Fated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 45: Public: Losing Control

**************

Chapter 45

~Jade’s POV~

"Xander..."

His lips captured mine before I could protest.

For a second, my eyes remained open, wide, my mind scrambling to understand what was happening. This was the training field. Students were everywhere, even though they weren’t close to us.

To make matters worse, the sun was still high above us, and we weren’t hidden or alone.

Was Xander truly losing control right here?

The thought barely formed before it dissolved.

He kissed me desperately, without caution, but as though something inside him had finally broken free.

His hand slid from my waist to my wrist, fingers wrapping around it, and I felt the faint tremor there. He was holding himself back more than he was holding me.

Xander’s warmth surrounded me, pressing into my skin, lungs, and thoughts until everything else faded. For a brief, dangerous moment, my mind went quiet.

I did not pull away.

My fingers curled into the front of his shirt, instinct taking over before reason could interfere. The kiss deepened. There was a growl in his chest, and I felt it against my lips.

When we finally broke apart, it was not because he wanted to. It was because something snapped us back to reality.

A sharp gasp cut through the air. We both turned toward the sound simultaneously.

Near the equipment shed stood the transfer student, Ziva.

Her notebook had slipped from her hand and landed on the ground at her feet. Her eyes were wide at first, but she recovered quickly, lifting both hands in a small gesture of surrender.

"I didn’t see anything," she said hurriedly, lowering her voice. "I swear. Your secret is safe, Professor."

My face burned instantly. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I stepped back from Xander as though distance alone could undo what had just happened.

Of course, someone had seen us as the universe chose this exact moment to test me.

Xander stepped back as well, his breathing uneven for a few seconds, before I watched the shift happen. Control slid back over him like armor locking into place. His shoulders straightened. His jaw unclenched. The Alpha mask returned, though I could still feel the heat radiating from him.

The damage, however, was done.

Rather than appearing flustered like I felt, he cleared his throat and addressed Ziva with authority.

"Inform your classmates. Training with me today is over," he announced. "Professor Aqua will take over from here."

Ziva bent down, retrieved her notebook, and walked toward us calmly. She did not look shocked anymore.

As soon as she reached us, she added quietly, "I meant what I said. I do not repeat things I do not understand."

I blinked, still trying to collect myself when Xander voiced, "You are the transfer student, right?"

She nodded once, not sparing him a glance. "Ziva."

Her gaze shifted briefly to Xander, assessing him without fear, which in itself was unusual. Most people either avoided his eyes or stared too long.

"You might want to be more careful," she said softly. "The walls here have more ears than you think, sir. I know you wouldn’t want another scandal affecting her name with the Mock Trials around the corner."

Ziva did not wait for Xander’s reply. She turned and walked away as if she had not just witnessed something juicy.

Once Ziva was out of range, I looked up at Xander, my heart still racing for reasons that had nothing to do with training.

"You lost control," I said quietly.

His eyes were still darker than usual, the heat in them far from extinguished. "Yes," he admitted. "And you are right. I need to go home."

****************

~Xander’s POV~

I knew the second I stepped off the field that this was not over.

Control had probably slipped through my fingers in front of some of the students, and no matter how quickly I dismissed the students or handed the session over to Professor Aqua, the damage had already been done.

The bond between us had taken a wilder turn because of my lack of control, and there were too many eyes in this school that understood more than they pretended to.

I did not even make it halfway down the administrative corridor before I was summoned.

Principal Vale’s office private doors were already open when I approached, as though she had been expecting me. She stood near her desk, hands folded neatly in front of her, expression composed but far too perceptive.

"Close the door, Xander," she instructed.

I obeyed, forcing my breathing to remain steady. The heat beneath my skin had not cooled since the field.

She studied me for a long moment before speaking again. "I assume you understand why you are here."

"I can guess."

Her gaze sharpened slightly. "Your relationship with Miss Jade is becoming... noticeable."

