Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 90

Ashley pov

I have no idea why, but as I walk on the trail that leads to the forest, I’m hit with an insane sense of dread. I mean, come on, it’s Anno I’m meeting, he’s a guy who couldn’t hurt a fly, yet I dread meeting him all of a sudden?

Something’s terribly wrong with me these days. Has to be paranoia. Everything’s been too smooth sailing lately so now, I’m paranoid about everything, right?

“You feel the dread because I feel it too. Something’s not right, I think we need to go back,” Sam suddenly speaks up, catching me completely off guard.

I freeze in my step and look around, seeking possible danger but there’s none, so I shake my head and start walking again, just a little slower.

“I mean, it’s possible, yes, but it’s Anno, Sam. What if something happened to him? We both know he isn’t the biggest fan of the woods so he has to have a serious reason to be there,” I try to argue even though I’m nor sure if I believe in my own words anymore.

“Yeah, something is wrong with him or he’s luring you into a trap,” Sam trails off, sounding like she has no care in the world.

“Sam!” I gasp. “You can’t possibly think that Anno would ever conspire against us. He’s our best friend, he’s been keeping our secret for ages and never did anything for us to doubt him. Anno is one of the good ones.” I insist on standing up for him.

Anno doesn’t have to know this, but I will always stand on his side. There aren’t many people in his corner, from what I learned - never have been, so I have a lot of making up to do. Not for myself, but for everyone who let him down.

“It’s not your fault his life’s pretty bad.” Sam grumbles.

“It’s no one’s fault, really. I know life is how it is, we can’t change much of it ourselves, but we can try to help others and eventually, others will help us too,” I say with pride, kind of hoping she’ll see my point and admit that I’m really trying.

I don’t want to be a resentful, hateful person. I want to be one of the good ones, but to be like that, I need to put in a lot of work and effort, even if Sam doesn’t support my decision.

“I still feel off. I can’t help it, Ash. Like, I don’t know, I have this sinking feeling that we’re walking right into someone’s trap and you’re still insisting I’m wrong. I want to be wrong, the Goddess knows how much I want to be wrong, but I fear I might be right if you take another step closer to that trap.”

I get that she’s anxious but all this whining is getting a little old. I could listen and try to put her mind at ease, but instead, I decide to block her out with a weak ‘sorry’ and carry on walking.

If Anno is in trouble, the last thing I need is Sam tugging at me to get away while I try to save my best friend from the trouble he finds himself in.

As I reach the forest line, I shove my hand into the pocket and pull out the phone to check for any new notifications. There aren’t more messages from Anno or the triplets.

The lack of Anno’s messages worries me. I don’t want to find him unconscious in the middle of the dark forest.

On the other hand, the lack of the triplets messages both terrify me and put my mind at ease. Terrified because they might have found out what I’m up to and relax because they still might be oblivious to what I’m doing out here.

Sucking in a shaky breath, I will myself to push forward. I’m not that far from my best friend and he might be in dire need of my help, so I must push all the fear down, forget the doubt and just keep going. I’m sure Anno would do the same thing for me if the roles were reversed.

Stepping inside the forest doesn’t feel half as bad as walking towards it. As soon as I’m hidden within the rows of trees, I feel at peace, safe and sound, so I take it as a hint that everything will be okay and keep walking.

I can feel Sam clawing at the wall between us, but I refuse to let it down. I know she’s trying to save me from myself, but this time I won’t allow her to do that. Anno needs me more now.

Walking deeper inside, I’m a little surprised by the silence that surrounds me. Up to this day, I’ve never thought that silence might be loud, but here I am, proving myself that I thought wrong.

Then, the only sounds I hear as I walk deeper into the woods are the rustle of the wind and leaves as they shake under the movement of air.

Once again, I feel a little uneasy as I start conjuring up different scenarios about why Anno called me here. Is he hurt? Has he done something and needs me to cover for him? Is someone bullying him?

All of those questions send my mind into overdrive and I seriously have to grit my teeth to ignore every single one of them and keep walking.

After a while, I come to a sudden stop as I notice a clearing in front of me. I would love to describe how amazing it looks here, how beautiful are the wild flowers I see peaking in between the trees and how refreshing is the air around here, but none of that matters when I see him.

In the middle of the clearing stands my worst enemy and biggest fear. Kaiden. His intense gaze already caught me and now, he’s glaring at me with so much hatred, my blood freezes in my veins.

What makes it even worse is that next to Kaiden stands Anno. So much for saving my best friend in a time of need, right? That is, if I can still call him my best friend. Fuck it, I don’t think I could have done that from the get-go. It seems he never valued me half as much as I did him.

Sucks to be me..

My heart literally sinks, it seems obvious even from my filial expression because as soon as Kaiden notices the moment, the corner of his mouth lifts a little and morphs into a cold smile before he speaks up. “My mate, we meet again.”

There’s a hint of mockery and coldness in his voice, but I can’t react to it. Even if I want to. The cold chill that breaks out from the bottom of my heart and travels all over my body manages to freeze me to a point, I can’t breathe anymore..