Rosalie:

For a moment, I genuinely thought they wouldn’t answer.

The silence that followed my question stretched long enough for me to believe they would simply avoid it altogether. It wouldn’t have surprised me. Up until now, every time the conversation approached something uncomfortable, they either redirected it, justified it, or tried to explain around it rather than through it.

So when Darien finally spoke, I wasn’t the only one surprised.

I saw it immediately - the slight narrowing of Alastor’s eyes and the way Kaiser’s gaze snapped toward his brother. Neither of them had expected Darien to answer.

Darien released a slow breath before speaking.

"It started about two months ago."

My heart sank immediately. Two months. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved that it had been only two months and not longer, or to hurt that for two whole months they had lied to me and kept Charlotte’s truth hidden.

Darien looked directly at me as he continued, "It happened during Alpha Grey’s wedding reception."

For a second, I froze. Then the memory surfaced instantly. Of course I remembered. How could I not?

Initially, I had been supposed to attend that reception with them. The four of us were supposed to travel together to West Hills Pack. Everything had already been arranged. My dress had been prepared. The gifts had been selected. The itinerary finalized.

Then I got sick.

A fever appeared seemingly out of nowhere hours before departure. It was nothing serious, but enough to leave me bedridden. And I had to cancel the trip. Kaiser stayed behind to look after me while Darien and Alastor attended the reception alone.

The memory was crystal clear. Which was exactly why something suddenly clicked inside my head.

If everything started that night... then Kaiser wasn’t even there.

My gaze shifted toward him automatically. But he wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he was staring out the large window at the storm raging outside. The rain hammered against the glass relentlessly, while lightning occasionally illuminated his profile. His expression was unreadable. And for some reason, that bothered me more than if he had simply looked guilty.

Darien continued speaking.

"Charlotte was there that night." His voice remained steady. "Her family had been invited."

I stayed silent, listening.

"Neither Alastor nor I spoke to her." He paused before adding, "Not willingly."

Still, I said nothing.

"We didn’t even acknowledge her beyond basic courtesy when she greeted us."

The words sounded defensive, as though he already expected me to doubt him. And maybe he was right.

Darien continued, "Everything was normal for the first few hours. Until it wasn’t."

My stomach tightened at his words.

He ran a hand through his hair, a habit of his I knew too well.

"Halfway through the party, we realized something was wrong. Turned out both of us had been drugged."

The room grew quieter. Nobody interrupted him. Not even Alastor or Kaiser.

Darien’s voice became heavier. "The first thing we did was leave the reception."

I noticed the way his jaw tightened.

"But our cars had been sabotaged."

That caught my attention. "Sabotaged?" The word escaped before I could stop it.

Darien nodded. "We couldn’t drive. The vehicles wouldn’t start." He paused before adding, "We had no choice but to stay at the nearest hotel."

The more he spoke, the more uneasy I became. Something about this story felt wrong. Not necessarily because I didn’t believe him, but because it sounded too convenient. It was just too perfectly arranged.

Darien continued.

"Luxe went to get a doctor."

I knew Luxe. He’s not only reliable and efficient, but also the man Alastor, Darien, and Kaiser trusted the most.

"And because we didn’t want panic spreading, only Luxe knew what was happening. The rest of our warriors weren’t informed."

I remained silent, listening carefully.

"And after Luxe left..." Darien’s hesitation became obvious and the room grew noticeably tenser. "Charlotte appeared at the hotel. She was staying there too."

My eyes narrowed slightly. The coincidence felt absurd. But I didn’t say that aloud. Not yet.

Darien visibly struggled with what came next. Several seconds passed before he forced himself to continue.

"When she saw Luxe stepping out of our room, she came over to greet us." His voice lowered. "But the moment she saw us, she knew something was wrong."

I still stayed silence.

"We told her to leave. More than once."

I noticed the way Alastor’s expression hardened, as though reliving the memory. But Darien kept speaking.

"She refused." A muscle twitched in his jaw. "She said she was worried."

I folded my arms tighter.

"The drug was already affecting us badly." He closed his eyes briefly. "As time passed, it became harder to think clearly."

The implication hung in the room, unspoken yet obvious. Nobody elaborated. Nobody needed to. I already understood what he was saying.

Then came the part neither of them wanted to discuss.

Darien swallowed. His voice almost failed him, but eventually he forced the words out.

"And then... what happened... happened."

A heavy and uncomfortable silence fell over the room. The kind of silence that filled every corner of a room.

I stared at him, waiting.

Darien looked away first as he continued, "And that night, the mate bond activated."

My heartbeat slowed as his words echoed inside my head.

"We woke up and realized Charlotte was our fated mate." A strange look crossed Darien’s face as he added, "Neither of us understood why the bond hadn’t appeared before."

I frowned too. He’s right because Charlotte had known them for years. If she truly was their mate, why hadn’t the bond surfaced earlier? Why that specific night? Why only then? And why under those circumstances?

Darien seemed to ask himself the same questions.

"We still don’t know why." Then he added quietly, "But that’s what happened."

The room fell silent again. I could hear the rain pounding against the windows, the distant rumble of thunder, and my own heartbeat.

Then Darien spoke once more. "The first thing we did was call Kaiser."

My gaze instantly shifted toward the third Alpha just as he finally looked away from the storm and his eyes met mine briefly before shifting away again.

Darien continued, "When Kaiser arrived... we discovered he was mated to Charlotte too."