Ivy’s POVThe weight of their words pressed against me like a heavy chain."No more cells. No more isolation. From now on, you stay with us."They weren’t letting me go.I swallowed hard, my mind racing. This wasn’t about claiming me as their mate—not really. This was about control. They wanted me close, not because they cared, but because I was something they weren’t ready to lose.Even if they had treated me like nothing before, I was something to them now.And I didn’t know if that made things better or worse.I forced myself to take a deep breath, keeping my voice steady. “And if I refuse?”Kieran chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s cute, sweetheart. But you don’t really have a choice.”My stomach twisted. “I do have a choice. You don’t own me.”Elias’s expression didn’t change, but his voice was quiet, firm. “We aren’t giving you the chance to leave again.”Ronan stepped forward, his golden eyes burning into mine. “We’re keeping you safe.”I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head.
Ronan’s POVIvy’s disobedience wasn’t surprising.It was expected.But that didn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating.She didn’t trust us. And honestly, she had every right not to. We had hurt her. We had broken her. And now, we were trying to fix it.But she wasn’t making it easy.“Fine,” I finally said, my voice even. “You don’t trust us. I get it. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re staying here.”She scoffed. “And if I try to leave?”Elias, who had been silent for most of the conversation, leaned forward slightly, his piercing blue eyes locking onto hers. “Then we’ll stop you.”Her lips parted slightly, her breath hitching for just a second before she quickly masked it with anger. “So I am a prisoner.”Kieran let out a short laugh. “You really don’t listen, do you?”I shot him a look before turning my attention back to Ivy. “You’re not a prisoner, Ivy. But we will keep you here.”Her hazel eyes flashed with anger. “That sounds like the same thing to me.”I exhaled slowly. “Look,
Ivy’s POVI sat in silence, my back pressed against the window, watching them.Ronan, Kieran, and Elias.The three men who had ruined me. The men who had made my life miserable for years. The same men who had rejected me without a second thought.And now, they wanted to keep me.I clenched my fists in my lap, nails digging into my palms. I wouldn’t let them win.Kieran stretched lazily on the couch, his smirk never fading. “So, sweetheart, how long are you going to keep up this little act?”I glared at him. “What act?”“That whole I hate you thing.” His blue eyes gleamed with amusement. “We get it, Ivy. You’re angry. But let’s be real—you feel the bond just as much as we do.”My stomach twisted.I refused to give him the satisfaction of a response.Elias, standing near the fireplace, finally spoke. “Kieran.”His brother shrugged. “What? I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.”“You’re an idiot,” Ronan muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.I swallowed hard, keeping my expression n
Ivy's povI felt as if it was the stupidest thing I had ever decided on, and I knew it as the words left my mouth. A challenge? Against them? Against him? I must've lost my mind. I stood still, my fingers clenched into fists, as my eyes darted between the three of them—Ronan, Elias, and Kiernan–the infamous triplets who wore their arrogance like armor. The air around them practically sizzled with mischief and ego.I could already feel my skin heating from the silent mockery in their gaze.Ronan's smirk was the worst of it. That lazy, smug curl of his lips that said I know exactly what you're thinking and it's cute you think you'll win.I narrowed my eyes at him, my teeth grinding. I refused to let myself be toyed with. Elias was grinning like an idiot, his dimples so deep it made my stomach churn. It wasn't that I hated them–not really. It was just the way they carried themselves. Like the world bent to their will, like they were invincible.Well, they weren't. At least, I hoped they
Ivy's POVI had lost. As much as it bruised my pride to admit it, there was no sugarcoating the truth—I’d been outmatched. Ronan had bested me in the duel, fair and square. I tried to blame it on the mate bond that had happened out of nowhere, and untriggered too, but it didn't make sense. As Ronan had already won two rounds before the mate bond happened. It didn't matter how hard I had fought, or how much anger and determination had fueled me. He was stronger, faster…and I was still just me.The terms were clear: if I lost, I would remain in the pack house.And so, I stayed.At first, I thought it would feel like a prison. That I'd feel caged, watchedz stripped of my freedom like a wild creature behind bars. But the truth was…it didn't feel that way. Not entirely. I was allowed to go about my days like any other pack member. I could train if I wanted to. Eat with the others. Walk around the grounds. Sleep in my quarters. No one chained me or locked me away.But there was a catch.I w
