CHAPTER 50: _ AWAKENING CEREMONY GUESTS II

Heidi forces her thoughts down as she spots Isolde standing right there dressed in black like they are all heading to a funeral, and not the Awakening ceremony. Even from a distance, Heidi can feel the waves of irritation rolling off her in Daphne’s direction. It’s crazy how much Heidi has read about these people that she can recognize them at the first glance, she ponders.

Isolde looks pissed as her dark eyes spit fire at her sister. The sight is overwhelming. Heidi’s breath comes fast and shallow, her chest tightening as the reality crashes in. This is the world she’s stepped into. The world Daphne insists she doesn’t belong in.

Daphne shoots Heidi a warning glance, her lined eyes narrowing like sharpened blades. "Now you better behave," she says under her breath. "Follow my lead if you don’t want us to get busted and put Darien in trouble. You’re already hanging by a thread, and trust me, Heidi, I’d hate to see what happens if that thread snaps."

Heidi swallows hard. Her palms are wet, and it takes every ounce of strength not to rub them nervously against the expensive dress she’s draped in. The mansion draws closer as they continue to approach the group up ahead, each step making Heidi feel like they are dragging her further into danger. She knows she should heed Daphne’s warning, but her heart is no longer listening. It’s beating out of her chest, threatening to explode because... right there, just ahead... stand the four brothers.

Her four oppressors. Her four fated mates.

The sight of them all together in one place nearly knocks the air out of her lungs. Her heart doesn’t just beat now, it ricochets inside her chest, burning hot, erratic, like a firecracker shoved into a box too small to contain it. Every nerve ending in her body wakes up and hums. She can smell them, feel them, sense the way their gazes collide with hers.

Darien, Amias, Grayson, Morgan... each one staring at her like she’s the forbidden fruit they didn’t realize they’d been starving for until this moment. Their stares are hungry, brazen, shameless, and it feels like the world stops for a fraction of a second, suspended in a dizzying silence that only her thundering heartbeat fills.

She hates them. She hates them for what they’ve done to her, for how they’ve humiliated her, mocked her, crushed her spirit...

And yet her body betrays her. She aches for them. Stupid, foolish, desperate ache.

And standing there, they are not just staring but devouring her entire appearance as if the impossible has just been possible. She knows it’ll be a shocker to see her so dolled up, but do they have to be so shameless about how awestruck they are?

Did they really think she could only look like a cheap stake and didn’t know how to pull off the opposite? Their gazes cling to her as if they’ve been starving their whole lives and she’s the only thing that could ever sate them. Shameless, hungry, possessive... like they’d tear the world apart just to keep her standing there for them to drool on.

The air between them vibrates. Heidi can feel her own body leaning toward them, helpless to the pull, every cell aching with recognition. She should hate them. She should despise the way they’ve humiliated and broken her down. Yet the mate-bond doesn’t care. It’s a cruel, merciless thing, whispering to her in the language of want and need.

She isn’t the only one caught in this enchanting spell.

Grayson’s usual smirk falters, his face is softening into something more than awe. Morgan is reckless and impatient as always as he takes a step forward, his hand twitching like he’s about to reach for her. Darien’s stoic facade cracks for half a second burns with longing as if he’s ready to pin her under him right there and then. Like he hadn’t spent the entire night claiming her body or the later morning denying her.

And Amias... oh cold and detached Amias with his silver eyes darken with desire so sharp Heidi feels it spear right through her soul. The moment is a spell. A dangerous, intoxicating spell. Even Daphne, who is standing beside Heidi with a fake little smile plastered on her face, stiffens at the palpable charge in the air. She probably smells it. She’s probably wondering...

Isolde, ever the killjoy, breaks first. She’s standing in front of a car, arms crossed, lips pursed like she’s been chewing on lemons since birth. "You kept me waiting," she snaps at Daphne.

Daphne rolls her eyes, tossing her hair back with exaggerated annoyance. "Oh, relax, Isolde. You act like being five minutes late is the end of the world. Goddess, you’re always so serious. Do you ever laugh?"

The sisters squabble but their voices become a dull drone compared to the roaring storm inside Heidi’s chest. She barely hears them. Every nerve is trained on the four brothers, especially the two who are visibly struggling with control.

Grayson and Morgan, who supposedly hate her the most break first.

Like wolves scenting prey, they surge forward, maybe because that’s what they are. Their steps are urgent, eyes fixed on her with a heat that could burn her alive. Heidi doesn’t even realize she’s holding her breath, doesn’t even realize her own body is betraying her and leaning toward them, awaiting and silently begging them to close the distance.

She wants them. Even after everything, she wants them. But before either brother can reach her, Lira’s voice cuts the tension short.

"Amias," she says sharply, her fingers curling possessively around his tensed arm. Her voice is calm, but her eyes are the opposite of calm. "What exactly are you doing? And who," she tilts her chin toward Heidi with a refined sneer, "is this?"

That does it... The spell shatters and everyone freezes.

For some reason, Heidi finds herself swearing internally at Lira. Maybe it’s because she dared to ruin that beautiful moment of madness or because of the way she’s clinging to Amias.

She has no right to be pissed, but she is. Her lips part, eyes darting as she tries to figure out why.

Meanwhile, Grayson halts mid-step with his jaw tightening. Morgan blinks as though he’s waking from a dream. Darien quickly averts his gaze, schooling his face back into indifference. And Amias... Heidi’s heart twists painfully at the sight—Amias stammers. Not because he’s afraid of Lira, no. His shame is written all over his face, the shame of being caught wanting something he has no right to want.

"I—she..." He can’t even form the words. His tongue is useless, caught between desire and denial.

Lira’s eyes narrow.

Oh, no. The last thing Heidi wants is the school’s top girl thinking she’s about to steal her man. Even though technically, the man isn’t hers to begin with.

Wolves belong to their mates which means he’s hers, doesn’t it? But...

Hold on a sec... holy shit. What in the blazes of thunderstorms is this thought again?! Heidi’s eyes bulge at her own audacity. Oh, no. This is going to end badly, she can tell. She just knows it.