CHAPTER 209: THE BROTHERS UNITED

AIDEN POV

"Stop!" I shouted, jumping between Lily and Caleb as they both stepped forward to offer. "Nobody’s sacrificing themselves for anyone!"

The pack stared at me like I’d lost my mind. Elder Iris shook her head sadly. "Aiden, the old magic is clear. One parent must take Hope’s place, or she’ll be forced to leave at dawn."

"Then we change the magic," I said firmly.

"You can’t change something that old," Caleb argued. "I’ve studied these spells for years. They’re written in the very fabric of reality."

"Maybe one person can’t change them," I agreed. "But what about three?"

Brock caught on first. "The triplet bond."

"Exactly." I grabbed both my brothers’ hands, feeling the link we’d shared since birth spark to life. "We’re not just three different people. We’re three parts of one soul."

"That’s just pack legend," Caleb said, but his voice trembled with hope.

"Is it?" I challenged. "Remember when we were kids and one of us got hurt? The other two always felt it. When one of us was happy, we all smiled. We’ve been sharing strength our whole lives."

Elder Iris’s eyes widened. "The Three-as-One forecast. I thought it was just about leadership."

"What prophecy?" Lily demanded, still holding Hope tight.

"Ancient text about triplets born to an Alpha line," Elder Iris explained quickly. "It says when the pack faces its greatest threat, three who are one will unite their power to rewrite destiny itself."

Hope looked up at us with those wise baby eyes. "The scary magic says one parent has to leave. But what if three uncles take the place instead?"

My heart stopped. "Hope, no. We’re not leaving you either."

"Not leave," she said patiently. "Share. If three uncles share the job, maybe no one has to go far away."

I stared at my brothers. Could it actually work?

"It’s never been tried," Elder Iris warned. "The risk-"

"Is worth it," Brock interrupted. "Hope shouldn’t lose her parents. And this pack needs all of us."

Caleb nodded slowly. "If we split the wandering spirit’s tasks three ways, maybe we could take turns. One brother goes to help broken worlds while two stay home."

"And we rotate every few months," I added, the plan forming in my mind. "That way Hope always has family nearby, and the pack maintains stable leadership."

"But what if it doesn’t work?" Lily asked. "What if you all get trapped between dimensions?"

I looked at Hope’s trusting face, then at my brothers who’d stood by me through everything. "Then we face that together too."

The moon was getting lower. We were running out of time.

"How do we do this?" Brock asked.

Elder Iris pulled out an old book, her hands shaking as she flipped pages. "Here. The Ritual of Shared Destiny. But boys, if this fails, you could all die."

"If we do nothing, Hope dies anyway," I pointed out. "She’s just a kid. She shouldn’t have to carry this load alone."

I held out my hands to my brothers. "Together?"

"Together," they said at the same time.

We formed a triangle around Lily and Hope, our hands joined. Immediately, power flowed between us - stronger than I’d ever felt it before. The triplet link that had always connected us blazed like fire.

"I can feel both of you," Caleb whispered in wonder.

"Your thoughts, your emotions, everything," Brock added.

For the first time in our lives, we were truly united. Not just brothers, but one mind in three bodies.

The old magic around Hope began to shift, confused by our combined presence. It had expected one replacement, not three linked souls offering to share the load.

"It’s working," Elder Iris breathed.

Hope’s glow changed from golden to silver as the traveling spirit magic recognized our offer. But then something went wrong. The power didn’t just connect us to Hope’s fate - it connected us to every broken world in existence.

Suddenly, I could see them all. Thousands of worlds where war raged, where hate ruled, where people had forgotten how to love. The weight of all that pain crashed down on us at once.

"Too much," Brock gasped, falling to his knees.

"Can’t... handle... all of it," Caleb panted.

I felt like my mind was being torn apart. How had Hope carried this load alone? How had she stayed sane knowing about all this pain?

Through our link, I felt Hope’s tiny hand touch my forehead. Instantly, the overwhelming feelings organized themselves into something manageable.

"Don’t try to fix everything at once," she said wisely. "One world, one problem, one choice at a time."

With her direction, we learned to filter the visions. Instead of seeing every disaster, we could focus on worlds that were ready for help. Instead of feeling everyone’s pain, we could sense where hope was greatest.

"Better?" Hope asked.

"Better," I replied. The power still flowed through us, but now it felt like a tool instead of a weapon.

The moon touched the horizon. Dawn was coming fast.

"Is it done?" Lily asked nervously.

Hope smiled and settled into her mother’s arms like a normal baby. "I can stay. My uncles will help the broken worlds now."

Relief flooded through me. We’d done it. Hope could have a normal childhood while we handled the duties she’d carried for so long.

But then Elder Iris looked up from her book, her face pale with fear.

"Boys, there’s something else. Something I missed."

"What?" I asked.

"The ritual didn’t just transfer Hope’s tasks to you. It transferred her memories too. All of them. From every lifetime she’s lived."

A chill ran down my spine. "What does that mean?"

"It means you’re about to remember hundreds of past lives. Different names, different looks, different families you’ve loved and lost. The human mind isn’t meant to hold that much history."

I looked at my brothers, seeing my own fear reflected in their eyes.

"What happens to us?" Caleb asked quietly.

Elder Iris’s voice was barely a whisper. "You might forget who you are. You might think you’re someone from a past life instead of Aiden, Brock, and Caleb Silver."

"For how long?" Brock asked.

"I don’t know. Maybe forever."

The pack stood in stunned silence as the full horror of our situation became clear. We’d saved Hope, but we might lose ourselves totally in the process.

And then, as the first ray of sunlight broke over the mountains, the memories hit us like a wave.

I was Aiden Silver, Alpha’s son - but I was also Marcus the Knight, defender of a medieval country. And Thomas the Teacher, who’d led children through a plague. And David the Diplomat, who’d stopped three wars.

Beside me, my brothers crumpled as their own wave of past lives crashed over them. We’d lived hundreds of lifetimes, loved thousands of people, died and been reborn again and again.

The worst part wasn’t the misunderstanding. It was the sadness. We remembered losing everyone we’d ever cared about, over and over, across centuries of life.

"Who am I?" I heard Brock whisper, but his voice sounded different. Older. Like someone else entirely.

I tried to answer, but when I opened my mouth, three different names came out at once.

Hope began to cry as she watched her uncles slip away from her, lost in an ocean of memories that weren’t originally theirs.

And somewhere in the chaos of my fragmenting thought, I realized we might have made the worst mistake of our lives.