Dinnertime was awkward. The Luna did not miss the fact that all three of her darling sons were sporting my mark but she did seem to miss the fact that I was sporting a huge bruise. She had not said anything when I had marked Alex. She had just gazed at the silvery permanent mark on his neck distastefully. Today I had marked Calix in the morning time and Felix in the afternoon so she came home to find all three spoken for including her favourite, the youngest, Calix. He usually made animated conversation with her at every dinnertime but it was slightly stunted tonight.
Calix was retelling the dramatic tale of picking me up at school and “handling” my bully. Alex seemed to agree with not killing Parker.
“We don’t want to seem too blood thirsty!” Said Alex. “You sent a clear message and you gave him a chance.”
“What chance?” I said. The guy probably had half a dozen broken bones.
“He’s alive. A life is a chance. A chance to be better. To try again,” said Alex in a somewhat inspirationally tone.
“You’re bot nuts. We need to be firm. If someone can get away with stepping to our Luna, then they’ll think they can get away with anything. Who knows what he’ll do next?” Muttered Felix.
“He won’t be doing anything for a while,” said Calix matter-of-factly. He had been given another three months or so at home, healing injuries not caused by football this time.
“I’m glad he’s alive. Thank you. All of you,” I said humbly.
The Luna glared daggers at me. The former Alpha was difficult to read. He seemed distant but not angry about the triplets being marked and engaged to me.
“So Chasity, then you’ve decided that you’re staying and you wanna be with my boys? You’ve accepted the ring. You’ve marked them. Only a crazy person would do all that and then still run off,” she said snidely.
I ignored her vitriol. “I’m so happy to finally make the guys feel as secure as they’ve helped me feel,” I said sweetly.
The triplets grinned at me. Luna Ronnie was not amused. The rest of the meal passed by in awkward silence where everyone could hear the scabbing of forks agains plates. The Luna began snatching up everyone’s plates early before they were totally finished and giving the plates to the staff to wash. The triplets were livid. The former alpha looked tired.
Go upstairs to my room and wait for me, please, Baby, said Felix over mind-link.
I listened to him, figuring I had done my own thing enough times. I could hear yelling downstairs and I strained my ears to pick it up properly. Eventually the curiosity became too much and I went creeping down the stairs to try to eavesdrop. I could hear the triplets and their parents arguing. They were still in the dining room.
“So basically you’re never gonna give her a chance, Mom?” Asked Felix.
“She lives in this house, doesn’t she?” Said Luna Ronnie.
“But she has always lived in this house,” retorted Felix.
“All I am saying is I can’t believe you would all mindlessly let her mark you. Think not the pain you’ll be in when she leaves the minute high school is over. It was bad enough you marked her. Oh and proposed! I was under the impression that ring was for the future…”
The former alpha interrupted his luna.
“Calm down, Ronnie, come on,” he cooed. I could tell he was probably hugging her. I dared not peak by the archway.
“Mom, mom,” cooed Calix. “It’s ok. You have to believe just a little bit when we say that Chasity won’t leave us. She loves us.”
I wondered if I would hear better from my room, my new room. I crept towards the hallway and tiptoed to my new master bedroom. I was moving so surreptitiously that I actually peaked into my own room before I set foot in it. My blood ran cold.
Someone was prying open my window silently. He was climbing in to try to get to me. He had a rag. I smelled chloroform. I gasped and the person spotted me in the archway. It was kind of an instinct at this point though I loved all my boys dearly.
“FELIX!” I screamed.
The middle-child Alpha was in front of me before I could scream anything else. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“A kidnapper,” I cried pitifully as Alex scooped me up.
Felix had the guy by the throat. I was not sure what happened exactly but I could hear the noises. Calix zoomed passed us and was in the room also. Alex held me and covered my ears but I still heard it. It was a sickening loud crack like someone’s neck had been snapped. I heard a thud as the man’s body probably fell to the floor. I heard a sound as though the pried open window had been shut. Calix exited the room to the hallway where Alex was holding a shaken me to his side.
