Chapter 1 Bound By Fate

• Brianna’s POV
• The crowd buzzed with electric excitement, the scent of pine, sweat, and anticipation thick in the evening air. The entire Bloodfang Pack had gathered near the training grounds. Cheers echoed, bodies pressed close together like a sea of blind devotion.
• I stood at the farthest edge, arms crossed tightly over my chest, letting the shadows swallow me whole. I didn’t cheer. I didn’t smile. Let them scream for their saviors if they wanted to.
• The Alpha triplets had returned.
• So what?
• To the others, this was a glorious homecoming. To me, it was just a cruel reminder.
• Two years ago, during the rogue uprising, my parents had been slaughtered. Ripped apart like they were nothing. The triplets? They weren’t here. They were off in some hidden territory, training for greatness—preparing to become the next leaders of our pack.
• They were too busy becoming legends to save the people who mattered.
• A trumpet blared. The crowd hushed as one.
• Three figures stepped onto the stone podium like war gods returning from Olympus.
• Ryker. Rowan. Reid.
• Each one carried power like a second skin.
• Ryker came first—tall, broad, and grinning like he owned the world. His dark curls framed a face carved from arrogance, and his eyes danced over the crowd with heat and mischief.
• Rowan followed—calm, composed, deliberate. His gaze was sharp, his aura controlled and grounded like the forest after a storm.
• And then… Reid. The one who didn’t smile. Who stayed just out of the light. Silver eyes glinting like frozen steel, arms folded, unreadable.
• Then it hit me.
• Pain. Heat. A low growl from deep inside my chest.
• My wolf stirred. No—roared.
• My vision swam as something ancient snapped into place. My knees weakened, breath catching. The scent that slammed into me was unmistakable—musk, pine, and the electric charge of a storm about to break. It wrapped around me, tangled with my soul.
• No…
• This wasn’t happening.
• They weren’t just the Alphas.
• They were my mates.
• Ryker’s eyes found mine like magnets drawn across a field. His smirk faltered, replaced by something darker—hunger, recognition.
• Rowan followed his gaze. His brow furrowed, jaw tensing. The thread had pulled tight.
• Reid didn’t move. But his gaze sliced through the crowd and landed on me. Ice meeting flame.
• My stomach dropped.
• Not them. Anyone but them.
• I spun on my heel, pushing through the pack. The air around me felt too thin. My skin buzzed like it didn’t belong to me. I needed to get away.
• A firm hand closed around my arm.
• "Running away already, little wolf?" Ryker’s voice was a smooth taunt, warm against my ear but sharp beneath the surface. "Didn’t even come say hello."
• I wrenched free. "Don’t touch me."
• His eyes gleamed. "You felt it too, didn’t you?"
• "I felt nothing," I hissed. "And even if I had, I’d rather rip out my own heart than be tied to any of you."
• Rowan stepped forward, his voice a low rumble. "We didn’t choose this either."
• "Good," I spat. "Then rejecting you should be easy."
• Reid said nothing. Just watched. Always watching.
• My chest seized. Burning, aching. The bond screamed at me, furious at my defiance. My legs buckled.
• Pain exploded down my spine—sharp, wild, unbearable.
• I collapsed.
• Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground.
• Rowan. His scent overwhelmed my senses—cedarwood, smoke, and warmth. Too close. Too intimate.
• "You’re burning up," he said softly, concern flickering in his voice.
• "I don’t want this," I breathed, barely holding on.
• But the darkness didn’t wait. It pulled me under like a tide.
• I woke with a gasp.
• My sheets clung to me, damp with sweat. Moonlight streamed through my window, casting pale streaks across the floor. The burning had dulled, but the ache remained—deep and rooted, like something living inside me.
• I paced the room, muscles tense. I couldn’t do this. I wouldn’t be a pawn in fate’s twisted, cosmic joke.
• I couldn’t sleep. Not with everything that had happened. Not with them in my head.
• My wolf was restless. Agitated.
• Damn the mate bond. Damn the triplets.
• I pushed off the bed and crossed to the window, shoving it open to let the night air in. It didn’t help. I still felt like I was suffocating.
• A sudden sound behind me made my blood run cold.
• The faintest click like a door slowly closing.
• I froze. My breath caught in my throat.
• I turned around.
• A figure stood inside my room.
• Tall. Dressed in black from head to toe. Face covered, only his eyes visible, dark, murderous eyes that didn’t blink.
• "What the hell…." I barely got the words out before he lunged.
• I stumbled back, heart slamming against my ribs. A blade glinted in the moonlight. I reached for the lamp on my nightstand and hurled it. It crashed against the wall, shattering into sparks, but the figure didn’t stop.
• I screamed.
• He tackled me, sending us both crashing to the ground. My elbow cracked against the floor. Pain radiated up my arm. I struggled, kicking and clawing, but he was too strong. The knife was at my throat.
• This is it.
• I’m going to die.
• Then the door burst open.
• "Brianna!"
• Liam, A pack warrior.
• He tackled the masked figure off me with a feral growl. The two of them crashed into my desk. Wood splintered. The knife skidded across the floor.
• Liam fought with everything he had shifting partially, claws slashing. But the masked man moved fast, too fast. One wrong move, and…..
• Steel flashed.
• "No!" I screamed as the blade sank deep into Liam’s side.
• He staggered back, blood soaking his shirt. The attacker took one last look at me like he was memorizing my face then vanished through the window.
• I scrambled to Liam’s side. "Stay with me please, Liam don’t you dare…..!"
• He coughed, blood staining his lips. His hand gripped mine, shaky, weak.
• "They’ll come back…" he rasped. "They’re not done. They won’t stop… until you’re dead."
• "Who? Who sent him?!"
• But his eyes had already gone glassy.
• I sat there, frozen, hands soaked in blood.
• He died in my arms.
• My chest heaved with shallow, panicked breaths.
• The scent of blood was thick, metallic, inescapable. My hands shook as I backed away from his body, bile rising in my throat.
• My ears picked up something, movement outside.
• I turned toward the window. Shadows moved in the forest line beyond the pack walls. Watching. Waiting.
• Not even the mate bond could protect me now.