Fated Mate to the Triplet Alpha

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Quiet Brother’s Warning

Elara couldn’t sleep.

Tobias’s bloody message kept playing in her mind:The silver-eyed one must choose before the next full moon, or all three brothers will die. Choose what? Choose who?

The letter made no sense, yet filled her with dread. She paced her room until the walls seemed to close in. Finally, she slipped into the hallway, needing space to think. The pack house was quiet.

After yesterday’s council decision, everyone was on edge. Some pack members had even left, afraid Celeste would return with more hunters. Elara’s feet carried her to the library.

Books had always been her shelter, her escape. Maybe they held answers now. She pushed open the heavy door and froze. She wasn’t alone.

Darian sat in a leather chair by the fireplace, an old book open on his lap. Unlike Kael’s cold stares or Ronan’s warm smiles, Darian’s face was unreadable.

"Trouble sleeping?" he asked without looking up.

"How did you know it was me?" Elara asked.

Now he did look up, his eyes reflecting the firelight. "Your smell. It’s different from everyone else’s." Elara shifted uncomfortably.

"I can go..."

"Stay," Darian said, marking his page.

"I’ve been hoping to speak with you alone." Something in his tone made her nervous.

Of the three boys, Darian was the hardest to understand. Kael made his thoughts clear—he didn’t want her. Ronan wore his heart openly—he accepted her. But Darian... Darian watched and waited, his thoughts hidden behind thoughtful eyes.

"What are you reading?" she asked, moving closer.

"A history of rare mate bonds," he answered, showing her the book’s weathered cover.

"I thought it might help us understand what’s happening."

"Did you find anything?"

"Perhaps." He pointed to the chair opposite his.

"Sit." Elara sat, feeling like she was about to take a test she hadn’t studied for.

"Triple mate bonds are extremely rare," Darian stated, turning pages carefully. "Most dogs have one true mate. A few have none. In the last thousand years, there have been only five known cases of a wolf bonding to multiple mates."

"And did those end well?" Elara asked, afraid of the answer. Darian’s face darkened.

"No. They all ended in tragedy." Elara’s stomach dropped.

"Why?"

"Power," he said simply. "Too much power in one link creates... imbalance. Two of the cases finished with the mates killing each other. One ended in the entire pack being destroyed. Another led to a war between packs that lasted fifty years."

"And the fifth?" Darian met her eyes.

"The fifth is our own past. The Blackwood Curse."

"Curse?" Elara repeated, her hand automatically touching the moon pendant beneath her shirt.

"Three hundred years ago, a female Alpha named Selene Blackwood took three mates. Brothers, like us. The pack prospered under their rule, but Selene got power-hungry. She began using dark magic to extend her life and control the boys. When they tried to stop her, she cursed them and their families."

"What was the curse?" Elara whispered. "That every three generations, triplets would be born to the Alpha line. And those triplets would be bound to a single mate who would bring either salvation or death to the pack." Darian closed the book softly.

"We are those triplets, Elara."

The room suddenly felt colder. "And I’m the mate."

"Yes."

"But I don’t want to destroy anything," she argued.

"What we want and what fate has planned are not always the same," Darian said, repeating his words from days ago.

Elara thought of the council meeting tomorrow.

"Is that why everyone fears me? Because of this curse?"

"Most don’t know the details," Darian responded.

"Only the Alpha line remembers. But they feel something different about you. Something powerful."

"Kael knows, doesn’t he? That’s why he refuses the bond."

"Kael hopes that by rejecting you, he can break the cycle," Darian stated.

"But the curse doesn’t work that way."

"And what do you believe?" Elara asked, studying his face. "Do you think I’ll destroy your pack?"

Darian was quiet for so long she thought he wouldn’t answer.

Finally, he said, "I believe not everything that seems good actually is. And not everything that seems dangerous is meant to be feared."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only one I have right now." He stood and went to a shelf, returning with another book.

"This might interest you. It’s about silver-eyed wolves." Elara took it carefully.

"Silver eyes like mine?"

"They’re extremely rare," Darian stated.

"In wolf lore, silver eyes mark those with the ability to see beyond—beyond lies, beyond time, beyond the veil between worlds."

"I’m not special," Elara insisted. "I was nobody until a few days ago."

"Nobody is nobody," Darian said with unexpected gentleness. "We all have purpose. Some just take longer to discover theirs."

A comfortable silence fell between them as Elara flipped through the book. Unlike with Kael or even Ronan, being with Darian felt... peaceful. His quiet strength was different from his brothers’, but no less powerful.

"Can I ask you something personal?" she ventured.

"You can ask."

"The outline mentioned you have the darkest secrets of the three brothers. What did that mean?" Something flashed in Darian’s eyes—pain, quickly masked.

"We all have secrets, Elara. Even you."

