The Triplet Alphas' Curse: Rejected by the Wolfless Luna.

Aire pushed open the door to her chambers with a tired soft sigh, as she stretched her arms, and couldn’t wait to sit so she would stretch her feet.

However, the moment she walked in, something felt wrong immediately.

She couldn’t explain it. It felt like she was a hundred miles away from her actual chamber, and was in the wrong chamber, yet the chamber looked exactly the same.

The curtains were open, and the fireplace burned softly.

Everything appeared normal, yet the feeling lingered.

Aire looked around the room, and her heart skipped two beats when she saw Marsili seated on the floor beside her bed. Aire almost missed her figure.

She frowned. She raised a brow, and walked further into the room. ”Marsali?”

She got no answer, and that was unusual to Aire. Very unusual coming from Marsili. Marsali always answered, sometimes even before Aire even finished speaking.

Aire stepped further inside.

Marsali barely acknowledged her, as she raised from the floor, and sat on the edge of the bed now, perfectly still.

Her hands rested in her lap, with her head lowered.

At first, when she was seated on the floor, Aire thought she might be asleep. Then she noticed her eyes were open watching the floor, and now, she just sat on the bed, and still didn’t acknowledge her.

Aire’s expression softened immediately. ”Marsali?” She called softly now.

Something had happened. She knew it. Perhaps, someone had offended her little heart, and she needed a little private time to feel completely.

Marsali only became this quiet when something was wrong.

Aire closed the door behind her now. ”Hey.”

Still, she got no response. Not even a glance.

Aire walked closer. ”Marsali?”

The little girl didn’t even look up, or blink as she stared down at the floor.

Concern immediately replaced everything else. Suddenly, Aire was no longer tired. Aire crossed the room and stopped in front of her.

”What happened?”

Marsili gave no response. Her brown hair fell over her face, almost hiding every angle of her face.

Aire slowly lowered herself onto one knee. Now they were eye level, and her heart softened instantly.

Marsali looked so small, and fragile.

Aire reached for her hand. She tenderly touched Marsili. ”Marsali?”

The little girl finally moved. Very slowly, she lifted her head, and smiled.

Aire froze for a second.

The smile didn’t reach Marsali’s eyes. Those pale eyes simply stared at Aire while the smile remained fixed, unmoving, and almost puppet-like.

A chill slid down Aire’s spine, then she immediately dismissed it.

She was probably imagining things. There was nothing frightening sitting in front of her, just Marsali.

Even so, Aire found herself forcing a smile back. Still, she felt a strange kind of coldness settling on her skin.

It felt as though she were looking at a stranger pretending to be Marsali.

Marsali’s smile widened. ”Aire, can I tell you a story?”

Aire gulped. She nodded. ”Y... yes, Marsili.”

Marsali’s smile dropped, as if she didn’t expect such a quick acceptance. She tilted her head softly, and began, almost thoughtfully. ”When you’re young...”

The voice wasn’t Marsali’s.

Aire’s stomach dropped. Her knees trembled. She remained squatted, because she couldn’t fully process whose voice she had just heard.

Marsili continued, in her new older, calmer, and more measured voice. ”...people assume you know nothing.”

Aire blinked. ”What?” She tried to stand straight, but she felt as if hands were pressed on her shoulders, forcing her to remain in that position.

The smile returned. ”However.” Marsali searched Aire’s eyes. ”I knew you’d be so kind that you’d never think of being clever.”

Aire stared at her, dumbfounded. Her eyes widened in horror, as she swallowed repeatedly, and inwardly tried to believe this wasn’t real.

Her pulse quickened. She tried to straighten again, but it wasn’t working. Her knees trembled more now.

Aire felt green. ”Marsali?”

The room felt quieter, and the air felt heavier.

Marsili laughed softly, visibly amused. Mist appeared the moment she laughed.

Aire forced herself up again, and this time, her body obeyed. She immediately stepped backward.

White mist curled around Marsali’s feet, and then, it spread across the floor, the bed, and across the walls.

The temperature dropped.

Aire’s heartbeat exploded. ”Marsali.” She whispered, sounding broken and sharper at the same time.

She couldn’t believe what was suddenly happening around her.

Marsili sighed dramatically. She reached inside her gown.

When her hand emerged again, something silver dangled between her fingers. It was a lock of silver hair.

Aire’s silver hair.

Tied neatly together with a ribbon.

Aire felt the blood drain from her face.

Marsali raised it higher. ”Looks familiar?” She taunts.

Aire stared at the hair, and then, back to Marsili.

Her mind raced. Her thoughts suddenly rushed backward to Marsali asking her to brush it.

Marsali asking to braid it, Marsali laughing while playing with it, and Marsali finally begging to trim her hair.

Aire’s stomach twisted violently. Her ears rang, and her vision darkened, with only Marsali and her hair in sight.

She grew speechless.

Marsali smiled, looking excited. ”You made this so easy.”

Aire couldn’t breathe.

The mist continued spreading, and the walls vanished behind it. The windows disappeared, and the room felt smaller.

Marsali casually waved her hand, and the air shivered.

A strange ripple spread throughout the chamber.

