Thrice Bitten

CHAPTER 3

Shock rings through me, making it impossible for me to think for a while.

These guys that I’ve grown to care so much for, that have taken the place of my family, are they part of the people who made me lose my family in the first place?

“H-hold on.” I stutter. “What are you trying to say? You’re part of the DarkWolf pack?”

“Calm down, midget.” Lucien tries to hold me, but I flinch from his touch, instantly regretting it when his eyes fill with pain.

“I’m sorry”, tears fill my eyes once more. I don’t know what to think, or how to feel. Everything’s happening all at once, and I feel like I’m in a free fall, not knowing which way is up.

“Don’t hate us, sweetheart. We left that pack a long time ago. We just want you to know, we don’t like hiding things from each other.”

Yet they've been hiding this from me all this while.

“From what I was told, the DarkWolf pack raided another pack and carted off with some of the women and young boys, killing everybody else.

“Three of those women were our mothers. They bonded while they were in the pack, and became friends. They were owned by the alpha and lived in the pack house together.

“Funny enough, they got pregnant around the same month, and we were born within weeks of each other.”

“That’s why we all look alike but have different eye coloring. We all look like our father, the alpha, but we took our mother’s eyes.” This was from Damien, I had almost forgotten he was there, so entranced by Lucien’s story.

“Although we were sons of the Alpha, we weren’t given special treatment since the Alpha has a lot of sons. We were trained as soldiers from the time we could walk. The only thing that saved us was our mothers. They taught us the importance of family, and that our hands were not just meant for violence and killing.

“When we were around 10, Damien’s mother was killed for trying to escape the pack.” A sharp inhale from Damien behind me has me reaching for his hands, trying to offer some comfort.

“It was really hard on all of us, and our mothers resolved to take us out of the pack by all means necessary. They didn’t want us to turn into the other wolves, living our lives filled with violence and rage.

“After years of careful planning, we were able to run away, living our lives on the run.

“They eventually caught up with us and killed our mothers. They would have killed us too, but they decided to take us back to the pack and execute us publicly as an example to others.

“Unfortunately, they wandered too far into the BloodMoon pack, this pack. And the old Alpha never spared trespassers. He attacked them, and when he noticed the tied-up boys they were carting around, he took custody of us and sent them running

“That’s how we came into the pack. We were 18 at the time, and we’ve been here for over a decade now. It wasn’t smooth sailing at first. A lot of people were wary of us being from the Dark Wolf pack. They thought we were spies, that it was all a trap, that the alpha should have killed us. But for some reason, he didn’t. He gave us another chance. We owe all we are now to him, and that’s why when the Alpha asked us to be the pack enforcers, we accepted immediately.”

Tears are streaming down my face. I try to imagine what these guys have been through. How hard their lives have been.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for being scared when you told me you were from the Dark Wolf pack.”

“Midget,” Lucien wraps me up in his arms. “Don’t cry. We didn’t tell you this so that you’ll be sad. We’re trying to make you understand, we know what you’re going through.

“And I promise you, midget, you’ll have your revenge against the DarkWolf pack. We’ve been planning our revenge for a long time, but with what they’ve done to you, we won’t hesitate anymore. We’ll crush them until even the memory of their existence would be forgotten.”

Turning to look at Ethan and Damien, I can see the determination on their faces, they’re serious about this revenge thing, and I don’t know how to feel about it.

While I want vengeance for the death of my pack, I don’t want to risk the lives of the people who have quickly become my family.

I’m about to object when I remember that it’s not just about me. I’m not the only person who’s lost people they love to the Dark Wolf pack. They also lost their mothers and their childhood.

“Okay, but if we do this, we're doing it together. I also want to be a part of it.”

“Not.” Damien explodes. “You can’t expect us to let you go into danger, what if something happens to you?”

“But it’s my pack, my family. You need to let me do this, please.”

“Sweetheart”, Ethan begins, turning me around to face him. “You don’t even know how to fight. You know nothing about physical combat or even strategy. The best way for you to help is to stay out of the way. That way we don’t have to worry about you as well.”

“So teach me.” I plead. “Teach me everything, I promise I’ll learn. I’ll even quit my job at the bakery if I have to.”

“It’s not that simple, sweetheart. I know you want to help, I understand how you feel, but you don’t expect us to let you run headfirst into the unknown.”

“It’s either we do this together or we don’t do it at all. I can’t keep letting you guys protect me. I can’t live my life in your shadows forever.”

