The Royal Mate

CASSIDY

"Mate."

The single word left the lips of the three Thorndrake triplet princes in perfect unison. It echoed inside my mind, bouncing off the walls of my skull over and over. They surrounded me, their towering frames casting long, menacing shadows under the unnaturally bright moon. The air around us grew suffocatingly thick. A heavy, undeniable magic pulsed in the empty space between our bodies, wrapping a tight, burning tether around my soul. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. It was not just beating out of fear anymore. A profound, terrifying sensation of bonding blossomed in my chest, a primal, magnetic pull drawing me helplessly toward these massive, lethal predators.

"What the fuck is this?"

Kaidan roared, his voice tearing through the quiet clearing. He shattered the delicate magic instantly. The blossoming bond evaporated into thin air, replaced by a suffocating wave of pure, unfiltered terror. My heart rate spiked, shifting back into frantic panic.

"I believed I just asked you a question. What the fuck did you do?" Kaidan snarled.

I pressed my spine hard against the rough bark of the giant oak tree, instinctively trying to make myself as small as possible. I squeezed my eyes shut, my entire body shaking uncontrollably.

"I... I just lost my way. The strange moon brought me here. I swear I didn't do anything," I stuttered, my teeth chattering in the freezing night air.

His dark, sadistic laughter ripped through the trees. The sound chilled the blood in my veins, freezing me to my core. He lunged forward, closing the distance in a blur of motion. His massive hand clamped onto the collar of my uniform. He hoisted me high into the air with zero effort. The rough fabric dug into my throat, choking my breath. My heavy boots dangled inches above the forest floor.

"This forest is forbidden to mere wolves. Any human that mistakenly enters it should be dead. Your fragile bodies cannot handle its powers. Yet here you are, still breathing, and our wolves are calling you their mate. It is impossible. Princes have never shared a single mate. Even if it were happening, we would never be mated to a stupid wench of a human!" Kaidan boomed.

The feral wolf shone through his furious eyes, glowing with raw malice. I gasped for air, unable to stop the torrent of hot tears spilling over my cheeks.

"Please let me go. I promise you my silence. I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. No one will ever know," I begged through my desperate tears, clawing uselessly at his iron grip.

Cyprian stepped into my line of sight. He stared at my dangling form with a cold, analytical gaze. He did not flinch at his brother's outburst.

"We cannot just let you go. You are our mate. You are a royal mate," Cyprian pointed out calmly, speaking the undeniable truth.

"Stop calling her that!" Kaidan growled.

He snapped his head toward Cyprian, then slowly turned back to me. The look of undiluted, feral anger in his eyes terrified me to my very core. It was a murderous rage. He looked like an untamed beast mere seconds away from yanking my head straight off my shoulders. I whimpered, going limp in his grasp.

"Let her go, Kaidan," Cyprian commanded.

"And do what? Take her to the Royal Keep? Declare her as our mate to the entire world?" Kaidan barked at his brother.

Ryker shifted his weight from the sidelines. He casually leaned his broad shoulder against a nearby pine tree, observing us with mild amusement.

"We could just reject her right here and now. We reject her, send her on her way, and no one will ever know we found our first mate," Ryker offered smoothly, presenting a pragmatic solution to their nightmare.

A sinister, relieved smile cracked open Kaidan’s face. He seemed thrilled by the idea. He released his grip, dropping me straight into the dirt. I hit the hard earth with a heavy thud, pain shooting up my tailbone. I gritted my teeth and ignored the searing ache. The pain did not matter right now. Escaping this deadly encounter in one piece was my only priority.

"Yes. That is a perfect idea. Let us do it right now," Kaidan agreed eagerly.

Cyprian frowned, folding his thick arms across his chest.

"Do you really think the Royal Keep and the royal sorceress would not have gotten notified that we found our mate already?" Cyprian warned sternly.

"I do not care if they know or not! The only thing I care about is rejecting her and getting her out of my sight. We will deal with the repercussions later," Kaidan yelled.

Cyprian did not even blink at the deafening volume, but I curled in on myself, trembling at the sheer force of his voice.

"Okay then. If that is what you want, let us do it," Cyprian conceded, giving up the argument.

