Olivia Hale

I was going to pass out. There was no doubt in my mind. I could feel the world spinning around me like a disorienting whirlpool. My heart was pounding, my breathing shallow. I tried to stand, but my legs betrayed me, collapsing beneath me as if they couldn’t handle the weight of whatever had just happened. I fell back and bruised my hands and legs.

The air felt too thick, too heavy, suffocating with the sound of murmured voices and the pounding of my pulse in my ears. Everywhere seemed to be drowning.

“What’s happening?” I whispered hoarsely. “Why am I… I shouldn’t be…”

I was so dizzy, I could barely see straight. The sensation of the triplets’ gazes bore down on me, like hot coals, scorching my skin even though they hadn’t touched me. Even though all they were was a blur. My wolf... it was still there, like a pulsating heartbeat beneath my skin, thrumming with energy I didn’t understand. I wanted to rip it out of me. Now I desperately wished I hadn't shifted.

“You shouldn’t be doing this.” Kael’s voice. Low, tight, and strained. His golden eyes flicked between me and his brothers, but he didn’t move.

Silas, standing beside him, clenched his fists, his body stiff. He seemed torn—like he wanted to break something, but didn’t know where to start. “This isn’t supposed to happen.”

“You’re…” Riven’s grin widened, his lips curling in a wicked smirk, his dark eyes gleaming with something like curiosity and amusement. “Well, this is going to be fun.”

I shot him a glare, instinctively pulling myself into a crouch, ready to bolt. My body wasn’t used to this kind of power. I wasn’t used to being wanted by three of the most dangerous wolves in the pack—no matter how much of a mistake it was.

“You’re not supposed to be bonded to all three,” Kael growled, the authority in his voice making me flinch. “It’s a damn curse, not a gift.”

But his words were laced with something else. Something darker.

“Calm down,” Riven said, his tone dripping with amusement. He glanced back at Kael and Silas. “It’s already done. We can’t undo it now.”

“But why her?” Silas muttered, his voice full of frustration and confusion. “Why now?”

I struggled to push myself up, the ground feeling unsteady beneath me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I snapped, my throat tight. I was angry now—angry at them, angry at the whole damn situation. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for any of this!”

“You don’t have to ask for it,” Kael said, his voice still tight with something I couldn’t quite place. “It’s fate. And fate’s a bitch.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. My vision swam again, the world tilting at odd angles. Just as I felt myself losing consciousness, I was caught—by none other than Riven.

“Well, isn’t this a sight?” he murmured, his breath warm against my ear as he gently lifted me up. “The freak of the pack, with the mate bond that should never have been.”

I pushed against him, but my strength was gone, drained by whatever had just happened. “Let go of me,” I hissed, though it sounded more like a plea.

But Riven didn’t let go. Instead, he smirked. “Oh, don’t worry, my sweetheart omega. I’ll let you go when I’m ready.”

I didn’t know whether to punch him or kiss him—both impulses surged through me in equal measure, and I hated it. Hated how he made my skin heat under his touch. I should’ve hated him. They all were the triplets, the sons of the Alpha. They were trouble with a capital T.

“Take her inside,” Kael ordered, his voice sharp. “Now.”

Riven chuckled. “You’re not the boss of me.”

“No, but I’m the one in charge of the pack till dad gets back,” Kael shot back. “So take her inside.”

I was still too out of it to argue, my body too drained, too exhausted from the shift and the bond that seemed to be ripping me apart. My pulse was still racing, still aching, and it felt like the triplets’ presence was anchored in my chest like a heavy weight.

“You heard him,” Silas said quietly, his voice still laced with confusion and anger. “Take her.”

“Fine,” Riven muttered, sounding completely uninterested. But he shifted his grip on me, wrapping his arm more securely around my waist as he started walking toward the pack house.

The cold night air hit my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. I barely registered the path we were taking, too consumed by the new and overwhelming sensation of the bond thrumming inside me. The triplets’ presence was everywhere, like they were a part of me.

I was trying to push them away, but it was like pushing against a flood. My body reacted without my permission, every cell in me alert to their touch, their proximity.

“Stay with me, Liv,” Riven murmured as he carried me into the pack house. “Don’t pass out on me yet.”

“Why… why are you doing this?” I rasped, struggling to focus.

Riven grinned, but it wasn’t the mischievous grin I was used to. It was something darker, something... possessive.

“Because you’re ours now,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “And we’re not letting you go.”

The tension in the air was thick. Everything inside me screamed for me to fight back, but I couldn’t. Not when I didn’t even understand what was happening.

This wasn’t supposed to be happening.

And yet, I could feel it. The triplets—the Alpha’s sons—were mine now. The bond was there. Whether I liked it or not.

What did it mean? And how was I supposed to live with this?

I woke to silence. The kind that buzzes in your ears and makes your skin crawl.

