CHAPTER 2

KEITH’S POV

“Do you think our mate hates us?” Kain said in a disheartened voice as he slumped onto the couch. “Why did she run away like that?”

Kramen reached over and patted his back. “It is impossible for any girl to hate my cute, Kain.” His intense shifted to me. “Our mighty, ferocious brother must have scared her off.”

“Brother, Keith; you should have listened to us and stayed behind. We would have brought her over after she was com….”

My temper flared, filling me with the urge to destroy something. A ferocious growl rumbled through my gritted teeth. “Who do you think you are?” I grabbed Kain by his throat, “How dare you tell me to stay away from our mate!”

“This is the very reason we didn’t want you to….” Before Kramen could finish his sentence, I shot out my free arm and grabbed him by the collar of his neck. The muscles of my arms bulged with strain as I held both of my brothers in a death grip.

“Keith…. What are you doing?” Kramen stuttered, struggling to free himself. This prompted me to increase my grip further.

The color drained from their faces, and a hint of fear flashed in their eyes. A tinge of guilt crept my heart seeing their terrified expressions. But it was already too late.

I didn’t have it in me to admit that I was wrong. So, I continued to threaten them. “I should just rip both of your heads off. That will easily put an end to the contest we have amongst…”

“Enough!” Father’s stern voice sounded behind me. My grip on their throats loosened. Taking advantage of this, Keith and Kramen freed themselves. They rushed towards our father and hid behind him.

“Dad, did you see that? He is bullying us again…” Kain said, putting on a pitiful expression. He looked so adorable that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from smiling.

“Keith, Kramen, Kain, come and sit with me.” My father’s voice held an icy edge. “You can continue with your banter later.”

“What happened, Dad?” Kain asked, following close behind him. “Is something wrong?”

“Kain?” My father let out an exhausted sigh. “Don’t you really know what is eating me?”

“I know Dad,” Kain’s eyes teared up. “I know everything, but I don’t want to spend the last few hours of my life mopping about it.”

He walked over to me and held my hand. “Brother, please, let me drive your sports car once. I really want to do that before….”

“If you don’t stop spewing nonsense,” I shrugged, free from his grip. “I will kill you even before you even get to meet her.”

“Dad, will we really die once she rejects us? I mean is there must be some loop hone; some solution.”

“I don’t think there is a way to break this curse, son.” My father’s shoulders slumped and he let out a disheartened sigh. “Right from the day you were born, I have been looking for a way to save all of you… But….”

“Hey Dad, please don’t be sad,” Kain walked over and sat beside him again; lacing his arm through my father’s. “I am really lucky to have been born into such a loving family. Even if I am to die, I won’t regret it.”

“Kain is right, Dad. We are lucky to have you as our father.” Kramen walked over and sat on my father’s other side.

My gaze drifted from Kain to Kramen. How could they be so calm in the face of death?

My fingers clenched into tight fists, and I swallowed. Everything was so beyond twisted. If she rejected me, The Moonmist Pack would lose a capable leader. If she rejected both my brothers, the guilt of being the sole survivor would rip me from the inside.

‘There seems to be no solution at all….’ My wolf, Jake’s distressed voice, seeped into my thoughts. ‘I have been thinking and thinking. No matter what choice she makes, our pack, our family, is doomed.’

“I don’t remember bringing up my sons to be selfish pricks,” my mother, Gabriel’s voice, sounded as she walked inside. “All of you men; you are the same. Did any one of you think about that poor girl?”

Placing her hands on her hips, she looked around, meeting our eyes one by one. “The moment you were born, your fate was set in stone. You have been preparing for this moment your entire life. But, that girl; she just found out that she is responsible for lives and deaths of three men who are her mates.”

Staggering slightly, I gripped the headrest of the sofa. I would have thought about her if I weren’t so worried about my brothers. A few sentences from her and my beautiful family would crumble.

My brothers seemed to think differently. The moment, mom spoke about her, they grew worried.

“Our mate is very young.” Kramen said, running his fingers through his hair. “She probably had just shifted for the first time.”

“She must have gotten the shock of her life.” Mom said, massaging her forehead. “The burden of being cursed with three mates right after the first shift can be pretty traumatising.”

Kain looked at Mom with a desperate expression. “What should we do, mom? How can we make this easy for her?”

