Chapter Three
Twice Bound: A Mate to Two Alphas
Gabriella’s POV
The walls of Jax’s mansion loomed around me, suffocating despite their grandeur. Cold marble floors stretched beneath my bare feet.
The massive windows allowed streams of golden light to filter in, yet the warmth never seemed to reach me.
I had been here for days now, yet every inch of this place felt new to me. It wasn’t a home—it was a fortress. A fucking cage.
Jax was the same as the day I had met him.
A storm wrapped in human flesh.
I had expected cruelty from him, expected him to treat me like nothing more than a burden forced upon him by fate.
Instead, he was distant. Controlled. His presence was a heavy shadow that never strayed too far, watching, waiting.
He wasn’t violent like Hunter though.. Jax’s danger came from his silence, his unspoken thoughts, the way his black eyes followed my every move as though I were some puzzle he had yet to solve.
And then there was the pull, this….attraction I felt towards him.
That damn pull that I could never escape.
I felt it in every stolen glance, every accidental touch that sent fire licking up my spine. It was maddening. Because even though I hated what he had done to me.
Even though I wanted to despise him for the way my life had shattered, my body betrayed me. The mate bond wasn’t something I could turn off, no matter how desperately I tried.
“Dinner is ready,” a voice called from the hallway, breaking through my thoughts.
I sighed, knowing that it wasn’t a request. Jax expected me to be there.
Steeling myself, I walked down the long corridor, my heartbeat quickening the moment I entered the dining room.
Jax was already seated at the head of the table, one elbow resting against the polished wood as he twirled a knife between his fingers.
He looked up at me as I entered, his dark eyes unreadable.I hesitated before sitting at the far end of the dinning.
The space between us felt large, yet somehow, I was still too close.Jax’s gaze reached down to my plate, then back up to me. “You’re not eating.”
I forced my spine straight. “Not hungry.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You’re carrying my child. You will eat.”
Anger sparked in my chest. “You don’t get to control me.”
His fingers gripped tightly against the knife. He leaned forward, voice dangerously low. “You’re mine, Gabriella. Whether you like it or not.”
I hated the way his words sent a shiver down my spine. Hated the way my body reacted to the claim, no matter how much my mind resisted.
Before I could form a sharp response, the air in the room shifted. A presence filled the space—dark, suffocating, laced with something deadly.
Jax stood still.
The doors swinging open with a loud bang, a strange man stepping inside like he owned the place..
He was taller, muscular than Jax, with sharp features that were eerily similar. But while Jax carried his darkness like a silent storm.
“Jack, what the fuck are you doing here.” Jack spoke, his tone laced with anger as he stood up from his seat.
My pulse spiked, my body instinctively going rigid as his piercing gaze landed on me. It was so cold, as if he was calculating my every move, deadly too.
“So this is her,” Jack murmured, his voice smooth, almost amused. “The one who’s caused you all this trouble.”
Jax didn’t move, but something in the air around him crackled. “Get out of my house.”
Jack chuckled, stepping further inside, his boots clicking against the floor. “Come on, little brother. You know why I’m here.”
Jax finally stood, slow and deliberate, his entire frame vibrating with a controlled fury. “You’re not touching her.”
Jack tilted his head. “You think I want to? She’s a complication, Jax. A weakness. You should’ve gotten rid of her the moment you realized she was carrying your child.”
“I’m right here, you know,” I snapped, ignoring the way my voice shook from the situation going on.
Jack turned his gaze back to me, something like amusement flickering in his icy stare. “Oh, I see you, little mate.”
The way he said it sent a cold chill down my spine.Jax took a step forward, his entire body tense. “I told you to leave.”
Jack sighed, shaking his head. “You always were the difficult one.” Then, in a blink, he was moving.
I barely had time to react before Jax was in front of me, his body a wall of heat and muscle as Jack lunged towards me.
The clash of force sent a shockwave through the room, the sound of fists connecting echoing off the walls.
I stumbled back, my heart hammering in my chest as the two brothers fought in a blur of motion, their raw strength on full display.
Jax moved like a predator, precise and lethal, but Jack wasn’t any less deadly.The fight ended as quickly as it had begun.
Jax had Jack pinned against the table, his forearm pressed against his throat.
“That bond’s got you all twisted, doesn’t it?” Jack laughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Jax’s grip tightened on his neck, his eyes blazing with something I couldn’t quite name. “She’s mine.”
The words sent something sharp through me. “Then I suppose that means you’re willing to fight for her.”
“To the death.” Jax shot back, wasting no time to give him an answer.
Silence fell between them.
Then Jack let out a slow exhale, his body going loose. “You really are a fool, little brother.”
Jax shoved him back with a tight force, stepping between me and his brother as Jack straightened, brushing himself off.
Jack cast one last glance at me, something unreadable flashing in his gaze. “Enjoy your prison, little mate.”
Slowly, he turned to face me.
Our eyes met, and everything in me locked into place. The anger, the fear, the overwhelming tension—all of it crackled between us like a living thing.
“Why was he staring at me that way,” I whispered to myself.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll start thinking you want something else.” I shot back at Jack, my breath hammering against my ribs as I forced myself to look brave,
Jack’s eyes never left mine for even a second as his gaze locked onto mine.
And then—
It happened.
That same strong invisible bond that bound me to Jax, slamming into me with the impact of a raging storm. My breath caught in my throat, my pulse pounding rapidly against my chest as something deep surged through my veins.
No. No, no, no.
“This can’t be happening!”. Jack yelled as he stepped closer to me. My stomach clenched as my knees were trembling.
Jack’s entire body went rigid, his jaw tightening so hard that I thought his teeth might shatter. His breathing turned rough, almost messy.
His eye pupils went inside, swallowing the green color of his irises. Recognition flaring in his gaze as he locked eyes with me, sharp and undeniable.
He must have felt….something.
“The bond.” He immediately voiced out.
“Fuck!” Jax yelled in rage as he just realized what that meant. He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair in frustration, as if he wanted to physically shake off the mate bond.
“This has to be a joke.” He said.
“It’s no joke little brother, Looks like the bitch is also mated to me.” He shot back.
This was my worst nightmare. Nothing but a sick, twisted fate that has bound me to not one, but the two Hawthorne brothers.
Jack turned away hurriedly, his hands folded into fists at his sides. He didn’t look at me again as he stormed towards the door.
But just as he reached it, he stopped. His voice low, lethal.” Well see who gets her, little brother Jax.”
Then, he was gone, leaving behind a dangerous silence as he left.
I let out a shaky breath, trying to hold myself together from what had just happened, but Jax’s voice immediately snapped me back to reality.
“Stay away from him, Gabriella.”
I lifted my eyes to meet him, my chest tightened with unspoken words, unspoken fears and questions I had no answers to.
But deep down, I already knew the truth.
Staying away from Jack was no longer an option, he meant every single word he said when he said about seeing who gets me first.
And that terrified me more than anything in the world.
“What the fuck have I just gotten myself into.”