[`~♠CORAL~♠]
It seemed as though the mechanism of my world, once hovering euphorically about me, spotted a cog and came to a crushing stop. Three familiar gazes watched me as everyone turned their attention to the one place I couldn’t take my eyes off. My heartbeat was an ever palpitating organ in my chest, threatening to implode and crush my bones. My mates… were the very people that held a very special place in my life. My triplet brothers; Raegan, Damian and Rune. It couldn’t be possible. The moon goddess was surely playing some sort of cruel, sick game on me. Surely, this was just all a dream… No. This was no dream, because dreams don’t give you the worst event of your life. This was dark and twisted. A nightmare. Raegan was the first to start an approach, his gait exuberant and domineering and for some strange reason, it felt so very… arousing? I felt the blazing heat of his icy-blue gaze pinned at me—like he didn’t care at all about the world around him, all the gazes watching in astonishment, confusion, disbelief, and some others even jealousy. The hues of his ice-blue eyes were now a smocking silver colour, I wasn’t sure if they glowed from the candled chandeliers reflecting into his orbs or the moonlight itself. He seemed bigger than life at this very moment and I felt like the smallest cub ever born. I couldn’t move. My mind screamed to reject this moment. I wanted to be anywhere but in this horrid dream. Anywhere but where my fate had been thrust to. I didn’t want to believe that I’d just been mated to my brother and not one but three of them. Whatever had I done to deserve such punishment? But still, I couldn’t look away from his imposing figure. Raegan looked absolutely regal in his dark attire. His short silver hair, combed back, gleamed under the light as well and a dark, incomprehensible look filled his stoic features but the look on his face wasn’t incomprehensible because I couldn’t decipher it. I could. I’ve seen this look on his face before. I know it because it was a look I’ve seen sharpen the rough edges of his face so often, it was stuck like a captivating picture. It was the look he gave the younger boys whenever they seemed to even breathe the same air as me—the undeniable gleaming darkness of his possessiveness boldly molded his face. And it was no different from my other two brothers as they tagged behind him. And they were all looking at me like I was the only thing they ever wanted. As though this incident was not ridiculously alarming. How could they look so calm and collected? Like they were absolutely fine being mated with me. I was their freaking sister for goddess sake! There was nothing more insanely wrong than this. Then I heard them; the whispers. The once deafening silence had shape-shifted into a maddening connotation of muffled words—the words regardless of how quiet they were, I could still hear them. “Three mates?” The surprise was mutual but what was even more surprising and cruel— “Goddess… her brothers?” “Is that even possible?” “It’s Alpha Raegan…” “This has never been heard of...” “What’s going to happen now?” Their words sprang from weariness and unease as my brothers closed the space between us with each step they took. And their scent, blending together to give off the most mouth-watering, heavenly potent and exquisite aroma I could ever fathom. And stuck still to the floor, my wolf running wild inside me, I could only stare with a conflicting desire to be or not to be near them, at their powerfully enchanting figures, wide eyes and gaping lips. Breathless. My breath clung to my throat, stuck, pulling, as though we were two different beings seeking the last oxygen in the air before it faded away. Pain. My chest tightened as though my windpipe was slowly being crushed and I was helpless to the ever crushing fact of the fate that was now my reality. It felt as though I was drowning while breathing in the most soothing air. The scent of my brothers and they stood before me now, eyes filled with molting glazed look and they were looking at me like a lost rare gem they’d finally found adrift pebbles. The whispering didn’t deter their attention either My gaze held my eldest brother’s swirling pool of smoking silver orbs and for a moment I thought I saw his taunt lips curl into a faint smile before his arm stretched forth to catch my face in his palm. My body moved on its own accord as my body sizzled and I shuddered from the overwhelming sensation that woke every sense as a frisson shook my entire body backwards, away from his touch. “No…” The very first words I’d spoken since this revelation. Raegan’s thick brows furrowed as I stepped away from his touch. “This… this can’t be… it’s not real.” I muttered and his mouth seemed to twist in a distasteful way. “Corrie…” My name spilled over the quiet that’s spun between the four of us. Damian’s voice called to me beside Raegan. “No!” My voice picks up with a sudden force that puts him to an automatic halt as I take another step backward, then another to steady myself. It felt as though my body was starting to melt from the heat wafting off them to wrap around me like shackles. It frightened me but the most frightening thing was that it excited me. Their scent. Their close proximity. Their domineering