The Alpha Triplets And The Rogue
Chapter 243

Raven’s POV

As I walk out of the trees toward the pack house, I realize how horrible I must look. I ruined my shoes and dress when I shifted into my wolf at the oracle’s cabin. I am wearing nothing more than Leo’s black t-shirt. My hair and skin are caked with b***d and mud. I try not to look down at my hands and the dirt that is caked underneath my fingernails. Between the b***d, dirt, and wound on my face, I look like I have been in war.

Nervously, I tuck a strand of hair behind my ears as we approach the front door. I raise my hand to knock on the front door, but it opens before I have a chance to. Alpha Blaire is standing on the other side of the door with tears streaming down her face. She has a can of gasoline and a box of matches in her hands.

“Where are you going?” I ask her curiously.

“I am going to burn the oracle’s cabin to the ground,” she says curtly as she steps around me.

I quickly move out of her way. I want to mention that even though the women in that cabin are traitors, they deserve a proper burial, but it doesn’t seem like my place. This isn’t my pack.

I turn to watch her leave before I turn my attention back to the pack house. My breathing becomes erratic as I think about meeting my brother face to face. I haven’t seen him in months, and according to the visions I have seen, he is a part of the recusants trying to take my throne. But try as I might, I am unable to hate my brother.

As I step through the door of the Crystal Lake Pack house, memories flood my mind. Memories of Kieran sneaking into my room when we were little because he was too afraid to sleep alone in the dark, of when I broke a vase while running through the house and he took the blame so I wouldn’t get in trouble, and of when he would come home in the middle of the night as a teenager and tell me about all of the parties and fun he was having. No, I could not bring myself to hate my brother, even if he was trying to usurp me.

I don’t know if the memories were coming from me or Kieran, but it didn’t matter. They all happened, and I hold all of them near and dear to my heart.

My mouth goes dry as I step into the living area of the pack house and see my brother standing with my father by his side. Father has his claws out, digging them into Kieran’s shoulder. He is trying to hold him into place.

Standing across the room from my brother, I first notice how tired he looks. Dark circles have formed under his eyes, and he looks like he has been crying. But I must be mistaken. Kieran never cries. His hair is disheveled. It looks like it hasn’t been cut or even brushed since the last time I saw him. I look into his blue eyes and expect to see hatred, but I don’t. I see pain and suffering, and my heart breaks for my brother.

I don’t know how long we have been staring at one another, but it feels like an eternity. Finally, Kieran clears his throat. “Hello, Raven,” he says a little too formally.

Oliver squeezes my hand at the same time Leo does. Neither one of them wants to let me near my brother, but I want nothing more than to be wrapped up in one of his hugs. I pry my hands away from my mates and try to run to Kieran, but my father steps in the way.

“No, Raven,” Father says sternly. “He cannot be trusted.”

“Don’t be silly,” I retort. “Kieran would never hurt me.”

There is a loud growl from behind me, and I turn to see Leo practically foaming at the mouth. “No, Little Bird,” Leo snarls. “He would only send others to do his bidding.”

Anger flashes in Kieran’s as he glances from me to Leo. “How dare you call her that?” Kieran spits at him. “She is not your Little Bird.”

Leo laughs sarcastically as he approaches my side. Leo roughly pulls me into his chest and plants a k**s on my lips. I gasp out in shock, and Leo takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth.

The sound of Kieran’s growl reverberates off the walls of the house. “How dare you treat my sister so disrespectfully?”

Leo pulls away from the k**s and flashes me his most mischievous smile. He tucks me under his arm and continues to smile like an a*****e in my brother’s direction. “I think you and I have different definitions of disrespect?”

Oliver steps to my side as well, wrapping his arm around my waist. He plants a tender k**s on my forehead. Making sure to lay claim to what is his.

Kieran rolls his eyes lazily at my mates affection before he turns his attention back to me. “I assume that is my mate’s b***d all over you?” He asks in a clipped tone.

So, it was true. Elise was Kieran’s mate. “She tried to attack me,” I say sadly. “I am sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” my father chimes in. “She did not deserve to live.”

No one in the room says anything. Supposedly, the loss of a mate is one of the most painful things a werewolf can go through. But Kieran does not seem to be mourning her too severely.

Ignoring my father, I keep my eyes on Kieran. “For what it is worth, I am sorry.”

Kieran shrugs his shoulder out of my father’s grasp and steps in my direction. Both Leo and Oliver are on the defense immediately. They step in front of me in an attempt to shield me from my brother.

Kieran ignores their actions and continues to walk in my direction. He pauses just in front of my mates. “I hear your wolf is golden,” he says.

“She is,” I tell him from behind my mates. “Would you like to meet her?”

“I suppose that is why I am here,” Kieran says as if he is bored.

I turn around and begin to walk out of the front door of the pack house. Leo and Oliver follow close behind me, and my father guides Kieran out by his shoulder.

Once we are outside, I slip Leo’s t-shirt from my body and call Rose forward. The shift happens in a blink of an eye. One moment, I am crouching on the ground. The next, I am seeing the world from Rose’s point of view.

I watch through Rose’s eyes as Kieran’s eyes stay fixated on me. He tries to pull himself away from my father, but my father refuses to let him go.

“Do you still think you are the child of light?” My father growls in Kieran’s direction.

Kieran doesn’t answer my father, but he does drop to his knees. He places his head in his hands and begins to cry. “I am so sorry, Little Bird,” he sobs softly into his hands. “I am sorry for everything.”

Rose walks forward and sits right in front of Kieran. I hear everyone take a sharp breath as he reaches up to run his fingers through my golden fur. Rose leans into his touch, and he scratches her gently behind the ear. The sound of her tail thumping up against the ground is enough for me to know that Rose has forgiven my brother.

Spinning around, Rose smacks him in the face with her tail playfully as she takes her side beside our mates. She gives me back control, and Leo quickly slips his shirt over my head. I walk back over to Kieran, who is still staring at the ground. I tilt his head up so he is looking me in the eyes.

“The date of the attack is my coronation day. Is it not?” I ask him.

Kieran looks at me with wide eyes and nods. “How did you know?”

“I have been dreaming about it for years now,” I finally admit out loud.