Chapter 2 Chapter 2
Amara's POV
“Sold to the Alpha Triplets?”
My head swam. My legs turned to jelly and I collapsed to the ground, shame and terror making me feel suddenly worthless.
If I hadn’t misheard him, then my reaction was more than justified. Those names struck a chord of pure dread. The Alpha Triplets, everyone whispered about them. The most feared siblings in history, their wolves said to be bloodthirsty, merciless, killing without pity. The stories clung to them like a shadow.
There was even the dark rumor that one of them would die on his twenty-fourth birthday if he didn’t find his mate. I’d never lingered for gossip, so the details were fuzzy, but the fear was real.
“I can’t be sold to anyone,” I whispered, barely loud enough to hear, yet loud enough for Aphia.
For a moment I hoped he was joking. He’d done terrible things before, but this, this had to be a sick joke. I clung to that hope, because the alternative was unbearable.
Time and again, reality tore that hope to shreds.
“Heh,” Aphia said with a cold little sound. “Tell that to the Alpha Triplets when you get there.” His voice held no warmth; it killed whatever hope I’d had.
My throat worked. My breath came uneven, but I forced the question out. “Why would you do this?”
He answered with a calmness that felt like poison. “You know how things have been for me lately. I needed to cling to someone powerful. The Alpha Triplets were the best option.” He spoke as if discussing the weather, and each word melted away the last of my faith in him.
He went on, oblivious to the panic rising in me. “I traveled to their pack. I failed to please them. You know what failure means with those three, death. I panicked and offered up a female who could be their possible mate. That female… is you.”
“You’re a bastard, Aphia!” I screamed, venom crawling through my voice. “A possible mate? Don’t you know I’m wolfless? My wolf can’t even shift. Are you trying to sentence me to death?”
Even with little knowledge of the wider world, I understood that the Triplets were hunting a mate whose wolf could shift, someone strong. Not a stillbound like me.
Was he really pushing me toward my death?
Aphia’s impatience snapped. “Shut up and accept your fate,” he said harshly. “If the Alpha Triplets learn you’re wolfless, pray you’re spared. If not, well, rest in peace.”
His words crushed me. I wanted to fight, to scream, to break him, anything. But the only thing that poured out of me were real, heavy tears.
What could I do with his Gamma and Beta standing there as witnesses? Powerless. Humiliated. My options narrowed to one desperate plea. “Aphia, please, don’t do this. I’ll be killed if I go.”
He didn’t even look at me. “Trust me, I wouldn’t have sold you if it weren’t to save my own skin. Sorry, not sorry.” He turned toward the door. “Take her.”
“No!” My scream tore through the hall as two gammas seized me, dragging me out like I weighed nothing at all.
It had been ten minutes.
Ten minutes since I stepped into Beadblood territory, into the very house of the infamous Alpha Triplets.
My legs wanted to turn and run, but I knew that was impossible. Behind me stood the pack gammas, watching, waiting.
I drew in a shaky breath. My tears had already dried up; there was nothing left in me to shed.
Alpha Aphia, walking close behind, shoved me forward. “Don’t speak out of turn, you hear?”
“Mm.” My head dipped helplessly as his rough push sent me stumbling again. The rows of gammas flanking the path wore twisted, disgusted expressions. Fear knotted my stomach, and I kept my gaze fixed ahead, too afraid to meet any of their eyes.
The air thickened as we moved deeper inside, the weight of it pressing down on me until, at last, we stopped. A grand hall stretched before us, and I exhaled in small relief, at least I wouldn’t have to endure those solemn stares a while longer.
Aphia leaned in, his breath brushing my ear. “Remember, not a word. Just stay quiet.”
A man approached and gestured politely. “Please, have a seat. The Alphas are in a meeting. They’ll be here shortly.”
He pointed out two chairs. Aphia dropped into one while I sat across from him, wishing with all my being that I could put miles instead of mere feet between us.
Neither of us spoke. Not that I cared. My mind was spiraling elsewhere, would they butcher me? Kill me with a snap of their fingers? I didn’t want either fate, but I had to prepare for both.
Across the table, Aphia’s gaze caught mine. I sighed, knowing he wanted to say something. I looked away before he could start, trembling inside. I had no energy left to waste on him—not when my life hung on the edge of a blade.
The man from before returned, breaking the silence with a warm smile. “The meeting is over. Please come with me.”
I forced in a breath and stood. Aphia rose right after me, eager to follow, but the man lifted a hand to block him.
“Sorry. You can’t come.”
“What?” Aphia blinked, stunned, as though he’d misheard.
The man didn’t bother repeating himself. He turned and guided me down a passage without sparing Aphia a second glance.
I should have savored his humiliation, but my heart was too full of dread.
At the end of the passage stood a woman by a door. Confusion stirred in me. Weren’t we supposed to see the Alpha Triplets?
The man noticed my uncertainty and introduced her. “This is Lily, the head attendant.”
I nodded slightly before Lily’s calm voice carried over. “Since you know who I am, I’ll get straight to it. There are a few things you must know before meeting the Alpha Triplets.”
Her words were sharp, serious, and the longer I listened, the tighter fear gripped my chest.
Dangerous. Deadly. Above all, irresistibly commanding.
“Alright,” she said at last, “you may go in.”
A cool breeze brushed my skin as I prepared to meet the three men who ruled the pack with a terrifying blend of power and command.
There was another, darker rumor about them, a thought that made my stomach flip. I slapped it away, forcing myself to focus; the danger they posed was no place for idle fantasies.
The door swung open and I stepped inside, nerves tight as wire. The room was dim, and the shadows only amplified my unease. Any trace of the flush I’d felt before vanished.
I told myself to breathe. The worst they could do was snap my life away in an instant.
When the door clicked shut behind me, my eyes widened, not from fear, but because of the sight before me. The three men stood like carved gods, breathtaking and utterly impossible. For a moment I forgot everything else: the danger, the warnings, the stories. I was stunned by how devastatingly handsome they were, as if the goddess herself had sculpted them.
Did I really belong in the same room as the dreaded Alpha Triplets? My mind scrambled for sense, but before I could steady myself, one of them spoke.
“Are you the female who could be our possible mate?” Even his words dripped with a magnetic, dangerous charm.
I forced a nod, my calm a fragile mask. “Yes. It’s, nice to meet you.”
“Cut the crap.” The interruption landed like a slap. One of them rose suddenly, closing the distance between us before I could react.
I barely saw him move before his mouth ghosted across my neck and teeth sank in. Panic flared, this was it, I thought. This was how it ended.
I froze, bracing for pain. But the moment that should have killed me was nothing like I’d feared. Instead, a warm, electric rush unfurled through my body, and my legs trembled beneath me. Then a single, impossible word slipped into the air, clear, effortless, complete.
“Mate.”
He pulled back, his gaze fixed on me, eyes alight with something I couldn’t name. My
belief wavered; I didn’t want to accept it, and yet I knew I hadn’t misheard.
Mates.
