One and half year later
Vincent Manor, Underground Dining Hall - 9:43 PM
The dinner table stretched long and dark beneath the flickering crystal chandeliers, casting shadows across the beautifully sculpted faces of the most dangerous and powerful mafia family in the world.
Max Royal Enigma sat at the head of the table, glass of red wine in hand, exuding the composed dominance of a young mafia prince. Silas, the strategist and shadow of the triplets, leaned back casually in his chair-but his eyes were sharp, too sharp, watching everyone. And Sam... Sam Vincent. The quietest of them all. Dressed in all black, he stirred his wine gently, almost like he was keeping secrets in its depth.
Seated across from them were their mates.
Noah Anderson, supreme omega and crowned mafia heir of the Anderson family, had grown into his role as both diplomat and destroyer. His smile was soft, but his eyes were possessive. He had one hand resting innocently on Max's thigh, another loosely twined around Sam's wrist, and his foot brushing against Silas's under the table. Subtle. Controlling. Dangerous.
And then there was Lucien Miller - dominant alpha, doctor, and cold as ice unless Noah was in the room. At 24, he was respected and feared. Even Max didn't challenge him openly anymore. He sat close to Silas and Noah, casually sipping dark liquor as if he hadn't just removed three rival alphas from existence two days ago for making flirtatious comments about Max in a public club.
> "To the bond," Max finally said, raising his glass. "To peace among us - and power that no one can match."
Everyone raised theirs.
Noah's voice came smooth. "To mates... all equal in the bond." He looked at each of them-Max, Silas, Sam-with fever-bright eyes.
They clinked glasses.
For a year and a half, everything had appeared... calm. Too calm.
The bond between the five of them-Max, Silas, Sam, Noah, and Lucien-had solidified. Despite their volatile personalities, their shared heat cycles, their instincts and their past, they chose each other.
They lived together now. Operated mafia businesses side-by-side. Drugs, weapons, territory acquisition. Noah and Lucien managed the Anderson and Miller networks; the triplets handled the Vincent syndicate. Combined, they were untouchable.
But Silas still didn't trust peace.
He watched Sam carefully that night, the way Sam avoided looking at him. The way Sam stiffened slightly when Lucien entered the room. The way Sam's scent changed just slightly when Noah got too close. And the one question that haunted him:
> "What is Sam hiding?"
Everyone else seemed to be pretending not to notice. Max said nothing-he trusted Sam blindly. Noah? Obsessed with Sam, yes, but not curious. Noah was willing to wait, even if his control sometimes slipped.
Lucien knew something, Silas was sure. But Lucien was too much of a tactician. He'd say nothing unless forced.
---
Later That Night - The Library
Sam stood by the glass window overlooking the courtyard. The moon was full. His reflection stared back at him-quiet, cold, unreadable.
Noah walked in silently, barefoot, in one of Max's silk shirts. He didn't say a word. Just walked up behind Sam and wrapped his arms around his waist, his chin resting on Sam's shoulder.
> "You're hiding from me again," Noah whispered.
Sam stiffened. "I'm not."
> "Liar," Noah breathed against his neck. "But it's okay. I'll wait until you come undone."
He kissed Sam's neck gently. It was too intimate, too soft for someone who had murdered six people in the last two weeks without blinking. But Noah's love had always been violent, possessive, dangerous. He didn't mind getting blood on his hands if it meant his mates stayed his.
> "You know what I dream about?" Noah whispered. "The day I finally mate all of you. Properly. Tie you so deep no one else will ever be able to touch you without screaming."
Sam didn't reply. He couldn't.
Because part of him wanted it.
And part of him wanted to run.
---
One Year and a Half Into the Bond
Max and Silas had taken over cartel operations in South Africa, expanding the Vincent drug trade internationally.
Noah built a network in the political world - governors, judges, even military officers, all secretly working for him.
Lucien developed a biochemical black market, creating experimental omega heat suppressants and truth serums.
Sam? Sam ran the clean front. Hospitals. Real estate. Legal laundering. But his network of spies was unmatched, especially in the underworld. He knew who was betraying whom before it happened.
Still, Silas never stopped watching him. Even during heat, even during bond events, even when Sam laughed with them-there was something missing.
---
And then came the first crack.
At a luxury auction hosted by the Russian mafia, one of the hosts, an omega named Mikael, brushed fingers across Sam's arm.
Two hours later, Mikael was missing.
His entire family disappeared. Business collapsed. Nothing traced back to Noah.
But Silas knew.
He walked into Noah's office two nights later and closed the door.
> "You killed him," Silas said calmly.
Noah didn't even look up from his tablet. "He touched what's mine."
Silas leaned against the door. "What if it was me?"
Noah's lips twitched upward. "Then I'd beg you not to make me choose between loving you and breaking the world."
There was silence between them. But in that silence, something shifted.
---
Back in the Bedroom
The triplets' shared heat came again. They stayed locked in their estate with Noah and Lucien, tangled in sweat, sheets, scent, and moans.
But no mating marks.
Not yet.
Their parents had forbidden it until they were older.
Noah obeyed.
Mostly.
But every time he kissed the bond mark on Sam's neck, he whispered, soon
---