Bound to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Awakening

ARIA POV

"Duck!" Jaxon yelled, swerving the motorbike as bullets pinged off rocks around us.

I pressed my face against his back, heart racing as we raced through the dark forest. The trackers had found us again, just minutes after we’d left Lucien at the safe house.

"Hold tight!" Jaxon shouted over the roar of the engine. He turned off the path, plunging down a steep slope that made my stomach drop.

Branches whipped my face as we crashed through shrubbery. The motorcycle’s headlight caught views of trees that seemed to jump out at us. Behind, the screams grew fainter—we were losing them.

"Where are we going?" I screamed against the wind. My mother’s notebook was stuffed safely inside my jacket, pressed between us.

"Somewhere they can’t follow!" Jaxon called back.

We burst from the trees onto a narrow cliff road. The valley dropped away beside us, moonlight showing a dizzying drop. Jaxon accelerated, the motorbike leaning into each curve.

"We’ve crossed the territory line," he said as we rounded another bend. "We’re beyond pack lands now."

No wonder had never been this far from home. Omegas weren’t allowed to leave territory without Alpha approval.

But I’m not just an omega, I told myself. I’m a True Alpha.

The words still felt strange, impossible. All my life I’d been the weaker, the lowest. How could I be something so powerful? Something that could kill an Alpha?

Jaxon finally slowed as we reached a wall of dense trees. He cut the engine and we sat in sudden quiet, my ears ringing.

"Can you hear that?" he asked.

I listened. Beyond the fading rumble of the motorcycle, there was a faraway rushing sound.

"Water?"

Jaxon nodded, swinging off the bike. "The Hidden Falls. No one from our pack knows about this place except me."

"How did you find it?"

His usual playful smile vanished. "Your mother showed me."

My heart skipped. "You knew my mother?"

"I was just a pup," he admits, "but I remember her. She brought me here once, right before she disappeared."

He reached for my hand. "Come on. The road is tricky in the dark."

We walked in silence, the sound of water getting louder. The moon cast just enough light to see the narrow path winding between giant trees. Questions burned in my mind, but something told me to wait.

The trees suddenly opened up, and I gasped. A massive waterfall thundered down a cliff wall, silver in the moonlight. The pool below seemed to glow with an inner light.

"It’s beautiful," I whispered.

"It’s sacred," Jaxon corrected. "This is where True Alphas come to awaken their wolves."

He led me to the edge of the pool. "Your mother was bringing you here on the night they were caught. You were barely five years old."

My throat tightened. "I don’t remember."

"You wouldn’t. Alpha Darius made sure of that." Jaxon’s voice hardened. "Do you know why he let you live when he killed your parents?"

I shook my head.

"Because he needed you. The blood of a female True Alpha is the most powerful binding agent for the Blood Curse. But it only works after her dog awakens."

My head spun with this new information. "Is that why I never felt my wolf? He did something to suppress it?"

"A powerful binding spell," Jaxon confirmed. "Tied to your eighteenth birthday."

"The night I felt the mate bond," I realized.

Jaxon nodded. "The bond started breaking that night. But it’s still there, holding back your true power."

He began taking off his jacket. "That’s why we need to finish what your mother started."

"How?"

"You need to connect with your wolf spirit." He pointed to the waterfall. "Under there."

Fear and excitement fought inside me. "What do I do?"

"Trust your instincts," he said simply. "I’ll be right beside you."

We walked into the pool. The water was surprisingly warm, like bathwater. It seemed to welcome me, whirling around my legs with strange purpose.

As we approached the booming wall of water, Jaxon gripped my hand. "Once we’re under, don’t fight what happens. Let your wolf come forward."

I nodded, too nervous to speak.

We pushed through the wall of water into a small cave behind. The roar became overwhelming, yet somehow peaceful. Moonlight streamed through the water, casting dancing patterns on the stone walls.

"Sit," Jaxon directed, pointing to a flat rock in the center of the cave.

I obeyed, cross-legged, water running down my face and clothes.

"Close your eyes," he said, his voice suddenly gentle. "Breathe the mist. Feel the power of the falls."

I closed my eyes, focused on the sensation of water against my skin. The steady thunder became a rhythm, like a heartbeat.

