The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate-Chapter 44: Drunk

Scarlett’s POV

​"What is Liam doing here?" Leo hissed, his face contorting with a mix of fear and possessive rage. He looked at the door, then back at me, and I saw the familiar flicker of cowardice return to his eyes.

​He couldn’t be caught. Not by his fathers, and apparently, not even by his own brother. If Liam saw him here, the questions would start. The secret he had guarded for two years—the secret that I was his fated mate—would be revealed.

​Without another word, he turned and bolted toward the balcony. He didn’t even look back at me. With a soft grunt, he vaulted over the railing, disappearing into the darkness of the rain-slicked trees just as the doorknob began to rattle.

​My heart felt like it had been dropped into a vat of acid. Again. He had left me again the second things got difficult. If only he knew that the very brother he was hiding from was just as bound to me as he was. If only any of them realized the Moon Goddess had played the ultimate trick on us by tying my soul to all three.

​A soft, hesitant knock sounded against the wood.

​"Scarlett?" Liam’s voice came through, muffled but thick with an emotion that sounded like grief. "I know you’re alone in there. I saw Ethan go down to the study with the fathers. Please... just let me in for a minute." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

​I stood frozen in the center of the room, my breath hitching. The scent of Leo’s rain and pine was still hanging in the air; if I let Liam in, he would definitely know Leo was here.

​I walked over to the door, but I didn’t unlock it.

​"Why are you here, Liam?" I whispered. "To tell me you were the ones who called for Ethan to save me, huh?"

​"I’m here because I can’t breathe," Liam choked out on the other side. I heard a heavy thud—he had leaned his own weight against the door. "Scarlett, I’m confused... I’m... scared... I’m..." He choked on his words.

​My brows pulled together, but before I could speak, he continued.

"I promise I’ll get you away from Ethan, Scarlett," Liam choked out. "Just give me a little time. I’m working on a plan. I’m going to make this right."

​A little time? My brow furrowed, a cold, hollow laugh bubbling up in my chest.

​"A little time for what, Liam?" I asked bitterly. "Do you want to tell everyone the truth? Will you tell your fathers and brothers that we are mates?"

A ​heavy, crushing silence filled the space. ​It was a thick, suffocating silence that told me everything I needed to know. I could hear his jagged breathing on the other side, the sound of an Alpha who was powerful enough to lead a pack but too terrified to lose his inheritance for a girl whose parents were labeled traitors.

​The hope I didn’t even know I was still holding onto finally withered and died.

​"That’s what I thought," I said, my voice hardening. "Stay away from me, Liam. Don’t come to this door again. Don’t look at me in the hallways. You had two years to find your spine, and you’re still looking for it."

​"Scarlett, please, you don’t understand the pressure—"

​"I understand that Ethan looked your father in the eye and claimed me while you stood there like a statue!" I snapped. "Once the three months are up, we will meet. We will say the words, we will officially reject each other, and we will go our separate ways. Until then, stay out of my way."

​I sat on the edge of the bed, my ears straining until the sound of Liam’s retreating footsteps finally faded into the heavy silence of the hallway. Tears gathered in my eyes, hot and stinging, but I blinked them back. I refused to let them fall for a mate who didn’t even have the backbone to claim me.

​Time passed slowly. Painfully.

​The room grew darker as night settled in, but Ethan still hadn’t returned. I checked the ornate clock on the mantle; it was almost 11:00 PM.

​Just as I was wondering if he had abandoned me to the mercy of this house, a heavy knock sounded at the door.

​I stood up, my heart doing a nervous flutter, and went to unbolt the door. The moment it swung open, the first thing to sweep through my nose wasn’t the usual scent of woodsmoke and power—it was the sharp, overwhelming sting of expensive bourbon and aged whiskey.

​Ethan stood there, swaying slightly. He furrowed his brow, his eyes glazed as he looked at me. "You are still here?" he muttered, his voice thick. "The maid... didn’t she give you your new room?"

​I couldn’t speak. My throat felt tight. I just stepped back as he stumbled into the suite. I shut the door and bolted it again, watching him slowly make his way to the bed.

​​He collapsed onto the mattress, lying on his back with his feet still dangling off the edge, touching the floor. He looked drained; the powerful Alpha from earlier was gone. In his place was a man who looked... exhausted. Like he had been fighting something no one else could see.

​I frowned, wondering why he was this drunk.

​"Are you okay?" I asked softly, stepping closer.

​He let out a bitter, humorless scoff that vibrated in the quiet room. "Okay?" he repeated, his eyes still closed. "I wish."

​Seeing him so vulnerable made something in me soften. Despite everything, he was the only reason I wasn’t still on an auction block or bought by a monster. I moved to the edge of the bed and sank to my knees on the floor. Without a word, I reached out and began unlacing his heavy leather boots.

​"What are you doing?" he groaned, though he didn’t pull away.

​"You can’t sleep with your shoes on," I whispered, sliding the first boot off and setting it aside.

​He opened his eyes then, staring up at the ceiling.

​Before I could finish the second boot, his hand shot out, wrapping around my wrist with surprising strength for someone so intoxicated. With a sudden, forceful tug, he pulled me upward. My breath left me in a rush as I was hauled onto the bed.

​In a blur of movement, he rolled, pinning me beneath him. His weight was heavy, grounding, and the scent of whiskey and woodsmoke swirled around us.

​"What are you doing?" I gasped, my voice trembling with fear and shock as I stared up into his dark, glazed eyes.