Their Secret Obsession (A Reverse Harem)

Lottie POV

I had braced myself for bad news, but nothing could have prepared me for the blow Liam and Chase were about to deliver. Their faces were solemn, their eyes filled with a regret that spoke louder than words, and a sense of foreboding flooded my gut before a single syllable passed their lips.

"We made a bargain," Liam said at last, voice low but unwavering. "A pact with Selene to protect you and... the babies."

My whole body went rigid. The unborn twins within me stirred in response, or perhaps it was my own pulse hammering at my rib cage that I felt. Six months along, and I had grown accustomed to them reacting to my heightened emotions--but the sharp flutter now felt like panic. A creeping sense of dread, slow and paralysing, started to snake through my limbs.noveldrama

"Protect me from what?" I rasped, my throat tight with fear and confusion. "And why didn't you tell me? Why have I only found out now?"

"We thought we could fix it quietly. The terms of our bargain were... complicated. We didn't want to worry you if we could avoid it." Chase shifted uncomfortably, his usual playful demeanour subdued.

"Well, it's a bit late for that." A sour laugh escaped me as I spoke. My heart thumped painfully, and I clasped my hands over my belly in an attempt to soothe the roiling turmoil. "What kind of deal did you make with Selene?"

"We surrendered our remaining time," Liam admitted. His gaze flickered to my midsection, almost apologetically. "The pact was made when we thought it was the only way to ensure your safety--and the twins"."

"Your... remaining time? What do you mean, 'remaining time'?" My breath caught, I think I knew, but I needed to hear it from them.

"We only have six days left, Lottie. She has given us time to say our goodbyes before she... collects us." Chase looked at Liam, then back at me.

A thick silence seemed to coat the room, muffling even the shuddering of my breath. My ears rang, and I couldn't hear anything but my own heartbeat for a moment. The realisation tasted bitter: I had only recently found my brothers after a lifetime of being denied a family, and now they would be snatched away from me once more.

"No," I choked out, shaking my head. "That can't be. You're joking."

Liam's lips pressed into a thin line. Chase simply looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. There was no joke here, no trick. Six days. The babies wouldn't even be born by then, which meant they wouldn't get to meet their uncles--the uncles who had spent the last six months singing lullabies to my growing bump, telling stories that lulled me to sleep when my anxiety wouldn't let me rest. Anguish roared through me, and I felt my wolf, Sage, howl inside, the sorrow echoing in my mind.

All at once, a hot surge of anger fought its way to the surface. My heart hammered so vigorously that the babies kicked in alarm, and I forced myself to take a sharp breath.

"You made this bargain without consulting me. Why?" My voice trembled with the weight of betrayal. "I'm not a child--I can make decisions, too!"

I rose from my seat with difficulty,

rounding my bulk as I stood. The

tension in the room shot up at once, everyone seeming to fear that I might keel over or--given the barely contained power sparking beneath my skin--unleash a storm of my own. My mates hovered anxiously, but I waved them off, determined to stand on my own two feet.

"It's all right, Queenie," Chase murmured in a careful attempt at levity. He gave me a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes. "We won't be going far, and it's not like you aren't a frequent visitor to Selene's realm."

My pacing halted as though I had crashed into a wall. The cheeky spark in his words only fuelled my anger.

"How dare you joke about that!" I seethed. "Who's going to read to the twins at night when they're born, huh? Who'll watch them grow and do all those things you promised you'd do? You made me believe we would all be a family."

"You have your mates," Liam countered softly. "You won't be alone, not like before."

Before, yes, when loneliness had been my constant companion, and I was haunted by the absence of the family, I could not reach. Now, I was surrounded by my mates, my friends, and this haphazard group I had grown to love--but none of that stopped me from wanting Liam and Chase, too.

"But I want you both as well!" I screamed. My voice cracked at the end, betraying the terror and heartbreak threatening to swamp me. The immediate wave of guilt stung: how could I feel even the slightest relief that my mates and twins would remain safe while my brothers were condemned?

"FUCK!" I spouted. My raging emotions crackled in the air, and sparks of bright white light flickered from my fingertips, popping in luminescent arcs across the room.

Alarmed gasps rose from everyone present, except Adam. He stood stone-still, arms folded over his chest, his expression thunderous yet contained. I could sense his silent fury vibrating like a taut bowstring on the verge of snapping.

The moment I looked into his eyes, I

saw the same fear mirrored there: the fear of losing yet more people we cared about. With so much tragedy behind us--especially after that business with Bash, which had ended in such confusion--I knew Adam was barely keeping it O together. We had all lost too much already. I needed to contain my

anger and my powers, I was not the

only one suffering. Sucking down a

breath I pushed the electricity pulsing through me back down. Deep!

"What choice do we have?" Adam finally said, his voice thick with repressed anger. "If the debt is sealed, how can we defy a goddess?"

"There's always a way," I fired back, tears stinging my eyes. "Don't just give in!" My voice snagged on the trembling breath that followed. His calm resignation made me bristle "We've fought demons and betrayed allies, we've lost people--and all for a man who turned around and betrayed us in return!" I could feel my blood pounding, my frustration mounting.