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.

Elara POV

Anxiously, I enter the bathroom and lock the door. I open the tap and splash cold water on my wrists. I reach for the paper towels, wet them, and rub the back of my neck.

I close the tap, placing my hands on the counter as I inhale deeply and close my eyes.

I was so caught up in the day’s events that I did not consider how my future would be if I refused to mate with them tonight.

And now … well, fuck.

I have two options, and both are awful.

Either I mate with these two assholes who are hot as hell, or I take my chances with another match.

Choosing the twins sounds easy. They are hot as hell, and I am sure it will be an enjoyable experience, but they are in love with someone else. They will never be completely devoted to me.

The alternative could go either way. But if today was any indication of my luck and future, I will get stuck with whatever limp-dicked old-ass guy they can dig up from their graves.

“Life. Is. Grand,” I murmur to my reflection in the mirror, my green eyes dark with concern.

I stare at my auburn hair curling over my shoulders and down my back to my waist. I love my long hair, but will Kane and Axel like it?

My stomach dives at the image of them running their fingers through the curls or draping around them as I ride one of them … whoa, now I am getting ahead of myself.

I look at my watch, and it is less than two hours until midnight, and I have no idea where to go or where to hide.

I do not want to return to the office because I do not have an answer for them, but the last thing I want is to roam the hallways and run into Alice.

With limited options, I leave the bathroom and accidentally bump into a woman.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I apologise, reaching for her arms to stop us both from falling.

“It’s okay,” she chuckles, and looks at me intensely. “You’re Elara, right? The alphas’ mate.”

“I guess so,” I shrug.

“Yes, I’m Elara,” I say quickly when she looks at me confused. I cannot expect her to understand our drama.

“Pleased to meet you, I’m Erin,” she smiles. “Axel asked me to find you and take you to your room. They’re still busy in the office.”

“Thank you,” I nod politely, and follow her. Finally, a place where I can hide.

“How are you holding up?” Erin pushes a stand of straight black hair behind her ear. The chic cropped cut looked amazing on her.

“I’m…” I pause, not entirely sure how to answer. “I’m here. That’s about all I know right now.”

“I get that,” Erin nods. “When I was mated, it was terrifying. I had no idea what to expect, and then having to live in this place on top of it? Yeah.”

She opens a door, and I follow her inside. Holy shit!

Everything is newly updated, with sleek, modern appliances all in stainless steel, and the decor is simple and elegant. It is mostly black, cream, and grey, which I love. Whoever decorated the room added splashes of emerald green, deep blue, and rich purple. I could not have done it better if I designed it myself. Mesmerised, I inspect the rooms. Wow, it is big. I basically have my own fully furnished luxury apartment with a bedroom, living room and bathroom.

“I get what you’re saying,” I laugh nervously. “This is something else. The bath is the size of a pool, complete with jets.”

“It’s overwhelming, but you’ll get used to it,” Erin smiles.

“Honestly, I have no freaking idea what I’m doing,” I sigh, taking a seat on the luxurious couch in the living room. “How is this supposed to work? Like, everyone saw what happened today. I’m simultaneously terrified they are going to walk in here to complete the mating and desperately want it to happen.”

“Girl, you and everyone else who’s ever been mated.” Erin laughs softly. “I know you’re in a different situation than most, given the whole Alice situation, but it could be worse. You could be the one mated to Gregory and Lucas.”

We look at each other and shudder simultaneously before we burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry for Alice. I don’t care who you are, nobody deserves Greg and Luke,” I roll my eyes. “I just wish I didn’t have to be stuck in the middle. I think what Kane and Axel are doing is commendable. And I can’t imagine being in her shoes, but …”

“But now you’re the meat in a shit sandwich,” Erin says sympathetically when I trail off.

“Yes!” I exclaim. “Exactly.”

“I know it might not seem like it, but Kane and Axel aren’t as scary as they look,” she smiles. “I’ve got to know them, and I promise you, they’ll make a decision that will protect you both. You can count on that. Trust them.”

“Trust,” I snort. “The only thing I ever got from trusting a person was pain and humiliation.”

“The key to trust is to know whom to trust,” Erin smiles before she leaves.

Kane POV

My head is spinning, and my eyes are burning. It feels like an eternity since Axel and I started looking at the bylaws, and we are still not close to a solution.

I have no idea what we are going to do, but if we do not mate with Elara tonight, we will not have a choice anymore. And I do not do well with choices.

I know for certain I expected to have my way when it came to Alice. We bided our time and waited … and waited … for four mating ceremonies after we started sleeping with her when she turned eighteen. I sighed somewhat wistfully.

“I know,” Axel looks at me with the same despair I feel. “Remember when we first saw her?”

“I do,” I smile nostalgically.

“The fucking pigtails and ice cream cone,” Axel chuckles. “She knew what she wanted and how to get it.”

It is forbidden for anyone, no matter their age, to sleep with a she-wolf until she is eighteen, and then she is mated. But sometimes, there was a bit of a grace period, depending on when their birthdays were. Alice had six months of freedom before she was mated, and she decided that those six months would be spent with us.

She made her move, and we were toast, panting after her with our tongues hanging out. We have been inseparable since.

Most Alphas chose their mates, although it was a bit of an unspoken rule. If an Alpha were pretty set on a particular she-wolf, it was more than likely that the elders would assign that woman to them. After all, it was beneficial for them to have a happy Alpha.

So, what in the fuck happened with us and Alice?

“Kane,” Axel calls, and I snap out of my thoughts.

“Look at this,” he taps his finger on a notation below one of the laws.

“How did we miss that?” I mumble.

“It’s a bit harsh,” Axel replies. “But is the only way to get what we want.”

We look at each other, nod and stand up.