Claimed By Three

Chapter 3

My body shrank in on itself as Damien retreated slowly, greedily counting his money. The sight of him clutching each bill with shaking fingers made him look so small, so pitiful.

Lucian stepped forward, his lips curling into the same dark smile that never quite reached his eyes.

“Alright,pet. It's time to leave,” he said, fingers grazing my lips. I jerked my head away, fire burning in my eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

“Uuh, feisty. Save it for tonight, darling,” his brother teased, lounging against their sleek black Mercedes with a crooked grin.

“Get in,” Alpha Lucian ordered, his expression leaving no room for argument. Who did he think he was?

My chest tightened. I didn’t want to go with them. I didn’t even know these men. The cold walls of my dark cell suddenly felt safer than the unknown waiting inside that car. At least in the cell, I knew what to expect. Out here… I was just an orphan, powerless, and completely at their mercy.

He grabbed my arm tightly, sending a sharp ache shooting up to my shoulder, and I flinched under the pressure. My breath caught, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of a scream.

“Will you come with me the easy way? Or would you like to experience my hard way?” He grit his teeth, and my chest tightened in dread.

“Get in, now,” the man with tattoos instructed, pulling the car door open. He was as tall and broad as Lucian, his silver eyes glinting in the dim light.

My eyes darted to the black Mercedes, then back to him, fear and fury warring inside me. My feet betrayed my mind as I walked into the car.

The man who opened the door tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch lingering in a way that made my skin crawl.

“Good girl.”

Lucian and one other man climbed in, closing me off on both sides. Another man climbed into the driver's seat. Stuck in the middle, I couldn’t shake the feeling they were about to devour me alive.

“Zane,” Lucian called to the man at the wheel. “We’ll head home first. No sense hunting her like this. Our little pet needs to catch her breath… so she can give us a proper shift.”

Hunt? They were going to hunt me?

My wolf had been silent throughout, but her sadness pressed at the edges of my mind like a low, constant throb.

We just met,but my pathetic life was hurting her already.

I felt the man beside me trail his fingers up my thigh, slow and deliberate, spreading my legs apart. My breath hitched as I began to feel things I had never known before. His touch lingered where I ached most, sending shivers racing through me. I wanted to stop him but I…I didn't feel the need to.

He inhaled deeply, his lips curling into a hungry smile as though my body’s reaction was the sweetest perfume.

“Someone’s already dripping for me,” he murmured, voice rough with restraint. “This will be fun… I don’t think I can resist you much longer.”

My stomach twisted, my pulse hammering so loudly I thought they could hear it. I pressed back against the seat as far as I could go, wrapping my arms around myself. I felt so humiliated.

Lucian rolled his eyes.

“She’s tempting,” he muttered, voice edged with restraint, “but you have to control yourself. None of this will be enjoyable if we don’t give her a chance. You know the rules.”

Tyler sighed, sinking back into his formal posture. I drew in a breath, summoning the little courage I had left, and forced my voice to steady.

“What do you mean by ‘hunting’ me? And what rules are you talking about?” I asked, lifting my head to look directly at Lucian.

Lucian lifted a brow, a slow smirk tugging at his lips. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Once you have shifted, we will play a little game, much like hide and seek. You will hide, and if we fail to find you within an hour, you win and earn a wish from each of us. But if we find you…We win.” He smiled as he traced the hem of my gown with his fingers.

From the front, the man in the driver's seat gave a slow nod. I caught the curve of his grin in the rearview mirror, as though he already knew how this game would end.

“Wait…I'm a game for you?” My voice cracked in disbelief. “What happens if you win?”

His eyes burned into mine.

“Well, my sweet innocent, it depends on who finds you first.” He paused deliberately, savoring the silence before dropping the words that froze my blood. “The man who finds you first will take your virginity.”

I swallowed hard and threw my gaze from him to the window that stretched in front of me. We were surrounded by trees as the car pulled up into a secluded mansion.

My eyes almost popped out of the sockets at the sight of what this man called their home. My heart raced so loudly in my chest that I was sure they could hear all of it.

