All Chapters of Triple Temptation: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"You don't have to do this, Rhea." Micah's voice was a low growl, the Beta in him aching with her pain.I shook my head, my hands trembling as I smoothed out the ritual robe. It was a suffocating thing, embroidered with silver thread that seared like delicate, burning wires against my flesh. "Yes, I do. Theon went over it very carefully. An Omega's first heat must be presented to the pack. It's the law.""The law is not civilized," Micah snarled, his gaze scouring the opulent Ceremonial Grounds of Lunitas. The stands were packed with members of the Silverfang Pack, their faces a sea of expectation and judgment. "It's a spectacle, not a celebration. He's doing this to remind everyone of your… status."A clear young voice spoke up. "She is a Mooncrest. She is of the pack.". She has duties." Eris Vale, Elder Theon's daughter, stood a little behind us, her features a mix of contempt and smugness. She looked at Micah, then me, her gaze lingering on the pale skin of my neck, where the mark

"The Council has convened," Captain Jex Rylan stated, his voice akin to the clang of a cell door slamming shut. "Rhea Mooncrest, step forward."The Council Chamber, its vaulted ceiling and stone seats, was crypt-like. It was the Circle of Governance, where our pack's law was chiseled in stone, but it was more like an abattoir. Elder Theon Vale sat on the middle throne, with Elder Garrick Stonehelm and Elder Marla Fenwick on either side. Theon's gaze was a physical weight, crushing me. He saw me as not human but a problem to be solved."Rhea Mooncrest," Theon stated, his tone lacking warmth. "You have been called in to account for your part in the. disturbance. at the Omega Presentation. An interruption of this kind is an egregious transgression."I stood my ground, Micah standing guardfully behind me. I felt his calming aura, a shield to keep out Theon's smothering presence. I kept the Elder's cold stare at bay. "With all due respect, Elder, the accident was not my fault. The bonds ch

"You can't remain here forever, Rhea." Micah's voice was barely a whisper, yet it rang out in the quiet of the empty Mooncrest Estate. We were in the ancient conservatory, its glass panes letting in the faint afternoon light."I know," I whispered. What had occurred in the school hall remained with me, a pain in my back and a greater one in my heart. The bond had been a muffled thrum ever since, but now it was… changing. A gradual heat was beginning to permeate me, a fluid fire that caused my skin to prickle."What is wrong?" Micah asked, his Beta senses recognizing my distress."I… I don't know," I lied, trying to push the spreading heat back down. It was too soon. It could not be happening now. The Healer Mira had said I had more time. The pack would not be ready. I was not ready.A biting, acute scent cut through the dusty air of the conservatory. Not a familiar scent of pine, earth, or the other Alphas. This was unlike that. Dark and wild. It was a smell of burned earth and blood.

"Elder Mooncrest, Rhea," Theon's voice boomed in the Council Hall, unyielding and unstoppable. "Your defiance has seen us with no choice. The bond exists, whether you acknowledge it or not. And it cannot be allowed to erode the Silverfang Pack."I stood before the Council, my sore back from the shove Blaze had given me, my body still vibrating with the aftereffects of my surprise heat. Micah stood next to me, his hand on my arm, a comforting anchor.You shall desiginate the bond cycle," Theon said, his gaze never wavering. "Immediately. You shall be taught to desiginate your Omega behaviors and cooperate with the Alphas to whom you are bonded. If not, you shall instantly lose all rank and protection at Mooncrest. You shall be an unranked Omega, subject to the pack and, in specific, subject to the mercy of your bonded Alphas.A gasp made its way through the hallway. Robbed of rank. It was a worse condition than banishment. It meant I'd be below a slave."Elder, this is barbaric!" Marla

The air within my room on Alpha Row was heavy and oppressive, charged with the scent of pine and rain and earth, and the strong, acrid smell that seemed to slice through anything – the Alphas. They penetrated even the shut door, their scent a heavy, oppressive weight constantly present. Ash's warning stare of last night still burned behind my eyes. No refuge, he'd promised. No hiding place.I smoothed my hand over the rough blanket on the narrow bed, the same one I'd pretended to sleep on as Ash watched. The shame of being trapped, of being theirs, was a sour taste in my mouth. But beneath the despondency, a glimmer of rebellion remained, lit by Kai's cryptic warning: "You're not ready for what we are." What did that mean? And what had my mother, Lira, known?My gaze came to rest on the small, wrinkled leather-bound book I'd carried in my backpack – my history book. I reached out and grasped it, following the contours of the familiar cover with my thumb. It was something I could hold