Bound to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 69: Ritual of Union

ARIA POV

The ceremonial dagger slipped from my hand and clattered to the stone floor. Blood—my blood—dripped from the small cut on my palm and sizzled as it hit the old circle runes.

"Don’t stop the ritual," Elder Thea hissed. "The circle must be completed."

I grabbed the dagger again with shaking hands. Around me, the pack watched in tense silence as I fought to finish the blood offering. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it.

Just moments ago, one of the twins had spoken with a voice that wasn’t his own. But which one? In the chaos that followed my fall, I hadn’t seen which brother’s eyes had glowed that unnatural blue.

Now they all stood around me in a triangle, their faces serious. Lucien to my right, Kael to my left, and Jaxon straight across from me. One of them was not who he seemed. One of them was the betrayer.

"Continue, Luna," Elder Thea urged, putting her wrinkled hand over mine. "The moon reaches its peak in minutes."

I nodded and pressed the dagger to my other hand, making a clean cut. More blood dripped onto the floor, finishing the inner circle.

"The Ritual of Union begins," Elder Thea announced. "Not seen in our pack for seven generations. The Alpha Trinity shall be restored."

Whispers sped through the crowd. Many looked confused or angry. This wasn’t the usual ceremony they’d expected.

"This is wrong," someone yelled. "One Alpha, one Luna. That’s our way!"

"The old ways return because they must," Elder Thea replied quietly. "The First Wolf demands balance."

I looked at each triplet, trying to see any sign, any clue that would show which one couldn’t be trusted. Kael’s face stayed serious and focused. Jaxon’s eyes darted around the room, alert for danger. Lucien’s gaze stayed locked on mine, warm and comforting.

Elder Thea began to chant in the old language. The runes around us glowed brighter with each word, the blood I’d spilled going from red to a luminous silver.

"Now," Elder Thea said. "Each brother must offer his blood to the circle."

Kael stepped forward first, taking the dagger and slicing his palm without delay. His blood fell, mixing with mine.

Jaxon went next, adding his blood to the circle with a dramatic flourish that made me roll my eyes despite everything.

When Lucien took the knife, our fingers touched briefly. The mate bond between us flared—but so did something else. A cold feeling that made me pull my hand back quickly.

Before I could understand what I’d felt, Lucien cut his palm, and his blood joined the others.

The moment the third drop hit the ground, the entire circle exploded in blinding light. Power rushed through me, making me gasp. I could feel the triplets too—their strength, their feelings, their very essence flowing into me.

"The bonds form," Elder Thea said with happiness. "Now for the final step. Luna Aria must—"

She never finished her sentence. A huge explosion rocked the pack house, sending everyone flying. The ceiling cracked, raining debris down on us. Through the new hole in the roof, I could see the blood moon, fully exposed and pulsing with angry red light.

"ARIA!" Lucien shouted, diving toward me as a chunk of ceiling crashed down.

I rolled away just in time, coughing in the dust and smoke. When I looked up, Elder Malin stood in the doorway, surrounded by Lyra and a dozen cult members.

"You dare perform the ritual without the true vessel prepared?" Elder Malin’s voice boomed. "Foolish children!"

He raised his hands, and black energy crackled between his fingers. With a thrust of his arms, the dark power streaked toward me.

I couldn’t move fast enough. The magic was going to hit me directly.

But it never reached me.

All three triplets leaped in front of me at once, making a protective circle. The black energy crashed into them instead, wrapping around them like angry snakes.

"No!" I screamed, watching as they fought against the magic.

"The ritual isn’t complete," Elder Thea gasped, crawling toward me through the debris. "You must finish it, or they’ll die!"

Elira emerged suddenly at my side, her expression no longer hostile but terrified. "She’s right. If the Trinity bond isn’t bound, the magic will tear them apart."

I looked back at the boys. They were still standing, but barely. The black energy tightened around them like coils.

"What do I do?" I begged.

"Touch each of them," Elder Thea commanded. "Accept all three bonds at once."

"But one of them is the betrayer!" I protested.

"It doesn’t matter," Elira maintained. "The true bond will reveal the false one."

Elder Malin sent another blast of magic toward us. "Stop her!"

Lyra—the woman with my face, my supposed mother—stepped forward. "Daughter, you don’t understand what you’re doing. The Alpha Trinity is a trick, a way to reduce the First Wolf’s power."

"Don’t listen to her," Elder Thea warned. "Quickly!"

I made my choice. Standing up, I ran toward the triplets, avoiding falling debris and magical attacks. When I reached them, I put my bleeding hands on Kael and Lucien, who were closest. I stretched toward Jaxon, but he was just out of reach.

"Jaxon!" I called desperately.

With a grunt of effort, he pushed against the magical bonds and stretched his hand toward mine. Our fingers touched just as Elder Malin launched his most powerful attack yet.

The world burst in white light.

When my vision cleared, I found myself standing in a strange, misty place. The triplets stood before me, but they looked different. More strong. More... wolf-like, even in human form.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"The between-place," Kael answered. "Where bonds are formed and broken."

"Now you must choose," Jaxon said. "Not which of us to take, but which of us to cast out."

I looked at Lucien, who hadn’t spoken. His eyes—normally warm amber—flashed blue for just an instant.

"It’s you," I whispered. "You’re the betrayer."

Lucien smiled, but it wasn’t his smile. "Clever little Luna. But too late."

His form shimmered and shifted. Where Lucien had stood now appeared a stranger with Elder Malin’s eyes.

"What have you done with the real Lucien?" I asked.

"He’s been our guest for some time," the impostor said. "Since shortly after your fall. So easy to take his place when everyone’s attention was on you."

Horror washed over me. "Then during the ritual—"

"Not Lucien’s blood that mixed with yours," he confirmed. "But mine. Blood of the original bloodline, tainted by centuries of dark magic."

Kael and Jaxon tried to move toward the impostor, but seemed stuck in place.

"They can’t help you here," the false Lucien said. "The bond is formed, but wrong. Incomplete. Three must become one, but one must be true."

The misty world around us began to crack, like glass breaking.

"Find me," a voice whispered—the real Lucien’s voice, faraway and weak. "I’m still in the caverns beneath the Broken Moon territory."

The impostor growled, lunging toward me with clawed hands. Kael and Jaxon broke free of whatever held them, throwing themselves between us. The misty world shattered totally.

I snapped back to reality, lying on the floor of the destroyed pack house. The triplets—or rather, two triplets and an impostor—lay unconscious around me. Elder Malin and his followers were gone. The blood moon still hung overhead, but now seven ghostly doors floated in the air around us, nearly solid enough to touch.

"We need to find the real Lucien," I gasped, stumbling to my feet. "The ritual bonded us to an impostor."

Elder Thea’s face went pale. "Then the First Wolf will come through those doors any moment. And when it does..."

"What?" I asked. "What happens when it comes through?"

Her eyes met mine, filled with sadness. "It will take the vessel prepared for it. You, Aria. But with a twisted third bond—"

"I’ll be corrupted too," I finished for her. "I’ll become what they wanted all along. A weapon."

From outside came that bone-chilling howl again—closer than ever before. The pack members who could still stand looked at me with desperate hope.

"How long do we have?" I asked.

"Until dawn," Elder Thea responded. "When the blood moon sets."

I looked at the sleepy forms of Kael and Jaxon, then at the impostor who’d taken Lucien’s place. My blood boiled with rage and purpose.

"Then we have until dawn to find the real Lucien and fix this bond," I said. "Before I become the monster that destroys everyone I love."