Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 209

Ethan pov

I’m still grinning from ear to ear as my brothers discuss something in a whisper. No idea how they feel, but I, for one, am excited beyond belief. The things I could do, the possibilities of creating mayhem are endless and that’s exactly what I’m hoping for.

My brothers are tense. Their eyes keep scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger. It's typical. They’re always so serious, always so worried about every little thing going wrong.

But me? I’m in a damn good mood. The run was exhilarating, and now we’re finally here, just steps away from the king’s land and hopefully from finding Ash. I have no doubt we’ll get in. We always do. Elias might have the brains and Everett the muscle, but I’m the one with charm, and I plan to use every ounce of it.

Then I hear it, someone steps on a branch not too far from us, the sound too sharp, definitely not made by a forest animal. I freeze and raise a hand to stop Elias and Everett in their tracks.

We all hold our breaths, eyes focused on the location of the sound until someone emerges from the bushes and soon, more follow. The Council Elders, dressed in their usual dark robes, faces hidden in the shadows of their hoods. Just our luck.

“Well, well,” I say, forcing a smile as they block our path. “If it isn’t our favorite group of people. Fancy meeting you out here in the middle of nowhere. Are you looking for funky mushrooms too? Let me warn you, guys, I ain’t good at sharing that magical stuff.”

Elias shoots me a warning look, but I ignore him. I’ve got this.

“Ethan,” one of the Elders speaks up, as always sounding like someone who just stepped out of a bad horror movie. “We were wondering when you three would show up.”

“Oh, you were?” I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms in front of my chest. “I didn’t realize we were so important. Should we have sent a postcard? ‘Greetings from the edge of danger, wish you were here?’”

The Elder’s lips thin, clearly he’s not amused by my jokes. “You’re close to crossing into the king’s territory,” he says sharply. “You have no right to be here. Your parents gave us three days. We still have time to deal with the problem before other measures can be discussed. You have no right to involve yourselves in this matter. The agreement has to be followed.”

“Yeah, well, you know us,” I say with a shrug. “We like to keep things interesting. What’s life without a little deadline pressure, right?”

Everett groans under his breath, but I see Elias give a tiny shake of his head. He doesn’t want me to push it, so I force my grin down a notch. Barely.

“We’re aware of your deadline,” Elias says, stepping forward to take charge like he always does. “And we haven’t done anything to sabotage whatever you’re doing here. I don’t recall any law that forbids three brothers to enjoy a nice run in the forests, especially on lands that aren’t claimed by anyone. As for the territory issue, we didn’t realize we ran this far until you showed up and started pushing onto us. Do we have a problem here?”

Elias looks larger than life, standing face to face with an Elder. I, however, feel like I’m about to start foaming from my mouth in pure ecstasy. Just getting a chance to get my hands on one of those fuckers would be a true dream come true.

The Elder glances at me, his eyes narrow a little, almost like he’s glaring. “We don’t trust him. He talks a lot, promises even more, but never keeps to his words.”

“Ouch,” I say, placing a hand over my heart in mock hurt. “That stings, Elder. I’ll have you know that my words have gotten us out of plenty of sticky situations. I’m basically a hero with a silver tongue.”

The Elder’s expression doesn’t change, but I catch a twitch at the corner of his mouth. It’s almost as noticeable as that under his eye. Great, I’m sliding right under the fucker’s skin. Smooth me.

“You’re wasting our time,” another Elder says, stepping forward. “The king’s guards are on high alert, they know about our arrival. You think you can just waltz in there without a solid plan and ruin our chances of avoiding war with your parents?”

“Oh, we have a plan,” I say, flashing him a wide grin. “In fact, we have several plans. We’re drowning in plans. Plans coming out of our ears. Some are even dripping down my fingers. I could piss out a good plan if I really wanted to.”

Everett rolls his eyes and mutters “Yeah, right,” but I ignore him, keeping my focus on the Elders.

They’re still blocking our path, arms crossed like they own the whole damn forest. Part of me wants to push past them, but I know better. The Council doesn’t take well to being ignored, and we’ve already got enough trouble with our parents without adding the Council to the list.

“Look,” I say, dropping the sarcasm just a little. “We don’t need a babysitter, we’re just chilling in the forest, being the free wolves we’re supposed to be. In fact, you’re on time because if you were here any sooner, you’d see my massive monster dick dangling between my legs. Consider this a big-ass favor from me that I got dressed in the first place.”

The Elder’s gaze sharpens, but he steps aside, allowing us a narrow path forward. “It’s in your best interest not to lie to us. Again, we have an agreement with your parents. Any attempt to sidestep us will lead to more issues. Not only to us but to your family too. And remember, your parents have put their faith in you, but that faith has limits. Don’t test them.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I say, flashing him a final smile that’s more teeth than warmth. “Thanks for the motivational speech, though. I’m feeling inspired to show off my goods even more now.”

Without waiting for a response, I push past him, hearing Elias and Everett follow close behind. My heart pounds in my chest as I take a sharp turn to the left to make the Elders believe we have no intention of crossing the border and entering the king’s territory.

With those fuckers arriving here, the whole plan is getting more complicated as we go. Now, we need to avoid not only the guards and every damn person in that pack but also the stupid Council.

As soon as we’re out of earshot, Elias leans in, his voice low and laced with anger. “Did you really have to poke at them like that? We’re supposed to keep out of their way.”

“Oh, come on,” I mutter and roll my eyes. “What were they gonna do? Lecture us to death? Besides, they needed a little reminder that we’re not scared of them. If anything, I was pretty tempted to take a souvenir or two.”

“Well, I’m not scared of them either,” Everett mutters. “ But I’m scared of our parents. And so should you be. Mom isn’t exactly known for her sense of humor.”

I shrug. “Maybe you’re right, but mom can’t stop us now. We’re too close to turn back now. Ash is out there, and we’re going to find her.”

“Let’s just agree to be careful,” Elias adds, scanning the surroundings for anything out of place. “The Elders are right about one thing - the king’s territory isn’t going to be easy to get in, especially right now. That plan you claimed you could piss out, yeah, I’m pretty sure it’d be very useful for us now.”

“Who said anything about easy?” I ask and glance over my shoulder to wink at my brothers. “I’m in it for the challenge.”