Mated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 31: More Than One of The Triplets

The knock came again.

Not loud. Just... gentle. Like he didn’t want to startle me.

“Hazel,” Levi’s voice was quiet. “I swear, I didn’t know.”

I sat curled up on the edge of the bed, my arm wrapped around my knees, and my other hand was flung across my forehead. My wound no longer stung badly and was already healing. But there was this dull throb of confusion and hurt in my head.

“I would’ve told you if I knew,” Levi said again, voice muffled by the door. “I’m not like that, Hazel. I mean—yeah, we’re triplets, I get that. But I’m not just one-third of a whole. I’m me. I just... I need you to see that.”

I swallowed hard, staring at the door like it might suddenly disappear and solve everything.

“Please,” he added, and that one word cracked something open in me. Not because of what he said, but how he said it. No attitude. No cockiness.

I stood slowly, feet brushing the cool tile floor, and crossed the room with hesitant steps. My fingers hovered over the handle for a second.

Then I opened the door.

Levi was standing there, barefoot, his dark brown hair a little messy like he’d been running his hands through it nonstop. His shirt was wrinkled. His green eyes—those ridiculous eyes with the gold flecks—met mine, and they were filled with something I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Worry. And maybe even fear. He was holding a little white first aid box in his hands like it was some kind of peace offering.

“I know you’re healing,” he said quickly, eyes darting to my arm. “But... I still wanted to make sure you’re okay. Just... let me do something. Please.”

I didn’t say anything. I just stepped aside. Levi walked in slowly like he thought I might change my mind and slam the door on him any second. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at me, waiting.

I sat next to him, close but not too close. He opened the kit and pulled out a few things—wipes, ointment, clean gauze.

“Already closing up,” he said softly. “Still... better safe than sorry.”

I winced a little as the cold antiseptic touched my skin, but I didn’t pull away. I watched his face instead. He stared at the wound like this mattered more to him than anything else in the world.

“You didn’t deserve any of this,” he murmured, mostly to himself. “Not the way we treated you before. Not being lied to. And definitely not getting hurt because we couldn’t get our crap together.”

I blinked at the tears stinging my eyes. “It’s not just about today, Levi. It’s everything. All of it just... hit me at once.”

Levi looked up at me, brows furrowed. “Don’t apologize. You had every right to be upset. Hell, if it were me in your shoes, I’d have trashed the whole damn house.”

That made me smile a little, just barely.

“I just...” I took a breath. “I don’t know who I’m mad at. Liam? Lucas? Myself? My parents?”

“You can be mad at all of us,” he said, gently placing a bandage over the wound even though we both knew it would be gone by morning. “It’s not wrong to feel what you feel. But don’t carry it alone, Hazel.”

I looked at him. This boy—no, this man—who used to tease me, who once laughed while I cried... had changed.

“I’ll talk to them,” I said softly. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

Levi exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for hours. “Good. Because we’re in it with you. No more secrets.”

I took his hand, and he squeezed it back. The knot in my chest loosened a little.

I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his shoulder. “Thank you.”

He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in closer. No teasing. No flirty comments. Just warmth. Steady, calming warmth.

“You wanna go back downstairs?” he asked after a few moments, his voice low.

“Only if you come with me,” I said softly.

And then, without overthinking it, I leaned in and kissed him.

It wasn’t rushed or wild. Just a gentle, lingering kiss. One that said ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m still here’ all at once.

Levi froze for half a second like he couldn’t quite believe it. Then he kissed me back, his lips warm and tender against mine. His hand slid up to cup my cheek, and for that brief moment, everything else faded away.

When we finally pulled apart, his smile was soft, almost boyish.

When we stepped out of the room and made our way downstairs, my heart pounded. Liam and Lucas were already waiting in the living room, standing stiff like they’d been bracing themselves for a storm. When they saw us, their faces reflected relief, maybe regret.

I sat first. Levi settled beside me but gave me space. It was my conversation to start.

“So,” I said, eyes flicking between Liam and Lucas. “We need to talk.”

They nodded.

“I’m hurt,” I began, steadying my voice. “Not just because you didn’t tell me right away about my parents, but because I thought... after everything... after we mated... I thought there wouldn’t be any more secrets.”

Lucas’s face was taut. “Hazel... it’s not that we wanted to keep it from you.”

“There was never a good time,” Liam added quickly, his voice strained. “We didn’t want to drop it on you in the middle of everything.”

“I get that,” I said. “But it still feels like I was left out of something important.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then Lucas spoke again, slower this time. “You said earlier that you were starting to wonder about your parents. Hazel... I know it’s tempting to hold onto them, to remember them as something better. But they weren’t good people.”

I stiffened. “You don’t know that.”

“We know enough,” he said. “The debt wasn’t real. They didn’t leave you because they had no choice. They left you because they were running from something dangerous—something they brought on themselves. As bad as it sounds, our mother never offered to take you in before you arrived.”

“Because she still loved my dad,” I whispered bitterly.

Levi leaned forward, placing a hand over mine. “Hazel, we’re not saying you can’t love them. We’re just saying... don’t hurt yourself holding on to a perfect image of people who were anything but.”

My throat tightened. “They were still my parents. I spent years thinking I had no one. No answers. Nothing. And now? It’s like someone pulled back the curtain and said, ‘Surprise! You were never really an orphan. You were just... dumped.’”

The words hung heavy in the air.

Levi reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Then let us help you find the truth. If there’s more to their story, we’ll find it. Together.”

That promise did something to me. It soothed a part of my heart I didn’t know was still raw.

“I’d like that,” I said, voice quiet. “I need to know.”

Levi gave me a small smile, then turned to his brothers. “Still pissed none of you told me, by the way.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Noted.”

Liam chuckled softly. “You were too busy trying to sneak into Hazel’s showers.”

Levi grinned. “Guilty.”

The mood eased, just a little. The air was lighter like we’d all taken a collective breath.

But deep down, that ache in my chest still throbbed for answers

“I think I’m gonna lie down,” I said, rising slowly.

“You want us to—” Liam started.

“No. I think... I need a moment. Just to breathe. Just me.”

They all nodded in understanding, though I saw the flicker of reluctance in Levi’s eyes. He always hated letting me out of sight.

I went upstairs alone.

I slipped under the covers, trying to focus on the rhythm of my breath. But my mind wouldn’t stop racing.

Who were David and Angeline Bailey, really? Were they alive? Did they ever regret leaving me behind?

I rolled onto my side, curling into myself. The silence wrapped comfortably around me.

Downstairs, I could just barely make out the soft murmur of the triplets talking. I didn’t catch every word, but I heard enough.

“...next step?” That was Liam.

“We can’t let her keep wondering,” Lucas replied.

And then Levi, his voice sharper: “Then let’s find out. All of it.”

There was a pause, and I drifted off to sleep before I heard a phone being dialed.

“Hi, Mom,” Lucas said. His tone was casual. Then it shifted and grew serious. “What do you know about Hazel’s parents?”