Elara POV

No. Fucking. Way.

Rage, embarrassment, and denial rush through my veins. This cannot be happening. First, I catch that slut with Mason, and now she is coming home with us. Show me one person who would be happy with this arrangement. Other than Alice. She is smitten like a kitten, holding Kane’s hand.

A hand brushes across my arm, and I look over to see Mindy standing beside me.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispers, smiling at me. “I know this is wild, and I’m sure you’re confused, but it’s all going to be okay.”

“Mindy,” I throw my arms around her. Guilt consumes me when I realise I have not even noticed who she is mated to. “I’m so sorry, I’m so caught up in my own shit that I didn’t even consider what you’re going through.”

“It’s okay,” she smiles. “Your drama is way more than mine. Especially since it’s Alice.”

“Right,” I gasp, throwing my hands in the air. “At least you get it. I mean, look at her. All smiling and stuff while she knows I know she’s been cheating. She hasn’t had a single worry that I might tell, because they’re all like ‘we love you’ and stuff.”

I cut off my tirade and take a deep breath.

“But enough about me,” I smile. “Who’s your mate?”

“Not mate,” she smiles mischievously. “Mates. I also got two. Monroe Glade and Maxim Fulton.”

“That’s so great,” I exclaim, my heart leaping with joy. Monroe and Maxim were two of the High Guards for Kane and Axel. They live in the same house as the Alpha twins, in a different wing of the huge mansion. “You and I will see each other every day. Are you happy with your match?”

“They’re good, kind men,” she nods. “I’m a little nervous for tonight, but very pleased.”

“They’re sexy as hell,” she whispers mischievously. “I have to go now, but I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

We hold on to each other a minute longer before she steps back and walks to the two huge men standing behind her, staring at her with possessiveness and heat in their eyes.

I sigh sadly as I look at my mates. I wish they looked at me the way Mindy’s mates looked at her. However, my “mates” are currently cooing over Alice, comforting her and stroking her hair.

Fucking great.

I am doomed to share a life with two men who cannot spare me the time of day. Suddenly, my future seems lonely and miserable.

I bite back a growl of frustration. If only I could shift and run. Far away from here and this whole catastrophe.

Kane and Axel simultaneously lift their heads and look at me, and I meet their stares. There is so much coldness between us that I can practically feel the temperature drop.

“Nice,” my voice drips with sarcasm, and I cross my arms in front of my chest. “I see you finally realised that I’m still here.”

Kane’s nostrils flare, Axel grinds his teeth, and I sigh inwardly. Alice smirks at me, and it takes every inch of self-control not to shift and slice her open. As satisfying as it sounds, I am mated to the Alphas and will act accordingly. It is time for me to stop being some snivelling wisp of a girl and act like the woman I am.

“Your compassion for a fellow she-wolf is heartwarming,” I say sweetly, masking my discontent. “And while I appreciate your concern, might I ask what your plans are for your actual mate?”

Axel POV

I look at Kane, and I am pretty sure he is about to blow a gasket. Nobody speaks to him like that … well, except for me. But that is different. I am his brother, he is only five minutes older than I, and I have said worse.

I open my mouth to snap at her, but Elara’s scent wraps around me, and I lose my train of thought. I have never experienced a scent like this before, and my nose - and my wolf - do not know what to do with it. The scent hits me. Her red hair practically glows, just as fiery as her temper. Clearly, her seduction works.

By the look of confusion on Kane’s face, he is in the same boat. Alice tenses and wrinkles her nose. So, she smells it, too.

“She’s not coming with us, is she?” Alice looks up at Kane and bats her eyelashes. A move that melts him every time and has him bending to her every whim.

In the beginning, that move worked on me as well. But after a while, I saw it for the tactic it was. She does that every time she wants something from us. And one of us had to be immune to it to keep a clear head.

“I’m afraid there’s no other choice, love.” Kane sighs, shaking his head.

“But I’m going to be your mate,” she whines.

“I know,” Kane runs the back of his fingers down Alice’s cheek in a soothing gesture. “But we’ve rocked the boat enough today. Be patient with us.”

I look over at Elara, and the expression on her face is priceless. It is a mixture of what-the-fuck-am-I-looking-at and amusement, and I grin before I can stop myself.

I have to admit that she's adorable, and even those little freckles are quite special.

“Is there something amusing, Axel?” Kane asks.

“Something amusing?” I chuckle. “You mean other than this whole situation?”

“I don’t find any of this amusing at all,” Alice sniffs. She looks at Kane and turns her shoulder to me. “Can we go home?”

“She always lacked a sense of humour,” my wolf, Blade, huffs.

“Hush, Blade,” I reply. “She’s just upset.”

