Mated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 57: Confronting the Past

Lucas barely spared Kira a glance. His face remained hard as stone as he sidestepped her, pushing past as if she were nothing but an annoying obstacle in his path. His eyes locked on mine instead, filled with concern.

“Hazel,” he said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it before. He rushed toward me, his hands immediately checking me for injuries. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

The stark contrast between his coldness toward Kira and his tenderness toward me broke something inside me. The tears I’d been holding back spilled over before I could stop them. The sobs came from deep in my chest, ugly and raw.

“Hey, hey,” Lucas murmured, pulling me against his chest. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

His body stiffened as he turned toward Kira and Melanie, who stood watching us with identical expressions of shock and outrage.

“What did you two do to her?” His voice had transformed from gentle concern to pure fury in an instant.

Kira recovered quickly, stepping forward with her hand outstretched. “Lucas, baby, she attacked us first! Look at my dress—it’s ruined!”

“I don’t give a damn about your dress,” Lucas growled. “What I want to know is why my mate is crying.”

Melanie crossed her arms over her chest. “Your ‘mate’ is delusional. We were just having a friendly chat when she went crazy and broke the sink.”

I flinched at the blatant lie, but Lucas didn’t seem to buy it for a second.

“Friendly chat?” he repeated, his voice dangerously calm. “Is that why she’s in tears while you’re both standing here looking pleased with yourselves?”

“Lucas,” Kira purred, moving closer and trailing her fingers down his arm. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s manipulating you with those tears. Remember all the good times we had? How could you choose her over someone like me?”

Lucas jerked away from her touch as if burned. “Don’t touch me. Ever again.”

The venom in his voice seemed to finally penetrate Kira’s confidence. She took a step back, eyes wide.

“Listen carefully, both of you,” Lucas continued, his arm tightening around my shoulders. “Stay away from Hazel. If I hear that either of you has so much as looked at her wrong again, you’ll be out of this pack before you can blink.”

“You can’t be serious,” Melanie scoffed. “You’d choose this... this nobody over pack members who’ve been here forever?”

“This ‘nobody’ is my mate,” Lucas said, each word clipped and precise. “And yes, I would choose her over anyone and everyone. Is that clear enough for you?”

The silence that followed was thick with tension.

Finally, Kira’s face crumpled into an ugly scowl. She stomped her foot indignantly before she grabbed Melanie’s arm and pulled her toward the door, both of them dripping water across the floor.

When the door slammed behind them, Lucas immediately turned his full attention to me. His hands cradled my face, thumbs gently wiping away tears.

“Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s get you somewhere dry.”

He led me out of the bathroom and down the hall to what appeared to be a guest bedroom. It was tastefully decorated in neutral tones with a large, plush bed against one wall. Lucas disappeared into an adjoining bathroom and returned with a stack of fluffy towels.

“Here,” he said, wrapping one around my shoulders. He took another and began gently drying my hair. “What happened back there? The truth, please.”

I took a shaky breath. “They cornered me in the bathroom. Started saying things...”

“What things?” he pressed when I trailed off.

“That I was nothing but a charity case. That you and your brothers never wanted me as your mate.” I swallowed hard, unable to meet his eyes. “That you... that all of you had been with them before. Intimately.”

Lucas’s hands stilled in my hair. “Is that what they said?”

I nodded miserably. “Melanie said she and Levi were together right before your birthday. And Kira implied the same about you two.”

A muscle ticked in Lucas’s jaw. “And you believed them.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “I don’t know what to believe. Your past relationships have not exactly been low-key.”

Lucas sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling me down beside him. “Look at me, Hazel.”

I reluctantly raised my eyes to meet his.

“Yes, we’ve dated other girls before. But those relationships weren’t what you think.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“For me, at least, it was never... serious. I never felt for Kira even a fraction of what I feel for you.” His gaze was intense, unwavering. “And I never slept with her. Not once.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “But she—”

“She liked to imply otherwise,” Lucas cut in. “It made her feel important. But the truth is, I was never attracted to her that way. Never wanted her the way I want you.”

The sincerity in his voice made something in my chest flutter. “Really?”

“Really,” he confirmed, reaching up to brush a strand of wet hair from my face. “None of them ever meant anything to us. Not the way you do.”

“But they’re so beautiful,” I said quietly. “So perfect.”

Lucas actually laughed at that, raising an eyebrow. “Perfect? Did you see them just now?”

I giggled a little at his words.

His hand moved to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing my lower lip. “You, Hazel Bailey, are everything. Do you understand me?”

The intensity of his gaze made heat pool low in my belly. When he leaned in, I met him halfway, our lips colliding with newfound urgency. His hand slid to the back of my neck, pulling me closer as his mouth moved against mine with growing hunger.

I gasped when he nipped at my bottom lip, and he took advantage of my parted lips to deepen the kiss. The towel fell from my shoulders as his hands moved down my back, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

Lucas shifted us so I was lying back on the bed with him hovering above me, his body pressing me into the mattress. His lips left mine to trace a path down my neck, and I couldn’t hold back a moan when he found a particularly sensitive spot just below my ear.

“You have no idea how attractive you are,” he murmured against my skin.

His hands skimmed my sides, fingers playing with the edge of my bikini top. Every touch sent shivers racing across my skin, building a need inside me I’d never experienced before.

When his hand finally cupped my breast over the thin fabric, I arched into his touch, desperate for more. He groaned, the sound vibrating against my neck before he claimed my mouth again in a kiss that left me breathless.

“Lucas...” I whispered, my voice shaky with need.

He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes, his own dark with desire. “What is it, little mate? Tell me what you want.”