Triple Temptation

"You don't have to do this, Rhea." Micah's voice was a low growl, the Beta in him aching with her pain.

I shook my head, my hands trembling as I smoothed out the ritual robe. It was a suffocating thing, embroidered with silver thread that seared like delicate, burning wires against my flesh. "Yes, I do. Theon went over it very carefully. An Omega's first heat must be presented to the pack. It's the law."

"The law is not civilized," Micah snarled, his gaze scouring the opulent Ceremonial Grounds of Lunitas. The stands were packed with members of the Silverfang Pack, their faces a sea of expectation and judgment. "It's a spectacle, not a celebration. He's doing this to remind everyone of your... status."

A clear young voice spoke up. "She is a Mooncrest. She is of the pack.". She has duties." Eris Vale, Elder Theon's daughter, stood a little behind us, her features a mix of contempt and smugness. She looked at Micah, then me, her gaze lingering on the pale skin of my neck, where the mark of my first heat was still a little visible. "Besides, it's an honor to present oneself to the pack. It's what our kind is for."

Micah moved forward, his fists clenching. "You watch your mouth, Eris."

"Peace, Brother," I whispered, placing a hand on his arm. I did not want a scene. Not here. Not now. Not until Theon tired of me. My gaze met Eris's. "Some of us believe our value is more than our breeding cycle."

A glimmer of actual anger crossed her face before she masked it with a professional smile. "That's what your mother believed. Look where it got her." She spun and walked away, her footsteps ringing off the stone.

I held my breath. My mother Lira's spirit, and her fierce, dangerous beliefs, always cast a shadow over me. They were the true reason for this public spectacle. Elder Theon wanted to destroy me, to ensure I would never follow in her footsteps.

A horn sounded, a low, tinkling note that quieted the crowd. Elder Theon Vale, a man whose face seemed carved from granite, moved to the forefront of the circular stone stage. He bore a staff topped with a crystal that shone in the dying sun.

"Silverfang Pack!" his voice boomed, amplified by the crystal's magic. "Tonight we honor our traditions. We confirm the strength of our bloodlines and the succession of our pack. Tonight, we present a new Omega to the light of the moon."

My heart was racing in my chest. It was time.

"Rhea Mooncrest," he said, his eyes locking onto mine, a cold, predatory glint in their depths. "Step forward."

My legs were heavy, but I forced myself to walk. I ascended the three steps onto the stage, the stones unbelievably cold under my sandals. The crowd was silent, a hundred pairs of eyes on me, observing each move I made. Theon pointed to the center of the stage, where one area of moonlight was beginning to form as the sun fell below the horizon.

"Step forward here, Rhea," he commanded. "Let the spirit of the moon bless your marriage."

I stepped forward into the middle, the air growing dense with anticipation. The moonlight, a shaft of luminous white, came down from the sky, bathing me in its icy, unearthly glow. It was a palpable thing, a jolt of energy that coursed through my veins, making every nerve ending hum with a strange, intensified awareness.

And then, it hit me. Not pain, but a thunderous connection. A feeling of four separate presences, four souls colliding with mine with the force of a thousand-ton weight. It was a spinning sensation, as though my entire being was being pulled in four different directions all at once. My vision spun, the world rotating on its axis.

What in the name of the Great Wolf...?" Elder Theon's voice was a whisper of complete astonishment.

My eyes, which were still trying to focus, settled on the front row of the observers.

Ash Ryder. The brooding, controlling Alpha who had made my life misery within the walls of the academy. His face, usually a mask of granite detachment, was twisted in a grimace of utter pain. His hand went to his chest, his body swaying dangerously before he crashed to the ground, a low, guttural moan ripping from his throat.

Next to him, Zane Valez, the handsome Alpha who had teased me with humor. The taunting smile was gone, and his face was twisted in shocked horror. He staggered backward, his hands grasping at his head as if to hold back some abrupt, unbearable pressure from exploding outward. His knees buckled, and he fell, a choked laugh-scream on his lips.

Kai Wolfe. The icy, analytical Alpha. He was observing, detached with interest, but even that broke. His eyes widened as if he had glimpsed his own death. A low, bone-deep shudder ripped through his body, and he dropped like a stone, the icy mask of intellect crumbling into a thousand pieces.

And Blaze Draven. The brutal Alpha with the quick temper. He was the most violent of them all, and his reaction was a testament to that nature. A low growl ripped from his throat, a sound of pure anger and denial. He clawed at his skin, his muscles tensing and twisting as if fighting an unseen enemy. He collapsed to the ground, his body twitching with a vicious intensity that scared me.

Four of them. My tormentors. My fated mates.

The bystanders erupted into a cacophony of gasps, wails, and stunned murmurs. My brother, Micah, had already elbowed his way through the throng, his face pale with concern. He jumped onto the stage just as the moonlight began to recede, its mission fulfilled.

"Rhea, are you all right? What's happening?" His hands were on my shoulders, his voice raspy with fear.

I was dumbfounded. I could only stare at the four bodies writhing on the ground, each a creator of my past misery, now bound to me by a cruel and unimaginable fate.

Elder Theon, his face a thundercloud of rage and astonishment, strode toward the prone Alphas. "What is this? Some freak accident? A curse?" He kicked the dirt near Ash's head. "Ryder! What does this impertinence portend?"

Ash groaned, his eyes fluttering open. They weren't the hard, cold slate I was accustomed to. They were a hot, burning gold, and they were fixed on me. "Omega," he grated, the word half venom, half possessiveness.

Blaze, too, was trying to get up, his teeth gritted. His eyes, the gray of a stormy sky, found me and a face of pure loathing contorted his face. "No. I will not have this. Never." He tried to lunge, but his legs were still too weak.

Zane sat up, his signature grin erased from his face, substituted by a wild-eyed, panicked look. "This has to be a joke," he muttered under his breath, his head shaking. He looked at me, then at the other Alphas. "Some kind of mass hallucination.".

Kai was the first to recover, rising to his feet with a slow, measured movement. He brushed himself off, his face a mask once more. Though his eyes, when they met mine, were wide with a soundless, appalled comprehension. "The Mooncrest Omega," he said, his voice glacial and slicing as ice. "It seems the legends were true."

"Legends?" Elder Theon sneered. "There are no legends of this scale. One Omega, bonded to four Alphas? This is an abomination. It goes against every law of our pack."

Elya Thornfield, the organizer of the Equinox celebration, a retired Omega with a warm face, elbowed through the crowd. "Elder, the bond is sacred. It cannot be an abomination."

Theon's eyes blazed. "Silence, Thornfield! This is none of your concern. This is a Council of Authority issue. Four of our best Alphas, bound to one, injured Omega? This is a shame to the Silverfang Pack!

The word "broken" hung in the air, a final, cutting blow. The Alphas looked at me, each with a different brand of horror and denial on their faces. Ash's possessiveness, Blaze's hatred, Zane's frantic denial, Kai's calculating fear. They were my tormentors, and now they were my curse.

This Omega Presentation is over!" Theon declared, his voice ringing with decisiveness. "Rhea Mooncrest, you will be under house arrest at the Mooncrest Estate until the Council can convene and decide your fate. And you four." He pointed a trembling finger at the Alphas. "You will be held responsible for this. this abomination. Guards! Take them all away!

As guards moved in, I felt the cold fear seize me. Trapped. A castle that was nothing but my parents' ghosts. Theon had determined my fate, but the chains, I could still feel them, a burning, aching pain deep in my psyche. They were a part of me now. And I, a part of them.

And I was so, so scared.