1. The Morning After

The morning light filtering through the curtains felt like broken glass against my skin.

I opened my eyes slowly, every muscle in my body aching with a sweet exhaustion I’d never experienced before. The Blood Moon Festival. Last night had been…

My breath caught as the memories flooded back.

Kieran’s hands on my face, his usually cold gray eyes burning with something that looked dangerously like devotion. Asher’s whispered promises against my neck, words I’d dreamed of hearing for six years. Dominic’s fierce protectiveness as he held me like I was something precious, something worth keeping.

The mate bond.

Real. Undeniable. Ours.

I reached across the bed, searching for the warmth of their bodies, but my hand met only cold sheets.

“Kieran?” My voice came out rough, uncertain. The massive bedroom in the Alpha’s private quarters was silent except for my own breathing.

“Asher? Dominic?”

Nothing.

I sat up, clutching the silk sheet to my chest, and that was when I saw it.

A single piece of cream-colored paper lay on the pillow beside me, the Silver Crest pack seal pressed into red wax at the bottom.

My hands shook as I picked it up.

Sage Winters,

In accordance with pack law and for the good of Silver Crest, we formally reject the mate bond revealed during the Blood Moon Festival. This rejection is effective immediately and is irrevocable.

Do not attempt to contact us regarding this matter. What happened last night was a mistake that will not be repeated.

Kieran Modric, Alpha Prime

Asher Killian, Second Alpha

Dominic Stone, Third Alpha

The paper slipped from my fingers and drifted to the floor.

For a long moment, I simply sat there, my mind refusing to process the words I’d just read. This had to be a mistake. A cruel joke.

Last night, Kieran had looked at me like I was his entire world. Asher had traced the mate mark on my collarbone with trembling fingers, his voice breaking as he said he’d waited years for this. Dominic had buried his face in my hair and whispered that he’d never let me go.

But they were gone.

And the only thing they’d left behind was a rejection letter.

I forced myself to stand, ignoring the way my legs threatened to buckle. My clothes from last night were folded neatly on a chair. Someone had taken the time to do that but not to face me with this rejection in person. The thoughtfulness of it somehow made everything worse.

I dressed mechanically, my movements wooden and disconnected. The mate mark on my collarbone burned with every breath, a physical reminder of what I’d gained and lost in the space of one night. In the mirror, I looked exactly like what I was: a low-ranking wolf who’d been foolish enough to believe she could have something meant for someone better.

The walk through the pack house was a blur of shame. A few early risers glanced at me, their expressions ranging from pity to satisfaction. Word had clearly spread. Of course it had, nothing stayed secret in Silver Crest, especially not when it involved the Alphas.

I made it to my small quarters on the lower level before the first sob broke free.

Six years.

I’d been in love with them for six years, carefully hiding my feelings because I knew my place. I was Sage Winters, daughter of a deceased Beta who’d died in disgrace, barely clinging to my position in the pack through sheer determination and the goodwill of the few who remembered my father before his fall.

Kieran was the Alpha Prime, ruthless and brilliant, descended from one of the founding families. Asher came from a line of pack strategists, his political acumen legendary. Dominic’s family had produced the pack’s fiercest warriors for generations.

And me?

I was nobody.

I’d accepted that. Built a life around that acceptance. Content to be their friend, grateful for whatever scraps of affection they threw my way.

Then the Blood Moon came, and the ancient magic didn’t care about rank or worthiness. It only cared about truth.

We were mates. The four of us, bound together in a way that happened maybe once in a century. A true triad bond, rare and powerful and right in a way that made my soul sing.

For one perfect night, I’d let myself believe.