Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

Garrett met his elder’s gaze steadily.

”What could I tell him?” Garrett responded. ”She is their mate. She is their fated mate. Do you expect me to deny them access to her? Do you want the Blackwoods to wipe out our pack? We cannot protect her from them, Elder Theodore. We don’t have the power or the authority to stand against the Blackwood pack.”

He paused, allowing his next words to settle with weight.

”And from the looks of it, she’s not even denying their approach,” Garrett continued. ”The mate bond is not allowing her to resist them, even if she wanted to. I’ve seen the way she responds to their presence. I’ve seen the way her body betrays her will.”

Theodore’s expression shifted slightly at this observation.

”Have you forgotten she is wolfless?” Theodore asked, his voice carrying a note of something like concern. ”Without a wolf, she shouldn’t be able to feel a mate bond. Without a wolf, she shouldn’t have the biological imperative that would draw her to them.”

Garrett leaned forward, understanding that this was the most crucial part of his revelation.

”Well, I guess they are not concerned about that,” Garrett said. ”Because Alpha Nicholas told me himself that they would be taking her when they leave Shadowmere. Whether she fully understands what a mate bond means. Whether she accepts it willingly. Whether she even knows what’s happening to her, none of that matters. They’re taking her.”

Theodore took a deep breath, a long, measured breath that seemed to carry the weight of acceptance.

”Well, there’s nothing we can do,” Theodore said finally, his voice carrying the resignation of someone who’s been through enough winters to understand when human effort meets forces beyond mortal control. ”There’s nothing we can do because she is their fated mate. And mate bonds supersede everything else....pack loyalty, blood debts, previous obligations. Everything.”

He stood slowly, as if the weight of this knowledge had somehow increased his years.

”The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” Theodore said quietly, more to himself than to Garrett. ”Even when those pairings seem cruel. Even when they seem impossible. Even when they seem to defy logic and justice, the Moon Goddess has her reasons.”

Garrett watched the elder move toward the window, looking out at the compound below.

”Do you think she’ll be safe with them?” Garrett asked, and there was genuine concern in his voice. Not just concern for pack harmony or political implications, but real concern for Lilith’s actual wellbeing and future.

Theodore was silent for a long moment, considering the question with the gravity it deserved.

”Safe?” Theodore finally answered, turning to face Garrett again. ”She’ll be safer with them than she would be anywhere else in the realm.”

He paused, letting that statement settle.

”Not because they’re kind, Garrett,” Theodore continued. ”Not because they’re gentle or generous or prone to mercy. The Blackwoods are ruthless. They’re strategic. They’re absolutely unforgiving with those who cross them or betray them. But she’s not their enemy.”

He moved closer, his dark eyes meeting Garrett’s.

”She’s theirs,” Theodore said simply. ”And the Blackwoods protect what belongs to them with absolute ferocity. She may face many things in her future with them. She may face intensity and possession and demands she can barely comprehend. But she won’t face abandonment. She won’t face neglect. She won’t face anything less than complete devotion and protection.”

Garrett understood what Theodore was saying. The Blackwoods loved like they did everything else....ruthlessly and absolutely.

”That’s how the Blackwoods love,” Theodore confirmed, reading the understanding in Garrett’s expression. ”With everything they are. With every resource they possess. With absolute, unwavering commitment. She may wish she’d never met them. She may curse the Moon Goddess for this pairing. But she will be loved in a way that few omegas in this realm ever experience.”

Theodore moved toward the door.

”You did what you could, Garrett,” the elder said, pausing at the threshold. ”You protected her as much as any alpha could protect an omega chosen as a fated mate. You extracted promises of care for her mother. You ensured she would be treated with dignity during the transition. That’s all any of us can do when the Moon Goddess has already decided.”

Garrett nodded slowly, understanding the limitations of his power.

”The Council will know about this,” Theodore added as he opened the door. ”They have ways of knowing. But they will understand. Just as I understand. Just as you understand. There is nothing to be done about fated mates.”

And then Elder Theodore was gone, closing the office door behind him with a soft click.

Garrett sat alone at his desk.

The morning light had shifted, and the shadows in his office had changed positions. He looked at the documents spread before him, papers related to the Supreme Council of Elders’ arrival and care. And in another pile, papers related to Lilith’s mother’s medical care and housing arrangements once Lilith was no longer in Shadowmere.

Both piles represented things he’d done his best to manage.

Both represented the limits of what he could control.

He stood and walked to the window, looking out at the compound below. Warriors were moving through the courtyards, making final preparations for the Council’s arrival. Staff members were arranging accommodations. Everything was proceeding with the kind of efficiency that came from careful planning.

Somewhere in this compound, Lilith was unaware that her fate was already sealed.

Somewhere in this compound, the Blackwood alphas were counting down the hours until they could take her.

In two more days, the Summit would end.

In two more days, Lilith would leave Shadowmere.

In two more days, her life would change irrevocably.

And Garrett would stand at the gates of his pack and watch her go, knowing that he’d done everything within his power to protect her, knowing that some forces were simply too powerful to resist, knowing that the Moon Goddess’s will superseded everything else.

He turned from the window and returned to his desk.

There were still arrangements to make for the Council’s arrival. There were still protocols to finalize. There was still things to put in place to keep the Summit running smoothly for the next two days.

Because that was all he could do at the moment, manage what he could control and accept what he could not.

And in two days time, he would watch one of his pack members get claimed by forces beyond his reach.