I sigh inwardly and shut him out. Lately, Alice annoys him with the tiniest thing. I tend to ignore him. Most people claim their wolves are insightful and know the deepest parts of them, but that is not the case with Blade. He is judgmental, never happy, and he hates practically everything and everyone other than Kane and his wolf, Gibson. Heaven knows what my life would have been like if I listened to Blade. I would be a virgin, for sure.

“Let’s get back to the house,” I suggest. “We can discuss everything there.”

“Agreed,” Kane pulls Alice against his side and leads the way.

“Seriously?” Elara plants her hands on her hips, gaping at Kane and Alice as they walk away.

Something inside me breaks a little. As much as I want Alice and not Elara, I cannot imagine being in her shoes right now. It strikes me how archaic and patriarchal the elders’ rules are.

But then I remember … it was the women who had started the Great War.

Many records of that war have become somewhat blurred. All I know is that now, at this moment, the aftermath of that war has pushed this auburn-haired girl towards me.

Her small mouth opened and closed, asking what plans we had for her. To be honest, I didn't really catch what she was saying. That little mouth seemed magical, rosy, and kissable.

Then I heard Kane said, "We have to sleep together tonight."

Elara POV

“You want me to what?!” I gape at my mates. Surely, I heard wrong. We are standing in their magnificent office, but the luxury of first edition books and stylish interior is lost on me.

“We have to sleep together tonight,” Kane repeats.

“Are you kidding me?” I throw my hands hopelessly in the air. “Is Alice going to be joining us?”

My mates stare at me with clenched jaws and crossed arms. They are like two copies in different colours. Black and white and sepia. Kane’s hair is black like the night, making his blue eyes more prominent. Axel has the same eyes, but his hair is a light brown. Dear goddess, they are sexy. I want nothing more than to sleep with them tonight – and every other night.

But not like this, not under these circumstances. Not while Alice is looming over us. No way I am going to submit to these drop-dead gorgeous men just to be tossed aside like dirty laundry when they have their way, and she becomes their mate.

“Elara,” Kane’s voice is low and dangerous.

And there it is - the Alpha voice.

“No,” I cut him off furiously. “You will not use your Alpha voice on me to get me into bed with you. Not happening. You can use that shit on Alice when you get the Elders to mate her to you, but not on me.”

Kane narrows his eyes, and Axel raises his eyebrows. I know I overstepped because nobody gets to talk to Alphas like this. It does not matter what your status is, but I do not care.

A movement at the door catches my eye, and I see Alice peeking around the corner into the study.

Conniving little bitch, I look at her and hold her gaze. Her curious expression shifts to anger, and her eyes darken as her wolf emerges to the surface.

Well, fuck her. If she wants to eavesdrop, let her. She can stand right beside Kane and Axel, but I will not be silenced.

“I’m not sleeping with you and look like a fool after you’ve hoisted me off and mated Alice,” I continue. “Not happening. I have more self-respect than that.”

“If we don’t complete the mating, then we will have broken our laws, and …”

“And if we break the law, it’ll make it harder for you to protect Alice,” I cut Kane off. “Yeah, I get it. But that’s your problem, not mine. I’m happy to sit around and not be mated.”

If I were not fighting for my dignity, I would have found Kane’s facial expressions amusing. The rage and power radiating off him were sexier than anything I have ever witnessed, and to my dismay, I feel my panties becoming damp.

My wolf is in heat in a big way for these two. I heard how people talked about being in heat, but I had no idea what they meant … until now. The lust and desire puddling inside me is all-consuming, and everything inside me is fighting the urge to drop to all fours and rub up against them.

Nope. I cannot allow that to happen. I refuse to be anyone’s sloppy seconds.

“Elara, please be reasonable.” Axel steps towards me. “You know as well as we do that there are certain … uh, expectations that must be met. For everyone’s sake, for the sake of the pack. I know it feels a bit awkward right now, but please trust us. It’ll be okay.”

“Trust you?” I laugh humorlessly. “After you ignored and humiliated me in front of everyone at the ceremony.”

“It’s not …”

“Oh, please,” I cut off Axel’s protest, rolling my eyes. “Don’t patronise me. Let me guess. You’ll be sure to make it really good for me. Give me an orgasm or two, and everything will be fine, right?”

“Axel,” Kane growls, and it is almost a cliché how much his chest is heaving in anger. “I swear to the goddess, …”

“Oh, now we’re swearing,” I sneer. “That’s …”

“Shut up!” Axel snaps, silencing all of us. “For fuck’s sake, just shut up.”

Axel POV

Elara and Kane stare at me in silence. Watching these two bicker back and forth became irksome, and I snapped.

