WILLA

The room went quiet.

Not the comfortable kind. The kind that presses in on your ears.

I looked from Lance to Eric, then to Kol.

Lance had been the first to step toward me. Eric hadn’t moved.

Kol looked like he was one breath away from swinging.

And me?

I was still trying to think through the fog that had rolled in all at once. My lips were still burning from Eric’s kiss.

"Three mates...? No, that’s an abomination!"

"This needs to be reported to the council!"

"On Selene’s name, this is the strangest thing I’ve heard today!"

Their voices blurred together, spinning in my head. My thoughts couldn’t keep up.

The haze from the hookah had cleared, but this... this felt worse.

Because this was real.

It had to be impossible. Even if I was new to this world, I knew enough.

Werewolves had one mate. Just one. Every story, every piece of lore said the same thing.

And yet...Three? For me?

When I still didn’t even understand why I was here?

"Mate?" Eric murmured, his crimson eyes narrowing, something unreadable flickering within them. The faint curve of his lips held no humor.

Then he turned toward Kol, shifting his body just enough to place distance between me, Lance, and him.

"Your mate?" he repeated, his voice dropping into something low and dangerous. "Are you serious, Archer?"

"Get away from her," Kol and Lance said at the same time, their voices tight, their bodies tense, fists already clenched.

"And if I don’t?" Eric shot back.

Before either of them could respond, he reached for me, pulling me closer, his arm wrapping around my waist.

A shiver ran through me at the contact, heat rushing through my body all at once.

It wasn’t like before.

Not like yesterday, when everything about him had felt wrong, forced.

This felt different. It felt... right. Like I was meant to be there. And not just with him.

With all of them.

Kol. Lance.

The pull toward them grew stronger, undeniable, making my chest narrow.

I wanted them closer, to feel them near me.

What the hell was happening to me?

Shit.

I was acting like some animal in heat.

And I wasn’t even supposed to be a werewolf. So why the hell was I feeling all of this?

"You are a werewolf, Willa," Nyra cut through my thoughts. "But that’s the least important thing right now."

I wanted to argue. To demand answers. That was important. It was everything. My identity. My reality.

But the questions never made it out.

A sudden force slammed into me.

I was shoved hard, stumbling backward before I lost my footing completely. I hit the ground with a painful thud, the impact knocking the breath straight out of my lungs.

For a moment, everything went dim.

The room tilted, spinning violently as my vision blurred.

"You pushed her?!"

"You touched my mate, how dare you?!"

Lance and Kol’s voices rang out, too loud, too close, like they were echoing inside my head.

Then the sting hit. My palms burned where they scraped against the floor.

I sucked in a shaky breath and pushed myself upright, my head still reeling as the world slowly settled back into place.

A hand grabbed mine. I turned, blinking, and found Verah.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"I’m fine," I croaked.

But I wasn’t.

Pain flared along my side, sharp and unrelenting, even though I had landed on my backside. My chest tightened, each breath coming harder than the last.

I lifted my gaze to the boys. There was still space between them. But not nearly enough to stop what was building.

Verah stepped forward, placing herself between them. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?!" she snapped.

"Get out of here," Lance said without even looking at her. "Take Elyse and leave."

Verah scoffed, her glare cutting straight through him. "Who are you to tell me what to do?"

Lance’s jaw tightened. "Just do what you’re told for once."

She didn’t budge. "Just because we’re related doesn’t mean—"

"You’re starting to piss me off, bitch," Eric interrupted, his voice low and dangerous as his hand lifted toward her.

My breath caught.

I saw it coming down. I moved before I could think.

"Watch out!" I shouted, already stepping forward, bracing myself to take the hit for her.

But I didn’t reach him. Lance was faster.

He caught Eric’s wrist mid-swing and shoved him back with enough force to send him flying into the bar.

The impact shook the entire structure.

Glasses rattled, one tipping over and shattering on the floor. The wood creaked under the strain, a crack splintering through one of the planks.

Eric groaned, catching himself against the counter, his eyes dark as they locked onto Lance.

But Lance wasn’t finished.

He closed the distance in two strides, grabbed Eric like he weighed nothing, and slammed him back into the bar again.

This time, the bar gave way completely, collapsing under the force.

Eric shoved back hard. "Get off me, you fucking retard!"

Lance didn’t respond. He just swung.

His fist connected with Eric’s face, drawing a sharp grunt from him. Eric retaliated instantly, and within seconds, the two of them were locked in a full fight.

It should have been just them. However, Kol stepped in.

And then it wasn’t just a fight anymore.

"That’s exactly why I didn’t want to invite them!" Ryan shouted from somewhere behind me.

"Someone break it up! Get them off each other! I’m going to get in serious trouble for this!" he yelled again.

No one moved. Not a single person.

And honestly, who would?

Fists flew in every direction. People screamed, scrambling out of the way as glasses shattered and pieces of wood were kicked and thrown aside in the chaos.

And blood. So much blood.

Eric had it the worst. Kol and Lance were both on him now. Two against one.

Kol had him pinned to the ground, his hand locked tightly around Eric’s throat. I watched in horror as Eric struggled beneath him, clawing at his grip, his movements growing weaker.

His face paled. His eyes rolled back slightly.

My hands flew to my mouth, barely holding back the scream building in my chest.

"Someone... stop him!" I shouted.

Still, no one stepped in. They just stood there. Frozen. Afraid.

"Only you can," Nyra said. "They’re going to kill each other if you don’t!"

Only me?

My heart began to pound, each beat louder than the last as my breath came out in short, uneven gasps.

I stepped forward. Then another.

And another—

A hand suddenly yanked me back, stopping me in my tracks.

A sharp crack split through the chaos.

Then a voice rang out, loud and commanding.

"Everyone—freeze!"