The Alphas Triplets

The Shadow Alpha - Part 1

The first sign came with the wind.

If carried the smell of iron and smoke, sharp enough to wake me from sleep. Outside, the forest whispered as if a storm were coming, but the branches didn’t move. The air itself felt bruised.

Downstairs, Father was already dressed for patrol. He didn’t have to speak; the tension in his jaw said enough.

“Reports from the western ridge,” he said.

“Shadows moving against the moonlight. No bodies-just shapes.”

Lilly joined us, pale and silent. “I heard them,she whispered. “Two howls at once. One sounded…wrong.”

I didn’t ask how she knew. I’d felt it too-an echo pulsing through my mark, faint but certain. Carter’s rhythm.

James slammed his fist against the table.

“We should hunt him before he hunts us.”

Father shook his head. “Not yet. He’s changed. We need the council.”

By evening, every Alpha in the region had gathered in the great hall. The scent of wet fur and fear filled the air. The elder’s candles burned blue— a bad omen.

Elder Ryn stood first. “The curse spreads. Packs near the border report wolves turning to smoke at dusk. They devour light itself.” Another elder added, “The legends name such a creature the Shadow Alpha. There is only one way to stop it: the Royal Star must rise.”

Dozens of eyes turned toward me.

I felt Dominic’s gaze most of all-steady, silent, waiting.

“I’m not ready for that,” I said. “The last Luna who tried to control this power destroyed her own pack.”

Elder Ryn’s voice softened. “She didn’t have siblings to anchor her. You do.”

James placed a hand on my shoulder. “If you lead, we’ll follow.”

Their faith was a weight heavier than any crown. I wanted to refuse, to run, but the Moon above the skylight flared silver as if answering the elder’s call.

Father bowed his head. “Then so be it. The Royal Star Luna stands before us.”

The title hung in the air like a verdict.

After the council dismissed, I found Dominic waiting outside, leaning against the stone railing. His cloak dripped rain.

“They’ll send you after him,” he said quietly.

“I know.”

“You shouldn’t go alone.”

I looked at him. “I wasn’t planning to.”

He hesitated, then reached into his coat and drew out a fragment of blackened glass. “We found this where the shadows were thickest. It’s bone turned to crystal. His power is feeding on corrupted bonds.”

“How do you know?”

He met my eyes. “Because I felt it through ours. When the wind shifted this morning, your heartbeat stuttered-and so did mine.”

For a moment neither of us spoke. The rain hissed against the stones. The bond between us pulsed once, painful and alive.

“Jennie,” he said, voice low, “if you go after him, promise me you’ll remember who you are before the Moon does.”

I wanted to promise. Instead, I said, “if I forget, remind me.”

When dawn came, the forest was already moving. Wolves ran ahead, scouts calling warnings through the bond. At the horizon a thin gray smoke curled upward-the same direction the wind carried Carter’s scent.

Lilly tightened her cloak. “It’s him.”

James drew his blade. “Then Lilly’s finish this.”

I touched the dagger at my belt, it’s silver edge humming faintly, the light of the Moon reflecting in its curve.

The mark on my palm burned like fire. Somewhere in that pulse, I heard Carter’s voice again-soft, almost human:

You can’t save them without saving me.

I looked toward the dark line of trees and felt the Moon stir behind the clouds.

“The shadow doesn’t hide anymore,” I whispered. “ it waits.”

And we walked into it.