The Unwanted Luna
Their Mate, My Saviors Chapter 12

-POV

Ayame-

I stared up at the ceiling regretting all the sleep I got during the day. On the plus side, I caught up on all the rest I had missed before, but on the flip side, I was wide awake now. A subtle knock was heard at the door seemingly miles away from the cozy bed I was placed in only a short while ago. I turned expecting to hear someone on the other end. When it was forcibly pushed open instead, I screamed. It was Richard! How did he replace me?! Where did he come from?! "Leave me alone! Please go away!" I shouted, doing my best to climb out of bed. I landed on my ankle and the pain shot through me almost immediately.

I gasped when I fell on the gray shag rug bordering the bed. "I found you, you little bitch! I will kill you! You thought you could get away! I will always replace you! You will never be safe!" He shouted before a cane came out of nowhere and he started wailing on me. Fresh wounds opening almost immediately.

"Please, Princess! Wake up!"

"No! Please stop! Please! Strawberries! Please, someone help me!" I shrieked. "Richard, please! Please stop!" I continued to shout.

"Ayame!!" I gasped from my sleep and Vilkas, Conri and Edon were staring at me, breathless.

Elizabeth was standing in the corner in tears, and she had a scratch on her cheek. Did I do that? "Please tell me you are awake." Edon said, catching his breath.

I nodded slowly and immediately turned to the door, expecting my dream to come true. Wait, was that a dream? But it was so real. "Ayame...are you okay?" Vilkas said. Vilkas was worried about me?

I looked at all three of them and assessed my surroundings. Before crawling up to the closest triplet and burying myself in their chest. Yep. I was crying. That dream was too real. I don't know whether to believe it or not. To see it as a bad omen. I really didn't want to. "Shhh...it's gonna be okay." Vilkas sat on the edge of the bed and resituated me in his lap.

Conri came around and kneeled in front of me and Edon grabbed some water off the nightstand. "So, his name is Richard then?" Edon asked calmly.

"How do...do you know that?" I mumbled.

"You were screaming in your sleep. We thought someone was killing you in here! Goddess Ayame, you could have woken up the whole city with the voice on you." Vilkas added, rubbing my arm gently. He was still annoyed with me, but for someone so terrifying, he was really sweet and gentle right now.

"Elizabeth came in to redress your wounds and then you started screaming." Conri confirmed. "Screaming?" I asked.

"Here." Edon held out the water and I took it. My hand was shaking profusely. Vilkas helped steady my hand and I drank some, feeling the blood coming back to my face. "Yes, something about Richard, strawberries, and stop." Edon said, beyond concern.

I nodded. Yep. I was talking in my sleep. I let the glass sit in my lap and I took deep breaths, calming myself. "You didn't have nightmares before. What changed?" Conri asked. Here comes Mr.Calculation.

I looked between the three of them and furrowed my brow. "I always have nightmares." I said. What are they talking about? What changed...? Ever since I was eighteen, my nightmates have gotten progressively worse. I don't even remember what dreams feel like. "If it's not of my mother's death, it's usually of Richard beating me." I added in a whisper.

"You were sleeping peacefully when Conri and Edon held you." Vilkas confirmed. The more I thought about it, the more they sounded right? I don't remember having dreams either, and I usually remember every vivid terror. Whether I want to or not.

"I usually slept in a different room than he did, so he never told me how bad they were. I would either wake myself up or he would yell and slap me a-around if I didn't stop." The shaking began again and Vilkas started to rock me.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it anymore. From now on, we will make sure at least one of us sleeps on the floor outside just in case you need us." Edon confirmed.

"I'm not sleeping on the floor, Edon." Vilkas said tersely.

"Well, after the way you've been acting, I'm surprised you're in here at all." Edon spat back and here they go fighting again. "Since she is such a burden to you, why are you even holding her?!"Edon might be the more approachable of the three, but Conri tended to be the one to break up the fights.

Vilkas put me down on the comforter and stood up, getting in Edon's face. "Enough you two." Conri called right on time. Then, he turned to me. "I'm not sleeping on the floor either, but we will let you get some more sleep." They were about to get up and I reached out my hand for his. I caught the cuff of his sweater, and he looked down to inspect the gentle pull. "Yes?"

"You guys all smell different." I started. Yeah, random I know. I'm doing that a lot lately. "Smell different?" Edon asked.

"Yes, but all three of your smells calm me down. Edon smells like Honeysuckle and Oak. Vilkas, yours is like fire embers and pine...like a campfire. And Conri smells like...like waffles and maple syrup." I said with a soft smile as I recalled why I was so calm while I slept in their arms. "It calms me down."

"That's interesting." Edon said, leaning on the nightstand. "I didn't know our scent could be so particular to a human. But that is nice to hear. It means you are closer to trusting us. Your body is attracted to us. Like, for me, you smell like raspberries and chocolate." Edon said longingly.

