Offered to the Triplet Alphas

[Asher]

The winds were changing, and the timelines had shifted.

Xanthea's face rested against my chest. I gently tucked the free strands behind her ear and she snuggled against my touch.

This was probably the first time in her life she was at peace, not at war with herself. Just a glance at her was enough to see how exhausting her life had been so far.

I carefully inhaled slowly just in case my breaths might disturb her rest as I looked up at the stars, which glowed brighter, aligning into a swan constellation.

They were coming..

I held her tighter, burying my face in her neck.

They were coming for her.

At that moment, all I wanted was to take Xanthea back to the Infernal realm - to our penthouse, to our bedroom - where I could live a little longer in her warmth. Share moments of love where I could lose my heart in her heartbeats. Steal kisses that made my heart beat a little faster. Drown myself in her scent that helped me breathe a little better.

I wanted to talk to her for hours, ask her about all her favorites, and try to manipulate my way into becoming one of them.

Her favorite husband, perhaps.

I wanted to cook her favorite meals, take a relaxing bath with her, rest my head on her lap and fall asleep.

I just wanted to live a little life with her before my duties called for me.

As I held her tighter, my thoughts drifted, imagining a future where it was just us and no one else. But then, the voices beyond the graveyard stirred.

For once, I wished I could silence the Alpha in me and simply be hers, but maybe the gods had some other plans.

"The black mist is densely charged with demonic energy. It's too dangerous for mortals to get close to it. Even as celestial guards, it's nearly impossible for us to endure its pull. Our wings would be crushed if we tried to fly over it. That can only mean one thing-"

"The demon lords created this shadow barrier around the graveyard," Nikolai said.

"You asked us to monitor this graveyard. But how did you know something like this would happen?"

"I know how important this graveyard is for my dear sister. I knew she'd visit her mother's grave. She's too attached to this place. And the way the demon lords are infatuated with her, I knew if she desired to come here, they'd bring her here." "But we don't know if she is here-"

"She's here," Nikolai murmured, his gaze fixed on the shadow shield. "She is right beyond this black mist. Call him. Call your prince. I know bringing back my sister from the Infernal realm is almost impossible for him. But now that she's in our mortal realm, this is our chance. It's risky, but worth it."

My gaze snapped towards the iron gate. The shadows churned, merging with my vision, sharpening the scene beyond the graveyard. Nikolai stood among the celestial guards while the Virgo army surrounded the graveyard from all directions. The moment I sensed their presence; I had created the barrier to stop them from disturbing Xanthea's peace.

"The prince is on his way, but his power may not be enough to break the barrier," a guard said. "He only completed his training a few weeks ago..."

Prince?

The guards wore white military uniforms, each with a gun and a sword holstered from their waist belts. Their bronze-gold shoulder insignia bore four to five gold stars arranged in an incomplete swan constellation, marking them as low- ranking officers.

The swan constellation had nine stars, each representing a rank. The higher the rank, the more stars adorned the insignia.

But my focus was drawn to their chest insignia - a spread-winged swan partially obscuring the sun. It was also the emblem of the Solvaris pack's flag, confirming their direct involvement in the situation.

Caelum Solvaris had only one son, a weak blood, who had disappeared ages ago. Officially, it was claimed that the boy was undergoing private spiritual training to become the next Alpha of the Solvaris pack, which was a common practice in the Celestial realm. So everyone believed it.

But I was sure the prince they were referring to had to be the boy Cadence secretly brought to the Infernal realm.

My suspicion was right.

Caelum's son had survived the Forced Activation. No. Cadence had pulled him out before the experiments could worsen. The mouse who had created the blind spot in my omniscient sight had been living in the Infernal realm ever since. That explains how he had hidden from my sight. A celestial needed to lose their divine wolf to enter the Infernal realm, but the same rule didn't apply if they activated their divine wolf in hell, which meant he had activated his immortality genes as well.

So, this mouse prince isn't just powerful; he is intelligent enough to trick me all these years. Interesting.

He must have stayed in hell on Cadence's orders, to ensure the curse fulfilled its purpose. Or... she knew I would drag her daughter to hell, so maybe she asked him to stay for Xanthea, to help her escape once she found the cure. That was a strong possibility, and it would explain why he had shown up now after remaining dormant all these years. He had been waiting for the right moment, when using his powers would be worth the risk of revealing himself to me. Even so, he had managed to avoid getting caught. He knew about my omniscient sight, and probably knows much more about me and my brothers.

And I needed to know just how much he knew about the curse, Xanthea, my brothers, and... me. Only then would I decide whether to keep him or kill him.