My suspicion was confirmed when Tyler leaned close, his lips brushing my ear as a soft moan slipped past them. “Sweetheart, with your heart pounding and the scent of your arousal, I’m already so freaking hard. I can’t wait to be inside you… to make you feel everything.” My body tensed as a shiver ran down my spine.

Lucian helped me out of the car. I couldn’t be more grateful to escape that tight space and to be away from Tyler. The thought of what awaited made me want to freeze in place, but Lucian pulled me quickly into the house. My strength was nothing compared to his. There was no way to protest.

He sat me in a chair, shooting a glance that seemed like a warning, before leaving the room. If If I even thought of leaving, I knew death would follow.

I tried to get comfortable in the grey faux leather chair, but it seemed impossible, even though that was the softest chair I had ever sat on.

I took my time looking around the room, noticing professionally painted portraits of each of the three men I had met today, scattered across the walls. The walls were grey, with orange accents on the curtains. I was mesmerized by the beauty, until Lucian walked in again and the weight of my current predicament hit me all over.

He handed me a glass of water and a pill. “Take this,” he ordered. “It should help your wolf regain her strength so you can shift on time.”

“What if I don't want to shift?” I asked.

Laughter filled the room,not just Lucian’s, but two more voices. Tyler and Zane had been here all along, shadows I hadn’t noticed until now.

Zane knelt beside me, his fingers stroking my hair. “You couldn’t stop your first shift even if you wanted to. Midnight is ten minutes away. Be a good girl and take the pill.”

Reluctantly, I took the pill from him and swallowed it with a large gulp of water.

I felt a pop in my spine when Tyler announced that it was midnight.

Lucian's hand closed gently around my arm as he led me outside. He lay me down on the cold floor, his gaze unreadable.

“Boys,” he said with a grin, “it’s time.”

“I'm sorry.”

I heard Thalira say and suddenly I felt unusual. I screamed in pain as I arched my back on the cold ground.

I could hear their laughter,they found joy in my pain. Then agony consumed me. My bones cracked. My skin stretched and tore. I screamed, arching against the earth, their laughter circling me like vultures.

Fur spread across my body, lilac eyes stared back at me from a nearby window. A howl ripped from my throat, without my permission.

Lucian clapped loudly as he walked over to me. “Well-done my little pet. Your wolf is as beautiful as you are.” Thalira found a flicker of happiness in his words,just because he called us beautiful.

“We are rock hard now just from hearing your screams,” Tyler spoke, “It’s time we begin. We will remain in human form to give you the advantage but in ten minutes,we will hunt you down,” he mentioned and I felt myself backing away slowly.

Zane’s eyes glowed silver. “Run.”

Fear surged through me, and my body obeyed, sprinting into the forest. This would be the best time to escape from them. My feet carried me deep into the forest, faster and faster.

I heard their laughter bouncing off the trees as the ensued their chase. Had it been ten minutes already?

“Come out,come out wherever you are. My little pet,I promise that by the end of this you will beg me for more,” Lucian cooed from a distance.

A shiver tore through me, the bond tugging me toward him.

“It's the mating bond. It makes you crave them,and It will be worse when they mark us.” Thalira sighed a little. “I just don't understand why they were being this cruel to us.” She whimpered. My heart broke for her. Few hours ago she was excited but it has all drowned into sadness.

“Sweetheart,” Tyler’s voice rasped nearby, “I can already taste you. Don’t make me wait”. The cupcake scent that he carried made my mouth water.

“Princess,” Zane called, his scent thick in the air. “Daddy wants to make you moan.”

“We have to go,” I hissed to my wolf.

“If we go out there, they'll see us,then we'll have all thre of them coming at us,” she replied logically, ruling out the idea.

“But we still need to do something!” I warned,my pulse spiking. The adrenaline and confidence was being replaced by fear as the smell of pumpkin spice grew stronger.

Then the air shifted. His scent was suffocatingly strong, curling into the cave where I hid. Moonlight bounced off his toned abs as he's glowing silver eyes peered into the cave.

“I've found you, princess. You're mine.”