“Lucien, please listen.” I turn to him, pleading with my eyes.

“Midget, f**k. Okay, we’ll think about it, alright?”

“We’ll talk about it and make a decision.”

_____

“You need to put more strength into your hits, Midget. A six-year-old DarkWolf pup would take you out in no time.”

“I know, I’m trying.”

I’ve been training with the guys for weeks now. After our argument, they saw the reason that it would be better for me to fight by their side than stay on the sidelines.

But now I regret begging them to teach me how to fight. Fight is hard.

“We’re still learning hand-to-hand combat and you’re this terrible. I don’t know how well you’ll do when we start fighting on all fours.”

“All fours?” I’m out of breath already, and we’ve just barely started. “Why would I need to learn that?”

“Did you think the wolves at DarkWolf pack would take into consideration that you can’t fight on all fours?” Lucien asks with a low laugh in his voice.

“They won’t care about that, midget. They would tear you in pieces without a second thought. And we like you quite whole. So get your pretty little arse in gear and let’s carry on with our training.”

Hearing Lucien call my arse pretty was enough to make me blush, but I tried my best to hide it.

“Let’s get on with this then.” I’m feigning confidence right now, but I refuse to back down. “I’ll whoop you so bad that you’ll be the one with the pretty arse.”

At my declaration, I hear laughter from the doorway, and I realize that Damien and Ethan are standing at the door.

I can feel all the blood rushing to my face, embarrassed at the fact that the guys heard my stupid words.

“I’ll pay good money to see that.” Damien laughs holding me from behind.

“You won’t be seeing anything. I’m not training with you.”

“Sophie, you have no say here. You chose this, so stick with it.” I can hear the smile in Ethan’s voice before his face comes into view.

I humph, refusing to look any of them in the eye.

I’ll show them. I think to myself, making a resolve to train harder.

_____

It’s been a few months since I started training with the guys, and I’m proud to say I’ve gotten a lot better than I was. I can keep up with them on runs now, and although I can’t beat them during combat, I’m better than most of the men in the pack.

“Sophie, you have abs now, I’m so jealous.”

I’m hanging out with Marjorie today, and she’s been commenting on how much my body has changed since I started working out.

Marjorie is three months pregnant, and she has a baby bump now. That’s why we’re going shopping for some maternity clothes for her.

I decided to buy some new clothes too, especially a pretty crop top I think the guys would like.

“You would look so hot in that. I don’t think the guys would be able to take their eyes off you.”

“I’ve told you, it’s not like that. I’m pretty sure they see me as a sister, nothing more.” I’ve had this argument with Marjorie a couple of times now, and I’m tired of trying to make her understand what my relationship with Ethan, Damien, and Lucien is.

It’s not unheard of for some people to have multiple mates, but I don’t think that’s what this thing with the guys is. We’re family, or something close to it, and my crush on them will die eventually. Perhaps when I see them with other women, I’ll come to my senses.

“You haven’t seen the way they look at you,” Marjorie continues. “It’s like you’re a full moon, drawing them in at every moment. They’re helpless against your pull.”

“Stop, Marjorie. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Let’s just look for what you need.”

Luckily, the rest of the day goes well. I avoid talking to the guys, just content to listen to my friend talk about any and everything under the sun.

The moment I open the door to my room, I’m pulled in by Damien and I see that the guys are there.

Worry starts to churn in my gut, and I quickly drop my bags on the ground.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Where have you been, Sophie? We’ve been worried sick. You weren’t at training this morning.” Damien asks roughly.

“I was out with Marjorie, I remember telling you guys the day before yesterday that I would go with her to get new clothes.” I’m a bit confused because we talked about this already.

“See, I told you she was fine.” Lucien looks unaffected as always, but I can see the worry in his eyes.

“Hold on. Don’t tell me all of you were in my room just because you forgot that I was going shopping today.” I shake my head, silently praying to the goddess for patience.

“We like knowing where you are, Sweetheart.” It’s Ethan now, sounding calmer than the others. “We were worried sick when we couldn’t find you this morning.”

“I’m fine now, as you can see. So would you all kindly get out of my room? I need to have a shower and rest before dinner.” Shopping with Marjorie is more tiring than it should be.

And I need some time alone to process what I’m feeling about the guys' overprotective nature. We can’t go on like this, something has to give. But I don’t think I can deal with my emotions right now. Maybe something would come to take my mind off this.

If only I knew what was coming next, I would be careful what I wished for.