{Elira}
~**^**~
The first thing I felt was warmth, then softness, and finally, a breath that was too close.
My eyes fluttered open, and met a face inches from mine.
I gasped as my eyes widened instinctively.
Lennon.
"She's awake," he said, stepping back, giving me space as if he had only been waiting for that moment.
I blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light. My gaze drifted across the room and landed on another familiar figure. Rennon, glasses perched on his nose, stood a few steps away with his usual unreadable calm.
Where… was I?
I sat up slowly, glancing around.
The bed was far softer than mine. The room was wide, high-ceilinged, with clean walls, velvet curtains, and a faint trace of mint and lavender in the air.
It was definitely not my uncle's house.
"Where am I?" I asked, my voice hoarse, eyes flicking to Lennon again.
The last thing I remembered was collapsing in the clearing, the world spinning around me. Arms catching me in time, and everything going dark.
Now seeing Lennon and Rennon in the room, I naturally assumed it was one of them who caught me.
Lennon folded his arms and gave me a look that was half amused, half casual.
"You're in our house," he said. "The Alpha's house. And yes, you are living with us now. We brought you back after you fainted."
Just like that.
No ceremony. No dramatics.
I blinked again.
He said it so casually, but it echoed in my head—"you're living with us now."
The scene from last night played in my mind: Alpha Cyprus standing tall, declaring me under his protection as his sons' mate. I hadn't imagined it. It was real.
I couldn't help but wonder what Lady Maren and Regina looked like when it happened.
Lennon raised an eyebrow, his lips quirking.
"Your cousin fainted too, you know," he said, like he had just read my thoughts. "Dropped right after you. And your aunt? Looked like she was ready to tear someone's throat out. She tried to stop us from taking you, but your uncle pulled her back. Then she got distracted with her daughter… dramatic stuff."
I blinked at him, unsure whether to laugh or wince. I chose the latter.
Regina fainted, too?
I wouldn't put it past her. Though knowing her, she probably collapsed for the attention, not the shame. She was always better at playing the victim than the villain she really was.
Before I could respond, a warm hand touched my forehead.
Startled, I turned my head and found a woman beside me. She was our pack's head doctor.
She murmured something to herself, then turned to the brothers.
"She's malnourished," the doctor said firmly. "Weak from exhaustion, underfed. No wonder she fainted from the bond overload."
She pulled a notepad from her coat and began scribbling.
"She needs a richer diet—three meals, minimum. Add proteins. Bone broth. Liver, if she can tolerate it. Also, this herb twice a day to raise her blood count."
Rennon stepped forward, took the list gently from her hand, and gave a polite nod. "Thank you, Doctor. Butler Daris will walk you out."
She bowed lightly and left, shutting the door behind her.
Lennon gestured vaguely at the room. "Ignore the decor. It's a guest room. We weren't exactly prepared for any of this. Your actual room is being arranged. You will have it after breakfast is done."
I glanced around again.
The room was better than anything I had ever had in my life after my parents passed away. I didn't say that aloud.
But I couldn't hide the disbelief pressing behind my ribs. Plus, the pain from Regina-inflicted injuries.
The triplet brothers were my mates.
I still couldn't wrap my head around it.
Well, two of them were here with me now, and the other one, who had rejected me instantly, probably preferred to be far from me.
My stomach tightened.
Still, I couldn't let myself spiral. What happened last night was fate. I hadn't asked for it. I hadn't expected it. But it happened.
And now that I was to live here, I would have to return to my uncle's home to collect my things before Regina destroys them out of anger.
My gaze met Rennon's. He was folding the list carefully, as if it were something precious.
"You look like you have something to say," he said softly, meeting my gaze.
Lennon chimed in, arms crossed, his tone lighter. "Go ahead. Don't keep it locked in your head. Might rattle loose."
I hesitated.
But I have never been one to speak too soon—and they weren't unkind.
"I… need to go back," I said. "To see my uncle and to get my things."
Lennon's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you know how long your cousin's been planning to marry into this family? Especially to Zenon?"
He didn't wait for me to answer.
"Beta Maren looked like she had skin someone alive last night. You? You're her number one target. You 'stole' her daughter's groom. She won't forgive that."
I let out a slow breath.
He was right. Of course, he was.
I have lived under Uncle Marc's roof for a few years now. I knew what Lady Maren and Regina were capable of.
They wouldn't see me as someone protected by the Alpha now. They would see me as the enemy—the one who stole their chance at power.
They would make me feel it, and probably not let me live to tell the story.
However, I didn't have much of a choice. I still have personal things belonging to my parents. I couldn't risk Regina destroying them in her rage.
"I still have to go," I said quietly. "There are things I need. Personal things."
Lennon exhaled sharply, pushing off the wall. "Whatever you want. I'm going for breakfast."
Then he turned and walked out, the door clicking shut behind him.
I sighed.
He wasn't angry—just frustrated, probably because I hadn't listened even though he meant well for me.
Rennon stepped forward, now at the side of the bed. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt layered with a sky-blue wool vest, paired with black trousers. Clean, calm, composed.
His presence stilled the little storm stirring inside of me.
"Lennon's only worried," he said, tucking the list into his pocket. "He just shows it with sarcasm."
I managed a small nod.
"I will escort you," he added. "When you are strong enough."
That surprised me. But I didn't argue.
I didn't have the strength to face the mean mother and daughter pair alone, not yet. Still, a worry twisted in my stomach.
How would Regina react seeing me again, not alone, but beside one of her would-have-been husbands' brothers?
She would probably send me to my early grave.
I shook my head, refusing to dwell on it. That was a bridge I will have to cross when I get there.
My stomach growled loudly.
I froze, hand over my belly as if it would curb the noise as heat rushed to my cheeks.
Rennon's expression didn't shift. "You are due for food. You missed dinner last night. It's time for breakfast. The others are waiting."
I sat up straighter, suddenly alert.
Wait—breakfast? With… the rest of his family?
I have been invisible for the latter part of my life. Now, I was expected to sit at a table with the most powerful wolves in our pack.
My heart skipped a beat.