"What did you say?" Aria's voice was like a blade through the noise.
The old being's red eyes were filled with evil. "Tonight, the brother you didn't pick will die. Is that part something I forgot to say?" He snarled.
"You're lying," but his face turned pale.
"Am I? Alpha, bring your eyes outside. Check out how many bad guys are around this castle. They have orders to kill whichever triplet gets rejected."
Aria looked all around the area through her silver-blazed vision. Her heart sank. Dozens of rogues crept through the dark, positioning themselves around every exit. They weren't retreating like she'd thought. They were setting up a trap.
"No," she whispered.
"Oh yes," the thing purred. "Choose Caleb? Cyrus and Caden die. Pick Caden? His brothers die. Select Cyrus? Well, you get the idea."
The Primal Alpha's booming footsteps grew closer. Fifty yards now. Its huge shadow fell across the castle walls.
"This is insane," Magnus growled, his phone still ready to call the Silver Ridge Pack. "I won't let—"
"You'll let me speak," Cyrus interrupted, moving forward despite his injuries.
Everyone turned to stare at him. Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead, and his normal cocky grin was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his green eyes held something Aria had never witnessed before. Pain. Real, deep pain.
"Cyrus, not now," Caleb's wolf form growled.
"Actually, brother, right now is perfect." Cyrus wiped blood from his mouth. "If I'm going to die tonight anyway, I want to say something first."
"Don't talk like that," Aria begged.
"Why not? It's true, isn't it?" He looked straight at her, and his usual mask of playful arrogance cracked completely. "I've always been the expendable one."
"That's not—"
"Please. Let me finish." His voice shook slightly. "Do you know what it's like being the middle brother? Caleb gets attention because he's the heir. Caden gets attention because he's the rebel. But me?" He laughed bitterly. "I'm just the spare. The backup plan. The one nobody really sees."
Aria felt her heart breaking. "Cyrus..."
"Even growing up, I was unnoticeable. Caleb succeeded at everything Alpha-related. Caden impressed everyone with his brilliant ideas. I was just... there. Making jokes. Causing trouble. Anything to get known."
The Primal Alpha roared again, closer now. But Cyrus kept talking as if they had all the time in the world.
"When the mate bond hit, I thought finally. Finally, someone would see me as more than just Caleb's backup or Caden's annoying brother."
Tears mixed with the blood on his face. "But even then, I messed it up. Instead of being honest about my feelings, I tried to trick you into picking me. Because that's what the unseen brother does, right? He schemes and manipulates because he doesn't think anyone could actually want him."
"Stop," Aria whispered, her own eyes filled with tears.
"I need you to know," Cyrus continued, his voice getting stronger. "Every joke I made, every flirtatious word, every time I acted like this was all a game? I was lying. Because the truth scared me too much."
"What truth?"
He took a shaky breath."That I love you. Not because you're a Moon Wolf. Not because of some prophecy or political benefit. I love you because you're the first person who ever looked at me and saw someone worth saving."
The great hall fell silent except for the coming thunder of the Primal Alpha's steps.
"When you healed the children tonight," Cyrus said softly, "you used power that could have saved yourself instead. When the duplicate attacked, you threw yourself in front of Caden without thought. When the rogues came for us, you fought like a warrior even though you were scared."
He smiled through his tears. "You're brave and selfless and beautiful, and you deserve so much better than a brother who spent weeks lying to your face."
"Cyrus—"
"I'm not asking you to choose me," he interrupted. "How could I? After what I've done? But I needed you to know that somewhere between all my stupid games and desperate plans, I fell completely in love with you."
Caleb's wolf form shimmered, and he changed back to human. His golden eyes were bright with unshed tears. "Brother..."
"Don't," Cyrus warned. "Don't you dare pity me now."
"It's not pity," Caleb said quietly. "It's respect. You just did something I've been too proud to do."
"Which is?"
"Telling the truth about your feelings."
Caden squeezed Aria's hand tighter. "We all love her, Cyrus. Each in our own way."
"Yeah, but I'm the one who tried to win her through deceit. I'm the one who doesn't deserve—"
"Enough!" Aria's power flared, cutting him off. Her silver light blazed so bright that everyone had to hide their eyes. "Do you hear yourself? You think you're worth less than your brothers?"
