Their Secret Obsession (A Reverse Harem)

Adam POV

I had never thought I would see another day when the fear of losing my family could crush me the way it did then. Yet it was happening all over again--like fate had a twisted sense of humour, dangling happiness in front of me only to snatch it away at the first opportunity. I couldn't help thinking about Emma and our daughter. I had done everything I could to protect them, but it still hadn't been enough.

Emma had been cruelly killed, and my little girl... she never even had the chance to grow up. The fire had taken her so quickly that I hadn't been able to save her. That memory haunted every waking moment, and I prowled through each nightmare, a constant reminder that those I loved could be torn from me in an instant.

Now, I watched Lottie--my sister by blood--raging in her anger and fear, and it felt like a terrible déjà vu.

"Alpha Leigh and Sebastian orchestrated half this madness, and we're letting Selene collect her payment. It makes no sense!" she seethed.

I stayed silent for a moment, letting her words echo in my mind. It truly made no sense. Why should the goddess demand such a cost from Liam and Chase--two of the only people who had ever truly understood me?

We had banded together through blood and tears, forging a family of our own. Yet, because of some vile debt, they were about to be taken from us.

Still, I remembered what Selene had told me in passing--that there must be balance for the greater good. I had never liked that phrase. It felt cold, dismissive of personal suffering. But if Selene truly watched over us, how was I supposed to refuse the greater good? A lump formed in my throat, and I struggled to swallow. Long ago, I had vowed never to let myself feel helpless again, but that vow did little good now. Had I been in Liam's or Chase's place, I would have done precisely what they had done--made any bargain needed to protect Lottie. My quietness wasn't due to anger with them. It was because I was proud, even if I felt gutted that I hadn't got the chance to offer myself first.

Liam tried to place a comforting hand on Lottie's shoulder, but she jerked away. I saw the sting in my brother's eyes, and my heart twisted at the pain written across his face. They must have expected her fury, though expectation never softened the blow when it finally arrived.

"We wanted you safe," Liam expressed, as though that alone explained their actions. "And we had no time to find another solution. Now, we're almost out of time."

"We'd do it again if it meant protecting you," he added gently. We need to go, Lottie. You'll be settled at home, where you belong, with your mates by your side. That's what matters. We can't risk your life--or the babies'--any further." Chase nodded, supporting Liam's words with a hard-set jaw. He meant it, and she knew it.

Movement at the edge of my vision drew my attention--Kane, shifting uncomfortably, his expression torn between approval and horror at their actions. I noticed his jaw clench. There was a flicker of respect in his eyes, perhaps because he recognised the devotion that led Liam and Chase to sacrifice themselves. In contrast, Knox shook his head as though in disbelief.

"This was my father's doing," Knox muttered, his voice low. "I should be the one to go in their place." Liam actually laughed, though the sound was laced with pain.

"As if Lottie could handle you stepping in, you big brute," he declared, striving for levity. "She and those babies need a bit of havoc-crazy in their lives, but not that sort of risk. We're the ones who struck the bargain. It has to be us." "Let me do it," Kane insisted, his voice heavy as his gaze darted between them.

"And who's going to keep that one out of trouble if you're gone? We can't leave him running about. He's barely stable as it is." Chase smirked and pointed at Knox. Kane sighed and slumped against the window frame, conceding the point. "It has to be us," Liam reiterated softly.

Those words struck me like a

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hammer blow; It has to be us. A raw ache took hold of my chest. Once again, my family teetered on the brink, and I felt the old anger and grief coil within me. Lottie's expression flickered from anger to heartbreak, and I knew she felt it, too. For a moment, she seemed to realise that, in a twisted way, Liam and Chase had chosen this path out of love--a love that threatened to tear us apart.

Her mates hovered nearby, anxious to soothe her. For a second, I saw relief cross her face--relief at the notion that her future might be free from constant danger, that she

could raise her children without fear looming over her. In the wake of that relief, guilt arrived like a

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sledgehammer. My own heart clenched in sympathy; I wrestled with the same conflict myself: how could I be glad for her safety when it meant losing Liam and Chase?

Through the bond we shared, I sensed my brothers' acceptance flowing through the room--like they had resigned themselves to this fate. Lottie's voice shook with despair as she sank into my arms, tears glistening in her eyes. I clung to her, reminded of the last time I had held someone I loved so wholly--Emma, right before everything fell apart. The memory was enough to tighten my jaw against the pain.

"How dare I even for a heartbeat feel relieved that the babies and I would be safe at the expense of my brothers?" she murmured, voice thick with tears. "I refuse to accept this." She trembled in my embrace, but I only tightened my hold, determined to show her she wasn't alone. "I can't lose you both. Not now, after everything."

Her desperation pulled me back tonoveldrama

my darkest memories: Emma's laughter, my daughter's tiny cry. Their voices still echoed through my mind. If I could have made a bargain to save them, I would have done so without hesitation. I understood

Liam and Chase more than words could express. Yet it hurt. Part of me still wished I could take their place. But how could I choose one brother over the other to save, knowing I would forever alter our bond by picking sides?