The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 14: Their Secrets

​Scarlett’s POV

​My eyes widened in pure terror. My heart, which had only just begun to slow its frantic pace, kicked back into a desperate gallop. I stood there shivering and naked, slick with Leo’s scent and the heat of his release, while another brother stood just inches away on the other side of that thin wooden door.

​Leo stiffened instantly, his hand freezing on the brass knob. His muscles corded with sudden tension, and for a fleeting second, I saw a flash of something akin to panic in his eyes before it was replaced by a gaze of cold, murderous steel. He looked ready to kill Leon if he dared to step through that door.

​But before the handle could click open, a sharp, familiar voice cut through the silence of the hallway.

​"Leon? What the hell are you doing at Scarlett’s door?"

​It was Lana. My heart skipped a beat.

​"Lana, mind your fucking business and get back to the main house," Leon’s voice boomed, thick with a suppressed, guttural growl. He sounded beyond pissed off.

​"No," Lana snapped, her voice rising in defiance. "I know what you three are like. She’s exhausted and she’s had enough for one night. If you don’t leave this hallway this instant, I will scream and alert the entire pack. I’ll make sure Father knows exactly which of his sons is prowling the servants’ quarters like a dog in heat."

praying fervently to the Moon Goddess. Finally, there was a

her voice softening. "Scarlett?

my eyes pleading for help. He stared back at me, his expression shifting from

I finally managed to croak out, my throat feeling raw, as if I’d

she would

she whispered, her footsteps finally

felt ice-cold the moment we were truly alone again. Leo didn’t move toward me. He didn’t offer a cloak to cover my shame or a single kind word to steady my nerves. He looked at me—at my torn clothes, my wild hair, and the marks he had just branded onto my skin—with a look of total, clinical blankness. There was no warmth left, no trace of the man who

like I was a mistake. Like I was a

voice as flat and sharp as a blade. "This stays

He opened the door just a crack, scanned the hall with a soldier’s precision, and vanished into the shadows,

brother, and whose body had been claimed by the other two. I stayed on the floor for a long time, my skin prickling from the drafty air and the fading heat of Leo’s touch. The smell of him—dark chocolate, musk, and that heavy, territorial alpha scent—was everywhere. It was in my hair, on my thighs, and

shaking hands, I forced myself to stand. I moved like an aged woman, my muscles aching and my core throbbing with a dull, insistent heat. I reached for the washbasin, pouring the remaining cold water over a

​I scrubbed.

he had marked me, and between my legs where his fingers had stretched my virginal walls. I wanted to wash him away. I wanted to wash Liam away. I wanted to wash Leon away. I wanted to erase the feeling of being a prize they fought over in the dark. But