Three Alpha Princes for an Unwanted Omega

AYLA

I had spent the entire night thinking about the kiss which was completely and utterly ridiculous.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Cassian’s face. I remembered the taste of his lips so vividly against mine, the way his arms had wrapped around me.

I pressed my palms against my cheeks. They were warm.

Stop.

I needed to stop thinking about it. It had been a moment of confusion. Nothing more. I had been frightened and struggling to breathe and he had tried to calm me down.

That was all.

Except my body did not seem to agree with that explanation. Every time, I closed my eyes, I could see him beneath my lips, sense him.

And I also remembered the moment before it, that strange flash of a memory. It was a direct opposite of what I should be feeling considering they were bad people. Abusive as Lucius had described them.

Lucius was my mate. I knew that because I could feel the bond between us but beyond that bond, what did I feel for him?

I should care for him, shouldn’t I? It should be him I dream of and think of.

I squeezed my eyes shut, groaning under my breath. I did not even know what to call what I was feeling and it terrified me.

Cassian was my brother. One of the men who had supposedly made my life unbearable yet when I had looked into his eyes, I had not felt fear.

Not even once. If anything, I had felt drawn to him and that made no sense.

None of it made sense.

I sat up and dragged a hand through my hair.

"Astrid" I called out.

"Yes, my lady."

"The three princes are my brothers, aren’t they?" I asked.

She turned to me, her gaze solemn.

"No, my lady." she said.

"Excuse me?"

"They are not your brothers." she drew near and lowered her voice. "There are rumors although unfounded by Alpha Kieran but I am sure that they are Soren’s sons."

"Soren?"

Wait a minute.

"Yes, Soren. Alpha Kieran does not care about that. He claims they are his and that is all the pack needs to know."

Lucius had not mentioned that to me. In fact, he had been particular about the fact that my father had wanted me to mate with my brothers which was an abomination.

Why was he lying to me?

I rubbed my temples.

The questions were multiplying faster than I could answer them.

A knock sounded at the door, interrupting my thoughts.

"Who is it?" Astrid answered, nearing the door.

"Lucius."

Astrid turned to me and I shook my head violently.

I did not want to see him or speak to him or hear any more of his lies.

"I am sorry, my lord but the lady is still asleep. Perhaps, you could return later?"

There was silence at the other end and my pulse hammered furiously as I waited for a response.

"Of course" Lucius finally said. "Kindly inform her I stopped by to check on her. I could not last night."

"Of course, my lord." Astrid answered.

I waited with bated breath, listening to his footsteps retreat until I could hear nothing.

Astrid, thankfully did not question why I would lie to my supposed mate about being asleep. If anything, she seemed pretty happy about it.

I listened to her regal me about tales of the princes and myself. A far cry from everything Lucius had made me believe.

"So you are saying I was kidnapped?" I asked.

"That is exactly what I am saying, my lady. You were taken and we all thought something horrible had happened to you." she said.

None of it made any sense to me.

Lucius was my mate... why would he kidnap me? Was this a ploy? By Kieran? Lucius did say he was a dangerous man.

But she did not seem to be lying. I did not know why but I trusted her... this maid who was looking at me with so much happiness.

"And the girl, Willow... where is she?"

Astrid shook her head.

"I have no idea, my lady. She disappeared also on the night that she did and she has not been seen since. It is good riddance if you ask me... she was very mean."

"You mentioned my mother" I swallowed.

"Yes, she has been dying to see you but the princes want you to have your own space until you are ready."

"I want to see her." I cut in immediately.

"I could bring her to you... now. I could let her know you would like to see her."

"That is perfect, Astrid."

She bounced excitedly to the door while I watched with a smile on my face.

I rose to my feet and walked to the mirror then I smoothed the dress I was wearing, touching a hand to my hair.

I wanted to look presentable for a mother I could not remember.

I chuckled in embarrassment at the thought.

I heard the door knob click and I turned around, my eyes wide, waiting to see her but Lucius walked in.

His eyes took me in, a look in his eyes that had me taking a step back.

"Lucius" I muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you were asleep?" He asked, looking at the bed.

"I am... I was... I have only just opened my eyes." I stammered.

He approached me slowly and I resisted the urge to shrink back under his angry gaze.

Something akin to fear crawled up my spine, shocking me.

Why was I afraid of him so suddenly? Why did my breath catch in my throat and why did I so desperately want to flee from the presence of this man?

He stopped in front of me and a smile touched his lips.

"I just wanted to see how you are faring, my love. I am sorry I did not come to you, yesterday as promised."

"Oh" I heaved a sigh. "It is nothing. I was given a potion by the healer."

"A potion" he frowned. "Whatever for?"

"He says it is to help relax my mind."

"You should take anything they are offering you, Ayla. You have no idea what they are up to."

I was tempted, there and then to ask him what the hell he was up to, lying to me over and over again but the words remained stuck in my throat.

I only smiled and nodded.

He reached for the side of my face, his thumb caressing my cheek. I waited for my body to react with pleasure to him but nothing of that sort happened.

"I have missed you, my love" He murmured under his breath, leaning forward to kiss me.

I took a step back.

He stared at me, his eyes darkening with suspicion.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I am sorry. I threw up a little when I woke and I haven’t yet refreshed myself."

"I do not care about that."

"I do, Lucius." I summoned a smile to my face, touching a hand to his chest. "We might be mates but we cannot lick off each other’s vomits." I joked.

He chuckled at this then took a step back, nodding.

"Fine." he said. "I will leave you to freshen up and then maybe later tonight, you and I can pick up where we left off?"

The smile on my face wobbled.

"Of course. I cannot wait." I said.