The pull was stronger now. More insistent. Like whatever was calling to her from elsewhere in the quarters was becoming impatient. Like the distance between her and them was becoming intolerable.

But they hadn’t come for her yet. They’d had her assigned to their quarters, but they hadn’t made any move to claim her immediately. That suggested strategy. That suggested they were planning something.

Or waiting for something.

Lilith turned away from the window and sat back down on the bed.

She had to prepare herself. Had to steel her mind for what was about to happen. During the contract, she’d learned to separate her consciousness from her body. To endure what was being done to her by mentally removing herself from the experience. To survive through dissociation.

She would do that again. She would survive this.

But underneath the determination was a traitorous thought: part of her didn’t want to survive through dissociation. Part of her wanted to be present. Part of her wanted to feel whatever was about to happen.

That part of her terrified her more than anything else.

The minutes stretched.

Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. Time becoming meaningless. The anticipation building with each passing second. The awareness of them becoming more and more undeniable.

They knew she was here. She could feel that knowledge like a physical presence. They were close. Close enough to reach. Close enough to touch.

When would they come for her?

Lilith stood and began pacing again. Sit. Stand. Pace. Try to calm her racing heart. Try to slow her breathing. Try to prepare mentally for what was coming.

It was useless. No amount of preparation would be enough.

She moved to the small mirror in the bathroom and checked her appearance. Her hair was pulled back in a simple braid. Her face was pale. Her eyes were too wide. She looked frightened.

She was frightened.

But she was also waiting. Part of her was anticipating this moment with an intensity that made no sense.

Lilith left the bathroom and returned to the main room. The pull was almost suffocating now. The awareness of their presence so intense that it felt like they were in the room with her even though she was alone.

She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to breathe.

When would they come?

How much longer would she have to wait?

The knock came suddenly, breaking through the silence like a gunshot.

Lilith’s entire body went rigid. Her heart stopped. Her breathing froze.

The knock came again.

"Lilith," a male voice called from the other side of the door. It was Callum. She recognized the beta’s voice.

She forced herself to move. Forced her legs to carry her to the door. Forced her hand to reach for the handle.

When she opened the door, Callum stood in the corridor looking professionally neutral.

"The alphas request your presence," he said simply.

Not a question. Not a suggestion. A request that was functionally a command.

Lilith nodded, unable to trust her voice.

She closed the door of her room and followed Callum down the corridor.

The distance wasn’t far. Just a short hallway. A few doors down. But it felt like she was walking toward her own execution. Every step brought her closer to the moment of reckoning. Every step brought her closer to them.

Callum stopped in front of a heavy oak door.

He knocked once, sharply.

"I have brought the omega, Alpha," he called out.

For a moment, there was silence. The silence felt eternal. The silence felt like the space between one life and another.

Then Nicholas’s voice came from inside, smooth and controlled and absolutely commanding:

"Come in."

Lilith stood at the threshold of the door, her body trembling slightly, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts and fears and anticipations all tangled together. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Callum opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter.

She took a breath and stepped into the room, and the entire world seemed to shift on its axis.

For a moment, nothing moved. Nothing breathed. The three brothers simply stared at her, and she stared back, and in that suspended second, weeks of separation compressed into absolute recognition.

Then Sebastian moved.

He stood up with the fluid grace of a predator, his dark eyes completely gold now, Rhen showing through with no attempt at concealment. He crossed the distance between them in three long strides.

"Sebastian..." Nicholas started, but it was too late.

Sebastian reached her and cupped her face in his hands. His touch was gentle despite the desperation radiating from him, but the kiss was anything but gentle.

He kissed her like he was trying to claim her soul. Like weeks of separation had broken something inside him that could only be fixed by her mouth on his. Like his entire existence had been suspended in this moment since the day she’d left the estate.

The kiss was raw. Passionate. Possessive. It spoke of need and hunger and recognition. It showed Lilith exactly how much he wanted her.

Then Nicholas’s voice cut through the moment like a blade.

"Control yourself, Sebastian."

The alpha command was absolute. Undeniable.

Sebastian pulled back slowly, breathing heavily, his entire body vibrating with the effort it took to obey. His eyes remained gold as he looked at her for one more moment...a moment that contained entire conversations, before he returned to his seat.

He sat down hard, his hands gripping the armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white. His breathing was ragged. His eyes stayed fixed on her with an intensity that suggested only monumental effort was keeping him from standing up and crossing to her again.

Nicholas and Lucian looked at her now with the intensity of men truly seeing someone for the first time in weeks.

And what they saw made their expressions harden.

Lilith was thin. Not just lean, but actually thin in a way that suggested she hadn’t been eating properly. Her face was gaunt, her cheekbones too prominent, her eyes too large in her face. There were dark circles under her eyes, the kind that came from lack of sleep or constant exhaustion or both.