Chapter 159: The Triplets’ Birthday
The morning dawned clear and cold.
Seren woke to find the bed empty. That’s not an unusual thing, but the bond hummed with something different. Anticipation. Excitement. A rare, shared lightness that she hadn’t felt in months.
She found them in the courtyard.
Aeron stood by the gate, already in wolf form, his grey coat dusted with frost. Theron stretched in the shadows, his russet fur gleaming. Kael paced at the front, his dark coat almost black against the snow, his eyes bright.
"You’re all up early," Seren said.
Kael shifted back, grinning. "It’s our birthday."
Seren blinked. "Your birthday? All three of you?"
"We’re triplets, remember? Same day, same hour, same unfortunate parents." Theron shifted back, stretching. "We don’t usually celebrate. But this year..."
"This year, we want to run." Kael’s voice was soft. "Just us. The forest. No council. no politics. no crises."
Aeron shifted back, his expression unreadable. "If you have other obligations..."
"I have no obligations." Seren stepped forward. "Only you."
They shifted together.
The transformation was smooth now, effortless. Seren’s wolf form was grey-silver, smaller than the triplets but fast, agile. The bond hummed as they stood together in the courtyard, four wolves ready to run.
Kael took the lead.
He bolted through the gates, snow spraying behind him. Aeron flanked right, Theron left. Seren ran at the center, her paws finding rhythm, her lungs filling with cold air.
The forest swallowed them.
Ancient oaks rose on either side, their branches heavy with snow. The trail was narrow, winding, barely visible. But Kael knew it. He had run these paths since childhood, escaping the palace, escaping their father, escaping the weight of being a prince.
Now he ran with his pack.
Seren matched his pace. The bond hummed with shared joy; not words, just feeling. Kael’s contentment. Theron’s freedom. Aeron’s rare, precious peace.
They ran until the palace disappeared.
The deer was startled.
It burst from the underbrush, white tail flashing. Kael veered, chasing it. Not to kill it, just to run. The deer bounded ahead, graceful, terrified. Kael matched it stride for stride, then pulled back, letting it go.
*Not hungry,* he sent through the bond. *Just happy.*
Theron circled back, nipping at Seren’s heels. *Race you to the stream.*
*You’ll lose.*
*I never lose.*
She bolted past him, her paws skimming the snow. Theron lunged after her, but she was faster, smaller, built for bursts of speed. She reached the stream first, skidding to a halt at the edge.
Theron crashed into her, sending them both tumbling into the snow.
*Cheater,* he sent.
*Winner.*
Aeron padded up, his grey coat flecked with frost. *Children. Both of you.*
Kael joined them, shaking snow from his fur. *The stream is frozen.*
*Then we break the ice.*
The water was cold.
Seren plunged in first, gasping at the shock. The stream was shallow, barely reaching her belly, but the cold was bracing, alive. Theron followed, then Kael, and Aeron.
They splashed each other like pups.
Theron ducked Kael under the water. Kael emerged sputtering, then tackled Theron into a snowdrift. Aeron watched from the bank, his expression exasperated, but his tail wagged.
*Join us,* Seren sent.
*I’m not a child.*
*You’re a wolf. Wolves play.*
He hesitated. Then he stepped into the stream, the cold water rising around his legs. Theron splashed him. Kael splashed him back. Seren pressed her cold nose to his cheek.
*Happy birthday,* she sent.
Aeron’s tail wagged again.
They found a clearing.
Sun-drenched, sheltered from the wind. The snow had melted in patches, revealing soft grass beneath. Kael circled twice, then flopped onto his side, his dark fur spread across the ground.
*Nap,* he sent.
*We just woke up,* Theron replied.
*Nap.*
Aeron settled beside Kael, his grey coat brushing his brother’s. Theron sighed dramatically and curled at Kael’s other side. Seren lay across them all, her head on Kael’s shoulder, her paws draped over Aeron’s back.
The bond hummed.
*This is what I wanted,* Kael sent. His voice through the bond was soft, almost shy. *Not gifts. Not ceremonies. Just this.*
*Just us,* Seren agreed.
*Just us.*
They slept in the clearing.
The sun moved across the sky. The shadows shifted. Birds called in the distance. Seren woke once to find Kael watching her, his amber eyes soft.
*You’re staring,* she sent.
*I’m watching.*
He pressed his nose to hers. *Thank you.*
*For what?*
*For running with us. For understanding. For not making this into a celebration with nobles and speeches and gifts I don’t want.*
She nudged him. *What do you want?*
*This.* He looked at his brothers, asleep on either side. *Them. You. The forest. The stream. The quiet.*
*That’s not nothing.*
*It’s everything.*
They ran again before sunset.
The forest was golden, the light slanting through the trees. Kael led them to a ridge overlooking the kingdom—the palace tiny in the distance, the city sprawling, the river winding toward the sea.
*One year,* Aeron sent. *One year since the coronation.*
*One year since we became kings,* Theron added.
*One year since we became yours,* Kael finished, looking at Seren.
She stood beside him, her silver fur blending with the fading light.
*One year since I became yours.*
The bond hummed. Warm. Complete.
They watched the sun set over their kingdom.
They shifted back at the edge of the forest.
The palace loomed ahead, torches flickering in the windows. The work would resume tomorrow—council meetings, negotiations, protests, compromises. But tonight, there was only this.
Kael pulled Seren close. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For the run. For the stream. For the nap." He kissed her forehead. "For understanding that I don’t need grand gestures. I just need you."
Theron wrapped his arms around both of them. "I need food. Running makes me hungry."
"You’re always hungry."
"I’m a growing wolf."
"You’re twenty-four."
"Growing emotionally."
Aeron shook his head, but he was smiling. "There’s cake in the kitchens. Lysa made it."
"Lysa made cake?" Seren’s eyes widened.
"She insisted. She said, and I quote, ’No prince of mine is going to spend his birthday without cake, even if he insists on acting like a wild animal.’"
Kael laughed. "She’s terrifying."
"She’s married to Rowan. She has to be."
They walked toward the palace together, the bond humming with warmth.
The triplets’ birthday.
Not a celebration with nobles and speeches. Just a run, a swim, a nap in the sun.
Just them. And that was enough.
