~Lisa's POV
"You filthy thing," Belinda hissed, her voice dripping with hatred. "Do you even know what this dress costs? Of course not. You wear rags."
Her words sliced through me sharper than the slap had. I didn't respond. I stayed on my knees, my head bowed, my throat tight like I had swallowed thorns.
The red wine was soaking into the hem of my faded dress, spreading across the cheap fabric like shame. I didn't dare move. The sting on my cheek still burned. My fingers trembled as I reached again, trying to dab the wine off her dress with the corner of my apron. I knew it wouldn't help. I was only making it worse.
I could hear them whispering.
Not the crowd. Not the pack.
Them.
The triplets.
I didn't have to look up to know they were watching. I swallowed hard. My hands kept moving, trying to clean the impossible stain. My heart pounded so loudly I thought everyone could hear it. I just wanted to disappear. Melt into the marble floor and never come back.
Then a voice broke the silence.
Deep. Calm. Familiar.
"What's going on here?"
I froze.
That voice.
Kael.
His voice carried power like thunder in the distance, calm but dangerous. It rolled over the crowd like a warning. People shifted, lowered their heads.
Before I could even lift mine, another voice came, sharp and cold like a blade.
"Why is she on the floor?"
Rowan.
His tone held no warmth, only quiet irritation, as if the sight of me offended him.
Then came the third voice.
Steady. Strong. Quiet, but commanding in a way that made everyone listen.
"Belinda?"
Damon.
I looked up.
Slowly. Like I was waking from a dream, or a nightmare.
I should've bowed my head again. I should've stayed quiet. But something in me, something buried deep, wanted them to see me, not like this, not on my knees, not broken.
But it was too late.
Belinda didn't waste a second. She turned to them, her voice high and full of fake tears.
"She… she did it on purpose!" she cried, pointing at me like I was filth. "That human! She poured wine on me just when I was walking in! Everyone saw it!"
I didn't defend myself. What would be the point?
I lowered my head again. Of course. Of course, they'd believe her. She was beautiful, powerful, born of this world. And me? I was nothing.
Whispers stirred through the room like cold wind. I felt eyes crawl all over me, some sneering, others amused, a few pitying.
Then Kael's voice sliced through it.
"Guards."
Just that word. Low. Firm. Final.
My stomach dropped.
I didn't look up, but I heard the shift in the crowd, the shuffle of boots against marble, the clink of metal.
Footsteps approached.
Of course. They believed her.
Why wouldn't they?
I was dirt in their eyes. A shadow that served. Nothing more than a walking stain on their perfect floors. The kind of mistake people step over without blinking.
"She's to be taken out and punished," Kael said, voice cold and sharp like a blade.
The crowd murmured in approval. Some smirked. A few even laughed.
Belinda smirked too. Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction, like she had just won something big.
But then…
Before the guards could touch me, before their hands could drag me away…
It happened.
Everything stopped.
Like the world paused to take a breath.
Then it hit me.
A sharp jolt deep in my chest. Not pain, but something else. Something older than pain. Something wild and ancient, like a string being pulled inside my soul. I gasped. My hands trembled. My body locked in place.
My eyes shot open and met Kael's.
He froze.
Rowan tilted his head, curious now, his brows drawing together.
Damon stepped forward, the amusement gone from his face. His expression was stunned, eyes wide, mouth slightly open.
And then..like a whisper shared between stars, they all said it.
One word.
One truth.
"Mate."
It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
The room gasped.
Belinda stumbled back, her hands flying to her mouth, her eyes wide in disbelief.
No. No. This couldn't be happening. Not to me.
Me?
But I felt it too. That strange heat rising in me. A magnetic pull deep in my belly. My heart was racing, not out of fear, but something else. My chest ached like it wanted to explode. Like something inside me had been locked away all this time, and now, it was waking up.
Damon's voice was barely a whisper. "She's… human."
Kael didn't speak. His jaw was tight. His fists clenched. His eyes-those stormy eyes, never left mine. He looked like he wanted to tear something apart or pull me into his chest. I didn't know which.
Rowan took one slow step closer. His golden eyes looked at me like I was both a miracle and a mistake.
I stayed on my knees, too stunned to breathe, too scared to speak. Trembling under the weight of something I didn't understand.
Mate?
The word echoed in my bones.
The room was silent. Not a single sound.
Until Belinda shattered it.
"No!" she screamed.
Damon moved first.
Before I could even think to move, his hand reached out and gripped my arm, not rough, but firm. He pulled me to my feet like I weighed nothing, lifting me out of the wine-soaked floor and into the silence of the stunned hall.
I stood there, shaky, small in front of them. I couldn't lift my eyes.
Kael was the first to speak.
"This has to be a mistake," he said, voice low but sharp with anger. "The Moon Goddess must be playing a cruel joke."
Rowan scoffed. "A human? Of all the women in the realm, it had to be… her?"
Damon's hand fell from my arm like he didn't want to touch me anymore. "We're Alphas. We don't mate with servants."
Their words hit harder than Belinda's slap.
I stood still, trying not to shake, trying not to cry in front of them. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. I didn't even know what I would've said if I could.
The crowd was still watching. Every single eye was glued to us like a scene from a cursed prophecy.
"She's not even wolf-blooded," Kael added, as if it disgusted him. "How can the Moon Goddess humiliate us like this?"
But then, they turned and whispered some words to themselves before turning back to me.
"We accept," Kael repeated coldly. "The bond. The mark. The mate."
"We accept," Rowan said, arms folded, as if he was forcing the words out with his pride still fighting it.
Damon's gaze lingered on me. His voice dropped. "We accept."
"What?!"