"Really? I love raspberries!" I shouted happily and immediately calmed down. I got way too excited there.

He chuckled and nodded. "Cinnamon and apples." Vilkas said, shocking all of us. He looked between his brothers and they looked back at him accusingly. "What? I might not approve of this, but my wolf does." He responded with the same jaded attitude as before. However, I have now heard it from the horse's mouth. He doesn't want me.

I pressed down the worry and held on to the fleeting moment of Vilkas comforting me not even a minute ago. It may be the last time it'll ever happen. "Cinnamon?" I asked curiously, trying to gear the conversation away from Richard and Vilkas. "I smell different to all three of you?" "Yes, for me it's...Cherry Blossoms and Vanilla." Conri concluded.

"So, same mate, different scents?" I asked, thankful for the distraction.

"Yes, just like you have different scents for us than we have for each other. Let's just say I don't smell like waffles to Edon and Vilkas." Conri clarified.

I was completely engulfed in this scent thing almost immediately. I almost forgot the reason why I brought it up. I cleared my throat. "Anyway, I mean that because as long as I can smell you, it makes me want to sleep." I added.

"So...we have to be in the room with you?" Edon concluded with an actual smile on his face.

I shook my head. I don't want to admit that. Maybe if I had something that smelled like them first, that would be enough. "No, I just need something that smells like you three. I think that will suffice." The scent on Edon's clothes was pretty much gone at this point. I couldn't trace anything that led back to him. All it smelled like was the shampoo I used in my hair earlier.

They all three looked at each other and Conri and Edon nodded. "So you two are going to feed into this?" Vilkas asked. This time Conri elbowed him in the stomach and I winced at his words. No filter on him.

"Alright, we will leave you some of our clothes you can sleep with. Speaking of, we will need to get you some clothes as well. Elizabeth is washing the clothes you came in. We can use those tomorrow when we go to the store." Edon said through his teeth. He was angry at Vilkas again. My breath hitched. "The store? Store where?" If I go into the city, I'm sure Richard can replace me. I have to stay hidden. I don't know where I am now, but they said we are a five-hour drive away from that abandoned town going north. There is nothing up here. That's how I preferred it. "Here. There is a market about three miles west of here. It has everything you will need. It will be fun and we will go with you. The sun is about to rise and we need to get started on the day. How about you sleep in the office while we work for now?" Edon suggested. I nodded immediately. "Yes, I'm completely okay with that! Wait...morning? I thought I was only asleep for an hour."

Conri kneeled in front of me. "You were sleeping most of the night. This is the second time Elizabeth has changed your bandages. She just finished when you started screaming."

I looked down at my fiddling fingers. I was trying to forget why they were in here. Then I realized all three of them were not in their outfits from yesterday. They were in pajamas. The cuff I felt earlier was Conri's robe, not his sweater. I really must be out of it. "O-oh. I'm sorry Elizabeth. Honest." I said so she could hear me.

"It is okay dear. I just thought I hurt you." She mumbled back.

I shook my head. "No, it's okay. Thank you for helping me with my injuries last night. It really made a difference." And it did. I could barely feel the pain in my body anymore, it was more soothing than burning. I take that as a win.

"Of course, ma'am."

I sprung up to look her directly in the eye. "Oh no, Elizabeth, just Ayame is fine. I'm umm...I'm not a ma'am. I promise."

She hesitated before her smile became warm and soft, almost like a mother's love. The mother I so desperately wished to talk to right now. "Of course, Ayame. Since I am no longer needed, I will head to the kitchen. Thank you for clearing this up Ayame." She said before heading out the door and down the stairs. The door that is now half off its hinges?!

"What happened to the door?!" I asked in shock.

Edon, Vilkas, and Conri didn't say a word. They just shrugged. Conri elbowed Vilkas again and he groaned. In seconds, Vilkas picked me up bridal style while we walked to the office. Conri grabbed a blanket from the room and a pillow. When we made it into the office, Vilkas laid me down and sat next to me on the armchair. "You stay with her. We will switch when we get back." Conri ordered. It was not a suggestion.

Edon and Conri left swiftly and Vilkas leaned his back on the side of the armchair. He didn't say anything else. I think this morning is the most he talked...well...at all, but now I'm starting to think that was his wolf, not Vilkas. He said he didn't approve of me, so maybe his wolf took over like in the books. I started playing with the blanket and I really didn't know what to say to him. It was easier to talk to Edon and Conri, but more so Edon. W-why did they leave me alone with him? Hates me, remember? "Umm..." I started and he turned his head slightly to focus on me.

"Yes?"

"Sorry if I caused any trouble."

He sighed angrily and stood to his feet before grabbing a notebook from the bookshelf. "Ayame, why do you apologize so much?" He asked curtly.

I winced and backed up on the couch. "B-because..."

"Because of him?" He growled, saying the one thing I didn't want to hear. But he was right. It is because of him.