Chapter 3 Refuse

Amara's POV

My head swam, fogged by the shock of the mating bond; the world felt unreal, and every thought scattered. How could this be happening? Aphia never truly mated me, he had only taken me as a wife. The Alpha Triplets had bonded me.

I couldn’t make sense of anything when my breath hitched. A scent washed over me, sharp, intoxicating, but I had no room even to notice it. My breath came short; I was choking on sobs.

His hand closed around my throat, fingers like iron. Tears blurred my vision as water threatened to spill from my eyes.

What is he doing? Is he going to kill me now? My knees went weak and my body sagged under the pressure.

“Stop… stop!” I croaked. I shouldn’t have spoken, but the fear of being smothered edged me toward panic.

I tore at his grip, but it was like trying to move a stone. My pleas joined the cold, heavy air in the room.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, but how was I supposed to answer with my airway pinched? I groaned, eyes fluttering closed, legs kicking uselessly as I fought to pry his fingers away. He was impossibly strong.

Was this the way I would die? Resigned, I let the struggle falter; there was no beating him. Still, tears streamed down my face, never had I imagined this would be my end, brought on by my own foolishness for trusting someone like Aphia.

Just as my color drained and my breaths came ragged, the grip around my throat loosened. I squeezed my eyes open and saw two men hauling him back. Relief ripped through me so violently I couldn’t focus on their faces, only that I’d been pulled from death’s edge.

“Gosh, what the hell are you doing, Santiago?” one of them, blond, wavy, haired, shouted.

So he was the one who’d nearly killed me: Santiago.

I didn’t dare look at him. He’d almost ended my life; the last thing I wanted was to meet his eyes.

My gaze drifted to the man with green hair, the one who had just spoken, and my heart almost leapt from my chest.

Alpha Maximus.

“You’ve frightened the poor girl,” Maximus said calmly to Santiago, unaware, or uncaring, that I was staring at him. I should have looked away by now, but I couldn’t. Up close, his beauty was almost unreal.

“Heh, look at the one we saved,” another voice cut in. “She seem lost in Maximus’s face.”

My heart stuttered at the sound, and shame forced me to glance at the speaker. His narrowed eyes, his smirk, the gleam of his sharp white teeth.

Alpha Alex.

“Hmph.” His scoff yanked me from my trance, but not without leaving a flush of embarrassment. They’d all noticed me staring.

Amira, you’re dumb! I cursed myself silently.

Then I felt it, that piercing gaze. My chest tightened, and I turned before I could stop myself.

Golden waves of hair. Eyes sharp, cutting. The eldest of the triplets, the one who had nearly killed me.

Alpha Santiago.

The three of them stood before me, and all I could think was how close I’d been to death by Santiago’s hand.

My body trembled as his voice sliced the air again.

“Who’s this girl with a weak wolf brought before us?” His words struck me like claws.

The other two froze.

“A weak wolf?” Maximus echoed, surprise evident in his tone. His gaze fell on me, unreadable.

“Wait… she’s wolfless?”

Alex’s disbelief showed in his eyes as he looked me over. My chest tightened with both fear and annoyance. Wolfless? No. I had a wolf, weak, yes, but still mine. And yet, what difference was there between a weak wolf and none at all?

“But I thought she could be our mate,” Alex pressed, his voice uncertain. “I caught her scent.” His stare weighed on me, and I shrank under it, feeling small and unwanted.

“Idiot,” Santiago growled from the side. “She is our mate. I’ve already marked her.”

“What?” Both Maximus and Alex gasped, shock flashing across their faces.

“But… she has a weak wolf. That means she can’t be our Luna…” Their voices trailed, disbelief clinging to every word.

That's my worry too.” Santiago ruffled his hair, anger coiled so tight it showed through his clenched jaw.

Maximus turned his gaze to me again, calm but cold. “Don’t you know wolfless females aren’t allowed before us?”

My throat closed and I dropped my eyes fast. His voice was soft, but I knew it hid the same danger as Santiago’s, one wrong word and my neck might snap.

A choking panic rose in my chest. Before I could steady myself and reply, Santiago’s hand was back at my throat, fingers crushing the air from my lungs. His face was unreadable, as always, no pity, no mercy.

“Tell me why you’re here,” he hissed. “You must have come on purpose.” His grip tightened as if daring me to breathe.

Something inside me broke. Maybe his hold slackened a fraction, or maybe I found a scrap of strength I didn’t know I had, but I wrenched free.

“Why am I treated like this?” I shouted, voice raw. “Decide, reject me or accept me as your mate!” Courage flared where fear had lived.

Immediately, shame hit like ice. My legs gave out and I collapsed, the room spinning as I begged, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

I couldn't explain what came over me at that moment. Was it the fear of death?

The door swung open and the man who’d guided me in stepped forward. I couldn’t hear his words, but the triplets’ faces shifted, something dark and sudden passing over them.

“Are you trying to piss us off to death?!” Alex snarled, veins standing out along his neck.

Santiago’s question cut through me and froze my blood. “Were you married before? A divorcee?”

What, how could they ask? Didn’t they already know? Panic clawed at me. My instincts screamed that this was it, my end.

Then Santiago spat, final and merciless: “We can’t have you as our Luna. Never.”