Chapter 3 The Three Alphas Who Broke Me

QUINN'S POV

The carriage ride took hours, and every bump in the road sent a sharp ache through my bound wrists.

By the time the wheels finally ground to a halt, the gag in my mouth was soaked with dry saliva, and my shoulders were stiff from being tied behind my back.

The heavy iron door slammed open, and bright, cold sunlight flooded into the dark carriage. "Out," a soldier barked, grabbing the collar of my thin dress and yanking me forward.

I stumbled out of the carriage, my bare feet hitting the freezing stone courtyard. Cold wind whipped my pale hair into my face, but as I looked around, my breathing hitched in my chest.

Ironvale was a fortress built for war. High, black stone walls towered over us, topped with heavy iron spikes. Armed soldiers stood along the battlements, every single one of them stopping to stare down at me.

The rumors had traveled faster than the carriage. I could see it in their eyes, the cold sneers, the disgust, the whispered words passing from soldier to soldier as I was paraded through the center of the courtyard.

"Walk faster, trash," the soldier behind me grunted, shoving his boot into the small of my back.

I stumbled forward, my heart hammering against my ribs, until we reached the grand stone stairs of the main hall. Three men stood at the top of the steps waiting for me.

The moment my eyes landed on them, the triple bond inside my chest roared to life like a wildfire. It pulled at my heart so hard I almost fell to my knees from the sheer physical weight of it.

They were the triad—the three general commanders of Ironvale.

The head guard stepped forward, bowed quickly, and reached up to yank the gag out of my mouth.

I gasped, taking in a sharp breath of cold air as the guard spoke to the man on the left. "We have brought the girl from Ashgrove, Commander Vane."

The lean man with the sharp, fox-like features stepped forward first. He had pale eyes and wore a dark coat neatly buttoned to his throat. 

He looked at me with a quiet, unreadable stare, his voice smooth, calculated, and terrifyingly calm as he began to introduce the men standing beside him.

"So, the bond finally brings us our supposed Luna," one of them said, his voice carrying easily across the quiet courtyard. He tilted his head, pointing a slender hand toward the towering man in the center. 

"This is Kade Ironvale. Eldest of the triad, commander of our forces, and the man who holds your fate in his hands."

Kade was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair cut neat and sharp. His jaw looked like it was carved out of concrete, and his dark eyes burned with a freezing, unyielding coldness.

The man then shifted his gaze to the heavily built man on Kade's right. "And that is Breck Ironvale, our younger brother and our enforcer. He has very little patience for dishonor."

Breck's knuckles were thick and covered in old scars. His posture was tight, restless, and full of a dangerous energy that looked ready to snap at any second.

"And I am Silas Vane," he finished softly, folding his hands behind his back. "The triad's strategist. Now that you know who we are, perhaps you can explain why the moon tied us to a woman who sells herself for scraps."

"I didn't—" I choked out. Before I could get another word out, Breck moved. He cleared the distance between us in a heartbeat, grabbing my shoulder with heavy, rough fingers. He shook me slightly, his face twisting in open rage.

"Don't bother lying," Breck growled, his voice loud and aggressive. "We already heard all about your dirty little games in Ashgrove. You think because an old prophecy tied you to the three of us, you get to come here and play the innocent Luna?"

I flinched hard from his rough touch, shrinking back as far as my bound arms would let me, my eyes wide with instinctive fear.

Breck narrowed his eyes at my reaction, his lip curling in disgust as he mistook my fear for a guilty conscience trying to hide. "Stop touching me," I whispered, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to stay strong.

"Enough, Breck," Kade ordered coldly, stepping forward. Breck shoved me back toward the soldiers before stepping aside, breathing heavily.

Kade stood directly in front of me now. He was so tall he completely blocked out the sun, looking down at me like I was something broken and worthless that had been dropped on his doorstep.

"The bond cannot be broken," Kade said, his tone flat, emotionless, and absolute. "The ancient laws force us to keep you within Ironvale's borders. But do not confuse fate with honor. You are not a Luna. You will never be treated as one."

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but I forced myself to stare straight into his cold dark gaze. I refused to let him see me cry.

"You are a monitored captive," Kade continued, laying down his judgment without a shred of mercy. "You will live in the northern tower under constant guard. You will speak only when spoken to, and you will not step out of line. If you attempt to use this bond to gain power or play your games here, I will make you regret the day you were born."

Silas didn't say another word, but as Kade laid down his sentence, his pale eyes never left my face.

He looked at the calluses on my hands, the way my ribs showed through my thin dress, and the deep, old fear in my eyes every time Breck moved his arms. Silas's brows pulled together in a faint, barely noticeable frown.

"Take her away," Kade barked, turning his back on me. Breck grabbed my upper arm roughly and yanked me toward the heavy stone archway leading to the northern tower.

As I was dragged away, I held my head as high as I could, swallowing the bitter taste of their cruel judgment.

They thought they could break me. They thought their angry words and heavy stone walls would make me crumble. But they didn't know where I had come from.

I had survived eighteen years of abuse in Ashgrove. I would survive these three generals, too.

Breck dragged me down an endless series of freezing stone corridors, ignoring my staggering steps until we reached a narrow, winding spiral staircase.

At the very top of the northern tower, he shoved me through a doorway and slammed the heavy iron door behind me.

The heavy iron bolt slid home with a loud, final clank, locking me into the freezing stone room that was to be my prison.