presence. Everything about them in this moment made me feel lightheaded. “You’re not real.” “We are real.” I hear my youngest brother’s voice speak up. He stood beside Damian but a little further away from him. “This has to be a nightmare.” I intoned quietly, staring up at him, at them, helplessly hoping that their faces would somehow contort into someone else’s—to reveal to me that this was truly a dream. A really bad dream. That I was probably seeing things—that my dread was taking the thrill of this moment to torture me even more with twisted games—because there was no way my brothers would have such sour expressions painted across their faces. That they weren’t looking at me like I'd plunged a blunt knife through their chest, into their hearts—like my words had cut through the essence of their very soul. I couldn’t understand why and my the more I stood in their presence, the more I wanted to be closer to them, to have their body engulf me and to get lost in the heat of their scent but the rational part of my brain kept screaming at me and then my feet made its final decision when Raegan started towards me again. My hands clutched onto my chest as I felt the painful thumps of my heart and I turned away from them as my emotions overwhelmed me. This couldn’t be real. I just needed a clear space to breathe properly and maybe… maybe all of this mirage would just disappear. So I ran… away from them and from everyone else in this room. Ignoring all the stares and whispers; their words cutting through my heart as I passed through the multitude. “Coral, wait!” It was Raegan’s voice calling out to me, urging me to stop and turn back to him… to them. But I knew not to turn around. I couldn’t… wouldn’t. Because I was afraid. Afraid that once I do, I’d get lost in those smoking eyes, I’d get drunk off their scent and I'd lose all rational thought of the facts that the three individuals I’d just been mated to were none other than my handsomely, possessive and overprotective brothers. Taking the stairs seems like a journey into the Netherlands. My feet felt like they were taking a walk through iced stepping and the higher I climbed the more unsteady I felt. And then I felt their powerful scent again. On edge, I glanced behind me, three hulking forms stalking towards me, their breaths raged as they stopped midway across the hall, their gazes caused me to stop on my tracks and I stared back at them, caught in the wanton heat of the glowing orbs. And again, I ran, faster now, dashing across the hallway to my bedroom and slamming it shut. Their voices came and with it several panicked banging that had me clutching my chest that held my heavy heart. “Corrie!” “Moonbeam!” “Cora!” Their deep sultry voices rang out simultaneously against constant heavy tapping against my bedroom door. And then it stops abruptly. My heart lodged into my throat and my feet carried me a little closer to the door, the sudden silence was questioning. I hadn’t made three steps when a deeper voice broke through the silence, it was my father's voice and his gruff tone had caused them to stop banging against my bedroom door. “You three, come with me.” His voice was slightly muffled but I heard the hint of something uneasy when he spoke to my brothers. They sort to protest against his calling, “Now.” But his voice held a cold command and left no space for argument. Heavy booted footfalls turned into a distant echo as they padded away down the hall but the potent scent they carried still lingered. My knees buckled and I came crashing onto the wooden flooring cushioned by the large soft fur of the rug that occupied the center of my room. My heavy heart felt a little lighter as though it waited for them to leave and I didn’t realize just how long I had been holding my breath. And then my tears came flooding, streaming no softer than the turbulent flow of a river in stormy weather, down my face as I wailed into the floor rug.[~♠CORAL♠~] I had cried myself to sleep again and when I awoke, wrapped around myself, the sun was already high up in the sky. The blinding rays filled my room and filled my senses with the same heavy sensation I’ve been carrying for a week now, locked in my bedroom.And despite the trials of my parents to reach out to me, I just couldn’t pull myself together to communicate with anyone. My brothers— or should I say, my mates now, didn’t fail to show their turbulence as well. But I’d refused to see them either, ignoring the pounding sensation in my chest that wants me to be nowhere else but in their embrace.My bedroom had become my solace and crying myself to sleep right after pleading to the moon goddess for forgiveness, if I had done anything to dishonor her, had become a routine. But each day, still, I wake up with the same churning feeling in my chest and inkless inscription, that I’m still mated to my brothers.The burning feeling, a raging evidence of the reality of my fate.M
