Fated to the Alpha–And His Triplet Brothers - Chapter 205

Chapter 205: Monster babies.
This chapter is dedicated to @monsterunderthebed! Thank you for the daily gifts and Golden Tickets. Argh, I love you!

*~Hazel’s POV~*

Marcus had already turned. Aurora’s spell had worked he was lying on the floor, unconscious but changed. His skin had taken on that faint, cold glow Cyrius and my babies had then.

Klaus stood over him, arms folded, his eyes dark. “I hope whatever we did here is the best decision of our lives,” he muttered. “This is either the best decision or our worst.”

Aurora’s mouth quirked into a small, dangerous smile. “Don’t worry. His life is bound to me.” She raised her hand, then closed her fingers into a fist with a crunching sound. “If he dares, I’ll do this—and he’ll be dust before he can blink.”

I glanced at Klaus and nodded. He gave me a tight smile in return, both of us silently acknowledging the gamble we’d just taken.

Then voices drifted up from downstairs.

“Alice and Lilith,” I breathed.

Aurora’s face lit up. She bolted out of the room, her power trailing after her like a spark, and raced down the stairs. “Oh my god, you came back!” she cried, throwing her arms around her sister’s neck.

Alice pinched her cheek. “I told you I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

While they embraced, Lilith’s eyes found me. “They’re vampires,” she said flatly. “Real vampires. You’ve actually seen them?”

“Yes,” I said.

“We stayed hidden,” Lilith went on, “because showing ourselves would’ve been suicide. They’re dangerous, Hazel. You’ll really need someone strong enough to gather them all into one place before you can even think about sacrificing them.”

My fingers twisted around the edge of Klaus’s jacket. Should I tell her? Should I tell her we already had that handled? That it was my father we’d entrusted with the power?

Before I could speak, Klaus stepped forward. “Lilith,” he said evenly. “Hazel and I have something important to tell you.”

Her eyebrows rose. “This better be good. I’ve been dying for happy news all day.” She gestured to a guard. “Bring me a seat.”

As the guard hurried to obey, she sank into the chair with a sigh.

Klaus placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know we haven’t exactly been on good terms lately.”

“We never have been,” she said dryly.

He almost smiled. “True.”

Wow, I thought. Two rivals in a conversation that isn’t a bloodbath. Miracles exist.

Klaus drew a breath. “Marcus—”

“Is he awake?” Lilith cut in, shooting a sharp look at me.

I avoided her eyes, waiting for Klaus to finish.

“Marcus is the one who’s going to gather the vampires into one place for us,” Klaus said.

Lilith blinked. “What? Really? I didn’t know he was part vampire.”

“He wasn’t,” Klaus replied. “We made him one.”

Her face went pale. “You made him a vampire? When? How?”

Klaus guided her gently back into her chair before she could stand.

I watched her face. She was reeling. Lilith had once loved Marcus. And now she was learning that not only had we changed him—he was being turned into our weapon. I couldn’t imagine what that felt like.

“What do you mean you made him a vampire?” she asked again, her voice tight. “What if he turns on you? What if he uses that power against us?”

“We have that under control,” I finally said, forcing my voice to be steady.

Lilith’s head snapped toward me. “Under what control? You’re making somebody we barely even know into a weapon—and trusting him with a power this big?”

Aurora’s eyes flicked up, sharp. “Another control?” she asked. “Oh, I want to hear this type of control.”

Before I could answer, Alice and Aurora stepped forward. Aurora spoke for herself. “I bound his life to my hand. Under his intention. He willingly agreed. We do have Marcus under control.”

“So, you mean…?” Lilith’s voice cracked.

“Yes.” Aurora’s expression didn’t waver. “If he dares go against us, I’ll kill him instantly. Without hesitation. He’s still unconscious upstairs—my spell worked perfectly.”

Lilith’s face went white. Without another word she turned and bolted for the stairs.

“Oh no…” I whispered. “Mom’s still in love with him.”

I hurried after her, the others trailing behind. Lilith stopped dead in front of the door, her hand covering her mouth, her whole body trembling. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned to me.

“Hazel… it’s really Marcus. It’s him.”

“Yes, Mom,” I said softly. “It’s him. But it’s not the Marcus you knew. It’s not the father.”

She shook her head violently. “No. It’s all my fault, Hazel. I know you hate him. But your hate is my fault. I wiped his memories…” Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor as the first sobs broke free.

