The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate-Chapter 72: In My Bed

Scarlett’s POV

​"Who is there?" Liam growled. His tone sounded deep and annoyed.

He didn’t move from the bed; he just sat there with his head down, his golden eyes still glowing.

​"Alpha Liam? It’s Camila," her voice came through the thick wood of the door. "I just wanted to check on you. I saw you were hurt during the fight. Are you okay?"

​Liam let out a low groan. It sounded as though he were in physical pain from stopping. The hot fog in my brain cleared instantly; it was as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over me. I scrambled away from him, falling flat on my back on the mattress to put some distance between us.

​"Get away from my door, Camila." Liam shouted. His voice was rough and frustrated.

​"I just want to see if you are okay," she said again. She sounded like she wasn’t going to move until the door opened. "The pack is worried. We all are."

​"Fuck off!" Liam roared. The sound was so loud it made the windows rattle in their frames.

​The hallway went silent. Finally, I heard the sound of her heels clicking away on the stone floor. She was gone.

​I didn’t wait. I rolled off the bed, my legs feeling like jelly. I needed to get out of this room before the wolf took over again. But as I reached for my dress on the floor, Liam’s hand shot out. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me back toward the heat of his body.

​"No," I snapped. I shoved him away with everything I had. My mind was sharp now; the hunger was gone. All I felt was a cold, hard knot in my chest.

​I grabbed the dress Ethan had bought me. It was wrinkled and ruined, just like this moment. Liam didn’t try to touch me again. He just stood up slowly and pulled on his jeans, his muscles still tight and twitching.

​"Scarlett," he said, his voice low and serious. "I want this. I want the bond. I want us."

​A few weeks ago, those words would have been my whole world. I would have died to hear him say that. But now? They felt like nothing. They felt like a lie.

​"I was just made Alpha," he went on, stepping into my space. "Things are changing. Give me a few days to fix this. I will tell everyone. I will announce to the whole pack that you are my mate. No more hiding."

​I stopped fixing my hair and looked at him. Then, I let out a mean, painful laugh.

​"Are you not ashamed anymore?" I mocked him. "Am I not the traitor’s daughter? That’s what you called me. That’s what you let everyone else call me while I was scrubbing your floors."

​He stood tall, his jaw set so tight I thought his teeth might break. "I don’t care about that anymore," he said. "I don’t care what they say."

​I finished pulling on my shoes and looked him right in the eyes. The love I used to have for him was buried under too much pain.

​"Well, I care," I said. My voice was as cold as a winter grave. "I can’t be with a man who stood by and watched me go through hell. I can’t be with a man who ordered the hanging of my parents."

​I didn’t wait for him to answer. I turned my back on him and walked out of his room.

​I moved fast. My heart was beating in my throat as I reached my own room. I locked the door and leaned against it, breathing hard. I felt dirty—not just from the sweat and the sand, but from how easily I had let him touch me.

​I stripped off the ruined dress and got into the bath. I scrubbed my skin until it was red; I wanted to wash away the smell of Liam. I wanted to wash away the memory of his hands. Once I was done, I didn’t even bother with clothes. I was too tired. I just lay on the bed naked with the heavy blanket covering my body.

​Zoe was silent now. My wolf didn’t have anything to say; she was quiet, as if she were also exhausted by the madness. I closed my eyes as reality set in. I had almost lost control. I had almost had sex with Liam. Thank goodness it didn’t happen. If it had, I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.

​My mind drifted to Ethan. Why wasn’t he back yet? He had walked away so quickly. I wanted to go check on him in his room, but I didn’t want to piss him off or seem too needy. He was an Alpha with his own secrets.

​Eventually, my eyes grew too heavy to keep open. I fell into a deep, dark sleep.

​Later that night, I woke up. I didn’t open my eyes, but I knew I wasn’t alone. I heard soft footsteps on the floor; they were steady and careful.

​"You really should start locking your door, Scarlett." a voice whispered.

​It was Ethan.

​I wanted to open my eyes. I wanted to let him know I was awake, but my body wouldn’t move. I stayed still, listening to the sound of his breath. He let out a long, tired sigh. Then, I felt the bed dip. He got onto the mattress behind my back. He moved close, his body heat radiating through the blanket.

​He leaned in, and I felt his lips press a soft, lingering kiss on my neck.

​I gasped inwardly. My heart skipped a beat.

​"Oh, how I wish I could be with you, Scarlett," Ethan whispered against my skin. His voice was thick and heavy. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

​He kissed my neck again, and that was when I smelled it—the sharp, bitter scent of alcohol. He had been drinking. A lot.

He didn’t move away; he just leaned his forehead against my shoulder, his breathing ragged.

​"Why isn’t it you?" he groaned into the pillow. "It should have been you. I swear, Scarlett... I would have given you the world."

​My heart stopped. I understood exactly what he meant. He was talking about the mate bond. He was wishing we were fated. But his voice sounded so broken, so full of despair. Did that mean he had finally found his real mate? Was that why he ran away so fast earlier?

​He placed another long, hot kiss on the side of my neck. I gasped, biting my lip hard to keep from making a sound.

​He hummed, a low vibration that traveled through my skin. "I know you aren’t sleeping, Scarlett," he said. I could hear the smirk in his voice, even through the drunkenness.

​I refused to respond. I kept my eyes shut tight, my breathing shallow. I wanted to see what he would do. I wanted to see how far the "perfect" Alpha would go when he thought I was lost in dreams.

​"Open your eyes," he warned, his voice dropping into a dark command. "Open them, or I’ll force you to."

​I stayed still. I didn’t move a muscle.

​"You asked for it," he muttered.

​Suddenly, the weight of the blanket was ripped away. I felt the cold air hit my bare skin, and then I heard him choke out a curse.

​"Fuck," he hissed.