Chapter Three: The One That Got Away

XERXES

I shifted in my seat, suppressing a groan as my fingers drummed against the polished arm of the chair. Gold embroidery gleamed on the sleeves of my ceremonial jacket, catching the dim candlelight, while the heavy, royal-blue fabric weighed on my shoulders like a boulder. This suit was made to command attention, crafted from the finest velvet and adorned with intricate golden designs that reflected my family’s standing. But right now, it felt like a straitjacket. 

This entire night, I thought, a straitjacket of tradition, pointless rituals, and pompous speeches. I glanced to either side, where my brothers—Nasir and Liam—sat as rigid as I did, dressed in similar finery. We looked like gods, just as our parents insisted. As the eldest of the triplets, I, Xerxes, had been groomed my entire life to lead, to stand tall, and rule. Yet the prospect was hollow, unappealing, like eating dust. 

It wasn’t just the suffocating expectations. The real irritant, the one that had my wolf. Daemon, pacing in restless frustration, was the very reason for this ceremony. To the pack, tonight symbolized the future. The Alphas would soon be sown in and with that the announcement of our mates and the alliances these unions would secure. But all I could think was how every piece of this was a farce. 

I barely stopped myself from sneering as I caught sight of the source of my distaste: Amara, one of the Silvershade’s sisters, and—unfortunately—my so-called “girlfriend.” She sat with her sisters, Maia and Selene, the three of them practically glowing as they waited, flashing triumphant smiles at every glance cast their way. They’d ingratiate themselves with our family from the moment they’d learned to walk, sticking to us like flies, pulling every trick in the book to ensure they would one day be our chosen mates. Somehow, they’d even won over my mother, who adored them like they were her own daughters. 

My lip curled in disdain. It was sickening how easily they fooled everyone with their perfect grind and shallow charms. Amara, with her cold, calculating gaze, was hardly the sort of mate Daemon or I wanted. Our pack had three Alphas, and the idea of each of us bound to one of these “perfect” sisters…it felt more like a prison sentence than a blessing. 

“Shoulders back, chin up,” my father’s voice echoed in my memory, the words drilled into me over years of training. I obeyed out of habit, letting my features settle into the blank mask expected of me.

But it was then, in that moment of forced silence, that I caught a flash of something familiar at the back of the hall—a slender figure slipping through the side entrance, her face shadowed but unmistakable. Trinity. She’d been gone for years, banished from pack life after one too many harsh judgments and cold stares. 

I held back a frown, my heart giving an unexpected stutter as I took in her blonde, flowing hair, the way she held herself, trying to go unnoticed yet unable to mask her quiet strength. I’d thought about her often since she left—more often than I’d ever admit. Daemon stirred within me, his presence prickling against my skin as he watched her as intently as I did.

It was ironic, really. We’d bullied her, taunted her mercilessly, my brothers and I. Yet even back then, there was something about her that lingered in my mind long after the laughter had faded. She was a part of me I’d buried, a girl who belonged more to my past than to my present. Or so I thought. 

Amara’s high-pitched laugh snapped me back to reality, and I clenched my jaw, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. How could anyone believe I’d ever want to tie myself to someone like Amara, someone who only saw power and status? Everything about her repulsed me. 

That was when it happened.

A scent drifted through the hall, so faint at first that I barely noticed it. But within seconds, it wrapped around me, thick and intoxicating, sweet with an edge of something wild and sharp. It was honey and cedar, with a hint of winter’s chill. My entire body went rigid as the scent filled my senses, stronger and richer with each breath. I didn’t just smell it; I felt it, like a warm pulse beneath my skin, thrumming in time with my heartbeat. 

Mate. The word echoed in my mind, whispered by Daemon with a fierceness that caught me off guard. He surged forward, pressing against the confines of my control, his need and excitement spilling over into my own. My brothers must have noticed too, because both Nasir and Liam were suddenly alert, their heads turning as they, too, sniffed the air. 

No…. Impossible.

All three of us, drawn by the same scent? Daemon let out a growl of desire, his focus honed in on the figure at the back of the hall. I followed his gaze, heart pounding as I realized who it was, and the realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. 

Trinity. 

The sweet scent was hers.

In unison, my brothers and I rose from our seats, each of us mesmerized, drawn to the scent and the girl who carried it. The room had gone deathly silent, every head turned in our direction as we moved, a ripple of whispers filling the space. Yet I barely registered the stares, my entire world narrowing to the girl at the back of the hall, the girl whose scent stirred something deep and primal within me.

But before we could reach her, her eyes widened in fear. She took a step back, hesitating for the briefest of moments, and then she bolted, disappearing through the doorway in a blur.

My heart leaped into my throat. Without a second thought, Daemon tore through the barriers I’d carefully constructed over years of training, and in a heartbeat, I shifted, bones twisting and reforming as my vision sharpened, my senses expanding. Fur sprouted along my skin as I dropped to all fours, Daemon’s joy and exhilaration flooding me as he took full control.

We weren’t alone. Nasir and Liam had shifted too, their wolves, Kaden and Lykos, close behind, each of us in pursuit. I could feel their frustration mingling with my own, but Daemon’s only focus was on Trinity. 

She ran, her footsteps echoing through the corridors as she darted down hallways and tore through open doors. But her scent lingered, guiding us like a beacon, pulling us closer. Daemon's muscles bunched and stretched, his paws pounding against the polished floors as he closed the distance. My brothers and I moved in sync, our wolves united in purpose. 

“Faster. She’s getting away,” Daemon snarled in my mind, pushing harder, his speed unmatched, his strength a force of nature as he drove us forward.

Finally, I caught a glimpse of her, just as she rounded a corner and headed into the open night. The moonlight bathed her in silver as she ran across the grounds, her hair streaming behind her, her breaths ragged and desperate. She glanced back, her eyes meeting mine for a split second, a flash of fear and… something else. 

Daemon howled, a deep, resonant sound that echoed across the grounds, filled with both longing and triumph. He could feel her fear, but he could also sense the connection, the bond that pulsed between us. She was ours, meant for us in a way no one else could be.

But before we could close the gap, she stumbled, veering into the dense forest bordering the pack’s territory. My brothers and I followed, each of us weaving between the trees, our senses heightened, every movement calculated as we pursued her deeper and deeper into the shadows. 

And just as if she got to run again, she fell to the ground on the open clearing close to the lake. Her face covered in between her legs, her body shivering with fear and maybe cold. The scent grew stronger with each step we took towards her and with each step came the reality of our life now; Our Mate. 

My heart pounded, my chest heaving as I fought to regain control, forcing Daemon back into the recesses of my mind. The shift was agonizing, the sensation of her fidgeting form even more so. My brothers appeared beside me, their expressions mirroring my own disbelief. 

Trinity Ender was our Mate.