Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 122

Gio pov

I’m a little caught off guard. Usually, when the king is this overtaken by stress and worries, he rarely notices that someone around him is struggling. But he noticed that I am.

Is this really the right moment for me to just drop the bomb and speak my mind? I’ve been trying to ever since we returned from the Academy, but every time I opened my mouth with the intent to tell him what’s going on, my throat dried up. I couldn’t speak a word.

Now’s my chance... But should I?

Blowing out a deep trembling breath, I shift in my seat until I face him. The look on my best friend’s face screams defeat and for a while, I contemplate if I really should come clean. That’s probably not a good idea.

“Come on, do it! This is the first and possibly the last chance you get. I’m as loyal to the king as you have been, I’m just as close to him and I worry about him just as much as you do. However, I refuse to put our happiness on the back burner. I refuse to put his bratty spoiled son above our mate. We both know that it’s a miracle that we met him. No scratch that, it’s a miracle that the moon Goddess blessed us with a mate to begin with. How are you thinking about letting him go?” My wolf whimpers at the back of my mind.

“I don’t want to let him go either,” I quickly answer the beast and block him out.

This isn’t a conversation he has to be a part of. This is about me and my best friend, our human lives, not those of our beasts.

When I finally gather the courage to meet my best friend’s gaze, I can’t help but sigh again. Just thinking about having this conversation proves to be harder than actually doing it.

The look on his face is so hopeful, eyes twinkling with promises of understanding, his whole body nearly vibrating with happiness as if he already knows what I’m about to tell him. Or, at least part of it. Because while he might have guessed what is wrong with me, why I’ve been so weird and distant, he doesn’t live in my mind so he has no idea what I’m planning to do next.

My hand shakes as I reach out to grab his and squeeze it. “You know that you’re my best friend right?” I ask, almost fearing the answer I might receive.

“Of course I do,” he laughs and slaps his own hand over mine. “And you are too. You are my best friend, Gio. The best friend of the best friends. The best one I could ever ask for.”

I can’t help but laugh at his words. Leave it to this guy to take a serious, soul shattering conversation, and turn the heartbreak into comedy.

Shaking my head, I flash him a weak smile. “Remember when I had to follow Kaden to that Academy and we stayed there for about a week or so?”

He frowns but nods. “Of course I remember, I texted you every day, nagging you with millions of questions, how could I possibly forget that?”

“That is true. Although, I must admit, those questions did get on my nerves sometimes, but so do you ever being completely honest.”

He laughs at me again. This time, he sounds more at ease, almost like the weight of everything his son has done and threatened to do has left not only his mind, but also the weight of Kaiden’s words has slipped off his shoulders.

“As always, as honest as they come. This is why I appreciate you, Gio. This is exactly why I hope you will never leave my side and if need be, guide my son when the time comes. Unlike most of the people who live in this pack who follow me, you are one in a million. And I mean it the best way I could. With you, I don’t have to worry that I might go overboard. You’re always there to set me straight, always there to remind me that I’m being too much or just acting like an asshole. I appreciate your honesty. Never change, my friend, never change.”

Great, he just had to go all sloppy on me didn’t he? Now that he’s looking into my eyes and fuck, just looking so hopeful and full of happiness and shit, I’m scared to break his heart.

I am so terrified of losing my best friend because for the first time in my life I choose myself. Bracing myself for the worst outcome, I still hope for the best and just go with it. It’s now or never.

“I found my mate,” I blurt out and look away to hide the blush covering my cheeks, acting like a teenager in love. How stupid is that? I’m a grown man. The right hand man of the king himself, a freaking bodyguard, and still blushing like a little girl.

I can’t believe myself. I’m seriously struggling to come to terms with the fact that I am the same man who jumped in front of a sword and nearly got gutted like a fish just to protect and save my best friend, but as soon as I have to tell him about my mate, I’m a giggling teenager.

“That’s wonderful news. I’m so happy for you. I don’t know why you’re so scared to tell me this, but please keep in mind that I’ve been trying to tell you over and over again how much you deserve to be happy, how much you deserve to find that one person. And now you did. When can I meet her?”

I cringe at the mention of a woman. Probably should have started with that part.

“Yeah, about that,” I mutter and bring my hand to the back of my neck to scratch it. It’s a nervous action, but I really don’t care. “My mate isn’t her, it’s a he. My mate is a guy.”

The look on his face doesn’t change much. I can see that he’s a little taken aback, but other than that, still just as excited as he was earlier. If not a little more.

“I don’t care. When can I meet him?” He repeats the question, sounding like a kid who just got his hands in the cookie jar.

“Well that’s exactly what I wanted to talk about. I’ve been too scared to bring this up, and honestly I still don’t think this is the right moment to talk about this, but I really can’t let it drag out for any longer. I know it’s hard for you to deal with your son and his recent temper tantrums, and it really sucks that I have to add to your burden, but please try to understand me. I’ve been your loyal servant for years, I’ve stood by your side, supported and did everything you asked of me. So this time, this one time, please do this one thing I’m asking of you. My king, I beg you to release me of my duties. My mate, he doesn’t want to join our pack, it’s either I leave or I lose him and I can’t lose him. I won’t. I will stay for long enough to ensure the man who takes my place is worthy of it, but once I do, all that’s left is your best friend, not your second in command. I want to settle down, I want a family, a stupid small house with a picket white fence, even a cat and I hate cats, but I want it all with my mate. I hope you understand, if you can’t as a king, I hope you do as a friend.”