Chapter 3

AVA

"You have to attend the ball, Ava," Alpha Thomas said firmly when I tried to get out of it for the hundredth time. "It's not optional."

"I don't have anything to wear," I said, hoping that would be enough of an excuse.

"It’s already been taken care of.” He smiled. "Marie picked something out for you. It should fit perfectly."

My heart sank. There went my last hope of avoiding this nightmare.

Two hours before the ball, Marie knocked on my door with a dress bag.

"Alpha Thomas asked me to help you get ready," she said kindly. Marie was one of the maids in the pack house, but she was always nice to me. "Let's see what we're working with."

She unzipped the bag and pulled out the most revealing dress I had ever seen. It was bright red, made of some kind of silky material that clung to everything. The neckline was way too low, and it looked like the skirt would barely cover my thighs.

"I can't wear this," I said, moving away from it like it might bite me.

"It's beautiful," Marie said, holding it up against me. "And it's perfect for your figure. You have curves, honey. Don't be ashamed of them."

"But it's too much," I protested.

"That's the point. The Rose Moon Ball is special. It's when... Well, you'll understand tonight."

There was something in her voice that made me nervous. Everyone kept talking about this ball like it was more than just a party. Like something important was going to happen.

An hour later, as I stared at myself in the mirror I could barely recognize the girl looking back at me. The dress hugged every curve I tried to hide. My long brown hair was pulled to one side, showing off my neck and shoulders. Marie had even put makeup on me, not too much, but enough to make my green eyes look bigger and brighter.

I looked... different. Not pretty, exactly, but different. At least, I didn’t think I looked pretty.

"You look stunning," Marie said softly. "Your father would be so proud."

The mention of Dad made my chest ache. He should have been here to see this. He should have been the one telling me I looked beautiful.

"Come on," Marie said as soon as she noticed my sad expression. "It's time."

The ballroom was incredible. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting sparkles of light everywhere. The walls were decorated with white roses and silver ribbons. Pack members filled the room, all dressed in their finest clothes, laughing and talking and dancing.

I felt completely out of place.

The moment I walked in, conversations stopped. Heads turned. People stared at me like I was some kind of zoo animal. I heard whispers floating through the air.

"Is that Ava Robertson?"

"She looks so different."

"What is she even doing here?"

"Poor thing, she's trying so hard."

I wanted to run back to my room and hide under my blankets. Instead, I found a corner near the refreshment table and tried to make myself invisible.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice called out, making my stomach drop. "Look what crawled out of the gutter."

I turned to see Hailey walking toward me, and on her left and right sides were Kylie and Michelle. They looked like goddesses in their designer gowns. Hailey's dress was pale blue and it made her look like an ice princess. Kylie wore black that made her skin glow. Michelle's green dress matched her red hair perfectly.

Behind them were the triplets in matching black tuxedos. They looked like they had just stepped out of a magazine. Zade's black hair was perfectly styled, making his dark eyes even more intense. Roman's light brown hair fell casually across his forehead, his usual smirk firmly in place. Axel looked hot and dangerous, and his blue eyes kept scanning the room like he was looking for threats.

They were beautiful, and I was just... me.

"Aw, look," Kylie giggled, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Little Ava is playing dress-up. How adorable."

"That dress is way too tight," Michelle said with disgust. "She looks fat."

The words affected me like they always did, making me want to run and hide. I tugged the hem of my dress down, trying to make it longer.

"I mean, I guess you can put lipstick on a pig," Hailey continued, "but it's still a pig."

The triplets laughed along with their girlfriends. But then something weird happened.

Suddenly, I felt different. Like something was changing inside me. My skin felt warm, and then there was this strange tingling sensation running through my whole body. The air around me shifted, and suddenly I could smell everything more clearly. The roses, the champagne, the expensive perfumes.

And there was something else pulling at me. Something inviting and powerful.

"What the hell?" Roman said. His smirk had disappeared.

The triplets had gone completely still. Their eyes were wide, and they were all staring at me like they had never seen me before. They kept breathing in deeply, like they were trying to catch a scent.

"Do you smell that?" Zade asked. His voice was rough and strange.

"How is this possible?" Axel whispered, speaking for the first time all night.

I had no idea what they were talking about. What did they smell? What was happening to me?

Then Zade took a step closer, his eyes fixed on mine. His whole body was tense, like he was fighting some internal battle.

"Mate," he whispered. The word came out as a whisper.

The world stopped.

"What did you just say?" Hailey screamed.

"That's not possible," Roman said. His face was pale, but he was staring at me too with that same intense look in his eyes.

Axel didn't say anything. He just took another step toward me while his eyes burned with something I had never seen before. His expression was hungry and desperate and almost scary.

"WHAT?" Hailey screamed, loud enough that half the people in the ballroom turned to look at us.

"This can't be happening," Kylie said. Her fake sweet voice was now completely gone. "She's nobody! She's nothing!"

"No," Michelle said. Her voice was deadly quiet. "This is wrong. This is all wrong."

But the triplets weren't listening to their girlfriends anymore. They were all staring at me like I was the only person in the room. They kept looking at me like I was something precious and dangerous at the same time.

"How?" Zade asked, whispering. "How are you our mate?"

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think either. Mate? Their mate? All three of them?

"I don't understand," I said. My voice was shaking now. "What's happening?"

"You're ours," Roman said. He wasn’t smirking anymore. In fact, he looked almost scared. "You're our mate."

"That's impossible," I whispered. "I'm nobody. I'm just—"

"You're ours," Axel said firmly, cutting me off. His voice was deeper than I had ever heard it. Rougher too. "You belong to us."

The possessiveness in his voice should have scared me. Instead, it made something warm unfurl in my chest.

Hailey screamed in anger and slapped Zade on his face. The sound was so loud it echoed through the ballroom.

"How dare you!" she yelled. "How dare you choose that pathetic little omega over me!"

Kylie threw her champagne glass at Roman. It broke against his chest, making the front of his expensive suit wet.

"This is a joke!" she screamed. "It has to be a joke!"

Michelle went completely crazy. She jumped on Axel and used her perfectly manicured nails on him like claws. She dragged them down his chest, drawing streaks of blood.

"She used magic!" Michelle cried hysterically. "She's a witch! She’s put some kind of spell on you!"

But none of the triplets even flinched. They didn't look away from me, and they didn't acknowledge their girlfriends' breakdown either. It was like the rest of the world had disappeared for them.

"Come here," Zade said, holding out his hand to me.

I stared at his outstretched hand like it was poison. This was the same hand that had pushed me into lockers. The same person who had made my life hell for years.

"I don't understand what's happening," I said, taking a step back. "This is insane.”

"Take my hand," Zade insisted.

Around us, the ballroom had erupted into chaos. Their girlfriends were still screaming and crying. Other pack members were whispering and pointing at us. Alpha Thomas was making his way through the crowd to get to us.

But all I could focus on were the triplets. The way they were looking at me. The way my body was responding to their presence like every cell in me was waking up for the first time.

My life had just been turned upside down.

And I had no idea what would come next.

So I ran.