Triplet Alphas and their Doctor Mate

As the cell door creaked open, the sound echoed along the stone floor, allowing beams of light to stream into the dim basement where I was confined when I was not needed. I flinched at the noise, well aware of what typically followed, Alpha Emory, my captor and master, would inflict pain upon me or compel me to utilize my powers for harm against others. But today felt different, his familiar scent was conspicuously absent from the small, claustrophobic space where I lay curled up on the mattress. Instead, I caught whiffs of a scent that I believed I had long forgotten. I slowly opened my eyes, peeking up towards the doorway, and looked at the large man standing there. It was Beta Harrison. He looked older than I remembered, a few strands of gray mingling with his hair, but that was expected. I hadn't seen him since I was 10 years old, right before I was abducted. 7 long torturous years had passed since that day, and time had changed us both. My hair, that used to be dark brown, had shifted to bright red, like my fathers had been before he died, my dark tanned skin had lightened slightly due to my lack of sunlight. Even my bright blue eyes had dimmed through the years. I doubted Beta Harrison would even recognize me, and for that, I was grateful. If he didn't recognize me, I wasn't going to enlighten him. Years of torture had shown me not to admit my identity, others liked to use me for my power, having been passed from master to master through my time in captivity, until finally being passed over to my uncle Emory, my fathers brother. I thought I was safe after finding him, but I was wrong. He was the worst among them all. As Beta Harrison stared at me, I pushed away memories of my time here. ''WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE ALIVE!'' Beta Harrison bellowed, and a wave of relief washed over me at the realization that he did not recognize me. He entered the room, and instinctively, I shrank back. ''Oh, no it's okay, easy girl'' He consoled gently as he squatted down to my level. ''No one is going to hurt you. I'm Beta Harrison. I work for King Braden, and Queen Elia Kendrix. What's your name?'' I didn't answer. ''It's okay, sweetheart. You can trust me.'' ''Azana, tell him,'' My Lycan Zora demanded ''Let's go home!'' I wanted to, but I was too scared. ''Zan'' I told him, this was my nickname growing up, so at least I could keep a little part of my name. "Well, Zan," He said kindly, extending his hand toward me, "Would you like to leave here?" ''I can't,'' I answered, my voice barely above a whisper. ''Of course you can,'' He reassured with a warm smile. ''The men in charge of this compound are on the run. We can take you away from here.'' ''No, I can't'' I insisted, lowering the tattered holey edge of my shirt to reveal the golden collar locked around my neck. ''If I leave without Alpha Emory's permission I'll die.'' Beta Harrison frowned ''Did you say Emory.?'' I nodded. ''Does he have a long scar down his face from his eyebrow?'' Again, I nodded. ''I see,'' He murmured to himself. ''He wasn't with the men who took off. Do you know where he went?'' I did know. He'd gone to hurt someone ''No'' I lied, afraid to tell the truth. ''Well, either way, we can take you'' He smiled ''This kind of collar can be removed with a spell, and we have a witch with us, she'll take it from you'' I wanted to believe him, but I was afraid to hope, it had been so long since I'd had hope. ''Come on Zan'' He held his hand out to me again, and this time, cautiously, I placed my cold shaking hand into his ''Good girl'' He assisted me carefully to my feet, but I caught him scanning my frame. I was well aware he had a mate, so I didn’t think it was a matter of attraction; rather, he likely viewed me with pity. I was far too thin for my age and height. My uncle allowed me to eat only every other day, and only if I had met his demands for that day. We exited my cell in silence, climbing the stone staircase that led to the upper levels of the compound, where I spotted my friend. "Emmet!" I exclaimed, rushing towards him. We embraced, relief flooding through me, I had feared he had left with Emory. We hadn't seen each other since yesterday, we usually slept in the same basement room, but when Emory wanted to punish us, he'd make us sleep alone. "What’s happening? Who are these people?" He inquired, through the link. I have a few very special powers, one being, I could hear anyone linking, whether I was a part of their pack or now. I could even hear private conversations between wolves, Lycan's and their hosts. When it first started happening, I thought I was going mad from all the abuse and isolation, but eventually, I learned to control it. I could now shut it off and turn it on at will. And Emmet