Chapter 6 Chapter 6
JAX
The Alpha’s study never changed. It always smelled like cigar smoke and expensive whiskey, that heavy scent that clung to the curtains no matter how many times the maids aired the damn place out. Zane was pacing in front of the desk again, muttering under his breath, while Luca sprawled in the leather chair like he was born there, one leg over the armrest, his phone screen flashing against the dark.
I sat on the edge of the window seat and said nothing. That’s usually my role—silent referee in a fight that never ends.
“This is insane,” Zane said. “Three sons. One mate. That’s not fate, that’s the goddess playing a joke on us.”
Luca didn’t even look up. “You sure it’s a joke? Because from where I’m sitting, she’s kind of perfect.”
Zane stopped pacing. “You barely know her.”
Luca grinned at him in a lazy and infuriating way. “Come on, man. We’ve known her since forever. You telling me you never noticed the way she grew up? The way she looks at us?”
I finally spoke. “Yeah. Like we’re about to ruin her life.”
Both of them turned. Luca raised a brow. “Didn’t think you were listening.”
“I listen,” I said. “I just don’t talk unless it’s worth it.”
Zane exhaled hard and rubbed his temples. “She’s terrified of us. You saw it. She flinched like she expected a hit.”
He wasn’t wrong. I could still see her face from earlier—the panic in her eyes, the way she kept the wall at her back as if one of us might lunge. And still, deep under the guilt, the bond kept humming. That pull that whispered mine every time she was near. I hated it. I hated that my brothers felt it too.
I’d been drawn to her long before the stupid ritual. Back in high school she was the quiet girl who carried more books than any of us. Always polite, always a little apart. She never bowed to power, never tried to impress. Now she couldn’t even look at me without shaking. I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve that fear, but it crawled under my skin.
“I don’t get it,” Luca said. “Every time I talk to her, she freezes like I’m about to bite. The bond’s supposed to make her want us.”
“Maybe you’re doing it wrong.”
He shot me a glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Zane cut in before I could answer. “It means you’re loud, Luca. Not everyone likes loud.”
“I’m not loud,” Luca said. “I’m confident.”
“Right,” I muttered and as he was opened his mouth, but the door handle clicked and stopped him cold.
Boots on the floor. Slow, deliberate. The kind of sound that made the air go stiff.
The Alpha walked in. Our father, technically, but he preferred the title even at home. He didn’t have to raise his voice to command a room; the silence did the work for him. “I wondered where my sons were hiding,” he said. “Your Luna sits alone in her new home, and you’re here debating like schoolboys.”
Luca straightened fast. “We were just—”
“Talking,” the Alpha finished, tasting the word like it offended him. “You should be acting.”
Zane frowned. “Alpha, she’s scared. She—”
“She’s your mate.” He moved closer, the firelight cutting sharp lines across his face. “Do you think the Moonstone made a mistake?”
“No,” Zane said carefully, “but she’s not ready. Forcing it—”
“ ‘Forcing it,’ ” the Alpha repeated, his tone like broken glass. “You sound like a sentimental fool. You think leadership waits for permission?”
Luca’s easy mask slipped but I could still see the way his hand twitched. “You don’t actually expect us to just—”
The Alpha’s eyes narrowed. “To what? Fulfill your duty? Produce an heir?”
“Alpha, that’s not—”
“Enough.” The word hit like thunder and everyone stiffened. “One of you will take her. Mark her. Breed her. The pack needs a successor. I won’t watch my line fade because my sons are too timid to act.”
No one moved. The only sound was the soft crack of the fireplace.
Zane’s fists were shaking. “She’s not some broodmare.”
“She is a Luna,” Darius snapped. “Her purpose is to give life to the next Alpha.”
I felt heat crawl up my neck from his words. “She’s a person,” I said. The words came out lower than I meant, but they hung in the air anyway.
His gaze cut to me—cold, measured. “You’ve always been the soft one.”
“Funny,” I said. “You used to call me ruthless.”
For a second, neither of us looked away. He’d always wanted to break me, and I’d always refused to bend. The history between us sat too heavy, unspoken but sharp enough to bleed.
“You’ll do as you’re told,” he said at last.
Zane stepped in front of me like he could block the next blow. “We’re not going to force her, Alpha. She’s terrified enough already.”
His voice dropped to a growl. “You call yourselves Alphas? You let fear rule you instead of instinct? No wonder the council questions your strength.”
That one landed. Zane’s jaw clenched; Luca’s eyes sparked. Our father knew exactly where to cut.
I stood up slowly. “You can insult us all you want, but she’s not a prisoner. She’s got classes, a job, a life. You can’t cage her.”
His stare hardened. “Watch your tone.”
“I’m watching,” I said. “Maybe you should too.”
The silence was thick enough to choke on. For a heartbeat I thought he might actually swing. Instead, he smiled and straightened and I felt a shiver ran down my spine.
“Five months,” he said.
Luca frowned at the words. “What?”
“Five months,” he repeated. “By then I expect an heir. One of you will see it done, or I’ll find another way.”
Zane started to speak, but he raised a hand to cut him off. “And Jax—defy me again and you’ll remember what happens to sons who forget who leads this pack.”
He turned and walked out, leaving the smell of smoke and anger behind him.
The door slammed, and the sound echoed until it became the only thing left in the room. None of us spoke. Zane stared at the fireplace, Luca at the floor. I stared at them both and saw it happening—the shift. The quiet calculation behind their eyes. Five months. One girl. One throne.
Zane broke first. “He’s serious.”
Luca gave a hollow laugh as he turned his back to us. “When isn’t he?”
“Don’t,” I said.
He looked up. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t start thinking about how to win.”
He smirked, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Why not? You planning to?”
“I’m planning,” I said, grabbing my jacket, “to keep her safe. From him. From this. From you if I have to.”
Zane’s gaze met mine, heavy with something like guilt. “We’ll figure it out, Jax.”
I almost laughed. “Sure. Because that’s worked out great for us before.”
I left before either of them could answer. The hallway lights buzzed overhead; the house felt too quiet, like it was holding its breath. My phone vibrated in my pocket—messages from campus, reminders about morning lectures, normal life trying to exist in the same world as all this madness.
Tomorrow we’d go back to class, pretend to be normal. No one would guess the Alpha just gave us a deadline to ruin a girl’s life.
Five months. One girl. Three Alphas.
And an Alpha who’d burn the world to get what he wanted.
I wasn’t sure which scared me more—him, or the part of me that wanted it too.
