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?"

on the other side. I heard a heavy thud—he had leaned

brows pulled together, but before I could

give me a little time. I’m working on a plan.

a cold, hollow laugh

time for what, Liam?" I asked bitterly. "Do you want to tell everyone the truth? Will you

I could hear his jagged breathing on the other side, the sound of

I didn’t even know I was still holding

my voice hardening. "Stay away from me, Liam. Don’t come to this door again. Don’t look at me in the hallways. You had two years to find your spine, and you’re still looking for

please, you don’t understand the

Ethan looked your father in the eye and claimed me 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

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

​Time passed slowly. Painfully.

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

had abandoned me to the mercy of this

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

me. "You are still here?" he muttered, his voice thick. "The maid... didn’t she give

the suite. I shut the door and bolted it again, watching him slowly make his