Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

Lilith looked at them in surprise and felt something warm settle in her chest. ”Thank you.”

Agnes squeezed her shoulder. ”You belong here, child. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

They went back to work and Lilith tried to focus on chopping vegetables, but her hands were shaking slightly and she could feel frustration building in her chest. Frustration at being wolfless, at not understanding why she was chosen, at feeling like she had to constantly prove herself to a pack that did not fully accept her.

The knife slipped.

Not badly....she pulled back in time but the blade nicked her finger and a drop of blood welled up bright red against her skin.

”Damn it,” she muttered, setting the knife down and reaching for a towel.

And then every light in the kitchen flickered.

Once.

Twice.

The omegas all looked up in confusion and Agnes frowned at the ceiling. ”That’s the second time this week. I need to have someone check the wiring.”

But Lilith was staring at her hand, at the drop of blood on her finger, and her heart was pounding because she had felt something when the lights flickered. A pull. A surge. Something inside her that had reacted to her frustration and pushed outward.

No.

No, that was not possible.

She wrapped the towel around her finger and excused herself quickly, mumbling something about needing air. She walked out of the kitchen and down the hall and out the side door into the gardens, her whole body shaking.

The hospital. The lights and the heart monitor.

Nicholas’s office. The books on the shelf.

And now the kitchen.

Three times.

Three times something had happened when she was emotional, and every time it felt like something inside her was trying to break free.

Lilith sat down on a stone bench and pressed her wrapped hand to her chest, trying to breathe through the panic.

What was happening to her?

”You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She jumped and turned to find Sera standing a few feet away, her amber eyes sharp and assessing.

”I’m fine,” Lilith said automatically.

”You’re a terrible liar.” Sera came closer and sat down beside her on the bench. ”What happened?”

”Nothing. I just... I cut my finger and needed some air.”

Sera looked at her for a long moment and then said quietly, ”You know you can tell me if something’s wrong. I’m not going to run to the Alphas.”

Lilith wanted to believe her. Wanted to tell someone what was happening because keeping it to herself was making her feel like she was losing her mind. But how did she explain something she did not understand herself?

”Have you ever felt like...” Lilith trailed off, trying to find the right words. ”Like there’s something inside you trying to get out? Something you don’t understand?”

Sera’s expression shifted, became more serious. ”Is this about your wolf?” she asked.

”No. I don’t have a wolf. I’ve never had a wolf.” Lilith looked down at her hands. ”This is something else. Something that happens when I get emotional. Things move. Lights flicker. I don’t know what it is but it’s scaring me.”

Sera was quiet for a long time and when Lilith finally looked up she found the other woman watching her with an expression she could not read.

”Have you told the Alphas?” Sera asked carefully.

”I think Nicholas saw it happen once. But he pretended he didn’t.”

”Then he knows something you don’t.” Sera stood and held out her hand. ”Come on. Let’s go for a walk. Clear your head.”

Lilith took her hand and let Sera pull her to her feet, and together they walked through the gardens in silence while Lilith tried to calm the racing of her heart.

***

*FEW DAYS LATER*

Lilith was sitting on the stone bench in the garden with her hands pressed to her face when she felt him coming. The bond flared warm and steady in her chest, and then Nicholas’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts like a blade.

”Lilith.”

She dropped her hands and looked up to find him standing a few feet away, still in his shirt from the pack meeting, his silver eyes sharp and assessing as they swept over her. He took in her shaking hands, her tight expression, the way she was curled in on herself like she was trying to hold something inside.

”Come with me,” he said, and it was not a question.

She stood without arguing because she did not have the energy to do anything else, and let him take her hand and lead her back through the gardens toward the side of the estate where the garage was. He opened the door to reveal the sleek black motorcycle waiting inside, the same one he had taken her on weeks ago when everything was simpler and the only thing she had to worry about was whether Kael would ever settle.

”We’re going for a ride,” Nicholas said, handing her a helmet.

”Where?”

”The waterfall. You need to get out of your head for a while.”

Lilith took the helmet and put it on, her fingers fumbling slightly with the strap. Nicholas reached over and fastened it for her with steady hands, his eyes holding hers for a moment before he turned and swung his leg over the bike.

She climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his back as the engine roared to life beneath them. The vibration hummed through her entire body and for the first time all day she felt like she could breathe.

Nicholas kicked off and they shot forward, the estate disappearing behind them as they flew down the winding road that led deeper into Blackwood territory. The wind whipped past her face and she closed her eyes and held him tighter, letting the speed and the movement and the solid warmth of him ground her.

She had been to the waterfall once before. Nicholas had taken her there few days after Kael marked her, when everything was raw and new and terrifying. It had been the first time she had really talked to him, the first time she had seen past the cold ruthless Alpha to the man uderneath who was just as scared as she was.

Now she was going back. And somehow that felt right.