BOUND TO THREE ALPHAS
Chapter 26: BROKEN CIRCLE

Chapter 26: BROKEN CIRCLE

Chapter 26: Broken Circle

The world burst in silver and black. Liana’s pendant burned against her hair as it fought Celeste’s dark lightning. The force knocked shadow-warriors backward, their bodies falling like leaves. "Kill them all!" Celeste screamed, purple veins running under her skin. Shadow-warriors charged from every direction. Jace struck first, his brown fur a blur as he tore into the closest enemy.

Black mist poured from its cuts instead of blood. The smell made him gag, but he kept fighting. Kael darted left, avoiding snapping jaws. His powerful muscles rippled under midnight hair as he slammed into two shadow-warriors at once. They went down hard, but more took their place. "Rowan, watch your right!" Liana yelled through their link. But Rowan didn’t answer. She turned to find him standing still, his silver-gray body shaking. Dark lines spread beneath his skin like poison. "No, not now," Rowan whimpered. His blue wolf eyes flickered, changing red for a second, then back to blue. The curse was winning. "Rowan!" Jace called, ducking under a shadow-warrior’s attack. "Fight it!" Rowan’s head snapped toward his brother. This time his eyes stayed red. A low growl rumbled from his chest - not the sound of a wolf defending family, but a beast chasing prey. "The curse is reacting to the shadow magic," Kael realized, horror in his voice. Celeste laughed, spinning her staff in circles. "I wondered which triplet would break first. Didn’t think it would be the smart one." Rowan snarled and rushed right at Kael. "Rowan, stop!" Liana cried.

But her words bounced off him like rain on stone. Rowan’s teeth found Kael’s shoulder, biting deep. Kael yelped in pain and shock. He couldn’t fight back - this was his baby brother. "Kael!" Jace abandoned his fight to help, but three shadow-warriors blocked his way. Liana’s heart tore watching the boys turn on each other. Through their bond, she felt Rowan’s mind drowning in darkness. The real Rowan was screaming inside, stuck behind the curse’s control. Celeste pointed her staff at Liana. "Now for the main event." Purple fire shot from the crystal, drawing a circle around Liana’s paws. The ground inside the circle turned black as tar. Strange symbols glowed along the edges. Liana tried to jump out, but unseen walls slammed her back. She was stuck. "A draining circle," Darius said with satisfaction. "Old magic. Nasty stuff." The symbols pulsed faster. Liana felt her strength slipping away, pulled into the cursed ground. Her legs shook. Her white fur lost its shine. "Feel that?" Celeste stepped closer. "That’s your power feeding mine. Soon you’ll be empty - just another dead omega who forgot her place." Liana’s knees buckled. She fought to stay up, but the circle sucked her energy like a hungry monster.

Through blurry eyes, she saw Kael bleeding badly while trying not to hurt Rowan. Jace fought furiously, but shadow-warriors kept coming. They were losing. "Such a sad ending," Celeste mocked. "The great white wolf, brought down by a Beta’s daughter she once looked down on." "I never..." Liana’s voice came out weak. "Never looked down on you." "LIAR!" Celeste’s face twisted with rage. "You took everything! My future, my mates, my fate!" The emptying circle squeezed harder. Liana fell, her body too heavy to hold up. Darkness crept in from the edges of her view. Then she heard it - a voice both young and old. "The fourth moon rises when hope falls lowest." Elder Mira stepped into the clearing. Beside her walked Talia, but something was wrong. Liana’s best friend moved like a doll, her eyes completely white, unseeing yet seeing everything. "Impossible," Celeste hissed. "I left guards-" "Your guards bow to older power," Mira said calmly. Despite the chaos, she looked untouchable in her formal robes, silver hair shining. "As do you, child of ambition." Talia’s mouth opened, but the sound that came out wasn’t hers. It rang with power that made everyone freeze, even the shadow-warriors. "Children of the moon, hear the true prophecy." Liana gasped. That voice - she’d heard it once before, in dreams.

The Moon Goddess herself spoke through Talia. "The white wolf brings change, not by choosing one path, but by breaking the path itself." "Shut up!" Celeste fired dark lightning at Talia. Elder Mira raised her hand. A silver barrier appeared, swallowing the blow like it was nothing. "Mate bonds, pack bonds, blood bonds," Talia continued in that alien voice. "All will break and reform. The omega will rise not to rule, but to free. The choice she makes will echo through every pack, every wolf, forever." "NO!" Celeste gripped her staff with both hands. "I won’t let some omega trash rewrite our world!" "You misunderstand, young witch." The Moon Goddess’s voice turned sad. "The prophecy was never about Liana choosing between the triplets." Everyone stared. Even Darius looked confused. "Then what-" Kael started, still bleeding from Rowan’s attack. "It’s about choosing what kind of world wolves will live in," the voice stated. "One ruled by strength and blood... or one where every wolf matters." Liana understood. Through her failing vision, she saw the truth.

Every harsh word she’d heard as an omega. Every wolf beaten down by rank. Every life wasted because of outdated customs. The choice wasn’t about love. It was about freedom. "Beautiful words," Celeste mocked. "But they won’t save you!" She pulled a silver knife from her robes. Ancient symbols covered the blade, glowing with dangerous purpose. "If I can’t have my destiny," she shrieked, "then NO ONE will!" Time slowed as Celeste raised the knife. Liana lay helpless in the drying circle, too weak to move. The triplets were too far away, stopped by enemies. The silver blade plunged down, headed straight for Liana’s heart. In that frozen moment, Liana felt something shift inside her. Not Selene’s memories, but her own power - raw, untapped, waiting. The pendant at her throat exploded with light just as the knife touched her fur. Then everything went white.