Fated to fear

Theron’s voice echoed in my mind, sharp and mocking: “Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out his precious mate is nothing but an Omega. You haven’t figured it out yet? Alaric. He’s your mate too.”

The words sent shivers down my spine, cold and unrelenting. My heart pounded as I replayed them over and over, the truth of them sinking deeper into my bones. Alaric. The eldest of the infamous Alpha triplets. The most dangerous of them all.  

My knees buckled as I tried to steady myself against the wave of fear crashing through me. The bond between us had been growing stronger ever since Theron’s cruel revelation. Every passing second brought me closer to the moment I’d have to face him. 

And now, Theron stood in front of me, his grip like iron on my arms, his eyes blazing with contempt.  

“Do you have any idea what a joke this is?” he snarled, his lips curling back as if the very sight of me disgusted him. “You? You—a pathetic Omega—are our mate? The Moon must be laughing at us.”  

I tried to pull away, but his hands only tightened, bruising my arms.  

“Let me go!” I protested, my voice shaking. I shoved against him with all the strength I had, but it was like trying to move a wall.  

Theron sneered, leaning closer until I could feel the heat of his breath. “Oh, don’t play the victim, Elowen. You should be grateful. Do you know how many Omegas would kill to be in your position? But of course, you don’t deserve it. You’re nothing.”  

Tears pricked at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I never asked for this,” I spat, glaring up at him. “You think I want to be your mate? To be bonded to someone who hates me?”  

His laugh was cold, sharp, cutting into me like shards of ice. “Hates you? Oh, you don’t know the half of it. Just wait until Alaric finds out. He’ll show you exactly what it means to be unwanted.”  

The mention of Alaric made my chest tighten. I could already feel the weight of his presence even though he wasn’t here. The bond thrummed with a power that was both intoxicating and terrifying, and I didn’t need Theron’s warnings to know what Alaric thought of me.  

Girls in the pack had been whispering nonstop since the truth came out. I could still hear them giggling, sneering, tossing cruel words my way whenever they thought I couldn’t hear.  

“An Omega? The triplet Alphas got an Omega as their mate?”  

“Maybe she tricked them somehow. There’s no way it’s real.”  

“She won’t last a week with them. They’ll chew her up and spit her out.”  

I wanted to scream at them, to tell them I didn’t choose this, that I’d trade places with any one of them in a heartbeat if it meant escaping this nightmare. But what was the point? They wouldn’t listen. They were too busy reveling in my misery.  

Theron’s grip jerked me back to the present. He shook me lightly, forcing my eyes to meet his. “Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he growled. “You’re nothing, Elowen. Nothing. And once Alaric’s done with you, you’ll wish you never existed.”  

Something inside me snapped. “And what about you, Theron?” I shot back, my voice trembling but determined. “What does it say about you that you’re bonded to a ‘nothing’? Maybe the Moon made a mistake. Or maybe you’re not as perfect as you think you are.”  

For a moment, his eyes widened, the shock of my defiance breaking through his anger. But then his expression darkened, and I knew I’d pushed too far.  

“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” he hissed, his fingers digging painfully into my arms. “Let’s see how clever you are when Alaric arrives. Let’s see if you’re still this brave when he shows you exactly where you belong.”  

I froze, my breath hitching as fear tightened its grip on me. Theron smirked, sensing my panic, and released me with a shove. I stumbled back, my knees giving out as I collapsed onto the floor.  

“Pathetic,” he muttered, turning to leave. “Just wait. The fun’s only beginning.”  

As he walked away, his words hung heavy in the air, a chilling promise of what was to come. I sat there, trembling, my arms aching where his hands had been, my mind racing with thoughts of Alaric.  

If Ranon and Theron hated me, how much worse would it be with him? How much pain could I endure before I finally broke?  

I didn’t want to find out. But there was no escaping this. The Moon had bound us together, and there was no undoing it.  

All I could do now was wait. Wait for the moment Alaric walked through that door and decided my fate.  

---  

The room was too quiet. Too dark. Too small. I sat curled up in the corner of my bed, my blanket pulled tight around me, but it didn’t help. Nothing did. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding, my thoughts wouldn’t stop racing, and I couldn’t stop trembling no matter how tightly I hugged my knees to my chest.  

Alaric. The name echoed in my mind, sharp and cutting like the edge of a blade.

I pressed a hand to my mouth, stifling the soft whimper that threatened to slip out. How could the moon be so cruel? Out of all the people in the world, why him? Why them? Why me? I was an Omega. A weak, useless Omega—the very thing Alaric despised most.

And now… now we were bonded.  

I could feel the pull in my chest even now, faint but undeniable, like a thread tying me to someone who would rather see it snapped. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help. The memories still came, rushing in like a tide I couldn’t hold back. 

Ranon, my first mate.

Theron, my second mate.

But Alaric wasn’t Ranon. He wasn’t Theron. He wasn’t just cold or indifferent. He was… dangerous.  

My breath hitched, and I forced myself to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. But my chest felt too tight, like my ribs were caving in. What would he do when he found out? When he came back and realized the universe had tethered him to me of all people?  

Would he reject me? The thought was almost comforting—almost. It would hurt, of course. It would feel like being torn apart from the inside out. But at least I’d be free of this bond. Free of him. Free of them . At least then I wouldn’t have to wonder how long it would take before he hated me more than he already did.  

But what if he didn’t reject me? What if he decided to keep me?  

A shiver ran through me, and I clenched my fists to keep my hands from shaking. What would it be like to be bound to someone who despised my very existence? 

To wake up every day knowing I wasn’t wanted, wasn’t loved, wasn’t enough? Would they punish me for something I couldn’t control? Would they  keep me by their side just to prove how much power they had over me?  

My throat tightened at the thought, and my hands went to my neck instinctively, as if I could feel the phantom weight of a collar pressing down on my skin. I hadn’t worn one in years, but the memory still lingered, sharp and suffocating.  

Omegas like me didn’t get happy endings. We didn’t get mates who cherished us, protected us. We got used. Discarded. Broken.  

I shook my head, trying to banish the thoughts, but they only clawed their way back, each one worse than the last. I bit down hard on my lip, desperate to stop the tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Crying wouldn’t help. It never did. All it would do was remind me of how weak I was, and I couldn’t afford to be weak right now. Not when Alaric was coming back.  

The hours dragged on, but sleep never came. I just sat there, staring at the moonlight creeping through the cracks in the shutters, my mind caught in an endless storm of fear and uncertainty.  

I didn’t know what would happen when he returned. I didn’t know if he’d reject me or claim me or destroy me completely. But one thing was certain: whatever came next, it would change everything.  

And it terrified me.