Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

Nicholas killed the engine and Lilith climbed off the bike. Her legs were steady. She was grateful for that.

Sebastian’s eyes went to her throat.

To the mark.

She watched the expression on his face when he looked at it.

Then his jaw tightened and he looked at Nicholas instead.

The two brothers looked at each other for a long moment.

Then Sebastian’s eyes came back to her.

”You’re back,” Sebastian said.

His voice was completely even.

”Yes,” Lilith replied.

He nodded once. His eyes dropped to her mark one more time.

Then he turned and walked back into the estate without another word.

Lilith stood at the bottom of the steps and watched him walk away. She felt the bond hum warm in her chest. And underneath it something else. Something new and separate and coming from a different direction entirely.

She pressed her fingers to her mark.

Looked at Nicholas.

He was watching the door Sebastian had just walked through. His expression was calculating. Weighing. Trying to stay ahead of something that was moving faster than his plans.

”Nicholas,” she said.

He looked at her.

”How much time do we have,” she asked ”Before whatever comes next.”

He was quiet for a moment.

”Not much,” he said.

She nodded.

She looked at the door and thought about Sebastian’s eyes on her mark.

Thought about Lucian somewhere inside that estate who she had not seen since the marking apart from the time he came to her room with Sebastian.

One down. Two more to go.

Two more and the bond would be complete. And whatever happens next would come to light.

She wasn’t sure she was ready.

She wasn’t sure she had a choice either.

She walked up the steps and into the estate.

Behind her she heard Nicholas follow.

***

SEBASTIAN POV

He had not slept.

Not one hour. Not one minute.

He had sat in the chair by the window in his room and watched the estate grounds go from night to blue-black to the first pale grey of morning.

He had not moved from that chair except once. To go downstairs and stand at the front steps when he heard the bike coming through the gates.

He told himself he needed to see her with his own eyes.

Just needed to confirm she was back safely. That was all.

That was the only reason he had been sitting in that chair all night counting the minutes and feeling Rhen press against the inside of his chest like a caged animal.

He was lying to himself and he knew it.

Rhenknew it too.

”She has been gone all night,”Rhensaid.”Our mate. Gone all night. With Nicholas.”

”I know,”Sebastian said.

”You should have gone with them.” Rhen nagged.

”There was no invitation.” Sebastian replied.

”Since when do we wait for invitations.” Rhen snapped back at him.

Sebastian had not answered that one.

Because the honest answer was: since Nicholas set the rules. Since Sebastian agreed to them because he could see the logic even if every instinct he had was screaming against it.

One at a time. Careful. Deliberate. Give her space to adjust.

The logic made sense.

Rhendid not care about logic.

Rhenhad not cared about logic since they found out she was their mate. WhenRhenhad pressed forward in Sebastian’s chest and said with absolute certainty: that she is their mate.

Sebastian had felt it too.

He was not built the way Nicholas was built. Could not shut things down. Could not stuff feelings away behind walls and think about them later.

He felt everything immediately and completely.

The pull toward Lilith had been immediate and complete from the very first moment.

The way she smelled.

The way she moved.

The way she had looked up at him from the bed with her chin lifted and her eyes wet and absolutely refused to beg even though she had every reason to.

He had known then.

He had known and he had agreed to Nicholas’s rules anyway because Nicholas was right. They needed to be careful. Give her time. Not overwhelm her with all three of them at once.

But that was before the marking.

Before Kael had taken over Nicholas’s body and bitten down on her throat and the binding had shattered and the gold light had filled the entire estate and he had been standing beside the bed in her room and felt the bond.

Felt it. Actually felt it.

Like a cord pulled taut between his chest and wherever she was.

That had been three days ago.

Three days of watching her move through the estate and feeling the bond pull at him every single time she walked into a room. Three days of watching Nicholas circle her carefully. Strategically. The way Nicholas did everything.

Three days of something that was not quite jealousy but lived right next door to it sitting heavy in his chest.

Three days of Rhen pressing.

And pressing.

And pressing.

He heard the bike before he saw it.

Was downstairs and out the front door before he had made a conscious decision to move.

He stood at the bottom of the steps and watched them come up the drive. Nicholas on the bike. Lilith behind him with her arms around his waist. Her face turned slightly to the side watching the estate come into view.

Something happened in Sebastian’s chest that knocked the breath out of him.

She looked different.

He could see it from here. Could feel it even from here. The bond between them felt different this morning. Warmer. More settled. Like something that had been slightly out of alignment had clicked into place overnight.

Nicholas had marked her again.

Not the bite. She already had that.

But something had happened between them. Something that went beyond the physical. Something that had deepened the bond.

he could feel the shift of it the way he could feel weather changing.

In his bones.

In the back of his teeth.

Rhenwent absolutely silent in his chest.

Not the counting-down silence.

Something else.

Something that felt almost like grief.