Gianna’s POV
I woke up slowly, my head pounding with a dull ache that was somewhere less than before. I winced as I shifted feeling the throb with each movement. My eyes fluttered open and I became very much aware of three enormous figures hovering over the bed I was lying in. What are these men doing here? “Easy, easy.” One of them said quickly, his deep voice soothing though gruff. “We are not going to hurt you.” I stared at them then blinked rapidly trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Three incredibly handsome identical men were standing around me, their expressions a mix of concern and something I couldn’t quite place. They are scary. They were massive, their broad shoulders and muscular frames filing the space around the bed. Each of them had the same dark hair and piercing gray eyes, a stark contrast in the dim light of the room. “Who… who are you?” I stammered, my voice shaky and barely audible. The one closest to me offered a small, reassuring smile. “We’re the Alpha Kings.” He said, his voice gentle but firm. “And we’re your mates.” I stared at him, the words not quite registering at first. Then a bitter laugh escaped my lips. Is that what they call women before they sleep with them nowadays? Because last I checked my mate has rejected me and forced me to become his plaything. Now he is allowing the alpha kings to have me so he can impress them. Something tightened in my stomach that could be anger or disgust or both. “Mates? That’s a good one. You don’t have to pretend. I know I’m just here to be your plaything during your stay. It’s fine. I’ll be used to it.” I managed to say that to them. Their faces shifted, the reassurance in their expressions becoming something more serious, almost fierce. “We’re not pretending.” The other said, his tone firm and unyielding. “You’re our mate.” “We have no reason to lie to you.” My heart clenched painfully in my chest as I remembered the earlier rejection that had torn me apart. But like they said, they have no reason to lie to me. They can force me. “That can’t be.” I whispered in a thin voice shaking my head. “My mate rejected me just a few hours ago.” “Who?” Another took a threatening step, his eyes twitching to his wolf. “Alpha Eliot.” The shock on their faces was unmistakable and they exchange dark furious glances. They are all so similar it is confusing. “Eliot rejected you?” One said, his voice was a low, dangerous growl. “He’s a fool.” “His loss. We are your second chance mates.” The other said softly, his eyes never leaving mine. “And we are not going to reject you. Ever.” I could hear the sincerity in his voice, see the resolve in his eyes, but the pain of Eliot’s rejection was still fresh, still raw. Could I trust them? Could I trust this bond after what I’d just been through? But as I looked at them, something deep inside me stirred, a faint flicker of hope, a connection I couldn’t quite explain. It was as if my heart recognized them before my mind could fully comprehend it. I took a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “Second chance…” I murmured, the words feeling foreign on my tongue. “Are you sure?” “We’re sure,” Keith said, his voice low but full of conviction. “And we’ll prove it to you.” “I’m Kane. He is Keith and that is Klaus.” Kane introduced as they both stood beside one another. I can’t tell them apart. The weight of everything hit me all at once. The rejection, the pain and confusion of being told I had a second chance at the mating bond when I thought I’d lost it forever. Tears well up in my eyes blurring my vision as emotions I’d been holding crash over me. I started sobbing. “I-I’m sorry.” I choked out between sobs, trying to pull myself together, but the tears just kept coming. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me…” “Shh, it’s okay,” Kane murmured, his voice gentle as he sat on the edge of the bed. His strong arms wrapping around me, pulling me into a comforting embrace. “We’re here now,” he said, his voice a low, soothing rumble. “You don’t have to be strong all the time. Let us help you.” Slowly, my sobs began to quiet, the torrent of emotions gradually easing as their presence soothed me. My breathing steadied, though the occasional tear still slipped down my face. Kane wiped them away, his touch so gentle it made my heart ache all over again, but this time with something softer, something almost hopeful.Gianna’s POVI lay in bed, a mysterious smile curling my lips as I traced lazy patterns over my swollen belly. Today was going to be fun. I had a wicked plan in mind and it is one that involved my mates kissing each other. Why? Because I could and because I wanted to see it. Because I was heavily pregnant and could hardly have sex these days and I needed entertainment. The massive master bedroom in our palace was built for all five of us all spacious and luxurious with an enormous bed that could fit us all. When the doors swung open and my mates strode in together their presence filling the room. I saw the instant recognition in their stormy gray eyes.They knew I was up to no good. King was the first to narrow his eyes, even the most perceptive. Keith cocked his head his lips twitching. "You look naughty as fuck right now. Someone needs to be fucked properly.” He drawled. Kane didn't say a word. He just walked straight toward me with eyes dark and kissed me like he needed me to
