The Triplet Alphas S Chapter 7: Serve them?

Chapter 7: Serve them?

ELLA.

"No!"

The word hit

strangely as it left their mouths, sharp, final, and utterly foreign, as though it didn’t belong to

or my reality. For a split second, I wondered if exhaustion was playing tricks on my hearing, twisting their voices into sothing harsher than they ant.

No?

What did they an by no?

We had no relationship with one another. No history that I could rember. No bond that tied

to them in any way. If anything, they were nothing more than strangers who had helped

in a mont of desperation—my saviors, yes—but that was where it ended.

This had to be a prank.

A cruel, poorly tid joke ant to confuse

further while my head was still pounding and my thoughts were muddled. I searched their faces for signs of laughter, for any hint that they were playing with .

There was none.

I was still turning the word over in my mind, trying to convince myself that I had misunderstood, when it ca again, clearer this ti, heavier, undeniable.

"You aren’t leaving!"

The certainty in that statent sent a jolt through . My body stiffened instantly, every muscle locking in place as though I had been struck by lightning. I could neither move nor speak, frozen in shock, dumbfounded by the audacity of it.

Leaving was my choice.

Or at least, it was supposed to be.

"You have to follow us back to Ironclad Pack, Theresa."

Lurgard’s voice cut through the silence, firm and resolute, as though he were stating an already-decided fact rather than making a demand. The na he used only deepened the knot forming in my chest.

Ironclad Pack?

The words rang unfamiliar and threatening.

"Oh heavens, please spare

that," I said, finally finding my voice. It trembled despite my effort to keep it steady. "I already told you, you’ve mistaken

for soone else. Can’t you just let

go now?"

I looked from one face to the next, hoping, desperately, that reason would prevail, that one of them would see the truth in my eyes and understand.

Instead, Lurgard shook his head, frustration flashing across his features.

"No, Theresa," he said sharply. "I already apologized to you. Now stop this act."

The words struck sothing raw inside .

"I’m not acting, okay?" I snapped back, my voice rising despite the pounding in my head. "I really don’t know any of you. And I have a life to live."

The mont the words left my mouth, they felt... hollow.

A life to live?

The thought lingered, unsettling, and before I could stop myself, doubt crept in.

Did I really have one?

My chest tightened as reality pressed in from all sides. I couldn’t go back to Alex, that door was permanently closed, sealed by fear and betrayal. And inside

was a growing pup, fragile and innocent, depending entirely on

for survival.

How would I feed it?

Where would I go?

What future was waiting for

without help, without money, without anyone?

The questions piled up relentlessly, each one heavier than the last.

Still, even with the uncertainty clawing at , one truth remained firm and unyielding in my heart.

I would rather sleep under a bridge.

I would rather face hunger, cold, and the cruelty of the world alone than follow complete strangers to a place I didn’t know, under a na that wasn’t mine, into a life I didn’t rember choosing.

I lifted my chin slightly, eting their gazes one by one, fear and determination warring inside .

I didn’t know who Theresa was.

But I knew who I wasn’t.

"Alright then," Leonard said, his voice shifting, hardening into sothing cold and deliberate. "If that’s how you want it, I’ll play this ga with you, Theresa."

The way he said my na sent a chill through .

"You owe us your life," he continued, his gaze locking onto mine with unsettling intensity. "So tell , how do you plan to pay it back?"

The authority in his tone made

flinch before I could stop myself. It wasn’t loud, yet it carried weight, the kind that demanded obedience without asking for it. My heart lurched painfully in my chest as the aning of his words sank in.

Was he... serious?

I stared at him, disbelief washing over

in waves. My fingers curled instinctively at my sides as fear and confusion tangled inside . How did he expect

to answer that? How was I supposed to repay sothing like that, being saved, when I never asked for it in the first place?

They could have left

there.

The thought struck suddenly, sharp and undeniable. They could have driven past like everyone else. Could have ignored , let the guards catch up, let whatever fate was chasing

claim .

But they hadn’t.

And now, it felt like that choice ca with chains I hadn’t agreed to wear.

"I..." I opened my mouth, my voice catching painfully in my throat. My lips moved, but no sound ca out. My mind scrambled for an answer, any answer, but found nothing, only fear and a rising sense of helplessness.

Before I could gather myself, Leonard spoke again, his voice final, as though the matter had already been decided without my consent.

"The only option you have is to co back and serve us."

The words hit

like a slap.

"What?" I echoed weakly, my breath hitching as I stared at him, certain I had misheard.

Serve them?

My pulse raced, pounding so loudly in my ears it drowned out every other sound. My head throbbed harder, the room seeming to tilt slightly as panic tightened its grip around my chest.

"You have no choice," they said together, their voices blending into one chilling declaration.

The finality in their words crushed the air from my lungs.

I stood there, frozen, my body heavy and unresponsive as the truth settled painfully deep inside . This wasn’t a request. It wasn’t a suggestion.

It was a sentence.

And no matter how much I wanted to deny it, a terrifying realization crept in, I had just traded one form of captivity for another.