'I cannot believe I actually came here.' Walking out of the airport, Svetlana mumbled, regretting her decision. The clicking sound of her heels was barely audible amidst the chattering. A smirk appeared over Svetlana' burgundy matte mischievous lips. 'Let's teach those fuckers all the types of F's, hah!' Scoffing inwardly, Svetlana recalled her triplet step-brothers. Fucking hot. Filthy rich. Wheeling out her luggage without any expectations that someone would be picking her up.
To Svetlana's surprise as the slanting sunlight glinted her blonde hair. The girl's emerald orbs were stunned to see the triplets. Standing with a board for identification, Svetlana clenched her jaw seeing the mockery. She wasn't expecting anything good from them but they could spare her pretty name. Reading 'S-wet-Lana' an enraged Svetlana leaped towards them and snatched the board. Throwing it on the floor she stomped over it with her emerald eyes glaring.
"Thank you for such a memorable welcome, brothers." She spoke with a twitching eyebrow, while her eyes glanced at each one of them. Svetlana intentionally stressed over the title to indicate the boundaries. Wondering how the trio could change that much in just a few years. All three of them had grown into fine young men who could make any girl weak in her knees. However, Svetlana wasn't one of those braindead ones since she knew how cunningly dangerous they were.
Svetlana glared at them while one among the trio was completely ignoring her presence. "Oh, introduction! Forgive me. I am Sahan, the youngest; this is the oldest, Raihan, and this is Zuhan". He pointed towards his brothers with a wicked smile. Something was definitely suspicious in their body language. Svetlana knew she couldn't trust everything coming from the trio. It made her wonder how their attitude was with her mother since she was the Luna now.
There was not much difference between their demeanour and voices. Sahan appeared to be a gym rat and seemed a jovial outgoing type of person. Whereas, the reserved one, Zuhan, had long hair and lean stature with his silvery eyes displaying serene nature. However, the eldest Raihan, had short hair and a stoic personality. All of them were towering above her and could potentially scoop her up. However, Svetlana shook her head to dismiss all those explicit thoughts.
'Why am I even thinking such things?' Svetlana shook her head to condense those steamy thoughts. But she couldn't help and appreciate their looks and the assertive aura they all carried. Within those slowed down moments every single envious eyes in the surroundings were glaring at her. Svetlana had already run a thorough search on them and the Dark Stone pack. The filthy rich pack of New York, led by Alpha Zaro.
The powerful alpha among all the packs, alpha Zaro was her mother's mate. They both crossed paths later in life when their respective partners died. Svetlana's father passed away and Alpha Zaro's wife died in childbirth. However, it took both of them a lot of time to accept each other due to their children. Nonetheless, Svetlana and the triplets weren't biologically related. And that reminder provoked the trio to prey their way into her boundaries.
"Nice to meet you." Svetlana replied politely, hiding her awkwardness caused due to her hyperactive imagination. "Same to you, Svetlana." Zuhan had the same deep voice as Sahan but was lacking a smile. For some reason Svetlana could feel something stirring in her gut upon hearing her name from his mouth. However, staring right into Sahan's silvery orbs made her uncomfortable. Svetlana was fully aware of the hype the Zaro brothers had in NYC and chattering with them garnered attention and envy.
"Believe me, pleasure is all ours." Sahan added while licking his lips as he emphasised on the word pleasure. Upon feeling discomfort Svetlana tried to avert her stare with a forced smile. However, Raihan didn't show any interest in the conversation. Svetlana ogled at him occasionally whereas he stood leaning against the wall with a nonchalant attitude. She met them nearly ten years ago and was still carrying the bad memories regarding her birthday.
'Rude!' Svetlana couldn't help but think of him as an egoistic person.
Sahan guided her towards the car while Zuhan was driving as he moved ahead. Raihan was sitting next to him and Svetlana was sitting on the back seat with Sahan. The drive from the airport to the pack house was grim silent. 'Ugh! I wish I could escape this awkwardness sooner.' Svetlana twitched her fingers while averting her head to avoid Sahan's occasional stares. They reached the pack house in nearly thirty minutes. Svetlana looked outside the window and saw a freaking mansion in front of her.
Her jaw dropped expression didn't go unnoticed by the triplets. As the vehicle moved towards the parking lot, Svetlana witnessed their pack house wasn't just any regular mansion. The whole estate was not less than a friggin castle surrounded by acres of green land. She had a prior rich perception regarding her mother's mate. However, Svetlana didn't expect Alpha Zaro to burst her bubble and exceed the already high expectations.
