The Triplet Alphas' Regret

"It’s all your fault," my brother, Cedar, sneered.

Without warning, his hand came striking down at my cheek. My head swerved to one side due to the impact. Pain quickly bloomed on my skin.

"You shouldn’t have come back," he continued. "Now look at what you’ve done! Are you happy now?!"

"What happened―" I started to say, but I stopped myself short when I noticed the people who had gathered at the door of my small bedroom.

Most of them were still in their pajamas, having been woken up without warning. Even I myself was asleep just seconds ago, until Cedar had roughly yanked me off the bed. The passers-by stared in curiously, their lips moving as they whispered amongst themselves.

"Haven’t you heard?" someone said. "She was the one who killed her sister."

"Willow is dead?"

"How do you not know? The entire pack is talking about it. She went missing. Blood was found in her room. They suspect she might be dead."

My blood chilled in my veins.

My older sister, Willow, was the prized rose of the Shadowclaw Pack, my father’s pride and joy. She was well-loved by everyone in the pack. On the other hand, everyone hated me.

Everyone knew that the Beta’s family had three children―Cedar, Willow, and me. However, only Cedar and Willow grew up by our parents’ side. I had been kidnapped when I was younger, and my parents assumed I had died. They hadn’t thought that I would be found at the edge of Shadowclaw territory at sixteen years old.

At first, my parents were overjoyed about my return. Even though I couldn’t remember anything that had happened in the time I was kidnapped, they were happy I returned home safely. However, things quickly changed when Willow got sicker and sicker.

Rumors started to spread that I was the cause of Willow’s illness. Every time we interacted, Willow’s condition would worsen. Pack doctors were unable to identify the cause.

Compared to my sister, who was the precious prodigal daughter, I was a nobody. My own family barely had any affection for me, and to make sure my sister would be comfortable, I was sent to live in the servants’ quarters with the other omegas.

"If you hadn’t come back, none of this would’ve happened," Cedar growled. "Why couldn’t you have just stayed dead? Why did you need to return?"

"I didn’t do anything!" I cried out, trying to stand. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"You can tell that to the Alphas yourself," Cedar said.

Grabbing a handful of my hair, I barely had the time to properly stand before I was dragged out of my room and down the corridor. I desperately grasped at my scalp to prevent my hair from getting ripped out, struggling to follow Cedar’s quick steps.

We headed out of the servants’ quarters and into the main wing of the packhouse, where my family and the Alphas stayed.

Before we even reached Willow’s room, I could smell the distinct coppery scent of blood. There were also sobs coming from the room.

Once we approached, Cedar all but flung me at the door, causing me to stumble. I braced myself against the dresser, huffing in pain as the sharp edge dug into my stomach.

"Briar, how could you?" The voice caught my attention, and I looked over to see Violet, Willow’s best friend, kneeled on the floor. In her hands were scraps of bloodied fabric.

My eyes widened. Those scraps were torn bits from Willow’s favorite nightgown.

"Willow loved you as a sister!" Violet continued to cry, her tears falling. "How could you kill her like that?"

"I didn’t!" I exclaimed, instantly shaking my head. "I―"

"That’s enough."

The cold command caused all the noise in the room to quieten down. Even Violet had stopped sniveling, her back straightened as she stared at the door behind me. She wiped the tears beneath her watery eyes, delicately sniffling as her lips wobbled.

"Alphas," she said, her voice cracking at the end.

Instantly, I turned around. Just one look into their eyes caused my hairs to stand to their ends. A shiver crawled down my spine.

Alpha Rowan stood right behind me, his cold gaze filled with murderous intent as he stared at me. Behind him were his brothers, Alpha Soren and Alpha Cassian, both with equal looks of contempt and rage.

Alphas Rowan, Soren, and Cassian were the triplet alphas of the Shadowclaw Pack. Ever since their father died, they took over and shared the position of Alpha at the mere age of sixteen. They were powerful, strong, and unlike most werewolves, they gained their wolves upon taking up the mantle of Alpha instead of waiting until they turned eighteen years old.

It was said that they were cruel to those they hated, and I had experienced it firsthand. After all, it was no secret that all three of them loved my sister. There were talks of them planning to make her their chosen Luna instead of waiting for their fated mate.

Their lips curled into a disgusted sneer when they looked at me.

As the ’main culprit’ behind Willow’s mysterious illness, they naturally hated my return too.

"Please, Alphas," Violet sobbed. "You have to bring justice for Willow. Poor Willow... She was still so young..."

"We don’t even know what happened to her!" I said. "She could be out there in need of help! Is there anyone looking for her―"

"What is there to look for when there’s already so much blood?" Violet countered. She cried even harder. "Willow has already died. She was consumed by her illness and has lost so much blood. How can she survive?"

I gritted my teeth. "Sounds like you’re cursing her to die."

"Have you no conscience?" This time, it was Cedar’s turn to speak. "Willow would’ve never fallen ill if you hadn’t returned!"

"Silence!" Alpha Cassian snapped, shooting a look at Cedar. The latter pursed his lips but obediently stood down.

"Cedar, report what happened," Alpha Soren commanded. "Now."