05

CORA

I stood there, my legs stiff and my lungs tight. I didn’t understand what he meant or how he could sound so sure. The guards near the door looked like they wanted to leave. Even the priest wouldn’t even lift his head.

Ronan stepped forward, his voice low and angry. “That is not possible. We don’t have a mate.”

“You thought we didn’t,” Liam said, not looking away from me. “But she is right here.”

Cade stared at my wrist like it was something dangerous. “The curse shouldn’t allow this,” he said. “We always assumed the Moon Goddess cut that bond from us. We never tested it.”

“Now we have,” Liam replied.

My heart beat fast. I didn’t want to be connected to any of them. They are killers, and from everything I heard, they were worse.

“This is a mistake,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Whatever that mark is, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Liam’s jaw tightened. “It means everything. The mark reacted because of us. Only our mate could do that.”

I shook my head. “I’m not your mate.”

Ronan laughed once without humor. “She doesn’t want to be claimed by monsters. How shocking.”

My hands stayed close to my sides. I didn’t move because I knew they noticed every little thing.

Cade looked annoyed. “We have survived this long without a mate,” he said. “She might be a curse, not a gift.”

The priest finally raised his head. “If the bond has awakened, her existence changes everything. Her death or rejection could destroy you.”

Ronan’s eyes snapped to him. “So she is our doom.”

Liam turned to his brothers. “We don’t do anything until we understand what she is.”

I felt like the ground tilted under me. “Please,” I said quietly. “Don’t drag me into your problems. I don’t belong here.”

“You belong here now,” Liam said.

I couldn’t breathe. I kept thinking about the silver band on my wrist and the way it burned earlier. The fire didn’t scare me as much as the three Alphas staring at me like I was something they needed.

Cade stepped closer to Liam. “We should end her now before anything gets worse. She already triggered the curse.”

“We don’t know that,” Liam said.

“We know enough,” Ronan snapped. “Look at us. We are barely surviving every month, and now you want to add this to it?”

“She is not a threat,” Liam said, and he sounded tired.

Ronan pointed at me. “We don’t even know what she is. She could turn us into something worse.”

My chest hurt. I backed up until I reached the chair behind me. My fingers grabbed the armrest, trying to balance myself.

“I don’t want to do anything to you,” I said. “I don’t want to be here. Let me go.”

“No,” Liam said immediately. “We can’t risk you being killed out there. Packs will hunt you once they find out what you are.”

“What am I?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

Ronan looked like he wanted to rip something apart. Cade did not look any calmer.

Liam straightened. “Take her to a chamber,” he ordered the guards. “No one touches her. No one questions her.”

Ronan’s voice cut in. “You’re protecting her now?”

“If she dies, we die,” Liam said simply. “And I am not ready to die.”

Cade cursed under his breath and walked away. Ronan followed, still angry, his steps loud as he left the room.

Liam looked at me one last time. His eyes were dark and still unreadable. “You will stay here until we know what to do with you.”

He turned and left without giving me another look.

The guards moved fast. They grabbed my arm, not roughly but firmly, and dragged me down a long hallway. The walls were stone, the torches dim. Every footstep echoed like the place was too big for anyone to live in.

They pushed me into a small room and locked the door. The bed had only one thin sheet, the walls were plain, and there was nothing else. The floor was cold, and I didn’t know if the shaking was from fear or the air around me.

I curled up on the bed and pulled my knees close. I couldn’t cry for long because the room felt too quiet. I drifted off without knowing when.

When I woke up, the door opened. Cade walked in with a tray. He set it down next to me. He didn’t sit.

“Eat,” he said.

I looked at him. His face was blank, but his eyes kept analyzing everything about me, like he wanted answers I didn’t have.

“I’m not hungry,” I whispered.

“You are,” he said. “Eat.”

He didn’t wait to see if I listened. He walked out and the door shut behind him.

I stared at the food for a while. Bread, fruit, and a drink. My stomach hurt, so I took a few small bites. The room felt a little warmer now, maybe from the fire in the wall torch that someone must have lit earlier.

The door opened again. This time servants walked in, all silent, their eyes down. They brought new blankets, lit more fire, placed water on a table, and cleaned the place like they didn’t want me to feel like a prisoner.

They were still working when Ronan walked in. “Leave,” he ordered.

They left immediately.

Ronan sat on the edge of the bed, too close to me. I moved back, my spine hitting the wall. He watched every movement, his eyes irritated.

“How are you?” he asked.

I didn’t know if he was joking. “I’m in a fortress full of men who want me dead,” I said quietly. “How do you think I am?”

His mouth twitched. Not a smile, not anger, just something strange.

“You are safe here,” he said.

“You don’t even believe that,” I replied.

He leaned closer. My heartbeat picked up immediately. His presence was terrifying. He reached for the tray and took a small piece of bread.

“You should eat more,” he said, holding it near my face.

“I can feed myself,” I said.

He didn’t move his hand. “We need you alive.”

“I didn’t ask to be your mate,” I said.

“And we didn’t ask for one,” he said, his voice dropping lower. “But now you are here.”

For a moment, he looked lost, almost frustrated, like this situation bothered him just as much as it scared me.

Suddenly, he stood up. “Don’t run,” he said. “Or we will have to hunt you.”

He walked out and shut the door hard. My hands shook again. I pushed the food away.

I couldn’t finish another bite.

Hours passed. I sat near the window because it was the only place that made me feel like I still existed. Outside, there was a large training yard. Wolves and men moved fast, weapons hitting targets, shouts echoing in the air.

Liam stood at the center. He threw a spear so hard that the dummy’s head rolled off. The soldiers nearby stopped what they were doing. They looked like they respected him but also feared him.

He turned his head slowly and his eyes landed right on me. His expression didn’t change, but there was something cold there. Like he was measuring how easy it would be to kill me.

I froze because I could feel his anger from where I sat. He didn’t look away until someone called his name. Then he grabbed another spear.