Library

Search

Home / Werewolf / Puck Destiny : A Triplet's Claim / Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

All Chapters of Puck Destiny : A Triplet's Claim: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

152 Chapters

121

INKA'S POV I was still wrapped in their arms when Elder Thaddeus's voice cut through the moment. "Release her." Hunter's grip tightened. "No. We just got her back—" "Release her. Now." The command in his voice made them obey. Slowly, reluctantly, their arms fell away. I stood between them and Elder Thaddeus, caught in the middle. "You think finding her is enough?" Elder Thaddeus descended the temple steps slowly. "You think because she wants you, because she stepped across the ward, that you've earned the right to take her?" "She's our mate," Seth said. "Our bond—" "Your bond is biology. Instinct. It doesn't make you worthy of her." Elder Thaddeus stopped a few feet from the ward line. "Do you understand what she is? What your child will be?" "A descendant," Zane said. "Golden blood. Lunar Healer. We know—" "You know words. Do you understand what they mean?" His gaze was sharp. "She's not just your mate. She's one of the Moon Goddess's chosen bloodlines. Hunted. Precious. S

122

After breakfast, Elder Thaddeus announced work assignments."Hunter, you're with Brother Marcus in the gardens. Heavy labor. Tilling, planting, hauling soil."Hunter nodded."Seth, you're with Sister Claire. Laundry and cleaning."Seth's eyebrow twitched but he didn't argue."Zane, you're with Ruth. Medical supply inventory and organization."Zane glanced at Ruth, who looked like she'd just been sentenced to torture."Inka," Elder Thaddeus continued. "You'll continue your regular schedule. Meditation with me. Cooking lessons with Sister Leah. Time with the children.""I don't get to work with them?""No. They're here to prove themselves to the community, not just to you. You observe. You watch how they handle service, humility, contribution. You don't help them."It felt cruel. But I understood the logic.I spent the morning in meditation while Hunter sweated in the gardens. I could feel him through the bond—frustration, physical strain, determination.Brother Marcus didn't go easy on

123

SETH'S POVLunch was almost over when Elder Thaddeus approached me."Seth. This afternoon you'll be teaching the children."I looked up from my meal. "Teaching what?""Reading, writing, basic mathematics. Sister Leah needs to rest her ankle. You're taking over afternoon lessons.""I've never taught children before.""Then you'll learn." Elder Thaddeus walked away, conversation over.Across the table, Hunter smirked. He was covered in dirt and scratches from his morning assignment—firewood gathering and berry picking. "Good luck with that.""How hard can it be? They're just children.""You have the patience of a starving wolf. This should be entertaining.""I have plenty of patience."Hunter's smirk widened. "We'll see."---After lunch, I found the children gathered in the learning area—a covered outdoor space with benches and a chalkboard.Seven children. Ages six to twelve. How difficult could seven children be?Very difficult, apparently.The twins, Liam and Lucas, were throwing ro

124

ZANE'S POVI stood outside the kitchen door, staring at the assignment sheet in my hand.(Dinner preparation for the entire community. Menu: herb-roasted chicken, root vegetables, fresh bread, berry compote. Report to Sister Leah at 3 PM. Meal served at 6 PM.)Three hours to cook a meal I'd never made for fifteen people who'd been eating Sister Leah's excellent cooking for weeks.This was going to be a disaster.Behind me, I heard Hunter and Seth laughing in the guest quarters. They'd both finished their assignments for the day—Hunter's morning of firewood gathering and berry picking, Seth's afternoon teaching the children.Both had been humiliating failures, according to them.Now it was my turn.I pushed open the kitchen door.Sister Leah was already there, ankle propped up on a stool, ingredients laid out on the counter. She looked up when I entered."Ready to cook?""No. Absolutely not. I'm going to poison everyone.""Not with that attitude, you won't." She gestured to the ingredi

125

ZANE'S POV The bread timer went off. I checked the dough. It had risen properly this time. "Shape it and put it in the oven with everything else." I shaped the loaves—still blobby but better than before—and slid them into the oven. Thirty more minutes until everything was done. I leaned against the counter, exhausted. "You're doing well," Inka said. "I've made mistakes at every single step." "But you kept going. You didn't give up." She slid off the counter and touched my arm. "That's what matters." The mate bond hummed at her touch. Warm. Right. "What if the food is terrible?" I asked. "Then it's terrible. But you made it yourself. Put in the effort. Tried something you've never done before." She smiled. "That counts for something." "Tell that to everyone when they're spitting out burnt chicken." "It's not burnt. You put foil on it. Eventually." "I ruined the skin." "The inside will be fine." I hoped she was right. The final timer went off. Everythin

