Mute And Marked: The Feared Alphas' Mate

5: Mates And The Hate They Give

~Rina~

Two days had passed since the party, and I’d spent every second locked in my room, replaying the humiliation over and over. The memories clung to me like a second skin, making it impossible to sleep, to eat, or even think straight. When I finally managed to drag myself out of bed on the third day, it was like forcing my body through molasses. Every muscle ached with exhaustion, every step felt heavy with dread.

Stepping onto campus was no easier. The stares, the whispers—they sliced through me like invisible blades. I kept my head down, shoulders hunched, praying that no one would notice me. My fingers trembled as I clutched my books close to my chest, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. I didn’t even bother looking up until I felt a sharp shove from behind, causing me to stumble forward.

My heart skipped a beat as I realized I was surrounded. A group of boys stood in a half-circle around me, sneering and laughing like a pack of hyenas. Panic gripped my chest, squeezing out any breath I had left. I took a step back, but there was no escape.

“What do we have here?” one of them jeered, his voice dripping with mockery. “The little freak thinks she can hide forever.”

Before I could react, the crowd of boys parted, and my blood ran cold. Striding toward me with smug grins and eyes gleaming with malice were the triplet Alphas. My worst nightmares made flesh. Axel, Ryder, and Kade.

“There she is,” Axel drawled, his tone as sharp as a blade. “The mute who thought she could just disappear after that little show at the party.”

Ryder leaned in, poking me hard on the forehead. “Did you enjoy your little pity party, freak? Did you cry yourself to sleep like the pathetic omega you are?”

Kade’s laughter was dark and filled with cruelty. “Oh, come on, guys. Maybe she’s just waiting for someone to knock some sense into her. What do you think? Should we help her out?”

Their words felt like hot needles piercing my skin, each one pushing me closer to the edge. My heart pounded, and Syl’s voice rang in my mind, pleading with me to stay calm. ‘Don’t do it, Rina. Don’t let them get to you. Just walk away.’

But I couldn’t. I was boiling inside, my vision blurring as anger surged through me. They kept taunting me, prodding me like I was some kind of broken toy.

Then Axel did something that shattered whatever fragile control I had left. He yanked on the chain of my necklace, breaking it off with a single tug. The small pendant—a keepsake from my mother—fell to the ground and rolled away, out of reach. A piece of me broke along with it.

Syl’s voice became desperate. ‘Rina, don’t let it out! Please, don’t!’

But it was too late.

The rage inside me exploded like a dam bursting. A scream ripped from my throat—raw, guttural, and unlike anything I’d ever heard before. It wasn’t just a scream; it was a force, a wave of sound that tore through the air with the power of a hurricane. Windows shattered, glass splintered into shards, and the sheer impact sent everyone around me staggering backward in shock.

The boys who had been surrounding me froze, their mocking expressions replaced with wide-eyed terror. The triplets stared at me, their smug grins wiped clean as they realized what had just happened. They looked stunned, even shaken.

For a moment, the world seemed to stand still. I was on the ground, gasping for breath, my hands trembling as the sound of shattering glass echoed in my ears. My mind was a storm of emotions—fear, rage, grief—all mixing together in a violent whirlpool.

Then Syl’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp and clear. ‘Mates. They’re our second chance mates.’

The word hit me like a punch to the gut. My gaze locked with Axel’s first, then Ryder’s, and finally Kade’s. Their expressions morphed from shock to something unreadable—disbelief, confusion, and a hint of anger all mixed together. I could see it in their eyes. They felt it too.

“No,” I mouthed silently, shaking my head in denial. This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be happening. Not them. Not after everything they’d done to me.

But the truth was undeniable. The pull, the connection—I could feel it thrumming beneath my skin, as if some invisible thread had bound us together in that instant. And I hated it. I hated them.

The silence stretched on, thick with tension. No one moved. No one spoke. The triplet Alphas looked as if they were caught between fury and disbelief, their eyes flicking between each other and me. I could see the gears turning in their minds, trying to make sense of this twisted reality.

Finally, Axel’s voice broke the silence, low and venomous. “This… this has to be a joke.”

Ryder’s jaw clenched, his eyes blazing with anger. “No way. This can’t be real.”

Kade looked down at me with disgust and confusion. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Her?”

I could barely hold back the tears burning in my eyes. My world had been turned upside down in a matter of seconds. But as I lay there, shaking and broken, one thing became painfully clear.

I was mated to the very monsters who had made my life a living hell.

And they looked like they hated it just as much as I did.

The silence that followed was a cold, suffocating blanket. The triplet Alphas were staring at me as if I was a stain they couldn’t wipe off, their eyes darkening with something far more dangerous than disbelief—hatred.

“This has to be a bad dream,” Ryder finally sneered, his lip curling in disgust. “There’s no way in hell*you* are our mate.”

“Look at her,” Kade growled, his voice dripping with venom. “A mute, a freak. There’s no way we’re bound to something so… pathetic.”

