The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 38: Back Home

Scarlett’s POV

​"Leave for where?" I asked, my voice thick with panic. "Is he taking me back to the rogues? To my real buyer?"

​She didn’t answer. She simply set the tray down and gestured toward the bathroom. A cold dread settled deep in my stomach. In sixty minutes, I would be back in that black SUV... heading toward a destination only the Goddess knew.

​I forced myself to eat, knowing I would need the strength. Every bite tasted sour in my mouth.

I showered quickly, dressing in a fresh set of clothes the maid had left—a thick sweater and sturdy boots. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The bruises on my cheek were healed, but my eyes... my eyes looked different. There was a flicker of something in them. Not hope, exactly, but a desperate need to survive.

​Exactly one hour later, the door opened. Ethan stood there, dressed in a sharp charcoal shirt, looking every bit the breathtaking man I remembered.

​"Ready?" he asked, his gray eyes scanning my face.

​"Do I have a choice?" I countered.

​A devilish smirk played on his lips. "None at all."

​He led me downstairs and out to the gravel driveway. The SUVs were lined up again, engines already idling. I climbed into the backseat, expecting him to join me, but he stayed outside for a moment, talking into his phone.

​"They’re already at the gate?" I heard him say, his voice vibrating with dark amusement. "Impatient."

​My heart skipped. They? Who was at the gate?

massive iron entrance of the Obsidian estate. As we rounded the final curve, I saw them. Three familiar SUVs were blocked by a line of Ethan’s armed guards. And standing in front of the lead vehicle were three

​Liam, Leo, and Leon.

through a war. Their hair was disheveled, their clothes were wrinkled, and even from this distance, I could see the raw, wild fury in

the car," I whispered, my hand reaching for the

back," Ethan said calmly. He pushed his door open, stepped out of the car, and shut

watched through the tinted glass, my breath fogging the window as Ethan approached them. He moved with a terrifying elegance, stopping several feet in front of the triplets. Liam, Leo, and Leon were staring directly at the SUV. They couldn’t see me through the dark film, but I felt their gaze like a burning heat against my skin. My wolf, Zoe, began to pace frantically in my mind. Even after everything they had done—the rejections, the coldness, the two years of hell—the mate bond stirred and hummed deep in my blood at the

slept in a week; Leo was practically vibrating with a restrained need to shift and tear someone apart; and Leon’s

They didn’t move toward the car. They didn’t demand to see me. Instead, they turned in unison and climbed back into

muffled by the soundproof interior. I lunged for the door handle, but it was locked from the driver’s side. "Don’t leave

their cruelty...It was far better than this. Better

got back into the car, his

​"Drive," he commanded.

gates and onto the main road, I realized the triplets weren’t leaving. Their cars pulled out from the shoulder of the road, forming a tight, protective escort

the three black SUVs trailing us

confusion and fear. "Why are they following us? Where are

back, crossing one leg

he said calmly, his gray eyes finally meeting mine. "We are going to the Full Moon Pack. You’re

my eyes widening. "The Alphas sent me away. They told me never to come back. They’ll

this time," Ethan replied, sounding certain. "This time,

do you mean,

cigarette case, though he didn’t light one. He just turned his head back to the window, watching the blur of green trees as we crossed the official boundary line. His silence was a wall—one I knew I couldn’t break. He had ended the

back into the leather seat, my hands trembling in my