Chapter 5

Lena's (Bell's Kessie’s) POV

The Club Den, Moonveil

The club was louder than usual.

The lights spun too fast, the music pounded too hard, and the air felt thicker like the space between worlds had thinned just enough for something to break through.

I stood at the edge of the upper gallery, heart pounding beneath layers of glitter and lace. Beside me, Ivy, stripper name Honey twirled her hair and scanned the floor.

“Tell me you see him,” she whispered.

I didn’t respond. I didn’t have to.

I felt him. Arlo.

My wolf, Nyra, growled behind my ribs. "He’s close. And he’s angry."

The pull in my stomach was unbearable. Like a cord tugging me toward fire. I didn’t want to look but I did.

There he was.

Arlo Arithon. In a black suit that fit him like armor, tall and brutal with eyes that could slice open a soul. His jaw was tight, and his expression unreadable but his wolf was screaming underneath his skin.

He saw me.

And something in the world shifted.

Ivy squealed beside me. “Oh my goddess...Briar’s here too. Come with me!”

“Ivy—”

“I need backup!” she hissed. “Please?”

I nodded. I couldn’t let her walk down into this chaos alone. Not when every instinct inside me said something terrible was about to happen.

We made our way down the stairs and onto the floor, weaving through tipsy men and girls with barely-there costumes. The smell of alcohol and lust burned my nose but underneath it all, two scents clawed at me like wolves in heat.

One was Arlo. Dominant. Bitter spice. Danger.

The other... unfamiliar. Cold magic. Nightshade and ashes.

Ivy beamed as we approached the table. “Hi again,” she breathed at Briar, who stood with a grin.

Arlo didn’t move, he didn’t speak. He just stared at me, his eyes devouring every inch of my body like I was prey.

He looked like sin made flesh...dark, furious, beautiful.

“You’re late,” he said softly, voice like velvet over blades.

“I don’t answer to you,” I replied, crossing my arms.

His lips twitched into something between a smirk and a warning. “Yet.”

Ivy giggled, completely unaware of the war bubbling beneath the surface. “Briar, this is my best friend. Bells, this is—”

“Don’t,” I said quickly. “Stage names only.”

I met Arlo’s eyes again.

A thousand unspoken things passed between us. My fingers brushed the wine glass he pushed toward me. It burned like silver.

Then... everything froze. The music faltered. The air changed.

One by one, the humans around us slumped in their seats. Eyes closed. Heads drooping. Even Ivy fell forward into Briar’s arms with a soft sigh.

“What the hell,” I whispered.

My blood turned to ice.

Nyra howled in my chest. Witchcraft. Powerful.

Then I felt it, A pulse. A shadow. A whisper in my bones From the far end of the club, a figure stepped into the light.

Tall. Handsome and Smiling. Beautiful in the way vipers are beautiful.

I gasped. “No,” I breathed. “It can’t be.”

He moved toward me slowly, like a man walking toward fate.

“I finally found you,” he said.

Arlo growled behind me. Low. Deadly.

“Who the fuck are you?” he snarled.

Tobren’s gaze flicked over him, amused. “Tobren Vale. Not who. What. I’m her mate.”

Arlo went still. Dead still. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not,” Tobren said smoothly, eyes locked on mine. “She knows it.”

“Don’t,” I whispered. “Don’t call me that.”

Tobren stepped closer. “Lena, It’s your name, isn’t it, Lena Remms?”

My knees weakened. Nyra whimpered.

“How?” Arlo barked. “How do you know her name?”

Tobren smirked. “Because fate tied us long ago. She’s mine by blood and bond. The first.”

Arlo moved between us like a shield, his chest rising and falling.

“I’m Arlo Arithon,” he growled. “Alpha of Arithon Pack. Her second chance mate.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. My heart shattered in confusion.

“No,” I whispered. “That’s not possible…”

“Two mates?” Tobren snapped, his eyes glowing. “She doesn’t get two.”

“You’re not the one who decides that,” Arlo snapped back. “And if you think I’m stepping aside—”

“I’ll kill you before I let you have her,” Tobren hissed.

Their wolves rose beneath their skin, golden and green flashes dancing in their irises. The floor vibrated beneath my heels as their energies collided.

Briar stepped forward, eyes locked on Tobren, muscles tensed and ready to shift.

“Alpha,” he muttered to Arlo, “say the word.”

Arlo didn’t even blink. “Not yet.”

“You don’t know who I am,” Tobren said.

“No,” Arlo spat, “but I know exactly what you smell like—witch-tainted.”

Tobren snarled. “I’m a Vale. My wolf comes from bloodlines cursed and reborn. I was raised in shadow to rule. And she—” he pointed at me “she is the key.”

Arlo’s jaw flexed. “Key to what? You’re not touching her.”

“She’s not yours! She's only yours when I'm rejected, or dead,"

“She’s not yours either,” I cut in, voice sharp and shaking. “Both of you—stop.”

Tobren turned to me, gaze softening. “Lena, you don’t understand. You’re rare. Your blood, your bond. Your Omega energy can shift Council power—”

“I’m not a weapon,” I spat. “And I’m not yours.”

“You hid from me,” Tobren said quietly. “You masked your scent. You lived like a stray Omega when you were bred for more. Why?”

“Because I had to survive!” I shouted. “No one was coming to save me. Not even you.”

He flinched, Arlo’s hand curled into a fist beside me.

Nyra screamed inside me. "Tobren is dangerous. His wolf is corrupted. He’s from the Vale line, the witch-cursed blood."

Tobren chuckled. “So it’s true. Fate gave you a second mate. I always wondered if she would. Still... to find you like this? In a place like this? Dancing for strangers like a whore?”

The word slapped me harder than any strike.

Arlo growled, fists clenched. “You don’t talk to her like that.”

“She’s mine,” Tobren snarled. “First, before you. Before anyone.”

“No,” I said, my voice rising. “I’m no one’s property.”

“But the bond—” Tobren began.

“The bond doesn’t mean ownership,” I snapped.

Tobren’s wolf surged to the surface. His body tensed, veins darkening beneath his skin.

"Go away, now!" Arlo growled in anger, his eyes now turning dark plus angry red.

“You’re no better,” Tobren snarled. “You came here to claim her with your cock and title.”

“And you came with witchcraft and threats,” Arlo fired back.

I couldn’t take it. I stepped between them, my hands raised.

“I’m done,” I said, voice ringing. “Done with all of this.”

Both wolves went still, My heart pounded.

“I, Lena Remms, Omega of Moonridge,” I said clearly, “reject Tobren Vale and Arlo Arithon as my first and second chance mates, in full blood and freedom title.”

The air rippled. Magic hummed but nothing snapped, No pain. No burn. No broken bond.

I blinked. Nyra growled. "Something’s wrong."

Tobren tilted his head. “Nice try,” he said softly. “But that’s not your name anymore, is it?”

My stomach dropped.

Arlo’s eyes narrowed. “You used an alias,” he said, realization dawning.

The rejection hadn’t worked because both wolves still stood. Still breathing. Still tethered.

Arlo stepped forward, confused. “Why didn’t it work?”

Tobren stared at me. “I guess she has another name or she used the wrong name.”

My blood ran cold. Nyra’s voice trembled in my head. "Kessie. Not Lena. Your truth is hidden. The bond still lives."

My real name had never been spoken aloud in this form and now...Now I was still mated to two Alphas and neither one was letting go.

I was Kessie Croft not Lena Remms.