I knew something was wrong the moment my three stepbrothers walked into the room.
The air shifted… heavy, dangerous.
And then I felt it—the bond I was never supposed to have with them.
My breath caught as my fingers tightened around the glass in my hand.
No.
That wasn't possible.
The grand hall suddenly felt too small, the voices around me fading into nothing but distant noise. All I could hear was the rapid pounding of my heart—and something else.
Something deeper.
Something pulling me toward them.
"Nancy," my stepfather's voice cut through the silence, unaware of the storm rising inside me. "Come greet your brothers."
Brothers.
The word felt wrong.
My feet moved before I could stop myself, each step heavier than the last. And the closer I got… the stronger it became.
That pull.
That connection.
My eyes lifted—and collided with his.
Leo.
His gaze darkened instantly, sharp and cold as if he could see straight through me.
And then it happened.
His jaw tightened.
His expression shifted… not into recognition, not into surprise—
But into something far worse.
Rejection.
"This is a mistake," he said flatly.
My chest tightened.
"What?" I whispered, barely able to find my voice.
Before he could respond, another presence stepped closer.
Kai.
His hand brushed against mine—just for a second—
And the bond exploded.
I gasped, stumbling back as heat rushed through my veins, wild and uncontrollable.
His reaction was just as intense.
But instead of confusion…
His lips curled into something dangerous.
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered.
And then came the third.
Evan.
Silent. Watching.
But the way his eyes lingered on me…
It wasn't hatred.
It was something far more unsettling.
Interest.
My heart dropped.
Because in that moment, I understood something I wasn't ready to face.
They felt it too.
And whatever this bond was…
It was only the beginning.