The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 30: Absence

The atmosphere around the long banquet tables was loud and lively. Meat was being carved, wine was being poured, and the hum of hundreds of voices filled the cool evening air.

​Liam sat rigidly, his plate untouched. His mind was back in that small, cramped room, feeling the weight of Scarlett’s arms around his waist.

His eyes kept scanning the lines of servants moving between the tables, but she wasn’t there. A flicker of irritation—or perhaps it was anxiety—twisted in his chest.

Is she still crying?

He pushed the thought away and tried to focus on the pack around him, but his gaze kept drifting back to the empty space where she should have been.

​Beside him, Leon was also staring. He wasn’t looking for a servant; he was looking for Scarlett. His own words from the library echoed in his head, sounding more cruel in the silence of his mind than they had in the heat of the moment.

"I don’t want to see you ever again."

He had said it to protect himself, to keep the walls around his heart strong. But now her absence felt wrong—like a sudden drop in pressure that made it difficult to breathe.

He scanned the faces of the girls carrying trays. No brown curls. No downcast eyes. The unease inside his wolf was slowly turning into something painful.

​Leo noticed her absence and had no intention of waiting in silence. He needed to see her. He needed to make sure she was actually okay and not collapsing somewhere. He caught the eye of a passing maid. "You," he called out. "Go tell Scarlett to bring me a bottle of water. Now."

just needed her to stand in front of him so he

looking confused. "Alpha Leo... I can’t find her. She’s not in

been trying to tell him: her scent. It wasn’t just

room," Liam commanded a nearby guard, his voice filled with unease. "Find her and bring her

same time, Leon grabbed the arm of another servant.

in a tense, vibrating silence until the messengers returned. The guard looked at Liam, then at his brothers. "She... she isn’t in her room, sir. And I can’t

in a

silenced the entire courtyard. Conversations died

and Alpha Lennox exchanged a lightning-fast glance. Lennox looked at his sons, his expression

asked calmly, though his

he stood up. "She’s not

her to fetch me some herbs from the pack healer. Don’t let a servant’s absence ruin the

a spring. Beside him, Leo’s claws were digging into the wood of

going to lie?" Lennox’s voice rang in Levi’s mind through

tell them the truth now, they will shift and hunt her down before she even reaches the border. So we have to delay. By the time they realize she isn’t coming back, Scarlett will be on that jet, thousands of miles away from this pack. It’s for

and gave

never ate. They sat in a row, three powerful men pretending to be calm while their

The plates were cleared, and the pack began to relax, but Scarlett still hadn’t returned. Every second she was gone, the air around the brothers grew thinner. They didn’t speak to

them hid their emotions carefully, unwilling to let the others see the panic rising inside