Chapter 3

Kyle. 

The moment Jason Torres stepped out of the SUV, I knew we had a problem.

He was older than me. Twenty-two, maybe twenty-three. Confident in a way I would never be, with the easy posture of someone who had grown into his Alpha role instead of having it thrust on him. Designer clothes, expensive watch, the kind of put-together appearance that screamed established pack leader.

Everything I wasn't.

Marcus clasped his hand. "Jason. Good to see you."

"Marcus." Jason's smile was polite. "Thanks for agreeing to meet."

"Of course. This is my son, Kyle."

Jason turned to me, extended his hand. I shook it because refusing would be an insult, but my wolf bristled at the contact. Another Alpha. In our territory.

"Your father's told me a lot about you," Jason said.

I highly doubted that. Marcus barely talked to me unless it was about pack business I wanted nothing to do with.

"Jason's pack borders ours to the east," my dad explained. "Silver Fang. His father and I had... tensions. But Jason's been Alpha for two years now, and he wants to try something different."

"An alliance," Jason said. "Our packs have been rivals for three generations. I would like to change that."

"Why?" I asked.

Marcus shot me a look, but Jason just smiled. "Because rivalry is exhausting. Because my pack could benefit from Crescent Moon's resources, and yours could benefit from ours. Because I'm tired of territorial disputes when we could be working together."

It made sense. I didn't care, but it made sense.

"Kyle's not involved in pack leadership yet," Marcus said carefully. "He's still in school, still adjusting."

"I understand," Jason said. "But he's your heir. Eventually, he'll lead Crescent Moon. I wanted to meet him, see if we could build something that lasts beyond our generation."

Marcus looked pleased. I felt nothing. This was his world, not mine. I took suppressants so I could pass as human, went to human school, and worked a human job. The pack politics could stay with him.

My phone buzzed. Text from Ella: "When?"

I typed back immediately: "Now. Please."

"Kyle." Marcus's voice was sharp. "Pay attention."

I pocketed my phone. "Sorry."

Jason was watching me with interest. "Girlfriend?"

"No."

"But someone important."

I didn't answer.

Marcus cleared his throat. "Let's head inside. The Elders are waiting."

We walked toward the main building, a large lodge-style structure at the center of the territory. Pack members stopped to stare as we passed. Jason Torres’ visit was a big deal, apparently. Decades of rivalry didn't end overnight.

I felt Ella before I saw her car.

The bond yanked tight, and I spun toward the entrance road. Her beat-up Honda was pulling through the gates.

No. Not here. Not now.

"Kyle?" Marcus frowned. "What is it?"

Ella parked near the visitor area, got out of her car. She looked nervous, out of place, scanning the buildings like she wasn't sure where to go.

Jason went very still beside me.

"What is that scent?" he asked quietly.

My wolf snarled. I forced it down. "Nothing."

"That's not nothing." Jason's nostrils flared. "That's…"

He saw her then. Ella, walking toward us because she had spotted me in the crowd.

Jason's entire body language changed. His posture shifted, head tilting, eyes locked on her with an intensity that made my hands clench into fists.

"No," I said.

"Is that her?" Jason's voice was strange. Rough. "The one you were texting?"

"Back off."

But he wasn't listening. He was staring at Ella like she was the only thing in the world, and I knew that look. I'd seen it in the mirror every time I looked at her.

Marcus noticed too. "Jason?"

"I need to…" Jason took a step toward Ella.

I blocked him instantly. "Don't."

"Kyle, what…"

"I said don't."

Ella reached us, looking between me and Jason with confusion. "Kyle? What's going on?"

The moment she spoke, Jason's eyes widened. His pupils dilated, and I watched the recognition hit him like a physical blow.

"You're mine," he breathed.

"Excuse me?" Ella stepped back.

"That's impossible," Marcus said sharply. "She's already…"

"I know what I'm feeling." Jason's voice was steady, certain. "The bond. I can feel it."

My wolf was going insane. I could barely think through the rage, the need to get Ella away from him, to put myself between them, to make it clear she was mine, mine, MINE.

