Chapter 4

AVA

I ran.

I ran through the crowd of shocked pack members, ignoring their whispers and stares. My heels clicked against the marble floor as I rushed toward the exit, desperate to get away from the chaos I had somehow caused.

"Ava, wait!" I heard Alpha Thomas call behind me, but I didn't stop.

I couldn't stop. My whole world had just been flipped upside down, and I needed to think. I needed to breathe.

The triplets were my mates. All three of them.

How was that even possible?

As I struggled with the lock on my bedroom door, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely turn the key. Finally, I got it open and slammed the door behind me, locking it immediately.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest. I pressed my back against the door and tried to catch my breath, but my body felt weird. It was hot and tingly in places that made me blush.

What was happening to me?

I caught sight of myself in the mirror across the room. My cheeks were flushed, and there was something different about my eyes. They looked brighter, and more alive.

The mate bond. That's what Roman had called it.

I had heard about it in school, of course. Every werewolf knew about the mate bond. But I’d always thought it was just for other people. Important people, not nobodies like me.

And definitely not with three people at once.

I paced around my small room, trying to make sense of everything. The triplets had looked at me like they wanted to devour me. Like I was the most important thing in the world. But these were the same boys who had stood by while their girlfriends tortured me. Who had laughed when I was humiliated.

How could they be my mates?

The red dress suddenly felt too tight. I unzipped it and let it fall to the floor, then changed into my old pajamas. But even the soft cotton felt strange on my skin.

I curled up on my bed and tried to ignore the weird sensations running through my body. This had to be some kind of mistake. Maybe I was sick. Maybe I was having some kind of mental breakdown from all the stress I had been under recently.

But deep down, I knew it was real. The way they had looked at me. The way my body had responded. The electricity I felt when they got close. All of it was real.

They were my mates, and I had no idea what that meant for my life.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, there was a soft knock on my door.

"Ava?" Zade's voice was soft.

My heart started racing again. I stayed perfectly still, hoping he would just go away.

There was another knock. I knew this one was from Roman because he said, "We know you're awake."

"We need to talk," Axel's deeper voice added.

“Go away!”

"Please," Zade said. I’d never heard him say that word before. "Just let us explain."

"There's nothing to explain. This is a mistake."

"It's not a mistake," Roman said firmly. "Open the door, Ava."

"No."

I heard them whispering to each other, but I couldn't make out the words. Then there was a soft click, and my door suddenly swung open.

"How did you—" I started, but then I remembered. This was their house. Of course, they had keys.

The three of them stood in my doorway, still wearing their tuxedos from the ball. But they looked different now. Wilder in a way. Their hair was messed up, their ties were loose, and their eyes looked darker than I had ever seen them.

"You can't just break into my room," I said, moving away from them.

"We didn't break in," Zade said, stepping inside. "We live here."

Roman and Axel followed him, and suddenly my small room felt tiny with three of them in it. They filled up the space, making it hard for me to breathe.

"What do you want?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You," Roman said simply. "We want you."

The way he said it made heat spread in my belly. I had never felt anything like it before, and it scared me.

"This is crazy," I whispered. "A few hours ago you were letting your girlfriends humiliate me. Now you're saying I'm your mate?"

"We know how this looks," Zade said, running a hand through his black hair. "But the mate bond doesn't lie."

"Mate bond or not, you hate me," I said. My voice was stronger now. "All of you. You've made my life hell!”

"We don't hate you," Axel replied. He was still standing by the door, but his eyes were on mine.

"Then why?" I asked. "Why did you let them hurt me?"

None of them answered. They just looked at each other.

"The mate bond is powerful," Roman finally said, dismissing my question as he moved closer to me. "It makes us want to protect you. To claim you and make you ours."

"I'm not yours," I said.

"Yes, you are," Axel said. His voice was husky. "You've always been ours. We just didn't know it."

Zade was close enough now that I could feel the heat from his body. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from my face.

The contact sent electricity rushing through me. I gasped, and he smiled.

"You feel it too," he said. "The pull.”

I did feel it. My body was responding to their presence in ways that made me dizzy. I could feel heat between my legs, and I could barely think straight.

"This is wrong," I whispered.

"Why?" Roman asked. He was behind me now, and his hands were on my hips. "Because of what happened before? We can make up for that."

"How?" I asked, but the word came out as a moan when he pulled me closer to him.

"Let us show you," he whispered in my ear. "Let’s make you feel good."

Zade started pressing soft kisses on my throat. I had never been kissed before. I had never been touched like this, and the sensations were overwhelming.

"I want to taste every inch of you," Roman murmured. "I want to make you scream my name."

My knees went weak. I looked over at Axel, who was still watching from the corner. But now I could see the bulge in his pants, and how hard he was breathing.

"Touch her," he said to his brothers. "Make her come apart."

The words sent heat straight to my core. I had never heard Axel talk like that, and never seen him look so wild.

Zade's hands lingered at the hem of my pajama top, and now his fingers were brushing my bare skin. "Can I?" he asked. His voice was filled with need.

I wanted to say yes. My body was screaming for their touch, and for more of whatever this was. But then reality came crashing back instantly.

"Stop," I gasped, pushing them away. "Just stop."

They froze and dropped their hands.

"I can't do this," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. "You hate me. You let them hurt me every single day."

"Ava—" Zade started.

"No," I said firmly. "You stood there and watched while they called me names and pushed me around. While they made me feel like nothing."

The triplets exchanged another look. None of them tried to deny it.

"And now you want to touch me? Now you want to claim me?" I laughed, but it came out bitter. "Because some bond tells you to?"

"It's not just the bond," Roman said quietly.

"Then what is it?"

They didn't answer. They couldn't answer, because we all knew the truth. Without the mate bond, they never would have looked at me twice.

"This is wrong," Roman said, but his eyes were still hungry as they looked at me.

"And dangerous," Axel added,

"For all of us," Zade finished.

And just like that, they were moving toward the door. Just like that, they were leaving me alone as my heart raced in confusion.

"Wait," I called out, but they were already gone.