Bound to the Triplet Alphas

ARIA POV

The cave floor crumbled beneath my feet, sending me sliding down into darkness. I crashed into Lucien as rocks and dirt struck us from above.

"Keep moving!" he pushed, pulling me deeper into the passageway.

Kael’s scream still echoed in my ears. The red glow of those eyes frightened me. My fingers clutched my mother’s journal so tightly the edges cut into my hands.

"Do you think he’s—" I couldn’t finish the question.

"Kael’s strong," Lucien said, but his voice shook. "He’s fought the Blood Curse longer than any of us."

The tunnel widened into a small cave lit by strange blue crystals growing from the walls. Their light showed ancient markings carved into the stone—wolves, moons, and symbols I didn’t recognize.

"The old temple," Lucien whispered, touching one of the carvings. "I’ve only heard stories about this place."

I opened my mother’s book to page forty-three, holding it under the blue light. The page was filled with her neat handwriting and pictures of the moon phases.

"The Blood Curse can only be broken when three become one again," I read aloud. "The white wolf must unite what was divided."

"Three become one," Lucien repeated carefully. "The triplet bond."