Fated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 38: Caged

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Chapter 38

~Jade’s POV~

Kai did not look away after delivering his statement, and I realised quickly that he had not spoken to provoke me but because he believed what he was saying.

"My wolf?" I repeated, keeping my voice even although Javelin stirred uneasily within me. She or anyone who was told would have some form of reaction.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation. "You compensate well with instinct and intelligence, and your awakening during the race closed the gap, but before that moment, you were almost overtaken. That should not have happened."

I folded my arms loosely, more to steady myself than to appear defensive. "I came in second."

"You survived because something triggered," Kai corrected calmly. "That is not the same as maintaining control from the beginning."

His tone was not insulting. It was analytical. That unsettled me more than if he had mocked me outright.

"You’re assuming too much," I said.

"I am observing," he returned. "A Lycan’s baseline is higher than that of a werewolf."

My ears perked at the mention of Lycan. No one knew I was a lycan, save for my mates, the royals, and Lycans, then my mum and Silvie.

I doubt that Kai and Silvie had that much contact in the first place, so how...

"Your reflexes were sharp, but your raw output fluctuated. That is not normal."

He must have sensed something when he paused; I guess my facial expression gave it all away. Javelin’s presence flickered again, quieter this time. I knew she was listening.

Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut cleanly through the hallway.

"Jade."

My name carried authority even without volume.

Kai’s gaze shifted past me, and I turned.

Xavier was walking toward us, yet there was no mistaking the purpose behind them. The others who had been watching straightened subtly. Adrian stepped back. Dominica looked away first. Silver pushed off the lockers.

Dean remained still.

Kai inclined his head slightly as Xavier stopped beside us. "Vice President," Xavier acknowledged.

"Professor," Kai replied evenly.

For a moment, silence stretched between them. "Is there an issue?" Xavier asked.

"An observation," Kai answered. "One that requires correction sooner rather than later."

Xavier’s eyes shifted to me briefly before returning to Kai. "We will handle it."

Kai stepped back without argument, though his gaze lingered on me for a fraction longer before he turned and walked away. The others dispersed slowly after him.

I exhaled, though I had not realised I had been holding my breath.

"You attract attention," Xavier said quietly, not as criticism but as fact.

"That seems to be happening a lot today. Don’t be too surprised."

His lips almost curved, but the expression did not fully form. "Walk with me."

We had barely taken a few steps when another presence joined us.

Xander moved with that same controlled presence that had stunned the entire field earlier. Even now, students shifted instinctively to give him space.

"You will resume training," he said without preamble.

I blinked. "Immediately?"

"You were already behind," Xander replied. "The race confirmed it."

I felt irritation rise. "I came in second."

"You almost lost control before your awakening corrected it," he said flatly. "That correction should not have been necessary."

Before I could argue further, Xade appeared from the opposite corridor, hands tucked casually into his pockets, though his eyes were far from casual.

"We watched your sessions before the trials," he said. "All of them. Something has been off for weeks."

My stomach tightened.

"As a Lycan," Xade continued, tilting his head slightly, "your physical threshold should consistently exceed that of werewolves. Yet you were matching them, not surpassing them. Had that awakening not triggered mid-race, the outcome would have been different."

I felt heat rise to my face. "I was injured."

"Your healing compensated," Xander countered.

Xade’s expression softened slightly, though his words did not. "We can feel it, Jade. Your wolf’s aura is not stabilising. It is weakening."

That made Javelin recoil sharply inside me.

"It is not!"

My eyes widened. I did not intend to go defensive, but I could feel Javelin’s hurt. Our mates were seeing her as weak again, and I did not want to do that to her.

I got worried.

"It will be fine," Xavier interrupted gently, calm enough to steady the sudden spike in my pulse. "We would not be standing here if it were beyond correction."

His certainty slowed my breathing, even if it did not erase the unease settling in my chest.

Xander stepped forward then, his gaze sharpening. "When was the last time you shifted?" he asked evenly, "and how many times so far?"

The question hung heavier than it should have. When was the last time I shifted? How many times so far?

