Bound to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Hidden Truths

ARIA POV

The cave floor crumbled beneath my feet, sending me sliding down into darkness. I crashed into Lucien as rocks and dirt struck us from above.

"Keep moving!" he pushed, pulling me deeper into the passageway.

Kael’s scream still echoed in my ears. The red glow of those eyes frightened me. My fingers clutched my mother’s journal so tightly the edges cut into my hands.

"Do you think he’s—" I couldn’t finish the question.

"Kael’s strong," Lucien said, but his voice shook. "He’s fought the Blood Curse longer than any of us."

The tunnel widened into a small cave lit by strange blue crystals growing from the walls. Their light showed ancient markings carved into the stone—wolves, moons, and symbols I didn’t recognize.

"The old temple," Lucien whispered, touching one of the carvings. "I’ve only heard stories about this place."

I opened my mother’s book to page forty-three, holding it under the blue light. The page was filled with her neat handwriting and pictures of the moon phases.

"The Blood Curse can only be broken when three become one again," I read aloud. "The white wolf must unite what was divided."

"Three become one," Lucien repeated carefully. "The triplet bond."

A sound from deeper in the cave made us freeze. Soft footsteps approached.

"Hide!" Lucien whispered, pulling me behind a big stone.

A figure entered the chamber, moving slowly, carefully. In the blue crystal light, I recognized Elder Malin’s aged face. He wasn’t meant to be here—he should’ve been at the pack house, preparing for tomorrow’s Blood Moon ceremony.

"I know you’re here," he called softly. "Aria. Lucien. You can come out."

We stayed hidden, barely moving.

Elder Malin groaned. "If I wanted to betray you, I would have brought Alpha Darius with me."

Lucien squeezed my hand, then slowly stood. I followed, clutching the book to my chest.

"How did you find us?" Lucien demanded.

Elder Malin’s eyes—clear and focused, not red like the others—fixed on my notebook. "I’ve been waiting fifty years for that book to resurface."

"You knew my mother," I said. It wasn’t a question.

"Aurora was like a daughter to me," he responded. "I helped her hide when she discovered what Alpha Darius was planning."

"The Blood Curse," I said.

Elder Malin nodded seriously. "Not just any curse—a pact with old darkness. Power in exchange for humanity."

"My father is completely consumed by it," Lucien said. "And now Kael..."

"Not completely," Elder Malin corrected. "Not yet. That’s why tomorrow is so important."

He approached me slowly, his hand raised. "May I?"

Reluctantly, I gave him the journal. He flipped through it with familiarity until he reached a page near the back.

"The prophecy was never about one mate surviving," he stated. "It was about breaking the cycle. Three boys, born of the curse. One white wolf, born of light. Together, they can end the darkness forever."

"But Kael said someone has to die," I objected.

"Death comes in many forms," Elder Malin replied cryptically. "Sometimes we must let parts of ourselves die to be reborn."

He turned the journal to show us a diagram—three circles connected by lines, making a triangle with a moon in the center.

"The ritual your mother found requires all four of you. The triplet link can absorb the darkness, but only if balanced by pure Alpha light."

"My blood," I whispered.

"Yes, but freely given, not taken." Elder Malin’s eyes locked with mine. "That’s the difference between breaking the curse and completing it."

A faraway howl echoed through the caves. Lucien tensed.

"They’re still searching," he warned.

Elder Malin returned the notebook to me. "There’s a way out through the back rooms. It leads to the old ritual grounds where the Blood Moon ceremony will be held tomorrow."

"Why are you helping us?" I asked suspiciously.

"Because I made a promise to your mother." His voice cracked with feeling. "And because I’ve watched three generations of Alphas fall to this curse. It must end."

He pressed something cold and metal into my palm—a key. "This opens the eastern entrance to the rite grounds. Be there at midnight tomorrow."

"But how do we find Jaxon?" Lucien asked. "Kael said he has the third key."

Elder Malin’s face darkened. "Jaxon isn’t who you think he is."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Before he could answer, a crash sounded from the tunnel behind us. Voices approached—Alpha Darius and his hunters.

"Go!" Elder Malin pushed us toward a tight passageway. "Remember, all three brothers must be present, willing or not."

"You’ll be caught," I argued.

A sad smile crossed his face. "My part in this story was written long ago, little white wolf."

Lucien pulled me into the passage as Elder Malin turned to face the oncoming wolves. The last thing I saw was him taking a small vial from his pocket.

We ran through winding tunnels until we reached another chamber, this one with moonlight streaming through a crack in the roof. Lucien boosted me up, and we emerged in a forest clearing I didn’t recognize.

"Where are we?" I asked, confused.

"The far side of pack territory," Lucien replied, his face grim. "Near the border with Silvercrest lands."

"My mother’s pack," I realized.

A twig snapped nearby. We both whirled around, ready to fight.

Jaxon stepped from the shadows, his usually playful face serious. "Finally found you two."

"Jaxon!" Lucien moved protectively in front of me. "Elder Malin said—"

"Elder Malin says a lot of things," Jaxon interrupted. "Most of them half-truths."

He approached slowly, hands raised to show he wasn’t a danger. "Kael sent me to find you. He’s been caught."

My heart sank. "Is he—"

"Alive," Jaxon confirmed. "But not for long. Father plans to use him as bait."

"For us," Lucien guessed.

Jaxon nodded, then set his eyes on me. "He knows what you are now, Aria. He knows about your mother. About the white wolf prophecy."

I clutched the journal tighter. "Elder Malin said you have the third key."

Something flashed in Jaxon’s eyes—surprise, then calculation. "Did he, now? Interesting."

"Do you?" Lucien pressed.

Jaxon smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "I have something better."

He pulled back his sleeve to show a mark on his wrist—not the triplet scar, but something different. A symbol I recognized from my mother’s book.

The mark of the Guardian.

"I’ve been protecting you since you were brought to this pack," Jaxon said softly. "Watching. Waiting."

"You knew who I was all along," I whispered, pieces clicking into place.

Jaxon stepped closer. "I know who you really are. And it’s not just Alpha blood that runs in your veins."

"What do you mean?" My voice shook.

"Your mother wasn’t just any Alpha," he said, eyes locked on mine. "She was something much rarer."

A howl erupted from the forest—not a regular wolf howl, but something darker, filled with rage and power. Alpha Darius had picked up our smell.

"We need to move," Jaxon urged. "There’s a safe house nearby."

As he turned to lead the way, I grabbed his arm. "Tell me what I am."

Jaxon’s eyes softened, and for the first time, I saw real emotion there. "You’re a True Alpha, Aria. The first female True Alpha in five hundred years."

"And why does that matter?" I asked.

His answer chilled me to the bone.

"Because True Alphas are the only ones who can kill other Alphas," he answered. "And tomorrow night, under the Blood Moon, that’s exactly what you’ll have to do."