I nearly cried in sheer relief. I wanted nothing more than to run away from this nightmare and never look back.

Kaidan stepped forward, puffing out his massive chest.

"I, Kaidan Thorndrake, first Alpha Prince of the Lunaris Enclave, son of Rhiannon and Victor Thorndrake, hereby reject you, Cassidy, as my mate."

Ryker pushed off the pine tree, his casual demeanor vanishing for a brief second.

"I, Ryker Thorndrake, second Alpha Prince of the Lunaris Enclave, son of Valerie and Victor Thorndrake, hereby reject you, Cassidy, as my mate."

Cyprian locked his cold blue eyes onto mine.

"I, Cyprian Thorndrake, third Alpha Prince of the Lunaris Enclave, son of Valerie and Victor Thorndrake, hereby reject you, Cassidy, as my mate."

An agonizing silence descended upon the dense clearing. The howling wind died. The rustling leaves froze. I held my breath, waiting for the invisible, suffocating tether around my soul to snap. I waited for the magical pull to vanish into the frigid night air. The three brothers stood like towering statues, exchanging tense, heavy glances as the dreadful seconds ticked by.

Nothing happened.

The heavy, undeniable bond remained firmly intact, wrapping even tighter around my racing heart.

Kaidan let out a deafening, guttural roar. He threw his fist down and savagely punched the earth. The sheer force of his blow sent a physical shockwave through the dirt. The ground beneath me shook, rattling my bones, and a deep crater cracked open beneath his knuckles.

"Let her reject us," Cyprian suggested over the echoing rumble.

Kaidan did not waste a single second. He lunged at me again, yanking me up by my uniform collar with brutal force.

"You heard him. Do it," Kaidan growled, spraying hot saliva onto my cheek.

I swallowed hard, my lips shaking so much I could barely form the words.

"I, Cassidy Renn, reject Alpha Princes Kaidan, Ryker, and Cyprian Thorndrake as my mates," I recited, my voice breaking into pathetic squeaks.

I squeezed my eyes shut, praying for mercy. I waited for the release. I waited for the magic to fade.

Still, nothing changed. The bond pulsed stronger than before, mocking our desperate attempts to sever it.

Kaidan’s grip tightened around my throat, choking a desperate gasp out of me, before he dropped me back into the wet dirt in pure disgust. He began pacing the small clearing like a crazed, caged beast. His massive shoulders heaved with every breath. His heavy footsteps crushed fallen branches and dead leaves into fine splinters.

"She did something. She is using dark magic on us," Kaidan accused wildly, pointing a massive, trembling claw directly at my face.

My dread mounted with every frantic lap he took. His paranoid, vicious muttering escalated into feral growls. I scooted backward across the damp earth, my hands scraping against sharp rocks, terrified that he would pick up a heavy boulder and crush my skull to dust. The nightmare was spinning rapidly out of control. They were going to slaughter me. They were going to tear my fragile human flesh apart and bury my broken body deep under the pine needles just to hide the stubborn, unbroken bond. I wished I was back in that dark, suffocating room. At least in that room, I knew my death would be straightforward. Out here, with three unpredictable alpha predators, my fate was a twisted mystery.

"I think we have to take her to the Royal Keep," Ryker suggested once more, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Take a human mate to the Royal Keep? I would rather die first," Kaidan spat, glaring at his brother with pure venom.

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Cyprian asked, his patience wearing dangerously thin.

Kaidan opened his mouth to decide my violent fate, but the words died in his throat.

Uniformed men materialized from the surrounding shadows. They stepped into the moonlit clearing without making a single sound. They moved like ghosts, their armor gleaming silver in the night. The abrupt arrival made my breath catch in my throat. I had not heard a single twig snap or leaf rustle to announce their approach.

The leader of the squad stepped forward, bowing deeply in the presence of the royals.

"My princes," the leader announced, his voice ringing with unquestionable authority.

Kaidan did not acknowledge the greeting. His furious, murderous gaze remained fixated on me, promising endless pain.

"The Royal Keep has been notified that you found your mate. The Alpha and Luna ordered that we escort you safely back to the Royal Keep."