[~♣RAEGAN♣~] A week ago should have been the happiest moment of my— our lives. I guess I was wrong, woefully. It had morphed into an intricate, heart wrecking nightmare, one that has plagued my mind for a week now. The entire length of the days my moonbeam had locked herself away from the world, from us— her mates and family. And I’d realized that I was probably in my own world thinking she’d be happy about it. I knew deep down, below my selfish soul but I didn’t think it’d be this bad. My moonbeam had locked herself up in her bedroom, shutting out everything and everyone—that didn’t exclude us, her mates. But we’d been a proper family until a week ago when she’d finally turned eighteen. When she had finally become aware of our mate bond. It was a secret I held… we held, my brothers and I. We’d always known about it… since that night. I was the first of the bunch to realize it. And it’s been years since then. My selfishness hadn’t let me reveal the truth to my parents. Her swee
[~♠CORAL♠~] My father’s words has me halting in an instant. The heaviness in his words melded with the rage that kept wafting off him and I felt, deep within me that something wasn’t right. The panicked expression that now splashed across the faces of my brothers didn’t do anything to soothe my racing, worried heart. As a matter of fact, it only made my curious yet worry filled heart plummet in my chest. My breathing is ragged and I wait for my father to respond to me. When he finally turns to look at me, his rage seem to taper down a bit because the fierce silver glow in his eyes reverts back to its ice-blue colour. “Pearl…” He breathes and starts towards me. He catches my face in his hands when he reach me and drawing our foreheads together, he takes in another breathe. “Are you alright? How are you feeling? You’ve been locked up in your room for so long… I was worried.” I smile at my father’s soft gesture, I guess I really did make him worry. Catching his hands with min
[~♠CORAL♠~]I wail against mother’s body as she sits with me, holding me down as I poured out the suffocating emotions that threatens my sanity. She just let me pour it all out, not saying a word to me and simply combing her soft fingers through my hair as she plants soft kisses.“It— it’s not true, right?” I sniffle, my voice croaky and low. I pull out of my mother’s embrace. “Raegan’s isn’t telling the truth, right? He’s just trying to be selfish, right?” I question with a bitter laugh. “I’m your daughter, aren’t I?”“Coral… Honey, I—” Mother's words clips off and she turns her face away and the possible truth sticks in.I turn to my father, looking up at him for a hopeful answer. But there’s a look on his face that I can’t properly decipher and he doesn’t meet my eyes either. And I feel my world being blown away like a hurricane.“This... can’t be happening… how is this even possible?” I mutter. Questioning no one in particular.“You were found on our land’s boarder,” Father’s deep
[~♠CORAL♠~]A knock came through the door before it was pushed open. Kiara, my best-friend stood at the threshold, a small wooden tray in her hand. “I brought you some sandwich.” She smiles softly at me.“I’m not hungry.” I mutter, leaning deeper against my knee, I draw my blanket tightly over my body.Kiara sighs, stepping into the room. She drops the tray on the bed-side table and takes a spot on the bed, beside me.“Come on Coco, you need to eat. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. You’re making me worried.”“I’m fine.” I whisper, resting my head on my knee. My red hair curtains my face as I tuck myself, wishing the darkness would swallow me whole.“No you’re not, Coco! You’re barely eating. No, scratch that, you’ve not been eating at all! It’s been a week now. You’re not taking care of yourself and that just makes me more miserable as your best friend because I feel like I’m not doing my best to help you.”“I’m not dead yet, am I?” I question, flatly.“You can’t give me that r
[~♠CORAL♠~]I stare at Rune, waiting for him to respond but time only seems to pass by as we both stand, stalemate.“I’m so sorry, Coral. I try to stop him—”“That’s alright, Leon. It wasn't your fault.” I redirect my gaze to Rune. “I won’t ask again, Rune. Why are you here?” I ask, sternly.The air about us is starting to thicken with tension as Leon, Kiara and her mother were left to watch from the corner. They look a bit shaken, wide eyes and still holding onto themselves.Well, I can’t actually blame them, it’s quite frightening when you can’t do anything but watch your father and husband get plummeted on the ground in front of you.Rune’s throat bobs as he swallows. He stares at me as though he was afraid to speak and it's hard to not notice the physical change in his appearance, though subtle. His porcelain pale skin looks a little drained, his eyes were a bit drab and sunken, his dark shoulder-length hair, disheveled. I'd like to say that my eyes are deceiving me, but he looks
[~♠CORAL♠~]“He’s been like that for a few days,” Mother explains, her voice croaks as she turns to look at Raegan. She looks as though she was about to cry. Now that I look at her she does seem worn out, like she’s been crying all week.As a matter-of-fact, everyone looked worn out in some way or the other. Even father. His hair is slightly ruffled and his shoulders are tensed. There’s a worried look in his gaze even though he’s trying to hide it, it slips out sometimes when he looks at mother.Damien looks like he hasn’t had a wink of rest. Even though he looks somewhat composed on the surface, I can tell he hasn’t had a moment of rest. He’s even spotting a scruffy five o’clock shadow and a slight dark circle underneath his eyes. Why was this happening? It didn’t have something to do with me leaving, did it? And why was I the only one that seems unaffected physically, despite all the turbulences.Catching my bottom lip between my teeth again, I let my shaky gaze fall scrutiny aroun
