Fated Mate to the Triplet Alpha

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: The Mask Falls

Ronan’s corrupted laughter still echoed through the trees when Darian felt something snap inside his chest. His younger brother was gone. Turned into something dark and evil.

"We have to get him back," Kael said, ice crackling around his hands. "Whatever that thing did to Ronan—" "It’s not what he did," Darian interrupted quietly. noveldrama

"It’s what Ronan chose." Everyone stared at him. Elara’s tear-stained face twisted with anger. "How can you be so calm?" she asked. "Your brother just joined our enemy!" "Because I saw it coming," Darian answered, his voice flat and emotionless.

The stranger holding the twins smiled bigger. "Ah, the attentive one speaks. Tell them, Darian. Tell them what you really think." "Shut up," Darian growled. "Tell them how you’ve been watching. Calculating.

Planning for this exact moment." Kael turned to his younger brother with growing horror. "Darian? What is he talking about?" "Nothing," Darian said quickly. Too quickly. "Liar." The stranger’s voice was like silk.

"Show them the book, Darian. The one you’ve been keeping since the twins were born." Darian’s shadows flickered and died. His face went white. "What journal?" Alpha Marcus asked. "I don’t know what he means," Darian lied.

But Elder Vera was already moving, her old hands glowing with magic. She reached into Darian’s jacket and pulled out a small, leather-bound book.

"No!" Darian lunged for it, but Kael’s ice wall blocked his way. "What’s in it?" Kael asked, his voice deadly quiet. Elder Vera opened the book and began to read aloud."

’Day One: The twins showed strange power fluctuations. Ronan gets more unstable. Kael’s power is slipping. I may be the only one thinking clearly.’" "That’s not—" Darian started. "

’Day Five: Observed Ronan talking to himself. His dog is definitely gone. He’s becoming a problem. Need contingency plans.’" Elara’s eyes filled with fresh tears.

"You were watching us fall apart and taking notes?" "It’s not like that!" Darian protested. " ’Day Twelve: Kael picked love over duty, but he’s too emotional now. Makes poor choices.

The pack needs someone rational in charge.’" "Stop reading," Darian begged. But Elder Vera continued. "’Day Eighteen: If the twins prove too dangerous, someone will have to make the hard choice.

It won’t be Kael - he loves too much. It won’t be Ronan - he’s too broken. It has to be me.’" The forest went dead silent. "You were planning to kill our children?" Elara whispered.

"No!" Darian’s careful mask finally cracked. "I was planning to protect everyone!" "By eliminating the threat?" Alpha Marcus asked coldly. "By being realistic!" Darian burst.

"Someone had to think about what would happen if the twins couldn’t control their power! Someone had to consider the worst-case possibilities!" "They’re babies!" Kael roared. "Babies who can collapse caves!" Darian shot back.

"Babies whose feelings can bend reality! What happens when they have their first tantrum at age five? Their first loss at sixteen?" The guy chuckled.

"Such wisdom from the younger brother. Perhaps you’re more like me than you know." "I’m nothing like you," Darian growled. "Aren’t you?" The man shifted the twins in his arms. They were watching Darian with those too-knowing eyes. "You watch. You calculate.

You make the hard choices others can’t." "That’s not the same thing!" "Isn’t it? Tell me, Darian - in your book, what was your final contingency plan?" Darian’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. No words came out.

Elder Vera flipped to the last post and read it with growing horror. "’If all else fails, I’ll have to choose between saving my family and saving the pack. I know what choice I’ll make. I just hope they forgive me afterward.’"

"You were going to betray us," Luna Evelyn breathed. "Just like the prophecy said." "The prophecy said one of us would betray Elara," Darian said desperately.

"I was trying to prevent that!" "By being the betrayer yourself?" Kael’s ice was spreading toward his younger brother. "By being prepared for every possibility!"

Darian’s shadows burst outward, clashing with Kael’s ice. "Someone has to think ahead! Someone has to plan for disaster!" "What disaster?" Elara asked. "Our family loving each other?"

"Our family destroying the world!" Darian screamed. Everyone froze. The words hung in the air like a curse. "There it is," the stranger said softly.

"The truth you’ve been hiding from yourself." "What truth?" Darian’s voice was barely a whisper. "That you don’t think you’re worthy of this family. So you’ve been waiting for it to fall apart."

"That’s not—" "You’ve been watching for signs of failure. Documenting every crack. Planning for the end because you think it’s inevitable." Darian’s legs gave out.

He fell to his knees, his shadows writhing around him like live things. "Why would you think that?" Elara asked, tears running down her face.

"Because I’m the extra one," Darian whispered. "The spare. The one who wasn’t needed." "That’s ridiculous," Kael said, but his voice was shaking.

"Is it?" Darian looked up at his brothers with haunted eyes. "You’re the Alpha heir. Ronan’s the defender. What am I? The smart one? The smart one?

Those are just fancy words for ’backup plan.’" "You’re our brother," Luna Evelyn said strongly. "I’m the emergency replacement," Darian amended. "The one who steps in when the real kids fail.

