The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 93: Her room

Leo’s POV

​I thought she would push me away. I was prepared for the sting of rejection, for her to tell me that she belonged to Ethan or that our bond was a mistake. But as I leaned in and our lips finally met, she didn’t pull back. She responded.

​The moment her mouth opened under mine, excitement and pure, unadulterated pleasure rushed through my veins like lightning. I groaned into the kiss, the sound vibrating between us as I hooked my arms under her thighs and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around my waist instinctively, her wet skin slick against mine. My wolf was clawing inside me, howling for dominance and demanding that I mark her right here under the moon, but I pushed him back. I just wanted her. I kissed her passionately, tasting the cold lake water and the fire of her soul.

​God, I had wanted this for so long. For two years, I had pictured us like this—kissing in the water, in the open air.

​But then, she suddenly pulled away.

​The heat in my blood turned to ice the second I looked at her. Her eyes were wide, and the sea-blue I loved was gone, replaced by the glowing, primal intensity of her wolf. My heart sank into my stomach. She hadn’t kissed me because she wanted to; she had kissed me because her wolf had taken the reins. She didn’t know how to control her wolf’s emotions yet, and the bond had simply forced her hand.

​I felt heartbroken. The passion I’d felt seconds ago now felt like a hollow lie. It wasn’t real for her. It was just the mechanical pull of a mate bond she was fighting with every fiber of her being.

like miles. I stayed where I was, the freezing water suddenly feeling much colder as

followed her out, pulling on my jeans in silence. The playful mood from earlier was dead. As we walked back toward the packhouse, the silence

of her balcony. I didn’t want to let her go yet. I was selfish, and the dream I’d had earlier was still haunting

her brow furrowed in a deep frown. "No, Leo. Absolutely

full of entreaty. "I won’t do anything. I swear. I just... I miss sharing a bed with you. Remember when we were kids? When the thunderstorms were too loud and you’d sneak into our room? You’d sleep right between us because you said we were the only ones who could keep

balcony, then back at her. "The monsters are a lot louder these days, Scarlett. I just want to make

made the lake water feel like a warm bath. "And as for those monsters? You and your brothers

scale the trellis. She moved with a jagged, angry grace,

move. I couldn’t. I stood in the shadows of the packhouse grounds, the grass damp beneath my bare feet. I knew she could feel me there. The bond was a two-way street; she could feel my pulse, my guilt, and the stubborn way my wolf refused to leave his mate’s side. Ten minutes

the doors on the balcony

didn’t look happy, but she didn’t look away either. We stared