Three marks, one mate

Twenty eight

Desiree pov

I turned my back and I came face to face with my three angry mates and a furious beta, I smiled sheepishly at them.

The man who had grabbed me was still groaning, clutching his hand as he staggered backward, but none of them paid him any real attention beyond the brief moment it had taken to break him. Their focus was entirely on me now, and the intensity of it made my skin tingle.

Grayson was the first to move, his jaw tight, his eyes scanning me quickly as though making sure I was unharmed, and when he seemed satisfied, the tension in his shoulders shifted into something darker.

“You let him touch you?” he said, his voice low, controlled, but laced with something that made my stomach twist.

“I didn’t—” I started, but the words caught in my throat under the weight of his gaze.

Zachary stepped closer next, his expression not as openly angry as Grayson’s, but somehow worse, quieter, colder, his eyes lingering on the spot where the man had grabbed me as though committing it to memory.

“He touched you,” he repeated, not asking, just stating it, his voice tight with restrained fury.

“I told him to leave,” I said quickly, my pulse still racing as I tried to steady myself, “he wouldn’t listen.”

Brandon hadn’t said a word yet.

And that scared me the most.

When I finally looked at him, I felt it immediately—the storm beneath his calm, the way his eyes burned with something possessive, something furious, something that made my wolf stir restlessly in response.

He took a slow step toward me, his gaze never leaving mine, and when he finally spoke, his voice was dangerously quiet.

“You left the pack,” he said, each word measured, controlled. “Without telling us.”

Guilt hit me instantly, sharp and undeniable, but I lifted my chin slightly, refusing to shrink under his gaze even as my heart pounded harder.

“I needed space,” I said, my voice softer now, but still steady.

His eyes darkened.

“And a club full of strangers was the place you chose?” Grayson muttered, clearly unimpressed, his gaze flicking around the room as though he wanted to burn the entire place down.

Zachary exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair before looking back at me, his expression torn between frustration and concern. “Do you have any idea what could have happened?” he asked, his voice no longer cold, but strained.

I did.

And yet, standing here now, I also knew I wasn’t wrong for wanting a moment to breathe.

“We were careful,” I said quietly, though even to my own ears, it sounded weak compared to the fear I now saw in their eyes.

“We couldn’t find you,” Brandon said, and this time, there was something else in his voice—something raw, something real that made my chest tighten. “Do you understand what that did to us?”

The anger in him wasn’t just anger.

It was fear.

That realization softened something inside me immediately.

Before I could respond, a familiar voice broke through the tension.

“What the hell is going on here?”

It was Ethan.

I turned slightly as he approached, his gaze moving quickly from me to the three men standing far too close, his posture shifting subtly as protectiveness settled into his stance.

“Is there a problem?” he asked, his tone calm but firm, his attention flickering briefly to the injured man on the floor before returning to Brandon.

The air changed instantly.

Grayson straightened slightly, his expression sharpening as he took Ethan in, clearly unimpressed, while Zachary’s eyes narrowed just enough to show he was assessing him.

But Brandon…

Brandon didn’t even look at him.

His gaze remained fixed on me, as though Ethan didn’t exist.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Grayson said flatly, his voice edged with warning.

Ethan didn’t back down. “She’s with us,” he replied, his tone just as steady. “So it does.”

That was enough to shift Brandon’s attention.

Slowly, deliberately, he turned his head, his eyes locking onto Ethan for the first time, and the tension that followed was so thick it felt like the air itself had stopped moving.

“Us?” Brandon repeated, his voice dangerously low.

Avery appeared at Ethan’s side almost instantly, her eyes wide as she took in the scene, clearly sensing the tension.

“Wait—” she started, but it was already too late.

Grayson let out a short, humorless laugh. “You have no idea who you’re talking to,” he said, taking a step forward.

Ethan didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch.

And for the first time, I noticed it—the quiet confidence in him, the way he held himself despite standing in front of three wolves who could tear him apart without effort.

