Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 68

Ashley pov

Okay, scratch that, the support doesn’t matter the slightest and doesn’t ground me enough to stay rooted on the place either as Kaiden keeps walking closer.

His eyes are trained on us and his walk is one of a man on a mission.

“Stay calm, Ash. Don’t mind that asshole, I know him, he’s so full of himself, even an overflowing burrito pales compared to him,” Ethan whispers in my ear, making the alarm bells go off even louder.

Of all the people I could have chosen to stick around, Ethan is the one I choose? How stupid am I for this? The crowd is massive and I stand next to the one person who knows the man who rejected me personally?

Mentally, I’m kicking myself. Spiritually, I’m throwing myself off a cliff. Physically, I’m skating worse than the last autumn leaf, still holding onto the tree branch even despite the cold, violent wind.

“I don’t want to meet the prince in person,” I mutter, instantly kicking myself for saying that loud enough for Ethan to hear me. “I get real bad panic attacks when I’m close to important people,” I quickly add to do some damage control.

Ethan spares me a glance and smiles, as if that could ever help me with the hurricane that’s destroying everything inside me as we stand here.

He squeezes my hand a little tighter, a feeble attempt to reassure me and leans in again to whisper, “don’t worry, I’m here for you. This isn’t the first time I meet Mister too good to be true face to face. Also, just in case you didn’t catch on the drift yet - he ain’t that good. Fucker doesn’t know where the servants put his underwear, let alone can fight or even count to ten without any outside help. Just breathe and let me deal with him.”

The more Ethan speaks, the more heavy the dread becomes. Kaiden walks closer with every second and my eyes are already seeking the nearest exit. It doesn’t help that I don’t see Elias and Everett around too. If they were, I could excuse myself and go to them as a cover at least.

“I really don’t want to be here, Ethan. The last thing I need is a massive panic attack in front of the prince. I get that you know him personally, I get that there’s some history and bad blood, but above all that, he’s still the darn price and we are supposed to be kind to him. I can’t do this,” I keep pressing and try to pull my hand out of his grasp to leave.

Ethan refuses to let go and instead, tightens his hold around my hand. “Sorry not sorry, Ash. Sometimes, you gotta face your biggest fears to get over them. Also, since we are officially best buddies starting from now on, you’ll be sad to hear that you’ll meet that shitstick more than you’d like to. More than even I or my brothers would like to. There’s some history, yes..”

He trails off but doesn’t offer anything else. And truth be told, I don’t want more explanations because the only thing I really desire right now is to get the fuck out of here.

When Kaiden is just a few steps away from us, fear gets the best of me. Adrenaline pumps through my veins with such force that I manage to pull my hand out of Ethan’s, mouth a weak, “sorry, you’re on your own with this one,” and run off.

I hear him call after me, but I ignore his attempt to force me to stay. Such a friend he is, really, trying to force me to stay around and act like everything’s alright. As if.

Yes, perhaps he wouldn’t act like this if he knew at least half the truth, but I don’t have that much trust in him to share just yet. I didn’t have trust in Elias too, but in that situation, I really didn’t have any other choice anyway.

As I storm past the people who are entering the party, I don’t look where I’m heading - I just force myself to move faster and disappear from sight.

Once I get outside, I run around the building and start pondering what excuse I could use if I happen to run into one of the Professors or the headmaster himself. They say multitasking is a strength every woman has by nature, but I prove that statement to be completely, utterly wrong.

Apparently, running and not paying attention where you run because you’re consumed by your thoughts is the worst thing one could do, because that’s exactly how I end up in a freaking ditch.

Dirty, stinky, wet and disgusting ditch.

“Good fucking job, Ash,” I groan as I start crawling out of it.

I don’t need a mirror to know I have managed to fuck up. Marjory so.

On the bright side, my hair and face don’t feel wet or dirty. On the not so bright side, the beautifully tailored suit I’m wearing is probably completely destroyed beyond repair. I can’t go walking around looking like a freshly spawned swamp monster, damn it.

“Think, Ash, think fast.” I mutter to myself, as if that little encouragement could ever help me.

My eyes scan the surroundings and I don’t see anything or anyone of use. The best course of action is to go to the locker rooms and pray the Goddess one of the guys might have left something wearable around.

“Yes!” I hiss and start walking. “The scent of their sweat could scare away the worst of the predators, I’m sure the prince wouldn’t want to get close to me if I reek of sweat and egos.” The remark makes me chuckle and eases my mind, so I add an extra step to reach my goal faster.

However, upon entering the locker rooms, I’m met with yet another disappointment. The word ‘fuck’ slips from my lips, long, drawn out and heavy as my eyes scan the locker room, completely overtaken by nothing but a bunch of extravagant evening gowns.