Nessa~
My hand wouldn't stop shaking.
Long after Cole's voice faded, long after the line went dead, my hand trembled like I was standing in a blizzard instead of sitting in my cramped, suffocating room.
My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought they might crack—the stitches Rowan had so carefully placed pulling tight with every ragged breath.
I dropped the phone on the bed and pressed my palms against my thighs, trying to force them still through sheer willpower.
Breathe. Just breathe.
The sound of my door opening shattered my spiraling thoughts like glass.
I looked up, and there they were.
All three of them.
Kade. Maddox. Rowan.
My body went rigid, every muscle locking into place.
I should have heard them coming. Should have been more alert. But Cole's call had thrown me so off-balance I hadn't even noticed their approach.
"Why did you leave my room?"
Rowan's voice cut through the silence first, sharp and accusatory.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. "I'm more comfortable in my own room."
As if this damp, mildew-infested cell with its sunken mattress and stained sheets could ever be called comfortable.
But it was mine. The only space in this entire pack that belonged to me, even if "belonging" was a generous term for a prison I'd been assigned.
"You were injured," Rowan pressed, his tone somewhere between concern and irritation. "You should be resting somewhere clean. Somewhere—"
"Somewhere you can keep an eye on me?" I interrupted, letting ice creep into my voice.
"Thanks, but I'll pass. I've been taking care of myself for three years. I think I can manage a few stitches."
Kade made a sound that might have been a laugh or a scoff—it was hard to tell with him. He crossed the small room in three strides, grabbed the rickety chair from my pathetic excuse for a reading table, and dragged it across the floor with a screech that set my teeth on edge.
He spun it around and straddled it backwards, his arms draped over the back, his hazel eyes boring into mine with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
Everything about his posture screamed dominance. Control. Power.
I wanted to claw his eyes out.
"We have something to discuss with you, Vanessa," he said, my full name dripping from his lips like poison.
I didn't respond. Just stared at him, waiting, my hands curling into fists against my thighs where he couldn't see them shake.
His lips curved into something that might have been a smile if smiles weren't supposed to contain even a trace of warmth. "You're getting married tomorrow. To us."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
For a moment—just a moment—I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything but stare at him while my brain tried to process what he'd just said.
Married. Tomorrow. To all three of them.
"Excuse me?" My voice came out strangled, barely above a whisper.
Kade's smile widened, and I saw satisfaction flicker in his eyes. He was enjoying this.
Enjoying the shock on my face, the way I'd frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights.
Bastard.
Rage surged through me, hot and violent, burning away the shock and replacing it with something sharp and deadly.
My lips curved into a smile—one I'd perfected over three years of swallowing insults and abuse. Sweet on the surface. Venomous underneath.
"Oh really?" I asked, adjusting my tone to something that sounded almost pleasant. Almost.
"Because if you came here just to amuse yourself by watching me react, you can fuck right off. I'm not your entertainment."
Kade's smile faltered slightly. Good.
"Vanessa—" Maddox's voice cut through the tension like a knife.
I turned to look at him. He was leaning against my chipped wall with his arms crossed, his ice-blue eyes fixed on me with an intensity that was different from Kade's. Not cruel. Not mocking. Just... assessing. Like I was a problem he needed to solve.
"That's not how we're going to tell her,"
Maddox said quietly, shooting Kade a warning look before returning his attention to me. "Kade's delivery leaves something to be desired, but he's not wrong about the facts."
"Oh, well, as long as the facts are correct," I said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "That makes forcing me into a marriage so much better."
"It's not—" Maddox stopped himself, his jaw tightening. He pushed off the wall and took a step closer, his expression shifting into something that almost looked like regret. Almost. "We're very sorry, Nessa. But Elder Mariah has informed us of the situation with the pack.
The affliction—the one caused by Kade's rejection—it's spreading faster than we anticipated. Delaying the mating ceremony is having adverse effects on the pack bonds.
