Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Hi, Mom, I’m Here. I Made It

The drive to Shadowmere took four hours.

Four hours of watching the world change from the manicured grounds of the Blackwood estate to the wild forest that surrounded it. Four hours of the car moving through winding roads, climbing higher into mountains, passing landmarks that Lilith had known her entire life.

She pressed her forehead against the window and watched them pass.

The old oak with the lightning-split trunk, where her father had taught her to fight when she was twelve. Where he’d shown her how to read an opponent’s stance. Where he’d said, "Pain is just information, little girl. It tells you you’re alive. Now get up and keep moving."

The stone bridge over the creek, where she’d run laps in the summer sun, where she’d trained with other warriors, where everything had felt possible.

The meadow where the pack gathered in summer for celebrations, where she’d danced at sixteen, where boys had looked at her with interest, where the world had felt wide open.

Each landmark was a weight. Each one was a reminder of who she’d been before her father died. Before the accusation. Before the Blackwoods.

She closed her eyes and didn’t open them again until the car started descending toward Shadowmere territory.

By the time the gates came into view, Lilith had rebuilt herself.

Her composure was back in place. Her walls were rebuilt. The bruises were hidden under the collar of her dress. Her expression was neutral. She looked like someone who’d been treated well. Someone surviving, not someone being destroyed.

The car pulled up to the pack hospital on the southern edge of the territory. Modern building. Clean lines. The smell of antiseptic wafting out even from the parking lot.

The driver opened her door without a word. He was a Blackwood warrior....had probably been ordered not to speak to her, to simply deliver her and retrieve her.

Lilith stepped out into the afternoon sun and immediately felt the weight of eyes on her.

Warriors standing outside the hospital entrance. Patients passing through the lobby. Pack members who recognized her and turned away quickly, like looking at her too long would contaminate them.

She walked through their judgment with her head high.

Her father had been a Beta. A trusted warrior. A man who’d died protecting witches at an alliance meeting. Whether they believed the lie about him or not, she was still his daughter. She still had his blood. And she would not let them see her break.

The hospital lobby was quiet. A receptionist at the front desk glanced up, did a double-take, then looked back at her paperwork. Lilith didn’t ask for directions. She already knew where she was going.

Room 304. Third floor. South wing.

The elevator was empty. The third-floor hallway was quiet. Most of the doors she passed were closed, the rooms beyond them containing people in various states of breaking.

She stopped outside Room 304 and took a breath.

Then she pushed open the door.

Her mother looked small.

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