Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings novel Chapter 60

Chapter 60: We Don’t Have That Kind Of Control

"It means," Sebastian continued, his voice dropping lower, "that maybe the rule was never sustainable in the first place. It means maybe we’ve been fooling ourselves thinking we could keep our hands off her while she’s broken and scared and alone in a room down the hallway."

Nicholas felt something dangerous stir inside him.

"We made an agreement," he said. His voice was absolute. Final. "We made an agreement that we would let her recover without interference. That agreement stands."

"For how long?" Lucian asked. "How long until one of us breaks? How long until one of us can’t take it anymore and goes to her anyway? An hour? A day? Are we really going to pretend that we have that kind of control?"

The question hung in the air between them.

Nicholas opened his mouth to respond, but Sebastian beat him to it.

"He’s right," Sebastian said. "We don’t have that kind of control. Not anymore. Not with her. We’re not the same men we were before she arrived. We’re not the disciplined alphas we’ve trained ourselves to be. We’re feral. We’re desperate. And pretending otherwise is just setting ourselves up for failure."

"So what are you suggesting?" Nicholas asked. His voice was sharp. "That we abandon the rule completely? That we go to her, fuck her while she’s traumatized and dissociated? Is that what you want?"

"No," Sebastian said. "I’m suggesting that maybe the rule needs to be modified. Maybe it’s not about no contact. Maybe it’s about controlled contact. Supportive contact. Presence without the sexual component."

Lucian stopped pacing.

"That’s impossible," he said. But there was less certainty in his voice now. "You can’t be around her without wanting to...."

"Can’t we?" Sebastian interrupted. "We did it for the first few days. We held her without fucking her. We kissed her forehead without tearing her clothes off. We’re not animals, Lucian. We’re alphas. We have control."

"No, we don’t," Nicholas said flatly. He moved to the window where Sebastian had been standing and looked out at the grounds below. "We have the illusion of control. And the moment we’re alone with her, the moment we see her eyes or hear her voice or smell her, that illusion shatters."

He turned back to face his brothers.

"Yesterday," he continued, "we all agreed to keep our distance. We all agreed that proximity to her was dangerous. And twenty-four hours later, we’re already trying to find ways around that agreement. We’re already making excuses. We’re already negotiating ourselves into situations where we’ll lose control again."

Lucian’s hands clenched into fists.

"So what’s the alternative?" he demanded. "We keep her isolated? We let her sit alone in her room, convinced that we’re going to hurt her again? We ignore the fact that her terror might be destroying something fundamental inside her?"

"The alternative," Nicholas said quietly, "is that we survive these next two weeks. We let her recover. And we send her back to Shadowmere intact and whole, even if that wholeness doesn’t include the emotional comfort we want to provide."

"That’s bullshit," Lucian said. His voice was raw. "That’s complete bullshit, and you know it. You can feel what I’m feeling through the bond. You know that keeping distance is causing Kael pain. You know that Zev is going insane. You know that Rhen is barely contained. So don’t stand there and pretend that this is about protecting her. This is about protecting ourselves. This is about maintaining the illusion that we’re still in control."

Sebastian made a sound of agreement.

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