The Great Hall fell into stunned silence. All eyes darted between me and the triplets, who stood rigid with horror. The silver cords connecting us pulsed with an ethereal glow, undeniable proof of what no one—least of all me—wanted to believe.
I was the triplets' fated mate. All three of them.
"No." Kaelen's voice cut through the silence like ice. "This is impossible."
He grabbed at the silver cord attached to his wrist, trying to sever it with brute force. The cord simply passed through his fingers, unbreakable and untouchable.
"Destroy it!" Orion snarled, his cool brown eyes now blazing with fury as he too clawed at his connection to me.
Ronan remained frozen, his sea-blue eyes—so similar to my own—wide with disbelief. "This has to be some kind of mistake," he whispered, but the cord connecting us pulsed brighter, as if mocking his denial.
My heart hammered painfully against my ribs. This couldn't be happening. The men who had tormented me for years, who had made my life a living hell—these were my fated mates?
"NO!" Lilith's scream shattered the shocked silence. She lunged forward, grabbing Kaelen's arm. "You can't be mated to her! You're mine! All of you are MINE!"
Her perfect makeup was streaming down her face, black tears trailing over her flushed cheeks. Gone was the composed, calculating woman who had tormented me. In her place stood a desperate, unraveling mess.
"I love you," she sobbed, clutching at Kaelen's jacket. "I've always loved you. We were supposed to rule together!"
Kaelen shoved her away, his attention fully on the cord that bound him to me. "Father, there must be a way to break this," he demanded, turning to Alpha Richardson.
The triplets' father stood at the altar, his expression grim but resigned. He'd witnessed enough mating ceremonies to know the truth.
"There is no breaking a fated mate bond," Alpha Richardson stated firmly. "The Goddess Moon has spoken."
"Then we reject it," Orion declared. "We reject her."
My wolf whined in pain at his words, the rejection hitting her like a physical blow. I fought to keep my face expressionless, refusing to show how deeply their disgust wounded me.
"You cannot reject what the Moon Goddess has decreed," Alpha Richardson's voice boomed through the hall, silencing all whispers. "Not as future Alphas of this pack."
He stepped forward, his powerful aura filling the space. Even the triplets straightened instinctively at his approach.
"The Silver Crescent Pack has always honored the sacred bonds chosen by the Moon Goddess," he continued. "Our strength comes from respecting her will."
"But father—" Ronan started.
"Silence!" Alpha Richardson's voice cracked like thunder. "I have allowed your rebellion in many things, but not in this. Our laws are clear."
I stood rooted to the spot, unable to process what was happening. My mother clutched my hand tightly, offering silent support even as her own face registered shock.
Alpha Richardson turned to address the stunned pack members. "Tonight we have witnessed a rare and sacred bond. Seraphina Moon has been chosen as the fated mate to my sons—the future Alphas of our pack."
Murmurs erupted throughout the hall. I caught fragments of disbelief, outrage, and confusion.
"An Omega?"
"The disgraced Gamma's daughter?"
"Three mates at once?"
Alpha Richardson raised his hand for silence. "The Goddess Moon's choice is final and binding. From this moment, Seraphina Moon will be recognized as the future Luna of the Silver Crescent Pack."
"No!" Lilith scrambled forward, falling to her knees before Alpha Richardson. "Please! There must be some mistake. I've been preparing for this my whole life!"
The Alpha regarded her coldly. "The moon stone did not choose you, Lilith Thorne. Your ambition means nothing against the will of the Goddess."
Lilith's father, Beta Malachi Thorne, stepped forward from the crowd, his face a mask of controlled rage. "My Lord Alpha, surely there must be some consideration for the... unfortunate background of this girl. Her father was a traitor to this pack."
My mother's grip on my hand tightened painfully.
"The sins of the father are not the sins of the daughter," Alpha Richardson replied firmly. "And the Goddess Moon's choice supersedes all human judgment."
He turned to his sons, who stood in various states of furious denial. "You will mark her tonight. The mating must be completed."
"Father!" Kaelen protested. "You can't possibly expect us to—"
"I can and I do," Alpha Richardson cut him off. "You are Alphas. Act like it." His voice dropped, becoming dangerously soft. "You will mark her tonight, and in two days' time, you will marry her properly before the pack."
The triplets exchanged looks of horror and resignation. There was no arguing with their father when he used that tone.
"This is your duty to the pack," he continued. "As future leaders, you must honor the Goddess Moon's will, regardless of your personal feelings."
Alpha Richardson turned to me, his expression softening slightly. "Seraphina Moon, come forward."
My legs trembled as I stepped forward, my mother reluctantly releasing my hand. The crowd parted, their eyes following me with a mixture of disbelief, disdain, and—from some—a glimmer of respect.
"Kneel," Alpha Richardson instructed.
I sank to my knees before him and the triplets, my hands shaking.
"By the power vested in me as Alpha of the Silver Crescent Pack, I declare you the fated Luna of my sons. The marking will commence immediately."
A broken sob echoed through the hall—Lilith, being restrained by her father as she watched her dreams crumble before her eyes.
Alpha Richardson gestured to Kaelen. "As the eldest, you will mark her first."
Kaelen's jaw clenched so tightly I thought his teeth might crack. With obvious reluctance, he stepped toward me.
"Bare your neck," he commanded, his voice cold enough to freeze blood.
I tilted my head, exposing the vulnerable curve of my neck. My wolf, traitor that she was, trembled with anticipation rather than fear.
Kaelen leaned down, his breath hot against my skin. "This changes nothing," he whispered so only I could hear. "You will never be my Luna in anything but name."
Then his teeth sank into my flesh.
Pain exploded through me, followed immediately by a wave of pleasure so intense I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. The mating bond flared between us, connecting our wolves in a primal, unbreakable link.
When Kaelen pulled back, his green eyes were wide with shock at the intensity of the connection. He quickly masked it with disgust, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Orion," Alpha Richardson nodded to his youngest son.
Orion approached like a man walking to his execution. His cool brown eyes held nothing but loathing as he roughly grabbed my shoulder.
"I will never forgive you for this," he hissed before biting down on the opposite side of my neck.
Again, the dual sensation of pain and pleasure washed through me, stronger this time as the second bond formed. Orion jerked away as if burned, his expression horrified at his body's instinctive response to the mating.
"Ronan, complete the bond," Alpha Richardson instructed.
Ronan approached last, his sea-blue eyes meeting mine briefly. Something flickered there—confusion, resignation, perhaps the faintest hint of curiosity—before he leaned down.
His bite was neither as rough as Orion's nor as cold as Kaelen's, but it still carried no tenderness. The third bond clicked into place, completing the circle between us, and I gasped at the overwhelming flood of sensations.
"It is done," Alpha Richardson declared. "The pack acknowledges Seraphina Moon as the Luna-to-be of the Silver Crescent Pack."
The triplets stepped away from me, each looking shaken by what had just transpired.
As I rose to my feet, dizzy from the bonding, I caught the venomous glares of my new mates. In each pair of eyes—green, brown, and blue—I saw the same silent promise.
Torture.
I had just sealed my life of torture.