All Chapters of The Alpha’s Secret Triplets: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Elena’s POVI looked back at the abyss. The massive hand of roots and stone was still rising. It was slow, but it was steady. It was only a few feet away from Caleb now. Its fingers were as big as tree trunks.I looked at the high ledge where Martha, the High Elder, was standing. She was watching us like we were a science experiment. She wasn't lifting a finger to help."You're going to let it take him?!" I yelled at her. "You're going to let a child be buried alive for a pack that doesn't even deserve him!""It is the cycle, Elena," she called down. Her voice was cold and flat. "One life for thousands. It is a fair trade.""Not his life!"I spotted a metal pole by the corner. I scrambled for it. It wasn't much, but it was all I had.I stood up and looked at the fire barrier. If it was made of those grey creatures and Tiana’s sacrifice, maybe it reacted to the opposite. I flicked my lighter on again. The tiny flame looked pathetic in the face of the glowing pillar, but I didn't care.

Elena’s POV“Cupcakes,” I repeated.The word was so mundane, so innocent, but coming from Cindy’s mouth it felt like a death sentence. It was a memory from the Gala, the last thing Zack had been obsessed with before the black oil took her."Run," Zack hissed, the word was barely a whisper. He didn't look back to see if the lady in the gold dress was real or not. He just grabbed Cindy’s hand and started moving.I didn't need to be told twice. I hoisted Caleb higher, he felt heavier, his glowing palms pressed against my neck as I grabbed Cindy. I expected to hear the rustle of her dress behind us, but there was only the sound of our own panicked breathing.We ran for what felt like hours, moving through the "shortcuts" Zack knew. We avoided the open ridges where the Elders’ blue lanterns flickered like vengeful stars in the valley. Zack led us through a narrow road until we got the the cabin.It was a little bigger than a stone box with a heavy timber door, but to me, it looked like

Elena’s POV Zack jerked the truck to the side of the road, and the tires threw up a massive cloud of dust. He killed the engine and turned to me, his golden eyes were blazing with a ferocity that actually made me flinch. "Don't you ever say that," he whispered, as his voice vibrated. "I loved you when you were nothing. I loved you when you had no name and no pack. I didn't search for you because I needed a trophy. I searched for you because I was half-dead without you." For a second, the old Zack was there. The boy who had held me in the rain. The man who had looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered. My heart wavered, and a soft spot opened up in my chest that I couldn't afford to have. "Then let us go," I whispered back, my voice breaking. "If you love us, Zack, let us go where we can be safe…Truly safe." Zack’s face hardened again, his eyes darkened with authority. "I am letting us be safe at the new pack house, and that's final." He restarted the eng

Elena's POV The garden air felt unnaturally sweet and perfect. It smelled like fancy mulch and carefully arranged flowers, which was a stark contrast to the scent of ozone and ancient stone that still clung to my hair. I stood by the hydrangeas, breathing hard, trying to hold back the screams stuck in my throat. Love is not enough. I had said it, and I meant it. Zack thought he could buy my forgiveness with a glass house. He thought he could erase six years of hiding, and living in fear, six years of wondering if my children would be snatched from their beds, just by building a prettier cage. I looked back at the house. It was beautiful, yes, but it was a cage. And every guard I saw out of the corner of my eye was a reminder that my children were no longer just mine; they were assets of the Silver-Crest pack. I needed to move. I needed to walk until my legs ached so I didn't have to think about the look in Zack's eyes when I told him I hated this life. I walked further into the g

Elena’s POV"Indispensable."The word felt like a slap. It wasn't a word expected from a father.Zack looked at me with those intense, calculating eyes, and for a terrifying second, I didn't recognize him. This wasn't the man who had held me while I cried. This was the Alpha of Silver-Crest, a man who had spent so much time playing political chess with the Elders that he had started seeing his own flesh and blood as the most powerful pieces on his board."They aren’t assets, Zack," I said, my voice coming out as a low, dangerous vibration. My hands were shaking, not with fear, but with a sudden, sharp clarity. "They’re children. And the second you decided they needed to be 'useful' to this pack was the second you became exactly what we were running from."I didn't wait for him to find a way to justify it. I knew he had a hundred excuses; safety, survival, the greater good and I didn't want to hear a single one. I turned and ran."Elena! Stop!" Zack’s voice cracked like a whip behind m