Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 115

Ashley pov

“Okay,” Constantine breathes out and reaches for my hand, covering it with his much larger one. “I don’t recall the exact age I was back when I met your father, but I think I was very young. Far too adventurous and reckless to think clearly.”

He starts with a dreamy smile on his lips, as if he’s recalling those important parts of his past with such fondness, he can’t help but smile.

“I still remember that day like it was yesterday. The forest was dark and gloomy, even slimy as it had rained for a couple of weeks prior and getting a grip on any surface was nearly impossible. It was a full moon that night and while I knew it was best to keep away during that time, my bear was restless, he needed to go out and hunt.”

Constantine stops and frowns for some reason. As much as I want to encourage him to keep on talking, I can’t bring myself to speak up. If I keep pushing, he might decide he doesn’t want to share details with me after all. Pressuring someone never really works.

Besides, it looks like he’s so stuck in his memories, at least the ugly parts, that my involvement would do no good. So, instead of acting on an impulse, I place my other hand on his and squeeze it a little to show I’m here and I will support him no matter what.

He glances down at our hands and smiles. “If I had any idea about what was about to go down, I’d never have entered the woods that night. In hindsight, I even probably would since that’s how I met your father, but I can’t claim that our first meeting was all roses and rainbow flavored farts.”

I chuckle at his words, finding something utterly stupid to laugh about even in a situation as serious as this one. I just can’t help it.

While I entertain myself imagining how rainbow flavored farts work, Constantine squeezes my hand again and sucks in a shaky breath. He’s really struggling, this is the sign I needed to take him more seriously and listen, because from how tense he is, I can only assume he won’t repeat the story twice.

“Nights like that one scream trouble, but the younger me was fearless, stupid I would even say. So, so stupid. You see, back in the day, there were hunters no shifter wanted to run into and full moon nights is when the wolves come out to play. And play do they. It’s a perfect playground for the hunters to get to their prey,” he mutters and his whole body trembles.

All I can do is hold his hand a little tighter and pray to the gods he won’t try to get away from this conversation. I really want to know more about my family, but also, I want to get to know this man. If I’m stuck here with Constantine and his friends, I want to know what type of people I’m surrounded with.

“As I said, my bear was restless. Today, when I think back to the events of the night, I can’t say if it’s really a shift he needed or if he felt something was about to go seriously wrong. I never think twice to give into his commands, so that night, I did just that. I let him roam and be himself.”

“And then?” I whisper, my voice trembling with the restraint I just broke. Constantine is building up so much suspense, I feel like I’m about to go crazy waiting for his explanations.

“And then we ran into the hunters,” he quickly blurts out and lets out a chuckle that sounds so sorrowful, all I want is to wrap him in my arms and promise I’ll keep him safe.

Ha, how funny is that? Compared to a mountain of a man Constantine is, I’m but a pebble and here I am, thinking about how I could ever protect someone as strong and powerful as that man. Silly me.

“I got that part,” I manage to whisper and avert my gaze. The last thing I want is to come across as someone disrespectful, but I also need to nudge him in the right direction so he doesn’t hold back. “Where does my father come in?”

Outsiders might think I’m rushing him, which I kind of am, but can anyone really blame me? I have brief memories of my parents, the way they led their pack and what kind of people they were. And right here, next to me, sits a man who knows so much about them - I’m dying to know every detail.

“After we ran into a group of hunters, I realized very quickly that they weren’t there for bears. They were set on catching a wolf shifter. Truth be told, I wholeheartedly believe the fools had no idea bear shifters exist, hence they didn’t pay much attention to me. Until they did,” he sucks in another shuddering breath.

I can’t help but glance at him, my mouth agape. “Why did they?”

“Because they were following a younger wolf shifter. I think it was a girl, her first shift, so she was weak, an easy prey. For some reason the girl separated herself from the pack, I knew because I heard the howls in the distance, her pack was desperately looking for her. Then, I understood they knew hunters had to be somewhere nearby. I did the right thing, I attacked the hunters. The girl got away, but me, well, I wasn’t as lucky.” Constantine shrugs his shoulders as if his story is no big deal.

But clearly, it is. His voice alone is so weak, I can tell the event traumatized him to no end and recalling everything is painful.

“And my dad?” I ask, silently promising myself this would be the last question I ask. I don’t want to pry too many details out of him, put him in the spotlight and demand for answers. Those will come in time when Constantine is completely ready to open up. Until then, I must learn how to be patient.

“He came to rescue me. I think the girl told him that I was there and attacked the hunters to give her a chance of escape. They shot me, cut me, pierced their weapons through my limbs and forced me into the cage. There were too many of them. I will never forget the look on their faces when my bear gave up and I shifted back into this body. They were so happy, they couldn’t stop hollering about their luck. Until the new Alpha of the pack arrived and ripped them all to shreds. The next thing I remember is waking up in the pack’s hospital with your father sleeping next to my bed, holding my hand.”