The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 44: Drunk

Scarlett’s POV

​"What is Liam doing here?" Leo hissed, his face contorting with a mix of fear and possessive rage. He looked at the door, then back at me, and I saw the familiar flicker of cowardice return to his eyes.

​He couldn’t be caught. Not by his fathers, and apparently, not even by his own brother. If Liam saw him here, the questions would start. The secret he had guarded for two years—the secret that I was his fated mate—would be revealed.

​Without another word, he turned and bolted toward the balcony. He didn’t even look back at me. With a soft grunt, he vaulted over the railing, disappearing into the darkness of the rain-slicked trees just as the doorknob began to rattle.

​My heart felt like it had been dropped into a vat of acid. Again. He had left me again the second things got difficult. If only he knew that the very brother he was hiding from was just as bound to me as he was. If only any of them realized the Moon Goddess had played the ultimate trick on us by tying my soul to all three.

​A soft, hesitant knock sounded against the wood.

​"Scarlett?" Liam’s voice came through, muffled but thick with an emotion that sounded like grief. "I know you’re alone in there. I saw Ethan go down to the study with the fathers. Please... just let me in for a minute."

​I stood frozen in the center of the room, my breath hitching. The scent of Leo’s rain and pine was still hanging in the air; if I let Liam in, he would definitely know Leo was here.

​I walked over to the door, but I didn’t unlock it.

​"Why are you here, Liam?" I whispered. "To tell me you were the ones who called for Ethan to save me, huh?"

had leaned his own weight against the door. "Scarlett, I’m confused... I’m... scared... I’m..." He

together, but before

I’ll get you away from Ethan, Scarlett," Liam choked out. "Just give me a little time. I’m

time? My brow furrowed, a cold, hollow laugh bubbling up

Liam?" I asked bitterly. "Do you want to tell everyone the

​heavy, crushing silence filled the space. ​It was a thick, suffocating silence that told me everything I needed to know. I could hear his jagged breathing on the other side, the sound of an Alpha who was powerful enough

hope I didn’t even know I was still holding onto finally

come to this door again. Don’t look at me in the hallways. You had two years to find

don’t understand the

while you stood there like a statue!" I snapped. "Once the three months are up, we will meet. We will say the words, we will officially reject each other, and we will go our

the heavy silence of the hallway. Tears gathered in my eyes, hot and stinging, but I blinked them back. I refused to let them fall for a mate who didn’t even have

​Time passed slowly. Painfully.

darker as night settled in, but Ethan still hadn’t returned. I checked the ornate clock on the mantle;

me to the mercy of this

door. The moment it swung open, the first thing to sweep through my nose wasn’t the usual

eyes glazed as he looked at me. "You are still here?" he muttered, his voice thick.

couldn’t speak. My throat felt tight. I just stepped back as he stumbled into the suite. I shut the door and bolted it again, watching him slowly make his way