Three Alphas Beg For the Triplets They Never Wanted

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Sacred Bond Revealed

Derek’s POV

I began my descent into the underground tunnel, my wolf form navigating the narrow passage with practiced ease. Halfway down, the old man’s weathered hand reached toward me. I felt a sharp, harsh pain on my skin.

The heat radiating from the depths below made everything feel hazy, and with all the chaos surrounding us, I couldn’t process what had just occurred until my paws finally touched solid ground.

The moment my body fully descended, an overwhelming wave of nausea crashed over me. My limbs felt like lead, trembling with an unfamiliar weakness.

"You alright down there?" the old man called, extending his hand as I collapsed onto my knees, my wolf form dissolving against my will.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The plan was simple: help the man climb onto my back, carry him out, then shift back to human form once we reached safety.

Why would I transform back now, climb up again, and shift once more? It made no tactical sense. I had planned to remain in wolf form until we escaped this hellhole.

"Something’s wrong," I gasped, pressing my palm against my racing chest. Before another word could escape my lips, my body betrayed me completely, crumpling to the stone floor.

Then it hit me. I’d been injected with wolfsbane, and a heavy dose of it.

My head snapped up to meet the old man’s gaze. Nothing about this made sense unless he was orchestrating everything. When his lips curved into a cold smile, pure terror flooded my veins. freewёbnoνel.com

I had been right to suspect him.

He was the architect of this nightmare.

As my body surrendered to the poison, I found myself unable to speak, unable to defend myself, unable to warn Bella about the trap we’d walked into.

Even as consciousness slipped away, her face consumed my thoughts. She had no comprehension of the danger lurking just feet away from her.

Above ground, I could hear her voice calling for the old man, offering assistance to help him escape. By then, my limbs had gone completely numb, leaving me powerless to transform or shout warnings.

Minutes passed in a haze of disorientation until Bella’s screams pierced through my stupor. The sound of her terror jolted me back to awareness like an electric shock.

"Just hold on a little longer. Bella needs us. We have to get out of here," I urged my wolf, forcing him to feel the desperation coursing through my bloodstream.

The image of that man’s hands on her, the thought of him causing her pain, ignited a rage that burned through the wolfsbane’s effects.

No. I refused to let that happen. I pressed my palms against the cold stone and began forcing myself upward, knowing full well the cost of such exertion.

"If you push me to emerge while the wolfsbane is still active, it may be weeks before I can return," my wolf cautioned, his voice heavy with the weight of sacrifice.

"I don’t care. We keep fighting," I growled, feeling guilty for demanding so much from him. But when he began to respond, I realized he shared my desperation. He was prepared to risk everything for her.

Agonizing screams tore from my throat as the transformation began. My wolf wouldn’t possess his usual strength, but it would be enough to escape and buy Bella precious time by putting myself between her and that monster.

When I pushed beyond my limits, my wolf’s howl of pain echoed through the underground chamber. As his cry reverberated off the walls, I felt my bones beginning to reshape.

Silence fell for a heartbeat, broken only by the thundering of my pulse.

Then chaos erupted. Every fiber of my being fought against the shift, the wolfsbane trying to force me back to human form. I battled through the agony until the transformation completed.

My wolf was compromised, but functional enough for me to crawl through the cramped space and launch myself from the tunnel. Once I reached ground level, I began shifting back again.

This time, my wolf’s whimpering was absent for what felt like an eternity. I couldn’t afford to worry about the implications.

I crawled toward my discarded clothes, yanking on my pants and shirt with shaking hands before standing and stumbling from the cave to find Bella.

Her screams guided me through the darkness like a beacon.

Emerging from the cave into the surrounding forest, I spotted the old man positioned in front of something hidden from view.

Moving between the tree trunks, I saw her. Bella was bound with rope, and the old man was retrieving bottles of alcohol from a hidden cache.

Our panic had blinded us to obvious signs of preparation.

While we’d searched the cave, I had focused solely on finding entrances, missing the evidence of premeditation scattered around us.

If alcohol bottles were stashed outside the cave, someone had planted them there intentionally. As the old man walked away and I attempted to get closer, I witnessed something that froze my blood.

Bella’s screams intensified as her first transformation began.

I threw myself forward, falling and crawling across the rough ground, my body threatening to surrender with each movement.

When I reached her, our eyes met through her pain.

"Derek!" she cried out, her voice cutting off as the transformation consumed her. She was caught between human and wolf.

I grabbed the iron spike pinning her down and began working it free with what remained of my strength.

"It hurts so much," she whimpered.

"Breathe through it. This is your first shift. Your wolf is awakening. We’re going to survive this," I whispered, trying to soothe her agony.

Seeing her covered in bruises and cuts ignited a murderous rage within me. I wanted to tear the old man apart with my bare hands.

Then I saw her completed form. As her transformation finished, I was stunned by her coloring. She was a magnificent gray wolf.

I gasped and fell backward, watching her emerge as a large, beautiful, yet fierce and lethal creature.

Her wolf’s gaze locked onto mine with an intensity that stole my breath.

Purple eyes glowed as she released a powerful howl, stepping protectively over my prone form.

Her call harmonized with my wolf’s response from deep within me, and I heard the most sacred word in our world.

"Mate."

Before I could savor the revelation, the old man returned clutching bottles of alcohol.

His expression mirrored my earlier shock upon seeing Bella’s true form. His startled gasp drew her attention immediately.

She pivoted and moved aside, finally revealing the pure terror etched across the old man’s face.