For a second, the silence was so loud that everyone could probably hear a pin drop.
Everyone’s eyes were wide as they stared at the Alphas, at , then finally, at Violet.
Violet Sorrel, the woman who cried the hardest when Willow went missing. She was Willow’s best friend, closest comrade, and now, she was also Willow’s replacent as the Luna of Shadowclaw.
Of course, Violet herself was the first to recover. Nothing could hide the pure elation that lit up across her face. She nodded, her smile as bright as the sun as she bowed.
"It will be my honor to serve you, my Alphas," she said.
When she looked up, I didn’t miss the dart of her gaze. Her eyes landed on , and the corner of her lips lifted into a slight, almost unnoticeable smirk. It was gone before I could confirm it.
"Good," Alpha Rowan said. "Pack your things. You will move to the room next to ours tonight."
As if he was purposely adding salt to the wound, Alpha Cassian added, "Tonight, you will service us."
As he spoke, his eyes were trained on , even though his words were clearly targeted at Violet.
I thought I wouldn’t care. After all, I didn’t harbor much good feelings for the three Alphas of Shadowclaw. However, the mont I heard that Violet would be servicing―sleeping―with the Alphas tonight, I felt the air getting knocked out of my lungs again.
I staggered back slightly, an imnse pain blooming in my chest as I reached up, clutching at the thin fabric of my shirt.
Before this, I had heard rumors of how excruciatingly painful it would be to be rejected by a fated mate. This wasn’t a direct rejection, but I would imagine it was sothing close. Otherwise, there was no other explanation I had for the sort of agony that suddenly thrumd through .
It word under my skin and seeped into my bones, and I had to brace myself against a tree for support.
"Everyone is dismissed for the night," Alpha Soren said, his voice echoing.
With his words, people started to return ho. So of them cast curious glances our way, but no one said a thing. Eventually, all that was left were the triplet Alphas, Violet, Cedar, and .
"Alphas, is it true?" Cedar dared to ask. "Briar is―"
"If I hear such false claims from you again, I will rip your tongue out, Cedar," Cassian warned, stepping forward. "It is an insult to your Alphas."
"I apologize, Alpha Cassian," Cedar imdiately said, bowing his head.
"An insult?"
Everyone turned back to look at , shocked that I dared utter a word.
"If it’s such an insult, reject ," I said. "Or better yet, finish what you just wanted to do. Kill ."
"How dare you speak back to your Alphas," Cassian imdiately growled.
He crossed the distance between us, and slamd back into the tree once more. At the back, Cedar and Violet shared a look of surprise. My words basically confird the rumors.
"Did you really think that I wouldn’t dare kill you?" he roared.
"Reject then!" I yelled.
I didn’t know why, but tears began to stream down the corner of my eyes. Every word spoken felt like I was swallowing a flaming sword.
"Better yet, I’ll do it for you," I continued, ignoring the way a part of my heart was screaming at to shut up and beg for forgiveness. "I, Briar Argyris, reject you―"
A loud slap echoed through the forest. My face was veered to one side, my lips apart. A speck of blood dripped down onto the grass below.
"Don’t test our patience," Alpha Rowan warned, his voice low and dangerous. "It is with our rcy that you’re still alive."
’This isn’t rcy,’ I wanted to say. However, my cheeks were stinging, and my chest felt even more pain than that. ’This was a fate worse than death―to watch my fated mates mate with another woman.’
"Alphas," Violet cooed.
She effortlessly stepped into the role of Luna. And why wouldn’t she? It was every single she-wolf’s dream to be mated to the triplet Alphas of Shadowclaw. They were attractive, wealthy, and the rulers of the most powerful pack in the country.
Violet practically danced into Alpha Cassian’s arms, and he instinctively held her by her waist. Her smile only grew when she felt his hand on her, and she leaned further towards him, emboldened.
"Allow to please you tonight," she continued. "Let’s not allow a asly oga to spoil our moods."
On instinct, I looked up at the Alphas the mont I registered Violet’s words. A sense of dread bled through , and my eyes scoured the faces of each of the Alphas, but they paid no mind.
She was going to have sex with the Alphas? Already?
Her honeyed words easily lured the triplet Alphas away with her. They didn’t even cast a second glance before they returned to the packhouse with Violet, leaving behind instructions for Cedar to bring to my new quarters.
***
"Are you happy now?" Cedar said.
He scoffed when I landed on the floor, numbingly staring at nothing while he stood at the doorway after he flung in.
"Look at you. You’re so useless. You can’t even keep a hold of your fated mates," he continued. "What a fucking joke."
Leaving those words behind, he slamd the door shut, the lock clicking in place.
Not that I cared. My head was still ringing with disbelief.
My mates were the triplet Alphas of Shadowclaw. They were my sister’s biggest admirers. Yet, they had chosen my sister’s best friend to be their chosen Luna.
Everything was a ss. Maybe Cedar was right―I shouldn’t have returned to Shadowclaw in the first place.
It hadn’t been long when suddenly, there ca knocking at my door. I rigidly looked up, and soon enough, a voice ca calling from outside.
"The Alphas have summoned you to their quarters," the voice―probably a warrior―said.
"What for?" I warily asked. I thought they would want nothing to do with .
"You are to serve them."
"Serve them?!" My eyes widened with horror.
"Yes," the warrior replied. "You have been summoned to serve the Alphas, as well as their newly appointed Luna."
All color left my face.
I was right. This wasn’t rcy.
This was hell itself.
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