Chapter 3 Mates

Ava's POV

"Mate."

The word slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

Gasps echoed across the hall, conversations stopped. All eyes turned to me.

The birthday celebration faded into silence.

Zack, one of the Alphas of the Moonclaw Pack stood still, his golden eyes wide in disbelief.

His gaze scanned me from head to toe. His jaw clenched.

Then he said it.

"What?" His voice was low, cold. "How can someone like you be my mate?"

The words hit harder than any slap I had ever received.

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Luna Carla let out a laugh, sharp and cruel. "Surely, you're joking, Alpha Zack. This girl? She's just a servant."

Orion smirked from across the room. Tracy's eyes were wide, her hand gripping his arm.

"She's not even a real wolf," someone muttered from the crowd.

"I... I just shifted," I said, barely above a whisper. "Tonight. My wolf, she awakened."

Zack's eyes narrowed. "You expect me to believe that now, suddenly, you have a wolf?"

"I'm not lying," I said quickly. "I didn't know why she didn't come before... but she's real. I shifted, I heard her voice. She led me here."

Zack took a step back.

I felt like the ground beneath me was giving way. The connection was there. I felt it, that pull, that warmth. That magnetic force that only meant one thing.

He was mine.

And I was his.

But he didn't want me.

"Look at her clothes," Tracy sneered. "She probably stole them after running through the woods like some stray."

"She's always been pathetic," Orion added with a grin. "She just wants attention. She's desperate."

My hands clenched into fists at my sides.

No. Not again, not this time.

"I didn't come here to beg," I said, my voice stronger now. "I felt the bond. You did too, didn't you?"

Zack's eyes darkened, but he didn't answer.

The silence stretched.

My heart thundered in my chest.

"Even if it's true," he finally said, his tone sharp, "I can't be mated to someone like you, my mate needs to be strong, worthy of standing beside an Alpha. Not... someone like you."

I heard people laugh.

My throat tightened, but I didn't cry.

I lifted my chin, meeting his gaze without flinching.

"I may not be what you expected," I said quietly. "But I'm stronger than you think."

Zack didn't move. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Confusion? I couldn't tell.

Carla stepped between us, her fake smile stretched wide. "Alpha Zack, please forgive this nonsense. She's just trying to ruin the party. Ava, leave...now."

I didn't move.

Zack's jaw was tight. His fists clenched at his sides. He turned away without another word, walking toward the front of the room.

My chest ached as I watched him go.

The mate bond was real.

But he rejected it.

Rejected me.

I hurried out of the hall with my heart in pieces.

People had stared like I was some joke.

Zack, my mate had looked at me like I was trash.

I had waited all my life for this moment. For my wolf, for my mate. For something good.

And it ended like that.

Humiliated, rejected.

I wiped my face quickly as I hurried across the courtyard. I didn't want anyone to see me cry.

The air was cold, but I didn't care. I just needed to breathe, to get away. My chest felt tight, like I was suffocating.

Then I crashed into someone.

Hard.

"Whoa...careful there."

Strong hands caught my arms before I fell.

I froze.

That scent.

It wasn't Zack's, but it was close, warm, earthy, familiar in a way that didn't make sense.

I looked up, confused.

And there he was.

Taller than Zack, with dark hair that was a little messy and sharp gray eyes. There was something playful about him. His mouth turned up in a half-smile.

But it was the pull I felt in my chest that stopped me.

The same heat, the same energy.

Ella stirred again, louder this time.

Mate.

My heart dropped.

What?

He looked down at me, brows pulling together. "Wait... do you feel that?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.."

His hands dropped from my arms. He stepped back fast, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm Kane," he said. "Zack's brother."

I swallowed hard. "what?"

Everyone knew of the moonclaw triplets alphas. Zack, Kane and Lucas. I had never seen them in person until now.

Another bond? With Zack brother?

It couldn't be. Could it?

Kane's expression shifted. His smile faded.

He stepped closer, his voice quieter. "Tell me you don't feel it too."

I didn't answer.

Because I did.

It wasn't as sharp as it had been with Zack. But it was there, the connection, the pull.

I stepped back, shaking my head. "This... this doesn't make sense. I already... I just...Zack..."

Kane's eyes darkened. "He rejected you, didn't he?"

I nodded slowly.

His jaw tensed. "Idiot."

I blinked, surprised.

"I've only known about you for five seconds," Kane said, "but I want to know you more."

I looked away, my throat burning. "Please... I can't do this right now."

He didn't stop me when I turned to leave. Didn't say anything else.

But I could feel his eyes on me as I walked away.

And I could still feel the bond.

---

I found my way back to the tree line where I had first shifted.

I sat on the hill, hugging my knees.

What was happening to me?

First Zack.

Now Kane?

I didn't even know it was possible to feel the mate bond twice.

My wolf was restless inside me, pacing.

"You're not crazy," she said softly. "There's more to this. You'll understand soon."

I let out a long breath. "You're not helping."

"I'm trying," she replied. "But I don't understand it either. All I know is... they're both connected to us. Deeply."

I stayed there for a long time.

Watching the stars.

Listening to the distant sounds of the party.

---

I couldn't sleep that night.

My body ached from shifting, and my heart was still a mess. I kept replaying what happened the previous day in my head. Over and over.

Zack's voice. "Someone like you..."

Kane's voice. "Tell me you don't feel it too..."

I didn't understand any of it.

I was just Ava. The servant, the wolfless girl who everyone hated.

Now suddenly I had a wolf. And two mate bonds?

It felt like a cruel joke.

"Ava!"

My name rang out, snapping me back to reality.

Carla's voice followed like a whip. "What the hell was that stunt you pulled yesterday?" she bellowed, storming toward me. "Who do you think you are, trying to ruin my son's birthday?!"

Before I could respond, her fingers tangled in my hair, yanking hard as she dragged me to the floor.

"Ahh!" I cried out, my body slamming against the cold ground.

"Luna... I can explain, I-"

"Shut up, you shameless whore!" she snarled, slapping me across the face. The sting burned, but her words cut deeper. "You think you can escape this place by pretending to be mated to an Alpha?" Her laughter was cruel, vicious. "In your dreams."

"Luna... please-"

"Let her go."

The voice was deep, commanding and full of power.

And that scent...

My heart stuttered in my chest.

That pull.

That undeniable, soul-wrenching pull.

Carla froze, still holding my hair. We both turned toward the voice, eyes wide with shock.