Fated to the Alpha–And His Triplet Brothers

Chapter 20: The Rooftop pain

~ Cayden’s POV ~

Daggering my brother was never a choice.

It was mandatory.

A cruel, bloodstained necessity I’ve had to live with every single day for four years. NovelFire

Cyrius wasn’t always like this. Gods, no. As kids, he was the softest of the three of us—the one who always tried to mediate, to patch us up after our fights, the first to laugh and the last to hold a grudge. He was the most excited about the prophecy, about the three of us taking the Alpha throne together.

He believed in the bond between brothers. In the idea of us.

But when the moon chose me—me alone—something in him snapped.

He didn’t just distance himself. He didn’t walk away. He turned rogue. Not in the traditional way—not with claws or violence or open rebellion. No, his betrayal was quieter. More venomous. He turned to the witches. To Crescent magic.

And if anyone ever finds out he’s still alive...

It’ll burn.

Everything.

The pack. The council. Our name.

And I’ll have to kill him. Properly this time.

The beer in my hand sweated in the night air. I stared out at the moon, trying to quiet the noise in my head.

Then Caspian landed beside me on the rooftop. He didn’t say a word. Just dropped down beside me like his spine had given up. His face was blank, but I knew that look. The way his jaw tensed. The twitch behind his eye. He was processing the kind of truth that changes a man forever.

I poured him a cup. He took it without hesitation.

One gulp. And then a scowl.

He coughed. "What the hell did you put in that, you bastard?"

I snorted, already feeling the heat in my limbs. "Look at my perfect Beta," I teased, "brought to his knees by one bottle of alcohol."

"Shut up and help me get up," he grunted, trying to push himself upright. He managed about two inches before sliding back to the floorboards.

I doubled over laughing. "We’re getting married tomorrow," I wheezed. "To our mates. And here we are. Puking on the roof and unable to move our limbs."

He glared at me. "You drugged the drink."

"In my defense," I said, raising a finger dramatically, "you took it from me. Voluntarily."

He reached over, grabbed my hand, then immediately yanked it away like I had thorns. "It’s not every day you find out your long-dead brother is actually alive, Cayden," he muttered, bitterly.

I sobered a little.

"Are we still hung up on that?" I tried to play it off.

His glare burned through me. I poked his side. His scowl deepened. Then, reluctantly, it cracked—and he burst into a laugh he clearly didn’t want to have.

It was brief. But real.

just need

nodded, staring into the sky. "Cyrius should remain there.

Heavy with what hadn’t been said. Full of trust, too—trust that my brother, even in the face of betrayal,

alcohol took

side by side under the stars, the world silent except

one night, that the world outside this rooftop didn’t

---

"Are you two serious?"

voice snapped through the

dry. My bones felt like bricks. I tried to move, but

beside me,

snapped, pacing at the edge of the rooftop with his arms crossed. "And this is where I

struggled into a sitting position, his hair a mess, his shirt

interrupted, pointing at him. "You’re the Beta. The responsible one. I expect this idiocy from him," he jabbed a thumb at me, "but you? You were supposed to keep him in check. Are you now

Caspian didn’t answer.

I almost said it.

the truth right

stayed dead. That this wasn’t a drunk night of wedding nerves, but the result of a decade’s worth of secrets boiling to the

But I didn’t.

Father would

rage before hearing us out. He would make it worse. He would destroy everything we

So I stayed quiet.

We both did.

and climbed down the stairs. Hungover. Sore. Sobered in the worst

didn’t say anything as we parted at the bottom of the staircase. Caspian turned

are supposed to be

members, and giddy anticipation. But as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, tightening the collar of my ceremonial shirt,

ancestors wore when pledging to their fated mates. My hair had been combed back, a fresh cut to sharpen my already severe cheekbones, and

to walk down an

excited. Not even

would be marrying

she wasn’t like us—didn’t care that her life would be a blink in our eternal

He wanted her. Desperately.

The memory of her body under mine was carved into me like a wound that refused to scab. It wasn’t even about the mistake. Not anymore. It was about how my body

touch her again. No matter how my

Sixty years, and her fragile human body would give out to time. Sixty

weren’t really

in elegant pale blue, her silver hair swept into an updo that screamed grace and dominance all at once. She looked

me on the lips—gently, but full of meaning. Then she whispered, "Please... is there any

laced with desperation

my hands. "Give this to Natasha when she walks down the aisle. Try to look like you care. We’re

I nodded.

left without waiting for a

my chamber, chaos

was twirling like a leaf in

the room as he yelled Caspian’s

be late. Oh my gods—he’ll

the shoulders. "Go. Get everyone

"But—"

know where

grove, preparing for the