Fated Mate to the Triplet Alpha

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Whispers of the True Luna

Darkness swirled around Elara like hungry shadows. The poison burned through her veins, turning her blood to fire. She could hear Kael and Ronan arguing, their voices fading as she sank deeper into the void.

Then a new sound cut through—a high, eerie note from Ronan’s bone whistle. It vibrated in her bones, calling to something ancient inside her.

"Will it work?" Kael’s voice seemed far away.

"It has to," Ronan answered. "She’s dying."

Elara tried to speak, but her lips wouldn’t move. The poison had reached her heart, each beat slower than the last.

Suddenly, the darkness shifted. Elara found herself standing in a beautiful garden she’d never seen before. Moonflowers bloomed all around, their silver petals glowing softly.

"Hello, little moon child."

Elara turned. A woman stood among the flowers—tall and graceful with kind eyes that looked exactly like Kael’s. She wore a simple white dress and a silver crown of twisted branches.

"Luna Evelyn?" Elara whispered. "The real Luna Evelyn?"

The woman smiled sadly. "What remains of her."

Elara stepped closer. "Am I dead?"

"Not yet," Luna Evelyn said. "You’re caught between worlds. The poison traps you here while your body dies."

Fear gripped Elara’s heart. "I need to go back! The skin-walker queen—"

"I know," Luna Evelyn interrupted gently. "I’ve watched her wear my face for eighteen years, unable to stop her."

"How are you here? She said she killed you."

Luna Evelyn gestured around them. "This garden exists in the space between life and death. My spirit was trapped here when she took my body."

She reached out and took Elara’s hands. Her touch was warm, solid—nothing like a ghost’s.

"We don’t have much time," Luna Evelyn said urgently. "The poison will claim you soon, and she will control your power as she’s controlled mine."

"How do I stop her?" Elara asked.

"First, you must survive." Luna Evelyn reached up and unclasped the necklace she wore—a delicate silver chain with a crescent moon pendant, different from Elara’s broken one.

"This was meant for you," she said, placing it around Elara’s neck. "Your mother gave it to me the night the Moonstone Pack fell. ’For my daughter,’ she said, ’when she’s ready to know the truth.’"

The moment the necklace touched Elara’s skin, warmth spread through her chest, pushing back the poison’s chill.

"What is it?" Elara asked, touching the crescent moon.

"A key," Luna Evelyn answered. "And a weapon."

She led Elara to a small pond in the center of the garden. The water’s surface showed not their reflections, but scenes from long ago.

"Watch," Luna Evelyn commanded. "Learn what the skin-walker doesn’t want you to know."

The water rippled, showing a young woman with silver eyes—like Elara’s—standing before a pack of wolves.

"The first Luna with silver eyes," Evelyn explained. "She was born an omega, like they told you that you were. The pack laughed when she claimed she could lead."

The scene changed, showing the same woman facing a monster with too many teeth—a skin-walker.

"They didn’t laugh when she drove back the darkness," Luna Evelyn continued. "When she bound the skin-walkers beneath the earth with her silver fire."

The water shifted again. Now it showed a line of women, generation after generation, each with the same silver eyes.

"For centuries, the daughters of the silver bloodline protected the packs," Luna Evelyn said. "Until the skin-walkers found a way to break free, eighteen years ago."

A final image appeared—a woman holding a baby, running through a burning forest. Elara recognized her mother from the diary’s sketch.

"They targeted your mother first," Luna Evelyn whispered. "The strongest silver-eyed Luna in generations. After killing her, the queen came for me."

The water went dark, and Luna Evelyn’s face tightened with pain.

"Why didn’t she kill me too?" Elara asked. "I was just a baby."

"The prophecy," Luna Evelyn said. "It stated that killing a silver-eyed child would destroy the killer’s power. So instead, she bound your abilities and hid you as an omega."

Understanding dawned on Elara. "She’s been waiting for me to grow up. To claim my power for herself."

Luna Evelyn nodded. "And now she has poisoned you to make you vulnerable. When your will is broken, she’ll take control of your mind and your silver fire."

"How do I stop the poison?" Elara asked desperately.

"The necklace will help," Luna Evelyn said. "But you need more. You need the strength of all three bonds."

"But Darian—"

"Is alive," Luna Evelyn finished. "My youngest son lives, hidden where even the skin-walker queen cannot find him."

Hope bloomed in Elara’s chest. "Where?"

"I cannot say the words aloud, even here," Luna Evelyn glanced nervously at the shadows creeping closer around the garden. "She might hear. But this will show you."

She pressed her palm to Elara’s forehead. Images flashed through Elara’s mind—a cave behind a waterfall, a hidden valley, a throne made of bones.

"The bone throne," Elara gasped. "That’s where they’re keeping him?"

Luna Evelyn nodded grimly. "The skin-walkers’ domain. Their prince guards him."

"Their prince?"

"The fake Darian was the queen’s son," Luna Evelyn explained. "The prince of skin-walkers. He’s held my true son prisoner since the night he took his place."

The garden began to darken, moonflowers closing as shadows pressed in.

"She’s found us," Luna Evelyn said urgently. "Listen carefully. To defeat the queen, you need all three true brothers. The one who loves with his heart—"

"Ronan," Elara said.

"The one who loves with his mind—"

"Kael."

"And the one who loves with his soul—"

"Darian," Elara whispered. "The real Darian."