Aire felt strange as a strange powerful ancient magic surrounded her chamber.

The hairs on her neck stood, and the room sealed itself. Every instinct inside her screamed for her to run, but she couldn’t move.

She couldn’t even see behind Marsali.

Marsali leaned back comfortably. ”I’ve been in this realm for a decade.” She raised her fingers, then stared at them slowly, taking all her time in the world.

Aire’s pulse pounded.

Her smile widened. She was so satisfied with herself that she couldn’t keep her excitement in.

”I have been waiting for you.”

Fear crawled beneath Aire’s skin.

Marsili’s eyes flashed purple for a split second. She suddenly changed her voice, and it became small again, innocent, and childlike.

She went back to using the Marsali’s voice Aire knew.

”Aire, can I trim your hair?” She mimicked Marsali’s voice perfectly.

Aire’s knees nearly gave out.

Marsili laughed, visibly pleased with how things turned out. Then, she changed her voice again.

Now she sounded exactly like Aire.

”Why not?” She mimicked Aire’s words, and voice.

Aire felt physically sick.

The mimicry was perfect. Every word, tone, and inflection. As though she were listening to herself.

”Marsali.” Her voice shook. She grew scared. ”Stop. Please.”

The little girl sighed dramatically. ”I’m not Marsali.” She spat, disgusted

Aire stared.

The stranger stood, and mist swirled around her body. The child’s shape flickered briefly. For a second Aire saw something taller, and older.

The mist disappeared, and a gorgeous elegant woman with strong red hair came to her view.

The woman smiled. ”I’ll introduce myself later.”

Aire’s throat tightened. She watched the woman, and she blinked a thousand times in a second when she saw the fae ear.

The woman standing before her had her red hair braided into thick braids that fell over her shoulders and down her back, ending just above her waist. The vivid crimson seemed almost unreal against her pale skin.

She was tall.

Far too tall for most women.

Aire found herself having to tilt her head backward slightly to meet her gaze. Those striking purple eyes held an unsettling sort of beauty, bright and knowing, while her figure was elegant in a way that made it difficult to look away.

Aire’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. She took a second to wonder why this was always what she received from people all the time. ”What are you going to do with me?” She sniffed, and her lips trembled.

She couldn’t pretend. She let her tears drop. Aire bit her upper lip to stop it from trembling. Her gaze moved to where the door should be, but there was nothing there.

Visibly, no one would come for her.

The stranger’s expression softened, almost sadly. ”I’m sorry it came to this, Your Grace.” She bowed lightly, mockingly, and respectfully.

Both at once.

”I gave so many signs.”

Aire blinked.

Signs?

There had been no signs. None. People had always sneaked up on her, and rubbed her kindness across her face with a slap.

The woman laughed. ”There were.”

Aire shook her head.

”There were.” The woman argued. Her smile widened. ”You simply never looked.”

A tear suddenly slid down Aire’s cheek.

The stranger noticed, and her smile softened. ”That kindness.” She pointed toward Aire. ”That is why I succeeded.”

Aire’s chest hurt.

The woman continued. ”You bend when you can.” She took a step towards Aire. ”You bend when people hurt you.” She took another step closer. ”You bend when they insult you.”

She scoffed with disappointment, and shook her head. ”You bend when they betray you.”

Aire couldn’t move. She tried, but she couldn’t. Not even her fingers would twitch.

The woman stopped directly before her. ”And you never snap.”

Silence descended on them the moment those words left the woman’s lips.

The words hurt because they were true. Painfully true, and Aire never meant to be that kind of person. She just couldn’t help it.

Aire looked at her. Then her gaze dropped to a necklace from her father she had given Marsali out of care and affection.

The necklace was still hanging around her neck.

Aire froze staring at that necklace. She treasured that necklace, but she had given it to Marsili.

The stranger followed her gaze, then touched the necklace gently. Almost lovingly.

Aire’s vision blurred. Every memory with Marsili suddenly rushed back. She had seen her younger self in the little girl, and had protected her the same way she wished she had been protected.

Aire’s voice broke. ”Was any of it real?” Her throat tightened.

The woman smiled sadly. ”To you?”

Aire felt another tear fall.

The woman touched the necklace again. ”Yes.”

The woman knew exactly what she had destroyed.

Aire’s shoulders trembled. She tried to move again, or even, do anything, but she couldn’t. This strange woman had frozen her in whatever time this was.

Outside the room there was no sound.

The woman noticed her looking at the direction of the door. ”No one can hear us.” She clarified, so Aire wouldn’t waste her time.

Aire closed her eyes. She inhaled, and took in a long breath. ”What is this... this power?”

The woman spread her arms. ”Fae magic.”

Aire’s stomach sank.

”No one outside knows anything is wrong.”

The mist thickened, and she went on. ”You could scream.” She snapped a finger. ”You could cry, and nobody would hear you.”

Aire felt trapped.

Completely trapped.

The woman stood before her, and at last the playful expression vanished.

”I belong with you.” She told Aire. The words were soft. ”You said it yourself, remember? So now...”

She reached toward Aire.

”...it’s time.”