Alpha Zaro's house was a few miles away from the downtown, having a different entrance itself towards the cliff. Zuhan pulled the car into the parking lot and they all entered the mansion. Svetlana saw her mother excitedly waiting for her at the ingress with Alpha Zaro, whose hand was on her mother's shoulder. They both appeared genuinely invested in meeting her, unlike the suspicious trio. "Svetlana, my little girl, I can't believe you are finally here. Look how much you have grown into a fine woman." Her mother chirped excitedly, contrasting to Svetlana's emotions.
"Same here, mom." Lana responded with a sarcastic smile, which her mother didn't seem to catch and literally choked her in a tight hug. Alpha Zaro also walked up to her and head patted Lana, which nearly made her cry with the overwhelming emotions. No matter what she couldn't help but notice how the alpha had truly treated her as his own daughter. Lana had issues with her mother and her decisions but she had no beef with Alpha Zaro. Lastly, she got a gentle hug from Saikus, her mother and Alpha Zaro's child.
"I was waiting for your arrival, sister." Saikus spoke politely while hugging her as they both swayed a bit. Saikus looked nothing like the triplets except his coloured eyes. He had emerald eyes and blonde hair just like Lana. His chiselled face with a sharp jawline, small pointy nose also resembled her. Anyone could say that they both were siblings, while Saikus somewhat had traces of being related to the trio. The genes didn't fail to sneak in to make him appear distinctive via the other facial features.
"So, happy to finally be able to hug you." Lana couldn't be rude to her own brother, though she suspected that he would have been 'trained' into hating her by the triplets. It looked like he didn't really get that much influenced by arrogant and bratty Triplets. Lana was dragged out of her thoughts by Alpha Zaro's strong, intimidating voice. She could not help but wonder what else the triplets had inherited from their father apart from the raspy, sexy voice and hunky looks. It was hard to pick one among the three of them. Heck! All of them were hot!
"Thank you for coming, Svetlana. Your mom and I are equally happy to have you here. Please make yourself feel at home. We have made all the arrangements for your comfortable stay." Svetlana couldn't help but sense genuine concern coming from him. "You are my daughter and you have all the rights as my other kids have." Alpha Zaro spoke kindly while reassuring her about how she could use and abuse her rights as the alpha's only daughter. However, Svetlana had no such intentions of staying with them permanently.
"As the matter of fact, if they are at the position of Alpha, you are at the position of Luna." Alpha Zaro chuckled softly while wrapping his arm around his wife. Svetlana saw her mother smiling at her husband for such generosity. "And if someone gives you trouble, tell the triplets, they will handle it for you". He chuckled but something stirred in her upon hearing those words. It was the first time Svetlana could rely on someone else for her mess without any worry. Not even one man but frigging 3 hotties!
"Yes, I will." Looking at the triplets Lana spoke again knowing she was never going to involve those devils in anything. "If I need their assistance I will tell them." She saw 2 of them staring back at her with a smirk while Raihan remained uninterested as before. As she was just having a nice chat with Alpha Zaro, Suhan and Zuhan appeared in between. "Lana must be tired, dad. We will show her the room." Both of them said in unison when Sahan placed his hand over her shoulder.
[Svetlana's pov]
I wanted to move away from them but coming to the house and refusing their so-called warm gesture was not something I could afford. Reluctantly I nodded and walked with the trio towards the left arcade. Why would the triplets offer to walk me towards my room? Something was definitely not right and I could not trust them with anything.
Just as we walked towards the end of the arcade and were out of the sight of everyone else. A strong arm grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back. I was caught off guard and could not even utter anything. What the heck was happening? My arm was tucked above my butt when Raihan pushed me against the wall.
"What are you doing?" Somehow I managed to speak with my trembling lips but the confusion was written on my face. Raihan moved closer and placed his one leg between mine and forcefully spread them. I could feel my heart thumping in my ears upon seeing how dangerously close he was. Absolutely hot too!
"What do you think you are doing?" His assertive yet sexy voice rang in my ears and I felt like they would soon bleed. My eyes reflexively travelled towards the other two brothers. To my surprise they both stood there with arms folded and enjoyed the show. Zuhan was leaning against the wall with one leg tucked.
