Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

The phone was new, still unfamiliar in her hand, still carrying the faint scent of the packaging it had arrived in that morning. Sebastian had given it to her with a casual explanation: ”So you can reach us if you need anything. And so we can reach you.” It was a small device, sleek and expensive, the kind of thing Lilith had never owned before, even when she was still a beta’s daughter.

She’d spent most of the afternoon figuring out how it worked, learning to navigate its touch screen, discovering the contacts Sebastian had already loaded into it, his name, Lucian’s, Nicholas’s, and a handful of others she assumed were staff. She’d held the phone like it was made of glass, terrified of breaking it, of doing something wrong with something so valuable.

By evening, she’d set it on her nightstand and largely forgotten about it, lost in the book she’d been reading, in the comfortable silence of her room as darkness fell outside her window.

When it rang, the sound startled her so badly she nearly dropped the book.

The phone’s screen lit up with a name: Dora.

Lilith’s heart jumped. She stared at the illuminated screen for a moment, her mind struggling to catch up with the reality of it. Dora. From Shadowmere. How had Dora gotten this number? Who saved Dora’s number on her phone? What would make her call?

Nothing good. The instinctive knowledge was immediate and absolute. People didn’t call in the evening with good news.

Lilith’s hand trembled slightly as she picked up the phone and swiped to answer, bringing it to her ear.

”Dora?” Her voice came out smaller than she intended.

”Lilith.” Dora’s voice came through the speaker, and immediately Lilith knew something was very wrong. The older woman’s usual composure was completely shattered. Her voice was panicked, urgent, carrying the kind of desperation that came from genuine crisis. ”Lilith, listen to me. Your mother had an episode last night. A severe one.”

Lilith’s entire body went cold. ”What? What do you mean an episode? What happened?”

”Her vitals spiked,” Dora said, speaking quickly, her words tumbling over each other. ”Around midnight. Her heart rate elevated, her blood pressure went through the roof, and Doctor Reeve couldn’t stabilize her. Nothing was working. The medical wing at Shadowmere doesn’t have the resources for something this severe, so they made the decision to transfer her.”

”Transfer her where?” Lilith was already on her feet, the book forgotten on her bed, the phone pressed so tightly to her ear it hurt.

”Saint Mary’s Supernatural Hospital,” Dora said. ”It’s about two hours from Shadowmere, neutral ground, equipped to handle creatures and supernatural conditions. They moved her there early this morning. Doctor Reeve went with her, and they’ve been monitoring her condition all day.”

Lilith’s mind was spinning, struggling to process. Her mother had had an episode severe enough to require hospitalization outside the pack territory.

”Is she....” Lilith couldn’t finish the question, couldn’t force the words out past the lump forming in her throat. ”Is she going to be okay?”

”I don’t know yet,” Dora said, and her honesty was somehow worse than any reassurance would have been. ”Doctor Reeve is optimistic.”

”I need to go see her,” Lilith said, already moving toward her wardrobe. ”I need to go to the hospital. I need to be with her.”

”That’s why I’m calling,” Dora said. ”I wanted to make sure you knew immediately. The brothers need to arrange your transportation. You can’t just leave Blackwood territory on your own, you’ll need someone to escort you, and you’ll need to inform the Alphas.”

The phone felt heavy in Lilith’s hand as the reality of the situation crashed over her. Her mother was in a hospital. Her mother needed her. But she was trapped at Blackwood, dependent on the brothers to make arrangements, to allow her to leave.

”Okay,” she whispered. ”Okay, I’ll tell them. I’ll go now.”

”Lilith,” Dora said, and there was something almost tender in her voice now, beneath the crisis. ”Your mother is strong. She’s going to fight her way back from this. But she needs to know you’re with her. Can you do that?”

”Yes,” Lilith said, though she wasn’t sure how she was still standing, how she was still breathing. ”Yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She ended the call before Dora could say anything else, before she could think too hard about the implications, before the panic could fully paralyze her. She was moving, then....grabbing a shawl, slipping on shoes, her mind only half-present, most of her consciousness still spiraling with the news.

Her mother had an episode. Seriously enough to require a hospital outside pack territory.

The corridors of the estate blurred as she moved through them, barely aware of the staff she passed, barely registering the concerned looks directed at her. She was crying, she realized that distantly, felt the tears streaming down her face, but couldn’t seem to stop them. Her breathing was ragged, her heart hammering so hard it hurt.

The corridor leading to Nicholas’s office opened before her, and Lilith’s feet carried her forward without conscious decision. She needed help. She needed someone to tell her that everything would be okay, that her mother would be okay, that she could get to the hospital right now, immediately, without delay.

She reached the office door and didn’t knock. There was no time for courtesy, no space in her mind for protocol. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, her eyes blurred with tears, her entire body shaking.

Nicholas was at his desk, some documents spread before him, but he looked up immediately at the sound of the door slamming open. His silver eyes took in her state in an instant, the tears, the panic, the way she was trembling.

He was on his feet before she could speak, moving toward her.

”Lilith.” His voice was calm, steady, grounding. ”What happened?, What’s wrong?”