Alphas of Raven: The Forbidden Triplets

Chapter 16

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED, AND SO HAS THE LAST ONE. i HAVE CLUBBED THREE CHAPTERS INTO ONE, SO PLEASE READ THE LAST CHAPTER AS WELL, IT HAS THINGS ADDED TO IT.

Aria's POV

"Wow! Are they like those Kardashians now?" Max was amazed as she looked at Sole and Rhea posing for the camera right in our driveway, effectively blocking the entrance and our way.

There they were—the beautiful couple getting ready for their first day of college. Their media manager's words, not mine.

"It's like I am watching Keeping Up with the Reds!" Max muttered.

She was not wrong.

However, the headline of the newspaper that Max was holding spun the story in a much more positive light.

The Reds celebrate the Goddess's gift of Love: The Reds wanted to take this opportunity to show everyone what a blessing it is to have fated mates by giving a glimpse into the lives of the fated couple. ~ W Post

The rumor had it that Alpha Red had brokered a top-notch deal with the press and media houses to give them access to Sole and Rhea's lives.

"This says that they want to encourage people to embrace their fated mates and to revive the belief in the mate bond." Max pointed out as she continued to read the article.

I rolled my eyes at that. These were the same people who had convinced me not to think about my fated mate and rather take Sole as my chosen mate.

"How come no one is calling it out for what it truly is, a publicity stunt?" Jacob sounded irritated.

"Oh, it's so much more than just a publicity stunt. It's a superb political move." I could not hold back any longer.

"Fated mates are sacred for the wider public, and using that, they are portraying themselves to be the only true disciples of the moon goddess amongst the original families who value her gift of a fated mate."

I could visualize my father and his team fretting about this. Not that we could do anything about it, especially with my mate's situation.

And while it was not something that warranted immediate attention, it would need some dealing with later.

"I just don't get this obsession with fated mates." Max sounded rather annoyed about it, like it had hit a sore spot.

"And they have already blamed me for coming between Sole and Rhea," Jacob added, "and everyone knows that Zain has a chosen mate."

I winced as his words reminded me of Alpha Zain and his wife, but quickly forced myself to move on.

"That's right. And by giving public access to their lives, Alpha Red is not only making Sole and Rhea more relatable vs. others, and the money just happens to be incidental."

"What you are saying is right, but I doubt that Alpha Red is so farsighted," Jacob said as he picked up his college bag on his shoulder.

"He may have a way with media folks, but that has always been about giving them more access than others. It's just pushing the good stuff first."

"Also, the money is not incidental. It never is for the Reds."

Before I could ask him more about what he meant by the money part, Sole and Rhea walked back in, interrupting our conversation.

"Why was Sole scowling at the pair of you?" Jacob asked the instant we stepped out of the house to head for college.

Both Max and I turned to look at Sole, who was still frowning at us as he stood next to the large window.

It did not matter; I didn't want to get caught up in any drama relating to the Reds, so it was best to ignore whatever it was.

"Don't know; don't care," I told the two of them.

"Does this have to do with the fact that he found me almost naked in your room and that too, I might add, in a little awkward position?"

Max suggested it, mentioning the incident where she had dashed into my room in the morning with nothing but a bed sheet wrapped around her.

"What?" Jacob looked confused. "What are you guys talking about?"

"It's nothing. I was just sneaking back from your room to mine when I heard Sole in the hallway." Max explained.

"I panicked, and I ran right into Aria's room instead, hoping to hide from him."

"And Sole chose that very moment to invite himself into my room as well, so we could talk," I added to Max's story, hoping to give more clarity.

"And thereby walking into me and Aria," Max completed my sentence.

"Or rather, me wrapped in a bedsheet standing next to Aria." She explained further, making all of us burst into laughter just imagining the whole scene.

And with that, we made our way toward college.

*****

"What is wrong with you, Aria?"

I cursed the second I heard Sole's voice as I stepped out of class.

Why the hell did he have to take the Business and Pack Administration class? The answer was obvious because he was going to be an Alpha as well.

"No, nothing; I am good. Thank you for asking."

Smiling politely, I tried to brush him off, not wanting to indulge him any further, especially with those paps around, eager to get his bytes on his first class.

"That is not what I meant, and you know that." He shot back, walking right behind me, keen to get my attention.

I glanced around, and I could not see any of the photographers or reporters who had been tagging Sole since morning.

"I have no idea what you mean, Sole, and honestly, I do not want to find out either," I told him hastily, hoping this would shut him down.

The last thing I wanted was to get caught up in any kind of drama with him. I had to avoid any further confrontation with him at all costs.

I meant to quickly make my way away from him after telling him my piece, and for a minute I thought I had until I was abruptly pulled into one of the broom closets.

Sole had me pinned against the wall, caging me with his hands.

Goddess! What was with the raging testosterone and pinning people against the wall? These men needed to get over it already.

"That whole thing with Max this morning, Aria, what the hell was that about?"

Sole spoke before I could shove him aside.

"Please tell me it was not what I saw; I know you are not into girls."

Goddess, I can't believe he was stuck on that.

"First, you can't know that, Sole. Secondly, it should not matter to you. It's none of your business."

