CHAPTER 3- THE PROPHECY

THIRD PERSON’S POV

The triplets were devastated when they heard about the death of their father, but they did not have the time to mull over it. As the heirs of the pack, they knew what was going to come next. One of them was going to be on the seat, but they did not know who yet because their mate had not shown up yet. They knew it was about to be soon enough because their birthday was coming up. Chances are the mate was going to show up on the day.

“We need to go and meet Beta Andrew. He is going to tell us how the pack is going to run before we eventually know who is going to be the alpha.” Declan, the eldest of the triplets, spoke up.

Declan had always been the mature one out of the three of them. He knew that he had the higher odds of becoming the alpha of the pack because he was more responsible. While his brothers liked to party and waste money, especially Julian, he was focused on his future.

“Whatever happens, you are not going to speak up to be the interim alpha,” Liam, the second triplet pointed a finger at Declan. “We are going to allow Andrew to make the choice. It is what Father would have wanted.”

“What? Afraid that I am going to stay on the seat officially when our mate shows up and realizes that I am actually the only mature one here?” Declan wrestled into his shirt, a little smirk playing on his lips.

“That is not up to you to decide.” Liam hissed.

“Yeah, Declan. Don’t forget the fate that we are going to face if you get chosen to become the alpha. It is not something to be happy about.” Julian chipped in from the other side of the room that they once shared once upon a time before their world came crashing down after they learned about the prophecy that had been told about five hundred years ago.

Every set of triplets born into the Hale bloodline were going to be mated to the same woman, and she was only going to be able to choose one of them to mark her and be the alpha of the pack. The chosen triplet was going to inherit everything from their father and the rest of the two were going to die. The triplets had thought it was some kind of joke when they were told until they were shown all of the proof that it had happened thrice since the prophecy had been told.

It made them grow apart with each of them thirsty to be the one that gets to have a long life with their mate and actually survives.

“It is not, but you are going to be lying if you tell me that you do not think about being the one that gets mated and getting crowned as the alpha so do not be hypocritical,” Declan rolled his eyes. “We should leave now. Andrew is going to be busy with the burial preparation so he doesn’t really have time to waste.”

The two of them agreed before they stood up and left the room. They had all moved out but whenever they wanted to speak, they came there. It was a tradition that they still had, even with all of the unspoken enmity between them. The three of them headed down the main wing of the palace, using the elevator that shot up the floors of the mansion until it reached. They got down and headed to the place where they knew they were going to find Andrew. He was their father’s best friend and was like a second father to them.

Andrew was seated on his usual seat only a few steps from their deceased alpha’s throne. He looked like he was in deep thought until he noticed their entrance and he raised his head to look at them.

“Triplets,” he addressed them in the general term he calls them with, claiming that saying all of their names was too hard for him at his age. “I was just about to go down and meet the three of you. We have urgent matters to discuss.” He told them.

“Well since we are here already, you should talk now,” Declan spoke for them and they headed into the sitting room and each of them occupied a seat.

Andrew sighed, and the twins could not help but notice the sadness in his eyes. He had known their father longer than they had, so the pain he felt was probably more than theirs. The triplets loved their father dearly too, but they were not close to him. Ever since their mother left when they were children, Alpha Jameson fell down the dark hole of depression. His children waited for him, thinking he was going to heal soon and become the father that they once knew but he never did.

Julian and Liam fell to the solution almost every teenager in their situation would take. They started to misbehave in school and party every night. Declan tried to help them but they would not listen to him. It became even worse when they found out about the prophecy.

“Okay. I believe you all know what is going to come next after the death of your father.” He said.

“Yeah, the death of two of us and the success of one? We know that very well.” Julian scoffed as he brought out a cigarette from his pocket and lighted it.

None of them said a word about his actions, knowing that it was stemming from grief.

“Well, about that. I have important news for you all.” Andrew leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees and locking his fingers together.

“Spill.” Liam spoke.

“Before your father died, he started to have these dreams and hallucinations. He found out about your mate. She is the last person he met before he died when he traveled yesterday.” Andrew explained.

“What?” They all chorused, exchanging looks with one other.

They knew the time was going to come someday. They were going to meet their mate and the prophecy was going to happen but they did not expect it to be this soon. It spiked their anxiety knowing that two of them would have to die and the surviving one would face a life without his brothers. They might have an enmity, but they had a bond that's unbreakable. The family bond.

“He found out where she was living. Her name is—”

“How do we know that what he saw was real? I mean we know a lot of people see things that are not real before they die. How do we know it is just not that?” Declan cut Andrew off before he could finish his sentence.

“Because your father told me that whatever he saw was true. So we just have to take his word for it.”

“The word of a dying man? Yeah, right.” Julian let out a scornful laugh.

Liam and Declan shot him a dirty look. They would have blamed the cigarette he was smoking but had barely had half. Perhaps he was high on something when he came there, they thought. It was not unlike him to get drunk whenever things got hard. They ignored him and carried on with the conversation.

“Who is she and where are we going to find her?” Liam asked.

“She lives on the outskirts of the pack. A rogue pack, I presume. Your father has information on her so you could ask the guards that took him there to show you where she is so you can bring her with you. Her name is Daisy Miller. She has ginger hair, blue eyes, and freck--”

Julian did not know that it was possible to choke on smoke until he heard the words leaving Andrew’s mouth.

’It could not be her.’ He chanted the words inwardly like supplication.

“Are you okay?” Andrew asked, shooting him a worried look.

“The girl you are talking about, is there any chance that she was in this pack before? A few months ago?” Julian asked.

Andrew thought silently for a moment before he replied, “Uhm… yes. I think I heard your father speaking about it before he left.”

“Fuck.” He cursed.

“What is it?”

“Fuck!” He threw the lit cigarette across the room and stood his feet, pacing with his fingers in his hair.

“What is wrong, Julian?” Liam asked. “Do you know her?”

“The hell I do,” he replied to his brother, his voice shaky. “She was the lady I was with a few months ago. The football team had told me that I had lost my touch, and that I did not hang out with women anymore because they thought I was still in love with my ex. I told them no, so they put me to the test. They asked me to get together with Daisy. She had rejected one of them, I did not know who, and the person was angry. It was just supposed to be a fleeting thing, but I stayed with her until one of them found out that we were still together and they made me break up with her in the most humiliating way possible. I haven’t seen her since then.”

Julian raised his eyes to see the reactions of his brothers, and they were not judging him the way he thought they would. Instead, they looked delighted. Like they had taken down one factor from the race even before it had even started.

“Well, I guess we know who is going to be her least favorite now,” Liam said with a smirk. “You always reap what you sow, brother.”

“No. Please. Let’s not do this. I know I probably don’t have a chance with her, but I just want to say one thing. We should play it fair and square. No sabotage. We are not telling her about the prophecy yet.” Julian said to them, hoping that they agreed with him. If they did, he might get the upper hand because he knew she had a soft spot for him and if he was lucky, then it would still be there. He was going to do whatever it takes, if it was going to keep him alive.

“And why will I lie to my mate because of you?” Declan scoffed.

“It is going to be better that way. She is not a fool. If she knows about it, then she will think that we are trying to make her choose us because we want to stay alive. I don’t know about the both of you but I actually want to win her love as my mate.”

Julian saw the moment Liam and Declan agreed to it. He let out a sigh of relief discreetly.

“We should go and get her before the day ends. We need to start preparing for the funeral.” Declan stood up to his feet, tossing Andrew a courteous smile before he left the sitting room.

His brothers followed right behind him.