SAMANTHA
"Mate."
The word came from three directions at once. Darlington's deep voice from the center. Finnian's quiet tone from the left. And Jayce—Jayce's cruel, mocking drawl from the right.
They spoke together, like a chorus. Like they had rehearsed it.
My head snapped up.
Did they just...?
Did they actually...?
Mate?
Had they accepted me? Why here? In secret?
I stared at them. The light was still there, but it had shifted. The halos were no longer covering their faces. Instead, the glow had moved behind them—massive rings of gold hovering against the backs of their thrones, illuminating them from behind like saints in an old painting.
I could see their faces now.
Darlington's sharp jaw. Finnian's kind eyes and Jayce's cruel, beautiful mouth.
"So," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "You know?"
They laughed so loudly that it filled the enormous room.
"Yes, bunny," Jayce said. His wings rustled behind him. "We all knew."
Bunny?!
He called me bunny.
I did not know whether to be insulted or terrified. Bunny could be good or bad. Bunny, as in pet where they could baby and take good care of. Or Bunny, that they were meant to fatten, kill and eat.
Clayton—no, Darlington—leaned forward on his throne. His golden eyes pinned me in place.
"I felt it the moment you entered the palace," he said. "The bond. The pull. I was in a meeting with my father when your scent hit me. I almost shifted right there at the table."
"You should have seen his face," Finnian added, a small smile playing on his lips. "He went pale. The king thought he was having a seizure."
Darlington shot his brother a look. "I did not go pale."
"You went very pale," Jayce confirmed. "Whiter than my wings."
"I am not having this argument again."
I stared at them. The three most powerful wolves in the kingdom—no, not wolves. Wolves and something more. Something with wings and halos and faces that shone like the sun—and they were bickering like children.
What is happening?
Jayce leaned back in his throne and crossed his arms behind his head. His wings spread slightly, framing him like a living painting.
"I felt it in the room. That day, " he said. His voice was softer now. Almost thoughtful. "I also felt it in the garden, when you begged me to stop." He tilted his head. "My wolf nearly tore out of my chest. He wanted to claim you right there. He wanted to mark you. Wanted to make you ours."
My heart pounded.
"But I did not," Jayce continued. "Because claiming you would mean acknowledging you. And acknowledging you would mean... complications."
"Complications," I repeated flatly.
Darlington nodded. "Our father does not know. About the bond. About you being our mate. He thinks you are just another slave. Another breeder."
"And we intend to keep it that way," Finnian added. "For now."
I pushed myself up from the floor. My knees ached. My hands were shaking. But I would not kneel before them. Not anymore.
"So," I said, "what now?"
The triplets exchanged glances.
Darlington spoke first. "My wolf has been begging me to claim you. To mark you. To make you ours in every way that matters." He paused. "But I will not."
"Why?"
"Because claiming you would put a target on your back. Our father would see you as a threat. Molly would see you as competition. The other women would see you as prey." He shook his head. "You are not safe here, Samantha. And marking you would only make it worse."
I laughed. This was a lie. These boys were my biggest tormentors. I knew something was not right. I would see their true colors soon.
"Then kill me." I said. "Set me free from whatever is coming in the future. I don't want to see it."
The room went silent.
"Kill me," I repeated. "If you cannot claim me. If you cannot protect me. If I am just a complication—then kill me. Put me out of my misery."
Jayce's wings folded tight against his back. His golden eyes darkened.
"We are not going to kill you, bunny."
"Then what are you going to do? Keep me as a slave? Watch me train to suck toes and dance naked? Watch me compete with forty other women for the privilege of bearing your children?" My voice cracked. "Watch me die in childbirth like your mother?"
The triplets flinched.
All three of them.
I had struck a nerve.
Darlington rose from his throne. He descended the steps slowly, his boots clicking against the crystal. When he reached me, he was close enough to touch. But he did not.
"Why did you run away?" he asked. "When you were eighteen. Why did you leave this pack?"
I blinked. "What?"
"Your mother. Tell us about her."
My throat tightened. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because we have been watching you, Samantha. When you ran. When you went off to a new pack, when the lizards took you and before you were sold to us. Before any of this." Darlington's voice was low. Intense. "We know you ran away from this pack."
My blood turned to ice.
"So you knew," I whispered. "You knew all along."
Jayce laughed. That cruel, mocking sound.
"We know everything, bunny. Everything."
He rose from his throne and descended the steps. His wings dragged behind him, feathers brushing the obsidian floor. When he reached me, he reached out and touched my face.
His fingers were warm. Almost gentle.
"It is a good thing the lizards left you untouched," he murmured, tilting my chin up. His golden eyes searched mine. "At least we know you are pure for us."
I wanted to spit on him. I wanted to slap his hand away. I wanted to scream.
But I did none of those things.
I stood frozen beneath his touch, my heart pounding, my wolf snarling inside me.
"Do you fancy us?" Finnian asked from his throne. His voice was curious. Almost innocent. "Any of us?"
I did not respond.
"Darlington? Me? Jayce?" Finnian pressed. "Surely you have thought about it. The mate bond. The pull. Do you feel it too?"
I said nothing.
Jayce's thumb traced my cheekbone. "Answer the question, bunny."
I pulled my face from his grasp. I stepped back. I lifted my chin and looked at all three of them—the glowing, winged, impossible creatures who claimed to be my mates.
"I know you will reject me," I said. My voice was steady. Hard. "So go ahead and do it fast. I do not have time for games."