126

HUNTER'S POVI woke to someone shaking my shoulder."Get up. Dawn meditation starts in ten minutes."I opened my eyes. Brother Marcus stood over me, already dressed in white robes."Dawn what?""Meditation. Everyone attends. You're everyone now." He dropped a folded white robe on my chest. "Put this on. Leave your other clothes here."He left before I could argue.I sat up, looking at the robe. Plain white cotton. Simple. Nothing like the clothes I'd worn my entire life—clothes that marked me as future Alpha, as Blackwood, as someone important.Seth groaned from the other bed. "Please tell me he didn't just say meditation.""He did." Zane was already changing, practical as always. "When in Rome.""This isn't Rome. This is some kind of werewolf monastery." Seth held up his white robe like it might bite him. "Do we really have to wear these?""Elder Thaddeus said no special consideration. We follow the rules like everyone else." I stood and started changing. "That means white robes."I

127

Hunter's POV My wolf went quiet. Even he understood we'd fucked up badly enough that groveling was required.By the time I had fifteen bundles stacked, my arms ached and my hands were bleeding from splinters. The sun was high overhead—almost noon.Now for the hunting and gathering.Hunting would be easy. I was built for it. Trained for it. My wolf lived for the chase.I shifted despite Elder Thaddeus's suggestion to stay human. Found a deer trail quickly. Tracked the scent. Found a young buck drinking from a stream.The kill was clean. Quick. I shifted back to human, hoisted the deer over my shoulders, and carried it back to the designated area near the sanctuary.That part felt right. Felt natural. Felt like what an Alpha should be doing—providing meat, protecting, hunting.Then I picked up the basket and headed toward the berry patch.Gathering berries.I stood at the edge of the blackberry bushes feeling ridiculous. The basket looked absurd in my hands. The white robe was already

128

INKA'S POVRuth slammed the medical kit on the table hard enough to make the bottles rattle."They've been here two days and already disrupting the entire routine." She sorted through bandages with aggressive efficiency. "Hunter came back from the forest twenty minutes late. Made everyone wait for dinner preparation. And Seth apparently told Thomas that pack wolves are stronger than sanctuary wolves. Now Thomas won't stop arguing with the twins about it.""Seth said that?" I asked."Word for word according to Thomas." Ruth shoved a bottle of antiseptic back on the shelf. "They don't understand that everything here runs on rhythm. On routine. Disrupt one thing and everything else shifts.""They're trying—""They're Alpha wolves trying to fit into a community built on equality. Those are fundamentally incompatible things." Ruth turned to face me. "How long before Hunter instinctively commands someone? How long before Zane starts reorganizing systems that don't need reorganizing? How lon

129

INKA'S POV I helped Sister Maya with some sewing—her hands were too swollen from pregnancy to manage the fine work properly. We sat in the garden in comfortable silence. "The boys are struggling," Maya said after a while. "They're trying." "Trying and succeeding are different things." She bit off a thread. "But struggling is how you learn. If they were breezing through this, Elder Thaddeus would be more concerned, not less." "Ruth thinks they'll never fit here." "Ruth thought the same about you. Remember your first week?" I did remember. The bread that was wrong consistency. The overwatered plants. The cutting board incident. Ruth's sharp words in the kitchen. "I didn't make a child feel worthless." "No. You made yourself feel worthless instead." Maya looked at me. "Which is worse?" The question settled uncomfortably. "Seth needs to fix it with Thomas himself," Maya continued. "Without your help. Without Hunter or Zane's help. He needs to find his own way to reach that chi

130

INKA'S POV Ruth burst through the kitchen door so hard it slammed against the wall. "We have a problem." Sister Leah looked up from the stove. I looked up from the vegetables I was chopping. "Alpha Graham is at the ward line. With two council members." Ruth's jaw was tight. "And he doesn't look like he came to negotiate." The kitchen went very still. I set down my knife. ** By the time we reached the main courtyard, half the sanctuary had already gathered. Sister Claire had pulled the children back toward the dormitory—I caught a glimpse of Ana's wide eyes before Claire steered her away. Brother Marcus stood near the garden entrance, expressionless but watchful. Elder Thaddeus was already at the ward line. And on the other side of it—Alpha Graham Blackwood. Taller than I remembered. Broader. His presence filled the space outside the ward line the way Alpha presence always did—like the air became heavier around him. Two men flanked him. Council members I recognized from pac

PREV

...

11 12 13 14 15 16

NEXT

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

DMCA.com Protection Status