Bound to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 78: Blood Moon Rising

ARIA POV

The table cracked under my hand as I slammed it down.

"No!" I shouted. "We are not sacrificing an entire village just to draw them out!"

Six Alpha dogs from different packs stared back at me. Some looked angry. Others looked scared. None of them looked happy.

We’d been arguing for hours in this emergency war meeting. My head hurt. My back hurt. And the twins inside me kicked like they were having their own fight.

"Luna Aria," said Alpha Maddox from the Stone Ridge Pack. He talked slowly like I was a child who couldn’t understand. "Sometimes in war, hard choices must be made. River Creek Pack will strike that human village next. If we’re waiting there—"

"Then the humans will still die," I cut him off. "They’ll just die in the crossfire instead of by River Creek’s hands alone."

Kael put his hand on my shoulder. I could feel his worry through our link. He didn’t like how upset I was getting, especially not while pregnant.

"Perhaps we should take a break," Lucien offered. Always the healer. freewёbnoνel.com

I shook my head. "We don’t have time for breaks. Queen Lysandra’s message was clear. The seventh queen is coming, and she’ll destroy everything in her way."

The room went quiet at the name of the ancient queen. Only three days had passed since the runner from Timber Ridge brought news of the attack by someone who looked just like me.

Alpha Freya of the Dawn Circle Pack stood up. Unlike the male Alphas, she’d backed most of my ideas. "Luna Aria is right. Using humans as bait crosses a line our packs have honored for centuries. We guard humans from supernatural threats. We don’t use them as pawns."

"And look where that’s gotten us," growled Alpha Maddox. "Three packs nearly wiped out. My own son killed on patrol."

The pain in his voice made my anger cool a little. Everyone in this room had lost someone.

"I’m sorry about your son," I said softly. "Truly. But becoming like our enemies won’t bring him back."

Jaxon, who had been strangely quiet during the meeting, finally spoke up. "What if we use ourselves as bait instead?"

All eyes turned to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"This false queen attacked Timber Ridge because she knew they were our allies," Jaxon explained. "She wants to isolate us before coming for you directly."

"So?" Alpha Gregory from Blue Mountain Pack asked.

"So let’s give her what she wants," Jaxon said with a scary smile. "Let’s make her think she’s succeeded."

I felt a shiver run down my spine. Sometimes Jaxon’s mind worked in ways that scared me.

"Spread word that our allies have abandoned us," he continued. "Make it look like we’re weak. When she comes for Aria—"

"Absolutely not," Kael interrupted, his voice like ice. "Using my mate as bait is not an option."

"I didn’t say use Aria," Jaxon corrected. "I said make it look like she could get to Aria."

Lucien nodded slowly. "A trap. But not with Aria actually in danger."

The room erupted into talk. Some Alphas backed Jaxon’s plan. Others thought it too risky. A few still wanted to use the human town as their battleground.

Mira slipped into the room and whispered in my ear. "The dogs from Silver Lake just arrived. Their Alpha wasn’t able to come."

That was strange. Alpha Nash had promised to join us. "Why not?"

"They say he disappeared three days ago," Mira said. "No one knows where he went."

My blood ran cold. "Three days ago? The same day Timber Ridge was attacked?"

Mira nodded, her eyes wide with worry.

I turned back to the squabbling Alphas. "Enough!" I shouted, and the room fell quiet. "We have a new problem. Alpha Nash of Silver Lake is lost."

"Missing or dead?" Alpha Freya asked directly.

"Unknown," I answered. "But he disappeared the same day Timber Ridge was attacked."

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "She’s picking us off one by one. First Timber Ridge, now Silver Lake."

"We need to unite," I said strongly. "No more fighting among ourselves. That’s exactly what she wants."

The door burst open, and one of our scouts ran in, breathing hard. "Luna! Alphas! We have a problem at the border."

"River Creek?" Kael asked, already reaching for his weapon.

The scout shook his head. "No, sir. It’s... it’s a person."

Everyone froze.

"A human?" Lucien asked. "At our border? How did they find us?"

"That’s not all," the scout continued. "She’s asking for Luna Aria by name. Says she knows about the false queen."

My heart skipped a beat. "Bring her here."

"Aria, no," Kael said instantly. "It could be a trap."

"Or it could be help we desperately need," I countered.

The Alphas broke into arguments again. Some demanded the human be killed instantly. Others wanted her questioned first.

"QUIET!" I roared, summoning my Alpha voice. The power of it shook the room and hushed everyone. Even Kael looked surprised.

"Bring her in," I told the scout. "But search her for weapons first."

Ten minutes later, the door opened again. A young woman walked in, flanked by two of our soldiers. She looked ordinary—brown hair, blue eyes, maybe twenty years old. But there was something in the way she carried herself that seemed off. Too cocky. Too quiet.

"Luna Aria," she said, giving a small bow. "Thank you for agreeing to see me."

"How do you know who I am?" I asked. "How do you know about us at all?"

The woman smiled sadly. "My name is Emma Gray. Six months ago, I was just a normal college student. Then I was attacked in the woods near my school."

"By wolves?" Alpha Gregory asked.

Emma shook her head. "By something that looked human but wasn’t. Something with bright eyes that could control the elements."

I felt a chill run through me. "The seventh queen."

"That’s what she called herself," Emma verified. "She killed my friends, but she kept me living. Made me her... servant." Her voice trembled slightly. "I’ve seen what she can do. What she plans to do."

"And what is that?" Lucien asked softly.

Emma looked at me, her eyes filling with tears. "She wants all the kings’ power. She needs it before the blood moon in three days."

"What happens on the blood moon?" I whispered, though part of me already knew.

"A ritual," Emma said. "With all seven queens’ powers combined during the blood moon, she can break the barrier between realms." She took a deep breath. "She needs you living, Luna Aria. But only until the moon hits its peak."

The room went dead silent.

"There’s more," Emma added, pausing.

"Tell us," I ordered.

Emma looked around uncomfortably, then leaned forward. "She can’t kill you herself. The ritual needs your life to be taken by someone you trust." Her eyes met mine. "Someone whose blood you share."

"That’s impossible," I said, my hand moving to my belly. "I have no living blood relatives."

Emma’s gaze followed my hand to my pregnant stomach. Her face changed to one of horror.

"What?" I asked, sudden fear grabbing me. "What aren’t you telling me?"

"The twins," Emma whispered. "She doesn’t want you, Luna Aria. She never did."

My world tilted on its axis as I understood what she meant.

"She wants my babies."