Chapter 2

Zara's POV

I woke up feeling like my head was spinning. Every thought I had felt foggy, and my body was so heavy it took everything in me just to sit up. “Where… am I?” I whispered, glancing around the unfamiliar room. The dim light filtering through thick curtains didn’t help; if anything, it made the room look even stranger. I was tangled up in some thick sheets, twisted around my legs like chains holding me in place. Tugging myself free, I finally pushed the blankets off, and the shock hit me—I was completely naked.

“What the hell?” I muttered, clamping my hand over my mouth. My eyes went wide as a strange shiver ran through me. Nothing about this made sense. I never went to sleep like this. My chest tightened as I looked around for some clue, anything to make sense of what happened last night.

Then my eyes landed on something across the room—a calendar hanging on the wall. I stumbled over to it, legs barely holding me up, and stared at the date circled in bold red. My heart dropped. Today was that day. The day Ashen discovered I was his mate. The day he looked at me with those cold eyes and tore me apart with one word: Rejected.

My breathing grew shallow. I couldn’t believe it. All this time, I tried so hard to bury that memory, to forget the way his rejection shattered everything inside me. And yet here I was, standing in some strange room on the exact day that my life had been turned upside down. “Why now?” I whispered, clutching my chest as the pain of that memory returned like a storm.

And then, something else, something so strange it almost knocked me off my feet. I heard a voice, soft yet powerful, deep inside my mind. It’s been too long, but I’m here now. It was her—my wolf. I hadn’t heard her voice since the day Theron poisoned me, stealing my wolf's voice and silencing that part of me.

I pulled my hand away from my mouth and tried again. “K-Zara,” I whispered, shaky, but real. I could speak. 

What was going on? 

I stood up, still piecing it all together, until I caught my reflection in the mirror. That’s when I realized the truth, sharp and undeniable. I was reborn.

Everything came flooding back—images of the cliff, the day my sisters turned on me. I remembered Aria’s cold eyes, her hand smashing a rock into my skull, then pushing me off the edge. They thought I was weak. Ashen too.

I let the anger settle into my gaze. "They tried to kill me. My own sisters. Ashen. They all thought I was weak." My fingers brushed my hair as the rage in my chest grew. "They’ll pay."

Today was the Mating Ball. A day I'd dreaded, year after year, my wolf never appearing. But not this time. I wore a black dress, low-cut, bold. They expected the old Zara? They were in for a surprise.

Before leaving, I slipped a note in Aria’s handwriting under her door. When I entered the ballroom, my sisters lined up by the Alpha’s side; no seat for me. Aria sneered from across the room. I grabbed a glass of wine and let myself enjoy the scene.

As I approached the high table, Aria sneered, “If I were anyone else, I’d have done worse. You’re so lucky the Moon Goddess declared you special.”

Special wolf? What? Had the Moon Goddess protected me? Given me back my voice? Why would she care about me?

Before I could think, the Alpha sneered. “Why are you here? It’s not like you’ll find a mate.” I smiled. He said that before. “I wanted to let you know something... interesting.”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“If you go to your mistress’s room, you’ll find something she’s hiding.”

Suspicion flickered in his eyes. He rose, surprising my sisters. Aria called after him, but he was gone. I stayed, waiting for my plan to unfold.

An hour later, Ashen was dragged in, naked, thrown at my feet. “I’m innocent!” he begged. My heart twisted—he was telling the truth. But my note had led him right into this trap. Theron’s voice boomed. “How dare you mock me?”

Aria's expression shifted, heartbroken. She’d just started an affair with Ashen. I smiled sweetly. “What will people say, Alpha Theron? Your beta caught with your mistress?”

“Shut up, Zara!” Aria screamed.

But Theron considered my words. “Take him to the dungeons. Execute them both in three days.”

“No, father!” Aria cried. “Please! Don’t hurt Ashen! I love him!”

Suddenly, drums sounded. The Lycan King had arrived.

