Bound to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Betrayal and Escape

ARIA POV

The pack house door slammed open. Alpha Darius stormed in, his eyes still flickering between human brown and shadow black.

"Chain her!" he barked, pointing at me.

Four pack guards rushed forward. I backed against the wall, my newly found wolf still close to the surface after last night’s full moon. I could feel her power humming beneath my skin, ready to break free again.

"Don’t touch her," Kael’s words cut through the tension. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, his face hard as stone.

Everyone froze. No one expected Kael—strict, rule-following Kael—to challenge his father.

"She’s dangerous," Alpha Darius growled. "You saw what happened last night. The girl called the Forgotten Packs!"

"They haven’t arrived yet," Kael answered evenly. "And she didn’t know what she was doing."

My heart pounded wildly. Hours ago, we’d all been in the forest, watching the sky light up with that strange silver glow. Then chaos had erupted. My mother had disappeared again. My father had fled. The Shadow Alpha had regained control and directed everyone back to the pack house.

Now here we were, and Kael was... defending me? "Move aside, son," Alpha Darius demanded.

Kael didn’t move. "No."

The Alpha’s eyes opened with shock, then narrowed dangerously. "You dare challenge me?"

"He’s not the only one," Jaxon stated, stepping into the room. Unlike Kael’s quiet rebellion, Jaxon’s entire body vibrated with rage. "You lied to us our whole lives."

"I raised you!" Alpha Darius roared.

"After you killed our real father," Jaxon shot back.

The room went quiet. No one had spoken this truth aloud in the pack house before.

Alpha Darius’s face clouded. "Your father was weak. The pack deserved stronger direction."

"So you made a deal with dark magic," Jaxon said, his voice rising. "You became the Shadow Alpha and stole what wasn’t yours!"

The Alpha moved faster than I thought possible, catching Jaxon by the throat and lifting him off the ground. "I did what was necessary!"

"Let him go!" I yelled, my wolf surging forward. My fingernails extended into claws, my teeth sharpened. The guards backed away in fear.

Alpha Darius threw Jaxon across the room. He hit the wall hard but instantly jumped back to his feet, shifting partially—claws out, eyes glowing.

"Do you really want to fight me, boy?" the Alpha teased.

"Stop!" Kael stepped between them. "This isn’t helping anyone."

"Then get out of my way and let me secure the girl," Alpha Darius growled.

"No," Kael said again. "She stays free until the Elders decide what to do."

The Alpha’s patience snapped. "Guards! Take her to the cells. And if my kids interfere, take them too!"

The guards paused, looking between their Alpha and his sons. The pack’s power structure was collapsing in front of their eyes.

"NOW!" Alpha Darius roared, his voice carrying the Alpha order.

The guards moved forward unwillingly, forced by the order. I pressed myself against the wall, ready to fight.

"Aria, run!" Jaxon shouted, throwing himself at the nearest guards.

In seconds, the room burst into chaos. Kael and Jaxon fought the guards while Alpha Darius shouted orders. I darted between people, looking for an escape route.

A hand grabbed my arm. I spun around, claws raised, but stopped when I saw Lucien’s face.

"This way," he hissed, pulling me toward the back of the house.

While everyone focused on the fight, Lucien led me down a hallway I’d never seen before. He pressed his hand against a wooden panel, and it slid open to show a dark tunnel.

"Where does this go?" I asked.

"Away from here," Lucien answered. "It’s an emergency exit route. The Alphas built it generations ago."

He pulled me into the tube and closed the panel behind us. The sounds of fighting faded instantly.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked as we rushed through the darkness. "Why is Kael protecting me? None of this makes sense."

Lucien’s eyes glowed slightly in the dark, helping us navigate. "The ties are strengthening. We can all feel it now—what you are, what you mean to us."

"The Moon Alpha thing?" I asked.

He nodded. "Last night changed everything. When your dog emerged, when you called to us... we all felt it. Even Kael, though he’d never admit it."