I said, pushing him back as I moved to open the door. Neither was I in the mood to give him any straight answers, nor did I want to continue this conversation.

"This is not you, doll. I know that." His voice was tender, as was his expression.

The whole thing just made me feel sick.

"I know you." His tone was affirmative.

"Let me share something I have learned very recently, Sole," I spoke as I leaned forward.

"You feel like you know a person, but you can never know anyone enough. So if I were you, I would rethink what you knew about me."

My words cut the tension in the air with a sharpness that made him flinch. He knew what I was talking about.

"You can say whatever you want, Aria. I know you are not a lesbian." He retorted.

I raised an eyebrow, a mixture of surprise and annoyance crossing my face.

"And this is a point of contention, why?"

"And why do I have to, or not have to, be gay? I could be bisexual, or maybe I am just experimenting. How would you know?" repeating Kia's words.

Sole was taken aback by my outburst. He seemed momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of how to respond to my unexpected outburst.

"This is all happening because of that girl, Max. She is so not a good influence on you," he finally concluded, trying to console himself.

Huh! As per Sole, no one was a good influence on me; I wondered if he included himself in that list. He even had things to say about Kia, after all.

"Let me tell you something, Sole." I looked him right in the eye. "It's not her; it's me."

Pausing for a moment, letting my words sink in.

"Now get off me." I pushed him as I readied myself to leave the room for a second time.

"Don't be like this. I miss you, Aria; I miss us." Sole's voice cracked with a hint of desperation as he reached out to grab my arm.

"There is no us, Sole," I said, as a matter of fact,

"You have taken this better than what I had expected."

Was he hurt that I was moving on? Jerk!

"And that is a bad thing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I had a choice, also, what did you expect me to do? Sit around whining for you?"

I did not plan for our conversation to go this way, but I was losing my patience.

"It was not supposed to be like this, Aria. My wolf, who just could not keep away. I got carried away."

Wow! We were blaming our wolf now. Now that I had three mates, I understood that the physical attraction was insane, but that did not warrant the lying.

"It was supposed to be a one-time thing, Aria. Just to keep my wolf happy," he said as he stepped away, wanting to step out of the room.

This was the last straw for me; the anger, frustration, and hurt that I had been holding onto burst through my defenses. My insides burned with fury, and I pulled him back.

"How dare you, Sole?" I pulled him back as he opened the door to step out, holding him by his arm so that his body was turned towards me.

"Did you believe that I would take you back? Or did you hope that I would never find out?"

My voice was shaking as the words found their way to my mouth. This is why I did not want to speak to him; there was too much betrayal and past issues that needed confronting.

"Let me burst the bubble for you; that was not going to happen. Like, ever," I said as I stepped towards him, my Alpha aura rolling around me.

"And for the record, I am so glad that all of this happened. And that we are done." I could see the shock in his eyes as my words sank in.

"You don't mean that; you are just angry." He retorted. "I know you will come around."

This time, I refused to continue the conversation. I had said my piece, and I was done.

"I am not giving up on us, Aria; we can survive this. I know it." He continued talking as I walked away, towards my next class. Leaving him standing there all by himself.

*****

"You know Dr.Benjamin cherry-picked the students himself," Jacob spoke of the professor who was supposed to take this class.

"The psychographic test that we gave and the interview were mostly for this course."

Jacob and I were both in the Werewolf Genetics and Evolution class, along with twenty other students.

It was a highly sought-after course, especially with Dr. Benjamin leading some cutting-edge classified research.

"This is not a regular werewolf evolution class," A warm yet stern voice had us all looking at the podium. Which was occupied by a man with dark hair and kind, brown eyes.

That had to be Dr. Benjamin.

"We will be studying werewolf evolution in a rather unconventional way here," he continued with his address.

"Our genes tell us the story of our past, and they have the potential to predict what our future may look like."

He pushed his spectacles up from the nose of his bridge before he spoke again.

"This is a research and development paper, and it will also involve working with things that you may not be comfortable with, including but not limited to rogues."

"I would suggest that any of you that have a problem with it may consider leaving."

Everyone exchanged nervous glances, shifting uncomfortably in their seats, wondering who would be the ones to chicken out.

In the next five minutes, two copper-haired girls stepped out.

"OK, now that we have that out of the way, let's start with the basics." Dr. Benjamin said as he started passing out some study material.

"Your first assignment is to see how our genes play a role in deciding our fated mates."

He had just explained that he wanted us to go through the reports of fifty mated couples when there were a series of beeping noises as the phones lit up with a flurry of what seemed to be news alerts.

The mobile alerts were soon accompanied by heated whispers, furrowing eyebrows, and stolen glances. Was it me, or did it look like everyone was staring at me?

I had almost blamed my over-hyper imagination until Jacob showed me a series of news articles with a picture of Sole and me from earlier today.

Unfortunately, it was the one where I pulled onto his arm towards the end of our discussion, and it made it look like I was trying to get Sole to talk.

And the news headlines reflected just that.

Aria White puts her hands where they don't belong. ~ Red Pack Times

Aria White still not over Sole ~ WOI

Aria White seen begging Sole Red ~ Were Times

It was a damn good frame job. But the question was, What was I going to do?