Liam's POV
I placed Scarlett onto my bed, my frown deepening as I stepped back, forcing my hands away from her burning skin. My wolf was restless, pacing in my head and snapping at me for letting this happen. "She's ours. We should have protected her."
"Shut up," I snapped at him internally, shoving the bond deep down.
The door burst open. I expected my brothers, but it was Lana, our younger sister, who hurried in first. Leon and Leo stalked in behind her, their expressions hard and unreadable.
Lana gasped, rushing to the side of the bed. "What happened to her? Why is she covered in blood and... is that orange juice?" She looked up at us, her eyes wide with shock. "Liam? Leon? Someone answer me!"
"She was disciplined for theft," Leo said coldly, crossing his arms. "It's none of your concern, Lana."
"Disciplined?" Lana's voice rose in disbelief. "She looks like she's dying! You three were her best friends. How could you let the guards do this?"
None of us answered. We couldn't.
A sudden knock on my door made me turn. "Come in," I called. My brow furrowed when the pack healer stepped inside. I hadn't called for her. "Who sent for you?" I asked.
"I did," Leo responded, and I narrowed my eyes at him. I thought he didn't care, so why did he call the healer so quickly? I wanted to challenge him, but I held back and watched the healer attend to Scarlett. She placed her hands on Scarlett's forehead, whispering words of healing incantations as she released her energy.
We all stood there in a heavy, suffocating silence.
I glared at my brothers.. something dosent seem right.. I knew my brothers better than anyone. Something about the way Leo's fists were still clenched, and the way Leon's eyes lingered on her with a strange intensity, made my stomach churn. They were angry, but not for the reason they should be. It wasn't because I had saved her—it was because they hadn't.
I swallowed hard, my nails digging into my palms. No. That couldn't be right. She was my mate. She couldn't be theirs, too. If she were, one of them would have said something.
Right?
Moments later, the healer stood and stared at us with a blank look. "She will be awake soon, but I advise that she doesn't go through such strain for now. Remember, she doesn't have her wolf yet; her vitals are weak, like those of an ordinary human."
Lana nodded firmly. "Thank you, Healer." She turned to my personal guard standing by the door. "Take Scarlett back to her room. Gently."
The growl in my chest vibrated against my ribs as the guard reached for her. For a split second, my vision sparked red. I had to shove my hands into my pockets to keep from ripping him away from her.
As the guard carried her out, Lana turned on us, her face pale with fury.
"Scarlett isn't her parents," she hissed, her gaze darting between the three of us. "Stop punishing her for deeds she didn't commit. You men are making the exact same mistake our fathers did."
Leo stiffened. "How? This situation is different!"
"Do you even listen to the stories they told us?" Lana challenged, stepping closer to Leo. "Remember how they made life miserable for Mother for years? All because of a 'misunderstanding' they refused to see through? You are doing the exact same thing to Scarlett."
"It's different," I snapped, the guilt in my chest turning into defensive rage. "This is no misunderstanding, Lana. There are photos. Witnesses. Her parents are responsible for Mother's death. How do you expect us to treat the daughter of a murderer?"
Lana looked at me with a pity.
"She is Scarlett. Not her mother, and not her father," Lana said quietly. "You men once loved her more than anything. I just hope you don't live to regret this."
She didn't wait for a rebuttal. She turned on her heel and walked out, leaving the three of us standing in the hollow silence of my room.
Leo scoffed, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. Leon was staring at the spot on the bed where Scarlett had been, his jaw working.
I strode to my mini-bar, grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and poured a heavy glass. I took a slow sip, my gaze flicking to Leon and Leo, who still hadn't moved.
Just then, another knock sounded. A guard stepped in. "Sir Liam, Sir Leon, Sir Leo… your father, Alpha Lennox, requests your presence in his study."
I shot a quick glance at my brothers. This wasn't a casual summon. Father never called us together unless it was serious. "Tell him we're on our way."
We entered Father's study to find him relaxing on a single-seater couch with a glass of wine.
"Greetings, Father," we said in unison.
"So, boys," he began, gesturing for us to sit. "Next week is your coronation as Alphas. How prepared are you three?"
"We are prepared for the coronation, Father," I said firmly.
"Prepared?" He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "An Alpha is only prepared when he has removed all vulnerabilities. That brings me to the matter of your mates. You are twenty-two. Most men are hunting for their fated halves by now. What is your plan?"
I swallowed hard. The image of Scarlett's pale face flashed in my mind.
Leo spoke first, his voice hard as flint. "I have no plan to find a fated mate, Father. I'll select a high-ranking female when the time is right. A fated bond is a chain I don't care to wear."
Father Lennox nodded, a slow, approving smirk spreading across his face.
"Same for me," Leon added, though I noticed his hand was gripping the hilt of his dagger a little too tightly. "I don't need the Moon Goddess choosing my weaknesses for me."
I looked at my brothers. We had spent our childhoods listening to the legends of the mate bond, but now they were tossing it away like trash. I felt a hollow ache in my chest, but I couldn't let it show.
"And you, Liam?" Father asked, his gaze boring into mine.
"I agree with my brothers," I whispered, the lie tasting like ash. "I will choose my own path. The bond is irrelevant."
"Good," Father nodded. "A mate bond only makes you weak. If you are to lead together, you cannot afford such distractions."
Distractions?
Our mother had been his mate. He had loved her more than life itself. I had seen it in the way he looked at her, in the way his voice softened whenever she entered a room.
So why was he speaking as if the bond meant nothing?
Since Mother passed away, something had changed in our fathers.
Yes, they mourned her.
But not for long.
For the first week after her death, my siblings and I barely slept. We were terrified grief would kill them too. We had heard the stories—how losing a mate could break an Alpha beyond repair.
But it didn't happen.
Our fathers moved on so easily. Too quickly. It was strange. While we, their children, were still drowning in grief, our fathers were back on their feet.
I remembered only a week had passed since the funeral, but the black mourning bands were already gone from their arms. As I walked by the study one evening, I heard Father Lennox laughing loudly over the phone. His eyes weren't red from crying, and he hadn't missed a single meal. The house didn't even smell like Mother's perfume anymore. It was like she had just vanished, and they weren't even bothered by it. They acted as if she had never existed at all.
And now Father Lennox was calling the mate bond a distraction?
No. Something wasn't right.
"Tonight, you three will lead the pack hunt," he continued calmly. "Your fathers and I will not be joining. We have somewhere to be."
Somewhere to be?
All of them?
A cold unease settled in my chest.
I nodded slowly, masking my suspicion.
We left the study and stepped into the hallway.
I stopped walking and turned to Leo and Leon, crossing my arms. "Why the sudden change of heart? You two were obsessed with finding your mates once."
Leon scoffed. "We should ask you the same. You wanted a bond like Father and Mother had."
"I realized there's nothing special about it," I lied.
Leo nodded. "Exactly. We think alike."
I studied them carefully. They were lying. Both of them. And whatever they were hiding… I was going to uncover it.