Alphas of Raven: The Forbidden Triplets

Chapter 11

Aria’s POV

Wife? Did he say that was his wife?

No, that could not be. I must have gotten it wrong.

I looked back at my fated mate again, hoping that this was all some big confusion.

One look at his face, and I lost my tongue.

The face that was brimming with lust just seconds ago was now colored in guilt and turmoil. Avoiding my eyes, he tried to get himself together, removing all traces of our passionate encounter.

Oh, Goddess! No, this could not be happening. Please no.

Wetness seeped into my eyes, and the exhilarating sparks that had been coursing through my body turned into dread as the reality of my situation weighed on me.

I felt like a mess and was sure I looked the part as well.

He tried to approach me, opening his mouth as he attempted to explain himself, but I was not having any of it.

I was not ready for any of it.

So I did the only thing that made sense at the moment. I marched off, with my broken heart tucked away, unwilling to face this problem at all.

How had it come to this?

I had hit a new low altogether, making out with a married man. Really?

Having experienced infidelity firsthand, I knew how it felt.

Fated mate or not, it was wrong on all accounts.

Sole and Rhea had done it to me, and now I was doing the same thing to another woman. How was I any better?

The thought alone disgusted me.

My wolf didn’t agree; while she was as upset as me over the incident, she argued that it was not my mistake and that there was no way I could have known that he was married.

Though that was true, it still did not excuse what had happened.

And couldn’t he just tell me instead of attacking my lips? Bloody liar, whatever the hell his name was.

Goddess! I did not even know his name, just like I did not know the name of the other guy.

The other guy, my other mate. I had two mates.

A fact that had drowned in the sea of my passion came out of my brain fog and made its way to the forefront of my very long list of problems.

My heart was beating so fast that, for a moment, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. If such a thing was even possible for werewolves.

Two mates? No, it could not be, how was that even possible? I did not know anyone who had two mates; this just was not something that I had heard of or read about.

Did I get it wrong somehow?

Maybe one of them was not my mate. I could have misjudged, but then I felt the mate bond click into place both times. The feeling was unmistakable and unreplicable.

When I checked with my wolf, she was adamant that both of them were our mates, though she, too, was baffled as to how this could be the case.

So, that meant it was not a mistake; I had two mates. In a conventional society like ours, having two mates was bound to be controversial.

Oh, Goddess! Why did I have to deal with all this?

What was even worse than having two mates, was the fact that I could be neither of them.

One of them was married, while the other wanted nothing to do with me.

I rushed through the back lanes of the row houses in a robotic motion, my mind too distracted to concentrate on anything or anyone. My mind was a jumbled mess, exploding with all sorts of thoughts and possibilities.

For Goddess's sake, I had not even turned to check if that lying mate of mine had followed behind. Not that I cared.

With the thought still fresh in my mind, I slammed into something hard and large.

Another alluring woody scent of Mahogany and chocolate, mixed with what seemed like fresh s*x, invaded my nostrils with full force.

The scent was enticing for sure, but my scrambled brain and depressed wolf barely even registered it or bothered about the fact that the individual's scent was heavily wrapped in the odor of arousal and orgasms.

Glad, that at least someone was getting it.

"I am sorry," I murmured, eager to get back to my misery and away from this stranger.

"No, I was in a hurry; I didn't see where I was going. It's my fault." The man said in a gentle voice, he sounded like a nice guy.

"I hope you are not hurt." His concern caused me to look up.

Raising my head, I came face-to-face with another handsome, tall man with raven hair.

A sharp jawline and a well-built body did not just make for another handsome face but also did well to remind me of the other two gentlemen that I met up with today.

My eyes wandered to his handsome face again; he had a clift chain and almond-shaped eyes as well, just a different color; his were light grey.

He really did remind me of the two of them.

On cue, his eyes focused on mine. The piercing gaze held my eyes, making it impossible for me to look away.

For the third time, my iris dilated as the invisible link forged itself between me and this stranger, and once again the mate bond came to life, securing the connection between us.

"Mate," the man growled.

Mate? A third mate?

What was wrong with me? Did I have a disease or something where I thought everyone was my mate?

Maybe I was just tired and confused; yes, that should be it.

The undeniable pull of mates tightened its grip on me, refuting my baseless excuse.

As I looked at him again, the similarities between my three mates baffled me. Cleft Chin, sharp jawline, almond eyes, pointed nose, and midnight black hair.

The fact that I had three mates was disturbing on all levels.

On top of that, they looked alike. Did I have a type?

The man stepped forward, his mouth moving towards the crook of my neck.

"No!" I almost yelled, taking a couple of steps back, not prepared for this person.

The perfect face contoured into a menacing creature as he growled back at my denial. His eyes glowered with danger, as his teeth elongated. The gentle giant had turned feral within seconds,

That was insane!

"I am sorry, I am sorry," he apologized, gaining back his composure.

