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

Lysander’s heart faltered.

His eyes remained fixed upon her, and upon the way she sat so quietly on the edge of his bed, staring down at her own hands as though they no longer belonged to her.

For the first time since entering the room, he wondered whether he had begun this conversation too late.

The thought came unexpectedly, and it unsettled him.

For one brief moment, he remembered the girl beneath the willow tree who had laughed over burnt bread, argued over books, and looked at him as though he were simply... Lyse.

He had spent years trying to earn that look again. Now, he wondered whether he had destroyed it himself.

The silence between them stretched.

His fingers twitched at his sides. A strange instinct urged him to stop speaking, and to sit beside her, to apologise immdiately, and to tell her she did not have to answer today.

However, that feeling of guiltt lasted only a heartbeat.

Then., reason returned.

Everything he had ever been taught by the dark realm settled back into place with frightening ease.

Affection without security was weakness, and emotion without strategy became vulnerability.

Love had never protected anyone. Power, names, marriages, and standing did. The world had never spared those who refused to choose survival.

He straightened almost imperceptibly.

The hesitation disappeared from his face. ”I understand why you’re frightened.”

Aire didn’t look up. ”You don’t.” She shook her head gently. ”You understand why you think I should be frightened.”

That quiet correction landed harder than any shouted accusation.

Lysander inhaled slowly. ”I am trying to keep you alive.”

”I know.”

”Then why—”

Aire tightened her teeth. She shook her head, and cut him off. ”Because...” She finally lifted her head. ”being alive isn’t the same as living.”

The words settled between them.

Lysander searched her face.

Aire slowly unfolded her hands.

Her fingers had left crescent-shaped marks across her palms from where she’d held them too tightly.

She looked at them for another long moment before speaking again.

”I’ve spent days wondering.”

Lysander frowned. ”Wondering what?”

She smiled faintly. ”The bond.”

His expression changed.

”I couldn’t feel it anymore.” Her voice remained absent. ”When I first arrived here, I thought perhaps it wasn’t real.”

She laughed softly.

”I even convinced myself it might simply be instinct, or I felt the bond in the wolf realm because of magic, or loneliness.”

Her eyes drifted toward the world beyond the windows.

”I thought...” She paused. ”perhaps I only believed I loved them because something inside me told me I should.”

Lysander listened. He stayed silent for reasons he couldn’t explain. He suddenly didn’t want to hear the rest.

Aire drew a slow breath. ”But something happened.” She looked back at him. ”I kissed you.”

Lysander stiffened.

”And afterwards...” She touched her own chest. ”I felt guilty. I did not feel ashamed, but guilty.”

Her eyes softened. ”I’ve been trying to understand why.” She smiled to herself. ”It wasn’t because of the bond. It wasn’t because someone would punish me. It wasn’t because I was afraid they’d find out.”

She shook her head. ”It was because...” Another small laugh escaped her. ”I realised I’d betrayed people who trusted me.”

Her eyes became brighter with understanding.

”I kept wondering whether the bond created love...” She looked directly at him. ”It doesn’t. It only lets us feel each other.”

The room became very still.

”The love,” She placed a hand over her own heart. ”was already mine.”

Lysander couldn’t move. Rage filled his eyes with jealousy. His insides tightened, about to explode from hate.

Aire smiled wholefully at the realization.

”I love them.”

The words came so quietly they almost disappeared beneath the crackling fire.

Yet they struck harder than anything she had said all morning.

”I love my mates.” She swallowed. ”You might not understand what that means.”

She wasn’t mocking him. She genuinely believed he couldn’t.

”And perhaps,” She continued. ”that’s because you’ve never had the chance to.”

Lysander’s jaw tightened.

She went on before he could answer.

”I love them. They’re mine. And...” For the first time since arriving in the Dark Realm, peace settled over her face.

”I’m theirs.” She finally understood. She could not feel the bond, but even without it, nothing had changed. Nothing ever could.

She loved them anyway.

The certainty wrapped itself around her heart like sunlight after a storm.

She looked at Lysander one last time.

”If dying here,” Her voice remained perfectly calm. ”after everything this realm has done to me...” She drew one slow breath. ”Is how my story ends,”

She smiled sadly, then continued. ”then so be it.”

Lysander stared at her, unable to speak.

Aire held his gaze. ”But marrying you...” She shook her head once. ”or anyone and being unfaithful to them for protection...”

She smiled through the sadness. ”Should be the last thing you ever think of me.”

Silence settled over the chamber.

The fire cracked once.

Lysander remained exactly where he stood. For several long moments, he simply looked at her.

Then, he crackled.

”So...” His voice had become frighteningly calm. ”This is your answer.”

Aire never looked away. She could tell he had reached his patience limit.

He nodded once. ”I see.”

Another silence followed.

When he spoke again, every trace of warmth Lyse had once carried was gone.

”Then allow me to remind you of something.” He took one slow step toward her. ”You continue to speak as though this is the Wolf Realm.”

He took another step towards her.

”Ypu kept on speaking as though your choices still belong entirely to you, and I listened.” His golden eyes never left hers. ”They don’t belong to you anymore.”

Aire’s fingers tightened around the edge of the mattress.

Lysander stopped only a few feet away. ”You keep speaking about your mates.” His voice lowered. ”You speak as though they are beyond my reach.”

He smiled. ”They aren’t.”

Aire’s heartbeat faltered.

”I know every path that still exists between the realms.” His gaze sharpened. ”I know every weakness left by the old wars.”

He tilted his head. ”And unlike you, I know how to use them.”

Aire remained silent.

”I could step into the Wolf Realm before the next moonrise if I chose.”

Aire’s breath rasped.

”I could learn everything they know.” He paused. ”I could ensure they spend every waking moment chasing ghosts while you remain here.”

His expression never changed.

”So do not mistake my restraint for inability.”

The room seemed colder.

Lysander drew one slow breath.

”I offered you marriage because I believed it would spare you.” His eyes hardened. ”If you refuse, then I will stop asking.”

Aire slowly rose to her feet.

She was smaller than him.

She looked exhausted, but when she met his eyes, there wasn’t a trace of fear left.

”Then stop asking.” She dared him. ”They’ll still come.”

Lysander’s composure cracked. ”They won’t.”

A faint smile appeared on her face. ”I don’t need proof to know what won’t. Think of what would happen if I walked in there with your skin.”

”I know them.” She rested a hand lightly over her heart. ”And they know me.”

She shook her head.

”You’ve never once listened to me, Lysander. Every word I’ve spoken has become another argument for what you already wanted.” Her voice softened. ”You never came here to hear my answer. You only came hoping I’d say yours.”

Lysander said nothing.

Aire looked at him one final time. ”You should be afraid of three men who refuse to stop looking. Unlike me, they’ve never learned how to surrender.”