Chapter 7 Mate Again !

The bathwater had been scalding, yet I hadn't minded. For the first time in days, the heat soaked into my aching muscles, peeling away the grime of travel, the dried blood that still clung faintly to my skin. I scrubbed until my body was raw, until I felt like I was decent enough. When I stepped from the bath, steam curling around me, , I peered into the room hoping that Darius was no longer in and thankfully he wasn't. The closet waiting in the corner drew my eyes. Dresses hung in perfect rows, silks and lace in shades of black, crimson, and silver.

I hesitated, fingers brushing the fabric. They were far too fine for me, meant for a woman of standing, not a servant. But something inside whispered to wear them anyway. I chose a gown of dark wine-red lace that clung to my body and bared my shoulders. Too revealing. . Yet when I saw myself in the mirror, pale throat exposed, eyes ringed with shadows, something in me straightened. I pulled my hair up in a messy bun showing my throat off more and used a pin to put it into place. I was no longer the omega maid Liana had tried to crush. I didn't know who I was becoming, it was as if coming here had somehow made me feel stronger The knock on the door broke my thoughts. "Alpha Darius requests you," a servant called. I followed the summons down torchlit corridors until the sound of voices reached my ears-dozens of them, rumbling like a restless storm. The great hall opened before us, vast and terrible, a cathedral of shadows and firelight. Long tables stretched the length of the chamber, groaning beneath platters of roasted meats, dark wine, and fruit gleaming like spilled jewels. Wolves and lycans alike filled the benches, warriors with scarred faces and eyes too sharp to be human. At the far end, beneath a canopy of black banners, Darius stood waiting. His gaze swept over me, sharp and possessive, before he extended a hand. "With me." I placed my fingers in his, my pulse skittering as he led me toward the high table. Whispers chased after us, curious, mocking, suspicious. I could feel their eyes crawling over my skin. "Did you really have to expose your neck in the mist of animals?" He sneered, pulling me closer to his sides as the whispers grew. Just as I opened my mouth to respond It hit me. The scent. Rich, electric, like thunder before a storm. Earth after rain and the wind, it felt safe and grounding. It slammed into me so hard my knees buckled. My wolf screamed inside me, clawing at the surface, desperate to howl. Another scent followed, just as fierce, but hotter, darker, like smoke and iron. Together they tangled in my lungs, filling me until I swayed on my feet. No. Not possible. I looked up-and froze. Two men stood at the high table. The first, tall as the pillars themselves, hair black as midnight and eyes a searing silver, carved with the authority of command. His gaze cut through me like a blade, stripping me bare. Alpha Draven. I didn't need his name to know who he was-the eldest, the High Lord. The person who we were in his territory right now. Beside him lounged another, equally lethal in his beauty, though sharper at the edges. His hair was dark brown, his eyes molten gold with flecks of red that seemed to burn from within. He smiled when he saw me, slow and wolfish. Daemon. He is breathtaking. The scents roared, colliding with the one that already clung to me-Darius's. My heart lurched. My knees trembled. "Mate." The word rumbled from Draven and Daemon in unison, deep and savage, echoing through the hall like thunder. The room fell into stunned silence. Forks clattered against plates. Whispers rose, sharp and fearful. I staggered back, the air stolen from my lungs. My wolf howled inside me, desperate to leap, to answer. Darius moved instantly, a growl tearing from his chest. His arm shot out, pushing me behind him as he bared his teeth at his brothers. "Stay back." Draven's expression barely shifted, though his silver eyes burned hotter. "You dare to command me, little brother? In my home? Tsk tsk tsk" Daemon chuckled low, stepping down from the dais with lethal grace. "Three mates, Darius? How greedy you've been, keeping her all to yourself." "She is mine." Darius's voice was a snarl, raw and guttural, reverberating with pure possession. "Yours?" Draven's lips curved, cold and cruel. "No, brother. She is ours." The words rippled across the hall like a blade drawn from its sheath. Wolves shifted uneasily, soldiers whispered prayers. My head spun, my body shaking, caught between them all. Three voices. Three scents. Three claims. Darius stood like a wall before me, chest heaving, every line of his body promising violence. Draven descended the dais with the weight of a king, Daemon prowling at his side, both closing the distance with eyes locked on me as if I was a breath of fresh air.. And all I could hear was that single word, echoing over and over, sealing my fate. "Mate." The word still rang in my skull, their voices overlapping, vibrating through me until I thought my bones might splinter under the force of it. The hall was silent except for the scrape of chairs as warriors shifted uneasily. Their eyes darted between the three brothers, the infamous Lycans of every nightmare told to wolf pups, and me. The half-breed omega who had no place at this table. My lungs burned. The scents crowded in too thick, too strong, drowning me in heat and hunger and fear. Darius's body blocked most of my view, his growl vibrating against my spine, but it didn't matter. Draven's silver gaze still pierced through him, unyielding. Daemon's golden eyes still pinned me, hungry and unblinking. My knees buckled. "Rain-" Darius turned, catching my arm just as the room tilted and spun. The last thing I saw was the three of them, their stares colliding like clashing storms, before the darkness swallowed me whole. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> When awareness returned, it came in fragments. Heat. The faint crackle of a fire. The distant murmur of voices. I blinked against the blur and found myself lying in a massive bed draped with furs. My head throbbed where it had struck the ground, and my body felt heavy, as if weighted down by more than exhaustion. "She needs rest," someone murmured. A voice low, commanding, too deep to be anyone but Draven. "She needs answers," another cut in, sharper, a curl of amusement threading his tone. Daemon. "You felt it. We all did. She belongs to us as much as to him." A growl followed, vicious and raw. Darius. "She belongs to no one but me." "You can lie to yourself, little brother," Draven said, his voice calm, almost bored, yet every word edged like steel. "But not to her. The bond will tear her apart if you try to sever it." "She's not strong enough," Darius snapped. "Look at her, she fainted from the weight of it already." Silence stretched, thick as the furs covering me. My pulse hammered in my ears. I wanted to move, to speak, but my limbs refused me. All I could do was listen. Daemon's chuckle slid through the air. "Then we'll make her stronger. She's ours now. All three of ours. The goddess must be playing a serious joke on us." The growl that followed shook the walls. "Enough." Draven's voice cut through like a blade, final and cold. "The summit begins tomorrow. We'll keep her under this roof until then. The matter will be... addressed." His footsteps moved toward the door, echoing like drumbeats. Daemon lingered longer, his presence humming close to the bed, hot and suffocating. I swore I felt his gaze burn across my skin before he finally pulled away. "Wolves are never key to be mated with lycans, let alone s half breed omega." He said with almost pity in his voice. The door shut behind him, leaving only Darius. His weight sank onto the mattress beside me. A calloused hand brushed a damp strand of hair from my face. His touch was gentler than it had any right to be, trembling almost, but his voice came out rough. "You're mine, Rain," he whispered, as if daring anyone, even fate itself to disagree. "And I'll fight them both if I have to." But even as the words left him, I heard the doubt in his tone. Because the bond didn't lie. And it bound me to not one Lycan........but three.