"Aren't I?"
"No!" The word burst from her with such force that cracks appeared in the stone walls. "You want to know what I see when I look at you, Cyrus Draven?"
He stared at her, hope and fear battling in his green eyes.
"I see the brother who makes everyone laugh when things get dark. I see the one who took on twelve rogues alone tonight to reach us. I see someone who cares so much about being loved that he'd rather risk everything than admit he's scared."
Her voice relaxed. "I see the boy who taught me that power doesn't always have to be serious. That joy matters too. That sometimes the best way to survive horror is to find something worth smiling about."
Cyrus's knees nearly buckled. "Aria..."
"Your brothers are amazing," she continued. "But you? You're the heart of this family. The one who keeps everyone together when duty and revolt tear them apart."
"That's not true."
"It is. Caleb respects you more than he shows. Caden counts on your humor to balance his intensity. Even your parents—look at how scared your father gets when you're in danger."
Magnus cleared his throat roughly. "She's right, son. You think I don't see your worth? You're wrong."
"Then why does it always feel like I'm fighting for scraps of attention?"
"Because you're fighting for the wrong thing," Luna Seraphina said softly. "You don't need to earn our love, Cyrus. You already have it."
The Primal Alpha's roar broke several more windows. It was almost at the castle gates now.
"Touching family moment," the old creature sneered. "But it changes nothing. The girl still has to choose. And two brothers still die tonight."
"What if I refuse to choose?" Aria demanded.
"Then the Primal Alpha devours you, and all three boys die anyway."
Through the holes in the walls, Aria saw the massive beast stop at the castle's outer walls. Its star-bright eyes scanned the ancient stones like a predator studying prey.
"There has to be another way," she said desperately.
"There is," a new voice said from the darkness.
Everyone spun around. Dorian stepped through a hole in the wall, his face streaked with tears and mud. Behind him came three figures that made Aria's blood freeze.
More ancient beings. Just like the red-eyed one, but bigger. Stronger. Their presence made the air itself feel heavy and wrong.
"Dorian?" Aria breathed.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. They promised they'd only take you. They said they'd leave everyone else alone."
"You believed them?" Cyrus snarled.
"I wanted to believe them. Because I couldn't stand watching you be happy with people who could give you everything I couldn't."
One of the new animals stepped forward. This one had silver eyes instead of red, and power radiated from it like heat from a forge.
"The Primal Alpha grows impatient," it announced. "It wants the Moon Wolf now."
"Take me," Aria said instantly. "Let everyone else go."
"Oh, we will take you," the silver-eyed thing agreed. "But first, you're going to watch your precious mates destroy each other."
"What?"
The creature smiled, showing fangs like broken glass. "The Primal Alpha doesn't just want your power, little Moon Wolf. It wants you broken. Desperate. Stripped of everything that makes you strong."
"I don't understand."
"The mate bonds," it explained with obvious pleasure. "They're not just linking you to the brothers. They're connecting the boys to each other through you. Which means..."
It raised one clawed hand, and dark power swirled around its fingers. "When we force them to fight for you, their tie will tear them apart from the inside. By the time the Primal Alpha comes, you'll be so shattered by watching them suffer that you'll beg us to end their pain."
"No," Aria whispered.
"Oh yes. And the best part? We're going to make you choose which brother fights first."
The magic struck all three boys instantly. Caleb roared in pain. Caden doubled over, holding his chest. Cyrus screamed as silver fire raced through his veins.
"Stop!" Aria lunged toward them, but invisible chains of dark power held her back.
"Choose," the creature ordered. "Which brother faces the first trial? Because the longer you wait, the more it hurts them."
All three boys writhed in pain, their mate bonds being twisted into weapons against them.
"Please," Aria begged. "Don't do this."
"Choose!" the thing roared.
Outside, the Primal Alpha began climbing over the castle walls. Its massive claws left gouges in the old stone.
Aria looked at the three boys she loved, each suffering because of her. She had to pick one to face whatever horrible trial the creatures had planned. But which one? And how could she live with herself after making that choice?
The silver-eyed creature's smile widened as it realized she couldn't decide.
"Time's up," it purred, raising both hands. Dark power erupted toward all three brothers at once.