Chapter 3 Third one

"Avalon!" Zane roared, and the whole house shook.

He didn't speak, he just shifted. Bones cracked, fur erupted, and before I could think, Avalon slammed into Zane. They hit the wall like a freight train and went down in a tangle of claws and teeth.

"Osilus...get her back!" someone yelled.

"Now!" I heard again, and his hands grabbed me, yanking me behind his broad back. "Stay back," he ordered, but his eyes never left me. "Zephyr, did he just..."

"Call me his Mate," I said, stunned. "Yeah, He did."

"What?!" Kai's voice was small.

"Zane called... me... mate."my eyes widened as the realisation hit me.

Zane's wolf tore through the air and changed mid-lunge into a man–scarred, massive, and burning with something feral. He landed on his knees, then rose, and when he sniffed me he froze.

"I finally found you..." he growled. Then he sniffed again, and his face changed.

"Mate."

"Mate?" Osilus echoed like he'd been slapped.

"Zane..." I started but they started fighting again.

"Stop it!" I screamed, and everyone froze. The light in my veins flared and a golden wave pulsed through the room. I felt it, all three anchors snapping closed around my chest.

Avalon. Osilus. Zane.

They stared at me with the exact same shock on each face. The air was full of my scent. Then Avalon tore himself free and stood, he was human again with hard nipples, blood slicking down his side.

"What...Was...That." His words were broken, edged.

"I don't know!" My hands wouldn't stop shaking. "I felt... everything. All three of you like you were in my bones."

Zane rose, chest heaving, his hair and scars on display. "You stopped us."

"She used Alpha command on two Alphas," Zane said, slow and amazed. "She...used...Alpha command."

"Don't be ridiculous,she's human," Avalon snarled.

"Does she smell human to you?" Zane's nostrils flared. "She smells like moonlight and fire. Like power that's been sleeping."

"She smells like mine," Osilus said soft and stunned.

"Yours?" Avalon's voice dropped. "She's my wife."

"A wife you rejected before you even married her," Osilus spat. "I felt it too, Val. The bond...she's my..."

"Don't say it," Avalon warned.

"Mate," Osilus finished, and the room exploded again.

"Pull yourselves together!" I threw myself between Avalon and Osilus without thinking. My hands hit Avalon's bare chest and something exploded inside us. Ice slammed into fire and we both flew back. I hit the wall so hard it cracked while Avalon slammed the opposite wall. Between us the air was alive.

"Lunar Phoenix," Zane breathed, like a prayer and a curse. "Holy shit. She's a Lunar Phoenix."

"That's impossible," Avalon said. "Lunar Phoenix bloodlines..."

"They are supposed to be extinct." Zane finished.

"They are hunted...Except..." his eyes widened.

"They can have multiple mates."

"Three mates," Zane corrected, stepping closer like a predator tasting the truth. "Ice, Earth, Fire. Guess which one I am."

"Don't call me that," I warned, backing up until the glass of my shattered window rattled.

"You did something no human could," Avalon said, and his voice had a new, stunned reverence. "How long have you known?"

"Since tonight," I said. "Since I woke died and woke up."

Silence.

Osilus swore softly. "You're a regressor."he said

"And a Lunar Phoenix," Zane added, with a grin too sharp for comfort. "Not even sure that combo should exist."

"It's not possible," Avalon whispered. "Unless death triggered something dormant. Life-force bloodlines like the Lunar Phoenix respond to that. If you died and came back..."

"I'm not a freakshow on your doorstep," I said. "I'm a person."

"You are not ordinary," Zane said bluntly. "You are so valuable."

"Is that why you killed me?" I asked before I could stop myself. I met his burning gaze. "Three years from now at the summit, you shoved me down the stairs and Bron helped you. You started the chain that ended me."

Zane's face went hard. "I would never..."

"But you did." I looked at all three of them. "Avalon, you rejected me at our wedding. Osilus, you pitied me and did nothing. Zane..." My voice broke. "You killed me."

There was a long, slow moment where their faces rearranged into defense, then comprehension.

"What?" Osilus asked, and it sounded like a child.

"You don't get to pick what the bonds do," Avalon said, cold. "Lunar Phoenix bonds are permanent once triggered."

"Watch me," I said, and shoved past them for the door.

Avalon caught my wrist and the electricity sparked again, this time stronger. His thumb found my pulse and the touch made my head spin. "You're my wife. My mate. Our bond is sealed and You're not leaving."

