Fated Mate to the Triplet Alpha-Chapter 124: The Test Behind the Test

Elara’s hand froze on the doorknob. That voice. Luna’s voice. But soft now. Almost... broken?

"Don’t open it," Darian warned, moving protectively toward the kids.

"What if it’s a trick?" Ronan added, his muscles tense for a fight. But Kael was studying the door with a frown.

"Something’s different. I can’t feel any danger." The knock came again, softer this time. "Please," the voice said.

"I know you have every reason not to trust me. But I need to explain." Elara looked down at baby Kira.

The silver stars in her daughter’s eyes were glowing softly, but not with fear. With something that looked almost like... recognition?

"She knows something we don’t," Elara whispered. Against every instinct shouting at her to run, she opened the door.

The woman standing there looked like Luna, but everything about her was different. Her dark hair hung loose instead of perfectly styled.

Her clothes were simple human clothing instead of magical armor. Most shocking of all, her eyes were red from crying.

"Hello," she said quietly. "My name is actually Lydia. Luna was... what I became when I lost myself."

"Lost yourself how?" Kael ordered, not moving away from his defensive position.

"By making the same mistake Selene did for centuries," Lydia answered. "Thinking I knew better than everyone else."

She held up her hands, showing they were empty. "May I come in? There are things you need to know before Selene returns."

"Returns?" Ronan’s eyes narrowed. "I thought she retired."

"She lied." The easy words hit like a thunderbolt. "What do you mean?" Elara asked.

"Everything that just happened - the trial, the troops, Luna’s defeat - it was all fake. A test within a test." Darian stepped forward, his logical mind working.

"Explain." Lydia took a shaky breath. "Selene knew the real threat wasn’t me wanting to control humans.

The real threat is that your children’s power will soon exceed hers totally." "That’s good, right?" Elara said. "It means they can protect themselves."

"Not if she kills them first." The room went deadly quiet. "You’re lying," Kael said simply. "I wish I was." Lydia’s voice cracked.

"She’s been planning this for months. The entire prophesy about your children bringing peace? She created it to make you trust her."

"Why would she want to hurt them?" Elara’s arms tightened around Kira.

"Because they reflect the end of her reign. Once they come into their full power, they won’t need moon gods or guardian councils or any of the old systems." Baby Kai made a soft cooing sound and reached toward Lydia.

She looked at him with genuine wonder. "They’re beautiful," she whispered. "And so powerful. I can feel it from here."

"Stay away from them," Ronan growled. "I’m not here to hurt them. I’m here to warn you. And to make amends for my part in this."

Darian was pacing now, thinking hard. "If what you’re saying is true, why help us? What’s in it for you?"

"Redemption," Lydia said simply. "When your children broke the magic, they didn’t just stop the war.

They showed me who I used to be before ages of anger and jealousy twisted me into something horrible."

She looked directly at Elara. "I was you, once. A young woman who thought she could change the world through love instead of force."

"What happened to change you?" Elara asked softly.

"Selene happened. She told me I was too soft, too naive. She convinced me that power had to be seized and held with a hard fist, or it would be taken away." "So you became everything she wanted you to be," Kael realized.

"Until I became worse than she ever was. That’s when she cast me out - not for being cruel, but for being crueler than she was okay with." A new voice cut through the conversation like a blade.

"Such a touching story." They all spun around to see Selene standing in the middle of the room.

But this wasn’t the warm, quiet goddess who had disappeared earlier. This Selene burned with cold silver fire. Her eyes were like frozen stars, and her smile was sharp enough to cut.

"Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you talking to my wayward daughter?" she asked conversationally.

"You lied to us," Elara charged. "I tried you. There’s a difference."

"What kind of test involves threatening to kill our children?" Ronan snarled.

"The kind that shows me whether you’re ready to replace me." The statement hung in the air like poison. "Replace you?" Darian asked carefully.

"Oh yes. Did you think this was about the children? They’re strong, but they’re still infants. They won’t reach their full ability for years."

Selene began to circle them like an animal. "But you four... you’ve already proven you can work together under impossible pressure.

You’ve shown you’ll give anything for those you love. And most importantly, you’ve proven that you won’t be corrupted by power." "We don’t want to replace you," Elara said. "You don’t have a choice.

The supernatural world needs guidance, and I’m tired of the responsibility." "Then step down," Kael said.

"I can’t just step down. Power like mine doesn’t move peacefully. It has to be taken."

"By force?" Ronan asked. "By proving you’re stronger than I am." Suddenly, the room around them started to change.

The walls stretched upward, becoming huge stone columns. The floor turned to smooth marble.

They were in some kind of old temple. "Where are we?" Elara asked. "The Heart of the Moon," Selene answered.

"My place of power. And the place where one of us dies tonight." "Dies?" Lydia stepped forward. "Selene, you said this was just a test!" "It is. The ultimate test.

To truly acquire my power, they have to kill me for it." "That’s insane," Darian said.