Whereas Sahan stood there with an amusing smile as if he was mocking me. How could the guys shift their attitude like this, like chameleons? I was still in a daze when Raihan clutched my wrist more which made me wince. My attention again drifted to him and I stared into his icy cold blue eyes. He was throwing spades of anger at me.
For some reason I could feel something in my gut for the first time. Was I feeling those notorious butterflies which girls talk about? "What...what do you mean?" My voice stumbled as Raihan's glaring eyes continued to look at me. I was already on the verge of breaking with that unusual feeling when he bent over even more.
Raihan lifted his other hand and smashed it on the wall with force. No matter how hard I tried to appear confident and unafraid of the trio I could not. My body jolted with fright when he pulled me closer to the point that my breasts were tucked with his hard chest. My anxious eyes stared into his eyes when Raihan's lips grazed over mine.
"Do you really think we wouldn't see through this sweet facade of yours?" His voice held a visible anger and resentment towards me. However, I had no idea what he was talking about but it seemed something serious. "You cannot fool us with this pretty face of yours." He traced his knuckles on my cheek, making me gasp.
Sahan and Zuhan kept quiet as they both perhaps waited for me to say anything. Meanwhile I was stunned at his audacity and the accusation of unknown matter made me numb. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Please leave me." With a futile attempt I tried to push him away but couldn't as Raihan pulled me even closer.
"Leave you?" This time Zuhan spoke while Raihan lifted me and shifted the position. Zuhan walked up to me and placed both of his hands over my waist. "We didn't hold to leave you, stepsister." I couldn't help but wonder why he stressed over the addressing. Now I was sandwiched between both of them when Sahan also jumped in the picture.
What were these alpha brothers intending to do with me? Sahan walked to my right side and turned my face towards him by holding my chin. "Now that you dared to actually come and be a part of our family. You cannot leave this city without our permission, not without receiving your punishment." What were they even talking about?
"But I didn't even want to come." Why was I giving explanations to them? I tried to shake Zuhan and Raihan who were holding me. I could feel the warmth of their bodies and their crotch touching my body. The awkward position was making everything difficult. "What punishment? I was against this whole idea. It isn't my fault, talk to your dad."
I burst out in anger because how could I let those 3 bully me once again. However, having no clue what was going to come ahead I boldly dared to offend all of them. "You! It hasn't been an hour and you are already showing your true colours. Turning us against our father, huh?" Raihan's grip around my wrist tightened, making me wince loudly.
"What? No...I...." My words were left in between when I heard Alpha Zaro's voice. He was walking towards the same arcade, when the boys heard him they immediately left me. My sniffles came up as my eyes got filled with tears with the pain in my wrist. But the boys were still not merciful when Raihan grabbed my jaw and glared.
"If you dared to say a word, Svetlana, I will make sure your stay here becomes hell." He threatened while the other two moved away from me with a smirk. Alpha Zaro appeared in the arcade and I hid my wrist behind. "Oh? Your mother and I have decided that today we all are going to dine out. All of you should be ready by eight."
Somehow I managed to control my tears and smiled when Alpha Zaro looked at me. "We want to welcome you properly, Svetlana. This is for you, welcome to our family." His tone was genuinely warm and I couldn't help but wonder what bad I had done to the trio. Nonetheless, the alpha went away and I rushed towards the other corridor.
Running in my own thoughts I bumped into Saikus who appeared out of nowhere. "Watch out, sis." He held me by shoulders and stared with affection. I wanted to blurt out everything to him just because he was my brother. Despite my tries I couldn't do so because till the time I was there I needed to stay good. Affording a beef with the triplets wasn't a good idea.
"Let me show you the room. Since we are going to dinner tonight and you might not have anything to wear on such occasions; mom has already set your wardrobe." I could hear Saikus speaking but his words seemed not to reach me properly. I was in my own thoughts recalling what just happened and it made me feel uncomfortable.
Clutching the hem of my shirt I gulped down my fears knowing that I had to stay away from the trio as long as I was there. "Here....be ready at eight sharp. See you later, sis." Saikus dropped me to my room, my mom's room along with the office and dining hall were to the left. While the rooms of all children were in the right wing of the villa.
Something unsettling filled me knowing that the triplets could always approach me. However, I walked inside my room which was decorated just how I might have liked it. Not super teen stuff and not boring like an elderly lady. Pushing my body inside I closed the door and slumped in the bed. Not knowing when did I fall asleep due to tiredness.
