Fated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 78: Small Talks

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Chapter 78

~Jade’s POV~

The rest of the morning passed in a blur.

I barely heard half of what the teachers said, my mind drifting back to Isadora standing in front of my locker, hurt written plainly across her face. The image stayed with me longer than I wanted it to.

We had fought before, but never like that.

Usually one of us would laugh it off or apologize before things went too far. This time I had walked away knowing I had said something meant to sting.

And it had worked.

I tried to focus on class after that, but every time I glanced toward my side where Isadora usually sat, I found the chair empty. She had moved to the back of the classroom to sit beside Silvie instead.

When the bell rang for the next break, I gathered my books quietly and stood up, hoping to slip out before anyone tried to talk to me.

"Hey." I looked up just as Adrian and Silver stepped into my path.

Adrian leaned casually against one of the desks while Silver stood beside him, arms loosely folded across his chest.

"You feeling better now?" Adrian asked.

I blinked. "Better?"

"You called in sick yesterday," Silver reminded me, watching me carefully.

"Oh." I nodded quickly. "Yeah. I’m fine now."

Silver’s lips curved slightly as he studied me. "Funny."

"What is?"

"You smell different." My stomach tightened. "Different how?" I asked carefully.

Silver tilted his head, clearly amused. "More like the Alphas."

My heart skipped. Before I could even think of what to say, his eyes suddenly dropped to my nec and he froze.

My eyes went down to my neck to see the upper buttons on my shirt was undone. I instinctively lifted my hand to cover the side of my throat, but I knew I was already too late.

Silver’s brows lifted slowly.

Ziva, who had been standing a few desks away packing her bag, noticed the sudden silence and walked closer.

"What?" she asked.

Silver did not answer immediately. His gaze remained fixed on my neck, and unfortunately, Ziva followed his line of sight.

Her eyes widened. "No fucking way," she chuckled. At once, heat rushed to my face. Adrian leaned closer to see what they were staring at.

Then he saw it too. For a second, he simply stared. Then he leaned back, running a hand through his hair with a helpless laugh.

"Well," he muttered. "Looks like I don’t have a chance anymore."

Silver immediately punched Adrian lightly in the side, making Adrian groan. "What was that for?"

"Use your brain," Silver muttered. He looked back at me and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry about him."

I shook my head quickly. "It’s fine."

Silver’s smile lingered, and I found myself noticing it more than I expected to. When he smiled like that, it softened his usually sharp features and made him look... unfairly handsome. That and his ash-blond hair or the way he tilted his chin when he spoke.

Ziva stepped closer suddenly, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I have so many questions," she said. I laughed nervously. "But I’ll keep them to myself," she added quickly, holding up both hands.

I appreciated that more than she probably realised. I looked at her and smiled slightly. "Thanks." Then I hesitated before adding, "I already consider you a friend."

The words slipped out before I thought too much about them, and Ziva’s grin widened instantly.

"Good," she said. "Because I already claimed you as one." That was when I noticed movement near the classroom door.

Isadora had stopped just outside. Her gaze moved over the small group standing around me. Then it settled on Ziva and on me.

Something flashed across her face; it was quick, but I still saw it—pain and something sharper, too. Something that almost looked like anger.

"Isa—" Before I could call her properly, she turned and walked away.

The door closed behind her, and an uncomfortable silence lingered for a moment.

Silver cleared his throat first. "Well," he said lightly, "I hope you’re prepared for the training assessments today."

I blinked. "The what now?"

Silver frowned slightly. "The training assessments."

My stomach tightened. "I... don’t know what you’re talking about."

His expression shifted immediately. "Wait." He looked at me carefully. "Isadora didn’t tell you?"

I slowly shook my head. Silver sighed.

"Great." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Looks like I’ll be taking your number then," he said. "I’ll update you on everything."

I stared at him in confusion. "I’m sorry you weren’t informed," he added.

"Well, if it helps, we weren’t either," Adrian said with a shrug.

Ziva immediately punched his arm, making him wince. "What?"

Silver ignored them both. "Well," he continued, "hers will be harder anyway."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

Silver looked directly at me. "Especially with your team."

My mind stopped working for a second there. "Wait," I said slowly. My stomach twisted again. "Team?"

For a moment, none of them said anything.

Adrian, Silver, and Ziva all looked equally shocked by my reaction. I could almost see the moment they realised I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Silver was the first to recover. He rubbed the back of his neck before speaking. "Alright, I guess we should explain from the beginning."

I crossed my arms lightly, waiting.

"We were asked to pick teams of five for the training assessments," he began. "As usual, Adrian, Isa and I teamed up first."

"That part is normal," Adrian added. "And you."

Silver nodded and continued. "Since we needed two more people, and Isa suggested—"

"Ziva?" I guessed.

Adrian shook his head immediately. "Nope. Silvie jumped in last minute." He turned toward Ziva and mouthed a quiet sorry.

Ziva only shrugged like it did not bother her at all, and I found myself smiling at that.

"So?" I prompted, still trying to understand where this story was going.

Silver sighed. "Our homeroom professor did not approve the team."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because only students who were present at the time were allowed to be chosen," he explained. "And since you were absent yesterday, we couldn’t add you to the list."

Adrian groaned softly. "Which somehow left us stuck with Vera Vega all thanks to Silver."

I burst out laughing before I could stop myself. "Sorry," I said quickly, covering my mouth as I tried to calm down. "I really am sorry, but that is unfortunate."

Ziva snorted beside me.

I shook my head. "So because of me, you tagged Isadora, and now you are stuck with both Silvie and Vera."

"Yeah," Adrian muttered. "It is not exactly the dream team."

Ziva suddenly straightened, clearly pleased with herself. "However," she said proudly, "I had the perfect plan." All three of us looked at her waiting for an explanation. "I stayed behind and made sure nobody picked me."

I blinked at her, trying to follow her logic. My eyes moved between the three of them as I attempted to understand what she meant.

Silver laughed quietly when he saw my confusion.

"What she means," he explained, "is that she wanted to be in a team with you. So she intentionally stayed behind to be among the incomplete students who would be grouped later. That way, when they rebuilt the teams, both of you would end up together."

My eyes widened.

"So we are together as a team?" I asked.

"Yup," Ziva confirmed with a grin. "And we can thrash their asses later if the opportunity presents itself." She punched Adrian lightly in the arm to prove her point.

"Ouch," Adrian complained, rubbing the spot. "Not if Silver and I can help it."

I laughed, feeling quite normal after the whole situation I had been in, then Silver handed me his phone, a soft smile plastere don his lips. "If you do not mind, Jade. I’d love to have your number."

I gave a small nod and took his phone. Having friends was beginning to grow on me. It kind of helped distract me. But deep down, my chest tightened. It felt like I was cheating on Isadora.

"You’re allowed to have other friends," Javelin added calmly, "but you need to talk to her. Maybe it’s not too bad having a friend who really knows what’s going on."

After typing the number, I handed the phone over to Silver. "Here you go." As soon as he collected it, a thought occurred to me. "Wait," I said. "Who are the other team members?"

Ziva nodded casually. "It’s about time you asked." I scoffed a laugh. "It’s simple. Claire, who was also absent yesterday, Kai, the student council vice president and—"

"And Dean," Silver added.

The smile on my face faded immediately, my eyes blinking while the news sank in.

"You mean... Dean?"