Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings novel Chapter 163

Chapter 163: Then Let’s Make Sure It’s Worth What It Cost Her

"We’ve spent four months chasing a bond none of us fully understood, manipulating circumstances to bring her back to us, lying to secure her compliance when the truth would have destroyed everything we were trying to build. Whatever we become after tomorrow...whatever kind of mates we turn out to be, it starts the moment she steps into that carriage."

"Then let’s make sure it’s worth what it cost her," Sebastian said quietly.

Lucian nodded slowly, his gold eyes reflecting the dying firelight. "Worth it," he repeated. "Whatever it takes."

Nicholas allowed himself a rare, small smile, not triumphant, not calculating, just quietly certain. "Get some rest, both of you," he said. "Tomorrow we bring our mate home."

The fire burned low as the three of them finally settled into silence, each lost in thoughts of the woman who would change everything about who they were, and the long, uncertain road that stretched out ahead of all of them....toward Blackwood, toward the full moon, toward whatever truth and lies would eventually have to find their balance between them.

Outside, the last night in Shadowmere stretched on, quiet and still, holding its breath for the morning that would carry Lilith Thorne away from everything she’d ever known.

***

*The Next Morning*

The dawn came gray and quiet, filtering through the window of the omega quarters in soft, uncertain light. Lilith woke without an alarm, her body knowing somehow that this was the day, the morning she’d been counting toward and dreading in equal measure for the past seventy-two hours.

She lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling of the small room that had been her home for the past four months. The walls were bare except for a small shelf holding the few possessions she’d accumulated....a comb, a spare dress, the wooden bird from Emma wrapped carefully in cloth so it wouldn’t get damaged.

Everything she owned in the world fit in a single worn leather bag that sat by the door, already packed, already waiting.

She sat up slowly, her body stiff from a night of poor sleep. She’d spent most of it staring at nothing, cycling through every emotion she had...fear, grief, strange fragments of hope that she didn’t quite know what to do with. Somewhere around dawn, exhaustion had finally pulled her under for an hour or two, but it had been the kind of sleep that didn’t rest you, the kind that left you more tired when you woke than you’d been before.

She washed in the small basin, using cold water that made her gasp, and dressed in the same simple dress she’d been wearing for months. There seemed no point in wearing anything fancier. This wasn’t an occasion that called for ceremony.

The compound was already stirring when she stepped out into the early morning. A few omegas moved through the corridors, some heading to kitchen duty, some to cleaning rotations. A couple of them glanced at her curiously, like they already knew, like word had spread that the traitor’s daughter was leaving Shadowmere today.

She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her mother’s forehead, the same gesture she’d made dozens of times before, but this time it felt like a beginning rather than an ending. This time, instead of a promise to return soon, it felt like a promise to become someone her mother would be proud of, even if she was doing it far away.

She stayed a few more minutes, not speaking, just being present, just sitting with her mother one last time. Then she stood, squared her shoulders, and walked out of the medical wing without looking back. If she looked back, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to leave.

Doctor Reeve was waiting at the station. She stood as Lilith passed, and without a word, pulled her into a quick, fierce hug.

"You take care of yourself," Reeve said, releasing her. "And you remember what I said about visiting. Your voice matters to her. Don’t forget that."

"I won’t," Lilith promised.

The walk to Dora’s quarters took her through the heart of the compound, past the training grounds where betas were already beginning their morning routines, past the main hall where servants were preparing for another day of feeding the visiting nobility. Everything felt both exactly the same and completely foreign, like she was seeing Shadowmere for the first time even though every corner of it had been familiar to her for her entire life.