Ivy's POVThe room had never felt so cold. The moment the triplets stepped in, the energy shifted, heavy with authority and confusion. All heads turned, including mine. I watched as Selena's face changed in an instant—dirst started, then innocent and vulnerable.Ronan's voice cut through the murmurings like a blade. “What's going on here?”Selena turned to him immediately, her hands pressing dramatically to her chest like she'd just survived a horrific attack. “Thank the Moon Goddess you're her,” she breathed. “Ivy…she tried to hurt me. I don't know what got into her. She brought a knife in here, said it was for cutting apples but then she—she lunged at me. I barely got away.”Gasps filled the air, and some of the pack members nodded, already wrapped around her words.Ronan looked at me. His expression was unreadable. “Is that true?” he asked, his voice even, but not cold. Not yet.I raised my head slowly, my body trembling. “No,” I said quietly. “It's not true. I was only cutting app
Ivy's POVThe door slammed shut behind Selena, and for a moment, I could still feel the weight of her lies clinging to my skin like smoke. I had never been so upset in my entire life, and no one was happier that her lies were exposed than I was. The room remained frozen, tense, and charged, as if even the walls were waiting for something else to explode. No one moved. No one spoke. The silent tension tore through my skin like melted glass. I was silently observing the room from the corner of my eyes, I could look, I couldn't move, I could speak. I was too overwhelmed.Then, slowly, the triplets turned their gazes on me.Tiger gazes felt so judgmental that I had braced myself for more judgment, more cold stares, more accusations. My heart was still thudding wildly in my chest, and my wrists throbbed where I'd caught the edge of the table. I wanted to run, to disappear, to have the ground swallow me whole, to not have every eye in the room pin me in place like I was some dangerous creat
Ivy's POVThe room was quiet, but the silence wasn’t comforting. It felt thick, like a woolen blanket suffocating the air, making it hard to breathe. I stood just a few feet in, arms still tucked around my body as if I could physically hold myself together. My wrists ached from where I’d hit the table earlier, but I ignored it. The pain in my chest far outweighed anything my body could feel.Ronan leaned against the edge of the desk, arms crossed, his eyes unreadable as they rested on me. Elias sat in one of the leather chairs beside the bookshelf, his fingertips pressed together in thought, elbows resting on the arms of the chair like he was a king weighing judgment. And Kiernan—he stood near the window, the dim afternoon light casting half his face in shadow. He hadn’t looked at me yet, not fully. He stared out like the world beyond the glass was somehow more tolerable than being in this room with me.The door had closed behind me, sealing me in. It wasn’t locked, not physically, bu
IVY’s pov,I kept my eyes on the fire, letting its low crackle fill the silence in my head. It was late. Everyone else had already gone inside, but I couldn’t sleep. Not with the way my thoughts kept spinning, nor with the way my heart kept pulling in three different directions.I’d told Ronan I loved him. And I meant it. But love didn’t stop the ache in my chest when I thought of Elias. Or the steady calm Kiernan gave me, like a lighthouse in the storm.I didn’t know how to love them all. I didn’t know how to stop either.The sound of footsteps made me turn. I expected Kiernan. Maybe even Elias. But it was Ronan again, a blanket over one shoulder, two mugs in his hands.“You left without tea,” he said, sitting beside me.“I didn’t want to wake you.”“You didn’t.” He handed me a mug. The scent of chamomile drifted up, soft and familiar.We sat in silence for a while. The kind that stretched, but didn’t hurt, not with Ronan. With him, quiet was easy.“I don’t regret last night,” I said
Ronan’s Pov,The wind had a bite to it that morning, a sharp edge curling around the keep's corners and slipping under collars. I stood in the training yard, arms folded, watching the younger wolves run drills. They were too fast, forgetting the importance of patience, of reading your opponent before striking. I should’ve corrected them. But I didn’t.Ivy hadn’t come down yet. I told myself I wasn’t waiting for her, but that was a lie, and I no longer believed it.The dream from nights ago still haunted me. Not the image of her in the storm—that had faded—but the way she called my name. Not with love. With fear. With anger. It had etched itself into me, deeper than any scar.When I finally saw her, it was like the air shifted. She wore that heavy coat again, with the fur lining that brushed her jaw when she walked. Her hair was braided to one side, simple and loose. But her eyes—gods, her eyes—held something that made my heart stutter. Determination. And something else. Sadness maybe.
