Chapter 3

I slowly regained consciousness with a heavy pain in my chest, the pain unbearable. With a wince, I struggled to open my eyes but couldn’t.

“Where am I?”

The beeping sound of a hospital monitor filled my senses. I felt my wolf stirring within me as if trying to tell me something.

After trying hard to regain full consciousness, I finally did, my eyes snapping open with a gasp.

The first thing I noticed was the high ceiling above me. My vision was blurry, but it soon cleared as I grumbled weakly, “I didn’t do it…” At that moment, I hadn’t fully regained myself, so my words came out without control. “I didn’t do it…” I repeated, feeling the pain in my chest increase.

Then my memories came flooding back—the betrayal—my death! How could they have done this to me?

“You’re awake,” a voice said, shocking me. I turned my eyes toward the sound and saw a man sitting there, a magazine in his hand as he flipped through it.

He was dressed in a suit, but I couldn’t see his face clearly.

My heart leaped into my throat upon seeing them.

Another man sat nearby, wearing a cold expression as he stared at me.

The one staring coldly at me had black hair brushing gently against his face, his silvery eyes that complemented his perfect features boring into mine.

I gulped just by looking at him. They both exuded an air of danger that sent chills down my spine.

My wolf stirred within me at the eye contact we made. Whether it was the fact that he looked gorgeous or the fact that he resembled a predator eyeing its prey, something about him stirred things within me.

The other man closed the magazine in his hands, and he looked similar to the one staring coldly at me. His hair was golden brown, complemented by his beautiful blue eyes.

He had a calmer aura surrounding him. His features were also perfectly arranged on his face, from his eyes to his nose and lips.

They were both a sight to behold—it was obvious the gods had taken their time creating something as beautiful as them.

Were they even real, or had I lost my life and now I was in heaven being watched over by angels? I opened my mouth to speak, but the pain I felt was intense.

My wolf wouldn’t stop stirring within me, adding to my discomfort. I wondered what was happening. Why was she reacting to these two? Just then, my wolf whispered something that shocked me beyond words: “Mate…”

I looked at them in shock, wondering how that was even possible. How could one of these guys be my mate? I had a mate, but he had brutally betrayed me. I had heard of second-chance mates, but that was a miracle—it barely happened to anyone.

Was the Moon Goddess mocking me by giving me a second-chance mate? Was she mocking my suffering and the betrayal I had gone through?

“How can one of them be my mate?” I asked my wolf through our mind link, feeling very confused. There was silence for a while before she finally revealed something, dropping a bombshell on me: “One of them isn’t your mate…” She paused before adding, “Both brothers are…”

I was shocked beyond words by what she said. What did she mean, both of them? How was that even possible?

“Who are you guys?” I asked the pressing question. They looked at me for a while, not saying a word, forcing me to ask, “How are both of you my mates? That doesn’t make any sense.” I groaned in pain, trying to soothe my growing headache.

I didn’t miss the low growl that escaped one of the brothers.

“I’m Vaeric Voss, and this is…” the one with the golden brown hair introduced, glancing at his brother before adding, “Kaedrin Voss.”

“Vaeric and Kaedrin Voss…” Where had I heard those names before?

I sat up straight, and that was when I noticed—my bump.

It was gone. I placed my hand on my stomach as I looked at them, then back at my stomach. My eyes glistened with tears.

“My baby, where is he?” I asked, panic setting in. No, there was no way I had lost my baby.

“Where the fuck is my baby?” I asked, my hands shaking as I pulled away the hospital sheet, ready to stand up. But Kaedrin finally spoke, his voice powerful.

“Your babies are fine, and you will see them soon.”

I froze at his words.

“Babies?” I asked, but they didn’t say a word. I held my head, feeling a growing headache, and just then someone entered the room. Upon seeing the two men seated opposite me, the person bowed and said,

“The doctors said we can see them now.” They looked at me, then back at him, dismissing him. Vaeric then rose to his feet, walked toward a wheelchair, and wheeled it to me.

“The Moon Goddess really works in mysterious ways. One moment she tells us we are not destined to have a mate, and now she sends one,” he said, his eyes traveling up and down my frame before adding, “a very interesting one at that…”

“My baby. Take me to see my baby, I need to see my baby,” I said, panicking and trying to control my heartbeat. Kaedrin looked at me before standing up. Just then, he walked toward me, making me panic.

What was his plan? Before I knew what was happening, he leaned down, his face close to mine, making me gulp as I took in his features more closely.

I couldn’t help but wonder how someone could look this good. His silver eyes bored into mine, his scent filling my senses. It was so intoxicating, and having him this close sent my wolf spiraling.

Without giving me time to speak, he scooped me into his arms, cradling me gently. I couldn’t help but stare at him as he slowly placed me into the wheelchair.

Vaeric then went behind and started pushing me out of the room. He wheeled me for a while until we finally arrived at the place where my baby or babies were.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I stared through the transparent glass. I placed my hands on the glass, seeing them in an incubator, looking weak and unhealthy.

“They are all mine?” I asked. A doctor standing nearby said, “All three of them are. They were born almost three months before their due date due to the stress you endured.”

“You are lucky the Lycan kings were here to help; things could have turned out very badly.” At the mention of those names, my ears perked up as I turned to look at them. No wonder their names sounded so familiar.

They were the rumored ruthless and dangerous Lycan Kings of the south who had unleashed a bloodbath in the supernatural underworld, wiping out entire packs and rogue clans in a couple of minutes.

“How are they my mates?”

“What joke is this?”

“How did they even save me?”

*Was it one of them who grabbed my hand, preventing me from sinking to the bottom of the river?*

The doctor didn’t stop there and continued, “Because your babies were born too early, they are having trouble breathing and are on machines to help them. Unfortunately, this means they are at high risk of not surviving.”

At that moment, I nearly fell out of my wheelchair, my heart breaking into pieces.

What had I done to deserve such a horrible fate? Couldn’t they just take my life and let them live? Why did this have to happen to me?

“We are doing everything we can, but the next 48 hours will be critical in determining their chances of survival,” the doctor added.

“For the sake of your life, nothing must happen to them!”

I immediately started sobbing, unable to withstand the pain I was feeling.

“Yes…,” the doctor stuttered before walking away.

At that moment, I wanted to kill Vaelor and Sylvara.

I wanted to make them fight for their lives like my babies were. I wanted to do everything I could to make them pay, to make them suffer beyond words. I wanted to punish them.

“Who did this?” I heard Vaeric’s voice.

“You should have let me go after them!”

“If the Moon Goddess is finally going to give us a mate, the best we can do is make whoever caused her pain live a life filled with torment,” Kaedrin added. I sniffed back my tears, lifting my head to look at my babies through the glass again, right before Kaedrin added, “Who did this, and tell us what you want.”

My fists clenched as I remembered the sound of guns laced with wolfsbane being fired at me.

The smile on Vaelor’s face as he watched me fall off the cliff. The way Sylvara betrayed me beyond words, lying about me in front of everyone. They had not only endangered my life but now the lives of my babies. I couldn’t forgive them for that.

They had to pay.

“I want to see them suffer for what they did to my babies,” I said, clenching my fists. “I want to watch them burn, watch them beg and fight for their lives just like my babies are doing right now.” I paused, taking a deep breath before adding,

“I want revenge.”