[~♣RAEGAN♣~]I stir when I catch a familiar scent. It was sweet and warm and caused a deep aching stir in my gut. But not the kind of ache you get from a stomach trouble. It’s the kind of sensation you feel when you know someone that means the world to you is close.And I feel it, in every fiber of my being as her scent washes over me like rain on a steep hill.My eyes peel open and her close proximity jerks me up. I blink, assuming her presence was a façade and that my desperate need for her must have conjured my mind to dream her up and placed her here. After all, it was in her bedroom that I had purged myself into, on her bed, where the sheets still had her scent on.It was the closest I could get to being close to her after falling prey to her scorn. I had wanted to apologize, for the pain and distraught that I’d unimaginably put her through because of my selfishness.When she pushed me away, I felt a cord in my soul snap and I let my anxiety take over me. It felt as though my so
[~♠️RAEGAN♠️~] A soft knock on my door drives me out of my thoughts. “Um, Raegan?” Her sweet voice fills my senses, lighting a warm spark in me that courses through my being. My head swings up like a loose hinge as it lodges off my knuckles and I see her at the doorway. Her head barely pokes in through the opening of my office door, her soft wave of red locks curtaining the sides of her face. “Moonbeam.” I mutter, still slightly taken aback by her presence. “Can I come in?” She asks softly. “Sure.” I smile, slowly getting off my seat. But she hesitates, standing at the threshold. “Did I disturb you?” “Of course not, you’re never a bother, moonbeam. Come on in.” I respond, almost reaching her before she walks in, closing the door behind her. She rests against the wooden panel, unmoving until I reach her. For a moment I forget to breathe. Even in a simple nightdress she looks ethereal. Her fair skin is a subtle glow that makes it appear glass-like and her ha
[~♥️CORAL♥️~] We meet Raegan and Damian as soon as we turn the corner of the pack house. Rune’s hand is big and firm around mine. It feels like he’s holding onto me like he doesn’t want to let go. I don’t want him to either. The moment we’re in view, their head snaps towards us. Their faces, which were previously wearing a hard, brooding look melts with the warmth that instantly replaces it but I couldn’t help but feel something must have happened inside the meeting room to cause such expression on their faces. Rune had also been wearing the same brooding expression on his face. Damian’s lips curl with a smelting smile, “Well, what do we have here?” he says and starts towards us—well, me. There’s a look in his eyes that I recognized. It’s the hungry look of a predator while it watches its prey before it pounces. Damian’s eyes are a bright shade of ember but they’re dark from the look it holds. My heart skids in my chest. My stomach flutters as warm heat spreads up my cheeks. R
[~♥CORAL♥~]“Kiara… What are you doing? You’re going to get us into trouble.” I let out a hushed yell, turning my head around to scan the surroundings.Kiara creeps closer to the wall, placing a finger on her lips. “Shh, you’ll get us caught if you keep bugging me.”“Well, it’s not right to eavesdrop on people.”“Be quiet Coco, I’m trying to hear what’s going on. It’s clearly important.”“That’s exactly why we’re not supposed to be here. Why did you drag me here? I never agreed to this. What if someone sees us and reports it to Raegan.”She rolls her eyes, shaking her head, “Well, for one I know we won’t get caught if you stop making a fuss about it. Secondly, you’re literally mated to the most important people in the pack. No one else is above them, so we’ll be fine.” She says and turns to me. She winks, her smile mischievous and then she returns her attention back to the wall. Placing her ear against the surface, she strains to hear what’s happening at the other side but with the
[~♦DAMIAN♦~]It’s all bullcrap and I can smell it.If that shifty fucking smile on his face isn’t enough to prove it then I don’t know what else will. There was something other than just bringing an end to our long held feud that he was attaining for. I don’t know much about the strategic stuff in a war, that was Rune’s line of expertise but with Kane’s reputation and what I’ve seen through the long years, this war has become more than a conquest for power. Our land has one of the rarest items that any pack would kill to obtain—a mine with an abundance of mythril.It’s a stone that’s considered to be one of the strongest ore in the land. It’s used here in crafting the best of our weaponries and priced accessories but it’s never exported in bulk because it’s a precious stone but it’s also a dangerous item if in the wrong hands. It’s an item that can turn the tides of not only war but development in any pack. So it’s always been the leading factor to all the wars we’ve faced so far.
