Three marks, one mate

Forty two

Desiree POV

Avery was the first to move.

For a moment, she simply stood there, her body stiff with disbelief, her eyes scanning the woman in front of us as though trying to piece together memories she had long buried, and then something in her expression shifted—recognition, fragile and uncertain, breaking through the shock.

“Mum…” she whispered again, her voice trembling as she took a hesitant step forward, her composure cracking under the weight of emotion. “Where have you been?”

There was longing in her voice.

Pain.

Questions that had clearly gone unanswered for far too long.

But the woman did not answer her.

Instead, she moved not toward Avery but toward me.

Each step she took felt deliberate, heavy with purpose, and as she drew closer, I became painfully aware of the energy surrounding her—it wasn’t just power, it was something ancient that made my wolf stir uneasily beneath my skin.

“I have come at the right time,” she said, her voice low yet firm, her gaze locked onto mine with an intensity that made it impossible to look away. “Darkness is already reaching for you… I can see it.”

A chill ran down my spine.

I remained rooted to the spot, my mind racing, confusion and unease crashing into each other as I tried to understand what she meant, but nothing made sense, not her sudden appearance, not the way she ignored her own daughter, not the way she looked at me like she had been searching for me all along and I just found out about her.

Beside me, Celine let out a soft scoff, clearly unimpressed, her expression twisting into one of disgust as she waved a hand in front of her face.

“You stink, old woman,” she sneered, her voice dripping with mockery.

The woman didn’t even flinch.

Her lips curved slightly, not in amusement, but in something far sharper. “Not as much as your mouth,” she replied calmly.

The response was so quick, so effortless, that I couldn’t stop the small laugh that escaped me, the tension breaking for just a second as I shook my head, though the uneasiness still lingered beneath the surface.

That was when I felt them.

My mates.

Their presence closing in around me almost instantly, drawn by the shift in my emotions through our bond, their protectiveness rising without hesitation as they took their places beside me, their eyes scanning the woman cautiously.

“Who is she?” Brandon asked, his voice steady but guarded as he stepped slightly in front of me, instinctively placing himself between us. “And why is she here?”

The woman finally turned her attention away from me.

Her gaze landed on Zachary. “Hello, son,” she said gently.

Zachary froze.

For a heartbeat, he simply stared at her, his expression blank with disbelief, as though his mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.

“Mother…” he gasped, the word breaking out of him like something fragile, something he had been holding onto for far too long.

Emotion crashed into his face all at once.

Before anyone could say anything else, she stepped closer to him, lifting her hand to his face, her fingers brushing against his chin with a tenderness that contrasted sharply with the powerful aura she carried.

“Lucky you,” she murmured softly, her lips curving into a faint smile. “The Moon-Born chose you.”

Zachary didn’t respond.

He couldn’t.

Instead, he pulled her into a tight embrace, holding onto her like he was afraid she would disappear again if he let go, his shoulders trembling slightly as the emotions he had kept buried finally surfaced.

“You left…” his voice cracked, raw and unsteady. “You left without telling anyone.”

Tears gathered in his eyes, and for the first time since I had known him, I saw him like this.

He was vulnerable, he was just a son who had lost his mother and now had her back.

Avery stood frozen beside us, her own emotions warring within her, her lips parted as though she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words, the reunion clearly hitting her just as deeply.

Brandon glanced around the arena, his sharp eyes taking in the growing tension, the whispers spreading among the crowd, the unease that was beginning to replace the earlier celebration.

“Let’s get her inside,” he said firmly, his voice cutting through the moment as he shifted back into his role as Alpha. “This is not the place for this conversation.”

“Yes,” Avery said quickly, snapping out of her daze as she wiped at her eyes, trying to regain control of herself. “Mum, please… Come with us.”

But before the woman could move, she raised her hand and pointed at Celine. “Hold her,” she said, her voice suddenly sharp, commanding, leaving no room for argument. “She must not leave.”

Celine’s eyes widened, panic flashing across her face for the briefest second before she tried to compose herself again.

“Why are you pointing at me?” she demanded, though her voice lacked its usual confidence. “I haven’t done anything……”

Brandon didn’t wait for her to finish.

The moment the command was given, his expression hardened, and without hesitation, he mindlinked.

Within seconds, Beta Kyle appeared at Celine’s side, his grip firm as he seized her arm before she could react, his presence calm but unyielding.

“Let go of me!” she snapped, struggling against him, her composure finally cracking as fear crept into her voice.

Kyle didn’t budge.

“She’s not going anywhere,” he said simply.

I watched the entire scene unfold, my heart beating faster with every passing second, the unease growing stronger inside me as everything began to fall into place.

“How did you know we were about to search for you?” I asked her as soon as we got inside.

“I have always been lurking over shadows,” she replied.

“Mum, I watched you leave” Zachary said, still moved to tears.

“What should we do about her?” Kyle asked, still holding Celine.

“She is going to deliver Desiree to Elias tonight” she stated as a matter of fact.

“She is lying, I will never do that” she faced Brandon with a pleading look “Alpha Brandon, that's not true, believe me” Fear and panic were written all over her face.

“Take her to the dungeon, I will deal with her later” he growled and yelled angrily.