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Fourteen

Author: Goldie
last update Last Updated: 2025-10-09 23:27:23

Lira

Tova pulled me through the packed den. The ceiling hung low, and the smell of roasted meat and cheap wine filled the air. Tables didn’t match, benches scraped against the floor, and laughter bounced off the walls.

“See? Told you the low ranks know how to party,” Tova said, nudging my arm. “No tight-ass etiquette here.”

I gave a small smile, scanning the room. It wasn’t polished like the gathering Jax had taken me to yesterday, but the noise and easy laughter felt real.

We walked past a table crowded with bottles and trays of fruit. I grabbed a glass that looked like orange juice, keeping it simple. Tova didn’t hesitate—she went straight for the liquor. The music picked up, loud and fast, people moving in a blur of laughter and bodies. For once, no one stared. No one cared who I was.

A young guy stumbled over, half-drunk and grinning. Same one who’d tried talking to me yesterday. He gave a small bow. “Dance with me?” His arm brushed mine, his skin rough, probably from field work.

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  • Marked, Tamed, Owned by the Triplet Alphas   132

    Lira By the time we arrived, my nerves were tight and my panties were damp.The hall was packed with packmates dressed in their finest, chatting excitedly about finally seeing the Alpha’s chosen Lunar candidate.Jax led me inside, and I immediately spotted Kain and Tova at the head table on a raised platform, positioned so the entire room had a clear view.They were not touching, but they sat close. Tova smiled at something Kain said. His hand rested on the table near hers, close enough that their fingers could brush with the smallest movement.My heart pounded harder. “Come on,” Jax said, guiding me toward a table below the platform. “We’re sitting here.”Riven was already seated. He frowned and mouthed at Jax, “Why did you bring her?”“She’s support staff now,” Jax said, sliding into the chair beside me.Riven gave me a quiet are-you-okay look. I nodded and focused on arranging my napkin, trying to ignore the pressure building in my chest.Then Athena appeared.“Mind if I join?” s

  • Marked, Tamed, Owned by the Triplet Alphas   131

    LiraThe half-empty moonshade jar sat hidden in my closet, and I tried not to calculate how fast I was going through it. I had been careful with my dosage so it would last, but it was never going to be enough. That meant I would need more soon, which was a problem.Back at Blackwood, getting moonshade had been easy and accessible. Now that my mates knew Garrick had tried to use me, leaving pack territory felt risky. They would want to know why I needed to leave, where I was going, and who I was meeting. I could not answer any of that without exposing myself.I picked up the jar and turned it in my hands, watching the dark herb catch the morning light, then put it back where it was hidden.“Problem for later,” I muttered, setting it down.I found Tova in her room, curled into one of the oversized chairs with a book she clearly was not reading. She had been staring at the same page for several minutes.I dropped into the chair across from her. “So, my lady, how does it feel to be the Al

  • Marked, Tamed, Owned by the Triplet Alphas   130

    KainLater that night, I met with my brothers in the war room.Riven had updates on two separate investigations, and the moment he started speaking, my brief moment of levity evaporated."I've sent letters to contacts who can help us dig into Garrick's operations," Riven said, spreading maps across the table. "If we're feeding him false intelligence through Lira, we need to understand what he's actually doing with it. What his real goals are.""You think this goes beyond just territorial ambition?" I asked."I think Garrick is small-minded and obvious," Riven said bluntly. "Which means he's probably working for someone smarter. Someone who actually poses a threat.""So we find the puppet master by following the puppet," Jax said."Exactly."That made strategic sense. Garrick had never struck me as particularly intelligent or subtle. If he was making moves against us, someone else was likely directing him."What's the second investigation?" I asked, even though part of me didn't want t

  • Marked, Tamed, Owned by the Triplet Alphas   129

    KainI escaped to my study during a break in the proceedings, desperate for five minutes of silence.I didn't get them."Popsy?"Angie pushed open the study door and climbed onto my lap before I could stand to greet her properly."Is it true?" she asked, her small face serious. "Are all those ladies here to marry you? Are you getting a new wife?"I couldn't lie to Angie. I'd never lied to her, and I wasn't going to start now, even when the truth was complicated and messy."You know how Popsy is going to become Alpha Primus?" I asked carefully. "The leader of the whole territory?"Angie's face brightened. "Like a king!""Sort of like that. And kings need partners to help them lead. That person is called a Luna. So I'm meeting ladies who might want to be Luna.""But you already have Lira." Angie's expression shifted to confusion. "Why do you need more ladies?"The question was so direct, so innocent, and so impossible to answer honestly that I had to take a moment to figure out how to r

  • Marked, Tamed, Owned by the Triplet Alphas   128

    KainI left Zuri on the floor of my study and walked away without looking back.Elora's jasmine and vanilla perfume lingered in the hallway. I could still see Zuri standing there in that blue silk, and I could still hear the desperation in her voice when she'd confessed she'd loved me before Elora died.I felt nothing but pity.Not anger. Not even disgust, really. Just a deep, bone-weary pity for a girl whose crush had warped into something dangerous and obsessive.The worst part was knowing that if circumstances had been different, if Zuri hadn't been so spiteful toward Lira, so volatile and unpredictable, she might have been the perfect decoy. She knew the pack, knew me, had bloodline credentials that would have satisfied the council. We could have had a conversation, come to an understanding, used the situation to protect everyone involved.But Zuri wasn't capable of understanding. She was a grenade with the pin already pulled, and choosing her would mean handing her the power to d

  • Marked, Tamed, Owned by the Triplet Alphas   127

    Zuri I waited until after midnight.I'd been watching their patterns for weeks, noticing the way they traded Lira between them like she was something to be shared and scheduled. Tonight was Riven's night—I'd seen Lira going to his wing of the house after dinner.Which meant Kain was alone.His routine when he didn't have Lira was predictable: check on Angie, make sure she was asleep, then retreat to either his study or the war room to work until exhaustion finally forced him to bed.Tonight it was the study. I saw the light under his door as I walked down the hallway, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.I was wearing Elora's favorite perfume—jasmine and vanilla, the scent that used to fill this house before she died. And underneath my robe, I wore deep blue silk lingerie, the color Elora had always said made her feel powerful and beautiful.If Kain saw me and remembered her, remembered what it was like when this house was full of love instead of politi

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