Mated to the Quadruplets

Chapter 2

Zara’s POV

It had been a year since Ashen betrayed me. A year since he got my sister Aria pregnant. He used me, played with the bond we had. How could anyone make fun of something so serious?

I wiped the sweat off my forehead and kept gathering herbs. They were for Aria and Ashen’s baby. That’s what my father wanted. He didn’t care how much they had hurt me. All he cared about was that baby.

“You’re the only one who can do this, Zara,” he had said. "The rest of us are too important."

Aria’s daughter was born with a weak heart. She needed blood to survive, and I was the one who had to give it.

Suddenly, I tripped and fell hard onto the forest floor. My ankle twisted painfully, and I gasped, trying to sit up. The sharp pain made it hard to move. I looked around, tears filling my eyes.

"Help! Please!" I called out, my voice shaky. No one answered, and fear crept over me as the sky darkened and tears ran down my cheeks.

“Bad luck tonight, huh?”

A deep voice startled me. I looked down and saw a man standing beneath me. He wore faded jeans and a black vest, and his eyes were so blue, they felt like they pierced right through me.

“How did you get stuck up there?” he asked, laughing.

I didn’t respond. Was he the one who set this trap?

“You would what?” another voice said, as if he’d heard my thoughts. I froze. How could he know what I was thinking?

Then, two more men appeared. They all looked the same. Were they brothers?

“Don’t make threats you can’t keep,” one of them said, his arms crossed.

I was still in shock when the trap released, and I fell. But I didn’t hit the ground. Strong arms caught me. My heart raced as he held me close.

“What’s your name?” one of them asked as another approached. All of them were identical. Four of them.

They smiled. “No one ever tells us apart,” one of them said.

I havent spoken. How were they reading my thoughts?

“I’m Dax,” said the one holding me. “This is Ryker.” Ryker smiled, making my heart skip a beat.

“Over there is Luca,” Dax continued. “And the big guy? That’s Kade, the oldest.”

“What’s your name?” Luca asked. “It’s a nice one.”

I was so starstruck that I remained speechless. I blinked in confusion. How could they know?

“We’re the Lycan Kings of the Seventh Moon Pack,” Kade said. “And we can read the thoughts.”

The Lycan Kings! What were they doing here?

“You don’t have to worry,” Ryker said, smiling again. “We’ll get you home before whoever set this trap comes back.”

My mind raced. They read my thoughts again.

“Let’s get you home,” Kade said, still looking serious.

They took me back to the pack. Once I reached the gate, I realized something terrible—I hadn’t given the baby her blood today.

The guards were waiting. As soon as I entered, they grabbed me and dragged me inside.

I screamed, but it didn’t matter. I was too weak.

The guards threw me at Alpha Theron’s feet. His hand struck me hard across the face.

“Where were you, Zara?!” he shouted. I tried to explain, but he wouldn’t listen.

“Was this your plan all along? To let my granddaughter suffer?”

“I’m sorry, I got carried away by…….”

“Just shut it”, he shouted.

Before he could say more, a midwife rushed in.

“Alpha, Princess Aria… she lost the baby.”

I gasped. Aria had been pregnant again, and now she’d miscarried.

A scream tore through the house. It was Aria. She knew.

Alpha Theron returned to me, his eyes burning with anger.

“Aria wants you dead,” he said. “But I won’t kill you. You’ll rot in the dungeon instead.”

The guards chained me and dragged me away.

I sat in the cold, dark cell, feeling my strength slip away with each passing day. I’d stopped counting how long I’d been trapped here—the blood draws, the starvation, it all blurred together. Why me? Why did it have to be like this?

The soft creak of the door pulled me from my thoughts. I expected the pack doctor, as usual, but it was Ashen who stepped in. His face was hidden in the dim light, his eyes flicking over his shoulder before moving toward me.

"Zara," he whispered, crouching beside me. There was an urgency in his tone, but something softer, too—something I hadn’t heard from him before. “We don’t have much time.”

I stared at him, confused. “What are you doing here? You lying son of a bitch.”

His eyes flickered with something—guilt, maybe. “I know you don’t trust me, and you’ve got every right not to. But I need you to believe me this once. I’m not going to let them hurt you anymore.”

My body tensed. “You really expect me to believe that? After everything you've done?”

He reached for my hand, but I jerked it back, narrowing my eyes. Ashen let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t have a choice before, Zara. Aria… she controls everything. But now, I’m choosing you. Please, you have to come with me, before she realizes I’m gone.”

My heart was racing. I wanted to believe him, but it felt like a trap. Someone who could literally break my heart into shreds can never be trusted.

“Why now, Ashen? What changed?”

He hesitated, his jaw tightening. “Because... I can’t keep pretending. Seeing what they’re doing to you—it’s not right. I know I’m far from redemption. I should’ve gotten you out sooner.”

My mind was spinning. He sounded real, but how could I trust it? I shook my head, backing away from him. “You betrayed me before, rejected me to my face and chose my sister. Why should I believe you now?”

His expression softened, his voice dropping lower. “I get why you’d hate me, but think about it. See I had no choice, it was all my father’s………….

“Just shut it”, I said. “I don’t want to hear any of it, its all in the past”.

“If I was still working for Aria, why would I risk everything to come here?”, He said. “You know what she’d do to me if she found out.”

I bit my lip, doubt clouding my mind. What if this was another one of Aria’s games? Was he just a pawn again?

Ashen stepped closer. “Zara, please. I know I don’t deserve your trust, but if you stay here, they’ll drain you dry. I’m not asking for forgiveness, just… let me help you.”

I stared into his eyes, searching for any hint of deceit. What if this was my only chance? What if he was telling the truth, and refusing him would lead to something worse?

Footsteps echoed in the distance, and Ashen grabbed my hand. “We don’t have time to debate this. If you stay, you’ll die. If you come with me… there’s a chance.”

My pulse quickened as the footsteps grew louder. With a deep breath, I nodded, reluctantly.

Ashen pulled me to my feet, relief washing over his face. “Thank you,” he whispered.

We slipped out of the prison quarters and ran through the forest, the moonlight barely lighting our path. My mind was racing faster than my legs, fear and confusion tangled up inside me. Was this really my escape, or was I walking into another trap?

We reached the edge of a cliff, and I slowed down, my eyes widening in horror. There, at the edge of the cliff, stood my three sisters. Aria was in the center, her hand resting on her swollen stomach.

“You did well, Ashen,” Aria said, her voice cold and sharp as a blade.

My heart sank.

Have I just been played twice, by the same man?