Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

The café was warm and smelled like coffee and cinnamon, and Wren was already sitting at a corner table by the window with two cups in front of her. She looked up the moment Lilith walked in and her face split into a relieved smile that made Lilith’s chest ache.

”There you are,” Wren said, standing up to hug her. The hug was tight and lasted longer than normal, and when Wren pulled back her hands stayed on Lilith’s shoulders for a moment, her eyes scanning her face carefully. ”You look exhausted.”

”I am exhausted,” Lilith admitted, sliding into the chair across from her. She reached for the coffee Wren had ordered for her and wrapped her hands around the cup, letting the warmth seep into her palms. ”Thank you for this.”

”Of course.” Wren sat back down and watched her for a moment, her expression softening. ”How is your mom?”

”The same. No change.”

”I’m sorry.”

Lilith nodded and took a sip of coffee, letting the silence settle between them for a moment. Wren didn’t push, did not ask questions, just waited the way she always had when they were younger and Lilith needed time to find her words.

Finally Lilith set the cup down and looked at her. ”You said you needed to see my face. What’s going on?”

Wren’s expression shifted, became more serious, and she leaned forward slightly. ”I wanted to ask you about the posts and the information i gave you the last time. Are the brothers doing anything about it?”

Lilith exhaled slowly. ”Nicholas is investigating. He told me they traced the posts back to Shadowmere Pack territory. Someone with inside knowledge of my father’s records.”

Wren went very still. ”Inside knowledge.”

”Yeah. Someone who has access to pack archives. Someone who knew my father personally.” Lilith paused and looked down at her coffee. ”Nicholas won’t tell me who yet. He says he’s still gathering information.”

Wren was quiet for a long moment and when Lilith looked up she found her friend watching her with an expression she could not quite read. ”Lilith... do you know who is in charge of the archives at Shadowmere now?”

Lilith’s stomach dropped. ”No. Why?”

”Mike.”

The name hit her like a punch to the chest and she actually flinched. ”What?”

”Mike became the archive keeper few weeks ago. Right after you left Shadowmare.” Wren’s voice was steady but her eyes were sharp, watching Lilith’s reaction carefully. ”He has full access to the pack archives now. Everything about your father. Every record, every report, every piece of documentation.”

Lilith felt the blood drain from her face. ”No. Mike wouldn’t....”

”I’m not saying he did,” Wren said quickly, her hands coming up in a calming gesture.

”I’m just saying the timing is something you should notice. He has access. He was close to your family before what happened to your father happened. And these posts started appearing right around the time he became the keeper.”

Lilith’s hands were shaking again and she pressed them flat against the table to make them stop. ”Mike wouldn’t do this to me. We didn’t end well but he wouldn’t...”

”Lilith.” Wren reached across the table and covered one of her hands with her own. ”He’s been calling me again.”

Lilith looked up sharply. ”What?”

”Three times in the last two weeks. Asking about you again. Saying he’s worried about you. ”The first call came two days after the original post appeared which I told you about. But then he started calling me more often, sometimes I didn’t pick and sometimes I picked, but when I picked, he was always asking about the same thing.”

Lilith felt like the floor had dropped out from under her. ”You think he posted it.”

”I think the timing is suspicious. I think he has access to information that would make these posts possible. And I think you need to tell Alpha Nicholas.” Wren’s voice was firm now, the kind of firm that meant she was not going to let this go.

”I’m not saying Mike is behind it. But you can’t ignore this. The brothers are investigating and they need to know about him.”

Lilith pulled her hand back and pressed it to her forehead, her mind racing. Mike. Her ex-boyfriend who had left her for his true mate, who had broken her heart and moved on without looking back, was now the archives keeper at Shadowmere, who had access to every piece of information about her father’s service record and death.

Mike who might be the one dragging her father’s name through the mud.

She felt sick.

”I know this is hard,” Wren said quietly. ”But you have to tell Alpha Nicholas. This is too important to keep to yourself.”

”I know,” Lilith whispered. ”I will. I just... I need a minute.”

Wren nodded and sat back, giving her space. They sat in silence for a while, Lilith staring at her coffee and trying to process everything while Wren waited patiently across from her.

Finally Lilith looked up. ”How have you been? Tell me something normal. Please.”

Wren smiled slightly. ”Work is the same. Boring logistics and inventory management. My stepfather’s pack is stable and quiet. Nothing exciting.”

”Good. I need boring right now.” Lilith said, taking a sip from her cup.

”How are things at the estate?” Wren asked carefully. ”With the brothers?”

Lilith did not know how to answer that. How did she explain the bond and the waiting and the way her entire life had become about three men who were slowly breaking apart trying to claim her properly? How did she explain that she could feel Nicholas’s steady presence through the bond like an anchor, or that Sebastian’s incomplete bond pulled at her chest every time he was close, or that Lucian wouldn’t even look at her because if he did he would lose control?

”Complicated,” she said finally.

”Are they treating you well?”

”Yes. Better than well.” Lilith wrapped her hands around her coffee cup again.

”They’re... intense. Possessive. But they’re not cruel. And they’re trying so hard to do this right.”