"That’s habit. How do you think I became Moon Goddess? I killed my boss." "We won’t do it," Elara said strongly. "Then you’ll watch your children die instead."

As if summoned by her words, two more figures appeared in the temple. They looked exactly like Kira and Kai, but aged to about ten years old.

Their eyes glowed with terrifying power, and their faces were cold and cruel. "What are those?" Kael breathed.

"Your children’s potential future," Selene said. "What they become if I’m forced to train them myself. Powerful. Obedient. Completely without mercy."

The false Kira raised her hand, and silver sparks danced around her fingers. "Hello, mother. Father. Shall we play?"

"You’re not our daughter," Elara said, but her voice shook. "I am what she becomes without your influence," the creature responded.

The fake Kai stepped beside his sister. "We could be your executioners, if you prefer. Make this quick and clean."

"Stop this," Ronan ordered, moving toward the fake children. "Stay back," Selene warned. "They’re real enough to kill you."

"This is madness," Lydia said. "Selene, they’ve proven themselves already!"

"Have they? They picked trust over control, yes. But can they choose love over survival?"

The fake Kira and Kai began to advance, their power getting brighter with each step. "Fight me," Selene ordered. "Take my power. Save your real children."

"Or," the fake Kira added sweetly, "refuse to fight and watch us burn everything you love."

Elara looked desperately at her real babies, still held safely in her and Kael’s arms. They were watching the scene with those old, knowing eyes.

"There has to be another way," she said. "There is," a tiny voice said. Everyone froze. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

It was baby Kira, speaking in her infant voice but with perfect clarity. "Tell them, sister mine," baby Kai added.

The real children looked at their older, twisted versions with something like pity. "You’re not us," Kira said simply. "You’re her fear," Kai continued.

"Fear of what we might become if we forget love."

The fake children growled and lunged forward, but something impossible happened. They passed right through the babies like shadows.

"Illusions," Darian breathed. "Very good," the real Kira said, clapping her tiny hands together. "Grandmother’s last test," Kai stated.

Selene’s expression changed from cold determination to genuine surprise.

"How did you...?" "Because we know something you forgot," the babies said in agreement.

"What?" Selene asked. "Power isn’t taken. It’s given."

"And it isn’t inherited. It’s earned." "And it isn’t about being stronger than everyone else."

"It’s about lifting everyone up." The babies looked at their parents with pure love.

"We don’t need to replace Grandmother," Kira said. "We need to help her remember who she used to be," Kai added. Suddenly, the building began to fill with warm light.

Not the cold silver of Selene’s power, but something warmer. Golden. "What is this?" Selene whispered.

"Love," Elara said, understanding rushing through her. "The one power you never learned to use."

The golden light washed over Selene, and her appearance started to change.

The cold beauty melted away, leaving someone who looked... tired. Lonely. Human. "I’ve been alone for so long," she whispered.

"You don’t have to be alone anymore," Lydia said gently, moving to her mother’s side.

"But the supernatural world needs leadership," Selene complained weakly. "Then lead it," Darian said.

"But not alone. Lead it with us." "Together," Kael added. "As a family," Ronan finished.

Selene looked around at all of them - her daughter, her granddaughter, the triplets, and the amazing babies who had just taught her something she’d forgotten millennia ago.

"A council instead of a throne," she said slowly. "Exactly," Elara smiled.

"But what if I make mistakes? What if my old habits return?" Baby Kira giggled and reached toward her grandmother. "Then we’ll remind you."

"Again and again," Kai added with a baby’s innocent smile, "until you remember."

Selene took Kira’s tiny hand, and the moment they touched, the last of her cold power melted away. "I think," she said wonderfully, "I’d like that very much."

The temple disintegrated around them, and they were back in their living room. But something was different.

There were five thrones now, made of moonlight and starfire. One for each adult.

"The new council," Selene said. "What do you think?" "I think it’s perfect," Elara said.

But as they admired their new seats of power, baby Kai pointed toward the window with a concerned look. "What is it, little one?" Darian asked.

Outside, the sky was changing. Instead of one moon, there were now three.

"That’s impossible," Lydia breathed. "No," Selene said, her voice tight with fear.

"That’s the signal." "Signal for what?" Kael demanded. "The other pantheons have noticed our power change. Greek.

Egyptian. Norse." "And?" Ronan prompted. "And they’re coming to test our new council themselves."

A sound like thunder rolled across the sky, and lightning began to flash between the three moons.

"Test us how?" Elara asked, though she was afraid she already knew the answer.

"By trying to destroy us before we become too powerful to stop."

In the distance, shapes started to appear in the sky. Massive forms that blocked out stars. Gods. Dozens of them.

All going straight for their home. "Well," Darian said dryly, "at least we know what we’re doing tomorrow."

Baby Kira looked up at the coming deities and smiled.

It wasn’t a baby’s innocent smile anymore. It was the smile of someone who knew exactly how this was going to end.

And from the worried expressions on the gods’ faces as they drew closer, they were starting to suspect it too.

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