Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings

Chapter 181: How Long Do We Have Before We Have To Mark Her?

She opened her mouth, but the words came out fractured, broken by sobs she couldn’t control.

"My mother," she gasped. "My mother had an episode. Last night. They moved her to a hospital....Saint Mary’s, outside Shadowmere. Dora just called me. I need to go see her. I need to go to her now."

Nicholas reached her and immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. His hand came to the back of her head, holding her gently as she fell apart against him, her tears soaking into his shirt, her entire body shaking with fear and desperation.

"When?" he asked, his voice still that same calm, steady tone. "When did this happen?"

Last night they moved her." Lilith’s voice was muffled against his shirt. "I need to be there. Please. I need to see her."

"I know," Nicholas said softly. "I know. We’ll get you there."

He pulled back slightly, just enough to look at her face, his hands moving to her shoulders. "But she was fine when we left Shadowmere. What could have triggered something this severe?"

"I don’t know," Lilith whispered, shaking her head. "I don’t know, but I need to go. I need to go now. Please. Please, I need to see my mother."

The office door opened.

Sebastian appeared, taking in the scene immediately — Lilith in Nicholas’s arms, tears streaming down her face. He crossed the room and reached for her, his hands coming up to cup her face gently.

"Please don’t cry," he said softly, his voice carrying genuine pain at seeing her like this.

He paused, his jaw tightening slightly as if receiving a message.

"I just received a message from Luke," he said, still holding her face, still looking into her eyes. "He sent word from Garrett." He glanced briefly at Nicholas, then back to Lilith. "They had to move your mother to another hospital. Apparently something happened to her last night that triggered her vitals. Garrett wanted me to pass the message to you."

Lilith’s hands came up to grip Sebastian’s wrists, her fingers digging in slightly as she looked between him and Nicholas, desperate for them to understand the urgency of the situation.

"Please," she whispered. "Please let me see my mother. Please let me go to her now. She needs me. I need to be there."

Sebastian looked over Lilith’s head toward Nicholas, who was still standing at her back.

Nicholas gave a small nod.

Sebastian turned his attention back to Lilith, his thumbs continuing their gentle movement across her cheeks, wiping away fresh tears as they fell.

"Yes," he said quietly. "You will see your mother. Marcus will take you to visit her so you can take care of her. Okay?"

Lilith’s entire body sagged with relief at his words, though the terror didn’t fully leave her. "Okay," she whispered. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Sebastian leaned down, bringing himself to her eye level, his dark eyes impossibly gentle.

"You don’t have to thank me, Lilith," he said quietly. "You are our mate. Taking care of your mother is our responsibility now. Your mother’s care....that’s our responsibility, and we will take care of her. Do you understand?"

Lilith nodded, though the full weight of his words didn’t quite penetrate the fog of panic surrounding her. All she could think about was getting to the hospital, getting to her mother, making sure her mother knew she wasn’t alone.

Nicholas’s voice came from behind her.

"Get yourself prepared," he said. "Marcus will take you to the hospital. You’ll leave in an hour."

Lilith nodded again, turning slightly to look back at him. "An hour?" An hour felt both like forever and like no time at all.

"An hour," Nicholas confirmed. "Marcus is reliable. He’ll get you there safely."

Sebastian released her face reluctantly, his hands dropping to his sides, though his dark eyes remained locked on hers, tracking every movement, every emotion flickering across her expression.

Lilith nodded and left the office, her mind already spinning through what she needed to do, what she needed to bring, how quickly she could be ready

***

After Lilith left, the three brothers remained in silence for a long moment. The weight of what had just happened, the crisis with Cassandra, the timing of it, the reality of what was approaching, settled over them like a suffocating blanket.

Lucian, who had arrived behind Sebastian as everything unfolded, moved to the window and stared out at the pack grounds. His gold eyes were bright with barely-contained feral energy, the full moon was only four days away now.

"How much time do we actually have?" Lucian asked, his voice rough. "Before the three-month deadline? Before we have to mark her?"

"Seven weeks," Nicholas said quietly. "Give or take."

"The hospital," Lucian said quietly. "She’ll be away from here."

"Away from the full moon," Sebastian added.

Nicholas turned from where he stood, his expression unreadable. "This works," he said. "She needs to be with her mother. And we need....." he paused, searching for the right words, "....we need to handle the full moon without her here. Without putting her in danger."

Sebastian’s jaw tightened. His feral side clearly didn’t want to let her go. But after a moment, understanding flickered across his face.

"If she’s not here during the full moon, she’s safe," he said. "Completely safe. And we can go through it knowing she’s protected."

Lucian turned from the window, his expression raw. "So what? We let her go, we go through the full moon alone, and then what? We have maybe eight weeks left after that to build genuine connection before we have to mark her? Eight weeks to undo everything we’ve done to her?"

Nicholas met his youngest brother’s gaze. "Yes. But at least this way, when she comes back, it won’t be because she was trapped with us during our worst moment. It will be her choice."

The brothers didn’t speak again. There was nothing left to say. The universe, or fate, or the Moon Goddess, or simple cruel chance, had made a decision for them.

And now they would have to survive what came next.