The Triplet Alphas' Regret

I could only laugh.

If this were the past, I could easily believe Jessie was just hungry for gossip, hoping that there was a chance that Violet would be taken down and her reign of terror would be over. But now that I had a suspicion that she could be spying for Violet, willingly or not, I couldn’t be as free with her as before.

But I could use this chance to test if Jessie was indeed sneaking news to Violet.

"There’s no way they’ll pick me over Violet. She’s their beloved ’chosen mate’, remember?" I said sarcastically. "I’m just here so that they can keep a closer eye on me. Although..." I let my voice trail off purposefully, and Jessie leaned in, curiosity evident in her eyes.

"Cassian has been treating me nicer lately. He even fed me personally today," I said.

Cassian had done it with ire and irritation and complete disdain, but Jessie wouldn’t know otherwise. For all she knew, he could’ve been delicately bringing the fork to my lips when in reality, he all but shoved the food down my gullet.

Tomato, tomato.

My face subconsciously heated up as I remembered how it felt when he accidentally lay on top of me in that bedroom.

That little change didn’t pass Jessie’s eyes. She let out a gasp, her hands covering her mouth. "Oh my god! That’s not all, is it? You’re red as a tomato!"

"Well..." I trailed off, pretending to be shy. I ran through all of the possible misunderstanding moments between Cassian and me, wondering which little tale I could spin to create the perfect lie. "He did... save me from Cedar’s wrath..."

Jessie’s eyes practically sparkled.

"How?" she eagerly asked.

I told her the bare essentials― and those were the truth. I recalled how Willow had returned, and I had snuck in, hoping to see my sister. Then, Cedar and Cassian returned just then and saw me there. I left out the bit about the mark on my neck and instead focused on how Cedar went off, as usual, about my presence around Willow.

That’s when I painted Cassian as the knight in shining armor.

"He led me away," I said, cupping my cheeks as I pretended to recall the events wistfully. "We were in a room... and..."

"You and him? Did you kiss? Did he―"

I chuckled before tucking a hair behind my ear. If there were an award given for acting, I deserved it. In the eyes of Jessie, I probably looked absolutely smitten with Cassian. Considering how our relationship was on the opposite end of the spectrum, it was a miracle she was convinced.

"Nothing happened," I said quickly, but the damage was done. With Jessie’s imagination, she could easily fill in a million words about what happened between Cassian and me that led to such a drastic change in behavior. With any luck, these words would make it to Violet.

Knowing her controlling nature, she would lose it at the thought of Cassian treating me better. He was always her staunchest supporter, the Alpha that doted on her the most.

She had already lost Rowan and Soren, and this was something Violet was surely smart enough to have noticed when we traveled from the safehouse back to Shadowclaw. Now, if she lost Cassian to me as well, it would only be a matter of time before she was booted from her position as the Luna.

Violet wouldn’t even need to worry about Willow waking up if that were the case. She already had an existing competitor. Beforehand, I might not be too much of a danger. But even then, she already wanted me killed. Now that I was a growing threat, who knows what she might do to get rid of me.

"But you can’t tell anyone about this, Jessie," I said insistently, meeting her eyes. "If anyone finds out... and Violet knows..." My voice trailed off, as though I was afraid of all the terrible things that would befall me once Violet found out.

Jessie’s lip twitched for the briefest moment before she quickly nodded in agreement, miming zipping her mouth shut. "My lips are sealed. No one will know about this, Briar."

I smiled at her. "Thanks, Jessie. It’s great that I have a friend like you on my side," I said.

Jessie reached out to hold my hands. "Of course, Briar! We omegas have to stick together! Just don’t forget about me once you become this pack’s new Luna, okay?"

"I won’t," I said. If Jessie did betray me, I certainly wouldn’t be forgetting her in a hurry.

It was such a shame, too. If she hadn’t betrayed me, I wouldn’t have forgotten about her either. If I had left with Lucien, I would’ve eventually returned for her. In my darkest times, Jessie had always been my greatest friend. I had no doubt that if she was working for Violet, it was only a recent change. The Jessie I knew back then couldn’t have been Violet’s lackey, or I would’ve died long ago.

Other than confirming my suspicions that Jessie was now working for Violet, I also wanted to know why. What could Violet possibly do to change Jessie’s mind so suddenly?

Then, I heard the sound of new footsteps by the door. Jessie practically leapt to her feet, panic in her eyes as she watched the door open. I wondered if it was Violet, who was already making her move, too impatient to wait for more information, but then a familiar scent entered the room.

Rowan had returned, and with him was the healer who treated me.

"What are you doing here?" Rowan asked Jessie, his tone cold and unfeeling.

"I..." Jessie’s voice quavered, and she bowed, keeping her eyes on the floor. She dared not meet Rowan’s eyes, her body shaking like a leaf. "I was just..."

"Jessie was visiting me," I said, cutting in. "You didn’t say I wasn’t allowed visitors."

A frown grew on Rowan’s face as he examined Jessie closely. Then, his eyes widened just ever so slightly in recognition. His nostrils flared as he took in her scent.

"Jessie, yes?" he said. Then, his eyebrows knitted themselves tightly together. "Your scent..." The more he pondered over it, the darker his expression became.

My heart sank.

I did not need Rowan to remember that someone had tried to help me escape before, and that said someone was now shivering in front of him like a wet kitten. He was already willing to poison me; Goddess knows what he would do to Jessie in retaliation. Back then, he and his brothers weren’t beneath threatening her safety to get to me either.

Until I figured out what happened between Jessie and Violet, Rowan mustn’t kill her.

Jessie flinched, seemingly stepping back in fear. "Alpha, I’m... I..."

"Where were you the last few days?" Rowan suddenly asked. The look in his eyes was cold, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. He hadn’t looked at me like that since he marked me, and in that short span of time, I had forgotten how spine-chilling that expression was.

"I―" Jessie said, her voice stuck in her throat.

"Where else could she have been?" I asked, piping in. "She’s here, in Shadowclaw, of course."

Rowan turned his attention to me. "But her smell―"

"What about her smell?" I asked, scoffing as I folded my arms across my chest. "Unless you’re trying to say you’ve discovered you have yet another fated mate? In which case, by all means, feel free to claim her―"

"I did not say that," Rowan said, cutting me off with a frown. "I just thought she smelled familiar."

"She’s a pack member," I said, standing up to plant myself between the two of them like a shield. I rolled my eyes, infusing my voice with as much scorn as I could. "You’re this pack’s Alpha. If you don’t even recognize your pack members by scent, what good are you?"

Rowan’s face darkened, and I knew I would pay for my insult. But it was better that his ire was directed at me, and not Jessie.

"Leave us," Rowan ordered, and Jessie didn’t hesitate.

"I’ll be on my way!" Jessie squeaked out, sounding like a downtrodden mouse. I turned around to see her bow lower, and she gave my hand a quick squeeze before running out of the room as though the hellhounds were on her heels.

Well, only one hellhound. Rowan’s eyes narrowed as he watched her retreating back.

"Alpha?" The healer spoke up cautiously. "May I examine Miss Briar now?"

Rowan let out a huff and nodded. "Find out what’s wrong with her," he ordered as he sat down imperiously in the seat across from me. The weight of his attention caused goosebumps to form on my skin. He must have wanted the healer to see how badly I could be poisoned without dying.

"You don’t need to examine me, I’m fine," I said hastily, but the healer would not take no for an answer. He examined my throat and tutted.

"Miss Briar, please let me do my job. May I know what you ate before you vomited?"