King’s POV The forest stretched endlessly before us with the dense canopy of trees swaying with the wind as we ran. The rhythmic pounding of our paws against the earth was the only sound between us all the steady and cool as if we could outrun everything including our past, our mistakes and the weight of our choices. The night air was cool against my fur all crisp with the scent of damp earth and pine but there was something else beneath it and something familiar and heavy. The past. It clung to us like a second skin, refusing to be left behind no matter how fast we ran. For hours we didn’t stop. None of us spoke and none of us hesitated just four wolves tearing through the undergrowth pushing forward and pushing past. It was only when the scent of humans drifted toward us (all the gasoline and the faintest trace of smoke civilization) that we knew we had reached the edge of the forest. We slowed, our breath heavy and finally came to a stop by the river. The water rushed past us
Gianna’s POVKing exhaled slowly his hands flexing at his sides as he stared out into the distance. The air was heavy with the aftermath of everything that had been said but there was something else too something restless in his stance and in the way his fingers curled and uncurled as if itching for release. “I need a run. I just… I need to clear my head.” he finally muttered and it was more to himself than to any of us.I didn’t stop him. I watched as he turned on his heel and strode out his movements sharp and deliberate. A moment later, the sound of his shift echoed through the still morning air bones snapping, fabric tearing and guttural growl ripping from his throat before he disappeared into the woods. I stood there for a moment, watching the place where he’d vanished then turned to the triplets. They all look a little bit sad and empty in their own kind of way. This night is taking so much to on them and they haven’t been able to sleep either. “I think you should go afte
King’s POVI sat in the dimly lit living room with my elbows braced against my knees while staring at the unmoving body before me. My father lay sprawled across the cold floor, his once imposing figure reduced to nothing more than a battered and bloodied mess. His face was swollen, his lip split wide open and bruises blooming across his skin like a grotesque painting. His chest rose and fell faintly but I didn’t care if he woke up. I didn’t care if he ever fucking woke up again. I had used him as a punching bag landing blow after blow until my knuckles were raw until my arms felt like dead weights until my rage had burned itself out into an exhausted numbness. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Not after everything he had taken from me. From us. A soft creak of the staircase broke the silence and I raised my head to see Gianna standing there. She hesitated for only a moment before stepping closer, her expression wavering between concern and understanding. Despite the blood
Gianna’s POVI stood in the doorway watching them. Kane, Keith and Klaus stood like statues their bodies rigid with barely restrained emotions. Their father sat before them, hollowed out and empty with the years having stripped him of the power he once used to control them. And yet despite his frailty, he still held an unbearable weight over them, one built from years of pain and resentmet and abandonment. I had never seen them like this before. Silent. Still. As if they weren’t just men but fragments of something shattered and something that had been broken for so long they no longer knew how to piece themselves back together. I stepped inside and the sound of my footsteps was deafening in the quiet. They didn’t look at me. Not at first. Their eyes were locked onto the man who had shaped their entire existence. The man who had taken everything from them. But they weren’t just three lost boys standing in front of their father anymore. They were kings. Rulers who had built their
King’s POVThe air was extremely heavy right now and super thick with something unspoked and suffocating. I could still hear their voices echoing in my head with the weight of their rage pressing against my chest like an iron fist. I could feel their disappointment their pain, their disgust. And yet as much as I wanted to let that be the end of it, I knew it wasn’t. There was more. Something bigger. Something that would change everything. And I had to be the one to say it. What he had just told them was never my fucking concern. Why he faked his death is really none of my business. The thought made my throat feel tight. My father( the man I had loathed, hunted, dreamed of killing) sat there on the floor with his body slumped and his breaths uneven. His face was bruised his lip still bleeding from the force of my fists but he didn’t look at me. He didn’t look at any of us. He was avoiding the inevitable. Like a coward. Like he had always been. I clenched my fists at my sides,