I moved toward the exit, uninterested, but the doors swung open. My heart stopped. Four identical men—Kade, Dax, Ryker, and Luca. The Standon quadruplets. They saved me when I died.

I blinked. Four Lycan Kings?

Their blue eyes locked onto mine as they moved closer, desire in their gaze.

“Mate,” they growled in unison.

They looked so striking in their royal suits—each one more handsome than I remembered. Kade, with his dark hair slicked back, had a sharp jawline and an intense gaze that could make anyone tremble. His eyes locked on mine as if he was trying to read my every thought. Dax, standing next to him, had his tousled hair falling perfectly into place, with the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips. That smirk was enough to make anyone's knees weak. There was a quiet confidence about him, like he knew something I didn’t.

Ryker, the brooding one, looked like he was ready to take on the world. His muscles flexed beneath his tailored jacket, and there was this wild energy about him that always made him seem a little dangerous. But it was Luca, standing at the end, who softened the intensity of the group. His warm, kind eyes always made him feel like the approachable one, the safe one. But even his gaze felt different today.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Ryker’s voice pulled me back into the moment, dripping with arrogance as usual. He took a step closer, his dark eyes glinting with amusement. “Zara’s been avoiding us—and our charms. You know every woman wants us.” He smirked, letting his hand fall casually onto my shoulder, like he owned me.

I stiffened under his touch but tried to stay calm. Inside, my mind was spinning. Why am I mated to all four of them? This has to be a mistake. I’m supposed to be with one man, not all of them! But come to think of it!!

This can be just perfect.. Why don’t I use this to golden opportunity, to have my revenge plan up and rolling..

I swallowed, trying to hide my excitement. “You seem pretty confident, Ryker,” I said, my tone steady even though my heart was trying to arrange words in my head. “Maybe I’ve just been busy. Ever thought of that?”

Ryker laughed, a low, deep sound that sent shivers down my spine. “Busy avoiding us? Sure, Zara.” He leaned in closer, his breath warm against my skin. “But you know you can’t stay away forever. We’re your mates, after all.”

Mates. The word echoed in my head like a bad joke. I just had to act as if I dont want this.. Hopefully this turns out good.

Kade’s intense gaze met mine again, and he took a step forward, his voice soft but commanding. “The moon Goddess chose you for us,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine. \

Moon Goddess? What was he talking about?Why of all people was I chosen? “I... I dont know what you are talking about,” I said slowly, trying to keep my voice calm. “What do you mean, ‘chose me’?”

Luca finally spoke, his voice the gentlest of the four, but it was laced with something else—something deeper. “Zara, just keep calm. The bond. You can feel it, can’t you?”

I froze. Bond? I didn’t want to admit it, but there was a strange pull, something inside me that made it hard to look away from them. But this wasn’t how it was supposed to be! I wasn’t supposed to feel anything for them, not like this. 

“This is insane,” I whispered. “I don’t understand. How do you know me? Why am I mated to all of you? This isn’t... this isn’t right.”

Ryker raised an eyebrow, his smirk fading slightly. “You really don’t know about any of this?”

“Remember what?” I shot back, my voice shaking now. “I don’t remember any of this”.

“You belong to us,” Dax said simply, his smirk returning. “You’re our mate, Zara. All four of us.”

I shook my head, backing up a step. “That’s impossible. People don’t have more than one mate. That’s not how this works!”

“But that’s how it works for you,” Luca said softly, his eyes filled with sympathy. “You’re different, Zara. You’re special.”

“Special?” I repeated, the word leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. “I don’t want to be special. I just want to be normal.”

“You can’t run from this,” Ryker said, his voice hardening again. “You’re ours, Zara. You might not like it, but that’s how it is.”

I clenched my fists, feeling the panic rising inside me. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want this. But deep down, a small part of me knew they were telling the truth. I could feel it—the strange connection, the bond they talked about. It was there, no matter how much I tried to deny it.  And fortunately, I’m gonna love this, Ashen and my sis have no idea was coming for them!!!