Waking up after a few hours I had no idea that only 10 mins were left till eight. "Oh, shucks!" There was no time to change so I hurriedly towards the attached washroom and washed my face. Combing hair I cleaned the smudge or my eyeliner when a knock occurred on the door. "Coming!" I yelled while applying lipstick hurriedly.
As soon as I opened the door Zuhan was standing, more like leaning against the door. He stared at me from head to toe with no expression on his face. "That soon?" What? I couldn't understand his obvious meaning. Zuhan lifted his hand and held my chin, leaving me off guard as to what was coming. Oh my goodness!
I could feel his heated stare on my lips while being oblivious to what his intentions were. Maybe I knew but didn't want to admit it. Zuhan traced his thumb beneath my lower lip, only if I knew he cleaned the lipstick underneath. "Perfect!" His blue eyes met mine with satisfaction as he went away. I couldn't help but shake my head in irritation.
Nonetheless, I headed out towards the main ingress and saw everyone there. "Come, Svetlana. We were waiting for you, Saikus will go with us, you should be aboard with the trio." Alpha Zaro informed me as I glanced at the triplets who stood in front of a posh vehicle. Mom, alpha Zaro and Saikus were going with a driver as Saikus was underaged to drive.
I could sense that they wanted me to get along with the trio as we had a visible tension between us. "Oh, sure." Forcing a smile on my face I headed towards the triplets and Sahan opened the door for me. As soon as I seated myself in the back Zuhan came from the other side. Raihan was driving and the whole way all of them ignored my existence.
We reached the desired high end restaurant and the brothers walked towards the entrance. I was left alone in the vehicle assuming that this time someone will open the door too. "Shucks! I forgot the alpha isn't here at the moment. Hah! Why would they bother with ethics?" Getting out of the car I walked towards the ingress when a woman pushed me.
"Watch out you bum!" An arrogant yelling in a fake accent resonated behind me. I immediately turned around only to see a brunette dressed in money from head to toe. Before I could respond to her she went inside leaving me speechless. Reluctantly I walked inside shaking my head. Hoping that the dinner won't be bad enough.
[Svetlana's pov]
I had no clue who that arrogant bitch was but one thing was certain she was a rude ass with her botox face. Yes, I was angry at her because she pushed me and called me a pathetic bum. Fuming with rage I walked inside and looked around to see where my new family was sitting. Upon finding them I walked towards that table when Sahan got up.
He pulled out the chair for me while looking at me with a smirk. Argh! I knew that the triplets were pretending to care about me. Of course, Alpha Zaro was now there so they were obliged to follow the etiquette. "Thank you!" I smiled and seated myself, only to realise I was now trapped between Sahan and Zuhan.
It was the moment I saw that Alpha Zaro was seated beside my mum. While Raihan was opposite to me and someone was sitting beside him. That brunette! What was she doing there? That woman had been glaring at me as if she would eat me alive. Her arm slipped into Raihan's which made me uncomfortable.
"Meet Joselyn, Raihan's girlfriend." Alpha Zaro saw us both throwing spades of anger at each other. Thus, he took the liberty to introduce us and tone down the tension. "They both are getting married next month. That is why Joselyn is joining us for dinner." I knew she would be from some influential pack for getting married to him.
For some reason, hearing that made me numb and uncomfortable. Having no clue why I felt that way, I had to smile and handle the situation. "Nice to meet you, Joselyn." She simply nodded and shifted her head towards Raihan who had been glaring at me the whole time. I hadn't done anything wrong, his girlfriend was the rude one.
Nonetheless, the alpha ordered the food and began talking to my mum. Meanwhile Joselyn was clearly seducing Raihan right in front of me. Not that I cared about him or what he was doing but the awkwardness was increasing. Joselyn's hand was over his thigh as she rubbed, while Raihan was immersed in his phone. How rude!
It irked me how badly he had been treating her yet she was still trying to grab his attention. I could never date anyone like him ever, and subconsciously I thought about never dating him. Why did I think of that? He was my stepbrother, obviously nothing could happen between us. Even if we weren't blood related at all. Of course!
Everyone was talking about their own liked topics while I was sitting there like an idiot. I picked up the fork and twirled it in boredom knowing that there was time in food. "So, what do you want to do, Svetlana?" Sahan asked me out of nowhere, his tone was polite as if he genuinely wanted me to feel good about the evening.
