The Triplet Alphas' Regret

Chapter 115: Misunderstanding

"What?" I asked, frowning. Instinctively, I raised a hand to cup my neck on the side he pointed a shaky finger to. The moment my fingers brushed past the sensitive spark, I jolted, shivering slightly.

Shit. I had completely forgotten about the mark that was on my neck for the world to see. Gritting my teeth, I slapped my hand over it, trying to ignore the tingle that shot through my body — originating from the mark — as I did so.

"That!" Cedar exclaimed. He furrowed his eyebrows angrily. "Just because you’ve covered it doesn’t mean that I will forget about it! Why are you marked?!"

I turned to look at Cassian slowly, raising an eyebrow. Truthfully, I was surprised that none of the three Alphas had told Cedar, especially considering the fact that Cedar was supposed to be their Beta. Even if Cedar suspected, or knew, that I was their fated mate, surely being marked would make things slightly different?

After all, the pack already had a Luna, and now, Willow — the rightful Luna — had returned. Cedar, as the Beta, had every right to know every change that was happening in the pack.

"You didn’t tell him?" I asked, and Cedar whipped his head back so quickly to look at Cassian that I thought I heard a crack.

His eyes widened, and his jaw turned slack. Already, I could see the misunderstanding forming in his mind.

"You... Alpha Cassian..." He turned back to stare at me, agog. "You two―"

Poor Cedar’s face turned so pale that it looked like he was about to meet the Moon Goddess any second now. In fact, he looked absolutely sick to the stomach, more so than even Willow, who was actually unconscious and lying in bed, unable to move.

Cassian gritted his teeth in annoyance. Before I could explain anything and clear up the obvious misunderstanding Cedar had, Cassian strode forward. He grabbed me by my elbow, and with one sharp yank, tugged me out of the room before Cedar could say anything about it.

"Wait a minute!" I yelled, stumbling over my own two feet as I tried to keep up with him, especially with the awkward angle he was pulling me along.

I turned back to look in the direction of Willow’s room.

"Are you not going to explain to him―?"

Cassian kicked open a door and tossed me inside before I could properly finish. I gasped, grabbing the bedframe just in time to maintain my balance. Behind me came the slam of the door closing shut.

"Explain to him that you’ve been marked by an Alpha?" Cassian asked, scoffing mockingly. "And what? Give you the authority to boss him around? Are you going to tell him that you’re the new Luna too?"

My mouth fell open, agog. "You do realize you’re technically also an Alpha? Or have you already forgotten what Cedar addressed you as?" I asked. "How is this better than him thinking that you marked me?"

Not to mention I do not want to be there when Rowan found out about this particular misunderstanding of Cedar’s. No wolf would take lightly for his mark to be attributed to another wolf, even if it was his quadruplet brother― especially one who gave him so much shit for leaving the mark in the first place.

"I’ll handle that misunderstanding," Cassian declared furiously. "You, on the other hand, need to hide that mark and stop flashing it to random people."

"Look, it’s not my fault that pack members have eyes. If you want to blame anyone, blame your dear older brother for having such a big mouth and leaving such a big mark. This entire thing happened because he was sucking on my skin," I emphasized, pulling my shirt collar to the side so I could jab at it with my other hand. I measured the mark with my fingers and held them for him to see.

I added, "How do you propose I hide something this big, oh, wise guy?"

"Oh," Cassian said with a snort of annoyance, shaking his head. He was so pissed that he was already laughing. "Believe me, I do blame him! I blame him for thinking with his cock rather than his fucking brain! But you don’t have the right to go around showing everyone the mark. Wear something higher up and cover that damn thing if you have any shame!"

"With what clothes?" I pointed out. "If I wear a scarf around my neck, it’s just going to draw more attention."

"You don’t have any clothes?" Cassian demanded irritably, a hand running through his hair. "What kind of girl are you?"

"One that has no money whatsoever," I said blandly. "You do remember how I was treated, right?"

I barely had food― clothes were a luxury. I wore hand-me-downs that were stretched thin from wear and tear, and shirts with holes in them, and of course, none of them would be able to hide Rowan’s gigantic mating mark.

If he thought that I had a fancy scarf I could use to hide the mark, Cassian was sorely mistaken. I had endured winter colds with nothing more than the scratchy blanket in my bedroom, along with a thin jacket that wouldn’t even be warm enough for certain cooler summer nights.

Cassian’s face purpled, and his eyes darted back to my mark, as though he was drawn to it despite his hatred of its existence. "You’re just using this chance to extort money from me! I won’t be fooled."

I scoffed. "You were the one who made the suggestion to begin with. If you’re not going to offer any productive help, I’ll simply wait for Rowan to find out you’re taking credit for his mark. You can sleep on a matching bed next to Willow’s."

Cassian was even more furious at my words. He reached out and grabbed both my shoulders, his fingernails digging harshly into my skin. "You fucking bitch―! Now you’re trying to turn my brother against me! I’ve had it with you!"

I tried to shove him away, the same way I did at the clearing, but this time my newfound strength failed me. Without the news of Willow’s impending death to galvanize me, my body did not feel the need to resist Cassian, who was technically also one of my fated mates.

Unfortunately, Cassian did not have the same hesitation. He suddenly let go and shoved me backwards, causing me to trip against something. I screamed and reached out for the first thing that stabilized me― namely, Cassian himself.

"Don’t touch me―"

His eyes widened as I grabbed both his arms. I thought he would fling me aside, but to my surprise, he suddenly took a step forward, trying to stop my fall, only to walk straight into the bedframe and topple right after me, on top of me.

"Fuck!"

My back slammed against the mattress, causing me to groan in pain. Even though the mattress was soft, the sudden impact still caused pain to bloom across my still-unwell body. I hissed, inhaling sharply.

"I should be the one complaining, not you. Why must you shove people?"

"You damn idiot!" Cassian groaned, gritting his teeth. "You’re the one who made me do it!"

Cassian was in no better state, despite having me to buffer his fall. He had hit his shin against the bedframe when he collapsed.

Even though werewolves healed quickly, their sense of pain was by no means dulled. He could still feel every bit of the impact, only that it usually lasted a shorter period of time. Some even might argue that because they had a stronger sense of touch, their feeling of pain was also much stronger than what an average human would feel.

He cracked his eyes open, and when he did, our gazes collided. Both of us stiffened for a second. When our eyes met, my body instantly froze over. I had no control over my limbs, and my body suddenly no longer felt like it was my own. It felt like a bolt of lightning had shot through me, stunning me in place.

I could tell that Cassian was stuck in the same trance as well. His lips slightly parted, and I watched as his eyes began to glow slightly gold. It wasn’t as bright as when it was fueled by anger, but it still pulsed gently, almost as though there was a flame flickering in the warm amber gold of his irises.

My breath caught in my throat. All of a sudden, it felt incredibly dry.

Cassian’s eyes roamed across my face, as though he was studying me close-up for the first time. His eyes landed on the mark on my neck. The collar of my shirt had ridden down slightly in the scuffle, and now, it revealed a portion of my shoulder as well.

I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

"Cassian?" I croaked, my voice suddenly insanely breathy. I couldn’t seem to gather enough strength to properly voice my words.

At the sound of his name, Cassian’s eyes slowly rose. He broke his stare on the mark, slowly raking across my body to meet my eyes once more. Slowly but surely, he moved closer and closer, until his nose and mine were a hair’s breadth apart.