The hospital room was thick enough to choke on, thick with Rory's scent. Three Alphas stood at her bedside, their eyes locked onto the unconscious girl who had unknowingly gone into a coma.
Alexander crossed his arms, his sharp blue eyes scanning the other two with calculated intensity. "We can stand here all day, but that won't change the fact that she's mine."
Maverick let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. "Bold words for someone who just arrived. I've known Rory since we were little."
Lachlan, who had remained very silent, finally spoke. "And yet, that doesn't matter now, does it?" His voice was cool, but there was a razor-sharp edge beneath it. "If history determined fated mates, then you wouldn't have competition."
Maverick's jaw tightened. That stung more than it should have. Because once upon a time, he had thought Rory would only belong to him.
He immediately remembered a memory, a younger version of himself standing, watching Rory play in the riverbank near the pack's lands. Her golden eyes had shined like liquid fire as she laughed, splashing water at him.
He had asked her then, his voice small but hopeful.
"Will you be my mate one day, Rory?"
She had blinked at him, tilting her head in thought. Then she smiled and said something that haunted him even now.
"Maybe. But what if I belong to more than one?"
Back then, he had laughed, brushing it off as childish nonsense. But now, standing in this room with two other Alphas burning with the same desire for her, her words echoed in his mind. Maybe Rory had always known something they didn't.
Lachlan noticed the remebrance of memory in Maverick's eyes and smiled. "I take it you remembered something?"
Maverick pushed the memory aside, his focus returning to the present. "Doesn't matter. What matters is that we figure this out before we tear each other apart."
Alexander's smirk faltered, his hands flexing at his sides. "Then tell me, why are there only three of us?"
The room went silent. Lachlan was the first to process the weight of Alexander's words. "If she is fated to more than one, shouldn't there be a fourth? Or a fifth?.... come to think of it, we are the only one who can actually smell her."
Maverick exhaled, glancing down at Rory's peaceful face. Even in unconsciousness, she radiated power. "Then where is he?"
A shiver ran through all three of them. Because if a fourth mate existed, that meant another competitor was out there. Watching. Waiting. And none of them knew who he was.
Unknown to the alphas, an elder had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
The old man's weathered face darkened as he thought of the impossible, only three Alphas could perceive Rory's scent, while the rest of the pack, Betas and Omegas alike, remained unaffected.
This was not normal. He turned swiftly, his robes brushing against the stone floors as he disappeared into the shadows. He needed to inform the Council.
Within an hour, the elders had gathered in the grand chamber of the pack's hall. Holding their torches, casting long shadows over the carved stone walls, where the history of their kind was etched in symbols and forgotten languages.
The elder, known as Silas, stepped forward. "Brothers, I come with troubling news."
The oldest among them, Elder Gregor, leaned forward. "Speak."
Silas took a breath before recounting what he had overheard. "Three Alphas have laid claim to the same female. A fourth mate has yet to be revealed."
Murmurs engolved through the room. Such a thing had never happened.
Gregor's brows furrowed. "And yet no other wolves, no Betas, no Omegas, felt her call?"
Silas shook his head. "Only the Alphas."
The weight of his words settled upon them. If only Alphas could perceive Rory's scent, then she was no ordinary wolf. She was something more.
Gregor exhaled deeply, his fingers tapping against the wooden armrest of his chair. "If this is true, then she must be claimed properly."
A younger elder, Matthias, frowned. "And how do you suggest that be done?"
Gregor's gaze darkened. "The old way."
Silas stiffened. "You mean… the Alpha's Test?"
A chilling silence fell over the room.
The Alpha's Test was an ancient rite, one that had not been performed in generations. A series of brutal challenges designed to determine the strongest, the most worthy. And the winner would claim Rory.
The next evening, the three Alphas were summoned to the pack's central meeting hall. It was a massive open space, its stone walls lined with torches and wolf banners.
When they entered, they immediately noticed the gathering of elders at the head of the chamber.
Gregor stood before them, his face unreadable. "You three have all laid claim to the same mate."
Maverick stepped forward. "We don't lay claim to her. Rory is…."
"You know our traditions," Gregor interrupted. "A female cannot be bonded to more than one Alpha. Only one of you may have her."
Alexander scoffed. "And what? You expect us to fight to the death for her?"
Gregor's gaze was cold. "Not to the death."
Silas stepped forward, clearing his throat. "The Council has spoken. You will all undergo the Alpha's Test."
Lachlan's fingers twitched. "The Alpha's Test?"
Matthias nodded. "A series of trials. Strength. Cunning. Instinct. Only the most capable Alpha will claim Rory as his mate."
Maverick's expression darkened. "This is ridiculous. What if Rory doesn't want whoever wins?"
Gregor's face remained impassive. "That is not for you to decide. This is our way."
Alexander exhaled sharply, but he didn't argue. Instead, his gaze flickered to Maverick and Lachlan. The unspoken challenge passed between them like a spark before wildfire.
If these were the rules, then so be it. Lachlan cracked his knuckles. "When do we start?"
Gregor's lips curled into a grim smile. "Tomorrow at dawn."
Maverick inhaled slowly, glancing once more toward the main doors. As the three Alphas left the chamber, the night air was thick with tension.
But far beyond the pack's borders, deep within the mountain range, a shadow stirred.
A pair of golden eyes flickered in the darkness.
The fourth mate had arrived. But who was he?