The Triplets’ Lovely Bride

The First Mistake

Chapter 4:

………..

Kael Wolfe looked like his brother the way a blade looks like a shield.

Same storm eyes. Same sharp jaw. Same broad shoulders that filled the doorway like they were built to block exits.

But where Alaric was calm, Kael was cold.

Where Alaric watched, Kael assessed.

And right now, he was assessing me.

"So," he said, closing the door behind him with a soft click, "this is her."

"Kael." Alaric's voice was sharp. "Not now."

"Not now?" Kael raised an eyebrow. "The Queen is on her way. The bond is accelerating. Half the city's wolves can smell her blood waking up. And you want me to wait?"

"I want you to think."

"I'm always thinking, brother. That's the problem." Kael's eyes slid back to me. "She's smaller than I expected."

I found my voice.

"And you're ruder than I expected."

Kael's mouth twitched. Almost a smile. Almost.

"She has teeth," he said to Alaric. "Good."

"She's also standing right here," I said. "And she doesn't appreciate being talked about like she's not in the room."

Kael looked at me properly then—not assessing, not calculating—just looking. And something shifted in his eyes. Something that looked almost like surprise.

"You're not afraid," he said.

"Terrified," I corrected. "But I'm also angry. And angry usually wins."

"Good." He stepped further into the room. "You'll need that. The Queen doesn't respect fear. She respects strength. If you show weakness, she'll eat you alive."

"Great. Can't wait."

Alaric moved between us. Not aggressive—protective.

"She's not ready," he said. "She just found out what she is. She needs time."

"She doesn't have time." Kael pulled out his phone. "I have thirty minutes before the Queen's car reaches campus. Forty-five before she's in this building. We need to move."

"Move where?"

"Somewhere she can't follow." Kael looked at me. "Do you trust him?"

He nodded at Alaric.

I hesitated.

"Do you trust me?" Kael pressed.

"I don't know you."

"Smart answer. Wrong answer, but smart." He pocketed his phone. "Here's the situation, Elena. My mother wants you dead. Not because you've done anything—because of what you are. You're the true heir. The daughter of the Queen she murdered. And if she finds you before we get you somewhere safe, she will kill you. Slowly. Publicly. As a message to anyone who might think about challenging her."

My stomach dropped.

"And if I run?" I asked. "If I just—leave? Disappear?"

"She'll find you." Kael's voice was flat. "She has spies everywhere. She's been hunting Echoes for twenty years. You think you're the first? You're not. You're just the first to survive this long."

"What happened to the others?"

He didn't answer.

That was answer enough.

"Okay," I said. "Okay. So what do I do?"

"You come with us." Alaric stepped closer. "To our penthouse. It's warded—protected. She can't enter without invitation. You'll be safe there while we figure out our next move."

"Your penthouse." I looked between them. "You want me to move in with you."

"Not move in," Kael said. "Hide. There's a difference."

"Barely."

"Elena." Alaric's voice was soft. "I know this is insane. I know you didn't ask for any of this. But I need you to trust me. Just for tonight. Just until we can explain everything."

I looked at him.

Storm eyes. Sharp jaw. The man who'd held me while I cried. The man who'd kissed me like I was the only thing in the world worth kissing.

"I don't even know you," I whispered.

"You know enough."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

I looked at Kael.

Cold eyes. Hard jaw. The man who'd watched my apartment like a bodyguard. The man who'd called me smaller than expected like it was a compliment.

"You're both insane," I said.

"Probably," Kael agreed.

"And you expect me to just—what?—pack a bag and follow you home like some stray dog?"

"Not a dog." Kael's mouth twitched again. "Something wilder."

"Kael," Alaric warned.

"What? She should know what she is."

"She's not ready."

"She's never going to be ready if you keep coddling her."

"I'm not—"

"Stop." I held up my hand. "Both of you. Stop."

They stopped.

I took a breath.

"One night," I said. "I'll come with you for one night. And you will tell me everything—and I mean everything—or I walk. Deal?"

Kael looked at Alaric.

Alaric looked at me.

"Deal," they said together.

---

The Range Rover was waiting outside.

