Chapter 3: The Summons
"Surely, father cannot be serious." Damon snapped.
He was pacing while his brother, Cassian reclined on the bed clearly amused at the turn of events.
"You need to sit down... you are making me dizzy."
Damon whirled on him.
"How can you be so fucking calm. We are about to be mated to an Omega! A breeder"
He spat the words out like it was the most appalling thing he had ever heard in his life.
"Ayla is a nice girl."
"Oh for fucks sake, brother. It is okay to fuck the help if you want to, not marry her."
Cassian frowned at his brother’s crude words but wisely said nothing to dissuade him from his perverse thoughts.
Damon had always been the reckless one. He was born a year after Cassian who was born one year after Ares. With his blond curls and flashy amber eyes. He always got the girl swooning over him with reckless abandon.
Cassian was more reserved than his brother, choosing instead to take up learning how to become a healer.
His father always said he did have an uncanny resemblance to his mother and also had her mannerism.
As for Ares, he took after their father. He was battle worn and loved the taste of blood. He was their father’s heir and the apple of his eyes.
The door to the room they were in opened up, stopping Damon’s angry march.
It was Ares.
"Our father has summoned us." He announced to his brothers.
Damon’s eyes darkened.
"Perfect because he needs to fucking explain this." He snapped, brushing past Ares.
"What is his problem?" Ares muttered.
"You know Damon." Cassian shrugged his shoulders, following.
They all walked into their father’s study.
Damon shoved the door open and stalked inside prepared to begin speaking but their father stopped him.
He gestured for them to take a seat while he continued speaking to the priestess whom Damon was eyeing so bad that if looks could kill, she would probably be dead.
"Tell them what you have told me, Miranda" Their father, Alpha Kieran said.
"The Omega, Ayla has to mate with all of you on the same night." she began.
Damon jumped to his feet.
"I cannot believe you are even considering this, father. I will not be touching that girl with a ten foot pole."
"You want us to fuck the Omega... all of us? Do you need her alive when we are done?" Ares cut in, the amusement in his voice bordering on anger.
If there was one thing Cassian knew about their brother, it was that he hated sharing so he knew that this was going to be a tough arrangement for all of them considering not one of them have thought of Ayla in that way ever.
Well, maybe he had.
She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen and she may not know this but he had made sure to inform the housekeeper that only Ayla should be assigned to clean his room always.
He loved watching her work.
The soft curves of her backside as she bent over to clean the...
"Cassian!"
Cassian raised his head, blinking as the image of Ayla’s backside left his mind.
"What?"
"I was asking you a question." his father said.
"What question, father?"
"I was saying you seem extremely calm about the whole thing. What do you think?"
Cassian looked at his brothers.
"Well, I like Ayla."
"Of course, you will say that" Damon rolled his eyes. "He is fucking her" He announced.
Ares’ eyebrows shot up at this.
"I am not" Cassian reassured him.
"Oh really? So why is it that she somehow is the only one allowed to clean your room, brother? And why does she always look so flushed when she comes out of your room" Damon scoffed.
"She does not look flushed and she does a good job of cleaning my room." Cassian shot back.
Damon rolled his eyes again and Ares did not seem convinced with his brother’s excuse.
He barely knew the girl in question.
He had seen her on occasions whenever he visited Willow but asides that, he knew nothing about the Omega.
"So how exactly is this going to work?" Ares asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Nothing is working" A sharp voice snapped all of them into attention.
Ayla walked into the room with her mother in tow.
Ares’ eyes narrowed at Ayla’s mother.
He knew what she was... a cheap whore.
He remembered finding her in his father’s bed just two nights after their mother had passed away.
Now she graced the bed of his father’s Beta.
Was that how her daughter was?
After all, the apple hardly fell far from the tree.
"Eva, welcome" Ares watched his father’s eyes twinkle as he took in Ayla’s mother.
They definitely were still fucking, he scoffed.
"I will not be mating with any one of your sons" Ayla’s voice rang out then as if she realized where she was, she bowed her head and added. "Alpha" at the end of her statement.
"My daughter is still in shock and does not know what she is saying, my lord. Please forgive her."
"I am not in shock" Ayla cut in, glaring at her mother before she turned to the priestess.
"A chosen can reject their mate, can they not?" she asked.
Damon could not believe his ears.
She was rejecting them?
This was the lowest he had ever come and it made his mouth bitter.
"You have some fucking nerve thinking you are the one who should do the rejecting here, little Omega" he drawled, approaching her.
"I am sure it is a foreign concept to you to not be wanted but it is exactly that. I do not want you... either of you." she turned to regard them.
Ares smirked at her
She has spunk, he thought.
He was going to like her after all.
"Can the bond be rejected by her?" The Alpha repeated her question.
"The Bond can be rejected..."
"Oh perfect" Ayla said. "Then I, Ayla Foster hereby reject..."
"But..." The priestess’ voice rang out, stopping her. "It is not advisable to do so, my lord."
"And why is that?" Damon asked. "What is the worst that can happen?"
"You all could die."