The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 20: Ripe

Scarlett’s POV

​I bit his lip hard, the awful taste of his blood filling my mouth.

Leon groaned, a sound filled with frustration and pain, and finally pulled back.

I braced myself, my heart hammering against my ribs. I expected him to lash out, to scream, or to pin me back against that stone wall until I told him what he wanted to hear.

​But he didn’t.

​He just stood there, his chest heaving, his thumb swiping the blood from his lower lip. He looked at me with an expression that made my skin crawl; it wasn’t anger. It was a dark, terrifying promise.

​"Leave," he said, his voice low but vibrating with rage. "Leave, Scarlett. But don’t think for a second that this is over. I’ll be seeing you soon."

​I didn’t stay to ask what he meant. I didn’t dwell on his words or the way his eyes seemed to glow. My only thought was escape. My body was screaming, every joint feeling as if it were being pulled apart by hot wires. The shift was coming, and I had to be away from him—away from all of them—before it hit.

​I scrambled for my gown, my fingers shaking so badly I could barely pull the fabric over my burning skin. I didn’t bother with the buttons. I just held the fabric to my chest and bolted out of his room.

​I burst through the door of the servants’ quarters, my gown clutched to my chest. Every breath felt like inhaling fire, and my skin was so sensitive that even the fabric felt like sandpaper. I just needed to reach my room. I just needed to survive the next two hours.

​But as I rounded the corner toward my door, a shadow stepped out of the dim hallway.

​"Scarlett."

man, a friend of my late father’s—or at least, he had

Jose," I breathed, trying to steady my voice. "Please,

in his late fifties, his hair graying at the temples, but he was still a powerful

dear Scarlett?" he asked softly. The way he looked at me made my stomach churn. It was a perverted, lustful gaze that felt

me; I have to leave," I said, trying

was faster. He grabbed my wrist, pinning me against the rough stone wall. He pressed his body against mine, his weight heavy and suffocating. He didn’t care that

tonight, little one," he murmured, his breath smelling of stale ale and meat as he leaned into

hated the way he spoke, as if

I’ll speak to the Alphas for you. I’ll make sure you’re no longer a maid. No longer a

grazing my lower lip. I shuddered in disgust, my skin crawling where he

set you up in a nice place, far from this packhouse. All expenses covered." His smile turned darker, more predatory. "You’ll

my fever. "I won’t... and

You’ll come crawling back. The triplets will never stop punishing you, Scarlett.

traced my neck, lingering exactly where Leo had just kissed me—lingering over the hickey that had sent Leon into a rage. Jose’s eyes darkened when he saw the

on my wrist until I winced. "The triplets aren’t the only ones

worst," I snapped, finding a sudden

his throat as I

heart pounding like a drum. I collapsed onto my small, worn-out bed,

mind refused to quiet down. The weight of

a few more hours...

lucky, I’d get my wolf, and maybe—just maybe—I’d find my mate. A small part of me dared to hope that he would be strong, powerful

someone like Sir Jose? Or one of the triplets? The thought made me shudder. No. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t be

shut, pushing away the terrifying thoughts. Slowly, my body relaxed, and before