Rejected by My Alpha, Claimed by Three

CHAPTER 5: THREE

Ash didn't answer him. The silence stretched, and the stranger's smile widened, pleased with itself, as though he'd never had to work for anyone's attention.

"Nothing?" He tilted his head, studying Ash closely, as though looking for signs of how much had changed. "You used to talk more than this before."

"Before you sold us out." Ash's voice was flat, stripped of the warmth Lyra had heard in it on a hundred mornings beside the coffee cart. "I've had five years to think of things to say to you, Callum. None of them are worth wasting on you in front of her."

Callum. Lyra filed the name away like something sharp she'd need later.

"Her." Callum's eyes slid to Lyra, and something in his expression shifted. Less delight now. More calculation. "You really haven't told her anything, have you? Two years standing three feet away from her every morning, and you let her walk around thinking her exile was Darian's idea alone."

"Don't," Ash said.

"Why not? She deserves to know exactly how many people decided her life for her before she was old enough to argue about it."

Lyra's pulse hammered in her ears. "Someone tell me what's happening, or I swear I will walk out that door and ask the next stranger who claims to know me instead."

Callum laughed, low and easy, like she'd said something charming rather than furious. "I like her," he said to Ash. "I can see why you never told her about me."

"You're not funny."

"I'm rarely trying to be."

Callum's gaze returned to Lyra, and for the first time, something almost gentle crossed his face before it was gone. ''You really think Darian was the only one who felt it?"

Lyra's stomach tightened. "Felt what?"

Callum studied her for a moment. "That's a longer conversation than I've been sent to have." His jaw tightened, the first real crack in his composure since he'd walked through the door. "I'm only here to take you back, not explain what waits for you there."

Ash moved before Lyra could react, closing the distance between them in one motion. "You are not taking her anywhere."

"I'm not planning to drag her out by the wrist." Callum didn't retreat. "I'm here to deliver a message, and then I'm gone. That's all today is."

"Then deliver it and get out."

Callum's eyes found Lyra's again. "Someone very old and very patient would like to meet you before your birthday next month."

Lyra's pulse quickened.

"You have thirty days."

"Thirty days for what?"

"The arrangement your mother agreed to before you were born comes due."

Lyra stared at him. "My mother never told me about any arrangement."

"Your mother didn't get to choose what she told you." For a moment, something that looked almost like pity crossed his face. "She didn't get to choose much of anything, if we're being honest about how this started."

The bell over the door chimed. Darian filled the doorway a half second later. His eyes found Lyra first. Then Callum. Whatever composure he'd worn the night before disappeared.

"Get away from her."

Callum's eyebrows lifted. "Darian too." His gaze shifted between Darian and Ash, openly curious. That's new."

Darian ignored him. He crossed the lobby quickly and stopped beside Lyra. "I felt the bond spike." His eyes searched her face. "Something frightened you. I felt it from six blocks away."

"I'm fine." Her voice shook, betraying her.

Before he could say anything else, another presence entered the room. No bell. No footsteps. Adrian stood near the window, arms crossed, as though he'd been watching from the start.

"You could have called," he said mildly. His gaze settled on Lyra. "Instead of making me feel my mate nearly go into shock through a bond I didn't ask for."

Darian's head snapped toward him. "You felt that too?"

"Apparently we all did." Adrian's gaze shifted toward Callum. The careless amusement he'd worn on the balcony was gone. "Hello, Callum." He paused. "I'd say it's good to see you, but I've never been a very good liar."

"Adrian." Callum inclined his head. "Still alive, I see."

"Disappointing you, I hope."

"Every single day."

Lyra looked between them. Darian stood tense beside her. Ash remained between her and Callum, his body coiled and ready. Adrian watched from the window, his usual calm replaced by something sharper. Three men. All three had felt her fear.

Lyra felt something close to hysteria rise in her chest. Then she stepped past Ash. "You don't get to leave yet."

Callum looked at her. She forced herself to hold his gaze. "You said someone wanted to meet me. I want a name."

His expression changed. Real surprise this time. "You've got nerve."

"The name, Callum."

He studied her for a long moment. Then he smiled. "Not today."

"Then why tell me any of this?"

"Because I wanted you to know the clock was already running." He checked his watch. "Thirty days, Lyra." He stepped backward toward the door. "I'd get comfortable with all three of them." His gaze moved from Darian to Ash, then to Adrian. "You're going to need to trust someone before this is over." His eyes returned to Lyra. "And I promise you, it won't be me."

He walked out. The door swung shut behind him with a small, ordinary chime.

For several seconds, nobody moved. Then Lyra turned toward Ash. "You knew him."

"We grew up together." His voice was quiet, worn thin. "Before he decided obedience mattered more than the rest of us did."

Lyra looked at Darian. "And you knew about my exile."

Darian's expression tightened. "I knew it wasn't as simple as you believed."

"You knew someone else was behind it."

"Yes." The answer was quiet.

Lyra's chest tightened. "Who?"

Darian looked away. "I'll tell you."

"When?"

"Tonight."

Her anger rose. "You've been telling me that since yesterday."

"I know." His eyes met hers. "And I'm sorry."

Lyra opened her mouth, but before she could answer, the bond shifted. A strange warmth moved through her chest. She gasped. Darian reached for her. The moment his fingers closed around her arm, the warmth deepened. Familiar. Painful. Home.

Then another sensation moved through her. Different. Softer. It came from Ash. His hand was still near her shoulder, but he hadn't touched her. She could feel him anyway. Warmth. Steady concern. A quiet ache she knew wasn't hers.

Ash stared at her. "You feel me." It wasn't a question.

Lyra's breath caught. Then a third sensation brushed against her awareness. Cooler. Quieter. A pull she recognized from the balcony. Adrian. His eyes met hers. For once, he had no clever answer.

The three sensations existed at once. Darian's familiar bond. Ash's warmth. Adrian's quiet pull. Lyra pressed a hand to her chest.

"No." The word barely escaped her.

Adrian moved first. "Lyra."

She looked at him. "What is happening to me?"

Nobody answered.

She looked from one man to the next. Darian. Ash. Adrian. Three different bonds. Three different sensations. Three men who had somehow been connected to her long before she understood any of them.

Her heart began to race. "You're my mates."

The words came out as a whisper.

Darian closed his eyes. Ash went completely still. Adrian's gaze never left hers. Nobody denied it.

Lyra took a shaky breath. For five years, she'd believed one man had rejected her and left her with a broken bond. She had been wrong. There had never been one bond. There had been three.

For five years, Lyra had thought losing one mate had been the worst thing that could happen to her. She was beginning to realize she had never understood what being claimed really meant.