Bound to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 44: The Truth in Blood

ARIA POV

I woke up gasping, scratching at my throat as if drowning. The voice from my dreams still echoed in my head, calling me to the Moon Chamber.

"Easy," Kael said, his warm hand steadying my shoulder. "You’re safe now."

We were in Elder Malin’s house, a small room filled with the smell of burning herbs and old books. The three triplets stood around me, their faces tight with worry. Mira sat by the window, keeping watch.

"How long was I out?" I asked, my voice rough.

"Three hours," Lucien said. "Your birthmark has been... changing."

I looked down at my shoulder and nearly screamed. What had once been a small crescent moon was now a complex pattern that spread across my collarbone—a circle with three moons inside.

Elder Malin shuffled into the room, his old face serious. He carried a wooden box made with symbols I somehow recognized.

"The Moon Alpha awakens," he said, his voice stronger than I’d ever heard it. "And just in time."

"In time for what?" I asked.

Instead of answering, Elder Malin put the box in front of me. "Open it," he ordered. "It’s yours by birthright."

My hands shook as I lifted the lid. Inside lay a silver dagger with a moonstone in the hilt, an old leather notebook, and a necklace with a strange key.

"These belonged to your mother," Elder Malin said. "I’ve kept them hidden until you were ready."

"You knew?" I whispered, pain and anger rising in my chest. "All this time, you knew who I really was?"

"I swore an oath to your mother," he said sadly. "To protect you until the time was right."

"And now it’s right?" Jaxon asked, his voice sharp with distrust.

"Now it’s necessary," Elder Malin corrected. "Darius has run to the Moon Chamber. He plans to finish the transfer ritual himself."

Cold fear washed over me. "But he needs me for that."

"Not you," Elder Malin said sadly. "Any female from the Moon Alpha bloodline will do."

My heart stopped. "He’s found someone else?"

"Elira," Kael growled. "She’s missing too."

"But Elira isn’t—" I started to say, then froze as understanding hit me. "No. That’s impossible."

Elder Malin nodded slowly. "Elira is your half-sister."

The room spun around me. I clutched the book to my chest, trying to steady myself.

"My mother and hers..." I couldn’t even finish the thought.

"Your mother, Elena, was the true Alpha female," Elder Malin stated. "But her power was hidden, suppressed by a rite performed when she was a child. Her parents feared what the Blackwood males would do if they found a Moon Alpha among them."

I opened the book with shaking hands. The first page showed a family tree—my mother’s lineage tracked back through generations of powerful female Alphas.

"The Moon Alpha line always passes through daughters," Elder Malin continued. "When your mother fell in love with Marcus, Darius saw a chance to merge the bloodlines. What he didn’t expect was the forecast."

"One child to break the curse, another to bear it," I read from the book, the words jumping out at me. "Two sisters, two paths."

"Your mother had a brief affair with the Beta before meeting Marcus," Elder Malin said. "Elira was born first, but showed no signs of the Moon Alpha gift. Then you came along, and the marking appeared."

Mira gasped from her position by the window. "That’s why Elira always hated you! She knew!"

I shook my head, my thoughts racing. "No, she couldn’t have known. She’s always believed she was destined to be Luna."

"Because that’s what Darius told her," Kael said, his voice tight with anger. "He’s been manipulating everyone, including his own sons."

I flipped through more pages of the journal, learning more about my mother with each passage. She had been powerful, brave, and determined to break the curse that haunted the Blackwood line.

"The triplets’ curse can only be broken if both Moon Alpha daughters willingly share the burden," I read aloud. "The blood must be given, not taken."

"That’s what Darius never understood," Elder Malin said. "The ritual demands sacrifice, yes, but it must be freely given. By pushing it, he’ll only make the curse worse."

"We need to find Elira," I said, standing up despite my weakness. "Before it’s too late."

"We know where the Moon Chamber is," Lucien said. "But it’s heavily guarded."

"Not for me," I said, feeling the key hanging from the necklace. "This will get us in."

Kael stepped forward, taking my hand. "You’re not strong enough yet."

"I have to be," I maintained. "Elira may hate me, but she’s still my sister. I won’t let Darius sacrifice her."

Before anyone could argue, the cottage door burst open. Elira stood there, her clothes torn and dirty, her face streaked with tears.

"Elira!" I gasped. "How did you—"

"I escaped," she said, her voice shaking. "Darius told me everything. About our mother. About what I am." She looked at me, her eyes full of confusion and pain. "Why didn’t you tell me we were sisters?"

"I just found out myself," I said honestly. freewebnoveℓ.com

Elira stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "He’s planning something terrible. He said only one Moon Alpha daughter can live to break the curse."

"He’s lying," I said, showing her the notebook. "Look. We’re both needed."

Elira’s eyes widened as she read the words. "All my life, he told me I was special. That I would be Luna. But it was all a lie."

"Not all of it," I said gently. "You are special. Just not in the way he claimed."

Her eyes met mine, years of hate and jealousy giving way to something new—understanding.

"Will you help us stop him?" I asked.

Elira paused, then nodded. "But there’s something you should know first. Something I did."

My stomach tightened. "What?"

"I helped Darius trap your mother’s spirit in the Moon Chamber," she admitted. "That’s why you’ve been hearing her voice. She’s been trying to reach you."

The room went deadly quiet. My heart pounded in my ears.

"My mother is... alive?" I whispered.

"Not alive," Elira said, her voice barely audible. "But not gone either. Her spirit is the fourth lock Darius mentioned. He’s been using her power to keep the curse on the triplets."

I turned to Elder Malin, who looked as shocked as I felt.

"Is this possible?" I asked.

Before he could answer, my scar flared with pain. A voice—my mother’s voice—filled my head, clearer than ever before.

"Beware, daughter," she warned. "Elira says truth, but not all of it. The criminal stands among you, and it’s not who you think."

I looked around the room, suddenly unsure who to trust. One of them had betrayed me. But who?

Elira stepped closer, extending her hand. "Sister, we don’t have much time. Will you come with me to the Moon Chamber? Together, we can free our mother and break the curse."

As our fingers touched, a jolt of power surged between us, and a terrible vision flashed before my eyes—Elira standing over my body, the silver dagger dripping with my blood, while Darius did a ritual in the background.

I yanked my hand away, my heart racing with fear.

"What did you see?" Kael ordered, sensing my distress.

I stared at Elira, suddenly understanding the final piece of the vision.

"The traitor," I whispered.