Ben’s eyelids felt heavy as he drifted into sleep, the campfire’s warmth fading as he settled into the quiet of the tent. With Ethan and Asher sleeping just beside him, he tried to push away the tangled thoughts of the day. But as he slipped deeper into sleep, his mind pulled him somewhere unexpected.
Suddenly, Ben found himself by the edge of a secluded lake, the surface of the water gleaming under a full moon that hung low in the night sky. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten there, but everything felt strangely alive, as if the air itself hummed with an energy he’d never felt before. He looked down at himself—and froze.
In the moonlight, his reflection stared back at him, but it wasn’t Ben looking back. Bella’s face, with her familiar dark hair and bright eyes, gazed up from the lake, and she was unmistakably herself. The disguise had vanished, and she could only stare, wide-eyed, at her true reflection. Confused and unnerved, she took a step back, clutching at her shirt, feeling the familiar softness of her own skin and form.
Then, a presence behind her made her turn. Ethan and Asher were there, watching her with eyes that glinted in the moonlight, intense and filled with something more than curiosity. The tension in the air was electric as they stepped closer, their gazes unwavering. For a moment, they seemed almost... different, as if the men she knew had transformed, their wolves stirring behind their eyes, primal and focused.
“It’s you,” Ethan whispered, a strange awe in his voice. His usual carefree smile was gone, replaced by something deeper, a realization that held him still. “The one we’ve been searching for.”
Bella’s heart pounded. “I… I don’t understand,” she stammered, knowing instinctively that there was no use pretending here.
Asher’s gaze softened, but his voice was filled with conviction. “We’ve sensed something in you, something that was… hidden. Now we see.” His hand reached out, gently brushing her shoulder, his touch radiating warmth and calm. “There’s no need to hide, Bella.”
“But… I’ve been Ben,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, as if saying it out loud would shatter this strange reality. “I thought I’d hidden myself so well…”
“Perhaps from us,” Ethan said, stepping closer, his hand brushing along her cheek with a gentleness that made her heart skip. “But not from them—our wolves always knew.”
The intensity of his gaze sent a shiver through her. Both men seemed captivated, their presence overwhelming, yet she felt an odd comfort in their closeness. She was caught in a balance between fear and undeniable attraction, their acceptance breaking down walls she hadn’t realized she’d built.
“I don’t have a wolf,” Bella whispered, the confession carrying a vulnerability she had never admitted before. “There’s nothing here for you to feel.”
Asher’s eyes, deep and knowing, locked with hers. “You may not have a wolf, Bella, but your spirit—your soul—speaks to ours. Wolves or not, you are our mate.” His voice was low, firm, a promise that resonated somewhere deep within her.
“But you… you didn’t know this before,” she argued, still clinging to a semblance of logic, trying to resist the pull of this surreal moment. “You’re both… you were just drawn to Ben, not to me.”
Ethan smiled softly, shaking his head. “No, Bella. We were drawn to the essence beneath, the spirit that we can finally see. It’s always been you.”
She could feel the weight of their words, an unspoken bond that linked them, and for the first time, she allowed herself to feel it. This dream-like moment was a world of its own, a fragile bubble where truth mingled with longing, and she wanted to stay, to let herself be swept up by them.
The three stood in silence for a moment, the air around them humming with an intimacy that was both terrifying and exhilarating. Bella could feel her heartbeat in every corner of her body, an unsteady rhythm that seemed to echo in the stillness.
And then, just as the world around her began to shimmer and blur, Bella felt a hand slip around hers, strong and grounding. She met their eyes, both men gazing at her with a warmth and understanding that filled her with a peace she hadn’t known she was missing.
The dream dissolved, pulling her slowly back into the darkness. And when she opened her eyes, she was in the tent again, the warmth of their presence still lingering around her like a promise she couldn’t yet explain.
