Three marks, one mate

Thirty

Desiree POV

The moment the words left my lips, the entire room fell into a suffocating silence, and the looks on their faces shifted so quickly it made my chest tighten, because what started as shock slowly turned into something far heavier.

Their eyes widened almost at the same time, realization dawning one after the other as the truth settled in.

“That’s why he stopped the attack,” Zachary said, his voice filled with sudden understanding, though the tension in his body only seemed to grow stronger.

Grayson let out a slow breath, dragging a hand over his face as though trying to process everything at once. “You kept this from us…” he murmured, his voice quieter now, but laced with something deeper than anger.

Disappointment.

That hurt more than anything.

Before I could say anything else, Brandon stepped closer, closing the distance between us in a few measured strides, and when his fingers tilted my chin upward, forcing me to meet his gaze, I felt it immediately—the weight of his emotions, the storm brewing behind his eyes.

“Are you choosing him over us?” he asked, his voice low, controlled, but trembling slightly beneath the surface. “Is that why you didn’t say anything?”

The question struck me hard.

I shook my head quickly, my heart racing as I reached for him instinctively. “No,” I said, my voice soft but urgent. “I didn’t even understand it at first. I just… felt something, a pull I couldn’t explain, and it wasn’t until I saw my necklace that I realized the truth that I have four mates.”

My words hung between us, but they didn’t ease the tension.

Not completely.

Grayson’s jaw tightened as he looked away briefly, his hands curling into fists before he spoke again. “And you feel something for him,” he said, not as a question, but as a statement.

That made my chest tighten.

“Of course not,” I replied immediately, stepping forward, closing the space between us as I reached for them, needing them to understand, needing them to believe me. “I love the three of you. That hasn’t changed, and it never will. I could never love an enemy.”

Everything about this moment was overwhelming—the bond, the truth, the emotions crashing into each other without warning.

Grayson turned away abruptly, pacing the room like a caged animal, his frustration spilling over as he ran a hand through his hair. “I will never allow that bastard to touch you,” he muttered, his voice low but filled with a fierce, possessive anger that made my wolf stir in response.

“You should reject him,” Zachary said suddenly, his tone more controlled but no less serious, his gaze fixed on me as though searching for any sign that I might hesitate.

“Yes,” Brandon added immediately, his voice firmer now, more decisive as he stepped back slightly, trying to regain control over his emotions. “He wants you because you are the Moon-Born and not because you are his mate.”

Their words pressed in on me from all sides, their expectations, their fear, their need to protect what we had, and for a moment, it felt like I was being pulled in different directions all at once.

“I am fine because I have my mates to protect me” I assured them.

“Always remember that,” Brandon replied.

“Also, you must go to the human land again” Zachary warned.

“Why, I enjoyed the moment I spent there” they are being unfair right now.

“Is it the moment that guy was touching what was ours or when another person's mate was smiling at you” Grayson accused.

“What are you talking about, Ethan is only concerned because I am his mate's friend” I defended.

“Are you defending another man already?” Zachary's brow furrowed.

“Ethan is your sister's mate, why are you like this?” I asked.

“We are like this because you left us to go to the human world, what if something happens to you” Zachary replied.

I understand their fear but they should also know I won't cheat on them, my wolf cares so much for them, I moved closer to them and kissed them one after the other “I love you three so much and I won't do it again without telling you”

My kiss calms them down, the three possessively embrace me in their big arms. “We won't let you defy us again, should we remind you of our rules again, you are ours, ours to touch, to hold and to satisfy” Grayson purred into my ears making all the cells in my body wake up.

We were interrupted when one of the warriors at the pack border began pounding on the door continuously “alpha, I know you are in there, open the door”

The warrior stumbled in almost immediately, his chest rising and falling rapidly as though he had run the entire distance without stopping, fear and urgency clinging to him like a second skin.

“What is so important that you are disturbing my peace at this hour?” Brandon’s voice cut through the room, low and dangerous, his anger barely restrained as he glared down at the trembling man.

The warrior swallowed hard, clearly shaken but forcing the words out. “Someone… someone is requesting to see Luna Desiree.”

The moment my name was mentioned, the atmosphere shifted again.

The three men around me stiffened all at once, their reactions sharp and instinctive, their protectiveness flaring without hesitation.

“Who the f**k wants to see her?” Zachary roared, stepping forward, his voice echoing with pure aggression as his wolf pushed dangerously close to the surface.

Brandon’s eyes darkened further, suspicion flashing across his face. “It better not be Elder Maeve or her daughter,” he growled, the warning in his tone unmistakable.

Grayson’s reaction was even more intense.

A low, threatening growl rumbled from his chest, his body going rigid as his wolf surged forward, barely restrained. “If that foolish human followed us here…” he muttered darkly, his voice laced with lethal intent, “I will kill him.”

Zachary stepped even closer to him, his patience completely gone. “Do you not have a mouth?” he snapped harshly. “Who is here to see our mate?”

The warrior hesitated.

Then he spoke. “The Rogue King… Alpha.”