Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 219

Kaiden pov

The ceremony hall turns into utter chaos - screams, panicked footsteps, bodies crashing against each other in a mad scramble to get away. I can barely see past the blur of guests fleeing the room, their faces pale and terrified, but all I care about is my runaway mate.

Again, she slipped through my fingers, vanished into the madness, and now the only thing driving me forward is anger - pure, raw, blinding anger.

I shove past the panicking crowd, my eyes scan every shadow, every dark corner she could use as a momentary escape, but she’s nowhere to be seen. Gone, like she vanished in thin air.

“Ashley!” I roar out her name. My voice echoes off the walls, startles a few of the panicked guests, but there’s no answer from her.

She’s disappeared, and the realization hits me like a punch to the gut. She escaped. In the chaos, she’s found a way to slip away, and as a result, I feel like all of my plans are falling apart, piece by piece.

I spin on my heel and clench my fists at my sides, trying to calm down as my eyes keep searching for her, but instead of the bride, I see them, the very cause of this chaos - the hunters.

A group of a few men move through the crowd like a well-oiled machine, their dark uniforms make them look like they can blend into the shadows. Then, after a tense moment, their eyes lock with mine and suddenly, I feel a cold rush of fear creep down my spine.

They’re not leaving.

They’re not retreating.

They’re coming for me.

“Where is she?” One of them demands as they close in. I believe it’s the leader of the group, a man I only know as Dane. They stop just inches from me and as I try to step back, they only close in on me until my back hits the nearest wall and I realize I’ve been cornered.

Dane’s eyes are sharp, calculating every move his men or I could make, and that fact alone makes him scarier than he initially lets others know.

“You idiots!” I hiss at them, unable to hold back the rage that suddenly invades my entire being. How dare they barge in like they own the place after failing a task of finding a girl? “You lost her! I paid you to get her here, but still had to do the work myself. I did it, dragged her to the ceremony, and you-”

“This isn’t about your payment anymore,” Dane interrupts and laughs in my face. “We’re done taking orders from you, Kaiden.”

I freeze for a moment. The anger is gone, replaced by confusion. “What the hell are you talking about? You work for me. You’re supposed to-”

“We were working for you,” Dane interrupts me and flashes me a cruel, satisfied smile. “Until someone else came along. Someone who’s willing to pay a lot more than you ever could. The girl’s not your problem anymore, Kaiden. She’s ours.”

I gasp at his words and actually feel how the blood drains from my face. “No. We had a deal. You don’t get to just walk away from that!”

Dane’s smile widens, his eyes glittering with amusement. “You think this is about deals? About keeping your little pet on a leash?” He laughs, the sound anything but genuine amusement. “You’re playing a child’s game, prince, and you’ve just been outbid. Get used to it.”

“No,” I growl and clench my fists, ready to throw a punch any moment now. “You listen to me. You’re mine until I say otherwise. I own you!”

“Own us?” Dane chuckles. “Look around, Kaiden. Who’s really in control here? You think you’re the master, but you’re just a boy throwing a tantrum because he lost his favorite toy.”

My vision goes red. “Shut your mouth!” I shout, lunge forward, fully intent to rip out their throats, but the hunters see my move before I make it. They move as one, in perfect sync and surround me.

I’m fast, but they’re faster. Before I can land a blow, two of them grab my arms, twisting them behind my back with brutal force. I bite back a scream as pain shoots up my shoulders.

“You don’t give the orders anymore,” Dane smutters and leans in until his face is inches from mine. “There’s someone else who wants the girl - someone who sees her true value. And they’re paying enough to make whatever you offer look like pocket change.”

“You don’t understand what you’re doing,” I grind out. “You can’t just-”

“Oh, we understand perfectly,” Dane interrupts me again. “We’re not fools, Kaiden. We know exactly who you are and what you’re trying to hide. And frankly, we don’t care.”

“You don’t care?” I ask, completely cut off guard. “If you cross me, I’ll make sure every last one of you is hunted down and-”

“You’re in no position to make threats,” another hunter says, his voice calm and detached, almost like this situation bores him. “You’re the one who should be worried right now, not us.”

I manage to free myself from their hold and stumble back a step. “Fine,” I spit. “Fine. Go ahead and take your blood money, but if you think I’m going to let you walk out of here-”

“Here’s the thing, Kaiden,” Dane says, his tone almost pitiful. “This isn’t about you anymore. You were just a means to an end. You had your chance, and you blew it. Now someone else is pulling the strings.”

My mind races. If my father finds out that I hired hunters. If he even suspects that Gio was right about me - everything I’ve built, lied and schemed for, will be destroyed. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” I snarl. “My father-”

“Your father,” Dane interrupts smoothly, “is exactly the problem, isn’t he? You don’t want Daddy Dearest to find out about your little secret arrangements. You don’t want him to think that maybe, just maybe, his best friend has been telling the truth this whole time.”

I freeze. They got me cornered, and they know it. They know about the inner affairs of our pack, even the details about Gio and his attempts to convince my father to believe his words. Shit.

“You wouldn’t,” I whisper, shaking my head.

Dane tilts his head, his smile full of mockery “Wouldn’t I? Imagine the look on your father’s face when he realizes just how far his beloved son has fallen. When he realizes that everything his best friend has been saying might not be a lie after all.”

“No,” I gasp, more to myself than to him. “You can’t. I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” Dane’s smile vanishes, his gaze turns stone cold like a challenge. “You have no power here, Kaiden. Your threats mean nothing, and your money means even less.”

I’m shaking now, my hands clenched into fists, my nails biting into my palms. Everything is slipping through my fingers, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. “What do you want?” I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper. I’m giving up. There isn’t much I can do to save the situation.

Dane’s eyes gleam with amusement. “We already have what we want. All you need to do is stay out of our way. The girl’s gone, and if you have any sense left, you’ll accept that and move on.”

I try to steady my breathing, but I’m failing. The walls feel like they’re closing in around me, the air is too thick to breathe. I’ve always been in control. I’ve always been the one pulling the strings. But they’re slipping from my grasp, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

Dane gives a mock bow, the rest of the hunters fall back with him, their expressions bored and dismissive. “Good luck, prince,” he taunts. “You’ll need it.”