Scarlett’s POV
Alpha Ethan didn’t even blink at Liam’s outburst. He slowly tilted his head, his expression remaining composed.
"You did call ," Ethan admitted, his voice terrifyingly calm. "You pleaded. You begged. And I told you I was too busy. Do you rember that part, Liam?"
Liam’s jaw tightened. "But you went! You got her!"
"I went for myself," Ethan countered, his eyes flashing with annoyance. "The mont I ended that call, your request ant nothing to . Anything I did after that..."
His gaze shifted briefly to .
"...I did for myself."
The aning of his words hit like a blow.
"So yes," he finished, voice dropping colder, "I got Scarlett for myself."
"You..." Liam moved to attack Ethan, but Alpha Lennox caught him, wrapping an arm tightly around his waist and dragging him back.
"Control yourself!" his father snapped.
Ethan let out a quiet scoff, completely unimpressed. "Why are you all so triggered by this anyway?" he asked, his tone laced with curiosity. His gaze moved lazily between the triplets.
"Scarlett is nothing to you three... right? Just a servant. A traitor’s daughter you couldn’t wait to get rid of."
I froze, my heart stopping in my chest. I looked at Liam. Then Leo. Then Leon. I was screaming inside, begging—just once—for one of them to be brave.
! Tell him! I thought. Tell him we are yours! Tell everyone the truth! My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, her spirit flickering as she waited for a claim that never ca.
Liam looked at the floor, his jaw tight. Leo bared his teeth but stayed silent. Leon just stared at his empty hands, his shoulders slumped in defeat, yet his arm was still locked around .
Not one of them spoke the word mate. Not one of them was bold enough to admit their secret in front of their fathers and brothers.
Ethan’s smirk deepened, seeing their cowardice. "That’s what I thought," he said, his voice dropping into a satisfied purr. He looked at Alpha Lennox and Alpha Levi. "It seems your sons have finally rembered their place."
Lana stepped forward then, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She looked at the wreckage of her brothers’ expressions and then at with a mixture of pity and relief.
"Can we all just stop this?" Lana pleaded, her voice shaking. She turned to Leon, placing a hand on his trembling arm. "Leon, let go. Scarlett is here... it’s not like he’s taking her away. She’s safe. Please, just calm down."
Leon’s fingers finally lost their strength. He let go of my arm, his hand falling limp at his side. He looked at one last ti—a look of pure, shattered agony—before he retreated toward his brothers.
Ethan didn’t hesitate. He reached out and closed his hand around my wrist, pulling firmly back to his side.
"Good," Ethan said, his voice devoid of any warmth. "Common sense finally prevails. Uncles, I trust the guest wing is ready? My woman and I have had a very long day."
He didn’t wait for a response. He turned around, his hand moving to the small of my back, guiding toward the grand staircase. I felt the heavy, suffocating weight of their stares—the triplets’ silent grief and the fathers’ resentnt—burning into my back as we climbed.
We reached the top of the stairs, and Ethan led down the long hallway of the North Wing. He pushed open the heavy doors to the master guest suite and led inside. The mont we were across the threshold, he shut the doors, let go of , and walked over to the window, looking out over the training grounds.
"You can stop shaking now, Scarlett," he said without turning around. "We are alone."
I hadn’t even realized I was trembling.
"Why did you do that?" I whispered, my brow furrowed. "You knew they were the ones who sent you. You knew they wanted back."
Ethan turned slowly, the devilish smirk returning to his lips. "I didn’t stop them from claiming you, Scarlett. Their fear did that. I just gave them the opportunity to show you exactly where you rank in their lives."
My brows pulled together.
Does he know...?
He walked toward , stopping just inches away until I was forced to look up into his cold, handso face. "The answer to your question is yes; I know you are their mate."
My eyes widened. My lips parted, but no words ca.
He scoffed softly, clearly amused by my shock, then he turned around and began unbuttoning the buttons of his suit jacket, his broad back to .
"How did you know?" I managed to ask.
He didn’t answer right away. He took off the jacket, tossing it onto the armchair. Then, his fingers moved to his shirt. One by one, the buttons gave way until he pulled the shirt from his shoulders, letting it pool on the floor.
I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth.
His back was a canvas of dark ink, featuring the most intricate and intimidating tattoos I had ever seen. In the center was a massive, snarling wolf, tattooed in such detail it looked as if it might leap off his skin. Surrounding it were lines of script, ancient words that seed to pulse with a power of their own. But before I could focus on a single sentence, he turned around.
The sight made the air leave my lungs.
His chest was just as heavily marked, but it was the scar cutting through the ink on his ribs that caught my eye. He looked like a warrior who had survived a thousand battles.
"I have my own senses, Scarlett," he suddenly answered as he stepped closer. "The air was thick with the scent of distressed mates. It was practically suffocating. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to see the bond screaming between you and those three cowards."
He stopped just inches from . Without the shirt, his Alpha presence was overwhelming—a wall of heat and raw power that made my wolf, Zoe, tuck her tail in submission.
"But more importantly," he continued, his gray eyes locking onto mine, "they made it so obvious when they called , desperately asking for my help, and I decided that if they weren’t man enough to claim what was theirs, then soone with actual backbone should."
"So... you lied?" I whispered, my heart hamring. "About being... your woman?"
Ethan tilted his head, then he reached out, his thumb grazing the line of my jaw where the bruise had recently faded.
"I don’t lie, Scarlett. I told them you were staying here as my woman. That is a fact. Whether that remains a ’legal protection’ or becos sothing more... well, that depends entirely on how much you want to punish them for staying silent today."
My eyes widened. "What do you an?" I asked, my lips trembling.
He leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear. "Soon... you’ll understand."
My confusion deepened. "Why are you helping ?" I asked, my voice trembling.
Ethan pulled back, his face unreadable. "Who said I was helping you?"
My brow furrowed, but he only smirked and left for the bathroom.
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