"I don’t have any secrets," she said. "My life was an open book—a very boring, short book."

"Then what’s that pendant you keep touching?" he asked suddenly. Elara’s hand froze where it had been absently stroking the secret necklace.

"How did you—"

"I notice things," Darian said simply.

"It’s from Tobias, isn’t it?" She paused, then nodded.

"It was in my room the first night. With a note."

"May I see it?" Slowly, Elara pulled the silver crescent moon charm from beneath her shirt.

Darian reached out, his fingers stopping just short of touching it.

"The Moonstone Pendant," he breathed. "I thought it was just a legend."

"What is it?"

"A powerful talisman, made by the first silver-eyed wolf. It’s said to protect the wearer from dark magic and reveal hidden facts." His eyes met hers.

"Tobias giving this to you is important. And dangerous."

"Should I not wear it?"

"I didn’t say that," Darian responded. "But be careful. Tobias Grey is playing a game none of us fully understand."

The library door suddenly burst open. Luna Evelyn stood there, her face pale.

"The council has moved up the meeting," she stated. "They’re gathering now."

"Now?" Elara gasped. "But it’s the middle of the night!"

"Celeste has returned," Luna Evelyn explained sadly.

"Without the hunts. She’s demanding the council hear her case instantly."

Darian’s face hardened. "Where are my brothers?"

"Kael is with your father, trying to reason with the council leaders. Ronan..." Luna Evelyn paused.

"Ronan tried to face Celeste. They’re holding him now."

"That fool," Darian mumbled. "His temper will get him killed."

"What should I do?" Elara asked, fear rising in her throat.

Darian took her hand, his touch surprisingly warm. "Stay close to me. Whatever happens, don’t let them split us."

As they hurried through the hallways, Luna Evelyn fell back to walk beside Elara.

"There’s something you should know," she whispered anxiously. "The council fears you because of the prophecy, but there’s more to it than what Darian told you."

"What do you mean?" Elara asked. "The curse doesn’t just threaten destruction," Luna Evelyn said, her voice barely audible. "It offers rebirth. A new kind of pack, stronger than any before it."

"Then why does everyone want me gone?"

"Because power structures don’t change willingly," Luna Evelyn replied.

"And those in power will do anything to stay there." They reached the council hall, a circular room with twelve high-backed chairs arranged in a semi-circle.

Pack adults filled most seats, their faces stern in the torchlight. Alpha Marcus stood in the middle, his powerful frame tense. Kael stood at his right, looking royal and cold. And there was Celeste, beautiful even in her hate, standing before the council with tears streaming down her face.

"She murdered my father!" Celeste was saying as they entered. "The Beta is dead because of her!" Gasps filled the room.

Elara froze. "What? No! I didn’t—"

"Silence!" one of the elders ordered. "The accused will speak when spoken to."

"This is outrageous," Darian said quietly, though his hand tightened around Elara’s. "My father’s Beta was alive when Celeste fled with the hunters."

"He was found an hour ago with his throat torn out," Celeste shot back. "And her scent was all over the scene."

"Impossible," Alpha Marcus growled. "Elara has been in the pack house the entire time."

"Has she?" Celeste smiled bitterly. "Or is that what she wanted you to believe while she settled her score?"

From across the room, Elara caught Ronan’s eye. He was being held back by two guards, his face twisted with rage. Kael wouldn’t look at her at all.

"I didn’t kill anyone," Elara said, her voice shaking. "I swear it."

"We have evidence," Celeste insisted, producing a bloody cloth. "Her hair was found in his claws. And this—" She held up a silver chain. Elara’s hand flew to her neck. The moon charm was gone.

"The missing half of the pendant she wears," Celeste stated triumphantly. "Left at the scene of the murder."

But how? The ring had been around her neck just minutes ago in the library. Darian leaned close to her ear and whispered something that made her blood run cold:

"Someone is trying to frame you. And I think I know who." Before she could ask what he meant, the head elder stood.

"Elara Moon," he declared, "you are hereby charged with the murder of Beta Rivers. Until your guilt or innocence is proven, you will be held in the silver cells." As guards moved toward her, Darian stepped forward. "I invoke the Right of Protection," he stated, his voice ringing through the chamber.

"As her mate, I claim responsibility for her actions and offer myself as her guardian." The council muttered in surprise.

Even Alpha Marcus looked shocked.

"Very well," the head elder finally said. "But know this, Darian Blackwood: If she flees or commits another crime, your life is forfeit."

As the council scattered, Elara turned to Darian. "Why did you do that?" His eyes were dark with something she couldn’t read. Was it concern? Fear? Or something deeper?

"Because," he said softly, "the betrayal in the prophecy has already begun. And I need you to trust me when I tell you this: One of us is not what he seems."