"This is Ella," I managed. "She's…"

"His mate," Marcus finished, shooting me a look that said we'd talk about this later. "The bond activated two days ago."

Jason shook his head slowly. "Then how am I feeling it too?"

Silence.

Ella looked at me, frightened. "Kyle, what's he talking about?"

I didn't have an answer. This wasn't possible. Mate bonds didn't work like this. One person, one mate. That was the rule.

"We need the Elders," Marcus said. "Now."

The next thirty minutes were a blur.

Marcus pulled rank, demanded that Elder Katrina and Elder Samuel assess the situation immediately. We were ushered into a private room in the main lodge; me, Ella, Jason, Marcus, and the two Elders.

Ella sat in a chair, looking small and overwhelmed. I stood behind her, close enough to touch, while Jason stayed on the opposite side of the room. The distance helped. Barely.

Elder Katrina approached Ella first. She was old with white-hair, with eyes that had seen too much. "May I?"

Ella nodded, clearly having no idea what she was agreeing to.

Katrina scented her, leaning close, breathing in her scent the way wolves did to assess bonds and claims. She circled Ella slowly, frowning.

"The primary bond is clear," Katrina said finally. "Kyle's mark is strong. Fresh. This is his true mate."

I relaxed slightly.

Then Elder Samuel approached Jason. "And you?"

"I feel the pull," Jason said. "Not as strong as it would be if she were my primary mate, but it's there. Undeniable."

Samuel scented Jason, studied him carefully. "Show me."

Jason closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were solid gold, his wolf at the surface. He turned toward Ella, and I watched the bond pull him. Physically pull him, like a rope tied around his chest.

"Stop," I growled.

Samuel held up a hand. "Enough, Jason."

Jason blinked, and his eyes returned to normal. He looked shaken.

The Elders exchanged glances.

"The Triad Bond," Katrina said quietly.

"What?" Marcus stood abruptly. "That's a myth."

"Myths exist for a reason." Samuel turned to face us all. "The Triad Bond occurs perhaps once every few centuries. One individual bonded to two Alphas… one primary, one secondary."

Ella's voice was small. "Two mates?"

"In essence, yes." Katrina's expression was gentle. "Kyle is your primary mate. The bond is strongest with him. Jason is secondary, a true bond, but lesser impact."

"This is insane," Ella whispered.

"It's rare," Samuel agreed. "But not unprecedented. Historically, such bonds existed to unite powerful bloodlines. To create alliances between packs."

"She's human," I said. "How is she supposed to unite anything?"

"That remains to be seen." Katrina looked at Ella thoughtfully. "But the bonds don't lie. Both are real."

Jason spoke up. "So what happens now?"

"She chooses," Samuel said simply. "One mate, both mates, or neither."

"And if she chooses neither?" Marcus asked.

"Rejection causes severe pain for all parties involved. Sometimes death."

Ella stood up shakily. "I need air."

She walked out before anyone could stop her.

I followed immediately, leaving the others behind. Found her outside, leaning against the building, breathing hard.

"Ella…"

"Two mates." She laughed, but it sounded broken. "I have two werewolf mates. And one is about to be my stepbrother, and the other is a complete stranger."

"I'm going to fix this."

"How?" She turned to face me, and I saw tears in her eyes. "How do you fix this, Kyle?"

I didn't know. I pulled her into my arms before I could stop myself, and she collapsed against my chest. The bond sang with the contact, warm and right and perfect.

Behind us, I heard Jason exit the building.

"She needs time," he said quietly.

I held Ella tighter. "Stay away from her."

"I can't. Any more than you can." Jason's voice wasn't challenging. Just honest. "The bond won't let me."

Ella pulled back, looked between us. "I can't do this. I can't choose between people I don't even know."

"You have four weeks," Jason said. "Until the full moon. The Elders said the bond will stabilize by then, one way or another."

"And what am I supposed to do for four weeks?"

"Get to know us," Jason offered. "Both of us. Make an informed choice."

"I don't want either of you," Ella said, but her hand was fisted in my shirt, holding on.

The bond called her a liar.