Jade stared at the triplets, her breath catching in her throat as the weight of their words settled over her. Mate. They were claiming her as their mate, as if all the years of torment they had put her through didn’t matter anymore. As if they expected her to forget everything because fate had decided they were meant to be together.
No.
Her wolf stirred beneath the surface, urging her to reconsider, to accept the bond that pulsed between them. But Jade couldn’t do it. She couldn’t forgive them so easily. Not after everything they had done to her. Not after all the pain they had caused.
“I, Jade Carter of the Shadow Creek Pack, reject you—”
Before she could finish the sentence, Liam surged forward, his hand grabbing her arm. His touch sent a jolt of electricity through her body, and she gasped, her heart pounding as she met his intense gaze. His eyes were wild, desperate.
“Don’t,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. “Don’t reject us.”
Jade’s lips trembled, the words she had been about to speak vanishing into the tension-filled air. She could feel the pull of the bond between them, the way it tried to tie her to them, to make her want them. But the anger, the hurt—they were too strong.
“I have to,” she whispered, her voice shaky.
“No, you don’t,” Liam said, his eyes locking onto hers with a fierce intensity. “We were wrong, Jade. We’ve done terrible things, but we didn’t know. Now we do. We won’t let you walk away.”
Eric and Cole were suddenly at her sides, their presence overwhelming. The heat between them was suffocating, and Jade’s heart raced. They surrounded her, their bodies so close she could feel the heat of their skin, the pull of the bond stronger than ever.
Her voice faltered. “I—”
Liam cut her off by pressing his lips against hers, a deep, demanding kiss that stole her breath. Jade’s mind screamed at her to push him away, but her body betrayed her. She found herself melting into him, her fingers tangling in his hair as the kiss deepened. It was intense, primal, and before she knew it, she was responding, her body betraying the anger in her heart.