Mated To My Triplet Stepbrothers

Run or Fight?

Natalia’s POV

“You know you just have to give them a chance?” My mother’s voice startled me, I didn’t realize she was in my room until she spoke.

“Mum, you don’t understand, I hate it here,” I argued, hoping she would see my pain, hear it through the breaking of my voice.

“I understand more than you know, sweetie. But, I think this place is good for us, look on the bright side, you have a new father, and I know it is not easy to leave behind the life you have known your whole life, but it all comes back down to you giving this place a chance.” She caressed my face, gently guiding me to lie down on the bed as she draped the blanket over me.

“They hate me. I don’t know how to live here peacefully knowing that they do.”

“I can’t do this without you, Natalia. All I’m asking for is just one chance.” My mum pleaded.

“Okay mum, I’ll do it for you. Give this place a chance.” I agreed before letting sleep take me, the exhaustion of the day’s event finally catching up and the dreaded anticipation of the third brother.

I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d be like.

The next morning, I woke up feeling the need to get some free air and to escape the wrath of the brothers this early.

My breath puffed out in frantic bursts, misting the chilled air of dawn as I darted between the dense trees that cloaked the outskirts of the Dark Moon pack's territory. The forest was my refuge, the only place where the shadows of the towering pines felt more like protectors than the suffocating walls of the house I could no longer bear to be confined within.

My heart raced, not just from the exertion but from the raw need to escape, to find solace somewhere, anywhere, away from the disdainful glares of the Alpha's sons. Cool and mocking, those eyes seemed to follow me, even here, amid the whispers of leaves and the occasional chirp of waking birds. But as the distance between me and the pack house grew, the weight on my chest lightened, the invisible shackles of fear and anxiety loosening with every step I took deeper into the woods.

Then I noticed I wasn’t alone. A figure leaned casually against the other side of the clearing, shrouded in the morning fog that made it difficult to discern any details.

"Lost or running?" The voice was tender, with a gentle tone that seemed to blend seamlessly with the natural sound of the forest.

"Running," I admitted without hesitation, my guard momentarily lowered by the unexpected compassion I detected in the stranger's tone.

I couldn't make out the person's features, but there was something oddly comforting about their presence.

"From what?" The question was asked with a curiosity devoid of judgment, inviting confidence from someone who hadn’t found much in the way of trust since coming to this place.

"Everything," I exhaled, the word carrying all the weight of my seventeen years of existence. "My mum and I... we just moved to the Dark Moon pack. Thought it would be a fresh start." I hugged my arms around myself as if to ward off a chill that had nothing to do with the morning air. "But it's not. The Alpha's sons, they..." My voice cracked, the unshed tears from countless nights welling up.

"They bully you," the stranger finished for me, not a question but a statement laced with understanding.

Was that distaste I heard laced in his voice?

"Yes," I whispered, the admission feeling like both a relief and a betrayal.

Here, in the growing light of day, I had laid bare my pain to a person whose name I didn't know but who, somehow, provided a flicker of kindness to my troubled soul.

"Sometimes," the stranger mused thoughtfully, "The bravest thing one can do is to stand and face what scares us."

"Feels more like foolishness when you're the prey," I responded quietly, a bitter laugh tugging at my lips. I looked up, trying to see the stranger's face, but the dawning light seemed determined to have them kept in mystery.

"Perhaps," He replied, the words floating toward me like leaves on a breeze. "But sometimes, it's the prey that teaches us the most about survival."

I considered this as I straightened, a newfound resolve firming my stance. I turned back toward the path leading home, my steps lighter than when I had fled into the safety of the woods.

“Oh, hey,” I greeted Alpha Robert, who gave me a soft smile by the door.

“Hello, Natalia. Your mother has left for work, and so have the boys, I was hoping you and I could bond over some baking?” it was a question, but at the same time it wasn’t.

It was hope, it was expectancy. He needed to bond with me, that was the only way he could win me over, I was an Omega, his mate’s child, it was instinct for him to want to do this, so I agreed.

“Sure, just let me change out of these,” I replied, pointing to my running clothes.

I was looking forward to it already, Alpha Robert was a good man and he would make my mother happy, “I am happy we’re doing this.” I commented, smiling up at him as he beamed at me as well.

“Thank you, Natalia, that means a lot and I promise to talk to the boys. You know boys will always be boys. They’ve been having a hard time since their mother died.”

“That would be nice, Alpha,” I replied.

Half an hour later, I made my way downstairs and realized that all hell had broken loose. The boys came back unexpectedly and Alpha Robert had to attend to an emergency. So I locked myself in the kitchen.

“Hey Natalia,” I heard someone say from the other side of the door and my breath hitched, “We just want to talk if you would be so kind as to come out.”

“Um, okay?” I wasn’t sure of my response, but I slowly walked to the door and creaked it open.

“We just want to apologize for treating you the way we did over the last couple of days, peace offering?” Lucas said as Luke nodded along and handed me a box filled with cookies.

“Thank you.” I reluctantly accepted the box. I was about to close the door when Luke spoke up.

“To show that you’ve forgiven us, how about you take a bite.” He urged and I nodded, opened the box, and took one of the cookies out.

I didn’t feel like eating it but I was willing to do anything to get them out of my hair.

I took a bite, but I couldn’t chew for long. It was as if they had put in all the spice in the world.

I could only breathe out through my mouth as my eyes watered.

I begged them to get me water, but they only brought out their phone and started to record me. It was cruel, my throat was burning and it felt as though I was dying.

“You think you can waltz in here and get our father to play girl dad with you? I think not, b***h. Now, think about that while you are close to death.” Lucas laughed as they left me to gasp for air.

***

“Natalia, I’m back,” Alpha Robert called as he walked into the kitchen. I wanted to respond, but I could only wheeze from where I was sprawled out behind the counter.

The sound must have caught his attention as he made his way to where I was, he took one look at me before rushing towards me with a bottle of water.

“Here, drink this. I am so sorry, Natalia.” Alpha Robert apologized.

“You didn’t do this,” I croaked, feeling my throat burning as tears streamed down my face.

He heaved a deep sigh, “I am sorry, Natalia.”

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and that was when I noticed someone else was standing in the room with us. I turned to look at Alpha Robert in confusion.

“You haven’t seen him before but this is Lucien, the oldest of the triplets and my first child.” He introduced the new face with a proud smile.

My eyes widened instantly as the color drained from my face as I stared at his face. It was him—the man from the forest. The stranger I had poured out my heart to had been one of Alpha Robert’s sons, and throughout our encounter, he had been playing me for a fool.

“Hi, Natalia, it’s nice to meet you.” He said with a wicked smile. “I’ve heard so much about you from my brothers and trust me, we’re going to have so much fun together.”