Chapter 3

Toby and Jarold stood at the head of the platform at the annual pack ceremony. As the Alpha's heirs and neither having a mate, their father had been strutting them around every pack meeting since he won the Alpha position.

"What do you think the chances of us just happening upon our mate after two years of being forced to shake every available hand in the pack?" Toby muttered to his brother between females.

"The same amount as any other occasion, which is pretty much none." Jarold muttered back, though he gave a friendly enough smile to the female in front of him who was looking up at him with stars in her eyes.

"I know it has to be skin-to-skin contact to trigger the mark, but you'd think we'd have some clue from our wolves recognizing each other." Toby said.

"Dad said when the human form doesn't want to be mated, they may block their wolf's call." Jarold said with a shrug. "It is rare, but the mark can be blocked too. He said that is why he will force attendance every year until our mate is found. They might block it once but repeatedly would be nearly impossible."

"Nerd," Toby teased his brother light-heartedly. He briefly remembered the conversation they'd had with their father, but he was unable to recall the details. Jarold was always the one who hung onto every word their father said.

"You're up." Christine nudged Kathrine to encourage her to step onto the stage to meet the twins face-to-face.

With a sigh, Kathrine went up in front and grasped hands with Toby then felt her eyes go wide as a slight sting lit her palm at the same time as his eyes widened.

"Now grasp Jarold's hand." Alpha Jackson commanded, proving he had been paying close attention to the interactions.

Kathrine and Jarold were unable to refuse their Alpha's command, so Jarold held his hand out for Kathrine to take. The stinging on her palm happened directly next to the initial sting making her breath catch in her throat and she pulled her hand away from Jarold. She gazed down at the two tiny paws on her palm, intertwined with each other. Before she could escape, Alpha Jackson's hand clamped down on her shoulder pinning her in place between his solid form and Jarold. She refused to look at either of them.

"Allow me to introduce the next Luna and the mate of my heirs, Kathrine Brown." Alpha Jackson said into the microphone so that everyone could hear that his sons had found their mate in one wolf.

Kathrine's mind was buzzing with the applause of the crowd and thoughts of how in the hell she was supposed to ever get out of the situation she'd managed to find herself. She had tried so hard to block the mate bond, but she had no hope of defeating the bond if she was to be mated to both of them. How in the hell did she end up in a triple bond? She thought wildly as she rubbed the mark on her palm as if she was trying to erase it. She'd never succeed; she knew that. She couldn't even try to run anymore. The whole pack, including her father, would be after her. She was mated to the future Alphas. There wasn't a place far enough she could run. Now that they'd formed the mate mark, they'd be able to track her anywhere, telepathically.

It took time for the bond to form strongly enough to allow verbal conversations to take place through the telepathic link mates shared, but they'd be able to use their link as a GPS to her should the need ever arise. She felt a growl build low in her throat at the thought of never getting to be her own person again. Her mother loved being Luna, but that was never her aspiration. She just wanted to have a quiet life, with or without a mate.

"Don't!" She snapped, her growl burst from her throat in a snarl when Jarold grasped her hand to lead her from the stage. She knew it was her cue to follow Alpha Jackson from the stage so she did so without complaint, since she wanted to get out of the view of the crowd. He led them to the pack house and into his office for them to discuss the logistics of such a mate bond.

"You know," Toby said as he approached on her other side, "you'll have to let us touch you eventually. We are your mates and if I wasn't reading your wolf incorrectly when she first saw us, you'll lose the battle with her sooner rather than later."

"You touch me without my express permission to do so, mate bond be damned I'll cut your hand off." She snapped before stomping off ahead of them. The satisfaction was short-lived, however, because, within a few minutes, they had reached the pack house and Alpha Jackson had them plus Kathrine's mother and father in the office.

"So, this was unexpected." Alpha Jackson said as he took a seat in the sitting area of the office. He gestured to the couches and chairs situated so that everyone could face each other and him, wordlessly commanding everyone to take a seat.

"Something tells me it wasn't completely unexpected for everyone." Toby said as he looked at Kathrine, though his voice lacked reprimand.

"Kathrine, do you have anything to say?" Alpha Jackson asked looking at her closely.

"Nothing nice." Kathrine said, honestly. "You can't expect me to accept them as my mates, honestly. After everything that has happened between our families."

"I forbid you from rejecting the mate bond with either of them. Fate has chosen you as their mate and you shall honor it." Alpha Jackson said.

"It is my right to reject any mate I deem an unwise fit!" Kathrine responded, standing from her seat to glare at the Alpha.

"The risk that there is no other mate is too strong, for all three of you. Especially in a triple bond. You know that as well as I do. My sons deserve a mate." Alpha Jackson said.

"Your sons deserve a mate that wants them, as do I." Kathrine countered.

"You haven't given us a chance to tell you that we do want you as our mate." Jarold said gently.

Of all the responses she expected, that was not on the list. How could they possibly want her for their mate? She'd made it no secret that she didn't want anything to do with them, even before their father challenged hers.

"Since that has been settled, " Alpha Jackson took advantage of her stunned silence to continue the meeting, "We should discuss the next steps to their relationship. We should plan their mating ceremony before her next heat."