"I...I don't know." As much as I didn't want to interact with the trio, I had to respond at that moment because of being in public. Zuhan, who was sitting on my right, placed his hand over my thigh. "Shall I suggest then?" Sahan spoke again as he placed his hand too, both of the guys were driving me crazy. Deliberately!
They knew I couldn't yell in public and they had liberty to tease me there. Worse? I was sitting in between them and they had access to my body. Terrifying? I was wearing a skirt which hung at my mid thigh. "No!" Somehow I could make my voice appear stern, which obviously did not work at them. Why would it!? Those devils.
"Refusing our courtesy?" Zuhan's raspy voice made me turn my head, our faces were a bit away but I could feel the heat. Alpha Zaro was so engrossed in talking to his wife that he didn't bother to see us. It was not like he couldn't hear us, he was an alpha and had the ability. But perhaps he wished for me to deal with my mess alone.
"What do you want to do?" Shucks. Why did I say those words? A smirk appeared over his lips, for sure he perceived my words wrongly. His hand slipped upwards towards my inner thigh. The very sudden act made me jolt and I ended up snagging attention. "Are you alright?" Mom asked me and I nodded immediately.
My gaze shifted to Raihan and Joselyn, both of them stared at me with different expressions. Joselyn was smirking at me unlike her previous attitude. Meanwhile Raihan seemed to be angry at me for god knows what reason. I hadn't done anything wrong, did I? And I was sure he could listen to us too being an alpha. Of course, misunderstood me.
I put my hand over Zuhan's and pushed it away when Sahan squeezed my left one. "What are you two doing?" Glaring at him in a whisper I demanded an explanation. While I could feel Raihan's intense hate towards me from his blue eyes. What had I done to incur his wrath? His brothers were messing with me, not the other way around.
The next thing I knew was Sahan and Zuhan lifting their hands off me. Maybe Raihan rebuked them with that mental link, and being the triplets their bond was strongest. Nonetheless, I was relieved that they took his scolding seriously. The food came soon after a few minutes and we all ate heartily. Not in silence but the trio didn't bully me again.
"Um, do you wanna go to the washroom, Svetlana?" She must have heard my name when Sahan called me earlier. Joselyn asked me to accompany her and reluctantly I had to follow her. We both walked towards the left side when Joselyn grabbed my arm. "You should be careful with these brothers. They are tricky, witty and manipulative."
What was she saying? "But aren't you dating Raihan?" I did not want to ask but I had to, my curiosity needed to be satiated. Joselyn smiled and released my arm as we both walked inside the washroom. While I followed her, I was unable to figure out whether she was warning me against them; or frightening me about the trio.
"You have to tell me what you are trying to say." I chased her inside and found Joselyn opening her hand bag to fix the make up. Standing beside her I noticed the calmness on her face. Although the initial impression she gave me did not align with her current personality. Was she truly trying to help me or trapping me?
"Yes, I am dating Raihan. But I am with him only because of this child." Joselyn rubbed her flat belly in affection but her words made me uneasy. It was not that I was in love with Raihan or any such thing. But the way Joselyn made everything appear as a compulsion gave me negative thoughts. Was she being forced or what?
"Are you not his mate?" I had to ask her because of the visible sadness in her tone. If Joselyn was not being forced then she needed to stand up for her child. "Do you guys not love each other?" Joselyn looked at me with her hand still placed on her tummy when she laughed hard. Did I crack some joke or what? I was confused as hell.
"Haha, no. No, I am not his mate. In fact the triplets haven't found their mates yet." Somehow that relieved me but I had no clue why I felt that way. However, I couldn't help but probe more in her relationship which seemed a scary one to me. Of course, who would be happy to date a nonchalant and rude man like Raihan. Poor Joselyn.
"Raihan doesn't love me despite the fact that I am the mother of his child. That is why I am warning you, Svetlana. These brothers are not what they seem, they change girls like clothes. Don't get swayed by their good looks and sweet words. Everything is just to get into your pants, I already regret the day I fell for Raihan."
What did she even mean by that? Did she mistake that I wanted to get laid by them? Heck, no! "I think you are misunderstanding me, Joselyn. I don't see them that way, they are my stepbrothers. Nothing like that could ever happen between us." She placed her hand over my shoulder and walked out. Only if I could see the evil smirk on her face.