Chapter 7: ARIA POV
A hand clamped down on my mouth. I jumped up in bed, heart pumping, ready to scream, but instead found myself staring into smiling eyes.
"Shh, little omega," Jaxon said softly, removing his hand. "You'll get us both in trouble."
I scrambled backward. "What are you doing here?" "How did you get past the guards?"
Jaxon, the middle triplet, flashed that menacing smile that made my stomach turn. Unlike his cool brother Kael, who had abandoned me hours ago with word of Mira's attack, Jaxon exuded untamed vitality.
"Guards are easy to distract when they're bored." He winked before pulling a fabric parcel from his back. "I brought you something."
Before he unwrapped it, I could smell the delightful aroma of fresh bread, roasted pork, and sweet berries. My mouth watered. I hadn't eaten since the morning, too worried about Mira to feel hungry.
"Is this stolen?" I inquired, despite my stomach growling.
Jaxon's grin broadened. "Only from the Alpha's private kitchen."
"Your father's kitchen," I clarified.
"Details." He waved his hand. "Eat. "You'll need strength for tomorrow's test."
I hesitated briefly before grabbing a piece of bread. As I ate, Jaxon sat on the edge of my bed, eyeing me with curiosity.
"You're not what I expected," he explained.
I swallowed. "What did you expect?"
"I am not sure. But not someone who would flee from the guards, throw rocks at Beta Marcus, and flip our pack upside down." His eyes shone. "I like surprises."
The pull in my chest that connected me to him tightened. Jaxon's rope felt the most unpredictable of the three that held me to the triplets—sometimes loose, sometimes tight.
"I didn't throw rocks at anyone," I confessed. "And I didn't ask for any of this."
"None of us did." For a brief time, his jovial mask fell, revealing something darker beneath. The grin reappeared. "But, here we are. One of us is tied to an omega who may not be an omega at all.
My heartbeat skipped. "What do you mean?"
"Elder Malin has been searching through old records. Your mother wasn't in our pack, was she?"
I shake my head. "She arrived here pregnant with me. Died during childbirth. I didn't know her name."
"Convenient," Jaxon remarked. "No one to tell you about your bloodline."
Hope flared in my chest. "Do you think I might not be an omega?"
"Would it matter?" He cocked his head. "You already have three alphas fighting over you."
"You're not fighting over me," I countered. "You're trying to figure out which one of you is stuck with me."
Jaxon laughed, but it wasn't malicious. "Is that what you think?" He leaned in. "Allow me to tell you a secret, Aria. I have never been stuck with anyone or anything. "I choose my fate."
"Lucky you," I mumbled.
He reached for a berry and slipped it into his lips. "Want to hear about the time we three brothers snuck across the northern border into Bear Clan territory?"
Before I could respond, he went into a narrative about the triplets challenging each other to take honey from bear shifters when they were fifteen. His speech was energetic, and his hands moved while he spoke. I found myself smiling despite everything.
"Lucien got stung seventeen times," Jaxon said, laughing. "Kael was outraged because we violated a peace treaty. But the honey's worth it."
"You three are close," I commented.
Something flashed before his eyes. "We are brothers. Triplets. "Three parts of a whole."
"Then why does it feel like you're competing over me?" I dared to ask.
His face had lost its joyful expression. "Because we are." Always has been. First to shift. First to hunt. "First one to—" He paused abruptly.
"To what?"
"To become Alpha," he ended, but I sensed he was about to say something else.
I mustered my bravery. "Which one of you do you think is my true mate?"
Jaxon's eyes darkened. "Does it matter?" The relationship is already present between all of us. I can feel it. "Could you?"
To demonstrate his point, he stretched out and caressed my cheek, exactly like Kael had done before. Whereas Kael's touch had been tentative, Jaxon's was bold. Fire raced through me, and the mate pull between us flared like a whip.
I gasped and pulled back. The agony was sudden—a searing sensation in my chest that spread outward.
"What's happening to me?" I muttered while grasping my heart.
Jaxon's playful mood vanished entirely. "The link is becoming stronger. "And more unstable."
"How do you know so much about mate bonds?"
His eyes met mine and became serious. "Because I've been searching for mine for a very long time."
Before I could question him more, a howl shattered the silence—the pack's alert.
Jaxon stood up right away. "Stay here," he instructed, leaving no trace of the lighthearted trickster behind.
"What's happening?" I inquired, my voice shaking with fear.
"Intruders." His eyes were filled with concern. "Lock the door behind me."
But as he approached the window, he heard another sound: scratching at the door, followed by a feeble voice.
"Aria... help me..."
I froze. I recognized that voice.
"Mira?" I dashed to the door, ignoring Jaxon's warning shout.
I threw it open to discover my companion lying on the threshold, her clothes ripped and bloodied. But something was wrong—her fragrance was strange, and her motions jerked as she looked up.
"They're coming," she exclaimed, rolling her eyelids back to reveal only whites. "The forgotten ones return. Blood begs for blood."
Jaxon drew me back as Mira began to convulse. "That's not your friend," he yelled.
"What do you mean?" Of course it is Mira!"
"Look at her eyes," he shouted.
I looked closer and felt my blood freeze. Mira's eyes didn't just roll back; they were changing color, from her usual brown to a strange, flashing silver.
"What's happening to her?" I whispered.
Jaxon's arm tightened around me, protectively. "Moon possession. Someone is using her to reach you."
Mira turned toward us, as if she had heard him. When she spoke again, it wasn't her voice, but something older and colder.
"The false mate must die before the moon rises again," the voice stated via Mira's mouth. "Or all three princes will fall."
Her hand came out with amazing quickness, shattering my ankle. Before Mira collapsed, a voice warned her to choose wisely, as she was the forgotten Alpha's daughter. Your actual mate isn't who you think.