Marked by Two Alphas

The scream wakes me.

It isn’t loud. It isn’t even human. But every inch of my skin prickles as I shoot upright in bed.

I reach for the worn dagger under my pillow before my mind catches up. My ears sharpen. The wind outside carries the sound again—low, ragged, and dying.

A wolf’s cry.

And not just any wolf.

Mine.

I throw the blanket aside and move. My bare feet hit the floor. Cold wood creaks under my steps. The moonlight seeps in through the cracks in the wall of my little cabin. For a moment, I tell myself it could be a dream. Just another nightmare. Just another memory clawing its way into my sleep.

But then I feel it—

That snap.

Deep inside me, something shifts. A bond that should have died years ago trembles like an old wound touched by a ghost.

And I know.

Something is wrong.

“Lara? Leo? Luan?” I whisper as I rush out of my room.

The hallway is silent.

Too silent.

“Kids?” I call again, louder now. My voice cracks. I grab the lantern by the door and shake it to life. The warm glow flickers across the small hallway, across drawings on the wall, tiny shoes lined up beneath the bench…

But the door to their room is open.

I didn’t leave it that way.

My pulse races. I storm across the space, my heart beating so fast it hurts.

“Lara!”

The room is empty.

The beds are messy. Blankets strewn, pillows on the floor. The window is wide open, moonlight pouring in like silver water.

And beneath the window…

Burned into the wooden floor…

A symbol.

A spiral. Surrounded by claw marks.

“No,” I whisper. My knees hit the floor. “No, no, no—”

It’s the mark of Victor.

The man I thought dead. The one who made sure I was cast out. The one who whispered lies into Jack’s ear and broke everything I had.

And Jacob.

Victor’s rabid dog. His enforcer. I thought we’d escaped them. That we were safe. I built walls, carved wards into every stone and tree around this cabin.

But they found us.

They took my children.

My wolf howls inside me, wild with rage and grief. I grab my pack and throw everything into it—herbs, weapons, the only photo I have of the triplets as babies. I wrap it all tight and throw the cloak over my shoulders.

I hesitate at the door.

There’s only one person who can help me now.

And I hate that I have to say his name.

Jack.

The man who rejected me.

The Alpha who never knew he left me pregnant with three children.

The same man I never stopped loving.

By morning, I reach the border of Bloodfang territory.

It’s been seven years.

Seven long, cruel years.

I keep to the shadows, the edge of the old river path. My hood hides my face, and my scent is masked by ash and wolfsbane. The guards barely glance my way when I slip past them during the changing patrol.

Jack is holding a public gathering today. I know because Moraine announced it in every town from here to Frostveil. A new alliance, she said. A new future for the pack.

I call it a death sentence.

They have no idea what’s coming.

I reach the edge of the stone amphitheater and blend into the crowd. Humans and wolves alike gather around, cheering. There he stands—Jack, tall and broad, the sun gleaming off his dark hair, his silver eyes sharp as ever.

He looks like the man I remember. But colder.

Harder.

And beside him—

Moraine.

Elegant. Deadly. Wearing a pale blue dress and a crown of moonmetal. She holds Jack’s arm like she owns him. Her eyes flick over the crowd, always hunting.

My fists tighten. I can’t waste time.

I step forward.

The moment Jack sees me, the air shifts.

His voice cuts off mid-sentence.

His eyes go wide.

He stares at me like he’s seen a ghost.

“Eleanor…” he breathes.

Moraine turns. Her smile vanishes.

I push forward through the murmuring crowd until I stand right in front of them.

“My children are gone,” I say loud enough for everyone to hear. “And I need your help to get them back.”

Jack’s eyes darken. “Children?”

I nod. “Your children.”

Gasps ripple through the audience.

Moraine snarls. “This is madness—”

“Shut up,” I snap. “You’ll speak when I’m done.”

The whole amphitheater falls silent. Even Jack says nothing.

I take a deep breath. “Seven years ago, you rejected me. You cast me out. But you never knew I was pregnant. I never told you. I didn’t want anything from you—not power, not protection, not pity. But now… now they’ve taken my children. Our children. All three of them.”

Jack sways slightly, like I struck him. “Three?”

“Triplets.”

Moraine scoffs. “And we’re just supposed to believe this? She’s a liar. A rogue. She’s trying to manipulate you.”

But Jack doesn’t take his eyes off me.

“What do you mean they’ve been taken?” he asks softly.

I reach into my cloak and throw something at his feet.

A small carved stone, blackened with fire.

The same spiral symbol.

Jack picks it up. His hands tremble.

“Victor,” he mutters.

I nod. “He’s alive.”

Moraine turns pale.

“No. That’s not possible. We searched for him. He—”

“He’s back. And he took them. You want proof? Ask the guards stationed at the eastern ridge. They’ll find a burned cabin, three torn blankets, and a trail leading into the Bloodlands.”

Jack steps down from the platform. “Come with me. Now.”

Moraine grabs his arm. “You can’t just run off with her. We have a treaty to sign.”

“My children are out there!” he roars. “Everything else can wait.”

The crowd watches, frozen, as we disappear into the trees.

We walk in silence until we reach his war tent near the ridge. He waves off the guards and slams the flap shut.

He turns on me, eyes blazing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Would it have mattered?” I fire back. “You rejected me. In front of the whole council. You believed the lies. You didn’t even look me in the eye when you did it.”

He flinches. “I was told you betrayed the pack.”

“By Victor.”

“I know that now.”

I look away. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting them back.”

Jack rubs his face. “How old are they?”

“Six. Their names are Lara, Leo, and Luan. They were born under a Blood Moon. I didn’t plan it that way. The Goddess did.”

His breath catches. “Born under a Blood Moon… triple birth…”

He stares at me like he’s seeing the pieces fall into place.

“What?” I ask.

“There’s a prophecy,” he whispers. “The triplet children of the Blood Moon will awaken the power of the Primordial Wolf.”

My stomach turns.

“You’re saying Victor took them for that?”

“I don’t know,” Jack says, pacing. “But if it’s true… he’ll try to use them to become something no wolf can stop.”

I grab his arm. “Then we have to move. Now.”

Before he can respond, the tent flap opens.

Lucien walks in.

Tall. Pale eyes. Silver-streaked hair. A calm energy that buzzes like a storm waiting to break.

“I heard the rumors,” he says, looking straight at me. “They’re true, then?”

I nod slowly. “They took them.”

Lucien steps closer. His scent wraps around me like smoke and pine. I feel a strange tug in my chest.

He studies me for a long moment, then says, “I can help you find them.”

Jack growls low in his throat.

“She doesn’t need your help.”

Lucien doesn’t flinch. “She’s my second chance mate. Of course she does.”

Silence.

Cold and sharp.

I stare between them.

And realize...

This is only the beginning.