacle apart.

"So," I said finally, slamming the console shut, "you going to keep hissing, or we talking like adults for once?"

He slumped into the chair across from me. "You first, wolf boy."

I leaned back, crossing my arms. "Fine. Pack raised. Mother's a seer, father's the Alpha. Trained in strategy before I could talk. Led battles. Buried brothers. Didn't think I'd ever find a mate, let alone a goddess. Now I'd burn the world if she scraped her knee."

His eyebrows lifted. "Damn. That was a whole novella."

"Your turn, eyeliner."

He smirked. "Name's not even Arwen. It's Arkanis. Born a fae prince. Hated it. Ran off to become a pirate. Killed some tyrants, stole some crowns. Never thought I'd settle. But then I met her. Now I'd rip out my own spine if it meant keeping her safe."

A beat of silence passed. Then we both leaned in, clasped forearms in a warrior's grip. And that's when it happened.

The marks on our necks flared.

A new star ignited beneath each of our bonds. Threads of shimmering magic linked us like constellations.

Arwen gasped. I felt it too. Not pain...power. A jolt straight to the soul.

"What the hell was that?" I muttered, already knowing the answer.

"Sasha," Arwen barked. "Don't be a bitch. Explain."

"Oh, boys," Sasha sighed, her voice dripping sarcasm. "You just started pentacle sync. Very rare. Very dramatic. Very... sexy."

"Explain better," I snapped.

"Fine. Once a goddess seals her six, the bonds begin syncing. You share strength. Power. Emotion. You're becoming a conduit. A weapon. A force of nature."

"Holy shit," Arwen whispered. "We're leveling up."

"You are. And she's barely scratched the surface. The gods see it. The enemy sees it. And now? So do you."

We sat in stunned silence.

"She has no idea how powerful she's becoming," I said quietly.

"No," Sasha agreed. "But she will."

Rhiannan POV

I padded onto the bridge barefoot, licking peanut butter off my thumb and carrying a glowing fae churro in the other hand. Hair a mess. Robe barely hanging on. Magic humming like a second heartbeat.

Then I saw them.

Kaleb and Arwen. Not fighting. Not snarling.

Glowing.

Stars pulsing under their bond marks. Threads of light linking them. It took me a second to realize what was happening.

They were syncing. Bonding. My mates. Becoming something new. Something...more.

And my heart fucking sang.

I crept closer, robe swaying like moonlight, and whispered, "What did I miss?"

Kaleb stood first, eyes soft. "You look..."

"I know," I cut in. "Divine. Sexy. Like moon touched murder in a robe. Get to the point."

Arwen handed me a datapad. "Turns out you're a bigger freak of nature than we thought."

"Thanks, babe."

They explained. The sync. The prophecy. Sasha being a sarcastic little shit as usual. I absorbed it all in silence.

"So," I said finally, "if I bond all six of you, we become some kind of magical war machine?"

Kaleb nodded. "We can change the world, Rhi. End this war. Save everything."

I looked at them both. My wolf. My pirate.

"I didn't ask for this. But fuck it. Let's save Andopeer."

Arwen smiled. "We'd follow you anywhere."

"Damn right," Kaleb added.

My throat tightened. I should've fallen apart. Should've shattered from the scream I felt earlier, the demons pain, tearing through me like a blade.

But I didn't. I stood. Strong. Glowing.

"I don't know how to do this," I whispered.

Kaleb took my hand.

Arwen kissed my shoulder.

"Then we learn together."

I shoved the churro into my mouth. "Fuck, this snack machine's better than therapy."

"You're welcome, sugar tits," Sasha said. "Try the moonberry cheesecake next. It slaps."

And I laughed.

Because godesses don't crumble.

We rise dammit.

Kaleb POV

I couldn't sleep.

Not with that scream still echoing in my fucking bones.

Rhiannan was curled between us, finally resting, but my wolf was pacing beneath my skin...agitated, ears back, teeth bared. Something was off. The air inside the ship felt too thick. Like static before a storm.

I slipped away silently, padded barefoot down the corridor, and stepped onto the observation deck. The stars sprawled across the void like a thousand eyes watching me.

I hated that feeling, being watched. Especially when I didn't know who the fuck was doing the watching.

And then the light bent.

I froze. The fuck?

It was like reality hiccupped, stars rippled, warped like water, and then she appeared.

Not Rhiannan.

Her mother.

Nythera.

The Moon Goddess. The Weaver. The ancient power wrapped in fury and sorrow.

She wasn't whole. Her image flickered, ghost like. But those eyes, silver and sharp as blades, pierced straight through me.

I dropped to one knee, instinct taking over. My chest burned under the weight of her power.

"You must protect her," she said. Her voice was like wind across a frozen lake. "The veil is torn. He's found a way in."

My mouth went dry. "What veil? Who—"

But she was already fading. Her glow dissolved into static, her last words barely a whisper.

"He is rising. The God Realm burns. I can't reach her. You must…"

Gone.

Silence.

No...not silence.

A scream tore through my mind. Raw. Male. Agony soaked in darkness.

It hit me like a blade to the chest, I felt him.

The bond hadn't even been activated yet, but it surged to life now. A tether anchored to Rhiannan's soul, yanking me with it like a damn tidal wave.

A mate.

Another one.

And he was in fucking hell.

Chained. Broken. Screaming. Fighting.

I collapsed, hands braced on the cold floor, teeth clenched as a growl tore free. Rage swelled in my chest, feral, ancient. My wolf howled.

She felt it too. Somewhere on this ship, Rhiannan was waking up in tears, feeling him through the bond, sobbing for a man she didn't even know but already loved.

I staggered to my feet and sprinted back through the corridors.

I didn't have to look for them.

She found me.

We collided mid hallway, Rhiannan in a robe, barefoot, tears streaking her cheeks. Arwen right behind her, jaw clenched, already glowing with his own violent magic. We crashed into each other, arms locked, hearts pounding, shaking like thunder was crawling under our skin.

"He's in pain," she sobbed. "Kaleb… he's suffering. We have to find him."

I held her tighter, my voice a vow. "We will. I swear it on my soul. We'll tear apart every realm if we have to."

Arwen nodded, his hand gripping my shoulder, the bond between us flaring. United.

The pentacle was forming. The gods were stirring. The fucking entity was watching.

But I didn't give a damn.

Nobody touched what was ours.

We were coming for him.

And we'd burn hell to the ground if that's what it took.