Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 38

Ashley pov

Alright, perhaps I don’t give up after all, because at one point, I wake up. I have no idea how much time has passed and where I am. The room smells like antiseptic, the white walls are depressing and there’s something beeping to my right side.

Once I finally come to my senses, more or less, I realize I’m in a hospital bed. Anno is sleeping in the recliner chair, an open book laying on his chest and the Professor is pacing the room, completely oblivious to the fact that I’m awake.

I try to talk, but my throat is so dry, the words come out as some caveman grunt, not the questions I intend to ask. The positive thing is that at least my feeble attempt catches the attention of the Professor.

“Oh, thank Goddess, you’re awake, Alpha,” he mutters and rushes to my side.

I watch the man wide eyed as he helps me sit up and hands me a glass of water, his eyes nervously darting between Anno and I. “I’m not sure if the boy knows who you are, if you both are that close, my apologies.”

The first day we met, this man came across as an absolute ass, but now, he’s worried and scared even. What happened to him?

Gulping down more water than I probably should, I start feeling like I’m alive again. My eyes, the same as Professor’s, dart to Anno. My best friend is still peacefully asleep, not a care in the world.

“What happened?” I whisper the question, unwilling to disturb Anno’s rest. I’ve given enough worries and stress to him, the least I can do is actually be considerate of him.

The Professor slowly lowers himself in a seat next to my bed, runs a hand through his hair and sighs. He tries to speak, but after a few unsuccessful attempts, he just shakes his head.

I want to ask more questions, but remember my mother’s words. She always stressed how important it is to give the person some time to gather their thoughts. She insisted on listening to others, not pretending while waiting for her turn to speak.

After a while, the Professor sighs again and averts his gaze. “I know who you are, Ashley Kingston. I know where you came from, or at least where you used to come from. We thought we lost you, we thought you died the day those barbaric monsters killed your parents.” The last words are a mere whisper, but they hit me with so much power, tears instantly roll down my cheeks.

The lump in my throat is back too. No matter how many times I open and close my mouth, I can’t force a word to pass my lips.

Seeing me struggle, the man decides to take over the conversation, but not without checking if Anno is still asleep. His eyes don’t leave my best friend, who would stop acting like he’s asleep with someone glaring at him like that, so I’m sure he’s still asleep.

“My name is Nathan Barron. I used to be your father’s Delta. After the attack, after what they did to the pack, some of your people survived, including myself. We were forced to flee the territories and start our lives from the ground up. We tried to look for you, trust me, so many lost their lives, unwilling to give up on you, refusing to believe we didn’t have you anymore, but no matter how much we tried - there never was enough of your people left to find you.”

His hand suddenly covers mine and quickly grasps it in a tight hold. Every word that leaves the man is laced in so much emotion, I feel like he is the only one who deserves to cry, not me.

“I knew there had to be something special about you, but I convinced myself this was another game my mind was playing - a trick it pulled off to torture me more than ever before. I refused to listen to my senses and suspicions, pushing them and you away. I will give up on my life to prove that I still stand with you, Alpha. You are my one and only, true Alpha, I will accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate,” he adds, catching me off guard.

Why would I want to punish someone who clearly struggles with the consequences of an animalistic pack? It isn’t his fault that we were attacked and he still kept hoping I was alive. Now, here he is, holding my hand and promising me loyalty no one would offer unless they meant it.

“It’s not your fault.” I manage to say. “No punishments, nothing. It’s clear you’ve been punishing yourself for something that isn’t your fault. It’s time to let it go, dad and mom would want you to. Stop torturing yourself. And also, just to put this out there - I am no Alpha. I’m just.. Me.”

“Does the boy know?” Nathan asks, glancing in Anno’s direction again. Doubt and fear radiates off him, which makes me feel like he wants to argue about my words, but doesn’t dare to.

“Not everything, no,” I mutter and look at Anno too. I can’t help but smile at the genuine man who doesn’t leave my side even despite how complicated it is to be my friend. “He knows I’m not a man, a detail or two here and there, but I haven’t told him everything. Maybe one day, but it’s still too fresh for me to discuss.”

A comfortable silence takes over the room, one I invite and relish in. I’m a little surprised to feel this free and at ease in front of the very man that kept giving me bad vibes since the beginning, but I suppose life truly is full of surprises.

Anno shifts in his chair and makes the loudest snore I’ve heard coming from a human being and the Professor, the same as me, struggles to remain silent. Clearly, we both want to laugh the tense conversation away.

After a while, his eyes focus on me, so intensively that I almost feel like the man is staring into my soul from where he stands. “Alpha, I’m sorry to stick my nose in a business that truly isn’t mine, but.. That boy, Kaiden, he’s your mate, isn’t he?”