Mated To The Alpha Triplets (SPICY)

Chapter 18

CASSIE’S POV

The mansion was bigger than I remembered. I had only been here once before, just a few hours ago, sitting across from three men who were still strangers to me. That visit had been about surviving the conversation and keeping my head clear. I hadn’t really looked around then.

Now, as I stepped out of the car with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders, I finally took it in.

It stood in front of me like it belonged to a different world. It wasn’t just a mansion. It Soft lights from below made it glow against the dark sky.

The grounds were wide and perfectly kept. Even in the dark light, I could see the outline of gardens stretching to the left, with trimmed hedges and stone paths. There was a huge fountain in the middle of the circular driveway.

There were other fountains on the grounds too.

I stood on the steps and just stared. I didn’t even realize I had stopped walking until Castien spoke from behind me.

“You can go in,” he said.

I swallowed “Okay”

But I didn’t move right away. I was still staring at how beautiful the place was.

“Close your mouth” Amara said.

“My mouth is not open” I answered.

“It’s open in your mind, which is worse”

I pulled the blanket tighter around myself and finally walked through the front doors.

The inside was warmer than the night air. The entrance hall alone was as big as my entire house back home. The ceilings were high. The staircase split into two at the top, and the floors reflected the light.

The brothers led me further inside.

Then the staff appeared. They came from different directions, from a hallway, from the kitchen, from deeper inside the house. They gathered together, like this happened all the time. Like welcoming someone into the house in the middle of the night was normal.

There were six of them. They were different ages, all dressed in uniforms.

Bastian stepped forward.

“This is Cassie,” he said “She’ll be staying with us. Her room is the east guest suite. Help her with whatever she needs.”

The woman standing at the front stepped closer. She was older and she looked like she was the house manager. She smiled at me

“Welcome, Cassie,” she said. “I’m Dora. I manage the house. If you need anything, you come to me first.”

“Thank you,” I said, but my voice came out smaller than I wanted.

The others introduced themselves one by one. I caught their names as they spoke. Marcus handled the grounds. Lily was young and smiled like we could already be friends. Bernard, an older man, nodded at me.

Each of them smiled at me like they meant it. I kept waiting for something to change. I had spent so long being looked at in a certain way, with mockery, or coldness, or that empty look that says you don’t matter. So, when strangers showed warmth, it didn’t feel simple.

It felt like a trick. I waited for someone to slip but it didn’t happen.

They went back to their work quietly, like nothing unusual had happened. I stood there in the entrance hall and felt completely thrown off by the fact that there was nothing to defend myself against.

“They’re just nice” Amara said.

“People aren’t just nice” I replied.

“Some are”

I didn’t blame Amara for being optimistic. She was new to the world. She didn’t have any scars yet. For a moment, I wished I could be like that too.

The brothers took me through the house. It wasn’t a quick walk. We passed through room after room. There was a sitting room with sofas that looked soft enough to sleep on without even trying. There was a library. They had a dining room with a table long enough for twenty people. The kitchen felt warm and smelled like fresh bread.

Then there was a music room that made me stop to admire it.

The room was filled with instruments. A grand piano stood in one corner. Guitars rested on stands. There was a recording setup that looked professional.

As we walked, I found myself reaching out and touching things. I didn’t plan to do it. It just happened.

My hand ran along the staircase banister. I brushed my fingers against the curtains in the hallway. I let my fingers trail across the spines of books in the sitting room.

The books looked read, not just placed there to fill space.

I wasn’t trying to take anything. I didn’t even think about it. I just needed to feel it, to make sure what I was seeing was real.

Castien noticed. He didn’t say anything, but I caught him watching me. His expression wasn’t pity, and I was grateful for that. It was something different.

We went upstairs. At the end of a wide hallway, the brothers stopped in front of a door. Darren pushed it open and stepped aside so I could walk in first.

I stepped inside, and I stopped moving. The room was big, but not in the same way as the entrance hall. It didn’t feel cold or overwhelming.

It felt open in a softer way, like space that was meant to be lived in.

There was a bed against the far wall with soft-looking covers. There was a huge wardrobe in a corner. There was a vanity with a mirror, and a desk with a lamp. Bookshelves stood empty, waiting to be filled. The curtains were deep pink.

I walked toward the window. There was a seat built into the sill, lined with cushions. Outside, you could see the gardens.

I placed my hand on the window frame and looked out. The view from here was incredible.

I had grown up in a house where my bedroom window faced a wall. I had never had a view. I had never had a window seat. I had never had a room that felt like it had space to spare.

Something tightened in my throat, but I forced it to stay there.

“It’s yours,” Darren said from the doorway. “For as long as you need it. No conditions.”

I didn’t turn around right away. I needed a moment to make sure my face was normal.

“Okay,” I said