Axel’s gaze was cold, calculating. He took a step closer, and instinctively, I backed away, my heart hammering against my ribs. But there was nowhere to run. In an instant, he grabbed me by the arm, yanking me to my feet with a force that made me wince. “You’re not going anywhere until we figure out what the hell you did. What kind of freak show are you running, huh?”

Tears stung my eyes as I desperately signed with trembling hands, “Please, reject me. I don’t want this. Just reject me and let me go.”

But instead of mercy, their expressions twisted with something colder. “Reject you?” Ryder laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. “Why would we make it that easy for you?”

“We don’t know what you are,” Axel said, his grip tightening on my arm. “But you don’t get to run from this. You think you can just scream and break every glass in sight and get away with it?”

“Freaks don’t get to make demands,” Kade snarled. “You’re ours now. Whether we like it or not.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the sheer malice in their words. They didn’t want me, that much was clear, but they refused to let me go. The bond that should have brought warmth and protection only seemed to fuel their contempt. I was nothing more than a curse in their eyes—a burden they were forced to carry.

I tried again, signing frantically, “Please, just reject me! I can’t be your mate!”

But they weren’t listening. They were too focused on their anger, on punishing me for something I couldn’t control. Ryder yanked me away from Axel, dragging me toward a secluded alley behind one of the buildings. “You need to learn your place, freak.”

Before I could react, they shoved me against the wall, their eyes gleaming with twisted satisfaction. “You think you can embarrass us like that?” Kade hissed, leaning in so close I could feel his breath on my face. “You think we’ll let you off that easy?”

They started mocking me, poking and prodding like I was some kind of broken toy. “Come on, say something,” Axel taunted, knowing full well I couldn’t. “Or are you just gonna scream like a banshee again?”

Ryder’s laugh was cold, heartless. “She’s probably faking it. Just a freak pretending to be mute for attention.”

They continued their verbal assault, each word chipping away at whatever strength I had left. My vision blurred with tears, and I could feel Syl pacing restlessly in my mind, her growls growing louder and more agitated. ‘Rina, let me out. I’ll tear them apart! They don’t deserve to touch us!’

But I was too weak, too broken. The humiliation, the pain—it was all too much. My body trembled as I sank to my knees, signing one last desperate plea, “Please… just reject me.”

But they only laughed harder. “No way, freak. You’re stuck with us, whether you like it or not,” Kade spat, his eyes filled with cold amusement. “And we’ll make sure you never forget it.”

Something inside me snapped. Syl took control, her rage exploding through the cracks in my shattered will. My vision darkened as I felt the shift take over, bones snapping, fur sprouting—Syl was out, and she wasn’t holding back. A deep, feral growl rumbled from her chest, filled with a hatred that matched theirs.

The triplets recoiled, momentarily startled by the sudden shift. But their surprise quickly turned to anger. “You think that’s gonna scare us?” Axel sneered, stepping forward. “You’re just a weak omega with a broken wolf. You can’t stand up to us.”

Syl’s growl only deepened, her sharp eyes locked onto them with deadly intent. ‘You think you can break us?’ she snarled in my mind, her voice filled with a fierce determination. ‘We won’t go down without a fight!’

But the triplets weren’t intimidated. They circled around us like predators, their eyes glinting with sadistic glee. “Looks like the freak has some bite after all,” Ryder taunted, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s see how far it gets her.”

Before Syl could lunge, they moved as one, overwhelming us with sheer strength and speed. Axel and Kade pinned us down while Ryder grabbed a fistful of our fur, yanking our head back painfully. “You think you’re tough now? You’re still just a weak little freak pretending to be something you’re not.”

Syl thrashed against them, but they were too strong. I could feel her frustration, her desperation to protect us, but we were trapped, outmatched in every way. They pushed us harder, refusing to let up until Syl’s growls turned to whimpers of exhaustion.

And then they hit us with the final blow. “You’re nothing,” Axel whispered coldly, his eyes boring into ours with pure hatred. “No matter what happens, no matter what you do, you’ll always be just a broken, worthless freak.”

I could feel Syl’s strength faltering, her energy draining away as she fought to keep us from collapsing entirely. But the damage was done. They had ripped apart what little hope I had left, leaving me hollow and defeated.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, Cassandra appeared, her smug smile twisting into something sinister. “Oh, poor Rina,” she cooed mockingly. “You’ve stirred up trouble again?”

Before I could react, she poured a bottle of beer over my head, the cold liquid soaking through my hair and clothes. “Maybe this will wash away some of that freakishness,” she sneered, her laughter echoing in my ears as I sank deeper into despair.

Syl’s growls faded, replaced by a pained whimper as she retreated back into the shadows of my mind, leaving me utterly alone. The triplets released me, their expressions filled with contempt as they stepped back, watching me crumple to the ground.

“Stay out of our way, freak,” Ryder spat, giving me one last shove before they walked away, their cruel laughter ringing in my ears.

I was left on the cold ground, drenched, shaking, and utterly broken. The world around me blurred as tears streamed down my face. I was nothing. Less than nothing. And now, I was bound to the very monsters who had destroyed whatever was left of me.

And they weren’t going to let me go.