002
1215 Words
Chapter Two
ARIA'S POV
I couldn't breathe.
The three of them stood there, watching me like predators watching prey, and all I could think was that this had to be some kind of sick joke.
"You're lying," I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew they weren't. My wolf knew. She was practically howling inside me, torn between joy at finding our mates and terror at who they were.
"We're not lying," Kade said. He took another step toward me, and I took another step back. "We've known each other for a few months now. Since we turned eighteen."
"Months?" My voice cracked. "You've known for months and you didn't say anything?"
"What were we supposed to say?" Dante asked. He moved to my left, and I realized with growing panic that they were surrounding me. They were blocking the exits. "Hey Aria, remember how your parents murdered our mother? Well, guess what, the Moon Goddess has a sick sense of humor."
"My parents didn't—" I started, but Cole cut me off.
"Don't." His voice was quiet but hard as steel. "Don't stand there and defend them. Not to us."
I felt tears burning in my eyes and hated myself for it. I wouldn't cry in front of them. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
"If you've known for months, why tell me now?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Because tomorrow you'll feel the mate bond fully," Kade said. "And we needed to talk to you before that happened."
"Talk to me about what?"
Another look passed between them. Whatever they were about to say, they'd planned and rehearsed it.
"We're not rejecting you," Dante said finally.
I blinked. That was literally the last thing I expected to hear.
"What?"
"You heard him," Cole said. "We're not rejecting the bond."
"But—why not?" The question sounded stupid even to me, but I genuinely didn't understand. They hated me. They'd made my life hell for four years. Why would they want to keep me as their mate?
"Because we need a Luna," Kade said simply. "Our father is stepping down as Alpha in six months. I'm taking over. And an Alpha needs a Luna."
"We need a Luna," Dante corrected. "All three of us."
I stared at them. "You're insane. I'm not going to be your Luna."
"You don't have a choice," Cole said.
"I absolutely have a choice. I can reject you right now."
Kade's expression darkened. "You could. But then you'd be a rejected omega with nowhere to go. You really think any other pack would take you in? The daughter of the wolves who killed a Luna?"
He was right and we both knew it. A rejected mate bond would weaken me even further, and I was already at the bottom of the pack hierarchy. I would be completely vulnerable.
"This is insane," I repeated, running my hands through my hair. "You hate me. You've spent four years making sure I know exactly how much you hate me."
"We don't hate you," Dante said.
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Really? Don't you hate me? You and your friends have called me every name in the book. You've stood by while the pack treated me like garbage. You've never once defended me or helped me or even looked at me like I was a person. But sure, you don't hate me."
"We had to maintain distance," Cole said. "If anyone knew you were our mate before we were ready—"
"Before you were ready?" I cut him off, anger finally overtaking the fear. "What about me? What about what I'm ready for?"
"This isn't about what you want," Kade said, and his Alpha tone leaked into his voice. It made my wolf want to submit, but I fought it. "This is about what's best for the pack."
"You mean what's best for you."
"Same thing," Dante said with a shrug. "We're going to be the Alphas. And you're going to be our Luna. That's how this works."
"And if I say no?"
The room went very quiet.
"You won't say no," Kade said finally. "Because you're smart enough to know that this is the best option you have. Be our Luna, and you get your life back. Your respect, your protection, and a place in the pack again."
"In exchange for what?" I asked. "What exactly do you want from me?"
"We want you to stand beside us," Cole said. "To be our partner in leading this pack. To bond with us completely."
"You want me to forget everything you've done to me. Everything you've let happen to me."
"We want you to move forward," Dante said. "The past is the past."
I wanted to scream. The past wasn't the past when I was still living it every single day. When I was still scrubbing their floors and sleeping in a room the size of a closet and eating scraps from the kitchen.
"I need time," I said. "I need time to think about this."
"You have until tomorrow night," Kade said. "After the meeting with the neighboring packs. We'll announce our bonding then."
"What? No. I just said I need time—"
"And we're giving you twenty-four hours," Dante interrupted. "That's more than generous considering we could just force the bond right now."
My blood ran cold. "You wouldn't."
"We don't want to," Cole said. "But we will if we have to. This is too important."
"Why?" I demanded. "Why is this so important? Why me? You could find someone else, someone who actually wants to be with you—"
"Because you're our mate," Kade said, and for the first time, I heard something other than cold calculation in his voice. It was something almost like frustration. "Because the Moon Goddess chose you for us, and we're not going to reject that. No matter how complicated it is."
"Complicated," I repeated flatly. "You think this is just complicated?"
"What do you want us to say, Aria?" Dante asked, and he actually sounded tired. "That we're sorry? That we wish things were different? Fine. We're sorry. We wish things were different. But they're not. Your parents killed our mother, our pack hates your family, and somehow we're still mates. So we deal with it."
"By forcing me to be your Luna."
"By offering you a way out of the hell you've been living in," Kade corrected. "Don't pretend this isn't better than what you have now."
The worst part was that he was right. Being their Luna, even if they still hated me, would be better than being the pack's omega. I'd have protection. Status. I wouldn't have to scrub floors until my hands bled.
But I'd have to tie myself to them forever. To the three men who'd watched me suffer and done nothing.
"I need to think," I said again.
"Tomorrow night," Kade repeated. "Don't make us come find you, Aria. You won't like how that goes."
They left, one by one, until I was alone in the grand hall with my mop and my racing thoughts.
I sank to the floor, my legs finally giving out.
What the hell was I supposed to do?
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