"You can't keep me." I jerked, and pain lanced through my wrist as something pulled at us.

"You really think so?" He leaned close, and the scent of pine and frost and power filled my nose. "You want to know what happens? You have no idea of the threats that's coming so work with me. Help me protect what's mine. I'll..." His voice faltered. "I'll do better."

"Do better?" I let out a bitter sound.

"You already did this...said I was weak, human, and unworthy. You sent me to the guest room while Valta warmed your bed. Why should I trust you now?"

"I never meant-"his jaw worked.

"Yes, you did." I wrenched my wrist free and this time he let go. "I came back to survive and get revenge on the people who killed me. Everything else is noise."

"Revenge on who?" Osilus asked quietly.

"Bron, my father. The pack that ignored me." I met Avalon's eyes. "And maybe you, for what you did to me every day for five years."

His mouth tightened. "I..." He stopped.

"That's not enough," Zane said circling me. "If the Vampires finds out about a Lunar Phoenix, they'll parade her around, then forcefully breed her to control their bloodline."

"What Vampires? Who are those?" I asked.

"Our biggest rivals," Avalon said, and fear creased his features in a new way. "They are slowing going extinct and have been actively hunting the Phoenix bloodline. If they discover you, they'll..." He didn't finish.

"Breed you," Zane said, blunt as a blade. "Probably lock you up and use your power to restart their lineage."

My stomach fell through the floor. "We can't let them know."

"We?" I repeated.

"The three of us." Avalon's voice hardened into command. "You're bound to us now. That means we protect you."

"I don't need protection," I said as pride flared. "I just need help destroying Bron and my father."

Zane shrugged. "I'm in, only because it sounds fun."

Osilus's expression melted into resolve. "I'll help. She's my mate too...whether Val likes it or not."

"You're just a beta," Avalon snapped.

"And I'm tired of watching you throw people away," Osilus shot back. "I felt the bond, Val. Now, I can't un feel it."

"This isn't about what you expect," Avalon turned to me."This is about pack law. If the Vampires finds a Phoenix unguarded, they'll take you. We can't risk it."

"Fine." I breathed. "You'll help me find Bron and my father and teach me to control whatever this is. Then, stay out of my way while I figure out how to live differently."

"Agreed," Osilus said immediately.

"Sounds like a show," Zane grinned. "I like shows."

Avalon looked at me long and hard, finally he said, "Only on one condition. You stay in the estate where I can protect you."

"That's not happening."I shot back. "You don't get to control me twice."

"I want to keep you alive." He moved closer, and the bond tightened like a noose. "You've died already died once, Zeph. I won't let it happen again."

"Why do you care?"

"Because that hasn't happened yet," he said quietly. "And now that I know what you are... it never will."

His thumb brushed my cheek so gentle it should've felt tender, but it ignited something hot under my ribs.

"Give me a chance to be different," he said.

"Never, not a chance in hell." I wanted to spit at his face then run. I wanted to burn the place down and be done but exhaustion and the ache of the bond made me small.

"Fine. I'll stay," I said massaging my temples. "But I sleep alone. If you try to be funny, I promise, I am going to burn this estate to the ground."

Zane chuckled. "Ouuu, she bites, I like her already."

"You literally just tried to kill her," Osilus said.

"I haven't yet," Zane corrected. "Now I never will."

Avalon ignored them both and because someone fetched pants he pulled them on and stepped back.

"A room will be prepared with reinforced locks if you want."

"That would be nice."

"Consider it done." He nodded and the distance between us suddenly a wound.

"Tomorrow, we train," He said. "You need to learn to control the bond and fight. If you're going to survive, you need to be ready."

"We can't have our mate falling without a fight."Zane chipped in

"Of course," Osilus echoed, softer than before and Avalon expression darkened, but he didn't argue. "After you, Mrs. Cary." His voice...those words...landed like a weight.

Mrs. Cary. In my previous life I craved to be called by that name. Now, I simply didn't give a damn.

I walked out of that destroyed room with my head high, feeling the pulse in my chest, three beats tangled into one. "I can't believe all this happened in just one night," I say revenge burning like acid in my veins."

"Tomorrow," I told myself, "we plan Bron's downfall."

"Tonight," I let a sliver of something like hope crawl in, dangerous and fragile, "I'll let myself believe maybe...just maybe...this second chance wouldn't end in my death."