"Call to your wolf," Jaxon whispered. "Tell her it’s time to wake up."

I wasn’t sure how to do that, but I tried to picture a wolf inside me—sleeping, waiting. Wake up, I thought. I need you now.

Nothing happened.

"It’s not working," I said, opening my eyes.

Jaxon knelt before me, his face serious. "You’re trying too hard. Don’t call her—become her."

He pressed his hand against my chest, right over my heart. "Remember who you are. The daughter of Aurora, White Wolf Alpha of Silvercrest. Feel her blood in your veins."

I closed my eyes again, thinking of my mother. The notebook had shown glimpses of her strength, her courage. I pictured that same power flowing through me.

The cave suddenly seemed warmer. My skin tingled, starting at my heart where Jaxon’s hand sat, spreading outward like wildfire.

"That’s it," Jaxon urged. "Let her come."

A growl built in my throat—not my voice, something deeper, more primal. My fingernails dug into my hands, sharpening, lengthening.

My eyes flew open, and I knew they had changed. Jaxon’s face looked different—brighter, every feature crystal clear.

"Jaxon," I gasped, but my voice had a growl beneath it. "What’s happening?"

His eyes widened, reflecting something white—my eyes, shining like the moon.

"Your wolf," he whispered. "She’s beautiful."

Power rushed through me, strength I’d never known. The world became sharper, clearer. Scents flooded my nose—the mineral tang of the falls, Jaxon’s wild pine smell, and something else... something dark coming.

I jumped to my feet, a snarl tearing from my throat. "Someone’s coming."

Jaxon tensed, listening. "How many?"

I breathed deeply, my new senses sorting through the information. "Three... no, four. They smell like our pack, but... wrong."

"Red eyes," Jaxon mumbled. "Darius must have turned more wolves."

"How did they find us?"

Jaxon’s face darkened. "I don’t know. No one should have been able to track us here."

The realization hit me like a physical blow. I stepped back from him, my wolf snarling in warning.

"No one except someone my mother trusted," I said slowly. "Someone who’d been here before."

Guilt flashed across Jaxon’s face. "Aria, I can explain—"

"You led them here," I charged. "This was a trap."

"Not a trap," he protested. "A necessary risk. Your wolf needed to awaken before the Blood Moon."

"For what purpose?" I asked. "So Alpha Darius could use my blood?" "So you could fulfill the prophecy," Jaxon insisted. "Kill the corrupted Alpha and take your rightful place."

My new wolf senses caught his partial truth. "You’re not telling me everything."

Howls exploded outside, close now. We were running out of time.

"We need to go," Jaxon urged, reaching for me.

I backed away. "Not until you tell me the truth. All of it."

Jaxon’s eyes flashed with anger, then resignation. "Fine. There’s another part to the forecast. The white wolf will rise and end the curse, but only by sacrificing what she loves most."

"What does that mean?"

"It means one of us has to die," he said softly. "One of the twins. Your true mate."

The cave seemed to spin around me. "Lucien," I whispered.

Jaxon’s face hardened. "That’s what Elder Malin wants you to believe. But there’s something you should know about Lucien." He pulled a folded paper from his pocket.

As he gave it to me, a dark shape burst through the waterfall. A huge black wolf with glowing red eyes—Alpha Darius.

Jaxon shoved me toward a narrow crack in the back wall of the cave. "Run! There’s a tunnel that leads out the other side of the mountain!"

"But you—" "I’ll hold them off! The paper describes everything. Find Lucien!"

As I squeezed through the crack, Jaxon changed into his wolf form—russet brown and powerful. He lunged at Alpha Darius, teeth bared.

The last thing I heard was his voice in my mind: Be ready to kill tomorrow night, White Wolf. Even if it breaks your heart.

I ran through the dark tunnel, my new wolf senses guiding me, the folded paper clutched in my hand. When I finally appeared on the other side of the mountain, dawn was breaking.

With shaking hands, I unfolded the paper. Two words were written in blood, with a name beneath them:

First-born son.

Lucien.

My world shattered as I understood the terrible truth. Lucien wasn’t just my mate—he was Alpha Darius’s son.

The one who must die for the curse to break.