The sheets beneath me were expensive—cool silk that screamed power, not comfort. The scent was masculine, sharp, and disturbingly familiar.

One whiff, and I knew.

Kael.

The ice prince himself.

Of course he'd be the one command them to drag me back to the pack house after I passed out from whatever mate-bonding nightmare I'd stumbled into.

I sat up slowly, expecting pain. Instead, I felt… different. Stronger. More aware. My wolf, who'd always been a dull throb in the back of my mind, was now fully awake—pacing around furiously, stretching, snarling, vibrating with a hunger I couldn't name.

The door clicked open.

I flinched.

Kael stepped in like he owned the floor I sat on. Not a single piece of him was casual. Gold eyes, sharp and unreadable, zero emotion on that stupidly beautiful face. He looked carved from stone, all broad shoulders and strawberry-blonde hair tied back like he'd just walked out of a battlefield.

His eyes swept over me once. No smirk. No frown. Just pure calculation.

"You're awake."

"No sh*t, Sherlock," I snapped.

He ignored the jab. "You shifted. The bond's sealed."

I shoved the covers off. "Undo it."

Kael tilted his head. "That's not how this works."

"Then explain it."

He didn't move closer. "You were born wolf but locked out of your nature. The curse chose us to fix that."

"Curse," I echoed. "Right. Because fate looked at the Hale girl and thought, 'You know what'd be fun? Bond her to three emotionally unavailable psychopaths.'"

Something flickered in his expression. Barely there. But it was a crack. A small one.

"I don't care how you feel about it," he said coolly. "This isn't a love story. It's a binding. A contract written in blood. You're not an omega anymore, Olivia. You're ours."

"No," I shot back, standing. "I don't belong to anyone. Especially not to you."

He stepped forward then. Just once. And suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

"You belong to this pack now. To me. To Riven. To Silas. You'll learn to accept it, or you'll break under it."

"I'd rather burn."

His eyes narrowed. "Then burn. But you're not walking out that door unless I say so."

With that, he turned and walked out, leaving the door wide open. A test. A warning. Maybe both.

Seconds later, someone filled the space he left behind.

Riven.

Black-haired chaos in a leather jacket. Muscles, tattoos, and a scar that looked like it had a story I'd never hear.

"Kael always this warm and fuzzy, or is it just me?" I asked.

Riven grinned. A sharp, cocky thing that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You're awake. Cute."

I scowled. "I'm not cute. I'm pissed."

"Even better." He stepped inside like he lived here, hands shoved in his pockets, green eyes raking over me. "You should've seen the three of us, you know. Pacing like caged animals while you were out cold. Never thought I'd live to see Kael panic."

"He didn't look panicked."

"That's because you're not fluent in Kael. I am."

I crossed my arms. "You done flirting?"

"Who's flirting?" he asked, mock serious. "I just like watching your face go all red when I say things like—'Hey, trouble. Miss me?'"

I groaned. "You're insufferable."

"And you're bonded to me. So I guess we're both cursed." He shrugged. "Look, I don't do pack loyalty. I don't do rules. And I definitely don't do fate. But something happened in those woods, and now I can't stop thinking about you."

My heart thudded. Stupid wolf.

"You don't even know me."

"I know enough."

He took a step forward, and my body tensed, not from fear—but from something much, much worse.

Want.

"If you want to survive this," he said, voice low, "don't lie to yourself. Your wolf knows we're hers. Even if you haven't figured it out yet."

Then he brushed past me, the scent of smoke and sin trailing behind like a warning.

And then came the last knock.

Soft. Almost polite.

"Darling omega," a voice sang.

I stiffened. "Go away, Silas."

The door creaked open anyway. Of course.

Silas walked in like he was delivering bad news with a bouquet of roses. Gold curls, pretty-boy smile, and hazel eyes that shouldn't have been terrifying—but were.

"Look at you," he said, head tilted. "All fire and fury and bare feet."

"I'm not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood. And yet, here you are. In our house. Breathing our air."

"I didn't choose this."

"No one ever does. Fate chooses. And fate, darling, has a wicked sense of humor."

He came closer, and the air tightened around us. Silas had that thing—predator in a silk shirt energy. The kind that made you forget he was dangerous until his teeth were already in your throat.

"Here's how this goes," he murmured. "You fight us. You run. You curse our names and slam every door in this house."

I swallowed. "And if I don't?"

He smiled wider. "Then we ruin you. Gently, sweetly, completely."

I slapped him.

Hard.

He didn't flinch. Just blinked. Then… laughed.

"Oh, Liv," he whispered. "You're going to be so much fun."

Then he turned and left me—dizzy, breathless, and absolutely furious.

I sank onto the bed, heart pounding, head spinning.

Three triplets. Three wolves. Three nightmares wrapped in bodies I had no business craving.

And me?

I was the cursed girl with a target on her soul—and three monsters fighting over who got to claim it first.