The word irritated me more than it should have. "With all due respect, Principal, it is not just a relationship."

Her brow lifted. "No?"

"She is my mate."

The admission came out firmly. I did not soften it. I did not attempt to reframe it into something more acceptable. It was the truth, and I was done pretending otherwise.

A silence settled between us, heavy but not surprised.

"I think at this point everyone in the school is very much aware," she said carefully.

That stopped me.

"Okay," I drawled, my control thinning.

Principal Vale nodded once. "I am not uninformed about the circumstances surrounding you and your brothers."

"Then you know that ignoring the pull is not an option," I added before she could dispute our connection, my voice tightening despite my effort to remain calm. "You know that asking me to behave as if she is just another student is unrealistic."

Her eyes hardened slightly at my tone. "Lower your voice, Xander." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

I had not realised I had raised it.

The heat surged again, anger threading into it. "I will not apologize for something that is beyond instinct. She is not a distraction to me. She is—"

"She is a student under my authority," Principal Vale interrupted evenly, though there was a flicker of surprise at the edge of her composure. "And this is the school premises. Whatever bond exists between you does not excuse public displays that disrupt the environment."

My jaw clenched. I could feel the shift trying to push forward, my wolf pacing beneath my skin.

"You expect me to ignore it," I said.

"I expect you to exercise discipline," she corrected. "You are an Alpha. You lead by example. If you cannot control yourself in front of students, what message does that send?"

The words struck deeper than I wanted to admit.

She stepped closer to her desk, her tone softening only slightly. "I am not asking you to deny your mate. I am asking you to keep your private matters private while you are here. No more public displays. No more moments that invite speculation."

I dragged a hand through my hair, forcing myself to breathe through the heat and the frustration tangled inside me. She was not wrong, and that was the worst part.

After a long pause, I nodded. "Understood."

Her gaze lingered on me, searching for defiance. When she found none, she inclined her head. "You are dismissed."

I left her office with restraint stitched tightly back into place.

The hallway outside felt too narrow. I had taken only a few steps when I saw Jade standing near the lockers at the end of the corridor, speaking quietly with Isadora. The moment her eyes lifted and found mine, everything inside me tightened again.

The bond pulsed.

She excused herself from the conversation and walked toward me, her expression careful, searching. I could still taste her from earlier, still feel the imprint of her against me. My body reacted before my mind could interfere, heat flaring immediately.

"You are staring," she said softly when she reached me.

"I am trying not to," I replied honestly.

Her lips parted slightly, and I had to fight the instinct to pull her into the nearest empty classroom and finish what I had started on the field, but Principal Vale’s warning echoed in the back of my mind, and the bond did not care about warnings.

"I’m sorry, Xander, but we need to be careful," Jade murmured.

"I know."

Knowing did not make it easier. It took everything in me to step back instead of forward.

The rest of the day was hell for me. Jade was right there, yet I couldn’t do anything about it. All I could do was recall how my first kiss with my mate tasted.

By the time I returned home, the heat had not subsided. If anything, it had intensified.

Xavier was already in the living room when I walked in, pacing slowly near the windows. The air inside the house felt thick with competing scents, tension layered over tension.

"You skipped school," I scoffed, unsure if I envied them or was angry.

He did not deny it. "I could not focus. Her scent is everywhere now. I’m pretty sure it filled everywhere in school, too. Add that to everyone else’s, and it becomes noise I cannot filter."

Leaning against the kitchen counter with arms folded, Xade added, "It is not just him. Last night didn’t go well either."

I glanced at him. "What happened?"

"A man kissed his girlfriend in front of me," Xade said flatly. "I broke his nose."

"You what?" Xavier snapped, losing his cool.

"You assaulted someone over that?"

"I did not plan to," he replied. "It happened before I thought about it."

We glanced at each other, unable to scold or reprimand each other. None of us was thinking clearly anymore.

"I lost my temper with Principal Vale," I admitted, shocking my brothers.