and I had come up with a hand gesture so I'd know he wanted me to hear his thoughts, he'd done it now, so I could hear him. "They’re from the royal pack," I whispered quietly, I couldn't link him back, only hear him, before adding, "And my name is Zan, so don’t call me Azana." "Why not?" He looked puzzled as Harrison approached us. ''I don't want them to know who I am'' ''Why?'' He asked, but my response was cut off by Beta Harrison. "Are there any other children here?" He questioned. ''No'' I said sadly. All the children brought here were killed unless they had powers like myself and Emmet, who could control people through their shadows. The first time I saw him do it, I was astonished, but Alpha Emory looked at the boy like he was made of gold. ''Okay, well let's get this collar off you, and you can both come with me'' Harrison smiled and touched Emmet's shoulder but he cringed away ''Sorry, no touching. Got it'' He turned ''Koa. Can you get this collar off her'' ''On it'' A woman walked over to me. She was strikingly beautiful, with dark brown skin and warm brown eyes. Her long, thick hair was elegantly braided into a high ponytail, adorned with a bright pink ribbon. "May I, child? She asked gently, extending her hands. I shared a glance with Emmet before I nodded, and Koa stepped closer. She inspected the writing on my collar, her brow furrowing, yet a smile graced her lips. ''It's a blood spell'' She announced ''This girl can't do anything until her master orders it'' She stared into my eyes ''You must have powers. Strong ones, at that. There's no other reason he'd put this on you. Is one of your parents a witch?'' ''Yes'' I lied. In truth, my parents were both Lycans. However, my mother descended from the original Lycan line that that Goddess created, and as such, I inherited powers from her. ''Well, once you've spoken to the King, we can track down both of your parents'' ''Our parents are dead'' I half lied. Emmets father had sold him to Alpha Emory, and my parents had died during their visit to King Braden of the Dark Moon Pack during the Goddess festival. My uncle now runs my mother's old pack, The Lotus Pack, now, but I hadn't seen him since I was a child, and he refused to raise me, spouting some bullsh*t that it was too hard for him, and so King Braden took me in and raised me with his triplet boys from age 5 to 10 when I was taken. ''I see," Harrison observed us with pity. "We have several good orphanages in our pack. We take in all the orphans from every pack. What are your ages?" "17," Emmet replied, entwining his fingers with mine. "And you have both shifted?" "Yes," He answered. ''Are you mates?'' He asked, and Emmet started laughing, but I nudged him. ''No'' He sobered up ''We're definitely not mates'' ''Okay'' Beta Harrison ''Well you seem close, so you can stay in the same orphanage'' ''We don't want to stay in your pack at all'' I told him ''If we're free, we want to leave'' ''I'm sorry, but we need to find out everything you know, the leaders of this compound have been doing a lot of damage, and we need to know everything we can to stop them. Once you're both 18, you are free to leave, and in the meantime, we might be able to track down any surviving family members you both have'' ''But, we'' Emmet began to talk, but the witch interrupted him. ''Yes'' Koa celebrated, interrupting our conversation ''I have it. So there is a spell attached, if anyone but the master takes it off, they'll die, along with the wearer. Luckily, I can absorb the spell on my end and not die, as for the girl. That's the issue. I'll need to transfer the curse to another object'' She scanned the room. "Are any of those men still alive?" "No," Beta Harrison replied. ''Damn it,'' She frowned and placed her hands on her hips as she focused on me, thinking hard. ''I assume there are rats here?'' I nodded, and she smiled, before sitting on the ground. I watched as she began whispering something, and the surrounding air started to stir, and very soon, dozens of rats rushed around us. ''Perfect,'' Koa stood back up and smiled ''You're going to feel a bit of pain,'' She warned, and I nodded, I wasn't new to pain, but hope of freedom? I'd lost that long ago, and still didn't let myself feel that hope now. I gripped Emmet's hand tightly and squeezed my eyes shut while Koa placed her hands on my neck. As she recited her spell, the pain surged through me. I gasped, my legs giving way, but Emmet supported me, and as the pain eased, I heard a click. The collar had fallen from my neck, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that all the rats lay lifeless around us. "All done," Koa declared, brimming with pride. "Damn, I’m good!" "Yes, you are," Harrison said, giving her a friendly pat on the back. "Alright kids, it’s time to move out."