"If your prince can't break the barrier, then contact the higher celestials."

Nikolai's eyes bore into the barrier as he commanded. "No matter the cost. I want my sister back!"

The guards exchanged a sharp glance, clearly offended by Nikolai's tone.

"Higher celestials rarely respond to such summons..."

"They will respond to my summons." Nikolai's voice dripped with arrogance. "They want my sister, and I'm their only key to her. So, of course, they'll come. Just tell them she's here, and they'll come running."

So, high rank celestials are on their way as well. The more the merrier.

'What the fuck is merry about this situation?' Icifer growled in my head. 'A few moments of peace with my mate is all I want. Am I asking for too much?'

I let out a subtle sigh, inhaling Xanthea's sweet scent deep into my lungs.

'Xanthea is in my arms, at peace, close to my heart, with my name engraved on her body, my love in her soul. What's not merry about this situation?'

Icifer grunted, and I felt him control his rage as his voice echoed in my mind again.

'If we don't do something about the army of celestials gathering around us right now, her peace won't last long. So, stop holding back my shadows, Asher. Let me loose and I will kill every last one of them before they can have a glimpse of her. Especially Nikolai!'

'Calm down.'

'They are talking about taking my mate away from me and you want me to calm down!'

'Yes. Because I want answers,' I thought to him. 'This is our chance to find out who the mouse prince is and how he recognized Xanthea. What does Nikolai have that convinced the celestials to form an alliance with him? He most probably found something of Cadence's and I need to know what.'

'Then teleport Xanthea back to the penthouse. We'll handle them-'

'No. Xanthea needs to meet her celestial family-'

'Family?' Icifer surged inside me, fueled by rage. 'We are her only family! I am her only family!'

'The only one who gets to decide who her family is, is Xanthea herself. However, if she dares to choose anyone other than us, that's going to be a different story.'

'The celestials are helping Nikolai because he has something that confirmed Xanthea's identity as Cadence's daughter to them. They don't want our mate to create familial bonds, they want to use her knowledge,' Icifer said. 'And that's why it's important for her to meet her folks. Exposure to them will help her decide who she can and cannot trust,' I said.

The knowledge Xanthea had needed protection, and that protection couldn't come from the outside - it had to be internal.

As long as I was with her, I could keep her in check. But outside of hell, she'd be on her own. And then, she'd need a power that would not corrupt, but empower her, and that kind of purity could only be found in a celestial, which she was. 'Why in the world would you ever let our mate go out of your sight - or hell?'

I smiled, stroking her hair.

'The knowledge she has is a kind of power itself, and with such great power comes even greater responsibilities that she won't be able to run from.'

Icifer turned silent, suspicion growing inside him like a tight knot.

'No power. No responsibility. Xanthea is my mate, and that's all she needs to be.'

Xanthea is Xanthea, and she will be whatever she wants to be - that's what I wanted to tell Icifer. But I knew that would only make him more restless and skeptical, so I blocked him from accessing my thoughts.

I knew I couldn't hide her away in hell for too long. It would be like putting a candle underwater and hoping it would burn brighter.

But Xanthea was still too young and naïve to the ways of hell and heaven, so slow exposure to what her future entailed was important. By the time the curse was dealt with, she would be coveted by all Infernal and Celestial alphas alike. Yes, Ezra and Raven could protect her. But once they knew her truth, would they? I already knew the answer - they wouldn't.

They'd hate her. Irrationally. Brutally.

My jaw tightened as I shut my eyes. I didn't even want to imagine what Xanthea would endure if that day ever came. And it would. Just not until the curse was dealt with, because I would make damn sure it didn't.

So today, only those I permit will enter this graveyard. The celestials haven't openly claimed Xanthea as theirs, meaning they want to keep it quiet - which works in my favor.

Besides, I didn't trust the celestials. They wouldn't understand how delicately Xanthea and her knowledge needed to be handled. One wrong trigger, one mistake, and she could easily become something far worse than Cadence.

The celestials only knew that something big had happened in the Infernal realm that activated immortality genes in a weak blood and that Cadence was behind it. They knew nothing of the horrors, so I didn't expect them to understand. 'The risk isn't worth taking. I have waited too long to unite with my mate. I will not risk losing her to those celestials,' Icifer growled. 'She does not have to meet them...'

I pushed him back.

I agreed with everything Icifer said, and I wanted to be selfish. But I couldn't.

Moreover, I understood what he feared - Icifer was afraid that Xanthea might choose her celestial family over us.

She could choose whoever she wanted, but she wasn't going anywhere until I set her free. And right now, I had no intention of doing anything like that.