The Triplet Alphas' Secret Mate-Chapter 70: The Challenge

Scarlett’s POV

​The words dropped like a heavy weight, silencing the whole field.

Liam stepped forward, his bare chest rising and falling, his green eyes glowing with a dangerous light that promised violence. He wasn’t asking; he was daring.

​I felt the air grow thin. "Liam, this isn’t a good idea," I said, my voice tight with a warning I knew he wouldn’t listen to. The tension between them was already too much; adding weapons and Alpha pride was like lighting a match in a room full of gasoline.

​Liam didn’t even look at me. His eyes were locked on Ethan, his lips curling into a sneer. "What are you afraid of, cousin? Or is the only thing you’re good at getting into a lady’s skirt?"

​The insult was sharp, meant to provoke Ethan before the fight even began. I held my breath, waiting for Ethan to react, but he just scoffed—a dark, amused sound. He turned to me, his hand resting on my waist for one last, possessive second.

​"Give me a moment, baby," he murmured, his thumb brushing my hip. "I think my cousin needs to remember his place."

​I shook my head, my heart racing with a feeling of doom. Ethan was older, more experienced, and carried the quiet confidence of an Alpha who had fought real wars. But Liam was a skilled warrior, driven by years of buried feelings and the painful sight of another man touching his mate.

​They met in the center of the mat, and the fight started instantly.

​It was brutal. There was no slow movement, no testing. It was raw and wild. Liam fought with reckless strength, his strikes fast and heavy. Ethan, however, moved with deadly control. He didn’t waste energy; every move was meant to break Liam’s defense. The sound of their hits—flesh against flesh, the crack of their weapons—echoed loudly.

​Blood started to spill. A deep cut opened over Liam’s eyebrow, covering half his face in blood, while Ethan’s shoulder was torn from a hard strike. They were ripping into each other, their wolves pushing close to the surface. Dust and sweat filled the air around them.

​Stop it! I screamed through the link, but they were too far gone, lost in the madness of an Alpha fight.

​Suddenly, the heavy doors of the training porch slammed open.

​"STOP!" Sir Levi’s voice boomed, full of authority.

​Both men froze, still growling at each other, chests rising fast, blood dripping onto the sand. Ethan wiped the blood from his jaw, his eyes never leaving Liam.

​"It is enough," Levi said coldly. "We are family, and this is meant to be harmless combat, not war. Ethan, leave. Liam, go to the infirmary. Now."

​Ethan straightened, his face returning to that calm, mocking look. "Let’s go, Scarlett," he said, reaching for my hand.

​I looked at Liam. He was standing there, battered and bleeding, his eyes searching mine with a look of such raw, broken longing that my chest ached. Fuck the mate bond, I thought, fighting the urge to run to him. My heart felt every one of his injuries as if they were my own.

​We were almost back to Ethan’s wing when he suddenly stopped. His head tilted slightly, his brows pulling together as if he was listening through a private link. The calm look on his face disappeared, replaced by a sharp frown.

​"Something has come up," he said shortly. "You should go back to your room, Scarlett."

​"You’re injured, Ethan," I said, reaching for his shoulder. "Let me—"

​"I’m fine," he cut in, his voice colder than I had ever heard it. "My wolf is already healing me. Go. I’ll find you later."

​He turned and walked away.

​I felt something wasn’t right. The way Ethan’s face had drained of its playful charm, replaced by a cold, clinical distance, made my skin crawl. I stood in the corridor for a long moment, watching his retreating back. I wanted to follow him—every instinct told me to see where he was going in such a hurry—but I didn’t dare.

​I turned toward my own room, my legs feeling heavy, but Zoe wouldn’t let me rest. My wolf was pacing the cage of my ribs, her howls so loud and mournful that they vibrated in the back of my throat. She was screaming for Liam. The bond, usually a dull ache I could suppress with enough chores and willpower, was now a screaming siren.

​Fuck this mate bond. It didn’t care that he had an arranged marriage. It didn’t care that he had stayed silent for two years. It only cared that he was bleeding and in pain.

​My feet moved before my brain could argue. I followed his scent—not toward the infirmary, but up toward the Alpha’s private wing. The smell of blood and sage grew stronger as I reached his door. I told myself to turn around. I told myself that entering his room was a mistake I couldn’t undo.

​But my hand knocked anyway.

​There was no verbal response, just a heavy, suffocating silence. Then, the handle turned. The door swung open just an inch before a hand shot out, wrapping firmly around my wrist. Before I could even gasp, I was yanked inside. The door slammed shut, and the lock clicked into place with a definitive, bone-chilling thud.

​I stumbled back, hitting the solid wood of the door, and looked up. Liam was standing right in front of me, his chest heaving, his skin slick with sweat and cooling blood. The cut over his eye was still sluggishly weeping crimson down his cheek, making his amber eyes look even more lethal in the dim light of the room.

​"Why are you here?" he spat.

​He didn’t move away. Instead, he leaned in, bracing his hands on the door on either side of my head, pinning me in place. The scent of him—leather, rain, and raw, wounded Alpha—filled my senses until I couldn’t breathe.

​"My wolf wouldn’t stop howling," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I... I thought you were in the infirmary."

​"I don’t want a doctor, Scarlett," he growled, his head dropping until his forehead rested against mine. The heat radiating off his body was intense, almost feverish. "I wanted you. I spent the last hour watching him mark you. Watching him kiss you in front of everyone." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

​He tilted his head, his nose brushing against the skin of my neck, inhaling deeply. I felt a violent shiver run down my spine as his lips grazed the spot Ethan had teased just minutes ago.

​"You smell like him," Liam hissed, his grip on the door tightening until the wood groaned. "I want to rip his scent off you. I want to tear him apart for even thinking you belong to him."

​"Liam, stop," I breathed, though my hands were already reaching up, my fingers curling into the damp fabric of his training pants. "You’re hurt. Let me see the cut."

​He let out a dark, broken laugh against my throat. "The cut is nothing. What he’s doing to you... what we are doing to each other.. that’s what’s killing me."

​He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. The arrogance of the Alpha was gone, replaced by a raw, bleeding vulnerability that made my heart shatter. He looked like the boy who used to sneak me wildflower honey from the kitchens, not the man who was supposed to marry a Silver Lake sister.

​"Tell me you don’t love him," he demanded, his voice a low, desperate plea. "Tell me this is just a game to get back at me."

​I opened my mouth to answer, to tell him that I didn’t know what I felt anymore, but he shut me up by slamming his lips against mine.