DESPISED BY THE ALPHA TRIPLETS

Seven Days Before Her Birthday. Tharianna Levin had been counting the days. Seven. Only seven more days. Seven days until she turned eighteen. For most people, a birthday was simply a birthday. For Tharianna, it meant everything. It meant the possibility of finally belonging somewhere. For eighteen years, she had been the strange girl of Moonfall Pack – the girl without a scent, without a wolf mark, without a recognizable rank. The girl other wolves whispered about when they thought she couldn't hear. The defective one. The cursed one. The girl who didn't belong. But that was supposed to change on her eighteenth birthday. That was the age when a werewolf's bond could finally reveal itself. The Moon Goddess would awaken the connection between mates, allowing wolves to recognize the person destined for them. And Tharianna had spent years secretly dreaming about that moment. She knew it was foolish. She knew someone like her probably had no right to dream about a powerful mate. But she couldn't stop herself. Especially when that someone was Ashford Northon. She had been ten years old the first time she saw him. He had been seventeen then, already carrying himself like someone born to command the world. Even as a child, Tharianna had watched him from a distance, fascinated by the ruthless young Alpha everyone feared. She had never spoken to him. He probably didn't even know she existed. But she had fallen for him anyway. Perhaps it was childish. Perhaps it was stupid. But somewhere inside her heart, she had always imagined that when she turned eighteen, the Moon Goddess might finally give her something she had never had. A place. A family. Someone who would choose her. And if the Moon Goddess was feeling especially kind... maybe Ashford would be her mate. Her cheeks warmed at the thought. Wolren would be fine too. Lucien... well, Lucien was terrifying, but she had always secretly thought there was something strangely lonely about him. And if some impossible miracle happened and the Moon Goddess connected her to all three brothers? Tharianna would accept it. She would accept anything. Because she loved them. Or at least, she thought she did. She had built entire dreams around men who probably didn't know her name. That was why she was smiling as she walked through the Northon estate that evening. She had been asked to deliver several documents to one of the servants. She shouldn't have been there. She knew that. The Northon estate was not a place someone like her wandered around freely. But she was almost eighteen. For once, she allowed herself to feel hopeful. Then she heard voices. Three of them. Her footsteps stopped. Ashford. Wolren. Lucien. They were speaking inside the private study. Tharianna's heart immediately began beating faster. Perhaps they were discussing the upcoming ceremony. Perhaps they were talking about the Moon Goddess. Perhaps… She smiled. Maybe they were wondering who their mates would be. The whole pack was also wondering as to why until now, they did not find their mates yet. They were all expecting it since their 18th birthday. But nothing came. Without thinking, Tharianna stepped closer. The door wasn't completely closed. She could hear Ashford clearly. "Seven days." His voice was cold and controlled. "Seven days until the ceremony." Tharianna's fingers curled around the documents. Her heart fluttered. Then Wolren spoke. "And seven days until we finally put this nonsense to rest." Her smile disappeared. "What nonsense?" Lucien asked. "The possibility that she could be connected to us." Tharianna stopped breathing. Her fingers went numb. Ashford gave a quiet, humorless laugh. "Tharianna Levin?" Her own name sounded strange coming from his mouth. She pressed herself against the wall. She should leave. She knew she should leave. But her feet wouldn't move. Wolren's voice came next. "Who else would I be talking about?" A silence followed. Then Lucien scoffed. "That girl actually believes she could be one of ours?" Something inside Tharianna broke. Her lips parted. No sound came out, then Ashford answered calmly. "She's been watching us for years." Tharianna's eyes burned. He knew? He knew she'd looked at him? He knew? "I've noticed," Ashford continued. "The way she stares whenever we're around." Tharianna lowered her head. She wanted to disappear. "I've seen it too," Wolren said. "She thinks becoming eighteen will somehow change her position." Lucien laughed. It wasn't a kind laugh. It was cruel. "She's delusional. She thinks her pretty face and body would make us want her." Tharianna's chest tightened painfully like breathing became a torture. She should leave. She should run. But she couldn't. Because a tiny, desperate part of her still hoped they weren't talking about her the way she thought they were. Then Ashford spoke. "If one of us is revealed as her mate, we reject her." The world stopped. Tharianna's heart seemed to miss a beat. Then another. She stared at the closed door. Reject her. No. Surely she had heard wrong. They are very powerful. A rejection from them will surely kill her without a doubt. Wolren's voice was merciless. "Not privately." Ashford was silent. Lucien answered. "Of course not. She should learn her lesson the hard way for her to learn better!" Tharianna's breathing became shallow. "What do you suggest?" Ashford asked. Lucien chuckled. "Her birthday is perfect." Tharianna's hand flew to her mouth. "No..." "If the Moon Goddess actually binds one of us to her," Lucien continued, "we reject her in front of everyone." Wolren laughed softly. "Imagine her beautiful face." Ashford didn't laugh. But his next words hurt the most. "She needs to understand that being chosen by one of us would never make her worthy of the Northon name." Tharianna's eyes filled with tears. One slipped down her cheek. Then another. She pressed her hand harder against her mouth. Her entire body trembled. The birthday she had dreamed about for years suddenly felt like a death sentence. She had imagined Ashford looking at her. She had imagined Wolren smiling. She had imagined Lucien standing beside her. She had imagined the Moon Goddess finally telling the world that she belonged somewhere. Instead, they were planning to destroy her. In front of everyone. On the one day she had been secretly waiting for her entire life. Wolren spoke again. "I still don't understand how she has the nerve to think she could be one of us." Lucien answered immediately. "Look at her." His voice dripped with disgust. "No scent. No rank. No wolf anyone can sense. She's nothing." Nothing. The word struck deeper than any physical wound. Tharianna squeezed her eyes shut. She had spent eighteen years wondering what was wrong with her. Now she knew what they thought. Nothing. She wasn't a girl who had been hoping to find her mate. She wasn't someone deserving of love. She was nothing. Ashford's voice came one final time. "Make sure everyone knows what happens when someone like her dreams above her station." Tharianna couldn't breathe. Her knees nearly collapsed. She caught herself against the wall, desperately trying not to make a sound. Inside the room, the three men continued planning her humiliation. Outside, the girl who had secretly loved them listened to every word. And something inside her died. She had spent seven days believing her eighteenth birthday might finally give her everything she had ever wanted. A mate. A family. A place to belong. Now she couldn't even imagine surviving the ceremony. Slowly, silently, Tharianna backed away from the door. One step. Then another. Her tears wouldn't stop. She didn't know where she was going. She only knew she had to get away. Because the three men she had dreamed about had just turned her most beautiful dream into her worst nightmare. And what they didn't know... What none of them knew... was that Tharianna Levin was never meant to be one of them. She was something far more dangerous. Something their bloodline had spent centuries trying to erase. And seven days from now, when the Moon Goddess finally revealed the truth... the three brothers wouldn't be the ones rejecting Tharianna. They would be the ones begging her not to leave.