[~♠RUNE♠~]The tension in the air is remarkable. If active it would be explosively destructive.Even though Raegan might have agreed to this meeting, everyone present is on high alert. That doesn’t exempt me though. But I’d rather have a peaceful resolution than a destructive war.“My, you guys should really chill out,” Kane inputs when he takes the seat at the end of the long table. Reagan takes the other, at the head. The rest of us settle into the seats at each side of the table. Damian and I sit at opposite sides; I on the left and him at the right. Leon and a few others take their individual seats as well and Kane’s beta, Talon sits next to him, at his right side. Kane crosses his left leg over his right. The table is high enough to conceal it but his body movement is enough to read his actions. He smirks. “There’s enough animosity in this room to chill my bones. It’s almost like I’m the enemy here.”“You are the enemy here, you fucker.” Damian growls.There’s a subtle pause b
[~♣RAEGAN♣~]“What do you want Rune?” Damian hisses at Rune, not taking a look at him. His attention is held up by the man in front of him and Alpha Kane is just as reeling to go as he is.“What I want is for you to stop misbehaving.” Rune scolds. “Are you trying to make things worse than they already are?” Damian snarls at him. “He’s the one asking for a death wish.” Kane lets out a disdainful snort at his remark and Damian shoots him a glare.“Are you really going to do this? You’ll only be contradicting your stated intentions of peace if you engage him in a fight,” Rune says, and it earns him a smirk from Kane. “But don’t think we’ll be letting you off just because my douchebag of a brother caused a scene.” Kane’s smirk widens into a darkly, amused grin and his eyes flashes, noting the threat behind Rune’s words.He straightens, completely relaxed from his battle stance. His muscles are slightly tensed so I know he’s distinctly aware of Damian’s threatening presence in front of hi
[~♣RAEGAN♣~]“What the hell are you doing here?” I snarl at the man in front of me.I was in the middle of a meeting with my brothers and the pack’s elder council on finalizing the next step of action to take regarding Kane's message when one of my border guards busted in like his ass was on fire.He came with troubling news. Kane had already arrived at our border and the guards had apprehended him and were bringing him here.The news set my brothers and I and everyone else in the room on high alert. We rushed out a moment before he arrived at the pack house, surrounded by the pack guards with their weapons poking out behind him.The news of his sudden arrival was upsetting but not the most surprising thing, even though it completely threw me getting the message. We were unprepared and hadn't expected him to show up so soon and so suddenly.He’d requested a meeting through his messenger. It was the reason we were in-deep in this meeting, arguing our heads off on whether to take Rune’s
[~♥CORAL♥~]“You didn't drop by this morning. What happened? Is everything alright, Kiki?” I ask, walking up beside her just as we step out of school premises to the street.I call out her name this time when she doesn't respond to me. When I get no response again, I quickly grab her arm. Stopping in my tracks, I pull her back. It cause her to jerk back too until she halts in her track. “Kiara…” Her mind seems dazed but then she blinks and gasp as though snapping out of a hypnosis. Her eyes fills momentarily with shock and a clip expression before it falls off her face.Her breath settles and then her hazel gaze holds mine. “Sorry Coco, what was that?”I frown a little, a small pout puckering my lips and I release my hold on her arm. “You didn't show up at my house this morning… what happened?”I must have imagined the flash of anger in her eyes. “Why? I'm not your mother, Coco.”I know she didn't mean to be rude but her curt remark still cuts me like a gullet wound but in the chest.
[~♥CORAL♥~]My face is red. Beet blood… maybe even tomato red. I know because I can feel the heat smoking off my face, hotter than any heated ore or metal. Probably even hotter than molten lava itself.It's scalding and it's caused by the two large figures hanging at the doorway of Rune's bedroom.I'm overcomed by sheer embarrassment as Damian's teasing words hit me. That's right… I had come here to bring Rune over for breakfast. He's been engrossed in his new craft piece, I'm not sure he's had a proper rest. I wonder what he's making this time. I do love all his pieces. They were always enchanting. I'm sure all the females in the pack would love to wear a piece if they could. However, the thought made my mind scream with disapproval. I wouldn't want any other woman to wear his art piece. Actually, more correctly than that, I didn't want them wearing any of his piece. I know that it sounds childish to think but I can't help but think that they'd be wearing a piece of him on them a