[`~♠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
[~♥CORAL♥~]Reagan's breath catches in his throat soon after the words leave my mouth. I flush with embarrassment and quickly throw my gaze away.I can't believe I just said that.Reagan's touch on my cheek has me looking back up at him. He must think I'm a wanton female for that utterance. I stare into his eyes and catch the pair of ice blue orbs flash into a smoking silver.“Do you… really mean that?” His voice is a deep baritone and it sends a shiver down my spine.Did I? I wasn't even sure why I said that but now, I'm just curious to know. My heart is thumping so hard against my chest and I fear it might leap out any second from now.I slowly nod, my gaze drifting to his lips before slowly trailing back up. His intense gaze was watching me intently before falling to my own lips. “Are you sure? He asks, “I don't want to push you…” the hunger in his eyes flares and he looks as though he's fighting his control.Damian had the same look in his eyes too. It's the same look that says h
[~♣RAEGAN♣~]“Why are you angry?” My little moonbeam demands as she follows me into the house, her foot plattering in the hallway as she tries to catch up to me.I glance at her over my shoulders, momentarily catching her bright green gaze hot on me. My lips curl up with a little smile before returning my gaze to my path.“I'm not angry.” I tell her. She doesn't buy it though, I could feel the doubt oozing out of her small body walking up behind me.“Lies!” She rebukes, calling me out on my bullshit and she was indeed calling me out but truthfully, I wasn't angry, not exactly. “You definitely are. I saw it in your eyes earlier.”I sigh, stepping into the living room. She follows. “Why? Why are you angry? Is it because I was practicing with Damian at the courtyard when you told me not to?”Her question has me confirming my thoughts about earlier with her and Damian out in the yard. So she was indeed practicing combat behind my back, that sleezy bastard, I was going to deal with him la
[~♥CORAL♥~]Damian groans lowly the moment my fingers touch his taut skin. His eyes closing and his head hangs even lower, hovering over mine as his lids clenches and unclenches. His nose flares, his low groans turning more animalistic and strained as though he was having an internal battle.It made me a little worried seeing such displays of emotion twisting up his face. I didn’t know if he was in pain or something. Am I causing him pain? Is it because I’m touching him? I didn’t like it. I didn’t like seeing him look this way.“Don’t do that. Don’t stop.” Damian says, catching my wrist with his hand when I attempt to remove them from his skin.“But… I’m… causing you pain.” I counter and try to free my hand from his grip but it locks like a vice around my wrist, trapping my hand against his chiseled abs.His chuckle is deep and exotic, I want to fall into the trance the sound caused inside me. “The last thing you're causing me is pain, sweet girl.” he says, his voice strained with som
[~♥CORAL♥~]“Raise your arms a bit more, lower your hips to steady your stance, that's good, just like that, keep it that way, your fist has to bear the weight of your strength…” Damian instructs calmly even though I'm trying my hardest to land a decent and possibly hard hit on his large body. He blocks them all and still has the gall to instruct so well!As Raegan had said he would, he'd instructed the instructors for my combat training class to sit me out of participating. They couldn't defy their Alpha.Raegan worries too much. It was barely a wound and it healed pretty quickly too. I could properly use my hands because of the pain medicine I was given but it's not like I was dying or had a fatal disease. He didn't have to withdraw me from practice.Five days have passed since my bruise and I'd secretly asked Damian to practice with me. He was much obliged to but with the condition that I rest a bit more, for two extra days, making it a week, to heal. Now we're at the courtyard at
[~♦DAMIAN♦~]“You're so mean.” I stare down at my mate to see a pout puckering her sweet lips.“Whatever do you mean, sweet girl?” I ask, letting a smirk curl up my lips.She looks up at me, her eyes flashing with a coy smile. She's finally gotten used to the name so now it doesn't bother her anymore when I address her by it. Then they turn solemn, almost like she's trying to scold me silently.“You know what I mean.”I did. But I love teasing her. The thrill her expression causes is a medicine I've gotten addicted to. Even when I don't want to, I just can't help it.I flash a grin, “I apologize, sweet girl. I just can't help myself when I'm around you.”I hear her breath catch in her throat just as her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “You're not sorry at all,” she narrows her gaze at me.I can't help the chuckle that slips past my lips at her acute accusation. “And you don't think I'm going to forget about your sudden intrusion into school today.”“I wasn't intruding, sweet girl.
[~♥CORAL♥~]I let Damian drag me off the training ground, mostly because I'm still reeling from what just happened.Raina had tried to seriously hurt me and Damian had stepped in. He'd protected me. My heart felt afloat with the feeling of both fear and relief, it still does, the aftermath effect is still strumming around in my chest.Damian leads me behind a building. There's a bench resting against the surface when we round the corner and he pulls me down gently to sit on it before lowering his height and kneeling with one knee to the ground. His face is a mess of worry and… distress and his gaze fervently runs up and down the length of my body in fluid movement.“Where exactly does it hurt?” He asks, pulling up the sleeves of my shirt past my elbows, he carefully lifts my left arm to his face, inspecting closely.“Here.” I respond, using my other hand to motion across the length of my forearm. “All of it… hurts.”Damian's ember orbs flashes a glowering red and a snarl shapes his f
[~♦DAMIAN♦~]She won. My sweet girl won the spar. It was a little surprising because I knew her opponent was a lot stronger than her, she’d surprised me with that move she pulled.I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face the moment it happened.I've been beating myself up about stepping into her fight and breaking it off the moment her body hit the ground but I know that would only cause trouble for her.My girl was already trying to carve out her own part through her circumstances. I didn't want to be the new source of her agony. I never want to experience the hurt and broken heartedness of my mate ever again. She is the most precious fucking thing to me and bringing her joy is the only thing I'd live to do from now on.The instructor has just declared her the winner and there was a surprising alarm of cheers at her victory even though this was no more than a practice session. I was so fucking proud of her and all I could see in that moment was her.Wanting to get to my mate t
[~♥CORAL♥~]When my body hits the ground, my world spirals for a moment. Raina's movement had been so quick and her attack was sharp and concentrated, knocking me to the ground within a second. I barely saw her coming. Much to my dismay. She proved her strength when her body settles on mine. My hands though, had shielded my face on instinct, though it didn't ease the pain that spammed my body at the moment it made contact with the hard ground.Dust gust around us before it finally settles and I look up at Raina. A smug look paints her face and she's smiling down at me like she's just won.“Ha! This is going to be so easy.” She snarls wickedly, her smile turning into a mischievous grin, her eyes shining with sheer diviousness.And somehow, my gaze finds Damian. His arms are folded against his broad, black clad chest and so is the rest of him—built like a warrior king. His demeanor is stoic and fierce but I don't miss the way his hands clench at his sides and the very subtle flex of hi
[~♥CORAL♥~]The moment my gaze locks with warm ember orbs, I feel the air around me shift with an electrifying sizzle, for one, because Damian is here, as our supposed instructor and he smiles, waving at me like a child that's just found his mother in a crowd.It hinders my attempt at hiding my presence—though I wasn't succeeding much in that area either, my red hair makes me stand out like a sore thumb.The other, because there’s suddenly an uproar of excitement bubbling from the girls and the boys but most especially, the girls and very extremely, from Raina.My gaze cuts off from Damian, landing on Raina. She’s not looking at me this time because now she has her gaze solely fixed on Damian and I swear to the moon goddess that I can see the moon-struck hearts in her freaking eyes and I’m flushed by a wave of violence at her shameless ogling at my mate.“Quiet!” One of the instructor’s voice catches our attention again, this time, it’s the black haired one that speaks up, his voice h