Chapter 4: The White Flame

Aria’s POV

Stupid body. Stupid hormones.

I smacked his hand away so fast, he blinked.

“Go play with your crazy-ass girlfriend,” I snapped, storming past him to throw the door wide open. “And leave me the fuck alone.”

He didn’t move right away. Just turned slowly, eyes amused.

Then—the audacity—he walked toward me, leaned down—

—and kissed my neck.

Not a full kiss. Not soft.

Just enough to make my knees question everything I stood for.

He pulled back, smug. “Happy birthday, Aria.”

Winked.

And strolled out like he didn’t just set my whole nervous system on fire.

I stood there, jaw clenched, cheeks burning, questioning the universe.

“Ugh. You definitely drank.”

He chuckled from the hallway — the bastard — and I slammed the door shut before I did something dramatic like scream into a pillow or combust on the spot.

I tossed and turned for what felt like hours, my blanket twisted around my legs, my thoughts more tangled than ever.

Was it Kael? Was it the way his fingers brushed my cheek like he owned the damn air I breathed? Or that kiss on my neck that still burned like wildfire under my skin? Gods.

I groaned into my pillow, slapping it like it owed me money.

“I hate him,” I muttered, “I freaking hate him.”

But my chest pulsed in defiance. My skin felt like it didn’t belong to me anymore — hot, prickly, like there was something crawling under it, changing.

Sleep wasn’t happening. Not tonight.

I kicked the covers off and sat up, my legs heavy, my head spinning. A thin sheen of sweat clung to my body, soaking through my tank top. I reached for the glass of water beside my bed, took a sip… and gagged. It tasted like ash. Everything suddenly felt wrong.

My body wasn’t just restless — it was boiling. Like fire in my veins.

“Ugh,” I hissed, swinging my legs off the bed. My pajama pants stuck to my thighs. I shoved my window open, gasping for cool air — but the wind carried something else. Something ancient. It tugged at me from deep in the forest, like a whisper I couldn’t ignore.

I didn’t grab a coat. I didn’t grab shoes. I just… moved.

Down the stairs. Out of the house. Barefoot in my pajamas, hair wild, heart pounding like war drums. No one saw me. They were probably still passed out from the remains of alcohol from birthday party bullshit — drunk on cheap champagne and their own egos.

The triplets used two days for a fucking birthday party.

But the forest saw me.

It called me.

I ran. Gods, I ran. My lungs burned, my legs shook, but still I moved — deeper, further, until moonlight pooled around me like silver ink and the wind howled louder than I ever could.

The pain started in my spine. A sudden, splitting crack. I dropped to my knees.

“Ah—ahh!”

I screamed, clutching my stomach, feeling something twist and snap beneath my skin.

I barely got my clothes off before the burning took over completely — bones cracking, muscles stretching, my mind swimming in white-hot agony. I screamed again, and the sound morphed into a growl. My teeth grew, my hands twisted, and suddenly I wasn’t Aria anymore. Not entirely.

A massive white wolf stood in the clearing.

I was her.

She was me.

My paws dug into the earth, heart racing as I took in the forest — the scent, the cold, the clarity. My eyes glowed. My ears flicked. And for the first time in my life…

I didn’t feel weak.

I didn’t feel small.

I felt powerful.

Run, my wolf said.

So we did.

I didn’t know when I passed out. Maybe it was after the adrenaline faded. Maybe the shift drained me more than I realized. But when I opened my eyes, the sky was a dull gray. Morning.

My head throbbed like I’d been hit by a truck.

The soft grass beneath me felt like needles against my bare skin. I groaned and sat up slowly, my whole body sore.

Naked.

Cold.

Alone.

I found my pajamas nearby, wrinkled but mostly dry, and tugged them on. The fabric scratched against my sensitive skin, but I was too tired to care.

I stumbled back toward the mansion on shaky legs, not even sure how far I’d run. My body felt wrecked… but in the best possible way.

That’s when I smelled it.

A scent — oh gods, the scent.

Thick. Addictive. Irresistible. Like honey and firewood and something darker underneath.

My knees nearly buckled.

“What the hell…” I whispered, clutching the doorframe for support.

The scent was pulling me in. Wrapping around me. Drowning me. My wolf stirred again, awake and alert.

And then it hit me.

That smell… it was one of them.

Maybe more.

My breath hitched.

Oh gods.

What the hell was happening to me?

Triplets’ POV

The morning sun stretched lazily across the sky, golden rays slipping through the tall pines that lined the pack’s territory. A soft breeze blew through the yard as Kael, Rian, and Luca stepped outside the mansion — shirtless, sweatpants hanging low on their hips, muscles flexing with every slow stride. Just a normal morning stroll… for three dangerously handsome, ego-loaded Alphas.

Kael sipped from his protein bottle, not saying a word. Luca cracked his neck and tilted his face up to the breeze. Rian was half-awake, yawning like he hadn't just spent all night making out with some girl in the media room.

“I’m not crazy, right?” Luca suddenly said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You both heard that howl last night too?”

Kael’s dark eyes flicked over. “You mean the one that sounded like someone was tearing through the woods in full pain and power?” He took another sip. “Yeah. Heard it.”

Rian blinked. “What howl?”

Kael scoffed. “Of course you didn’t. You were too busy swapping spit with that girl who always smells like strawberry lip gloss and desperation.”

Rian grinned and shot him a finger gun. “Don’t hate the player, brother.”

Luca shook his head, chuckling softly. “But what if… I mean, what if none of these girls we’ve been wasting time with actually end up being our mate?”

Kael shrugged, unbothered. “Then we move on. Accept it. Pack up our feelings in a nice little box and bury it six feet under. It’s not rocket science.”

He walked toward the mini fridge on the porch, grabbed a cold drink, and cracked it open just as a sudden wave of scent hit them all.

Sweet. Sharp. Warm. Wild. Maddening.

Like forest rain mixed with honeyed fire.

They froze.

“Wait… are you—” Rian blinked, hand paused mid-air, drink forgotten. “Am I the only one catching that?”

Luca’s chest rose, nostrils flaring. “Nope. I smell it too. It’s—” His voice faltered.

Kael’s grip on his can tightened. His heartbeat had already picked up. “Speaking of mates…”

The three of them turned slowly.

There — walking up the gravel path toward the mansion, head low, hair wild, skin smudged with dirt, barefoot and dazed-looking like she’d just survived a damn war — was Aria.

Her white nightshirt clung to her like it had been slept in under a rock. Her pajamas were wrinkled and covered in leaves. Her hair was everywhere. She was muttering to herself like she was arguing with someone no one could see.

“Holy shit…” Luca whispered.

“That’s her,” Kael said, voice tight.

“She’s the one who howled last night,” Luca added, realization crashing over him.

Rian’s drink slipped from his fingers and shattered on the porch.

“What the actual hell,” he said, gaping.

The scent. The bond. It was her.

Aria. The girl they tormented. The girl they humiliated in front of the entire school just last night. The girl who couldn’t even look them in the eye without spitting venom.

Was their mate. All three of them.

Kael’s jaw clenched. “Shit. She hates us.”