Ronan’s POV,I left Ivy in the garden with her hair tangled by the wind and her eyes turned toward the stars. She didn’t say much after resting her head on my shoulder. She didn’t need to. There was a quiet peace to her that I hadn’t seen in days. Maybe weeks. And I’d take whatever pieces of calm she could find in this place.I couldn’t sleep again. Not that I expected to.I tried. I lay there, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, listening to the sound of my breath. But every time I closed my eyes; I saw her face. Not the peaceful one from the garden—but the one from the dream. Wild. Afraid. Calling for me in the storm.So I got up, dressed in silence, and walked until my feet led me somewhere new.The eastern edge of the territory was quiet this time of night. Cold, even though spring had started to thaw the ground. The moon hung low, half-shrouded in clouds. The air smelled of frost and pine. And I walked.It wasn’t the kind of walk that had a destination. It was the kind that hel
Ronan's pov.The sky was painted in dusky gold when I stepped out onto the back terrace. The garden below glistened with dew that hadn't burned off from the morning. It had rained just before dawn, leaving everything soft and damp. The air smelled like pine and wet stone. And something sweeter—like a promise just waiting to be broken.Ivy was already there. Barefoot, in an oversized shirt that didn’t belong to her. I knew because it was mine. I’d left it in her room last night, folded neatly at the foot of her bed before I slipped out just before the servants stirred.She didn’t say anything when she saw me. Just looked. Like she was memorizing something small and quiet. Like she needed to carry it with her a little while longer.“You’re up early,” I said, softening my voice.“I didn’t sleep.” Her words were low, brushed with something heavy. Not sadness. Just tired.I moved to her side, close but not touching. Not yet.“You okay?”She hesitated. “I keep asking myself that too.”I nod
Ronan’s Pov,I stood by the window longer than I meant to. The sun was already past the ridge, bleeding color across the trees like spilled wine. Ivy’s scent still lingered on my shirt, soft and warm like wild violets crushed in the heat. I hadn’t changed. I hadn’t moved. My hand was still tingling from where she held it last night, curled beside me like something fragile and breakable.I knew I shouldn’t let it get to me.But it already had.I didn’t hear the knock until it came again, louder this time. I turned away from the window and opened the door to find Kiernan leaning in the frame like he owned it. He didn’t smile. Just looked at me, slow and quiet.“We need to talk,” he said.I stepped back and let him in.Kiernan paced once, twice, then turned on me. “What are we doing?”The question was short, blunt, sharp enough to cut bone.I didn’t answer right away. He crossed his arms, waiting.“I don’t know,” I said truthfully.“She was with you last night.”It wasn’t a question. It
Narrator's POV.The morning mist clung low to the ground, curling between the tree trunks like a secret. Ivy stood barefoot in the clearing behind the main house, the grass cold and wet under her toes. She wasn’t sure why she came out here. Maybe to breathe. Maybe to remember what it felt like to be something other than caught.She wrapped her arms around herself and stared up at the grey sky. Everything felt too quiet. As if the whole world was waiting.Behind her, she heard a step. Slow. Careful.“I thought I’d find you here.”Kiernan.She didn’t turn around. She didn’t flinch either. He always moved like a shadow—quiet but strong, like the storm inside him had learned to walk soft.“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.“Me either.”He stopped just beside her, close enough she could feel his heat, but not touching. He never touched unless she let him. That used to frustrate her. Now it felt like kindness.“What’s wrong?” he asked.She didn’t know how to answer that without giving too much a
Elias’ Pov.I haven’t seen Ivy all day.Not since that moment in the hall. When I passed Ronan and didn’t say a damn word. He didn’t either. But his silence said everything. They’re getting closer. I’m not blind.And it’s killing me.I shouldn’t care. I told myself I’d let her go if that’s what she needed. If it made her happy. But I didn’t mean it. Not really. Not when every breath feels heavier without her near. Not when I can still hear the way she said my name the night she almost kissed me.I’m losing her.I go to the training yard. I hit the dummies until my knuckles bleed. Then I shift and run. Fast. Hard. Until the trees blur and the air burns in my lungs.But I can’t outrun this.Ivy’s in my head. She’s under my skin. She’s every damn heartbeat.By the time I shift back, it’s dark. My clothes are soaked with sweat. My body aches. But it’s not enough.Nothing is.I make my way back to the house and stop at the river trail. I smell her before I see her.Ivy.She’s sitting on a
Narrator's Pov.The storm rolled in slow, creeping like a secret across the mountains. By mid-morning, the clouds had settled thick over the valley, muffling sound, muting light. Ronan stood at the edge of the training yard, the steady drizzle soaking into his cloak and boots, but he didn’t move.He was waiting.Ivy had said she wanted space. That morning, she'd left early without a word. No note. No goodbye. Just gone. It wasn't like her, not anymore. Not after last night.He had barely slept. Her warmth had lingered on his skin like a ghost. The scent of her hair still clung to his pillow. But when he opened his eyes, she was gone.Now, the absence felt louder than thunder.Footsteps behind him pulled him from his thoughts. Kiernan. Ronan didn’t have to turn to know. The younger twin’s presence always came with quiet tension, like a wire pulled too tight.“She’s at the chapel,” Kiernan said without greeting.Ronan glanced back. “Alone?”Kiernan nodded. “She wouldn’t let me stay.”Th
Ronan’s POV.I don’t dream much anymore.When I do, it’s usually of the past. Of fire. Of blood. Of the sound my father made when he told me I would never be enough.But tonight, I dream of Ivy.Not in the way I expected.She’s not smiling. Not glowing in sunlight or dancing through wildflowers. No, she’s in the middle of a storm, soaked and shaking. Her eyes are wild with something between fear and rage. And she’s calling my name, but I can’t reach her.I wake with a sharp inhale, chest tight.The room is dark. Still. Cold.I sit on the edge of my bed and drag my hands down my face. It’s been days since I got real sleep. Days since the fight between Elias and Kiernan. Since Ivy came back from the ridge with her heart caught between them.I stayed out of it.That’s what I do.The steady one. The logical one. The heir. The one who doesn’t get involved.Except I am involved.More than I want to be.More than I’m supposed to be.I see her the next morning outside the training yard. She’s