Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 17

Ashley pov

Morning comes too soon. Especially after the nightmare..

That dream leaves a bitter aftertaste in the back of my throat and today, I can’t find the strength to face them.

Although Ethan has tried to start conversations with me a couple of times, even his brothers jumped in to help him, I just can’t.

If they knew everything I know, I’m sure they would look at me completely differently from how they do now.

“I’m not sure where we are. In fact, I have no idea how far from the Academy we are or in which direction we need to go to get back. I might be wrong, but I think it’s better if we sit around here for a bit to see if anyone’s looking for us.” Elias announces, scanning the faces.

I might be wrong too, but it seems that he looks at me a little longer than he does at others. It has to be in my mind since it’s impossible, so I shrug off the weird thought and remain silent.

Anno, the forever good student raises his hand. “What if no one is looking for us? What do we do then?”

Elias chuckles and shakes his head. “You’re not in school, there’s no need to raise your hand, we’re all friends here. As for your question - if they don’t come looking in a couple of hours, we will have to find our way back without their help.”

“Alright, sounds reasonable enough. So, what now? I mean, we don’t plan just sitting around and doing nothing, right?”

From the corner of my eye, I watch Anno. He looks a little more comfortable than he usually does, as if he’s almost at ease in this survival group.

“You and Ash will cook food, we will survey the surroundings. We don’t know what’s hiding inside this forest so safety is important. While we do, we might find the trails back to the Academy and also check the damage the storm did. It looks like it stopped only early in the morning, so we might be facing some shitty circumstances being stuck here.”

After Elias explains his plan to others, I zone out and focus on my thoughts. Their plans have nothing to do with me for now, so I focus my gaze on the ground and find a particular rock very enticing.

I have no idea how much time passes until they’re done talking and Anno is nudging my side. “I set the fire, ready to help with cooking the mystery meat Everett brought us yesterday?”

I snort out a laugh, cringing at the memory of the proud look on Everett’s face after he brought the meat and refused to tell us where he got it.

We walk to the little campfire Anno created and sit on a log next to it. Anno hands me a bowl full of water and tells me to wash the meat before we place it on a piece of paper and add some spices.

At first, we work in silence, both too focused on the shit happening in our heads, but that doesn’t last for long.

Anno clears his throat and I glance at him, raising an eyebrow. I can see it in his eyes that he has a question, yet he’s still unsure if asking would be the right thing.

“Come on, spit it out before the triplets return. I can see you have a question, and if I learned anything about you since we met - it’s pretty important for you.” Just in case, I smile at him to put him at ease.

He isn’t the most talkative person out there, but Anno is very curious about everything. An overthinker, that’s his nature.

“So, I don’t want to offend you or anything, but I’m really darn curious so answer only if you feel comfortable to do so, okay? Promise to brush me off if my question is too much,” Anno mutters, avoiding eye contact.

Now, he got me more curious. If he feels so uncomfortable about his own thoughts and questions, it has to be big.

“I promise to keep my thoughts to myself if it’s too much. But if the opposite happens, I promise to be as truthful as I can. You’re my friend, the best friend actually, so I have no secrets. Besides, you already figured out my biggest secret.” I laugh and hand him the meat.

“Yeah, okay,” Anno mutters and thrusts a stick through the meat to place it over the fire. “I don’t want to invade your privacy, but I can’t help but wonder.. Do you have feelings for the psycho triplets? Don’t answer if you don’t want to, of course, but.. It’s just the way you look at them.. I don’t even know. You gaze at them with those dreamy eyes as if they are special. Very special, in fact. And then, you change into this sad pile of shit and look away. I don’t get it.”

I can feel how blush creeps up to my cheeks. My face is burning but the fire in front of us has nothing to do with it.

Deep down, I want to keep this secret. It’s bigger than my true identity. This secret is mine and mine only - something I want to cherish while it lasts, if only from afar and then, take it to my grave if I must.

However, while this is something only mine, I also want to share it with Anno. Perhaps telling him will ease the pressure and keeping this will become easier, less stressful.

Huffing out a breath, I scan our surroundings to ensure the triplets aren’t returning and listening to our conversation.

Then, I lean closer to Anno and whisper, “they’re my second chance mates, but they have no idea who I am. Clearly, as you probably noticed.”

Anno’s eyes widen. He slaps a hand over his mouth and then, manages to mutter, “no shit, second chance?”

I frown. “That’s the thing you’re going to focus on?”

Anno rolls his eyes and pulls his hand away from his mouth. “You can’t blame me. I’m not surprised about being mates aspect, even as a boy you’re very damn pretty, but the second chance? Yeah, I need more on that.”

“My first one rejected me,” I spit out to get over with it. “Let’s say life hasn’t been too kind to me ever since my parents died. I’m no longer the Alpha’s daughter, in the eyes of the rest of the world - I’ve spent years as a lowly servant and my mate decided I’m unworthy of the bond.”

“Okay,” Anno whispers and sits next to me to pull me into a tight hug. “But why don’t the triplets react to you as their mate then?”

“I’m not sure, but I think that since my first mate rejected me and I ran off, I didn’t accept the rejection. There still might be a slight chance the bond between us hasn’t been completely shattered for good, hence why those three don’t feel me. Let’s hope that doesn’t change,” I add the last part in a weak whisper.

Thankfully, Anno ignores my last remark and only hugs me tighter. He doesn’t care about who I am, where I came from or what others think about me. For him, I’m just his friend, and that’s more than enough for me.

“They will return soon, so wipe off the tears and calm down. And don’t worry, this secret is safe with me too. After all, what are friends for, right?”