“This argument isn’t helping,” I say firmly. “We all know the score. If Kane and I don’t mate with you tonight, we will fail to uphold the laws set forth by the Elders. The very same laws we threw in Anton’s face to stop another she-wolf from dying.”

“I’m not doing it,” Elara shrugs nonchalantly, but I do not miss the hesitation in her eyes.

“Then you’ll be re-mated,” I reply sternly. “And we would never receive another mate. Wolves who didn’t mate with their she-wolves were held in contempt. After all, if men and women were allowed to refuse a mating by not mating, the whole system would fall apart. Therefore, punishments had to be dealt out for those who didn’t comply.”

“You saw Anton’s demeanour tonight,” Kane adds. “He’s a bastard, and if you’re to be remated… well, let’s just say they’ll mate you to the worst pair they could find. Even worse than Greg and Luke.”

Elara pales and slumps into the nearest chair. I cannot help but feel sorry for her. Threatening any she-wolf with Greg and Luke would be terrifying.

Elara crosses her legs, and her scent hits me right between the eyes.

“Holy shit,” I mind-link Kane, looking at him. “She’s in heat.”

“Fuck me,” he replies. “No wonder I’m so horny.”

Axel POV

The scents in the room are overpowering. Full of lust and desire. I scrub my hand over my face, turn around, and walk to the window. I stare at the grounds, town, and the forest. The forest I so desperately want to escape into right now.

This whole situation is impossible on a multitude of levels, and I have no idea how to even begin fixing it. I want to mate with Alice, and not Elara. But I do not want Elara to end up with monsters like Greg and Luke.

“Elara,” I sigh, and turn to face her. “We must make the best of the situation. Either we compromise and work together, or we all lose. There is no golden midway. Mate with us or take your chances with the Elders. There’s no other alternative.”

“I … I need a bathroom,” she stutters, standing up. “Which way?”

“Down the hall, second door to the right,” Kane directs.

“If we mate with Elara tonight, what the fuck will happen to Alice?” I mind-link Kane. “And how would we mate Alice later if we are forced to mate Elara tonight?”

Kane POV

Axel’s questions echo in my head as I watch Elara leave the office. Those are good questions.

“There might be something,” I mutter when an idea hits me.

I walk to the bookshelf and pick out the massive book of pack laws. I put it on my desk and quickly page through it until I find what I am looking for.

“This,” I point at the page, and Axel leans over to get a better look.

“No,” Axel looks at me wide-eyed, shaking his head. “Don’t even think it.”

“It could work,” I say urgently as the glimmer of hope grows.

“No, bro,” Axel snorts. “Shit is complicated enough without doing that. And we can’t guarantee that the elders will assign Alice to us as a second mate.”

“We can find a way to force their hand,” I argue. “Surely there must be something we’ve overlooked when it comes to second mates. We haven’t gone over those laws as closely …”

“And we’re not going to, Kane,” he cuts me off. “You’re playing with fire even thinking about that.”

“Am I, though?” I raise my eyebrows, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“Yes, you are,” his voice raises an octave.

“Listen,” he inhales deeply and calms his voice. “There’s no way Elara will go for that. Not in a million years. And she’s a feisty one. She could cause trouble for us if we don’t handle her correctly.”

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and get a glimpse of Elara’s scent that is still lingering in the room. Her sweet, sweet, in-heat scent …

No! I reprimand myself, shaking my head to get rid of the thoughts.

“It doesn’t matter if she goes for it,” I continue. “She has no choice. If she refuses, she’ll be mated to …. to … hell, I don’t know. They’ll find the oldest, grossest pair for her. You can believe that.”

“Kane, this isn’t like you.” he bends over the desk, flipping page after page, scanning through the tiny words, looking for a needle in a haystack.

“There’s nothing else,” I sigh, taking a seat, as sadness fills my heart.

“But this isn’t right,” Axel mutters.

“We can’t let Alice go to them,” my voice is filled with despair. “And we can’t let her end up with someone worse, Axel.”

“I know,” he sighs, sitting down. “Dammit, you’re right. As much as I want to play by the rules and keep everyone happy, we can’t.”

“Alice is our chosen mate,” I smile sadly. “We must do whatever we can to protect her. Even if it meant taking on some collateral damage in the process.”

“We’ll give Elara a good life,” Axel nods. “We’ll find a way to make her happy. Once she has a pup or two, they’ll keep her busy. And, hell, if she wants to keep someone on the side, that’s okay, too.”

Axel starts looking through the tome again, his finger running over the words line by line, looking for mentions of second mates.

“Whatever we must do, we will,” Axel says adamantly, closing the book.