The Aftermath

Karina

Pain is a funny thing.

After a while, it stops screaming and starts whispering. It crawls under your skin, into your lungs, into your thoughts. It becomes you.

I don't remember how many times Selene has struck me now. Ten? Twenty? It doesn't matter.

The only thing I know is blood. It clings to my clothes, streaks down my legs, pools beneath me, warm and sticky like shame. Each lash tears another line into my back, but I no longer flinch. Not because I'm brave.

Because I'm empty.

My knees buckle. I fall—again—but this time my body twists on the way down, and something sharp digs into my chest.

I land on my pendant.

The impact punches the air from my lungs. The chain snaps, the stone digs deep into my skin, right over my heart. There's a hot, pulsing pain—then a spark.

Like lightning under my ribs.

The world stutters.

Heat floods my veins. No, not heat—fire. It explodes through me in waves, spreading from my chest outward, burning away everything else. I gasp, choking on it. My body arches against the stones, muscles locking tight, then trembling.

A sound slips out of me. It's not a scream. Not a cry.

A whimper.

The air changes.

Everything smells different—richer, thicker, alive. My blood, still warm beneath me, suddenly smells sweet. Too sweet. I can feel eyes on me. Dozens. Hundreds. Watching.

Then, I smell them.

Three distinct scents. Earth and storm and steel. My bones recognize them.

My lungs seize. My thighs press together instinctively. The fire inside me pulses harder, impossibly hot now. My hands clutch at the stones, desperate for grounding, for control, for anything—

And then I feel them.

One presence to my right—hovering.

Another, rough and ragged, to my left.

A third—colder, further away, but vibrating with tightly leashed power.

They're here.

Killian. Ronan. Lucien.

The triplets.

No.

No, no, no, this can't be—

I feel like I'm being split open from the inside. My skin's too tight, my heart pounding too loud, too fast. My body knows something my mind can't accept.

A mating heat.

This is a heat.

Mine.

And it's for them.

The bond is blooming in my blood like poison and perfume all at once. I hear someone say my name, soft and broken.

"Karina…"

Lucien.

My lashes flutter, barely able to lift. Everything's a blur. Gold eyes. Dark hair. A shadow that smells like storm-wind and sin.

"Lucien?" I whisper, barely a breath.

His face twists. I don't understand what I'm seeing. Pain? Fury? Regret?

I want to reach for him. I think I do.

Then warmth wraps around me—arms, a chest, something solid.

I'm being lifted.

Ronan? Lucien?

My body curls on its own, tucking into the warmth like it belongs there.

I don't want this.

I do want this.

I don't know anymore.

The world sways. I hear shouting. Selene's voice—denying, screaming. Killian's orders, clipped and sharp. Someone growls. It all fades into static.

My pendant is still clutched in my hand, cracked and humming softly. The heat doesn't go away. It lingers, curls into my spine, claws at my womb.

I'm shaking.

It's too much.

I close my eyes.

And let go.

***

The moment my brain registers that I'm awake, the misery crashes back in all at once.

Sharp pain radiates through every muscle, pulsing in time with the beat of my blood, like Selene's whip is still tearing into me without pause.

I try to move—bad idea. Even opening my eyes feels like punishment. My head is ringing, heavy and clouded, buzzing with too many thoughts all at once. But none of them can push past the bone-deep agony anchoring me to the bed.

"I have no wolf," I murmur, my voice barely audible. Even speaking feels like it drains the last of my strength. "It'll take me weeks to heal..."

A shiver runs down my spine as I shift slightly, finally becoming aware of my surroundings.

I'm lying on my stomach. My upper body is wrapped in thick, soft bandages, and the sharp, earthy scent of herbs rises from beneath the cloth.

It takes a moment, but then I realize—I'm not in my room.

This is the medical wing of the pack house. And judging by the privacy, the clean linens, and the silence... I'm in the VIP suite.

I click my tongue, irritation bubbling in my chest like acid.

"Is this their way of masking their guilt?"

I don't remember when I passed out. Or who carried me here. But still... a small part of me feels quietly grateful.

I just hope it wasn't Anna. I've already burdened her enough.

A soft cough escapes my throat, and I instantly regret it. Talking is a mistake—it burns in the worst way and makes me choke on my own breath.

I force myself to inhale, trying to give my lungs a little more room to move. That's when I feel it—

A dull pressure, digging through the bandages. Pressing hard against my chest, like something—or someone—is there.

And it hurts.

Wincing from another wave of pain, I slide my right hand beneath me and grab whatever's pressing into my chest. My fingers close around something cool and hard—and when I pull it out, I freeze.

It's the pendant.

I blink a few times, trying to push past the haze of exhaustion. My brows shoot up toward my hairline.

"It cracked?"

There's a jagged fracture running through the center, barely visible beneath a dried smear of blood—my blood. No one even bothered to clean it off.

Another sharp pulse of pain rips through my back, and I collapse against the mattress with a long, trembling exhale.

Goddess, I wish someone would walk in and give me a damn painkiller. Just one.

I don't even want to be awake. I want to sleep until this is over. Until I feel alive again.

Until I can pretend none of this ever happened.

But apparently, I need to stop wishing for things.

"Get the fuck out of my way!"

Selene's furious voice cuts through the air like a blade, muffled only slightly by the door. A second later, she kicks it open and storms in, her eyes blazing, claws already out, glinting on her pale, shaking hands.

"You!" she snarls, her claws already tangled in my hair as she yanks me off the bed.

Pain explodes across my body as my wounds scream in protest.

"How dare you?! What did you do?! What the fuck did you do to them?!"

"Wh—what?!" I cry out, barely able to breathe. It feels like she's ripping my skin open again.

Selene hisses, feral and unhinged, like some wild creature. Her fangs flash beneath her twisted lips.

"You bitch! It's not possible! You can't be their mate! Never!"

I freeze, ignoring even the pain that keeps burning me. Their mate. Whose mate am I again? And then, it dawns on me... and I cannot breath again.

"What?!"