Sacrificed To The Triplet Alpha Kings novel Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Losing Her Is Going To Destroy Us

"You can’t be serious," Lucian said. He moved toward the desk, his movements sharp and agitated. "You can FEEL what’s happening, Nicholas. You can feel the bond. She’s our mate. We can’t just let her leave."

"We can," Nicholas said, finally looking up from his desk. His silver eyes were cold, controlled, but there was a flicker of something else underneath....pain, perhaps. Or regret. "And we will."

"Why?" Lucian demanded. The question came out like a curse. "Give me one reason why we would find our mate and then let her go?"

Nicholas set down his pen with deliberate care. When he spoke, his voice was measured, but every word landed like a hammer.

"Because," he said slowly, "she didn’t choose this. She didn’t choose us. She was brought here under false pretenses and traumatized in ways we are still trying to understand. And forcing a mate bond on her, forcing her to stay, would be the cruelest thing we could possibly do."

"It would be survival," Lucian shot back. "Do you have any idea what’s going to happen to us when she leaves? Do you feel what Zev is doing? Do you understand that our wolves are going to suffer in ways we can’t even comprehend?"

Sebastian made a sound, something between a groan and a curse. He stood from the chair and began pacing, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"He’s right," Sebastian said quietly, not looking at either of his brothers. "When she leaves, we’re going to break. All three of us. The bond is already formed, we’re bonded to her whether we’ve marked her or not. Losing her is going to destroy us."

Nicholas’s jaw tightened slightly. It was the first crack in his control.

"I know," he said quietly.

The words hung in the air between them.

"You know?" Lucian’s voice rose. "You KNOW that losing her is going to destroy us, and you’re still insisting we let her go? That’s not strategic thinking, Nicholas. That’s self-destruction."

"It’s ethics," Nicholas replied coldly. "It’s the only decision we can live with."

Lucian moved around the desk until he was standing directly in front of his oldest brother. His entire frame was vibrating with barely contained energy. His golden eyes were so bright they looked almost feverish.

"Ethics?" Lucian laughed, and it was a broken sound. "Ethics won’t keep us sane when she’s gone. Ethics won’t stop Zev from tearing me apart from the inside out. Ethics is a luxury we can’t afford, Nicholas."

Nicholas stood to face him directly. They were of similar height, but Nicholas carried himself with an authority that made him seem taller, more imposing. His silver eyes locked onto Lucian’s golden ones, and the air between them became charged with tension.

"If we keep her here against her will," Nicholas said, his voice dropping to something dangerous and quiet, "if we mark her and force her to accept a bond she doesn’t understand, we become the thing we’ve been afraid of becoming. We become our father."

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