A Rogue For The Quadruplet Alpha's.

Adrein.

A heavy, suffocating weight pressed down on my chest as I stood near the quiet corridor outside the study.

The ambient warmth of the pack house did nothing to thaw the icy chill settling in my bones.

My countenance was naturally drawn into a somber, sorrowful mask, every breath feeling far more labored than it should have been.

My mind spun back to the quiet room in the infirmary, recalling with vivid clarity the grave look on the old healer’s face. The exact words echoed in my ears like a dark death knell, ringing over and over in the hollow space of my mind. The verdict had been delivered without mercy, a silent timer ticking away inside me that no one else knew about.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief second, swallowing the bitter lump in my throat. I couldn’t let my brothers see this weakness. I couldn’t let anyone know the truth of what was rapidly approaching.

My dark reverie was shattered by the sound of rapid, heavy footsteps pounding against the stone floor. I snapped my head up to see Damien running toward me at full speed, his face flushed with a mixture of raw excitement and triumph.

Walking at a steady, measured pace directly behind him were Davian and Aidan, both having just stepped out of the study following the chaotic arguments earlier.

"Adrein!" Damien called out, breathless yet practically beaming as he skidded to a halt right in front of us. "I found her! I finally tracked down Maria’s long-lost twin sister!"

Davian and Aidan caught up, standing beside him with intent expressions.

"This is it," Damien continued, his voice rising with unbridled enthusiasm, his eyes flashing with desperate hope. "The scroll is verified! The truth is completely out in the open now! We can finally bring her sister here, clear every single doubt, and make Maria ours once and for all!"

Hearing those reckless words, an absolute wave of panic instantly seized my entire body. My heart hammered against my ribs, not from excitement, but from sheer terror at his complete lack of foresight.

’What a fool!’ I screamed within the silence of my mind, staring at Damien as if he had lost his mind completely. ’What an absolute, blind fool!’

Didn’t he realize the dangerous precipice we were standing on?

Maria was already emotionally shattered, driven to her absolute limit by our possessiveness, and the Lycan prince’s sudden marriage arrangements.

If her head sparks now—if this sudden surge of overwhelming realization and shock pushes her over the edge—she won’t fall into our arms like Damien thinks.

She can easily use this moment of ultimate clarity to formally reject us! She could sever the bond entirely and walk away forever, breaking the quadruple tie without looking back!

Driven by pure panic, I parted my lips, taking a frantic step forward to shut his dangerous plan down before it could gain any momentum. "Damien, wait, you can’t—"

"That is fantastic news, Damien!" Aidan’s commanding voice cut in sharply, instantly beating me to the punch and drowning out my warning.

Aidan stepped up beside Damien, placing a heavy, approving hand on his shoulder as his jaw set in a hard, decisive line.

"That is precisely what we needed to turn this around. Patricia has to be formally invited—no, brought—to our pack territory immediately."

"Aidan, listen to me—" I tried to interject again, my voice strained, but he pressed on without breaking stride.

"Once she is standing right here in our hall," Aidan declared with absolute conviction, ignoring my interruption entirely, "we can present the full truth, clear the air, and solidify the mate bond with Maria once and for all. It seals everything and it leaves no room for objections or third parties."

"Exactly!" Davian chimed in from behind them, nodding his head in firm agreement. "It brings the entire truth into the light." He paused. "We need to send for her right now."

Panicked frustration flared hot in my chest. I opened my mouth to shout at them, to force them to see the blatant flaw in their arrogance, to warn them that pushing Maria right now would only trigger the very rejection they feared most. I raised my hand, ready to object with everything I had left—

And then, like a brutal strike to the gut, the memory of the healer’s words echoed in my head once again.

The sharp reminder of my short, rapidly diminishing time slammed into my mind, freezing the words right in my throat.

The healer’s grave tone, the grim prognosis, the cold reality that my future was already carved out in stone... it all washed over me like a wave of freezing water, dousing my panic and replacing it with a hollow, numb acceptance.

What was the point of fighting them?

What was the point of trying to save a bond or protect a future that I wouldn’t even be around to share?

Why exhaust my remaining strength arguing with brothers who were too blind to see the storm they were walking directly into?

My raised hand slowly fell back to my side, the movement almost painfully deliberate as I forced myself to stop. I curled my fingers into tight fists, clenching them so hard that my knuckles ached beneath the strain.

The sharp bite of my nails sank deeper and deeper into my palms, the sting giving me something physical to focus on, something strong enough to anchor me while my thoughts continued spiraling wildly inside my head.

I drew in a slow, silent breath through my nose, holding it for a brief moment before carefully releasing it. Little by little, I felt the tension begin to ease from my shoulders, though the tightness inside my chest remained.

Then I lifted my eyes and looked at my brothers, as their faces were triumphant, almost expectant, as though they were waiting for me to finally accept what had just happened.

I closed my eyes briefly, surrendering to the inevitable tide, and said inwardly, ’Let whatever would happen, happen.’

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