Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

His finger landed on a spot deep in the northern forest, miles from the estate, where his father’s notes had marked the location of ancient standing stones.

There, he said into the link. ”The old circle. North-northwest, about six miles into the forest. That’s where she would take her.”

”Then we go,” Sebastian said immediately. ”Right now before Victoria does anything to her.”

”Wait,” Nicholas commanded, and felt both his brothers bristle at the order. ”We can’t just go charging in blind. If Victoria has Lilith in a trance and we startle her, she could hurt Lilith. Or worse....she could use Lilith against us.”

”So what?”Lucian’s voice was shaking with barely controlled rage. ”We just leave her out there? With Victoria? ”

”No,” Nicholas said, and his voice dropped into the Alpha tone that brooked absolutely no argument. ”We go. But we go smart. We track her quietly. We observe before we engage. And we do not let Victoria know we’re there until we have no other choice.”

He reached for the pack link and found Callum already awake, his Beta had felt the disturbance through the bond and was on alert.

”Callum. Wake Eli and Finn. Tell them to meet us at the north entrance in three minutes. Full silence. Tell no one else.”

”Yes, Alpha.” Callum resonded.

Nicholas looked at his brothers through the link. ”Shift. We move faster as wolves. And if we have to fight....”

”We will,” Sebastian finished.

Nicholas did not disagree.

He closed the link and let Kael surge forward, felt his bones begin to crack and reshape, felt fur ripple across his skin as the shift took him. It hurt less than it used to, the bond with Lilith had eased some of the curse’s grip....but it still was not easy. Nothing about this was easy.

When the shift completed, Kael stood where Nicholas had been, massive and silver-white, easily the size of a horse, with eyes that burned like molten metal. He shook himself once and then turned and ran.

Sebastian was already in the hallway when Kael burst through the office door. Rhen was slightly smaller than Kael, all black fur and golden eyes, moving with deadly grace. And Lucian....Zev. was the largest of the three, dark grey and absolutely feral, his lips already pulled back in a snarl.

The three wolves ran through the estate side by side, their claws clicking against the stone floors, and when they got to the front doors Kael simply threw his weight against them and they burst open with a crack that echoed through the night.

Callum was waiting outside in wolf form, a solid brown wolf with intelligent eyes. Eli and Finn flanked him, both already shifted and ready to go to war with their Alphas. Callum had told them about the Luna going missing, and they had been waiting outside, waiting for the Alphas to emerge so they could go Luna hunting.

Kael didn’t slow down when he got outside. He just ran, and his brothers and his Betas followed without question.

They hit the forest at a dead sprint.

Kael’s nose was already working, searching for Lilith’s scent, trying to find any trace of her path. But the forest was full of smells....earth and pine and a thousand other wolves who had run these paths before, her scent was faint, hours old, scattered by wind and time.

”Spread out,” Kael commanded through the link. ”Search pattern. She came this way. Find her trail.”

The wolves split apart, each taking a different section, their noses to the ground as they searched. Zev ranged ahead, wild and reckless, while Rhen moved with controlled precision and the Betas held the flanks.

Kael pushed forward into the darkness, running faster than he had ever run before, and prayed to the Moon Goddess that they were not already too late.

Because if Victoria had Lilith....

If she had already started teaching her, showing her what she was, turning her against the bonds that held her....

Then they were going to lose her, there was no other way around it, they would loose her to Victoria before they complete the bond.

And Kael would burn the entire world down before he let that happen.

The three wolves ran deeper into the forest, their howls echoing through the night, and the hunt began.

***

Kael’s paws hit the forest floor ahead of him in a rhythm that matched his racing heartbeat....fast, desperate, relentless. The scent trail was faint now, scattered by wind and time, but it was there. Lilith had come this way. She had walked through this forest alone in the middle of the night and every instinct Kael had was screaming that they were running out of time.

Rhen ranged to his left, all black fur and golden eyes, his nose to the ground as he searched. Zev was ahead of them both now, the largest of the three wolves, moving with reckless speed through the underbrush. The three Betas held formation behind them....Callum steady and controlled, Eli scanning the perimeter, Finn covering their rear.

”Anything?” Kael pushed through the mindlink.

”Her scent is stronger here,” Zev responded, his mental voice rough and barely controlled. ”She came this way. Recently.”

Kael pushed harder, his muscles burning as he ran faster. The forest was getting darker the deeper they went, the trees growing larger and more ancient, their branches blocking out what little moonlight filtered through the clouds. This part of the territory felt wrong....old and heavy with something that made his fur stand on end.

”There,” Rhen said suddenly. ”Up ahead. I can see a clearing.”

Kael saw it too...a break in the trees where pale silver light seemed to glow from the ground itself. He didn’t slow down, just lowered his head and ran straight toward it.

They burst through the tree line together, all three wolves skidding to a stop at the edge of the clearing, and Kael’s heart stopped.