Chapter 3

The next morning felt wrong.

Evie noticed it the moment she opened her eyes.

The air in her small room was heavier—thicker somehow, like the walls themselves were pressing in. Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, soft and golden, but it didn’t warm her.

Nothing did.

Not with them in her head.

She sat up slowly, pressing her palm against her chest.

There it was.

Still there.

Steady. Unrelenting.

Three distinct threads tangled deep inside her—pulling, shifting, alive.

Gunner.

Alaric.

Magnus.

Evie squeezed her eyes shut.

“I said I don’t want this,” she muttered under her breath.

The bond didn’t care.

A sharp knock echoed against her door.

She stiffened.

“Evie,” a voice called. Female. Older. “Pack meeting. Now.”

Of course.

Word spread fast in Black Claw.

Too fast.

Evie swallowed hard and forced herself to stand, pulling on her boots with shaky hands. She didn’t bother with anything else—no effort to look composed, no attempt to hide the exhaustion written all over her face.

What was the point?

They had all seen it.

Felt it.

Judged it.

The walk to the main clearing felt longer than usual.

Wolves lined the path, their voices low, eyes tracking her every step. Whispers followed her like shadows.

“That’s her…”

“She hasn’t even shifted…”

“How is that possible?”

“Three Alphas? No way…”

Evie kept her gaze forward, jaw tight.

Don’t react.

Don’t break.

She stepped into the clearing—and the murmurs died instantly.

Every head turned.

Every eye locked onto her.

The Alpha stood at the center, flanked by the elders.

And beside him—

The triplets.

Her stomach dropped.

They looked different today.

Not softer.

Not kinder.

Just… sharper.

More controlled.

Like whatever shock had hit them last night had already been buried beneath something colder. Harder.

Donovan’s gaze cut to hers immediately.

Unreadable.

Damon leaned slightly against a post, arms crossed, expression neutral—but his eyes flickered, just once, over her like he was measuring something.

And Devin…

Devin didn’t look away this time.

His gaze held hers—steady, searching.

It made something in her chest tighten.

Evie tore her eyes away first.

Again.

“Step forward,” the Alpha commanded.

Her feet felt heavy, but she obeyed, moving into the center of the clearing. The weight of the pack’s attention pressed down on her, suffocating.

She could feel it.

Their doubt.

Their disapproval.

Their disbelief.

“Last night,” the Alpha began, voice carrying easily across the silent clearing, “something occurred that challenges the very laws of our kind.”

A pause.

“Three Alpha heirs… bound to one unshifted wolf.”

A ripple of tension moved through the crowd.

Evie clenched her fists.

She hated the way he said it.

Unshifted.

Like it defined her.

Like it diminished her.

The Alpha’s gaze settled on her.

“Explain.”

Evie blinked.

“What?”

“You heard me,” he said evenly. “Explain what you did.”

A spark of anger flared in her chest.

“What I did?” she repeated, disbelief creeping into her voice.

The bond pulsed—sharp, reactive.

She could feel them now.

All three.

Watching.

Listening.

“I didn’t do anything,” she said, her voice stronger this time. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t even know it was possible.”

A murmur spread again.

The Alpha’s expression didn’t change.

“No one ‘asks’ for a mate bond,” he said. “But this—” he gestured between her and the triplets, “—is unprecedented.”

“Then maybe,” Evie shot back before she could stop herself, “it’s not wrong.”

Silence.

Thick.

Dangerous.

Donovan’s presence slammed into her then—pure Alpha authority, heavy and crushing.

A warning.

Evie’s breath caught, her body instinctively wanting to submit—but something inside her pushed back.

Hard.

The force rolled off her in a sharp, invisible wave.

A crack in the air.

Several wolves stumbled back.

A low gasp rippled through the clearing.

Evie froze.

Her heart pounded.

“I—” she looked down at her hands, shaken. “I didn’t—”

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed.

“Interesting.”

Donovan stepped forward then, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade.

“This isn’t about what she wants,” he said coldly. “It’s about what’s right for the pack.”

Evie’s head snapped up.

“And humiliating me in front of everyone is what’s right?” she fired back.

His gaze hardened.

“You are not fit to stand beside us,” he said, each word deliberate. “You have no wolf. No rank. No strength.”

The words hit exactly where they were meant to.

Old wounds.

Deep ones.

Evie’s chest tightened—but she refused to look away.

“Then reject me,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm building inside her. “All three of you. Right now.”

Gasps broke out across the clearing.

Even Damon straightened.

Devin’s eyes widened slightly.

Because they all knew what that meant.

A triple rejection.

Rare.

Dangerous.

Possibly fatal—to the bond… or to her.

The silence stretched.

Donovan didn’t hesitate.

“Fine.”

The word dropped like a stone.

Evie’s heart stuttered.

Damon’s jaw tightened.

Devin took a step forward. “Donovan—”

“Stay out of it,” Donovan snapped.

His eyes locked onto Evie’s.

Cold. Unyielding.

“I, Donovan, future Alpha of Black Claw,” he began, his voice ringing with authority, “reject—”

Pain exploded through Evie’s chest.

Blinding.

Crushing.

She gasped, dropping to her knees as something inside her snapped—

But not fully.

Not clean.

The bond didn’t break.

It fought.

It resisted.

It roared.

A sound tore through her mind—feral, powerful, ancient.

“No.”

The word wasn’t hers.

It wasn’t his.

It was something else.

Something inside her.

A shockwave burst outward.

This time, it didn’t just push—it dominated.

Wolves staggered.

Some dropped to their knees.

Even the triplets froze.

Even Donovan.

Evie’s head snapped up, her vision blazing—

And for a split second—

Her eyes weren’t human.

They glowed.

Bright.

Terrifying.

Silver.

The air crackled with power.

Old.

Untamed.

Unyielding.

Donovan’s voice died in his throat.

The rejection…

Failed.

Silence crashed over the clearing.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

Evie’s chest heaved as the energy slowly receded, leaving her shaking on her knees.

Her vision cleared.

The glow faded.

But the damage was done.

The Alpha stared at her—not with doubt this time.

Not with dismissal.

With something far more dangerous.

Recognition.

“Impossible…” one of the elders whispered.

Evie’s hands trembled as she pushed herself to her feet.

Every instinct screamed at her to run.

But she didn’t.

She stood there—unsteady, shaken—but standing.

And this time…

No one looked at her like she was weak.

Donovan took a slow step back.

For the first time in his life—

He didn’t look in control.

Damon’s expression had gone completely serious.

Devin…

Devin looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time.

The Alpha’s voice broke the silence.

“Lock her down.”

Evie’s stomach dropped.

“What—?”

“Until we understand what she is,” he continued, his tone leaving no room for argument, “she is not to roam freely.”

Two warriors stepped forward.

Evie’s pulse spiked.

“You’re imprisoning me?” she demanded.

“For the safety of the pack,” the Alpha said calmly.

“For your control.”

Her laugh was sharp.

Bitter.

“You’re afraid of me.”

No one answered.

They didn’t have to.

Because for the first time—

They were.

And as the warriors moved to escort her away, Evie felt it again.

That presence.

Stronger now.

Closer.

Awake.

“Good,” it murmured softly in her mind.

Evie swallowed hard, her heart racing as the weight of everything crashed down on her.

Three weeks.

Three weeks until her wolf was supposed to come.

But whatever was inside her…

Wasn’t waiting anymore.

And neither…

Was the war she had just started.