The night I reject them.

Amara’s POV

The moon hung heavy in the sky, casting a silver glow over the trees as I crept through the underbrush, my heartbeat loud in my ears. Tonight was the night. After years of planning, years of enduring, I was finally getting out.

I kept my breathing shallow, stepping lightly over the damp earth. I’d memorized the patrol schedules. The pack warriors wouldn’t pass this way for another fifteen minutes, maybe twenty if I was lucky. That would give me just enough time to slip past the border, just enough time to escape the nightmare that had been my life since the triplets became Alphas.

Ryder. Caden. Jaxon. The names echoed in my mind, each one sending a shiver down my spine. The memories were too vivid—each sneer, each taunt, each moment of humiliation they’d inflicted on me over the years.

I was an omega, the lowest of the low in the pack. Weak, insignificant. Prey. That’s how they saw me, and they made sure I never forgot it. But after tonight, they wouldn’t have a target anymore. I’d be gone, far away from the pack that had broken me.

As I neared the edge of the pack’s territory, a bitter laugh bubbled up inside me. Who would’ve thought the Alpha triplets, the most powerful wolves in the region, would spend so much time tormenting one person? I was nothing to them—a plaything, a joke. But now, they’d have to find someone else to bully. I wouldn’t be here to take it anymore.

I crouched behind a tree, peeking around to scan the border. The forest beyond stretched into the unknown, but that didn’t scare me. What scared me was staying.

A soft breeze stirred the air, carrying the scent of pine and earth. For a moment, I allowed myself to dream of freedom, of what it would feel like to breathe without fear. A place where I wasn’t the broken omega. Where I wasn’t the pack’s punching bag. Somewhere I could start over, where the past couldn’t reach me.

Just a few more steps. I could almost taste freedom.

Suddenly, the sound of twigs snapping behind me made my blood freeze. I whipped around, heart pounding, my eyes wide. No. No, no, no. They couldn’t have found me. Not now. Not when I was so close.

But there they were, stepping out of the shadows like ghosts.

Ryder stood at the front, his broad shoulders blocking my view of the others, his dark eyes glinting in the moonlight. Caden was next to him, quieter, more reserved, but his eyes held the same cold gleam. And Jaxon—the wildest of the three—was smirking like he’d been waiting for this moment.

“Going somewhere, Amara?” Ryder’s voice was low, rough, like gravel scraping across metal.

My mouth went dry, my hands trembling as I backed up against the tree, my heart hammering in my chest. “I— I wasn’t—”

“Don’t lie.” Ryder’s voice was sharp, cutting off any excuse I could’ve made. His eyes, always so full of fury, locked onto mine. “We’ve been watching you for a while now.”

I swallowed hard, fear curling its way up my spine. They had been watching me? How long had they known? How long had they waited to catch me like this—helpless, cornered?

Caden stepped forward, his expression unreadable, but I could see the flicker of something in his eyes. Regret? Guilt? No, not from him. Not from any of them.

“We warned you before, didn’t we?” Jaxon’s voice was almost playful, but it sent a chill through me. “You don’t get to leave.”

Panic surged through me. I couldn’t let them stop me. I couldn’t stay here any longer. “I have to go,” I blurted, my voice trembling. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“And why would we let you leave?” Ryder asked, his eyes narrowing. “What makes you think you get to just walk away?”

I bit my lip, desperate. “You’ve made my life hell. All of you. I can’t stay and be your punching bag forever.”

Something flashed in Ryder’s eyes, but before I could process it, Jaxon was there, stepping closer, his grin widening. “That’s the thing, Amara. You’re not just our packmate.” He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. “You’re our mate.”

For a second, the world went silent. I stared at him, the weight of his words slamming into me like a physical blow. No. No, that wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be.

I shook my head, backing away from them, my pulse racing. “No. You’re lying.”

Caden, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke, his voice soft but filled with something I couldn’t place. “It’s true, Amara. We’ve known for a while. You’re our fated mate.”

Fated mate. The words hung between us like a curse. My heart pounded, my mind spinning. They couldn’t be serious. After everything they’d done to me? After all the pain, the torment, the bullying?

I looked at Ryder, hoping—praying—that this was some kind of sick joke. But his face was stone, his dark eyes unreadable. “You can’t run from this. You’re ours.”

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I’m not yours. I’ll never be yours.”

A growl rumbled in Ryder’s chest, low and threatening. “You don’t have a choice.”

“I reject you,” I spat, the words tearing from my throat before I could stop them. My hands were shaking, and tears stung my eyes. “I reject all of you.”

For a moment, everything was still. The forest was silent, the moonlight cold against my skin. But then, Ryder’s eyes darkened, and Caden let out a sharp breath as if I’d physically struck him.

“You don’t know what you’ve just done,” Jaxon murmured, his voice devoid of the usual playfulness. His smile had faded, replaced by something much darker.

Suddenly, pain ripped through me, sharp and unbearable. It felt like my heart was being torn from my chest, my wolf howling in agony inside me. I collapsed to the ground, gasping, clutching my chest as the rejection bond snapped, and something twisted between us.

But it wasn’t just me who felt it.

Ryder staggered back, his eyes wide with shock, and Caden clutched his head, a groan escaping his lips. Jaxon cursed under his breath, the playful facade completely gone.

The bond between us—it wasn’t just any ordinary mate bond. It was something deeper. Darker. And my rejection had unleashed it.

As the pain slowly receded, leaving me breathless on the forest floor, Ryder’s voice was a low growl, filled with something terrifying. “You’ve just made this a lot harder, Amara.”

Trembling, I stared up at them, my mind reeling, the weight of what I’d done sinking in.

I hadn’t just rejected them. I’d triggered something far worse.

And now, there was no going back.