Bound to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Broken Promises

ARIA POV

I lunged for the book, but Kael pulled it away with a smirk. My fingers grabbed empty air.

"Give it back!" I shouted, my heart racing. "That belonged to my mother!"

Kael’s eyes burned into mine, that strange red flicker appearing and going so quickly I almost missed it. The same red I’d seen in Lucien’s eyes. The same red from the image of Alpha Darius.

"Your mother," Kael said slowly, "wasn’t who you think she was."

Lucien stepped between us, still shirtless, the moon-shaped scar on his chest glowing slightly in the dim light. "Kael, this isn’t you talking. Fight it."

Kael laughed, but it sounded wrong—hollow and cruel. Nothing like the controlled, cold Kael I knew.

"Always the hero, little brother," he sneered. "Always trying to save everyone."

He flipped through the book, stopping at a page marked with a red ribbon. "Did you read this part yet, Aria? About how your mother was no ordinary wolf?"

My throat tightened. "Stop it."

"She was Alpha blood," Kael continued, ignoring my plea. "The rightful heir to the Silvercrest Pack. Our father’s biggest rival."

The news hit me like a physical blow. Alpha blood? My mother?

"You’re lying," I whispered, but deep down, I knew it was true. It explained my unusual strength, my rapid healing, my link to the Moon Goddess.

"Why would I lie?" Kael closed the notebook with a snap. "The truth is far more interesting. Three Alpha boys. One Alpha daughter. A message written in blood."

Lucien grabbed my hand, pulling me back as Kael stepped closer. "We need to leave," he whispered quickly.

"No one’s going anywhere." Kael’s voice changed, becoming deeper, older somehow. "The Blood Moon rises tomorrow night. The promise ends then."

I remembered what Elder Malin had told me: When blood ties break and reform under the crimson moon, the true Alpha will rise.

"Where’s Jaxon?" I asked suddenly, noticing the missing triplet.

Something flashed across Kael’s face—worry? Fear? "He’s busy preparing for tomorrow."

"Preparing what?" Lucien demanded.

"The sacrifice." Kael’s eyes locked on me. "Every prophecy needs blood. Your mother understood that. Mine did too."

The image of Lucien’s mother performing the binding ritual flashed in my thoughts. The metal necklaces. The blood. The warning about the white cat.

"What happened to my parents?" I asked, stepping forward despite Lucien’s effort to hold me back. "Tell me the truth."

Kael studied my face, and for a moment, I saw the real him—conflicted, stuck, fighting against something dark inside him.

"Your father was Alpha of Silvercrest," he said, his voice strained as if each word cost him. "Your mother was his mate and second-in-command. They were powerful, admired..."

"And?" I prompted when he paused.

"And they found something about our father. Something that threatened everything." Kael touched his chest where I knew an identical scar to Lucien’s would be hiding beneath his shirt. "A darkness that’s been growing for generations."

"The red eyes," I whispered.

Kael nodded, cringing as if in pain. "It’s called the Blood Curse. It infects the Alpha line, going from father to son. My father has it. And now—" he winced, clutching his head—"it’s taking me too."

"That’s why you’ve been so cold," I realized. "You’re fighting it."

"Every. Single. Day." Each word seemed to drain him. "But tomorrow, under the Blood Moon, it will be complete. The curse will fully take me."

"Unless the prophecy comes true," Lucien said.

Kael turned to his brother, and I saw real fear in his eyes. "You don’t understand what father has planned."

"Then tell us," I begged.

Kael stepped closer, dropping his voice. "He’s not just trying to kill you, Aria. He needs your blood—Alpha female blood—to finish the ritual that will make the curse permanent."

My blood ran cold. "Why?"

"Power," Kael said simply. "The curse gives amazing strength. No pain. No weakness. No mercy."

"But at what cost?" Lucien demanded.

"Everything human in us," Kael admitted. "Everything good."

A howl rang through the forest—close, too close. Kael’s head snapped up, his eyes widening.

"He’s coming," he whispered. "Father sent trackers after me."

"Then why warn us?" I asked, confused by his quick change.

Kael’s hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. His touch sent shock waves through me—not the mate bond, but something else. A link. A shared bloodline.

"Because I’m fighting it," he said, his voice shaking. "Because despite everything, I don’t want to become him."

In one swift action, he pressed my mother’s journal into my hands. "Page forty-three. The rite to break the Blood Curse. It takes three elements: the blood of the white wolf, the sacrifice of true love, and the choice that defies destiny."

Another howl, joined by several others. The trackers were surrounding us.

"Go," Kael ordered, pushing us toward the stream. "There’s a tunnel through the rocks that goes to the old temple ruins. Hide there until dawn."

"Come with us," I pushed.

Kael shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "I can’t. Not yet."

"Kael—" Lucien began.

"Save her," Kael cut him off. "One of us has to survive this, brother."

"Which one?" I asked, remembering the promise. "Which of you is meant to survive?"

Kael’s eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw raw feeling there. "The one who loves you enough to let you go."

He turned away, shifting into his huge black wolf form. As he prepared to face the hunters, he looked back once more.

Find Jaxon before midnight tomorrow, his voice repeated in my mind. He has the third key.

Then he was gone, running toward the howls, leading them away from us.

Lucien grabbed my hand. "We need to move. Now."

As we splashed across the stream toward the secret tunnel, I clutched the journal to my chest. My mother’s secrets. My true background. The rite that could save us all.

But as we reached the rocks, a terrible scream echoed through the forest—half human, half wolf. Kael’s scream.

And behind it, a voice I recognized from my dreams. Alpha Darius.

"Run all you want, little white wolf," he called out, his voice carrying through the trees. "Tomorrow night, your blood will fulfill the prophecy—just not the way you hoped."

Lucien pushed me into the dark tunnel, but not before I saw the red glow emanating from the trees behind us—like dozens of pairs of eyes watching from the shadows.

The Blood Curse was spreading. And we were running out of time.