Josie
The world tilted on its axis.
"Bring her to the stage," Thorne growled, and the command hit me like a punch to the chest.
Eyes turned. Conversations died mid-sentence. The crowd parted, slow and awestruck, like I was some kind of fire about to consume them all.
Me.
The omega nobody wanted.
I tried to step back, to disappear again—but hands gripped my arms. Two guards I didn't recognize materialized out of nowhere, their grips firm but not unkind. My heart thudded against my ribs like a trapped thing.
"No, wait," I breathed. "This—this can't be real. I'm not—this has to be a mistake—"
But they were already guiding me through the sea of whispers and stares. Marcy's wide eyes met mine across the room. Her mouth moved, but I couldn't hear her. Everything sounded like it was underwater.
I was shaking. My knees threatened to buckle. And then—
I was standing on the stage.
Under the blue-glowing moon.
In front of the triplets.
Thorne, with a gaze that could split mountains. Kiel, all cool disinterest and quiet strength. And Varen, who hadn't looked away from me since the moment I'd crashed into him.
"Josie Starlight," Thorne said, voice echoing across the stunned hall. "You are ours."
Gasps rippled through the crowd like wildfire.
"Impossible," someone hissed.
"She's an omega."
"Why her?"
And then a shrill voice cut through the chaos.
"No."
Michelle.
Pack darling. Training prodigy. Daughter of Luna Council's second-highest Elder. Varen's supposed future mate.
She stormed toward the stage, her icy-blonde hair flowing like a war banner. "This is a mistake. I'm his! Everyone knows it. I've trained for this. I'm not—" Her lip curled as she glared at me. "She's nothing."
The room froze.
Elder Archer followed closely behind her, fury radiating off him in waves. "This is a disgrace. I demand a Blood Reversal. The bond must be broken. You three were promised—"
"We don't care what was promised," Thorne snapped, his voice hard as iron. "The bond is made. She is ours."
"You're rejecting Michelle?" Archer's voice cracked like a whip.
"Yes," Kiel said, quiet and sharp. "Without hesitation."
Michelle's face crumbled. Her scream tore through the air, wild and furious. "I won't be replaced by a servant!"
The pack murmurs grew louder. I could feel their disbelief pressing down on me like stone.
I opened my mouth. My tongue was dry.
"I… I reject you," I rasped, staring at them, barely able to breathe. "This—this isn't right. I'm not… I can't be…"
The words should have cut the bond.
But nothing happened.
No pain. No break. No release.
Only silence.
And three pairs of eyes watching me like I'd just broken their favorite toy.
Kiel took a step forward, voice dangerously calm. "You don't get to decide. The bond doesn't accept your rejection."
My stomach turned. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Varen murmured, stepping close enough that I could feel the heat of his body, "that you're stuck with us."
My throat tightened. "No. Please—this isn't—my parents, they'll—"
"You'll move into our estate tonight," Thorne said, voice cold and final.
"No."
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
I turned my head, looking toward the back of the hall where my parents stood stiffly, their expressions pale and unreadable.
I didn't know what I expected. Shock? Rage? Hope?
Instead, my father looked away.
And my mother's lips thinned into a razor line.
"I can't," I whispered, taking a step back. "I… I need to go home."
A flicker of something unreadable passed across Varen's face.
Thorne opened his mouth to argue, but Kiel held up a hand.
"Let her go. For now."
And just like that, they let me walk away.
But not before Varen leaned close, his breath brushing my ear. "We'll come for you."
---
The door slammed so hard behind me it shook the frame.
"What the hell have you done?"
My father's voice, usually quiet and distant, was thunderous.
I barely had time to turn before he shoved me backward. I stumbled into the couch, my shoulder hitting the armrest hard. My mother stood across the room, arms crossed, trembling with rage.
"You've ruined us!" she spat. "Do you think this is some kind of game? Getting claimed by them? Did you plan this? Did you seduce them?"
I flinched. "No! I didn't—I didn't even know—"
"You're lying!" my father roared. "You whored yourself to the triplets like a desperate little—"
"I didn't!" I cried. "I didn't ask for this! I don't want this!"
"Then reject them!" my mother shouted, her voice shrill and raw. "Get rid of the bond. Now."
"I tried!" The words broke from me like glass. "It didn't work. The bond—it wouldn't let go."
Silence.
My mother stared at me. And then, slowly, her hand rose.
The slap cracked through the room like lightning.
Pain bloomed across my cheek, hot and instant.
I blinked, stunned. Her face was a mask of betrayal and hatred.
"Don't you dare destroy what's left of this family with your weakness."
"I didn't choose this," I whispered. Tears stung my eyes. "I never got to choose anything."
Neither of them said a word as I ran upstairs, my body shaking, my lungs burning.
***********
I slammed my bedroom door shut, locked it, and collapsed against it. My cheek throbbed. My throat felt like it had been sanded raw.
I was nothing. I'd always been nothing.
How could the Moon Goddess tie me to them?
I stumbled to the bed—and screamed.
Varen was already there.
Lounging like he owned the place, one leg bent, an arm behind his head. A stalk of sugarcane between his teeth.
"How—" I choked. "What—how did you get in here?"
He didn't answer.
Just tilted his head, eyes heavy on my swollen cheek, the way my hands trembled.
My lips parted to scream again, but he was faster.
In a blink, he stood.
And pressed one finger to my lips.
"Shh," he said, voice low and soft as silk. "Tell me everything."
His eyes burned into mine—hungry, furious, tender.
"Or I'll tear this house apart."