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

trust, too—trust that my brother,

alcohol took

side by side under the

for one night, that the world outside this rooftop

---

"Are you two serious?"

father’s voice snapped through the morning like

eyes like punishment. My mouth was dry. My bones felt like bricks. I tried

stirred beside me, groaning

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

into a sitting position, his hair a mess, his shirt half untucked.

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 part of

Caspian didn’t answer.

I almost said it.

blurted the

shoulders—resurrected a ghost that should’ve stayed dead. That this wasn’t a drunk night

But I didn’t.

Father would

us out. He would make it worse. He would destroy everything we were

So I stayed quiet.

We both did.

half-assed apologies, and climbed down the stairs. Hungover. Sore. Sobered in the worst

anything as we parted at the bottom

are supposed to be

anticipation. But as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, tightening the collar of my ceremonial shirt, joy was the furthest

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

Like I was about to walk down

wasn’t excited.

I would be marrying

care that she wasn’t like us—didn’t

He wanted her. Desperately.

still remembered the feeling of her skin. 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.

again. No matter how my wolf clawed at the

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

that weren’t

soft knock pulled me from my thoughts. Mother entered, dressed in elegant pale blue, her silver hair swept into an updo that screamed grace and dominance all at once. She looked at me with those eyes that could

lips—gently, but full of meaning. Then she whispered, "Please... is there any way you can not kiss the human

stared at her. Her voice was laced with desperation

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

I nodded.

without waiting

chamber,

a leaf in a

room as he yelled

We’ll be late—he’ll be late. Oh my

by the shoulders. "Go.

"But—"

know where

for the grand entrance. The air was thick with anticipation, but