The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 95: Switching places

Liam’s POV

​The air in the room was toxic. I could smell Leo’s scent all over her—lake water and heat—and it made my wolf want to rip his throat out. I looked at Scarlett, expecting her to pick me... of course she has to pick me... I’m her mate. She wants me... she’ll feel more comfortable in my arms than in my brothers’, who were nothing more than crushes.

​"Scarlett, choose," I demanded, already confident she would pick me.

​"What nonsense is this?" she rasped, her face flushed with a feverish glow. She looked at us with glazed, glassy eyes, her mind clearly still half-submerged in whatever nightmare had broken her. "Fine. You can all fucking stay."

​"Scarlett—" Leon started, but she cut him off with a weak, trembling hand.

​"But I’m not choosing," she whispered, a delirious edge to her voice. "Since you’re all so worried... you can switch places. Every fifteen minutes. One stays on the bed, the other two wait... I can’t... I can’t deal with the fighting."

​I stiffened. Switching places? Like we were guards on a shift? I looked at Leo, who was still holding her, his face full of smug triumph that shifted into annoyance at her words.

​"I’m staying first," Leo snapped, tightening his grip. "I’m already here."

​"The hell you are," I growled, stepping toward the bed. "You’ve had your time. Leon and I just got here."

​"Stop it!" Scarlett cried out, clutching her head. The fever was clearly taking hold; her skin was radiating a heat that was unnatural, even for a shifter. "Leo... fifteen minutes. Then Liam. Then Leon. If anyone growls, everyone leaves."

​Leo let out a frustrated huff, but he stayed put, glaring at me over her shoulder. I checked the clock on the wall. 2:15 AM.

​I sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, my back against the wood, while Leon took the rug by the window. It was the most humiliating moment of my life. Three Alphas. The future of the Pack. Sitting in the dark like dogs waiting for a bone.

second hand of the clock tick by. I could hear Leo whispering something to her, his hand stroking her hair. Every time he touched her, my blood

my eyes narrowing. It wasn’t just a crush. Leo was acting like a male who had found his mate. But he couldn’t have.

I snapped the second the hand hit the

a soft moan of pain in her sleep, and he froze. He reluctantly slid out from

get comfortable, Liam," he hissed

didn’t answer him. I climbed into the space he had just vacated. The sheets were hot—from her fever and from him. I pulled Scarlett into

small hands clutching my

Scar," I whispered, my heart thudding. Of course

Leon was watching us, his jaw tight, his eyes tracking my every move. And Leo was pacing the balcony, his

looking at her... it wasn’t just protective. It was possessive. It was

to take root in my mind

No. It was impossible. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t make mistakes like that. She

Leon were just confused. They had always been protective of her, and after the way Ethan treated her today, their hero complexes were probably just working overtime. They were feeling the echoes of my bond because we

chest, her arms tightening around my waist as she buried her face deeper into my shirt. A surge of triumph flared in my gut. See? She knew. She

minutes felt like

but the air in the room grew dense. I looked up, ready to snap that

the words in my throat. Leon was the quiet one. He was slow to anger, never impulsive like Leo, and never as loud as me. But I knew that look. It was the calm before a hurricane. If I pushed him now, he wouldn’t just growl; he’d burn the whole room down, and

a low, frustrated snarl, I carefully untangled myself from her. I felt her whimper at the loss of

pacing like a caged animal. I leaned against the doorframe, watching Leon slide into the bed with

really happened, Leo?" I whispered, my voice low and full of worry. "Don’t

wasn’t just a nightmare. It’s like she’s living through a war in her head.

slow, sickening roll. Shifters had vivid dreams, but this sounded like something else. Something darker. And Scarlett... Scarlett was once a