Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

”I know,” Lilith whispered.

”Do you understand what this means?” Emma grabbed her arm, her grip almost painful. ”These are the Blackwood brothers. Do you know what they’re capable of? Do you know what they’ve done to packs that crossed them? My cousin’s mate served under a beta who worked a diplomatic post near Blackwood territory once, she said the stories aren’t even exaggerated. They’re not just powerful, Lilith, they’re ruthless. Nicholas alone has ended entire bloodlines over insults far smaller than what your father is accused of.”

Lilith’s throat tightened. ”I know,” she said again, quieter this time.

Emma pulled her further into the shadow of the corridor, away from the open hallway, her voice dropping to something urgent and fierce. ”This is terrifying. This is....Lilith, I need you to understand how terrifying this is. You are the daughter of the man they believe murdered their father. And now they’re telling you that you’re their mate? That’s not a coincidence the Moon Goddess handed out kindly. That’s a knot with no way to untangle it.”

Lilith felt her eyes burning, tears threatening again despite how many she’d already cried that day. ”I know all of that already, Emma. I’ve been trying not to think about it because if I think about it too hard I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Emma’s grip on her arm softened. Her fierce expression cracked, revealing the fear underneath...real, raw fear for her friend. ”I’m not trying to scare you more than you already are,” she said, her voice gentler now. ”I just...I need you to be careful. I need you to understand what you’re walking into.”

”I do understand,” Lilith said. ”I understand better than anyone.”

They stood there for a long moment, the weight of it all settling between them. Somewhere down the corridor, other omegas moved past with armfuls of linens, their voices low and hurried, oblivious to the conversation happening in the shadows.

Emma took a slow breath, visibly trying to steady herself. When she spoke again, some of the fear had folded into something else, a forced, careful reassurance, the kind offered by someone who wasn’t entirely convinced herself but needed to say it anyway.

”Okay,” she said. ”Okay, listen. I’ve heard things to, About the Blackwoods. Not just about how ruthless they are. About how they treat their mates.” She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. ”A mate is different, Lilith. Everyone knows that. Even the coldest alphas, the ones who’ll gut a rival pack without blinking, they don’t touch their own mates like that. It’s not in their nature. The bond doesn’t let them. If anything, it’s the opposite. Mates get protected. Fiercely. Obsessively, even.”

”That’s what Lucian said,” Lilith murmured. ”That nobody would touch me. That he’d kill anyone who tried.”

”See?” Emma said, though her voice wavered slightly. ”That’s the bond talking. That’s real, Lilith. Whatever else is true about them, whatever they’ve done to other people, whatever reputation they carry, they’re not going to hurt their own mate. It’s not possible. It goes against everything a wolf is.”

”But I don’t have a wolf,” Lilith said quietly. ”I’m wolfless. What if that changes something? What if the bond doesn’t work the same way for me because I can’t feel it the way they can?”

Emma didn’t have an answer for that. She reached out instead and pulled Lilith into a tight hug, the kind of embrace that said more than words could. Lilith let herself sink into it for a moment, grateful for the warmth, grateful for the one person in this compound who still looked at her like a friend and not a liability.

”I’m scared for you,” Emma admitted against her shoulder. ”I won’t pretend I’m not. The things I’ve heard about the Blackwoods, I can’t unhear them. But I also see how they’ve been around you. I’ve seen how Alpha Lucian nearly shifted over that alpha touching you at dinner. I’ve seen the way they watch you like you’re the only person in any room they’re in.” She pulled back, holding Lilith by the shoulders, searching her face. ”That’s not nothing. Whatever else is true, that’s not nothing.”

Lilith wiped at her eyes, forcing herself to breathe. ”They want an answer by tomorrow morning. They said the decision’s already made either way. That I’m going with them whether I agree or not.”

Emma’s jaw tightened at that, the fear flickering back into her eyes. ”That sounds like them too,” she said quietly. ”The ruthlessness doesn’t just disappear because you’re their mate. It just gets pointed in a different direction.”

The words settled over Lilith like a weight she already knew was there but hadn’t wanted to name. Protected, yes. But not free. Cherished, maybe. But not given a choice.

”They also promised something else,” Lilith said after a moment, her voice quieter now. ”They said they’d investigate what really happened during the alliance meeting. That they’d try to clear my father’s name.”

Emma’s eyebrows rose. ”Do you believe them?”

”I want to,” Lilith admitted. ”I want to so badly it scares me almost as much as the rest of it.”

Emma was quiet for a long moment, studying her friend’s face. ”Just....be careful how much hope you put into that,” she said gently. ”Not because I think they’re definitely lying. But because you’ve had so little handed to you over the last three months, and I don’t want to see you break over a promise that might not hold.”

Lilith nodded slowly, the truth of that settling deep in her chest. She’d thought the same thing herself, hadn’t she? Somewhere beneath the desperate hope, some quieter, more cautious part of her had already wondered the same thing.

A voice called down the corridor, one of the senior omegas, reminding stragglers that Dora wanted the guest wing finished within the hour. Emma glanced toward the sound, then back at Lilith.

”We should get moving,” she said. ”Before Dora comes looking for us herself.”