Scarlett POV
I froze, my eyes widening as Ethan’s face ca into focus—his lips pressing firmly against mine. This wasn’t a chaste peck or a polite gesture; it was a possessive claim. His hand was warm and demanding on my waist, pulling flush against his hard, shirtless chest.
The shock lasted only a second before the adrenaline from the fight and the lingering anger at the sisters boiled over. I reached up, my fingers curling into his damp hair, and kissed him back. I poured every bit of my emotion into it.
Whistles and shocked whispers erupted across the training yard. The air practically humd with the collective gasp of the pack, but I ignored them all. What I couldn’t ignore was the suffocating, mountain-high wall of Alpha rage radiating from the center of the field. I could feel the triplets’ anger—it was thick, acrid, and obvious. None of them moved, but I knew they were vibrating on the edge of a shift, their inner wolves howling at the sight of another man marking their mate in front of the world.
Ethan finally pulled back, his gray eyes dark with a mixture of triumph and admiration. He reached up, gently tucking a stray chocolate-brown hair behind my ear.
"I’m proud of you, Scarlett," he murmured, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
I felt a deep blush creep up my neck. Was this real for him? My heart raced. Was he truly falling for , or was this an act to annoy the triplets?
He didn’t give ti to overthink it. He flashed a devastating smirk and gestured to the open mat. "Since you’ve already ward up, do you want to train with ? For real this ti?"
"Yes," I breathed, needing the distraction.
We moved to the center of the mat, purposefully close to where the triplets were standing. Ethan didn’t go easy on , but the "training" felt more like a dance. Every ti he parried my spear with his practice staff, he found a way to close the distance.
He lunged, and as I dodged, he spun around, his chest hitting my back. His arms wrapped around for a split second longer than necessary. "Watch your footing, future Luna," he whispered against my ear, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine.
I heard a low, guttural growl from nearby. I didn’t have to look to know it was Liam.
"He’s touching you too much," Liam’s voice hissed in my head, raw with jealousy. "Scarlett, get away from him."
I ignored the link, focusing on Ethan as he tripped playfully. I fell, but he caught before I hit the sand, pulling back up into his arms. Our faces were inches apart. He leaned down, his lips brushing the sensitive skin of my neck right below my ear—a lingering, teasing kiss that made my toes curl.
"You’re a fast learner," he teased, his hand sliding down to rest on my hip.
"I’m going to kill him," Leon’s voice erupted in my mind, dark and murderous. "I’ll rip his throat out."
Leo spat, his tone uncharacteristically sharp. "Scarlett, stop this. Now."
I looked over Ethan’s shoulder, finally eting the triplets’ eyes. They were standing in a row: three gods of muscle and fury, their faces contorted with a pain they couldn’t voice. They had to stand there and watch their mate being branded by another Alpha.
Ethan stepped even closer, shielding from their view with his broad shoulders. He grabbed my hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing my knuckles while staring directly at the triplets who were behind .
"You’re doing great, Scarlett," Ethan whispered, his eyes gleaming. "Let’s give them sothing else to talk about."
He spun again, and for the first ti in two years, I didn’t feel like a maid or a traitor. I felt like the center of attention. But as Ethan’s lips found my neck again, I caught sight of Elara, Gamma George’s daughter, standing near the edge of the training mats. My heart sank a little. Unlike the other high-ranking girls who had spent the last two years making my life a living hell, Elara had actually been kind. She was one of the few who had slipped extra bread in the kitchens or looked the other way when I was exhausted.
But right now, she was staring at us with a look that left confused. Her eyes weren’t just angry; they were burning with a mix of betrayal and raw, obvious pain.
I frowned, my movents slowing. Why was she glaring at like that? Did she think I was a social climber now? I wanted to reach out, to ask her what was wrong, but Ethan’s hand tightened on my waist, pulling my focus back to him.
"Stay with , Scarlett," Ethan murmured, his voice dropping into that low, intoxicating tone.
He didn’t give a chance to look back at Elara. Instead, he lunged in a mock-attack, forcing to parry. As I did, he used the montum to spin into his chest, his shirtless skin hot against my back. He leaned down, his lips brushing the sensitive cord of my neck, right over my pulse point.
I felt a violent jolt of electricity, but it was drowned out by the absolute carnage happening in the mind-link. All three brothers were screaming in my head but no one made an attempt to stop Ethan...
cowards...
I gritted my teeth, leaning back into Ethan’s embrace instead of pulling away.
He spun again, but as he pulled close for another "instruction," I caught sight of Elara again. She hadn’t moved. She was still watching us, her lower lip trembling, her knuckles tight as she gripped a training dagger.
There was a depth to her misery that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t just "angry girl" jealousy. It looked like her world was ending. Like I had taken sothing that belonged to her.
I looked up at Ethan, searching his face. He was smiling at , but his eyes were hard, constantly flicking back to the triplets and then, for a split second, to where Elara stood.
Before I could process the weird tension, Liam stepped forward.
"Ethan, why don’t we spar?" He challenged.
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