Bound to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Dream Hunters

ARIA POV

I crashed through the underbrush, my paws barely hitting the ground as I ran. The forest was a blur around me, trees rushing past in streaks of black and gray. My white hair glowed in the moonlight, making me an easy target.

They were hunting me.

Three wolves followed my trail—one silver, one black, one brown. Their howls filled the night air, closing in from all sides. I pushed myself harder, muscles burning, heart beating in my chest.

The silver wolf was fastest, breaking ahead of the pack. I could hear his breath, feel his presence closing in behind me. But he wasn’t attacking. He was... protecting me?

The black wolf growled, lunging at the silver one. They met in mid-air, teeth flashing, claws tearing. The russet wolf circled around them, eyes calculating, waiting for his time.

"Choose," a voice whispered through the trees. "Choose or they all die."

Blood splattered across falling leaves. The silver wolf yelped in pain as teeth sank into his neck.

I stopped running and turned to face them. Something inside me snapped. Power raced through my body, and I let out a roar that shook the forest.

The three wolves froze, looking at me with different expressions—fear, awe, and something else. Something like love.

I opened my mouth to speak, but water suddenly filled my lungs. I was drowning, sinking beneath the top of the waterfall pool. The dogs’ faces warped and changed, becoming human. Lucien. Kael. Jaxon.

All reaching for me as I sank deeper...

I bolted upright with a gasp, choking on air. My clothes were damp with sweat, heart pounding against my ribs. It took me a moment to understand I wasn’t in the forest or underwater. I was in a small cell, lying on a narrow bed.

How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was reading those terrible words on the paper Jaxon had given me. First-born son. Lucien.

"Bad dream?"

I jerked toward the voice. Kael stood in the doorway, watching me with intense eyes. His face was swollen, a cut above his eyebrow still healing. But he was alive. And his eyes—they were normal, no sign of red.

"Kael!" I scrambled backward on the bed, confused and afraid. "How—you were captured."

"I escaped," he said simply, entering the room. "Found you unconscious on the mountainside."

My hand went to my jacket pocket, looking for the paper, but it was gone. "Where is it? The note Jaxon gave me?"

Kael’s face darkened. "There was no note when I found you."

Had I dropped it? Or had it never existed at all?

"What happened to Jaxon?" I asked, memories rushing back. "Alpha Darius found us at the falls. Jaxon stayed to fight."

"Jaxon’s fine," Kael said, his voice tight. "He always lands on his feet."

Something in his tone made me pause. "You don’t sound happy about that."

Kael sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Things are... complicated between us."

"Because of me?"

"Because of everything." He studied my face carefully. "Your eyes are different."

My hand went to my face. "What do you mean?"

"They changed color. There’s silver in them now." He leaned closer. "Your wolf woke up, didn’t she?"

I nodded slowly. "At the waterfall. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before."

"A True Alpha wolf," Kael muttered. "Just like in the stories."

"You knew?"

"I suspected," he admitted. "The way you heal, the way you push me without even thinking about it. No omega would dare."

I remembered the paper, the terrible news about Lucien. Should I tell Kael? Could I trust him?

"What were you dreaming about?" Kael asked suddenly. "You were thrashing around, calling out names."

"I was being chased," I said carefully. "By three wolves."

"Us," he guessed. "The triplets."

I nodded. "The silver one was trying to protect me from the others."

"Which one was silver?" Kael’s voice was too casual, his eyes too focused.

"I don’t know," I lied. In the dream, I’d known exactly which brother was which dog.

Kael didn’t believe me—I could tell by the way his jaw tightened—but he didn’t push. Instead, he stood and walked to the small window, looking out at the afternoon light.

"Where’s Lucien?" I asked, suddenly understanding he wasn’t here.

"Looking for you," Kael responded. "We split up after I escaped. He went back to the safe house, thinking you might return there."

"We need to find him," I said, throwing off the blanket and standing. My legs wobbled, still weak from everything that had happened.

Kael caught me before I fell. His touch sent an electric current through my body—not the mate bond, but something else. A recognition between Alphas.

"You need to rest," he insisted. "The Blood Moon rises tonight. You’ll need your strength."

"There’s no time," I pleaded. "Your father is coming for all of us. He knows I’m awake now."

"My father," Kael said slowly, "isn’t himself anymore. Hasn’t been for years."

"The Blood Curse," I whispered. "Can it be broken?"

Kael’s hands tightened on my arms. "That’s what I need to tell you. There’s something in your mother’s journal—something Elder Malin didn’t want you to see."

"What?"

"A different version of the prophecy." He led me back to the bed, making me sit. "The white wolf will rise when three become one, but only through death can the curse be undone."

"Someone has to die," I whispered. "One of you."

"Not just anyone," Kael said softly. "The first-born son."

The words from the lost paper echoed in my mind. "Lucien is the first-born?"

Surprise flashed across Kael’s face. "You didn’t know?"

"But you’re the oldest," I argued. "The next Alpha."

"That’s what everyone was told," Kael said angrily. "A lie to protect the true heir."

"Lucien," I breathed, heart breaking. "He doesn’t know, does he?"

"No. And he can never know."

"Why?"

Kael’s eyes met mine, filled with pain. "Because if he knows, he’ll sacrifice himself freely. And I can’t let that happen."

"There has to be another way," I urged.

"There isn’t." His voice hardened. "I’ve spent years searching for one."

"Then why tell me at all?"

"Because," Kael said slowly, "I need you to make a choice tonight. When the Blood Moon rises, when the ritual starts, you’ll have to choose which of us lives and which dies."

My stomach dropped. "I can’t do that."

"You have to," he urged. "It’s the only way to break the curse."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we all die," he said bluntly. "And the curse spreads to every wolf in both packs."

A howl echoed outside—close, too close. Kael tensed, moving to the window.

"We need to go," he said quickly. "They’ve found us."

As he grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door, I remembered something from my mother’s book. Something about choices and suffering.

"Wait," I said, pulling back. "My mother wrote that the white wolf must choose not just with her heart, but with her blood."

Kael froze. "What does that mean?"

"I don’t know," I admitted. "But she also wrote that true mates can’t be forced or faked. The bond knows."

"And your bond is with Lucien," Kael said simply.

Was it? I wasn’t sure anymore. Since my wolf had woken, everything felt different. The pull toward Lucien was still there, but something new had emerged—a link to Kael that felt just as strong.

"We need to find him," I insisted. "All three of you need to be at the ritual grounds tonight."

Kael nodded reluctantly. "There’s a path through the mountains that goes back to pack territory. If we hurry—"

The bedroom door burst open. We both spun around, ready to fight.

Lucien stood in the doorway, blood soaking his left side. His eyes were wide with fear.

"Run," he gasped. "Jaxon misled us. He’s leading them here."

Before either of us could move, the air around us shimmered oddly. A circle of red light circled the cabin, trapping us inside.

"Too late," a cold voice said from behind Lucien.

Alpha Darius stepped into view, his eyes burning blood-red. Beside him stood Jaxon, face blank, eyes empty.

"The white wolf and both my sons," Alpha Darius said, smiling cruelly. "How convenient."

His gaze locked on me, and I felt my wolf rise in answer, teeth bared, ready to fight.

"The Blood Moon rises in three hours," he stated. "Just enough time to prepare the sacrifice."

He snapped his fingers, and red light poured from Jaxon’s eyes and mouth. The center triplet turned to us with an inhuman smile.

"Did you really think any of you had a choice?" he asked, but it wasn’t Jaxon’s voice. It was something old and terrible.

The curse had a voice of its own.

And it was coming for us all.