Ch. 3 Madness

Olivia

It’s been months since the night I stood on that cliff, contemplating my own demise. Sometimes I still wonder if I made a mistake, not ending my life. But in the end, I just couldn’t do it, couldn’t cause my family any more pain, even if it means my own suffering. 

I’ve had a near perfect track record of avoiding my mates since the Full Moon party, though the pain of them betraying the bond visits me most nights. Unfortunately, that painfully short reprieve from their presence has come to an end. My best friend Ellie met her mates and we’re all in Sacred Moon for her Luna ceremony, making avoiding them impossible. 

The party is raging around us. Everyone is smiling, dancing, celebrating but I just don’t have the energy to pretend. My eyes wander to the dance floor of their own accord, immediately finding the men I least and most want to see. They’re each wrapped up in women far more beautiful than me, with smiles on their faces and laughter in their eyes. The pang of loss that assaults me nearly sucks the air from my lungs. 

“He’s just being polite, you know.” Ellie’s voice startles me. She snuck up on me and now her eyes follow mine to where her brother dances a little closer than necessary with an Alpha’s daughter. “As an unmated Alpha, it’s expected of him. He’s not serious about her.”

“I know.” I mutter, tossing back my whiskey sour. I don’t drink as a rule, alcohol and my medical issues don't mix well, but tonight is its own special kind of torture and sweet oblivion seemed my only option for survival. “He can dance with whoever he wants. I don’t care.” 

She smirks at me, seeing my response for what it is, a bold-faced lie. She may not know he’s my mate, but there’s no hiding my heart from my best friend. She knows I’ve loved her brother since we were pups. 

She doesn’t realize I’m watching Declan too, dancing right beside Kaden, with his hands resting on the hips of a brunette in a slinky dress. Ellie would really give me hell if she knew I was sitting here sulking over both of them. So I force myself to look away, staring into my nearly empty glass. That’s a problem I need to remedy soon.

“Okay then!” She slides into the seat next to me and orders two shots. “If you aren’t dancing then neither am I.”

“It’s your party! You can’t sit here with me. Go find your guys and have fun!” I insist but she won’t budge.

“They’ll be fine without me for a bit. I’m not letting my bestie drink alone!”

By the time her mates come to collect her, we've downed so many shots I’m officially blitzed. I remember I’d been sulking but have completely forgotten why. I’m already heading toward the dance floor, ready to enjoy my chemically-induced lack of restraint, when a large arm catches around my waist. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Red!” Kaden growls in my ear. He fingers a stray strand of my hair, the obvious inspiration for the nickname. “You can’t show up here in that sexy black dress, tempting your Alpha, and think you can get away with it.” His words are slurred, as if him speaking to me at all isn’t already proof he’s smashed. 

I look up into his eyes, the color of melty chocolate, to find them glazed with lust. He’s impossibly handsome with his dark brown hair flopping on his forehead, just the right amount of stubble covering his square jaw. I shouldn’t still want him after everything he’s done but I can’t help melting into his firm chest as he pulls me closer.

Electricity courses through me everywhere we touch, all rational thought fried upon contact. I find the smallest will to pull away, knowing he’s not in his right mind. But then sparks erupt on my back, skittering down my spine as Declan presses in close and my power to resist evaporates. 

“Don’t play coy, Rosebud.” Declan rasps, his voice deep and sexier than I’ve ever heard it. “You can’t pretend this isn’t exactly what you want, have wanted for years.” 

His body is pressed into my back, leaving no doubt of his desire for me. His hands fall to my shoulders then roam down my sides, forcing me to bite back a moan. But I can’t help searching Kaden’s eyes, waiting for the punchline. 

“You don’t think we’ve seen the way you look at us? The way your eyes follow us anytime we’re in the same room?” He leans in further as he speaks, like his words are a secret meant just for me. “You want to be ours, Olivia. I can smell your arousal. I can feel it in the way your body responds to my touch.”

He’s arrogant, almost gloating in the way he teases me. I should run far, far away from the two of them. My head wants me to but my legs won’t move. Because he’s not wrong. What he’s offering me is exactly the thing I’ve dreamed of for years, to be the object of their attention, to be the one they desire

It’s not real, I know that. They’ve made no secret of their disgust for me over the years. Still, my stupid heart wants so badly to believe it is. Their intoxicating scents make my head all fuzzy, clouding my judgment even further. 

“Come on, Rosebud. Let’s dance. It will help you relax.” Declan rumbles in my ear, even further weakening my resolve. 

I let the two of them lead me to the dance floor, my body tucked into their sides. and it feels so right, like I’m finally where I belong. They pull me between them, Declan now in front with Kaden framing my back. We’re nothing more than a tangle of limbs swaying together, their erections pressing in on either side while sweat and slick coat my skin, but to me it’s everything. 

I lose track of time as we dance together, only stopping long enough to down a few more drinks here and there. My mind has completely checked out, my sole focus on the way their hands feel roaming my curves. When Kaden squeezes my breast, his thumb brushing my nipple through the silk of my dress, the scent of my arousal plumes around us and he growls, a low, dangerous sound. 

“No one gets to know how good you smell when you’re needy for us, Red. I think it’s time to go.” His possessiveness has my desire skyrocketing.

“G-, go? I whimper, even as I let him pull me through the crush of bodies still dancing the night away.

“Back to our room. You want that, right, Rosebud?” Declan circles his large palm from my hip to my inner thigh, dangerously close to the place I ache for him to touch, reminding me that yes, I do want that very much.

“Uh-huh,” I mumble, liquor and lust stealing my words. 

As we sneak away from the party, my mind grasps for all the reasons I should stop this madness before it begins. I have very good reasons to hate these men but at the moment, I can’t remember a single one. 

Deep down I know I shouldn’t want this but my heart and my wolf are traitorous whores. They’d have me flat on my back with my legs spread wide for our mates. And at the moment, there’s nothing I want more. 

Kaden pulls out the key to his room and I let the two of them shuffle me inside. The massive bed takes center stage, filling most of the square footage in the tiny suite. It draws me in, running my hand over the luxurious, silky white linens, and I’m already imagining how they’ll feel sliding against my sensitive skin.

The two of them stand beside me, their calloused fingers caressing my bare arms, reminding me what they’re offering. The chance to have my mates, touching me, looking at me like I’m the only one they see, the only one who can give them what they need. It’s everything I want and the last thing I need. 

Maybe I should have jumped off that cliff when I had the chance. Because these two men, they’re going to destroy me just as completely.