“Nothing can make this easy for her, son. But you can start by talking to her. Discuss everything openly and honestly.”

“Your mom is right.” My father turned to me and commanded, “Track her down the first thing tomorrow morning and take your brothers to meet her.”

He patted my back as he walked past me; his gaze meeting mine momentarily. The conversation we had about a year ago flashed in my mind.

“Keith, I know this might sound unfair to you, but you have to try your best to win your mate’s heart when you find her. If only one of my sons can stay alive, I would rather it is you…”

My mind blanked out as I watched my father walk out of the room with mom. How desperate, how hopeless he must have been to say something so ominous.

‘Don’t tell me you are considering his instructions.’ Jake’s anxiousness flowed into my head through his words.

‘There is nothing to consider, Jake. I will never do that to my brothers.’

‘Hush! That is a relief. For a moment, I was afraid that you would be taken up by father’s ideology that everything was for the greater good.’

Jake’s apprehensive thoughts made me feel antsy. So, I blocked him out of my mind. If I wanted to keep at least one of my brothers alive; I needed to be in the right state of mind.

***

The next morning, we drove to a small cottage located at the rear edge of the reserve. It seemed well maintained and secure, despite being in a remote location. Jake grunted his approval.

“Do you think it is okay for us to just pop in here?” Kramen asked as we walked towards the door. “Shouldn’t we have called or something?”

“Kramen is right, brother. What if our mate gets startled and runs again?”

With a sigh, I reached over and rang the doorbell. It was better to get this thing over with as soon as possible.

The door opened, and a middle-aged woman appeared. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion when she saw us. “You are?”

Bowing from my waist, I introduced myself. “I am Keith Rivers; Alpha Ashton’s eldest son.” I waved towards Kain and kramen, “They are my younger brothers.”

The frown on her forehead deepened, “I don’t want to sound rude or anything, but I have to ask why you are here.”

Drawing in a deep breath, I stated simply, “We are here to meet our mate….”

Her jaws hung open, and she shook her head, “We as in…. “

“We are triplets, Mrs Spencer.”

The color drained from her face, and she swooned. If I hadn’t rushed over, she would have dropped to the floor. Covering her mouth, she shook her head vehemently, “No wonder she left in such a hurry…. My poor baby….”

“Left? Where did Melinda go?”

“I don’t know… Keith… I really don’t know. When I returned from Madrid, I found a note saying that she was leaving.”

My mind blanked out as her words rang in my ears. We should have tracked her down the previous night and met up with her.

“Can we see the note?” Kramen asked, his gaze sweeping across the hall.

“It is in her bedroom.”

The moment these words left her lips, Kramen ran inside without waiting to ask for permission.

“I… I will go and help him,” Kain stated; following him before I could respond.

My lips pressed into a thin line, and I shook my head. It was impossible to get my brothers to behave rationally whenever our mate was concerned.

I led Mrs. Spencer to the sofa and helped her sit down. Pouring her a glass of water, I asked, “Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

There was a long spell of silence as she sipped her water slowly. When she finally raised her face to look at me, there were tears in her eyes. “As her mother, can I request something?”

“Of course, Mrs. Spencer. As long as it is in my power, I will surely grant it.”

“I know I have no right to ask this of you, but can you leave her alone for a few days? She is just a little girl, Keith….. She needs time to wrap her head around the idea that she has three mates.”

It was beyond me to promise something like that. So, I gave her a vague answer, “I will see what I can do.”

The little hope in her eyes died out, but she didn’t argue. She sat there like a statue, tracing her fingertips along the rim of the glass.

A few moments later, Kain returned with the note. Snatching it out of his hand, I read it aloud, “I know I am being a coward, but I have no other choice, mom. I have to run and hide. Please don’t look for me or worry about me. I will stay safe, I promise.

--- Your daughter who can never make you proud.”

There was something about the note that tugged at the strings of my heart. The few words scrawled on the paper seemed to convey a sense of restless desperation. She might have run away, but I had a feeling that she was a good person.

“Are we really not going to search for Melinda?” Kramen asked as we got back into the car. “I don’t think I can just sit around and wait, brother.”

“Kramen is right. We should at least find out where she is; make sure she is safe.”

“Let us look for her, but we have to be discreet about this.” Pausing for a moment, I added in a lower voice, “I don’t want to scare her off again.”