Black. Tinted windows. Engine humming like a sleeping animal.

Kael opened the back door for me. I climbed in. Alaric slid in beside me. Kael took the driver's seat.

"Where's the third one?" I asked. "Rafe?"

"Already at the penthouse," Kael said. "Making sure it's secure."

"He lives there too?"

"We all do."

"Three grown men in one penthouse?"

"We're triplets." Kael pulled away from the curb. "We've shared everything since birth. A penthouse is nothing."

I leaned back against the leather seat. It smelled like winter—like Alaric. Like the mark on my neck.

"Tell me about the bond," I said.

Alaric shifted. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. You said it's accelerating. What does that mean?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then: "The bond is like a thread between us. It connects you to each of us—emotionally, mentally, physically. The stronger it gets, the more you'll feel what we feel. The more you'll need us close. The more we'll need you."

"Need me how?"

"Without you, we go feral. It's already starting—Kael's been on edge since we found you. Rafe's been worse. And I—" he hesitated.

"You what?"

"I can't sleep. Can't eat. Can't focus. Every time I close my eyes, I see you. Every time I breathe, I smell you. It's driving me insane."

Kael snorted from the front seat. "Welcome to my life, brother."

"You too?" I asked.

"Since the bar." Kael's eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. "I wasn't supposed to be there. Alaric was supposed to watch you alone. But I couldn't stay away. I needed to see you for myself."

"So you've been stalking me."

"Protecting you."

"Stalking."

"Tomato, tomato."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. The absurdity of it all—werewolves, queens, bonds, three brothers—was too much. I laughed, and then I kept laughing, and then I was crying, and then I was doing both at the same time like a crazy person.

Alaric pulled me against his side.

Kael's eyes stayed on the road.

"It's okay," Alaric murmured. "You're okay. We've got you."

"I don't even know what's happening," I sobbed. "I don't even know what I am."

"You're Elena." His voice was steady. "You're the woman who walked into a bar and kissed a stranger because you were tired of feeling nothing. You're the woman who didn't run when I told you the truth. You're the woman who's about to walk into the lion's den and make demands."

I sniffed.

"That's not what I am," I said. "That's what I did."

"Same thing." He tilted my chin up. "You're stronger than you think, Elena. You just don't know it yet."

The car stopped.

I looked up.

We were in front of a building I'd never seen before—tall, modern, all glass and steel and sharp edges. The kind of building that made you feel small just looking at it.

"Welcome home," Kael said.

---

The penthouse was bigger than my entire apartment building.

No. That wasn't an exaggeration. It was actually bigger. Open floor plan. Floor-to-ceiling windows. A kitchen that looked like it belonged in a restaurant. A living room with couches that probably cost more than my tuition.

And standing in the middle of it, arms crossed, wild eyes, tattooed neck—

"Finally," Rafe said. "I was starting to think you'd let Mom eat her."

His eyes found me.

And something inside me—something I didn't understand, something that felt a lot like the mark on my neck—pulled.

He felt it too.

I saw it in his face. The way his breath caught. The way his hands clenched at his sides. The way his eyes flickered—black, then back.

"Little storm," he said. "You're even prettier up close."

"Don't," Alaric warned.

"I'm not doing anything."

"You're thinking about doing something."

"I'm always thinking about doing something." Rafe grinned. "Doesn't mean I will."

"Rafe." Kael's voice was sharp. "Focus."

"Fine. Fine." Rafe stepped back. "But we need to talk about the bond. She's been here five minutes and I can already feel it—she's pulling at me. It's taking everything I have not to—"

"Not to what?" I asked.

He looked at me.

His eyes were dark. Hungry. Wild.

"Not to finish what Alaric started," he said.

The room went very, very quiet.

My mark pulsed.

And then, from somewhere deep inside the building, a door slammed.

Kael's phone buzzed.

He looked at it.

His face went pale.

"She's here," he said. "The Queen is here."

……….

Chapter 4 Ends.

Next: Chapter 5 — He carried me out like I weighed nothing and whispered "Tell me to stop and I will" - I didn't. But the Queen is at the door, and this time, there's nowhere to run.