All Chapters of Triple Temptation: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

"This is your last chance, Rhea Mooncrest." Elder Theon Vale's voice was a venomous murmur, one that was whispered only to her and the four Alphas posted around her. The Council Hall was a pressure cooker of anticipation, every pack member holding their breath, waiting for the outcome of this legendary standoff. "Choose one of them. Complete the ceremony with a lone, true Alpha. The pack needs a simple leader. A simple bond. Or I will use my authority to nullify the bond, and your status as a lone, unbonded Omega will be voted on. And you know what happens in that vote."Theon's threat hung over her, a cruel threat of what was to happen to a dominant, unbonded Omega in the Silverfang Pack's rigid hierarchy—a life as a servant and an oppressor. Rhea felt Ash's hold on her arm close around it, his angry protectiveness a low, seething hum in their bond."Your power is not absolute, Theon," Ash snarled, his eyes burning with outrage. "The bond is a sacred institution. It cannot be broken

"Be still, Zane. You're just going to make it worse." Rhea's voice was soft, her touch even softer as she pressed a wet cloth to the jagged cut on his arm. The smell of antiseptic wafted lightly in the infirmary's air.Zane grimaced, although his eyes, which usually sparkled with mischief, were muted, focused on her. "Easy for you to say, Mooncrest. You weren't the one who was wrestling with a rogue twice your size.""No, but I was the one who was watching you do it," she retorted, a flicker of worry in her eyes. "You got hit badly. Blaze rescued you."A grunt was wrenched out of him. "Yeah, yeah, the big galoot. Still, could've handled it. Just… wasn't prepared for it." He looked away briefly, then back at her, his usual swagger melting away. "You were so close, Rhea. Right there. I thought… I thought I was going to lose you again."She paused, her hand hovering over his wound. "What do you mean, 'again'?"He gave a short, humorless laugh. "The first time, you know. When you vanished

"You are out of line, Omega Mooncrest!" Theon Vale's voice trembled with rage that resonated the very rafters of the Council Hall. He slammed his gavel so hard that the resound echoed through the stunned quiet. "This is a matter of pack law and criminal justice, not a public forum for complaints by Omegas!"Rhea stood firm, her chest thudding, but somehow a calm had descended on her. She looked at the faces in the hall—the frightened young Omegas in the back, the incredulous Alphas, the fretting betas. She saw the eye of Marla Fenwick, who nodded slightly, hardly perceptibly. She saw Zane's encouraging smirk, Kai's steady, unblinking gaze, Blaze's merciless, demanding glare, and Ash's fierce, commanding one that gave her a silent permission to continue.This wasn't about Blaze. This was about all of it. About her mother. About the journal. About every scared Omega who had ever been told to shut up."As a matter of fact, Elder Theon," Rhea's voice was sharp, assertive, and unbreakable,

"She won't wake up, Kai. Her scent's fading. Her Omega side. it's like it's lost." Micah's voice was taut with fear as he sat on the Council Hall floor with Rhea. Healer Mira, standing over them, was stern-faced.Kai gazed at Rhea's still form. He did not respond to Micah. He was balancing, calculating Theon's cruel decree. Privileging her away, healer restrictions, cooling her fire—it was a tactic designed to shatter her, to divide her union, and to discipline the Alphas who claimed her as their own. Theon could not kill her, not outright, but he could make her a ghost. He could take away from her that which gave her life."He wants her to die," Blaze snarled, his fists clenched. "He wants us to watch it happen."Ash's eyes were on Theon, who perched on his throne of a council chair with an icy grin. "He wants us to break, Blaze. To strike back. To justify his assertion."Zane smoothed his hair, forgetfulness of his flippancy. "So what do we do? Can't just let her. slip away." He sco

"Be still, Rhea," Kai ordered, his voice firm, although his hand trembled slightly as he pressed the warm, sleek stone to her skin. He crouched before her, his eyes locked on the primitive rune etched into the obsidian. The Cradle of Ancients was a place of raw power, a cavern of sparkling crystals that hummed with energy. A stream of glowing, moon-like liquid flowed down the center of the room. Rhea sat on a crystal slab, the chill of the stone seeping into her marrow. Her body was a wreck, depleted by her recent heat and the tension of the broken bonds."I am trying," she whispered, her teeth chattering. "The energy here… it is too much. I feel as if I will shatter."Ash stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders, holding her fast. "You will not break. We are here. We are your anchors," he snarled, his deep voice a steady reassurance. "The ritual needs to be precise. Lira's diary says the moon-glow fluid needs to be applied in a specific pattern. Kai, you first. The mind symbol. T