Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

The office was silent when they entered.

Nicholas stood behind his desk, his posture rigid, his expression controlled. But his eyes....his eyes betrayed the storm raging underneath. Sebastian closed the door quietly behind Lucian, and the three of them stood in the heavy silence, each acutely aware of what had brought them here.

The bond. The connection. The mate who was drowning three hundred miles away in Shadowmere.

"We need to talk about what’s happening," Nicholas said quietly.

His voice was controlled, but there was an edge to it....a razor-thin thread of composure that suggested his wolf was very close to the surface. Kael was pacing inside him, restless and desperate, demanding action.

Sebastian moved to lean against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His jaw was clenched so tightly it hurt. Rhen was clawing at him from the inside, frantic and wild. The bond had been pulling at him for days, but tonight it had escalated. Tonight, when he’d felt her through the connection, when he’d experienced her orgasm and her confusion and her desperation....it had nearly shattered his control.

"The bond," Nicholas continued, moving around his desk to stand in front of it rather than behind it. "The connection between us and her. It’s intensifying. Every dream, every moment she experiences something, we feel it. And our wolves...."

"Are barely contained," Sebastian finished, his voice rough. "Mine’s screaming. Rhen wants out. Wants to go to her. Wants to...." He stopped, unable to finish the sentence without sounding like he’d completely lost his mind.

Lucian was pacing the length of the office, his movements jerky and agitated. His gold eyes flickered in and out as Zev fought for dominance. "I felt her tonight," he said, his voice darker than usual. "When she was sleeping. When she closed her eyes and we were there. I felt her fear. Her confusion. And underneath it..." He stopped pacing and turned to face his brothers. "She was aroused. She wanted us. Her body responded to us like we were the only thing that mattered."

The statement hung in the air between them.

"But?" Nicholas prompted, because there was clearly more.

"But she doesn’t know," Lucian said flatly. "She doesn’t understand what the bond means. She thinks the dreams are just her mind playing tricks. She doesn’t know that we’re experiencing them too. That we’re connected to her in ways that transcend distance and logic."

"Which brings us to the real problem," Sebastian said, pushing off from the wall. His voice was harder now. More focused. "It’s time to get her back. I know it. You know it. We all know it. But the problem is...." He looked at Nicholas directly. "We can’t force her. Not after what we put her through during the contract."

The words landed like a blow.

Nicholas’s jaw tightened. He knew what Sebastian was saying was true. During her time at the estate, they’d used her body in ways that had been intense and brutal and everything she’d been forced to endure. From her perspective, they were the ones who’d hurt her. The ones who’d kept her captive. The ones who’d taken what they wanted without her consent.

She’d had no choice during the contract.

Now, if they wanted her, she had to choose them willingly.

"There’s another issue," Lucian said quietly. His voice had lost some of its edge, replaced by something more vulnerable. Something that showed the real fear underneath his intensity. "Even if we go get her, even if we somehow manage to convince her to come back with us, will she even want to? After everything, will she look at us and see anything except the alphas who enslaved her?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

Because Lucian was right. He was stating the hard truth that all of them had been avoiding. It was possible...likely, even...that Lilith would refuse them. That she would see them as predators. That she would choose any life over returning to the Blackwood estate.

The thought made all three of their wolves howl in protest.

Nicholas turned and walked to the window, his back to his brothers. He stood there for a long moment, staring out at the darkness beyond the glass. His hands were clenched at his sides. Kael was practically vibrating beneath his skin, desperate and furious and completely consumed by the need to claim their mate.

When he finally spoke, his voice was low and controlled.

"Yes, we need to get her back," he said. "But we cannot force it. We cannot just barge into Shadowmere and demand that Garrett hand her over to us. That old fool will try to extort something from us in return, and more importantly, it would confirm to Lilith that we’re predators. That we can’t be trusted."

He turned to face his brothers, his expression calculated and strategic.

"The Yearly Alphas Summit is in three weeks," he continued. "Every pack sends representation. It’s a neutral ground where alphas from all territories gather to discuss alliance, territory disputes, and pack business. I plan to reach out to Elder Thomas and request that Shadowmere host it this year."

Sebastian’s eyes widened as he caught on to the brilliance of the plan.

"We’ll have legitimate reason to be in Shadowmere," he said slowly. "Without raising suspicion about why we’re really there. Garrett won’t question it, the Summit is too important to refuse. We’ll be there as attendees, just like every other pack."

"Exactly," Nicholas said, and for the first time, something almost like satisfaction crossed his face.

Lucian was nodding, though his expression was darker. "To hell with what they have to say about us attending. We’re going, and that’s final."

"We’re going," Nicholas agreed, "but we need to appear as legitimate attendees. Not as alphas on a rescue mission. We need to keep her safe from becoming a target."

He moved back to his desk and sat down, his movements deliberate and controlled.

"Shadowmere will be filled with both ally and enemy alphas during the Summit," he continued. "If even one of them suspects that Lilith is important to us, that she means something beyond the contract....she becomes a pawn. She becomes leverage. And I will not have our mate used as a bargaining chip in pack politics."