The tube seemed to go on forever, sloping gently downward. I could smell fresh air ahead.

"What about my mother? Is she really alive?"

"Yes," Lucien agreed. "She fled during the chaos last night. She’s the one who told me to get you out."

"Where is she now?"

"Gathering friends. The Forgotten Packs are coming, Aria. Your howl woke something ancient. Packs that vanished centuries ago have heard the call of a Moon Alpha. They’re coming from all ways."

We reached the end of the tunnel, where a small wooden door blocked our way. Lucien pushed it open, showing daylight and trees beyond.

"You need to go," he said, digging into his pocket. "Here."

He gave me a folded piece of paper. When I opened it, I saw it was a map with a route marked in red ink. At the end was a circle around a spot labeled "Silver Creek Pack."

"What’s there?" I asked.

"Someone who can help you understand what’s happening. Someone who knew your mother."

"Another Moon Alpha?"

Lucien shook his head. "A scholar. A keeper of the old stories. Her name is Lyra."

I stared at him in confusion. "But Lyra is my mother’s name."

"Not your mother," Lucien explained. "Lyra is an old name passed down through generations of women who keep the Moon Alpha histories. The present Lyra is an old woman who lives with the Silver Creek Pack. She’ll protect you until we can come for you."

"We? You’re not coming with me?"

Pain flashed across Lucien’s face. "I can’t. Not yet. Kael, Jaxon, and I need to keep Alpha Darius busy. Make him think you’re still somewhere in pack territory."

"But the bonds—"

"Will hold," he told me. "Distance can’t break them. Not anymore."

A crash heard from far behind us in the tunnel. Someone was following.

"Go!" Lucien pushed. "Follow the map. Stay off the main roads. Trust no one until you reach Lyra."

"Lucien, I can’t leave you all—"

He cut me off with a kiss—desperate, fierce, and far too short. When he pulled away, his eyes were glowing with feeling.

"We’ll find you," he promised. "All three of us. Together."

Another crash, closer now. I could hear screaming in the tunnel.

"Go!" Lucien gave me a gentle push through the door. "Run east until you hit the river, then follow it north like the map shows. Don’t stop until nightfall."

Tears blurred my view as I stepped outside. "What if something happens to you?"

"Nothing will," he said, though his eyes showed his uncertainty. "The prophecy isn’t finished yet."

The sounds of pursuit grew louder. Lucien gave me one last look before closing the door. I heard a thud as he blocked it from the inside.

I clutched the map and ran, my wolf giving me speed and strength. Trees flashed by as I pushed deeper into unknown country, away from everything and everyone I knew.

After what felt like hours, I stopped on a hilltop and looked back. In the distance, I could see smoke coming from the pack house. My heart clenched with fear for Lucien, Kael, and Jaxon.

As I turned to continue my trip, a figure stepped out from behind a tree ahead of me. I froze, ready to fight or flee.

"Hello, daughter," said my father, Dominic. His eyes were clear now, showing no sign of the darkness from the night before. "I’ve been waiting for you."

The map shook in my hand. "You’re working with Darius."

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "No. I’m not working with my brother. I’m not working with the kids either."

"Then who—"

"The Forgotten Packs don’t just need a Moon Alpha to lead them," he said, moving closer. "They need someone who understands the old ways. Someone who can guide the Moon Alpha."

"You?"

His smile widened. "Us. Together. Father and daughter, as it should be."

He held out his hand. "Come with me, Aria. I’ll take you to the real Lyra—the one who raised me after Darius thought he’d killed me. The one who told me about the daughter I would have someday."

I hesitated, feeling the trap but unable to see it clearly. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because the triplets can’t protect you from what’s coming," he said, his voice suddenly soft. "But I can. The Shadow Alpha’s men are right behind you, and the Forgotten Packs are gathering as we speak. War is coming, Aria. Tonight."