"That wouldn't work on me, Alpha." She said in a mocking tone, causing Troy to growl in anger.
"Enough of this!" Tristan said, obviously pissed at his brother's choice of character. Even though he understood him and his reasons for acting the way he was, couldn't he have at least kept it on at least till later?
Their mate was obviously terrified and confused, but somehow he was expecting her to understand everything! It was really pissing him off.
In his opinion, she was taking it better than all the scenarios he had made up in his mind.
Sighing, he continued. "Beth." He called, looking warmly at her. "I really apologize for his behavior. His head just isn't in the right place right now-"
"Yeah, same here. I don't think my head is in the right place either!" Beth exploded, interrupting him. Something none of the guys could handle well.
But seeing the red flash in his eyes, she knew she had touched something, something she would try not to touch anymore.
Swallowing his feelings and pride, he continued. "I'm not exactly sure if this is the best idea, but maybe we could meet up later to discuss all of this. By then, I'm sure we all should have been able to clear out our heads, how about that?" He proposed, his voice steady.
"Alright." She said, sighing, getting to her feet and dusting the pieces of grass off her now torn dress. "When do we meet?" She asked, looking up at him, her facial expression neutral, despite how much she really wanted to get out of there.
"Tomorrow evening, at six. Theo would pick you up wherever you'd be waiting, and we'd meet somewhere in the city." Tristan responded, trying to keep his eyes off some parts of her thigh that were exposed from the slit.
"Deal. You need my number, or you already have it?" She asked, her look filled with accusation. On hearing no reply from them, her suspicion was confirmed.
"Text me so I can have yours too." She said to Theo quietly before turning to leave. "Goodnight." She muttered, walking back into the pack lands she had run away from.
Her legs were killing her, but not just that. Her heart, too. Her heart, her mind, everything.
This wasn't exactly what she wished for. This wasn't what she imagined. Everything seemed like it was against her.
Couldn't you have at least given me one of them? She asked Athena.
Now I've got three of them, what am I supposed to do? What would happen when they get bored, when they realize that I'm not worth all three?
I asked for a powerful mate, not a battalion. She wanted to cry out, but knew they'd be following her. She didn't want to be seen as weak, so she swallowed it all up, at least until she got to the safety of her bedroom.
Putting her head up, she focused on the only thing that mattered at the moment. Getting back home before her parents would come looking for her.
************
All three brothers walked silently a good distance away from her, in an attempt to give her some space. And themselves as well.
The night had not turned out the way they had wanted or planned at all.
Sure, they planned on playing with her a little, which they did. But what they didn't really expect was how hard she would fight back.
Of course, they knew how sensible and independent she had always strived to be, so yeah, they knew she was going to be tough.
But they didn't expect her to downplay herself, or think about it as deeply as she did..
And if only Troy hadn't lashed out, maybe their relationship would still be more salvageable. But now they could only hope she was going to be lenient on them.
Both Tristan and Theo were heavily tempted to lash out at Troy, but knew better. They knew the cause of his outburst and how hard it can be sometimes for him to keep his Master side in check. Especially around someone he's interested in.
And Troy did feel shitty. He felt horrible. He was an easygoing person. Everyone knew him as that. But now, to his mate, he's a douche.
He couldn't exactly explain what happened or why he did what he did. He fucking challenged her! That was so sickening. He really shouldn't have. But he couldn't help it.
Despite waiting so long for this day, he fucked it all up when he heard her down play herself and threaten that she might not want them.
He couldn't help it! He had lost every bit of hope about finding a mate completely. Utterly. Until that night. That night, when nothing else mattered to him but to go sit by her bushes with his brothers, to protect his queen. Their queen.
He could only hope he could be forgiven, not just by her, but by his brothers.
Looking up to where she was, he could sense how exhausted she was. His wolf itched to carry her on his back or better still, his warm and cozy arms while she rested, but he held back, looking at his brothers, who were all feeling the same, but held back regardless, not wanting to upset her further.
She really had them on a chokehold, and she didn't have the slightest idea.
He wanted to ask if it was okay to go carry her, but knew she might resist. So he asked Theo through their mind link to go help her, and in an instant, he appeared by her side.
He was the sweetest and softest among the triplets, but only to those he cared about to an extent. To the rest, he was considered a devil.
Not that he ever cared, though. He had always had a mind of his own, very sensitive, and pays a little too much attention to detail.
But they couldn't have it any other way. The three of them had their special characteristics, which complemented each other.
That was all that mattered.
Not too long after Theo made it to her side, he finally made her agree to let him carry her. And when he did, he could feel relief flow through not just his body, but Tristan's as well.
Everything was going to be fine. It had to be.