The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 98: Confused

Scarlett’s POV

​The morning light was too bright, falling across my eyes and making me frown. My head felt heavy... and my body felt like it had been run over by a freight train. Every muscle ached with a strange, lingering heat.

I blinked several times, my vision finally focusing on a figure sitting in the armchair by my window.

"Lana?" My voice was weak, barely recognizable.

She smiled at me, though her eyes looked unusually tired. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

"You’re back!" I sat up too quickly, and a wave of dizziness washed over me. I ignored it, sliding out of bed to throw my arms around her. "I missed you so much these last two weeks."

Lana hugged me back, but she was careful—almost too careful—as if she was afraid I might break. As my skin brushed against hers, a jolt of sensitivity shot through me. My breasts felt tender, rubbing painfully against the fabric of my cardigan, and there was a strange, dull throb between my thighs that I couldn’t explain.

I pulled away, frowning. I felt... sensitized. Like every nerve ending was on high alert.

"Are you okay, Scar?" Lana asked, her voice tight. "Do you remember what happened last night?"

I rubbed my temples, trying to piece the fragments together. "I... I went to the lake with Leo. We talked..."

Of course, I couldn’t tell her we made out.

"Then we came back here. He begged to stay in my room because he was worried, and I finally gave in and told him he could sleep on the rug. After that... it’s a blur."

floor for a second. "I got back early—my flight was ahead of schedule. I came to check on you around 4:00 AM and found you trapped in a massive nightmare. You were burning up with a fever, Scar. I asked Leo to leave immediately—I didn’t think it was appropriate for him to be here while you were in that state—and I stayed with you to

memory of the dream clawing at the back of my mind. It was the same one. The battlefield. The blood. The

don’t know what I would do without you. I just... I feel so strange this morning. Heavy. And my

Lana said quickly, standing up to smooth out the covers on my bed. "It probably just left you a bit dehydrated and

phantom pressure on my hips—like the ghost of large, heavy hands.

shadows, the scent of pine

out, my

"Yeah?"

anyone else come in here last night? I feel like... I feel like I wasn’t alone

"Just the two of us, Scar.

mirror, the feeling of "missing something" turning into a cold pit in my stomach. "I don’t know. It just

laugh. "You always

mask a lingering smell in the room. A scent I knew all too well.

my head, gripping the edge of the sink. It was impossible. My mind was just playing tricks on me because of

in the water. I touched the faint marks on my neck, my heart squeezing. Those marks

moving," Lana called out from the bedroom, her tone sounding excited. "We’re going shopping. I need a serious hit of retail therapy after that flight, and you look like you

"Coming!" I yelled back.

the hot water stinging my oversensitized skin. Even as I washed, the discomfort between my legs remained—a heavy, used

casual but cute, wanting to feel like a normal twenty-year-old for once. I pulled on a pair of high-waisted light-wash denim jeans and a cropped, soft white knit sweater that hid the marks on my neck perfectly.

applied a bit of lip gloss, my thoughts drifted to Alpha Ethan. Ever since the incident, since the yell and the public humiliation, he hadn’t come

my throat, pushed the heartbreak down, and left the room, heading to Lana’s. She

for a moment, the weight lifted. "Lead the

sleek, red jeep and I slid into the passenger seat. She didn’t waste any time, peeling out of

about twenty minutes later. The streets were lined with designer boutiques and cafes. As we walked