3

INKA’S POV

“Even though I acknowledge our mate bond, I can’t sacrifice the people around me to accept the curse that Inka has carried since birth,” Derek continued.

“So here, I’m going to make everything clear.”

“I, Derek Castellano, son of Beta Gregory Castellano, officially reject you, Inka Ravencrest, as my mate. This bond will be severed forever and can never be reconnected.”

For a moment, no one moved. Then someone in the back row started clapping, , mocking. Another person joined in, jeering. Then another. The applause rippled until the entire arena erupted in cruel delight. Sticks banged against the boards. Skates scraped the ice in approval.

Someone shouted, "About time!" and vicious laughter tore through the crowd.

As for me, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but feel the agony of Derek’s rejection tearing me apart. My hand clutched my chest, trying to hold together the pieces of something that was already broken.

But then something else happened at the same time.

Through the haze of pain, I felt it. A pull. No—three pulls. Snapping into place with such force that I gasped aloud.

New bonds. Fresh, powerful, overwhelming.

My eyes flew open in shock. What was happening?

The pain from Derek’s rejection was still there, but it was being drowned out by these new sensations. Three distinct threads weaving themselves into my soul, anchoring themselves deep inside me.

I staggered, grabbing the bench in front of me for support. Cessy turned to look at me, her expression triumphant as she stood to make her way down to the ice.

But I barely noticed her. I was too busy trying to understand what I was feeling.

Three bonds. Three connections. Three...mates?

No. That was impossible. Derek had been my mate, and he’d just rejected me. You only got one mate. Everyone knew that.

Except...

My gaze dropped to the ice, searching without meaning to. And there they were.

The Blackwood triplets.

All three of them were staggering like they’d been hit by the same invisible force. Hunter grabbed the boards for support. Meanwhile, Seth’s hockey stick clattered to the ice, his hand flying to his chest. Zane stood frozen, his eyes wide with shock.

And then, one by one, their heads turned.

All three of them looked up right at me.

The moment our eyes met, the bonds flared brighter, stronger, undeniable.

NO.

This couldn’t be happening. Not them. Anyone but them.

The three alphas who thought I was criminal scum. Who avoided me like I carried a disease. Who’d stood by and watched while I cleaned up food in the cafeteria and done nothing.

Hunter’s amber eyes locked onto mine across the distance, and I saw the exact moment he realized what had happened. Shock. Confusion. And something that looked horribly like horror.

Seth’s expression twisted with disbelief and what might have been anger. Like this was the worst possible thing that could have happened to him.

Zane just stared at me, his mouth slightly open, looking absolutely devastated.

They felt it too. I could see it in their faces, in their body language, in the way they were all looking at me like I was the answer to a question they’d never wanted to ask.

They didn’t want this. They didn’t want me. Of course.

The thought hit harder than Derek’s rejection somehow. Because at least Derek had pretended for a little while. At least he’d acted like he wanted me before ripping it all away.

But the triplets? They were looking at me like I was their nightmare come to life.

“Instead,” Derek’s voice cut through my spiral of panic, “I choose Cessy McKennel as my chosen mate.”

Cessy squealed and jumped over the barrier, landing on the ice with practiced grace. She threw herself into Derek’s arms, and they started kissing for the cameras. Practically they ate each other face.

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

But I wasn’t watching them anymore. I was staring at the three alphas who were now staring back at me with identical expressions of shock and dismay.

My new mates.

The boys who hated me.

And now we were bound together forever.

The irony was so cruel I would have laughed if I wasn’t on the verge of breaking down completely.

Around me, the whispers started up again, louder this time.

“Did you see that?”

“The Blackwood triplets—“

“They felt something—“

“No way—“

“The cursed girl can’t be their—“

Hunter moved first. He skated toward center ice with determined strides, his brothers flanking him immediately. They moved like a unit, like they’d already made some unspoken decision.

But they weren’t looking at me anymore. They were looking at Derek.

And the expression on Hunter’s face was murderous.

“Castellano,” Hunter’s voice rang out across the rink, cold and sharp as ice. “We need to talk.”

Derek pulled away from Cessy, his smile faltering slightly when he saw the three alphas bearing down on him. “About what?”

“About what you just did,” Seth snarled, his hands clenching into fists.

“I rejected my mate. It’s my right—“

“By publicly humiliating her?” Zane’s voice was quiet, but it carried. And there was something dangerous in his usually gentle tone.

I didn’t understand. Why did they care? They hated me. They’d made that perfectly clear for months.

Unless...

Unless they were angry that they were now bound to me. The girl they’d been so careful to avoid. The bad association their father had warned them about.

Of course. They weren’t defending me. They were angry that Derek’s rejection had triggered their own bonds with me.

They were angry that they were stuck with me.

The crowd was getting restless. People were starting to notice the tension on the ice. The Blackwood triplets facing off against Derek, who was supposed to be celebrating his new chosen mate.

“This is none of your business, Blackwood,” Derek said, his smile turning sharp. “Unless you’re volunteering to take the cursed girl off my hands? Though I can’t imagine why you would.”

Seth moved so fast I almost missed it. One second he was standing there, the next his fist connected with Derek’s jaw.

The arena exploded.

Whistles blew. Coaches rushed onto the ice. Players from both teams swarmed in to break up the fight.

But I couldn’t watch anymore.

I couldn’t process what was happening.

Three new mate bonds. With the three alphas who despised me most.

Derek’s public rejection and humiliation.

And now a fight breaking out on the ice.

All because of me. The cursed girl. The bad luck that followed wherever I went.

I had to get out of here.

I pushed past Cessy’s empty seat and stumbled down the bleachers. My legs were shaking so badly I could barely walk, but I had to move. Had to run.

Had to get away before I completely fell apart in front of everyone.

“Inka!” I heard someone call behind me, but I didn’t stop.

I ran.