Aire stood up.
Her legs trembled, but she forced them still. The ballroom spun slightly, with the weight of too many eyes pressing into her skin, but she lifted her chin anyway.
She looked around.
She stared at the bowed heads, at the few kneeling wolves, and at the three men who had just shattered the entire order of her world.
She took one step back.
Then another.
"I. AM. NOT. YOUR. MATE." She voiced out, shaking.
Her voice cracked on the last word, but it still rang through the hall.
Silence filled the hall.
The first Alpha, Xanden, laughed. He laughed like a predator mocking it's prey trying to bare her teeth.
"You don't get to decide that," he said lazily.
Aire's nails dug into her palms. "I reject you." She repeated, and that got a reaction.
Alaric's eyes narrowed sharply, his jaw tightening as if he'd bitten down on something sour. Nate, standing slightly apart from the other two, tilted his head slowly, studying her like she had offended him by existing.
Xanden clicked his tongue.
"Rejection," he mused. "From a wolfless curse?"
He stepped closer.
The air thickened with his presence. Aire felt the pressure sliding over her skin, her lungs struggling to pull in air that suddenly felt too heavy.
"We won't take part in the ritual," Xanden continued calmly, circling her, "until you're no longer cursed."
Aire's brows furrowed. "What ritual? There would be no ritual. I reject you."
He stopped in front of her.
"If you remain cursed for the rest of your life," he said mildly, eyes raking over her, "you'll remain a breeder."
The word hit her like a slap.
Her breath caught.
Xanden leaned closer, his voice dropping. "And we," he added, glancing briefly at his brothers, "will enjoy ourselves as we see fit."
The hall erupted with shocked gasped
Aire's stomach lurched. "You—" She swallowed hard. "You don't own me."
Nate smiled then.
"You're standing in our territory," he said. "With our scent wrapped around your bones. Ownership is already implied."
Aire turned sharply toward Alaric.
Her gaze flicked—uncontrollably—to Hannah.
Still standing beside Damien. Still untouched. Still perfect.
The realization hit her like ice water.
The Alpha triplets.
Xanden. Alaric. Nate.
They had always been there, at pack gatherings, at ceremonies, and everywhere that would make them stand at Hannah's side.
They had grown up worshipping her.
Competing for her attention. Fighting over who got to escort her. Who got to stand closest, and who got her smile.
Everyone had expected that if not all three, then at least one of them would be Hannah's mate.
Aire's chest tightened painfully.
She looked back at Alaric just as she caught him staring at Hannah. He stared at Hannah with desire.
Aire's throat burned.
"You wanted her," Aire said hoarsely. "Everyone knows that. You should snap this bond, and be with her."
Alaric's gaze snapped back to her.
"And?" he asked flatly.
Xanden laughed again. "You think wanting someone means we don't get cursed instead?"
Nate stepped closer this time, stopping directly in front of her.
"You smell wrong," he said.
Aire flinched.
The room stilled.
The council elders exchanged looks. Alphas shifted uneasily, as they waited.
Nate straightened.
Xanden grabbed her chin. He grabbed her chin hard.
The ballroom gasped.
He tilted her face upward, forcing her to meet his eyes. "You don't reject Alphas."
Pain flared along her jaw. Aire hissed, her hands flying up to his wrist, trying to pry him off.
"Let—go—"
Xanden tightened his grip.
Her vision blurred.
"Xanden," Nate warned mildly.
Xanden released her abruptly.
Aire stumbled back, coughing, her throat burning as she sucked in air.
She turned to her uncle in the midst of the chaos, pleading with her eyes. Her uncle stared back at her, and his eyes turned with pure contempt, with his jaw set in a hard line.
Beta Kole looked livid.
Aire's throat bobbed as she swallowed. She returned her gaze to the floor, avoiding the piercing stare of the Alphas above her and struggled to push herself off the floor.
A pained groan slipped from her lips as her hips protested the movement. If only she had a wolf, that pish wouldn't have hurt.
To her surprise, the next second, her arm was grabbed in a punishing grip and she was yanked upward.
"We're leaving." Beta Kole snapped, dragging Aire upward.
The Alphas gaze darkened, but not a single word was said.
"My apologies." Beta Kole said, dragging Aire through them.
Aire followed him, being dragged as she tried to keep up with his pace.
"You embarrassed me." he cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth. "You are so useless and should be cursed further. Did you have to be stupid enough to mistake your mate? Not just that, you drew the attention of everyone. You will be killed tomorrow. I promise you this."
Aire went rigid. A fresh knot of anxiety twisted in her gut. None of this made any sense.
Shed rather be trapped with her uncle and his family than go with those annoying smug Alphas who were in fact, two years younger than she was.
What twisted game was this?
Dread pooled in her stomach.
"Uncle…" she whispered.
Beta Kole didn't slow.
The doors were only a few steps away when the pressure hit. Power slammed into the room like a wall, invisible but absolute.
The guards froze, conversations died mid-breath, and even the chandeliers seemed to still.
Beta Kole stopped short.
Slowly, he turned.
Xanden stepped forward. He smiled, but there was no humor in it this time. "Change of plans," he said lightly.
Alaric's gaze was cold now, and calculating. Nate's eyes burned, and stayed fixed on Aire.
Xanden continued, his voice carrying on effortlessly through the hall. "Beta Kole… we'll take our Luna now."
Aire's blood ran cold.
"She lives with us," Nate added calmly.
Beta Kole's grip tightened around her arm. "You can't—"
Xanden's eyes flicked to him. "Tell me what we can and can't do one more time, and watch yourself turn a rouge this instant."