The Moon Goddess has made it clear that if we don't complete the bond, she'll take... stricter measures."
"Stricter measures," I repeated flatly. "What does that mean? Locusts? Plague? A strongly worded letter?"
"Death," Rowan said quietly from where he stood near the door. "It means death, Nessa. Pack members will start dying.
That included me, I would die if I rejected them. I was torn between laughing or crying at my dilemma.
"The bonds will fracture completely". Rowan continued . "Wolves will lose their connection to each other, to the pack mind. They'll go feral. It'll tear everything apart from the inside out."
The room fell silent.
I stared at him, then at Maddox, then finally at Kade, who'd stopped smirking and was now watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"So let me get this straight," I said slowly, my voice deadly calm despite the storm raging inside me. "You—" I pointed at Kade. "—rejected me in front of the entire pack. Threw me in a dungeon. Ordered me to be whipped. And now you're telling me that because your rejection is causing problems, I have to fix it by marrying all three of you?"
"Yes," Kade said simply.
"Fuck you."
The words came out before I could stop them, sharp and vicious and deeply satisfying.
Kade's eyes flashed dangerously. "Watch your tone—"
"Or what?" I interrupted, rising to my feet despite the pain that lanced through my side. I didn't care.
I was done being the victim they could push around and manipulate. "You'll throw me back in the dungeon? Whip me? Kill me? Go ahead, Kade.
See how well that works out for your precious pack when the Moon Goddess decides to wipe you all out for murdering your fated mate."
His hands clenched into fists, but he didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stared at me with barely controlled rage simmering behind his eyes.
"Nessa." Maddox's voice was softer now, almost pleading. He moved closer, careful not to crowd me, his hands raised slightly in a gesture of peace. "Please. Try to understand. We're not doing this to hurt you.
We're doing this for the pack. Innocent people—people who had nothing to do with what happened to you—they're going to suffer if we don't complete the bond. Children. Elders. Families who've done nothing wrong."
He paused, his blue eyes searching mine.
"How would you feel knowing you had the power to save them and you didn't?"
And there it was.
The killing blow.
Not violence. Not threats. Not force.
Guilt.
Because he was right, and he knew it, and he knew I knew it.
I couldn't let innocent people die. Not when I had the power to stop it. Not when I'd spent three years watching people suffer under a system that punished the powerless for the crimes of others.
I'd been a victim of that myself. I couldn't become part of it.
I exhaled loudly, the fight draining out of me all at once, leaving behind nothing but exhaustion and resignation.
My tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth, heavy and useless.
Everything was happening too fast. First Cole's call. Now this.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'd be bound to three men who either hated me or saw me as an obligation.
Tomorrow everything would change, and I had no power to stop it.
"Fine."
The word came out hoarse, barely audible even in the small space.
"Fine?" Maddox repeated, his eyebrows rising slightly.
"Fine," I said again, louder this time. Steadier. I forced myself to meet his eyes, then Rowan's, and finally Kade's.
"Let's get it over with".
Maddox's blue eyes flickered with something that looked almost like appreciation. "We really appreciate you doing this, Nessa. I know it's not what you wanted—"
"Appreciate?" I laughed, bitter and sharp. "You don't appreciate me, Maddox. You're using me. There's a difference. But sure. Tell yourself whatever helps you sleep at night."
He flinched slightly but didn't argue.
Kade stood up from the chair, his expression unreadable. "The ceremony will be at sunset tomorrow. Don't be late."
"Wouldn't dream of it," I said flatly.
Rowan lingered near the door, his scarred face troubled. "Nessa—"
"Don't," I interrupted, my voice cracking despite my best efforts. "Just... don't. Please."
He hesitated, then nodded slowly and followed Kade out.
That left Maddox.
"For what it's worth," he said quietly, "I wish it didn't have to be this way."
"But it does," I finished for him. "So your wishes don't really matter, do they?"
He didn't respond. Just gave me one last unreadable look before turning and leaving, closing the door softly behind him.