Mated to the Quadruplets

Chapter 3

My heart sank. Ashen had tricked me. He shoved me forward, and I fell at Aria’s feet.

“You killed my baby!” Aria screamed, grabbing my hair. “You disappeared to curse me, didn’t you?!”

I struggled to lift my head, pain shooting through me as she yanked harder. "Ashen... how could you do this to me?" My voice shook, barely holding back the tears that has already gathered.

Ashen laughed, the sound cold and merciless. “You really are a fool, Zara. Even after I rejected you, you still trusted me. Pathetic.”

The three of them attacked me again, beating me until I could barely move. I reached out to Ashen, my hand trembling, silently begging for some kind of mercy. He only turned away, his eyes dead to my suffering.

Just as I thought it was over, Aria raised a stone and brought it down on my head. I screamed as I fell over the edge of the cliff. But when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t falling anymore.

I was in my bedroom. Two years in the past.

*****

“What the hell?” I clamped my hand over my mouth, eyes wide. I stared at the calendar in my hand, my heart racing. The date... I could never forget it. The day Ashen discovered I was his mate. The day of his lie.

But something else hit me, hard. My wolf voice. I just heard my voice for the first time since Theron's poison took it from me.

I pulled my hand away from my mouth and tried again. “K-Zara,” I whispered, shaky, but real. I could speak.

What was going on?

Images of the cliff flashed in my head. My sisters... They tried to kill me. Aria smashed my head with a rock, pushed me off a cliff. I shivered at the memory of the hate in her eyes.

I threw the sheets off, realizing I was naked. Walking to the mirror, I touched my hair, eyes full of anger. "They tried to kill me. My own sisters. Ashen too. They all saw me as weak."

I looked at my reflection, rage building. "They'll all pay."

Today was the Mating Ball. A day that used to fill me with dread because my wolf never surfaced, year after year. But this time was different. I wore a black dress, low cut and bold. If they were expecting the old Zara, they'd be in for a surprise.

Before leaving my room, I wrote a note in Aria’s handwriting and slipped it under her door.

As I walked down the hall, someone looped their arm through mine. “Did you hear?” a woman asked, grinning.

I frowned at her. I didn’t know her in this life.

“About what?” I played along, still walking.

“The Lycan King of the Seventh Moon Pack is here. Alpha Theron invited him for Princess Mila. Rumor has it he's ruthless and... hot."

I was about to ask for her name, but an older woman interrupted. “Vanessa! Stop bothering the princess! Get to work!”

I watched them leave, confused. None of this felt like my life. The Lycan King hadn’t been at the ball I remembered.

Shrugging it off, I continued to the ballroom, slipping the note under Aria’s door on the way.

When I arrived, the ball was already in full swing. My sisters were lined up by the Alpha’s side. No seat for me—some things never changed. Aria sneered at me from across the room.

I grabbed a glass of wine and headed straight for Mai, the Alpha’s mistress. "Oh, goddess, I’m so sorry!” I “accidentally” spilled the wine all over her.

“Zara! Watch where you’re going!” Mai snapped, smacking me. I smiled, loving the sting.

Disgusted, she stormed off to change. Just as I wanted.

I downed the rest of the wine and approached the high table. Selene scoffed, “You blind now, Zara?”

“No, sister. Just an accident.”

Aria grimaced. “If I were Mai, I’d have done worse. You’re so lucky the Moon Goddess declared you as her special wolf.”

Special wolf? What?

Selene laughed. “Without the Moon Goddess, you’d be miserable.”

I frowned, trying to piece it all together. Had the Moon Goddess protected me? Was that why I had my voice? Why Theron’s poison didn’t work this time? But why would she care about me?

Before I could think more on it, the Alpha spoke. “Why are you here? It’s not like you’ll find a mate.”

I smiled. He said the same thing to me before. “I wanted to let you know about something... interesting.”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“If you go to your mistress’s room, you’ll find something she’s been hiding from you.”

Suspicion flickered in his eyes. He rose from his throne, surprising his daughters. Mila called after him, but he was already gone. I stayed behind, waiting for my plan to unfold.

An hour later, Ashen, stark naked, was dragged into the ballroom. He was thrown at my feet.

“I’m innocent!” Ashen begged, looking up at me. “I can explain!”

I touched my heart. He was telling the truth. But my note had led him right into the trap.

Theron’s voice boomed. “How dare you both mock me?”

Mai cried out, “Please, Theron! I’m innocent! I found him in my bed—"

“Liar!” Theron slapped her, blood trickling down her cheek.

Mila glared at me. Selene was pale, while Aria... Aria was heartbroken. She had just started an affair with Ashen.

I smiled sweetly at my sisters. “What will people say about you, Alpha Theron? Your beta and your mistress?”

“Shut up, Zara!” Aria screamed, wiping her tears.

But Theron considered my words. “Take them both to the dungeons. I want them executed in three days.”

“No, father!” Aria cried. “Please! Don’t hurt Ashen! I love him!”

Suddenly, drums sounded in the pack house. The Lycan King had arrived.

I wasn’t interested in seeing him. I had other things to focus on. As I moved toward the exit, the doors swung open.

My heart stopped. Four identical men stood before me. Kade, Dax, Ryker, and Luca.

The Standon quadruplets.

They saved me when I died.

I blinked. Four Lycan Kings?

Their blue eyes locked onto mine as they moved closer, desire in their gaze.

“Mate,” they growled in unison.