Luna Evelyn squeezed her hands tightly. "When the three bonds are whole, your power will be complete. Only then can you face the queen."

The garden trembled, moonflowers wilting as darkness poured in.

"She’s here!" Luna Evelyn cried, pushing Elara toward the pond. "Go back now! The necklace will fight the poison until you can find my son."

"Come with me!" Elara begged.

Luna Evelyn shook her head sadly. "I cannot leave this place while she wears my body. But when you destroy her, I will be free."

The shadows formed a terrible shape—the skin-walker queen in her true form, reaching for them with clawed hands.

"One last thing," Luna Evelyn said quickly. "Trust Tobias. He was your mother’s most loyal guard. He’ll help you find Darian."

She placed her hands on Elara’s shoulders and pushed her into the pond. As Elara fell backward into the water, Luna Evelyn called out:

"Remember! Heart, mind, and soul united! That’s how you’ll break the curse!"

Cold water closed over Elara’s head. She sank deep, lungs burning, the new crescent necklace glowing brightly against her chest.

Then, with a violent gasp, she woke.

Kael and Ronan hovered over her, faces tight with worry. Behind them stood Tobias, his hands glowing with strange green light that he was pressing to her poisoned shoulder.

"She’s back," Tobias said, relief evident in his voice. "I wasn’t sure we could pull you back from the edge."

Elara clutched the silver crescent necklace that now hung around her neck—solid and real, not just a dream.

"Luna Evelyn," she gasped. "The real Luna Evelyn gave me this."

Kael stared at the necklace, his face pale. "That’s my mother’s. She wore it every day until—"

"Until the skin-walker took her place," Elara finished. She struggled to sit up, wincing as Tobias continued drawing poison from her wound. "She’s trapped between worlds, but she’s alive."

Ronan looked skeptical. "You’re saying you met our real mother? How?"

"The poison sent me somewhere else," Elara explained. "A garden with moonflowers. She was waiting for me."

"Moonhaven," Tobias said quietly. "The spirit realm of Luna guardians."

He removed his hands from Elara’s shoulder. The wound was clean now, no longer spreading black poison through her veins.

"Only a true Luna can enter Moonhaven," he continued. "Even at the edge of death."

Kael’s expression hardened. "That thing wearing my mother’s face—she said Darian was dead."

"She lied," Elara said firmly. "The real Darian is alive. Luna Evelyn showed me where to find him."

Hope flashed across the brothers’ faces.

"Where?" Ronan demanded.

"The bone throne," Elara answered. "In the skin-walkers’ domain."

Tobias cursed under his breath. "That’s deep in their territory. No wolf has ever gone there and returned."

"Then we’ll be the first," Kael declared, his eyes burning with determination.

Elara tried to stand but swayed dangerously. Though the poison was gone, its effects lingered.

"You’re too weak," Tobias cautioned. "The necklace protected you from death, but you need time to recover."

"We don’t have time," Elara insisted. "The skin-walker queen knows I survived. She’ll come back stronger."

As if summoned by her words, a howl cut through the night—not a wolf’s cry, but something twisted and wrong.

"Shadow wolves," Ronan growled, peering out the window. "Dozens of them."

Tobias moved quickly, pulling herbs and powders from a pouch at his belt. "I can make a barrier, but it won’t hold them for long."

"How long?" Kael asked.

"Until dawn," Tobias answered. "Six hours at most."

Elara clutched the crescent necklace, remembering Luna Evelyn’s urgent face. "We need to find Darian before then."

"You can barely stand," Kael argued.

"I don’t need to stand to use this," Elara said, touching her temple. "Luna Evelyn showed me how to find him through our bond."

The brothers exchanged glances.

"You can track him?" Ronan asked.

Elara nodded. "Through the mate bond. It’s faint, but it’s there."

Outside, the shadow wolves howled closer. Tobias finished creating a circle of strange powder around the room.

"It’s your call," he told Kael. "Stay and fight, or run and search."

Kael looked at Elara, then at his injured brother. His expression shifted from doubt to resolve.

"We find Darian," he decided. "Tonight."

"There’s something else," Elara added quietly. "Something Luna Evelyn told me."

All three men turned to her.

"The fake Darian—he wasn’t just any skin-walker. He was the prince." She met Kael’s eyes directly. "And he’ll be guarding the real Darian personally."

Ronan’s face darkened. "So we’re not just facing shadows. We’re facing their prince."

"And eventually their queen," Tobias added grimly.

Elara’s hand tightened around the crescent necklace. "Luna Evelyn said I need all three true brothers to defeat her. Heart, mind, and soul united."

Outside, the first shadow wolf threw itself against the house with a thunderous crash.

"The barrier won’t hold them all," Tobias warned.

Kael helped Elara to her feet. "Then we leave now. Back door, through the forest."

As they prepared to flee, Elara caught sight of herself in a mirror—her eyes glowing silver, the crescent necklace shining against her skin. For the first time, she didn’t see a helpless omega. She saw what Luna Evelyn had shown her: a warrior born to fight darkness.

"Ready?" Kael asked, his hand steady on her arm.

Elara nodded. "Ready."

As they slipped out into the night, the shadow wolves howling behind them, Elara thought about the line of silver-eyed women she’d seen in Luna Evelyn’s vision—omegas who became leaders, fighters who changed everything.

Now it was her turn.