The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 87: Against Each Other

Scarlett’s POV

​I looked at the center of the field. Five circular wooden platforms had been raised. They weren’t stable; they were mounted on massive iron gears.

​"Each pair will stand back-to-back," the Elder continued. "The platforms will spin. You will be given ten silver-tipped arrows. You must hit the moving targets released from the treeline. If you fall off the platform, or if you miss more than three targets, you are finished."

​Ethan led me toward the third platform. He didn’t say a word, but his movements were stiff, his jaw tight. He was still reeling from the fact that I’d found him so quickly in the woods.

​"Back-to-back, Scarlett," he commanded, stepping onto the wood.

​I climbed up and pressed my spine against his. He was a pillar of heat. I could feel the steady thrum of his heart through his shoulder blades. My skin prickled where we touched.

​"Don’t lean away," he muttered. "If you shift your weight, we both go down. Trust my balance."

​"Trust is a heavy word, Alpha," I whispered back, my fingers tightening around the grip of my bow. "Maybe just focus on the targets."

​I looked to my left. Leo and Tessa were already in position. Leo was standing perfectly still, but his eyes were fixed on us.

​To my right, Leon and Elara were mounting their platform. Leon looked exhausted, but his focus had shifted. He wasn’t looking at me anymore; he was looking at the woods with a grim, determined stare. Elara stood behind him, her face a mask of quiet concentration. She reached out to steady herself by grabbing Leon’s belt, and he nodded once, anchoring his feet into the wood.

​"Begin!"

​The gears beneath us groaned, and the world began to spin.

​The movement was slow at first, then faster. The trees, the crowd, and the sky blurred into a dizzying circle of color. My stomach lurched. I felt Ethan’s weight shift, his heels digging in to keep us centered.

​"Targets! Mark!" Ethan shouted.

​From the woods, wooden discs were launched into the air. They flew fast, zig-zagging through the wind.

​"Three o’clock!" Ethan barked.

I drew an arrow, spun my torso slightly, and fired. The silver tip whistled through the air and shattered the disc into a cloud of

target soared over his side. Thwack. Another disc

I leaned back to balance him. When the platform jerked, his hand reached back blindly, his fingers brushing my

fast, but Leon was a rock. He timed his shots perfectly, his arrows splitting the air with a deadly hiss. Elara, though she looked pale, didn’t miss. She moved with him, her eyes sharp as

I heard a loud crack. One of the warrior pairs had lost their balance and were

out!"

top speed. Three targets were launched at once

​"Now!" Ethan roared.

He fired. Hit. I drew my last arrow, pivoted on my heel, and released it. It caught

ground to a halt. The world stopped spinning, leaving me breathless. Ethan turned around, his hands catching my

every mark. Leon was breathing hard, but he looked at

were also flawless. They stepped off their platform with a terrifying

pack. "The final trial is here... The three Alphas and their partners will face

wasn’t just a contest anymore. This

and Scarlett. Leo

The three cousins crashed together in the center of the ring. They

stay behind me!" Ethan barked, parrying a heavy

wasn’t a doll to be protected. I gripped

opening. Tessa, Leo’s partner, was trying to circle around to hit Ethan’s blind side. She was fast, moving with the silent grace of a hunter. I lunged. The tip of my spear whistled through the

me,

spun the spear, blocking the heavy hit with the shaft. The vibration rattled my teeth, but I didn’t buckle. I stepped into her space,

is out!" the Elder

had nothing left to lose. He moved with a raw, desperate power. While Leo was distracted by Ethan, Leon delivered a punishing kick to Leo’s chest and

​"Leo is out!"

us.

like watching two storms collide. But I saw the moment Leon lost. His eyes flickered toward me for a split second—a moment of distraction, a flash of that raw pain he’d been carrying all day. Ethan didn’t miss it. He stepped inside Leon’s guard and threw him out

just me

she would take the prize with Ethan. The thought made my

forward, holding a long, thin blade. Her face wasn’t quiet or kind anymore. Her eyes were wide, burning with a hidden rage I didn’t understand. She lunged at me

​Slash.

shirt was torn, and blood was beginning to