“Who is it?” Alex said.
“I have no idea. Don’t recognise him. Did you?” Calix said, looking at me, his eyes wide.
I shook my head furiously.
Calix and Alex switched places. Calix held me and rubbed my back soothingly. Alex was assisting Felix with whatever. They had killed him I believed. Shouldn’t they have gotten information from him first? The Luna and the former Alpha came into the hallway and the Luna refused to make eye contact with me.
“You all right, Chasity?” Asked the former alpha.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
In a few minutes, the pack house was flooded with activity. A huge man bounded in the house. He had dark olive skin and dark eyes with a strong jaw. He was tall and broad-shouldered and looked to be about in his late thirties. I realised he was Beta Keaton. A few prominent pack warriors came and were stationed about the pack house as guards. We were a relatively peaceful pack in a region where attack was difficult because of the extreme cold but triplet’s had taken this threat very seriously and wanted the pack house on lockdown. One of them constantly kept me close to his side though they switched every once in a while. I was little out of it. Some pack warriors asked me questions. There was a police force in our pack and on our lands with special warriors and investigators. They interviewed me. There was an ambulance and a doctor looked at me which was overkill. He literally had not touched me was what I kept trying to explain to everyone. I thanked the doctor though. She was nice and was more concerned about the aftermath in terms of it being a traumatic experience. That made me remember my promise to Alex to go to therapy. I asked the doctor if she knew of therapists in our pack and she gave me a few options.
A whirlwind and a blur later I was actually back in Felix’s room and the three alphas were talking while I stared at them. I felt close to tears and I motioned for them to all come towards me. They did so eagerly. I was in the middle of their triple bear hug, enveloped in their warmth. It soothed me a little.
“Don’t worry, Baby, we’ll get to the bottom of this and figure out who sent the kidnapper. There’s already suspects…”
It seemed that Felix had snapped the kidnappers neck just a few moments after I had screamed his name.
“Luna Ronnie,” I said blankly.
“Huh,” said Calix.
“Luna,” said Alex disapprovingly. By Luna, he meant me.
“Baby, no, no,” grumbled Felix, draping me over his chest.
“We know you heard the arguing,” began Calix.
“But it’s not like that,” continued Alex.
“She would never endanger you. She knows that would destroy us,” Felix mumbled into my hair, inhaling my scent deeply as he made tingles spring up on my skin. He was grazing my arms and legs very lightly with his claws which he had allowed to spring up. I yawned.
“She wanted it to seem like I ran off like she always says I would,” I said.
“No, Princess,” cooed Alex, kissing my cheek.
“She’s just protective of us. She’d never do that!” Calix said kissing my forehead.
“She’s traumatised. She’s shaken up. That’s why she thinks that. It happened just as she probably overheard the kinda things our Mom was saying!” Felix said, defending me. I tightened my hold on him. We had woken up entangled in the evening. I shivered remembering each of the markings. I really, really loved them and I needed them to believe me. The Luna was trying to make me out to be a runaway even if she had to pay someone to drag me away because I had gotten too attached and too comfortable. I had no plans of leaving now. The triplets were trying to help me with my situation with my parents and I was satisfied.
“Please, if you ever look for me and I’m gone, I didn’t leave you, someone took me ok. That’s all I want you to remember,” I said to each of them making sure I locked eyes with them each, Alex, Felix and Calix.
“That’s all I’ll ever believe heaven forbid that happens,” said Felix, his voice husky and surprisingly emotional like he was going to cry.
Calix nodded and nuzzled me. Alex sighed. “You’re not going anywhere. Even if I have to handcuff us all together so it’s not an option to snatch you, I will,” said the eldest.
I smiled and kissed him.
“Kinky,” commented Felix and we all laughed.
“I’m not going anywhere by choice,” I reminded them as they turned out the light and tried to calm me down. Three bodies pressed against me as my heart beat frantically.
I’m not going anywhere by choice, I kept whispering to them over mind-link as they surrounded me, six hands, three mouths, my whole body covered in goosebumps. My wolf and I both needed them to know.