“You did what you had to,” I whispered, crouching beside her. “You had no other choice.”

“No!” she cried. “I had a choice. I could have stayed with my family. We offered to run away together. But I didn’t. I ran by myself because I thought I was cursed. I thought my bad luck would destroy you both if I stayed. But I was wrong. My bad luck still found you.”

“Mom,” I said, my voice firmer now. “There’s no such thing as bad luck.”

She gave a hollow laugh. “I’m living proof. Everyone I ever loved died. My mother. My father. The old woman who took me in…”

“I didn’t die,” Alice said quietly.

Lilith’s eyes darted to her.

“I didn’t die either,” Alice continued, stepping closer. “I’m alive. And you love me. And I love you, don’t I? Marcus didn’t die. He’s still alive. And look—Hazel didn’t die. She gave you grandchildren. So what are you saying? You’re not cursed. Everything that happened is in the past. Leave it there.”

Alice placed her hands on Lilith’s shoulders. “Right now, the present is to kill Dahlia and she is already dead. Bring back the triplets. End this. And if there’s still a chance for you and Marcus to find your way back to each other… then so be it.”

The room fell silent, all of us holding our breath.

And then, from behind the door, a voice rasped:

“Lilith…?”

I could hear my mother’s heart pounding louder than anyone’s the moment my father’s voice rasped through the door.

“Marcus…” she stammered, and before any of us could stop her, she rushed inside.

He was still struggling to steady himself, still adjusting to the surge of vampirism coursing through him, but he managed to rise.

They stood a breath apart, staring at each other like ghosts of a life neither of them thought they’d see again.

“You’re still as beautiful as the day I lost you,” Marcus whispered. Lilith’s fingers trembled as she brushed her hair from her face.

“Marcus… Marcus…” she sobbed, and then he pulled her into his arms.

I shifted my gaze to Klaus. His jaw was tight, his eyes hard. Not only did he hate my father, but he’d always had a frenemy’s tension with my mother. This reunion must taste like poison to him.

Alice, quietly closed the door. “Trust me,” she murmured, turning to us, “I’ve seen the two of them lose and find each other before. You don’t want to watch this. It’s more than cringe.”

She shut the door fully and faced me. “So, Alpha,” she said, trying to steer our focus elsewhere, “what’s our next action?”

Even with the door closed, I could still hear my parents’ voices. Maybe Alice was right. Maybe I didn’t want to see what was happening in there. But our next course of action—the real plan—was still in that room with them.

Before I could answer, a sound carried from downstairs. Anna was yelling. Not an emergency yell—more like an exasperated, playful one. All of us rushed to the staircase.

Heather had both hands twisted in Anna’s hair, tugging so hard that Anna’s scalp must have been screaming.

“Heather! Leave my hair! You’re going to pull it out!” Anna yelped, trying to tap heather’s little hand away. Heather promptly began to cry, and then Christian grabbed Anna’s hair in retaliation for making his sister cry.

The room descended into chaos.

Klaus rushed to help his wife. I darted forward, scooping my twins up before they could escalate it even further. Both of them immediately turned on me, tiny fists and claws pulling my hair now.

“Versa,” Aurora commanded softly, and at once their little hands released me. Klaus seized the chance to steady Anna, whose hair now looked like she’d fought a monster. Maybe she had.

“Oh, sorry,” Anna panted, “I must say, my grandbabies are something else…”

“After their mother,” I said with a weak smile.

“Or their father,” Klaus muttered, and for a heartbeat everyone chuckled.

I sank into a chair, clutching the twins close. “I can’t wait for all of this to be over and the triplets to be here,” I murmured.

Anna sat beside me, exhaling deeply. “I can’t wait to see my babies. I just… can’t wait. I hope whatever plan we are working on will actually work.”

“Yes. I hope,” Aurora said. “Marcus is now a vampire. When he’s ready, we’ll lead him to the others and control them immediately.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Let him rest. He just transformed, not long ago. We’ll give it the day. Tomorrow we start.”

Aurora breathed out slowly, then nodded.

And right on cue, the twins managed to break whatever little spell Aurora had placed on them. Heather, especially, latched onto my hair again with the grip of a tiny monster.

“Oh, damn it,” I muttered, prying at her hands. “The monster is back.”