Fated Mate to the Triplet Alpha

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Silver Lies

As Elara held on to the silver key even tighter, her heart beat fast against her chest. The thing that used to be Beta James lurched toward her, moving in a way that didn’t seem normal. "The pack is waiting," Celeste purred. The light in the trees made her new, too-perfect face shine. "The Moon Festival begins at sunset." In an instant, Kael jumped forward and bared his teeth. "You’re not taking her anywhere!" Celeste’s fingers sent out shadows that wrapped around Kael’s throat and lifted him off the ground. The other triplets sprang into motion. Darian chanted old words, and Ronan ran ahead. "Stop!" Elara screamed. The silver key in her palm suddenly burned white-hot, sending rays of moonlight shooting between her fingers. The shadows around Kael shrank instantly. Celeste hissed, her beautiful face contorting into something horrible. "This isn’t over," she growled, backing away. "The Blood Moon rises tonight. Choose carefully, Luna." With a snap of her fingers, both she and the shell of her father disappeared into shadow. Tobias helped Kael to his feet. "We need to move. Now."

"Wait," Elara whispered, staring at the key in her hand. The pain had faded, but moonlight still pulsed gently within it. "She mentioned the Moon Festival." Darian’s eyes widened. "The annual celebration when the barriers between worlds are thinnest." "The perfect time for a skin-walker invasion," Ronan growled. "Or a rescue," Elara said suddenly. "If Luna Evelyn is truly alive—" "We can’t trust anything that came from Beta James," Kael interrupted, rubbing his throat. "The key is real," Elara declared. "You saw how it reacted to the shadows." The triplets exchanged looks. Finally, Tobias spoke. "The old temple is three miles northeast. If we move now, we can reach it before sunset." The old stone temple stood half-buried in the mountainside, its entrance choked with vines and moss.

Above the entry, a faded carving showed three wolves howling at a crescent moon. "The original triplets," Darian mumbled, brushing his fingers against the weathered stone. "Our ancestors." Elara approached the door, the silver key humming in her hand. "There’s no keyhole." "Not on the surface," Kael said, pushing aside a tangle of vines to show a hidden panel. "Here." The moment Elara slid the key into the lock, the ground beneath them shook. The stone door swung inward silently, showing a spiraling staircase that plunged deep into darkness. "I’ll go first," Ronan offered, his eyes glowing amber as he shifted partly. The stairs seemed endless, winding down into the earth until Elara lost all sense of direction. The walls were covered with ancient paintings showing wolves, moons, and shadow creatures with many limbs. "Look," Tobias pointed to one picture that showed a woman standing between three wolves, her hands raised toward a blood-red moon. "The first Luna." "She’s splitting something," Darian noticed, studying the image. "Dividing her power." Before Elara could look closer, a faint tune drifted up from below—a haunting lullaby that made her skin prickle. "Someone’s down there," she whispered. They descended faster, the singing getting louder until they reached a massive chamber lit by crystals that glowed with moonlight. In the middle, seated on a stone throne, was a woman with silver hair and Kael’s golden eyes. "Mother?" Kael gasped. Luna Evelyn looked up, her face thin but beautiful. "My son," she whispered, her voice cracking. "You shouldn’t have come." Kael rushed forward, but Darian caught his arm. "Wait. Something’s wrong." Luna Evelyn’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. "Smart boy. Always the cautious one." Elara felt the key grow warm again as Luna Evelyn rose from the throne. Her moves were too fluid, too perfect. "The key," Luna Evelyn said, extending her hand. "Give it to me, child. It’s the finishing piece we need." "We?" Elara asked, taking a step back. Luna Evelyn’s smile widened strangely. "The skin-walkers, of course. They’ve been such generous hosts these past years." "You’re not my mother," Kael growled, his claws extending. Luna Evelyn laughed—a sound like breaking glass. "Not entirely, no. But I wear her skin so effectively, don’t I? She’s still in here, screaming." The chamber darkened as shadows started pouring from Luna Evelyn’s eyes and mouth. Her beautiful face stretched and twisted as the skin-walker queen emerged. "You’ve brought me exactly what I needed," the creature hissed, her words echoing from multiple mouths that opened across her body. "The key, the triplets, and the false Luna—all in one convenient package." Elara felt fear rising as the shadows surrounded them. The key burned against her palm, urging her to move. "Let Luna Evelyn go!" she ordered. The skin-walker queen laughed again. "Oh, child. She’s been mine for years. Just as you will be." Suddenly, a new voice spoke from the shadows behind them. "Not if I have anything to say about it." They all turned to see Alpha Marcus standing in the door, his eyes blazing with power. Behind him stood dozens of pack members, including a grinning Celeste. "Father," Kael whispered, relief washing over his face. But Elara saw something in Marcus’s eyes that made her blood run cold—hunger, not love. "Excellent work, my queen," Marcus said, bowing slightly to the skin-walker. "You’ve gathered them exactly as planned." Betrayal hit Elara like a physical blow. The triplets moved protectively around her as Marcus neared. "Did you really think I’d let a prophecy determine who rules my pack?" Marcus asked, his voice strangely calm. "I’ve worked too hard to let a random girl steal my sons’ power." "You’ve been working with them all along," Darian realized, fear in his voice. "Smart boy," Marcus and the skin-walker queen said in sync, their voices overlapping unnaturally. Celeste stepped forward, shadows moving around her fingers.

"The Moon Festival starts in one hour.

The pack is gathered, the blood moon rises, and we have everything we need." She turned to Elara with hate in her eyes. "Your heart will be the final sacrifice." "Take them," Marcus demanded. Shadows rushed forward from all directions. Elara felt the triplets’ power surge around her, but it wasn’t enough. The darkness overtook them, separating them as they fought. "Run!" Kael shouted to Elara as shadows dragged him back. The key in Elara’s hand suddenly pulsed with bright light. Acting on instinct, she thrust it into the stone floor beneath her feet. The chamber shook fiercely as moonlight erupted from the key, forming a pathway through the shadows. Without hesitation, Elara dashed through the opening, the screams of the triplets echoing behind her. "Let her go," she heard Marcus say as she fled up the stairs. "She has nowhere to run. The festival awaits—and so does her fate." Tears streaming down her face, Elara exited from the temple into the fading daylight. The Blood Moon was already visible on the horizon, an eerie red eye watching her desperate flight. She had one hour to save the triplets, Luna Evelyn, and possibly the entire pack—with no plan, no friends, and nowhere to hide. The Moon Festival had started.