Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 9

Ashley pov

Of all the things that could have happened to me, somehow I end up in a locker room with a bunch of sweaty Alpha men and the three brothers from my dorm room are the ones who stand right in front of me.

I grip the bench I’m sitting on to keep my gaze from wandering, I really don’t want to see what they have.. ehem.. there, despite how darn curious I am.

And, to make matters even worse, all three of them decide to start teasing me about joining them in the shower. Ethan offers to scrub my back and Everett and Elias surprisingly second his offer.

My whole body is burning up and my wolf is really trashing inside me, struggling her way up. I can’t let her expose us like this. She’s not thinking. She’s letting her instincts take over.

Before I make the biggest mistake of my life, I find the strength to stand up. All three cheer, thinking they have broken me into joining the mass naked party, but instead, I bolt for the door and take off.

I can return to the dorm when they all are sleeping and leave for classes before they wake up. Yes, I’ve been avoiding them for the most part and surely will manage to keep on doing that without any issue.

“You almost ruined it for us! How could you!” I snarl at Sam as soon as I get a safe distance away from the locker room.

She lets out a pained whimper and blocks me out. I can feel her emotions, feel how sorry she is, but for now, I’ll allow her to wallow in self-pity until she understands how much danger her impulsive behavior is forcing us in.

*ETHAN*

After the shower, Everett and Elias head home with me. I’m kind of hoping to see Ash back in his room, but when we arrive, the place is dead quiet. Usually, we hear at least a heartbeat, but since there isn’t any, we all know he isn’t here.

Just in case, I walk to his room and open the door ajar. As always, the bed is neatly made, all his clothes folded, stacked up on a chair and nothing is out of place. The emptiness of the room makes me frown.

When I walk back to the living room, I drop on the couch, between my brothers. Both of them look angry, but neither is willing to speak up. So, as the hero that I truly am, I start first.

“Don’t you guys think there is something strange about Ash? I feel like he’s been doing his best to avoid us since day one. I mean, during training it’s fine, but he flees as soon as it’s done, eats lunch alone and every time when I try to approach, he quickly turns around and leaves before I get to him.”

Everett glances at me and arches an eyebrow. “You’re actually right. Probably should feel like shit about this, but the little guy sure as hell is avoiding me, that much I’m certain about.”

I take a moment to look at him. Everett isn’t the biggest asshole of the bunch - Elias is - but Everett isn’t that far away from him either.

Honestly, it’s a little funny to watch him frown like this. Almost as if the big guy feels like he’s being rejected by Ash and that surely is pissing him off.

Everett isn’t good with ‘no’s’ in his life, never has been. In fact, he claims the word doesn’t exist unless it comes from him and never accepts it as an answer. A stubborn motherfucker he is.

Then, I glance at Elias, but he looks completely unbothered by the odd situation. “Eli, have anything to say?” I ask, just to poke at the angry wolf.

He glares at me, teeth grinding, jaw tensing, but doesn’t say anything. Okay, then.

“Well, I have a feeling that Ash might be in trouble. Call it sixth sense if you will, but he’s so shady and jumpy, there has to be a reason for that. Also, his avoidance to build friendships and familiar ties is kind of suspicious too. Like he’s trying to isolate himself, build a damn wall around himself just to keep everyone at arm’s length. Any ideas what our new little friend might be hiding?”

“He’s not my-” Elias starts, probably ready to go off at me about Ash being a stranger and not his friend, but when the door to the apartment opens, he is the first one to jump to his feet. Not his friend my ass, sure, I believe him.

Elias is an asshole. But he’s a good asshole, no matter how much he hides it. The guy has a big heart.

“Where the fuck were you, bug?” Elias asks, rushing towards Ash.

Everett and I, seeing the look on Elias’ face, jump to our feet and run up to him. We loop our arms under his armpits and hold him back while the asshole has the nerve to try to get out of our grip. “I asked you a question! Answer me, bug!” He roars, still trying to get close to Ash.

The look on Ash’s face saddens me. He looks completely terrified, his eyes brim with tears and bottom lip trembles as he starts picking at the skin on his fingers. He’s dead scared of what might happen next.

“Elias, you baboon, calm the fuck down, can’t you see you’re scaring Ash? The poor thing is about to pass out if you don’t calm down!” I growl at him.

My brother pulls his arm out of my grasp and growls. “Whatever, I’m out.”

Everett and I watch him leave. After entering his room, he slams the door and locks it behind him. We, again, exchange hella confused gazes and then focus on Ash again.

“Hey, it’s fine. Elias is a dick most of the time, but he’s a little protective. He probably blew up because you ran off like that and he’s been worried. Not that he will admit that,” I whisper and try to approach Ash.

When he looks at me, there is something in those sad, scared eyes that breaks my fucking heart. I had no idea one look from a person might break me like this, but here I am. Shit, maybe the joke about dicks wasn’t a joke after all. Am I into dudes now? God damn it, now I need to get a new spicy magazine collection and a flipping rainbow flag to parade around.

“Don’t mind the idiots, Ash,” Everett suddenly speaks up, running a hand through his hair. “Are you okay? Mind telling us where you were and if there is an issue we should be aware of?”

Never thought I might say this, but the meat brain of the bunch has a point. He’s the most level-headed of us all right now, as it seems.

Ash quickly shakes his head. “No, nothing, I promise. I don’t do good with people in close proximity, call it trauma if you will. Especially naked people. I prefer to take my showers alone, I suppose I freaked out without a reason. I went for a walk, promise everything’s fine. If it’s okay with you, I think I should sleep a little, it’s been a long day.”

Everett glances at me, giving me THE look. The very look that screams he’s not buying that bullshit and honestly, neither am I. Ash is hiding something big.

But alas, against all my instincts that scream I need to poke and pry at him a little, I decide against it when Everett steps aside and frees up the way for Ash to leave. I do the same, staying behind with my brother, watching the sad, little form disappear into the room and lock it the same as Elias did.