The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 85: Cross Over

Scarlett’s POV

​I looked to my left. Liam was struggling. Camilla had frozen completely twenty feet up. She was sobbing, her hands shaking so hard she couldn’t grip the stone.

​"Move, Camilla!" Liam barked, his voice full of Alpha authority. "It’s just a wall! Just reach up!"

​"I can’t! Liam, I’m going to fall!" she shrieked.

​Liam tried to reach down to haul her up by the rope, but the angle was wrong. Camilla’s foot slipped, and she went into a full panic, swinging wildly. Liam’s fingers lost their grip on the dusty rock as she yanked him downward. They didn’t fall to the ground—the safety lines caught them—but they were disqualified. Liam’s roar of frustration echoed off the spires as the guards lowered them down.

​Beside them, Sienna and Bianca were also failing. Their warrior partners were strong, but the sisters had no core strength. They were being dragged up like sacks of grain, and eventually, the Elder signaled for them to be cut.

​I looked over at Leon. He was moving like a machine. He wasn’t talking to Elara, and she wasn’t talking to him. They moved in a strange, silent sync. When she slipped, he caught her without a word. When he reached a difficult spot, she waited. They reached the top just as Ethan and I hauled ourselves over the final ridge.

​I rolled onto the flat, sun-warmed stone at the summit, my lungs burning. Ethan stood up immediately, offering no hand to help me. He was staring at the woods ahead, his mind already on the next task.

​I looked back down the cliff. Out of the fifty couples that started the climb, only twenty had made it to the top. The rest were being led away, their festival over.

​Ethan finally looked down at me, his eyes cold again. He reached out and unclipped the rope from my waist, tossing it aside like it was trash.

​"That was too close, Scarlett," he said, his voice flat. "If you slip again, I might not be able to catch you."

​I stood up, brushing the stone dust from my leggings, my eyes burning with a mix of hate and unwanted attraction.

bought a better rope," I

the treeline, where the sound of the rushing river awaited us. I could feel his gaze on my back, and further away, I felt Leon’s eyes

is the Rapids Sprint!" the Elder shouted over the thunder of the river. "Twenty pairs remain. You must cross the

looked at the stones. They weren’t flat path stones; they were sharp, moss-covered teeth of rock sticking out of the

skin just like they had the night before. "This isn’t the cliff, Scarlett. The current is fast. If you slip, don’t try

not going to slip," I said, my

a voice rasped

a grim determination. Elara was silent, her face white as she stared at the rushing water. She looked as if she wanted to

stay out of our way, Leon," Ethan growled, staring at Elara

replied, his voice flat. He looked at me then, his eyes lingering on my mouth for a split second before he

were already at the water’s edge. Leo didn’t say anything to us. He just stepped onto the first stone, his balance perfect, his body coiled like a spring. He moved with a grace that made the rest of us

​"Go!" the Elder yelled.

with him. The rock was like ice, and the moss made it as slippery as oil. I landed hard, my boots skidding. Ethan caught my waist, hauling me upright

hissed into my

the sprint. It was a

their footing; the woman screamed as she was pulled into the foam, her partner

and Elara were right beside us. Elara had frozen on a high stone, the

over the

a massive feat of strength, his muscles bulging as he landed on a tiny, pointed rock. He wobbled, his boots

a heartbeat, the pain in his expression was

​"Scarlett!" Ethan yelled.

reached for a flat-topped stone, but as my boot hit the surface, the moss gave