That’s why I’m always watching, always planning. Because deep down, I know I’ll have to clean up everyone else’s messes."

The man nodded approvingly. "Such self-awareness. It’s rare in someone so young." "Stop talking to him!" Kael snarled. "But he understands," the stranger continued.

"He knows what it’s like to be forgotten. Underestimated. To have everyone think someone else is more important." "I don’t feel that way," Darian protested weakly.

"Don’t you? When Elara bonded with all three of you, who did she notice first? Kael, the future Alpha. Who did she connect with emotionally? Ronan, the passionate guardian.

And you? You were just... there." Each word hit Darian like a physical blow. "That’s not true," Elara said desperately. "Darian, you know that’s not true!"

"Do I?" Darian’s voice cracked. "When we make love, who do you think about? When you’re scared, who do you turn to? When you need comfort, who do you seek out?"

Elara opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again. "See?" Darian’s laugh was bitter. "Even now, you can’t lie and say it’s me."

"It’s not about who comes first," she said. "It’s about—" "It’s about the fact that I’ve always been third," Darian interrupted.

"Third born. Third choice. Third in line for everything that matters." "Your birth order doesn’t define your worth," Elder Vera said gently. "Doesn’t it?" Darian pointed to his journal. "Look at what I’ve become.

A spy in my own family. A criminal waiting to happen. The forecast was right about me."

"The prophecy said one of the triplets would betray me," Elara reminded him. "It didn’t say which one." "It didn’t have to." Darian’s shadows were pulling back into himself now, making him look smaller.

Younger. "We all knew it would be me." "Why?" Kael asked. "Because I’m the one who thinks too much. Who sees all the sides. Who estimates the cost of everything."

Darian’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Who’s smart enough to justify betrayal as necessity." The stranger set the twins down gently.

They took unsteady baby steps toward Darian, their too-old eyes filled with something that might have been pity. "Don’t," Darian warned, backing away from them. "Don’t come near me." "Why not?" one of the twins asked.

Everyone gasped. The baby had spoken. In perfect, grown words. "Because I’m dangerous," Darian answered, his voice breaking.

"Because I’ve been planning ways to stop you if you became a threat. Because I’m exactly what the scripture warned about." The twins looked at each other, then back at Darian. "We know," the other twin said quietly. "You... know?"

"We can see thoughts," the first twin revealed. "Yours are very loud." "And very scared," the second added. "I’m not scared," Darian lied. "You’re terrified," both twins said in unison.

"Terrified that you’re not good enough. That you’ll never be anyone’s first choice. That you’ll hurt the people you love to protect them." Darian was crying now, tears running down his face.

"I don’t want to be the betrayer." "Then don’t be," Elara said, moving toward him. "It’s not that simple!" "Yes, it is." She knelt beside him, ignoring the dangerous shadows whirling around his body.

"Choose love. Choose trust. Choose us." "What if I can’t?" "Then we’ll help you." The stranger’s smile faded slightly. "How sweet. But it’s too late for forgiveness, I’m afraid."

"Why?" Kael demanded. "Because young Darian has already made his choice." The stranger pointed toward the forest where Ronan’s corrupted laughter still echoed.

"He let his brother fall into darkness because he was too busy planning for it to actually prevent it." Darian’s face went white. "That’s not... I couldn’t have..." "Couldn’t you? You saw the signs. You recorded Ronan’s breakdown.

You knew he was weak. And yet you did nothing to help him." "I tried to give him space!" "You tried to give yourself distance," the stranger corrected. "So when he fell, you could say it wasn’t your fault."

"NO!" Darian’s shadows burst outward, but this time they weren’t angry. They were desperate. Pleading. "I loved him! I love all of them!" "Love without action is just observation," the stranger said coldly.

"And that’s all you’ve ever been, Darian. An watcher. Never a player." The twins stepped closer to Darian, their small hands reaching for him. "Don’t listen," they said together.

"He’s lying." "Is he?" Darian looked at his family with broken eyes. "Or is he just saying what you’ve all been thinking?" Before anyone could answer, the forest erupted with the sound of coming footsteps. Dozens of them. Moving fast. "What now?" Alpha Marcus growled.

Through the woods came a sight that made everyone’s blood freeze. Ronan walked into the open, but he wasn’t alone. Behind him marched an army of dogs with glowing eyes.

Corrupted pack members from a dozen different regions. And at Ronan’s side, holding his hand like a loyal partner, was Celeste. But she looked different too. Older. More strong. Her eyes held the same strange light as the twins.

"Hello, family," Ronan said, his voice layered with darkness. "Did you miss me?" Darian looked at the corrupted version of his brother and felt his last hope crumble.

"I could have prevented this," he whispered. "If I’d been brave enough to act instead of just plan." The stranger smiled proudly. "And now you understand the price of your cowardice."

The twins looked up at Darian with those knowing eyes. "It’s not too late," they said softly. But as the warped army surrounded them, Darian wondered if maybe it was.