CHAPTER 7

Karla’s pov

Was he being serious? Who did he think he was to tell me what I could and couldn’t do?

I growled at him in anger and looked at his brothers. They were so much alike yet I still hated them.

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was them. The quadruplets. Axel, Alaric, Lysander, and Kai were all in my room, just sitting there like they owned the place.

To be fair they did own the place but still, I didn’t like the way they paraded themselves about like some kind of gods or something. It disgusted me.

These men had caused me enough pain and I hated them. They were just as bad as the people themselves.

They looked at me as if they’d been waiting for me to wake up for hours. Their presence immediately put me on edge, and the memories of the earlier ceremony came flooding back. I had rejected them—publicly, in front of everyone.

Thinking of it made me cringe and I could see why they could be mad at me for doing what I did. But at the same time I didn’t care.

I was putting my guard up. I wasn’t about to be sold out to these people.

I wasn’t proud of passing out afterward, but I didn’t regret what I had done. I had made it clear: I didn’t want them as my mates. They were arrogant, selfish, and cruel—especially Axel, the eldest. Just thinking about him made my blood boil.

When Axel noticed I was awake, his piercing eyes locked onto mine. His expression was cold and unreadable, but there was something smug about the way he sat, relaxed and completely at ease. He was the first to speak, his deep voice cutting through the silence like a blade.

“You can’t just reject us, Karla,” he said, leaning forward slightly.

I frowned at him, my anger bubbling to the surface. “What do you mean I can’t? I already did.”

He shrugged like my words meant nothing. “It’s not that simple. You don’t have a choice. We’re bound for life.”

Bound for life? I stared at him in disbelief. His calm, matter-of-fact tone made my frustration explode. “That’s not true!” I yelled, sitting up in bed. “I don’t care about this ‘bond’ or whatever you’re talking about. I rejected you, all of you. I don’t want this!”

“Karla,” the one called Lysander tried to talk to me but I growled at him to shut up which surprisingly worked seeing as the princes were stronger than I was.

The other three brothers exchanged glances, as if they were silently agreeing on something. Alaric sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair, his expression annoyed but not surprised. Lysander, who was the only one who seemed even slightly approachable, gave me a look of pity. Kai just smirked like he found the whole thing amusing.

“It doesn’t matter what you want,” Kai said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “The bond doesn’t care about your feelings. You’re stuck with us, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped, glaring at him.

Kai raised his hands in mock surrender, his smirk never fading. “Whatever you say.”

Axel cut in before anyone else could speak. “You’re wasting your energy fighting this, Karla. You can’t break the bond. You might as well accept it and make things easier for yourself.”

His calm, commanding tone made me want to scream. How could he sit there and act like this was normal? Like it was okay to trap someone in a bond they didn’t want?

“No,” I growled, my voice trembling with rage. “I’ll never accept this. I’ll never accept you.”

The room went quiet. The four of them exchanged another set of glances, and then they all stood up at the same time.

“Fine,” Axel said, his voice as cold as ice. “If that’s how you feel, then we’ll leave.”

The others didn’t argue. One by one, they walked out of the room, their expressions unreadable. Even Kai, who always had something smart to say, left without a word.

But Axel stayed.

He didn’t move from his chair by the window. He leaned back casually, crossing his arms over his chest, and watched me with those piercing eyes of his.

“Why are you still here?” I snapped, my voice sharp.

Axel didn’t answer right away. He sat there, staring at me like he was trying to figure something out. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“You don’t have much of a choice, Karla,” he said quietly, but there was steel in his voice. “We’re mates. The Moon Goddess chose you for us. You can fight it all you want, but it won’t change anything. The bond is there, and it’s not going away.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “You think you can just force me into this? You think I’ll just give up and accept it?”

Axel’s gaze softened slightly, but his tone remained firm. “No one’s forcing you. But the bond is stronger than either of us. You’ll feel it, just like we do. You already feel it, don’t you?”

I hated that he was right. Even now, as much as I despised them, I could feel the bond pulling at me, tying me to them in a way I couldn’t explain. It was like a constant hum in the back of my mind, a connection that refused to be ignored. But I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting that.

“I’ll fight it,” I said, my voice trembling. “I’ll fight it with everything I have.”

Axel’s lips curved into a small, humorless smile. “You can try. But the bond always wins, Karla.”

“I’m positive about my winning.”

“You passed out because you could not handle the rejection. You keep tugging at it and it will kill you.”

That shocked me.

He didn’t even wait for me as he stood up and walked to the door.

I saw him stand there for a while before walking out, closing it softly behind him.