“I don’t need to,” he replied calmly. “I just need to know why you’re surrounding her like she doesn’t have a choice.”

That did it.

A low growl ripped from Brandon’s chest, his control slipping just enough to let his dominance flood the space around us, the pressure of it making even the humans nearby begin to shift uncomfortably, unaware of what exactly was wrong but feeling it all the same.

“She is ours,” Brandon said, his voice no longer calm, no longer restrained. “Mate.”

The word hung heavily in the air.

Ethan’s expression faltered for the first time, his bodyguard hurried in and stood between my mates and their boss.

“You are defending him?” Grayson asked, disbelief lacing his voice as I stepped fully between them, placing myself as a barrier before things could spiral beyond control.

My heart was racing so fast it felt like it might burst out of my chest, but I forced myself to stand firm, even under the weight of their anger, even under the intensity of their gazes that seemed to demand I move aside.

“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head as I lifted my eyes to meet his, my voice softer but urgent, “I just don’t want any of you to do something you’ll regret.”

For a split second, there was silence.

Then Zachary let out a sharp, humorless laugh, his eyes darkening dangerously as he took a step forward. “You think I would regret killing a pathetic human?” he asked, his voice low, filled with a coldness that sent a chill down my spine.

“Can you all just calm down!” Avery’s voice cut through the tension, sharp and desperate as she stepped forward, her eyes wide with panic, her hands trembling at her sides as she looked from one face to another, searching for even a hint of reason.

But no one listened.

And then Brandon spoke, his voice was quieter than the others, but far more dangerous. “Are you in love with him?” he asked, his gaze locked on me, searching, demanding, almost accusing. “Or is he your fourth mate?”

The question hit me like a slap.

My breath caught instantly, my eyes widening slightly at the accusation, at the implication behind it, at the jealousy burning so clearly in his voice.

“No,” I said quickly, my voice firm despite the chaos inside me. “He is not.”

The tension didn’t ease.

If anything, it tightened further.

Ethan, who had been silent for a moment, finally stepped closer, his presence steady despite everything happening around him, his concern now entirely focused on me.

“Do you know them?” he asked, his voice low but urgent, his eyes searching mine for answers. “Do you want me to call the police?”

The word police barely registered before the reaction came.

“Stop talking to her!” Grayson and Zachary snapped at the same time, their voices sharp, filled with pure, unfiltered warning as they both stepped forward, their dominance flaring again.

The air shifted violently, Ethan stiffened slightly, but he didn’t back down, his jaw tightening as he looked between them, clearly refusing to be intimidated despite the overwhelming difference between them.

“Avery…” I started, sensing the breaking point coming, feeling it in the way her breathing had become uneven, in the tears gathering in her eyes.

And then, she broke.

“He is my mate!” she cried out, the words bursting from her like something she could no longer hold back, her voice cracking as tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

Shock rippled through the space between us, heavy and suffocating as her words settled in, as the truth she had been hiding was finally laid bare.

Ethan turned to her slowly, confusion and disbelief flooding his expression. “What…?” he breathed, clearly trying to understand, trying to make sense of something far beyond his world.

Zachary’s eyes snapped to Avery instantly, his entire body going rigid. “What did you just say?” he asked, his voice dangerously quiet now, the anger shifting into something far more intense.

Grayson looked just as stunned, his earlier rage momentarily replaced with shock as his gaze moved between Avery and Ethan, clearly piecing things together.

Brandon’s reaction was the most terrifying.

His jaw clenched tightly, his eyes darkening as he slowly turned his full attention to Avery, the weight of his authority pressing down on all of us without him needing to say a single word.

“Avery…” he said slowly, his voice controlled but heavy with something deeper, something that made even me tense slightly.

Avery’s hands shook as she clutched Ethan’s arm, her body trembling but refusing to let go of him despite the fear in her eyes.

“I didn’t want you to find out like this,” she whispered, her voice breaking as she looked at her brother. “But I love him.