Chapter four
1484 Words
The room was too warm, or maybe it was just Dahlia’s skin burning under three sets of eyes that pinned her in place like she was prey. Her fingers curled in the sheets, nails digging into the fabric, as if the cotton could save her from the storm standing at the foot of the bed.
The blond one hadn’t looked away once. His icy blue eyes were locked on her, sharp enough to carve her open. The second, with slicked black hair, leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his expression unreadable but heavy. The third, his hair a darker, tousled mess was sprawled casually in an armchair, legs spread like he owned the room, a lazy grin tugging at his lips.
“Stop staring,” Dahlia snapped, though her voice trembled. “I’m not some... prize on display.”
The tousled-haired one chuckled. “Sweetheart, you are the prize. Fate made sure of it.”
Her cheeks burned. “Don’t call me that.”
He lifted a brow. “What? Sweetheart? Darling? Baby? Which one do you prefer?”
“I prefer none.” She pulled the sheet higher around her chest.
The blond one Rhett, she thought she remembered him saying finally moved, dragging a chair closer. He sat, his massive frame dwarfing the wooden seat. “Names. You should know them. I’m Rhett. That’s Jace,” he nodded to the slick-haired one, “and that i***t over there is Knox.”
“i***t’s a little harsh,” Knox said, smirking as he leaned forward on his knees. “Charming playboy works better.”
“Charming?” Dahlia muttered under her breath.
Knox grinned wider. “You noticed.”
Rhett shot him a look sharp enough to cut glass, but Knox just winked at her, like the tension in the room didn’t exist.
Dahlia rubbed her temple, her head pounding. “This is insane. You can’t all be my mates. That’s not how it works.”
“It is now,” Jace spoke for the first time, his voice smooth but cold. “The bond doesn’t lie.”
Her chest tightened at the word bond. The fresh wound of Damon’s rejection throbbed. “I already had a mate,” she whispered. “And he didn’t want me.”
Rhett’s eyes darkened. “Then he’s a fool.”
The certainty in his voice made her stomach flip, but she shook her head. “No. You don’t understand. I’m not strong like you think. My wolf… she’s silent. She doesn’t shift. Everyone thought I was worthless as Luna.”
Knox tilted his head, his grin fading just slightly. “Silent wolf, huh? That’s kind of badass. Like a ninja wolf. Maybe she’s just waiting for the right time to talk.”
She blinked at him, caught off guard by the ridiculousness. “A ninja wolf?”
“Sure,” Knox shrugged. “Quiet, mysterious, deadly when she finally moves.”
Despite herself, a shaky laugh escaped her lips. It felt foreign, rusty, like she hadn’t laughed in years. Rhett’s gaze softened when he heard it, though he said nothing.
Before she could speak again, the door opened and a woman in healer robes entered, her arms full of vials and herbs. “Alphas,” she said with a bow. “You sent for me?”
Rhett nodded. “She collapsed on the border. Check her.”
The healer’s gentle hands brushed Dahlia’s wrist, her forehead, her pulse. “She’s dehydrated. Exhausted. Malnourished. She needs rest and fluids.”
Dahlia pulled back slightly, uncomfortable under the attention. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” Rhett said firmly. His voice brooked no argument.
The healer began mixing something on the small table beside the bed. Dahlia tried not to fidget under the triplets’ watchful eyes. The silence stretched, heavy with things none of them wanted to say out loud.
Then the door slammed open again.
A guard rushed inside, his chest heaving, eyes wide. He dropped to one knee before the triplets. “Alphas. Alpha Damon Winterson of the Nightshade pack is here. With his Luna, Talia.”
The words knocked the air from Dahlia’s lungs. Her chest seized, her throat closed. Damon. Here.
Knox whistled low. “Well, that’s awkward timing.”
“Shut up,” Jace snapped, his eyes snapping to Dahlia.
Her pulse thundered in her ears. “No,” she whispered. “No, he can’t be here. I can’t see him.”
Rhett stood, towering, his presence filling the room like a storm. “Why is he here?” he demanded the guard.
The man swallowed hard. “He claims he’s here to negotiate territory boundaries. But.. word has spread that a woman collapsed at our border. He asked questions.”
Dahlia’s stomach dropped. He knows. Somehow he knows.
Rhett’s gaze flicked to her, sharp and assessing. “You don’t want him to find you.”
Tears burned her eyes. “He rejected me. Banished me. He has Talia now. If he sees me here..." She broke off, shaking her head. “I can’t.”
Jace’s expression hardened, his voice like ice. “Then he won’t.”
Knox leaned back, a smirk playing on his lips though his eyes were more serious than before. “Looks like we get to play hide and seek with your ex, sweetheart. How fun.”
“Knox,” Rhett barked, warning laced in his tone.
“What?” Knox shrugged. “I’m just saying, if he thought she was replaceable, he doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her. Let alone find her here.”
Dahlia’s throat tightened. The words shouldn’t have mattered, not after everything, but a part of her cracked anyway.
The healer pressed a cup of water into her hands. “Drink. Quickly.”
Her fingers shook as she obeyed. The cool liquid slid down her throat, but it didn’t wash away the fear coiling in her stomach.
Rhett turned to the guard. “Double patrols. No one lets him near this wing. If he asks questions, you tell him nothing.”
“Yes, Alpha.” The guard bowed and hurried out.
The moment the door shut, Dahlia buried her face in her hands. “This can’t be happening. Why won’t he just leave me alone?”
“Because men like him don’t let go easily,” Jace said quietly.
She looked up at him, startled by the hint of bitterness in his tone. For a moment, she wondered who had hurt him.
Rhett moved closer again, his hand braced on the bedpost. “Listen to me. He won’t touch you here. You’re under Red Hollow protection now. Under our protection.”
Her lips trembled. “Why? You don’t even know me.”
Rhett’s eyes burned into hers. “We don’t need to know you. The bond is enough.”
Her chest ached at the word. The bond. She had thought she’d never feel it again, yet here it was, alive and terrifying.
Knox clapped his hands suddenly, breaking the tension. “So what’s the plan, brothers? Keep her hidden, or parade her in front of Damon just to watch him choke?”
Jace shot him a glare. “We’re not using her like a pawn.”
“Relax,” Knox said, raising his hands. “I’m joking.” His eyes flicked to Dahlia with a wink. “Mostly.”
She groaned, dragging the sheet over her face. “I can’t do this. I can’t handle three of you.”
Knox’s grin widened. “Oh, you’ll handle us just fine.”
Her head snapped up, eyes wide, cheeks flaming. “That’s not what I meant!”
Rhett rubbed a hand over his face, muttering, “For once in your life, Knox, shut up.”
Knox leaned back in his chair, smug as ever. “What? I’m just trying to lighten the mood. She looks like she’s about to faint.”
“I’m fine,” Dahlia muttered, though her pulse was racing.
“You’re not fine,” Jace said flatly. “You’re terrified.”
She met his gaze, surprised by the blunt honesty. “Wouldn’t you be?” she whispered. “My whole world collapsed. My mate chose my sister. Everyone thinks I’m a liar. And now...now three strangers tell me I belong to them.”
The silence that followed was heavy, thick with truths none of them wanted to admit.
Finally, Rhett broke it. “You need rest. We’ll deal with Damon.”
Dahlia’s eyes widened. “What if he doesn’t leave?”
“Then,” Rhett said, his voice dark, “he’ll learn what it means to cross Red Hollow.”
Knox let out a low whistle, his grin fading into something sharper. “Now that sounds like fun.”
Jace’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. “He won’t leave quietly. Not when he finds out she’s here.”
- Writer
