Eighteen Mates.

The Pack's Slut.

I kept up the pace. We didn’t stop until Elandor’s estate came into view.

“Open the gate!” he shouted.

The iron gates swung open. We rushed inside, and they slammed shut behind us with a heavy clang. Inside the house, Elandor shut the door and leaned against it, breathing hard.

I stopped in the center of the living room.

Numb.

“Did you know about this?” he asked quietly.

I shook my head in a daze.

The back door burst open. My parents rushed in, Nero close behind them.

“Are you okay?” my pregnant mother asked, gripping my arms tightly.

“What happened?” my father demanded.

No one answered.

Silence filled the room, thick and suffocating.

Minutes passed. I gently pulled away from my mother and sank onto the couch, staring at the floor.

Tonight was my eighteenth birthday. The night I was supposed to find my mate. Get married. Have pups. Live happily ever after.

That was the plan. What just happened?

“What are we going to do now?” Nero asked quietly. His voice was low and urgent. “She has multiple mates. The clan won’t let this slide. We need to act fast.”

“That’s true,” Elandor agreed.

My parents sat across from me, their faces tight with worry. Nero and Elandor remained at my side, silent and tense.

The living room fell quiet again.

My father suddenly stood and turned away from us, his shoulders stiff. He didn’t speak at first, but something in the way he held himself made guilt twist painfully in my chest.

“Is it possible to meet the Alpha?” he finally asked, still facing away. “I want to speak to him about my daughter.”

“What!” Nero sounded surprised.

My father's gaze shifted to Elandor. “Please. Grant us permission.”

“Alpha—” Elandor began carefully.

“My daughter is an Omega,” my father interrupted firmly. “She will not survive this unless the Alpha steps in and maintains order.”

The word Alpha hung heavy in the air. I pressed my palms to my face, trying to block it all out. The weight of the revelation, the fear in my parents’ eyes, the pull of bonds I wasn’t ready for. My stomach twisted. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.

“It is cruel that her fate turned out this way,” my father continued, his voice tight. “We must resolve this, or the pack will not stay quiet.”

“I… understand,” Elandor replied uncertainly.

“An Omega cannot bear the weight of eighteen alphas,” my father said, turning back toward us. “They will brand her a w***e. A cursed wolf. She is far too young to carry a burden like that.”

His voice cracked, but he forced himself to continue.

“I will plead for the ritual of rejection and set my daughter free. I don’t care what it costs me. If giving my life will spare hers, then I will do it.”

“Dad!” I shot to my feet. “Don’t do this!”

“Soraya is right. The Alpha is not as easy as it seems.” Nero added. “Think deeply about this.” Nero stood up. “Soraya,” he breathed, and the look in his eyes nearly broke me. “You will die. The Alpha will not spare you.”

I desperately said, “I am fated to... to eighteen of them.” “But I can choose —”

There must be another way.

“Your head is clouded,” my father cut in. “The best thing is to give up all of them.”

“But not your life,” I whispered, gripping his arm as tears burned my eyes. “Please. Don’t say that. You’re scaring me. I can’t—”

“Soraya.”

I can't lose my father. Not like this. I've got to think of this.

“Dad, no.”

Then his expression hardened. “And you… you are one of the Kaeliths.”

My breath caught.

“You are the son of the Alpha. Of the Ashenvale Lineage Clan,” my father continued, addressing Elandor. “My family’s life is at stake.”

I snapped my head toward Elandor, staring at him in disbelief.

A Kaelith?

“I will see what I can do,” Elandor said quietly, closing his eyes briefly. “I will have to make a request to Rhydian.”

Rhydian?

My thoughts spun. That couldn’t be true. Elandor… a Kaelith?

I turned slowly toward Nero.

He didn’t look surprised at all.

“It’s true,” he breathed, as if he could hear my thoughts. “Elandor is one of the Alpha’s children.”

He paused.

“And so am I.”

“What’s going on?” My voice barely came out.

“It seems,” Nero added grimly, “you’ve claimed all the Alpha’s children, Soraya.”

My heart dropped into my stomach.

“The Kaeliths are eighteen,” my father said heavily. “I know you are still in shock, but this is an unfortunate fate. If you do not reject his children, he will come for you.”

My pregnant mother covered her mouth in horror.

“Before the pack does,” my father finished, his gaze locking onto mine. “Right now, Elandor will contact Rhydian so I may speak to him.”

He took a slow breath.

“You must let them go. Choosing even one of them will become dangerous for you.”

The room felt smaller. The air is thinner. My world was collapsing piece by piece.

“This is for the best.” My father concluded and left the living room.

My mother also got up, gave a glance, and followed my father.

The Kaeliths are the children of the Alpha, eighteen in total. They are more than family; they are his shield. Chosen from the royal bloodline, they are the most trusted wolves in the pack. Their duty is simple and absolute: guard the Alpha with their lives.

Each one has sworn a blood oath beneath the full moon, a vow binding them forever to his side. Their lives belong to him. If a Kaelith ever tried to leave, sever their bond, the oath itself could kill them.

Whispers spread through the pack about their master. Some say the Alpha is a dangerous wolf, a ruler who knows nothing but blood.

And if that is true… then the Kaeliths are bound to a monster, and there is nothing they can do about it.

The Alpha. A man no one had ever seen. And if he decided I was a threat? If he saw me as something that could take his children away from him?

Then I am dead.

That’s not the worst part. I might face accusations of treason and starving for his position as the leader of the Ashenvale Lineage Clan. It will put a stigma on my family's name for generations.

If my father wants to speak to him himself, he definitely knows what he is worried about, because who gets destined with eighteen mates in the presence of everyone in the Mating Ceremony.

I was still in shock. I didn't know what else to do or say to anyone.