The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate

Chapter 143: Forbidden

Leo’s POV

​The announcer stepped forward, holding the microphone as he prepared to shout her victory to the skies. "And now, for our champion, Samant—"

​"Silence," I growled, cutting him off mid-sentence.

​The stadium went dead quiet. I didn’t wait for an escort. I stepped off the high platform, my boots hitting the dirt with a heavy thud. I walked straight toward the armored figure, my eyes fixed on her.

​Up close, I sized her up. She was taller than my Scarlett. Her body was leaner than the curves I remembered. And her hair, peeking out in thick braids, was as black as coal. Scarlett’s hair had been the color of dark chocolate. Every piece of evidence told me this was not her. My mind knew it, but my soul was acting like a compass pointing North.

​I stood right in front of her. I leaned in and inhaled deeply, but the scent was all wrong. Instead of the vanilla and nutmeg that used to haunt my dreams, I smelled desert rain and bitter, crushed herbs.

​But I didn’t back down. "Take off your helmet," I commanded. "At least the people should see the face of their champion."

​She froze. She looked as if she wanted to bolt, but she stayed rooted to the spot. Slowly, she raised her hands and began to move them in quick, sharp patterns.

knew sign language—my fathers had forced us to learn it for silent communication during hunts. She was

talk?"

​She signed again. Yes.

was sure I had seen her speaking to that warrior earlier. "Why can’t you remove your helmet?" I

had been with earlier stepped forward, bowing low to hide the tension in his eyes. "Alpha Leo, please forgive her. She belongs to a strict sect of the Zahra tribe. In our tradition, a woman

scratching at my insides, screaming that there was something behind that helmet that I needed to see. "I don’t care about the vow," I growled, stepping into her personal space. "In the Full Moon Pack, we

the platform with a worried expression. "Please, respect our ways. She is a guest of the Iron-Claw. Is there something wrong? Do you suspect her

was acting like a madman because a stranger’s movements reminded me of a dead girl? How could I explain that my wolf was currently trying to tear through my ribs just to get a look at her? How could I explain that even though she smelled like a stranger and looked like a stranger, the air in my

I said, my gaze never leaving her armored face, "then she must spar with me. Just

felt the tension, their cheers dying out into a heavy, expectant silence. Alpha Musa looked like he wanted to protest, but I didn’t give him the chance. I reached into my belt and pulled out a training knife, the

second, then reached back and grabbed a

she was tired, the specific way she

didn’t dodge the way I had trained her, or how Liam and Leonard had taught her. Her movements were quicker, aggressive, and entirely new. She spun the spear with a grace

of dust and motion. I pushed her hard, testing her reflexes, looking for that one familiar slip-up. But there was nothing. Her style was different—so completely different. She fought like someone born of the desert and the sun, not the cold forests