Owned by the Triplets

The Owner’s Lesson

I was shaking. My chest was heaving, and my voice was starting to crack from all the shouting. I stood in the middle of Alaric’s office, my hair a mess and my face burning with a heat that had nothing to do with the weather.

"I have rights!" I screamed at him, my finger shaking as I pointed it at his chest. "I am a student here. You are a professor. You can’t just follow me around like I’m a criminal. You can’t let your friends—or whoever they are—stalk me at a coffee shop! It’s illegal! It’s harassment!"

Alaric didn't move. He stood by the door, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked like a statue carved out of ice. He just watched me, letting me tire myself out. He didn't interrupt, he didn't argue, and he didn't apologize. He just waited.

"Say something!" I yelled, stomping my foot. "Defend yourself! Tell me why you think it’s okay to ruin my life!"

I waited for him to snap back, but the silence in the room was deafening. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall and my own breathing. I felt the energy leave my body all at once. I slumped my shoulders, my eyes stinging with tears of pure frustration. I had nothing left to say.

Alaric finally moved. He reached behind him and turned the lock on the heavy wooden door. The click felt like a final bell.

"Are you finished, Elena?" he asked. His voice was calm, but it was the kind of calm that comes before a hurricane.

"I... I’m done talking," I whispered, wiping a tear from my cheek.

"Good," Alaric said, stepping toward me. "Because now, it’s my turn."

I tried to back away, but I was already near his desk. "Alaric, what are you doing?"

"I told you that your actions have consequences," he said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. "You were told to stay put. You were told to rest. Instead, you went out to parade yourself in front of a boy who means nothing, putting yourself in the open where anyone could see you."

"I was just having coffee!"

"You were being defiant," he corrected.

He didn't give me a chance to argue. He reached out and grabbed my waist, and before I could even gasp, he sat down in his large leather chair and flipped me over his lap.

"Alaric! Let me up! Put me down right now!" I shrieked, my face hanging toward the floor. I started hitting his back with my fists, kicking my legs in the air. "You can’t do this! This is insane!"

"You need to learn how to listen, Elena," he said.

Then, I felt it. A firm, stinging slap landed right across the seat of my jeans. My eyes went wide, and the air left my lungs.

"Did you... did you just hit me?" I gasped.

Whack.

Another one followed, even firmer than the first. It stung. It really, really stung.

"That is for the coffee shop," Alaric said.

Whack.

"That is for ignoring my instructions."

Whack.

"And that is for thinking you can scream at me in my own office."

I stopped hitting him. I stopped kicking. I just hung there, my face beet-red, as he delivered a series of steady spanks. It wasn't enough to truly bruise me, but it was enough to make my skin burn and my heart race. It was the first time anyone had ever used physical discipline on me, and the shock of it was more overwhelming than the pain.

I started to sob. Not because it hurt so much, but because I felt completely defeated. The strong, independent law student was gone, replaced by a girl crying over a professor’s lap.

After about a dozen swats, he stopped. The room was silent again, except for my quiet whimpering. Alaric didn't push me off. He stayed right where he was.

"Up," he whispered.

He helped me sit up, but he didn't put me on the floor. He pulled me against his chest, wrapping his massive arms around me. I tried to push away at first, but I was too weak. I just buried my face in his neck and cried.

"Shh," he murmured. He reached down with one of his large, warm palms and started to rub the back of my thighs, right where the skin was burning. He did it slowly, his hand moving in circles to ease the heat. "I’ve got you. It’s over now."

"I hate you," I sobbed into his shirt.

"No, you don't," he said, his voice surprisingly tender. "You’re just scared. But you need to understand, Elena. I won't let you ruin yourself. I won't let you settle for some ordinary boy who doesn't know what you are. You belong in a world that is much bigger than coffee shops and study dates."

He kept rubbing my skin, his touch so soothing that the pain started to fade into a strange, buzzing warmth. I felt safe. That was the most terrifying part. I was sitting in the arms of the man who had just punished me, and I felt safer than I ever had with Marcus.

I looked up at him, my vision blurred by tears. I thought about Silas and the way he’d tied my wrists with a silk tie. I thought about Killian and the way he’d held me in that shed. And now, Alaric.

The truth hit me like a physical blow to the stomach.

I wasn't just a victim of these men. I was falling for them. All of them. My heart ached for Alaric’s rules, for Silas’s luxury, and for Killian’s raw strength. I didn't want my "normal" life back. I wanted this. I wanted them.

But then, a cold wave of guilt washed over me.

What am I doing? I thought. I am basically cheating. I'm going from one man to the other, and they don't even know about each other. I'm becoming exactly what Marcus was.

I pulled back a little, looking at Alaric’s calm face. He looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.

"I have to go," I whispered.

"You’re okay now," he said, his hand still resting on my hip.

"No, I’m not," I said, shaking my head. "This isn't right. None of this is right."

I stood up, my legs still a bit shaky. Alaric didn't stop me this time. He just watched me as I straightened my sweater and grabbed my bag.

"See you in class, Elena," he said quietly.

I ran out of the office and didn't stop until I was back in my dorm room. I locked the door and slid down to the floor, my mind spinning. I loved three different men. I was keeping secrets from all of them. I was a mess, a beautiful, broken mess, and I had no idea how I was going to choose.