My stomach dropped, and all three of them noticed.

It was subtle at first — the way Xavier’s gaze sharpened, the way Xander’s shoulders squared slightly, the way Xade’s casual stance stiffened. They did not need words. They felt the shift in me.

And that alone made my discomfort worse.

"Jade," Xade said slowly, stepping closer, his eyes narrowing as they searched my face. "What did you do?"

"I didn’t do anything," I replied quickly, perhaps too quickly.

Xander did not blink and asked again. "When was the last time you shifted?"

The hallway felt suddenly too quiet.

I bit my lower lip, my teeth pressing hard enough to hurt. Javelin stirred again, not defensive this time, not proud — just small.

"My first shift," I said finally.

Silence. For a good minute, silence engulfed me. It was almost like they were trying to understand what rationality was behind it.

Xade’s hand came up to his face in disbelief. He face-palmed, his mouth partly open as if he could not decide whether to speak or curse.

Xavier’s brows creased. He exhaled slowly and shook his head once, clearly trying to process what he had just heard.

But Xander... Xander erupted.

"You did what?"

The sharpness in his voice made me flinch.

"I..." My throat tightened. I forced myself to meet his eyes even as my fingers curled into my palms. "I didn’t want anyone to see her."

The words sounded weaker outside my head than they had inside it.

"So you caged her?" Xade lashed out.

I shuddered. It was the first time I had ever heard him raise his voice at me. Xavier immediately lifted a hand, stepping slightly in front of him. "Xade."

But the damage was done. The word he said echoed in my mind and I suddenly felt choked, alone... just in a...

A memory flashed before my eyes. A memory of trees flashing by like someone was running.

Caged.

That word echoed again in my mind, pulling from my thoughts or memory before I could make sense of it.

Javelin, though, recoiled at it.

Xander’s jaw tightened, but his voice lowered instead of rising again. "Why did you want to hide her?" he asked, more controlled now. "Is she deformative?"

I shook my head quickly. "No. She’s... she’s not. I just—" My breath caught. "I got scared."

The admission felt raw. Xade took a step toward me, but when he did, I instinctively stepped back.

The movement froze him.

Xavier shifted immediately, placing himself slightly between us, one hand reaching back to steady me at the elbow. The touch was grounding, not restraining.

Xade ran a hand through his hair, frustration bleeding out of him. "I’m sorry," he muttered. Then, softer, "I shouldn’t have yelled."

He looked at me properly, and the anger in his eyes dissolved into something else entirely. Regret, maybe?

"I’m sorry," he repeated. And then he turned and walked away.

I watched him go without saying a word. How could I? My chest felt tight.

When I looked back at Xavier and Xander, something unspoken had already passed between them. Perhaps a shared conversation via the mind-link or... I don’t know.

"It’s a long story," Xander said quietly, almost to himself, and well half to me, sensing my worry.

"A story that is neither one of us to share," Xavier interjected smoothly.

I nodded, though I did not fully understand what they meant.

Xander’s gaze returned to me, and for a moment, it lost its hardness. "No wolf should ever be caged," he said firmly. "Scratch that. No one should ever have to go through that. Put yourself in her place."

The words landed harder than the shouting had. With that, he turned and walked in the same direction Xade had gone.

Leaving just Xavier and me.

I could put myself in Javelin’s place because, like she I experienced a bit when I was whisked away to the Lycan King’s Palace.

"I didn’t know," I said quietly.

Xavier closed his eyes briefly, as though choosing his response carefully. "It is still not an excuse, Jade. Didn’t she..."

"Javelin," I supplied.

"Yes. Didn’t Javelin ask?"

"She did," I admitted. "I was just... caught up in my own head. I didn’t think of her needs properly."

He studied me for a moment.

Then he reached out, his hand hovering near my shoulder as if he intended to pull me into him. He stopped halfway. Instead, he gently brushed a loose strand of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"You can go home and freshen up," he said softly. "Tomorrow, we begin your training properly. You won’t be in the right frame of mind for anything tonight."

I nodded.

"Okay?"

"Sure."