My Alpha Boss Gave Me Triplets – Episode 29
Doctor Lara found no immediate danger, only exhaustion made worse by the triplets’ accelerated growth. Evie needed fewer hours at the office and more control over when she rested. Leopold listened to every instruction as if it were a battle strategy, then dismissed everyone from the room except Evie.
“You were right,” he said. “Removing you the moment Darleen challenged you would have rewarded her.”
Evie settled against the pillows. “That admission sounded painful.”
“It was.” His honesty drew a tired smile from her. “But you were also wrong to work until you nearly collapsed.”
“I ate. I rested. I followed Lara’s limits.”
“You received threats and pretended they had no effect.” Leopold placed the preserved message beside her. “Courage is not the same as being unaffected.”
The observation struck too close to the truth. Evie had survived her family and Francesca by refusing to show fear. Yet the bond meant Leopold felt what she concealed, and the triplets reacted to emotions she could not reason away. “I don’t know how to keep working without giving Darleen opportunities.”
“Then we change the battlefield.” Leopold proposed moving the project team to a secure floor and limiting visiting access. Evie countered that ordinary employees should not be punished or displaced. Together they designed a smaller protected studio where she could work flexible hours with her chosen team.
The solution was ready by morning. Leopold expected Darleen to object through lawyers or the contract board. Instead, she arrived at the mansion carrying a formal gift from the Blackhart Pack and requested a private audience. Her arrival bypassed the office restrictions entirely and transformed Evie’s safest place into a stage for pack diplomacy.
Max advised refusing. Pack custom made the decision complicated: rejecting a ceremonial gift could be treated as a public insult and threaten the project alliance. Evie recognized the same pattern Darleen used at work—turning aggression into etiquette so resistance looked unreasonable.
“Let her in,” Evie said. “With Paula present.”
Darleen entered the sitting room carrying an ornate silver box. She claimed the contents were herbs traditionally given to women carrying Alpha heirs. Doctor Lara had not inspected them, so Evie did not touch the box.
“You think I would poison you in Leopold’s home?” Darleen asked.
“I think medical gifts should be examined by a doctor.” Evie’s calm answer left no insult to exploit.
Darleen turned to Leopold. “This is what your life will become. Human suspicion, doctors, guards, and compromises. The elders expected you to choose a Luna who could stand beside you without forcing the pack to weaken itself.”
“No one chose a Luna for me,” Leopold said.
Darleen opened the box herself, letting the scent of dried leaves spread through the room. To the wolves it smelled warm and medicinal, linked to births celebrated across generations. She described mothers becoming stronger after drinking it and pups responding to the first taste through the bond. Evie felt nothing but unease. The ceremony had been designed for a she-wolf whose body shared the same instincts as the pack. Accepting it blindly would require her to treat human biology as an inconvenience rather than the reality keeping the triplets alive. She asked Darleen for a written list of ingredients, dosage, and contraindications. Darleen supplied the list too readily, as if she had prepared for the question.
Paula moved closer to the table, careful not to touch the contents. Darleen mocked the guard’s caution and recited the herb’s traditional uses, but she never directly told Evie to consume it. That omission felt deliberate. If the gift proved dangerous, Darleen could claim no one had instructed a human to follow wolf custom. If Evie rejected it, she could be accused of insulting the pack. The trap depended on everyone valuing politeness above her safety. Evie closed the lid and thanked Blackhart for acknowledging the pregnancy, wording her response so acceptance of the ceremonial gesture did not imply medical consent. Paula logged the box into evidence storage the moment Darleen’s hands left it.
“Not yet.” Darleen moved closer. “A mate bond created by a curse is not the same as love. Once the heirs are born, you may discover that instinct was all you felt.”
The words found the fear Evie had never voiced. Leopold protected her because the bond delivered her pain into his body and because she carried his children. She did not know what remained when duty and magic were removed.
Leopold sensed the doubt immediately. He turned away from Darleen and faced Evie. “The bond tells me when you hurt. It does not make me respect your work, regret the way I judged you, or choose to change how I lead.”
Darleen’s expression hardened. Before leaving, she looked at the unopened silver box. “Have the doctor test it. You will find nothing dangerous.” Doctor Lara later confirmed the herbs were harmless to wolves—but one ingredient could trigger severe contractions in a human pregnancy. Laboratory analysis showed the concentration was higher than a normal ceremonial dose, though still within the range a strong she-wolf might tolerate. The gift had been designed to pass pack scrutiny, and only Darleen had known exactly who would receive it. When Lara asked whether Evie had inhaled or tasted any of it, Leopold’s face went bloodless. A tradition had come within one careless cup of killing all four lives bound to him.