"It's just that my wolf and I have been waiting for our mate for a very long time," he explained.

Mates did not like to be rejected, but his wolf's reaction was extreme. Though he gained control within a couple of seconds.

"Also, I understand I might smell off to you." He was talking about the whiff of s*x that hung from every part of his body.

"I didn't know I was going to find my mate today."

He was trying to make me feel at ease, and I appreciated that, but the truth was that there was no feeling comfortable in my situation.

"Be assured that I am not committed to anyone."

Well, at least he wanted me, so there was that.

"Trust me," he assured me again as he raised his eyebrows.

Goddess! He really did look like them. My three mates and their uncanny resemblance still had my mind going in circles.

"By the way, I am York, little mate. York Raven. What is your name?"

York Raven! As in one of the Raven brothers.

Suddenly, everything fell into place, as it dawned upon me that I was mated to the Raven brothers, the triplets, all three of them.

How could he be the Raven Alpha? He looked so young; all of them did. But then, werewolves always aged well.

Still, they were as old as my father. That was just wrong. How could I be mated to them?

"Won't you tell me about you, little mate? For starters, what is your..."

I interrupted him before he could say anything else. I had to think this through.

Did I have to reject two or all? Or worse, with all three?

"I am sorry; I can not do this right now." I blurted it out, backing away from him. " I need time."

He looked hurt at my outburst but did his best not to show it or let his wolf get out of control.

"I understand. It's fine," he said calmly.

I was glad that he did not act all possessive, and let me get some distance between us.

"You seemed stressed; we can speak more later. If I could just have your...."

Before he could finish, I turned on my heels and ran as fast as I could.

Even when I tripped and landed on the ground, I quickly got back up and continued running.

The adrenaline pumping through my veins fueled my determination to get away from there and from the Raven brothers.

******

Luckily, I was able to sneak back in last evening without having to run into Sole of Rhea, or anyone else for that matter. Even Kia was out.

Honestly, I was just glad because I was in no condition to speak to anyone.

With all that happened yesterday, I was just glad that I could get some sleep. I needed all the energy I could muster to deal with the drama my life had become.

All thanks to my triplet mates.

How had I not made the connection earlier?

But, how could I? The werewolf world never had any triplets, or even twins, for that matter. They were not just rare but nonexistent, so I would never have guessed in a million years.

Now that I think about it, their personalities and mannerisms were as different as night and day. It was almost impossible to believe that they shared the same DNA.

The jerk from the bar gave all the bad boy vibes in the extreme with obsidian eyes and ruffled hair. The liar from my make-out session earlier was all about power and arrogance.

On the other hand, the stranger seemed sweet; his face was kind and gentle, just like the rest of his demeanor, excluding his wolf's outbursts, of course. Because that was freaky.

A jerk, a liar, and a sweet one.

What was worse was that there was no way I could talk about this to anyone here, not even Kia.

There was only one person I could discuss this with.

Picking up my phone, I skimmed through the digits, dialing the familiar number. I waited for the line to go through.

"Morning, Sweetheart." Dad greeted me as he answered the phone. "Ready for the first day of college?"

"It's not college, just training today," I told him as I climbed out of bed, only to be thrown back in because of the agonizing pain in my ankle.

"Aah, ouch," I cursed under my breath.

"What happened? Are you all right?"

I looked down to see that I had a swollen ankle, along with a large wound that still seemed wet.

"Nothing just twisted my ankle," I regretted the second I informed him, now he would go all papa bear on me.

"Aria, you need to be more careful. You know you don't heal that fast."

Of course, I knew that. The open wound was proof of my super slow healing, sometimes I thought I was worse than a human.

"I did not call you to discuss my ankle." I tried to change the topic.

"I need to speak to you about something..." I hesitated for a bit, not sure how to discuss this on the phone.

"Well, as luck would have it, I am coming over to Ravenwood in the next couple of days, to check out the Rogue Programme."

In a few days, could that work?

"If it is important, we can talk about it right now. Tell me what's weighing you down?"

"No, no, we can speak once you are here."

That meant that I would have to figure out a way to keep this a secret and ensure the Ravens did not utter a word to another soul.

There was no way the married one was going to tell anyone and the sweet one did not even know my name. It was the jerk I was worried about.

Hopefully, that would not be a problem with their penchant for privacy.

Having spoken to my dad, I got ready for training; I was already late, and an injured foot did not help with that either.

Max waved to me the minute she saw me enter the training center. I strode towards her and Jacob, ignoring Sole

Even Sole was there, standing right at the front, like the team leader he always wanted to be. I was just happy to see that at least Rhea was not there, so maybe we could skip the drama.

Or maybe I spoke too soon.

"Oh! Princess White trains?" I stopped in my tracks as I heard the loud voice, laced with sarcasm, booming over my ears.

And turned to meet a set of oh-so-familiar eyes.