Chapter 3

Ivy’s POV

I stood there, my heart pounding against my ribs, as the triplets walked away. Their rejection settled in my chest like a stone, heavy and suffocating. I knew they didn’t want me. I had always known. But hearing it, feeling it in my soul, made it real.

I wrapped my arms around myself, my body trembling as the bond tugged tightly inside of me , demanding I chase after them, beg them to accept me. But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.

The Moon Goddess was cruel.

Pairing me, a weak, insignificant—with them? The future Alphas? It was a joke. A sick, twisted joke.

I took a shaky breath and turned toward the omega quarters. I needed to get away. Away from their scent, away from their voices echoing in my head. But before I could take a step, a sharp, familiar voice cut through the silence.

“Pathetic.”

I stiffened. I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

Selene.

She stepped in front of me, arms crossed, a slow smirk spreading across her face. Her green eyes gleamed with cruel amusement.

“That was hard to watch, even for me,” she said. “But I have to admit, it was entertaining.”

I swallowed hard, keeping my head down. “I don’t want any trouble, Selene.”

She laughed, tossing her golden hair over her shoulder.

“Trouble? Oh, Ivy, you are the trouble. Do you know how ridiculous it is? An omega mated to the triplets?”

She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You’re a stain on their names. An embarrassment.”

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay still. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a reaction. She would surely find a reason to plead with the pack elders and chase me out.

Selene sighed dramatically. “Don’t worry, though. They’ll reject you eventually. Or, maybe, they’ll keep you around for fun.” She tilted her head, eyes gleaming. “That’s what omegas are for, right? To serve.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine. I had spent my entire life being treated like I was nothing.

But now, it is worse. Now, I was something even more shameful, a mate they would never claim.

Selene stepped back, watching me with a smirk. “You should reject them first,” she said casually.

“Save yourself the humiliation. Oh, but wait, ” She placed a hand on her chest, her eyes wide with mock pity. “You don’t have the strength for that, do you?”

My breath caught in my throat.

She was right.

I wasn’t strong. I had spent my whole life being stepped on, used, ridiculed.

And now, even the mate bond, the one thing that should have been mine, that should have given me a place, was just another way to break me.

Selene studied my face for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “You’re boring,” she muttered before turning away. “Try not to embarrass yourself any further.”

I waited until she was gone before exhaling shakily. My hands trembled at my sides. My throat burned, but I refused to cry. Not here. Not now.

I forced myself to move, one foot in front of the other, until I reached my room in the omega quarters. I locked the door behind me and slid to the floor, wrapping my arms around my knees.

The triplets’ words echoed in my mind.

You are nothing, Ivy.

You don’t belong with us.

Reject us.

A sharp pain shot through my chest again, the bond resisting.

I should have rejected them. I should have ended it before it could hurt me more. But I wasn’t ready.

I pressed my forehead against my knees, my body trembling.

I had no choice.

I had to reject them.

Before they destroyed me.

..

The next morning, I woke up feeling like my body had been crushed under a weight I couldn’t escape. My limbs ached, my chest still burned from the mate bond, and my mind felt foggy.

 But I had no time to dwell on it. I was still an omega. I still had duties to do.

I dressed quickly and headed toward the packhouse, keeping my head down. The halls were already busy, pack members moving around, laughing, talking. No one looked at me. I was invisible. As always.

I had almost made it to the kitchen when a hand grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I knew that touch.

Firm. Strong. Familiar.

I turned my head slowly, my heart pounding as my gaze met piercing blue eyes.

Elias.

He didn’t speak right away. He just looked at me, his grip still firm around my wrist. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—something dark, intense.

For a moment, we just stood there, locked in silence.

Then, finally, he spoke. “Did you tell anyone?”

His voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it.

I frowned, confused. “Tell anyone what?”

His fingers tightened slightly around my wrist. “That you’re our mate.”

I stiffened. My heart pounded against my ribs. “No,” I whispered.

His expression didn’t change. He just studied me for another long moment, then nodded. “Good.”

Something inside me twisted. “Why?”

Elias’s jaw tensed. “Because it doesn’t matter.”

I swallowed hard.

I knew what he meant.

To him, to them, I didn’t matter.

The bond didn’t matter.

My chest tightened painfully, but I forced myself to nod. “I understand.”

Elias hesitated for a second, then let go of my wrist and stepped back.

“Stay out of our way, Ivy,” he said quietly before turning and walking away.

I stood there, my heart in my throat, my skin still tingling from his touch.

Stay out of their way.

That was all I had ever done.

But now, the mate bond was a chain around my neck, tightening with every breath.

And I didn’t know how much longer I could take it.

Later that night, as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, I made my decision.

Tomorrow, I would end this.

Tomorrow, I would reject them.

Even if it broke me.

And I'll leave the pack.