The Triplet Alphas' Regret

"How are the second group of patients?" Rowan asked, his eyes not once leaving the pages.

I quietly spooned a mouthful of mashed peas into my mouth, pairing it with the boiled baby carrots. They were bland, but having hot food in my stomach after three days without sustenance made anything taste like the greatest dish in the world. After all, this was definitely not the worst I’ve had after a long period of time without food, anyway. I would rather have a feast like this than a singular slice of stale bread and some cold tea any day.

"Most of them are recovering," Samuel said. "Two of them unfortunately passed away. An elderly man and a sickly omega."

Hearing that there were casualties suddenly made the food in my mouth turn sour. My movements slowed, and I eventually placed the fork back down on the plate. The light clinking sound caused both Rowan and Samuel to turn and look at me.

Rowan frowned, eyeing the fork and the food before glancing at my face. His expression was surprisingly soft as he leaned a little closer to me, setting the documents down.

"Is the food not to your liking?" he asked. He then glanced at the carrots, picking up a plate of mashed sweet potatoes instead. "Here. Try this."

He even looked at Samuel, waiting for a confirmation that I could stomach the dish he selected. When Samuel subtly nodded, Rowan pushed the plate even closer towards me.

"It’s not that," I said, shaking my head. My eyes darted over to Samuel, then at the papers that Rowan was examining just now. "How many people have been affected by the poison?"

Rowan and Samuel exchanged a look.

"You don’t need to worry about that," Rowan said dismissively. "Right now, all you need to do is rest and recover."

I turned to look at Samuel for help, but the healer merely shook his head, his expression stern.

"The Alpha is right," Samuel said, surprising me. "This is none of your concern right now."

"If there is someone poisoning the pack, I feel like I need to know," I said. I turned to Rowan, pursing my lips. "After all, they could attack Willow. She’s just there, helpless. What if they go for her?"

"Right now, they seem to be poisoning our food supplies," Rowan said. He gestured to the stack of dishes displayed in front of me. "Willow doesn’t need to eat solid food right now, so she wouldn’t be in immediate danger. Not to mention she has Cedar guarding her every waking minute. As for you, all of your dishes have been tried and tested before serving them to you. You needn’t worry about it either."

"Tried and tested how?" I asked, frowning. For some reason, that made my gut churn even more in discomfort as a thought shot through my mind. "By lab rats? Did some helpless omega servant taste test the food before it could come to our dining tables?"

There was a pause as no one answered me, and my heart sank.

That would explain why they were so badly short on staff. Samuel had mentioned it too― one of the casualties had been an omega servant. It would make sense why they died, if they were the poison checkers before everyone else could eat.

Once the first group of victims had tested positive for aconitine, they probably recruited the rest of the omegas to make sure the ingredients weren’t meddled with. That would perfectly explain why the hallways were so empty, and why there weren’t any staff members around. I found it hard to believe that Violet wouldn’t make an absolute fuss about being restricted to just one maid.

And of course only the omegas would be used as poison checkers. They were the most powerless, the most disposable in the pack hierarchy. No one was going to risk a guard’s life.

Just the thought of it made my heart pound. I had completely lost my appetite. How many omegas were put at risk just so that I could have a full meal?

Also, it could’ve easily been me. I could have been in their exact position, a walking, talking lab rat. If I weren’t the Alphas’ mate, if I hadn’t awakened my bond with them, if they still sided with Violet, the person who was pushed to the front lines of this mass poisoning could’ve so easily been me instead.

"They’re not poison checkers, if that’s what you mean," Rowan said, his eyebrows scrunched together.

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to prevent my anger from getting the best of me. The marks on my neck burned, and I couldn’t differentiate whether it was the one Rowan or Soren left on me. Regardless, it felt as though the entire patch of skin was on fire.

Through this bond, I had a strange feeling that this anger I felt wasn’t just mine alone― it seemed to be mixed with a touch of hurt from someone else. My best guess would be Rowan, since his expression seemed conflicted.

"The omegas are usually the ones handling the food in the kitchen," Samuel explained slowly, carefully eyeing Rowan when he noticed the latter wasn’t rushing to explain. "They’ve had firsthand exposure to the poisoned ingredients, which is why they’re mostly sent either to the infirmary for testing or for treatment."

When I looked down at the food, Samuel continued, "They’re not used as poison checkers. The Alphas aren’t inhumane."

"Samuel," Rowan warned.

Samuel ignored Rowan completely. He said, "Besides, we’re unsure yet who is the one who poisoned all the ingredients. Until then, the Alphas have ordered everyone to stay away from the main wing of the pack house. It’s for the pack’s safety."

"Samuel," Rowan suddenly said, his tone a lot sharper than before. "That’s enough."

Samuel raised both of his hands in surrender, leaning back into his seat. He had said everything he needed to, after all.

I, on the other hand, grew even quieter. If I could dig a hole into the ground and bury myself, I would.

I had immediately assumed the worst of the Alphas. However, everything had been fabricated and fueled by my own prejudices against them. Fairly speaking, the Hadeon triplets had always been good Alphas to the pack. The only person they had an issue with was me.

My nails dug into the flesh of my thighs as I bit my bottom lip. Guilt flooded me. It felt as though the fog in my head suddenly cleared up, and the rage that came so quickly disappeared just as swiftly.

I couldn’t understand what made me feel this way in the first place, especially since I had always known that they were responsible leaders, albeit not wonderful lovers initially. They may have wronged me, but they have never given me reason to doubt their leadership and rule over the pack.

Surprisingly, Rowan’s large hand suddenly covered mine. He gently pried my fingers apart, interlacing his fingers with mine to prevent me from digging my nails further into my skin.

"Eat," he said, completely changing the subject. With his spare hand, he scooped a small mouthful of buttered sweet potatoes, placing it right next to my lips. "If you want to, we can visit Willow later after you’ve eaten and rested. Cedar and Cassian are there right now. You don’t have to worry."

I looked up sharply at him. "Rowan―"

"It’s fine," he said. His eyes bore into mine, and I could see a swirl of emotions in them. Above all, I felt a sudden wave of peace, as though he was trying to tell me that he understood. It only made me feel even more guilty than before.

I stiffly nodded.

***

True to Rowan’s promise, shortly after I finished my meal, he brought me to Willow’s room. Samuel had left in the middle, claiming that there were some things he needed to check on in the infirmary, and would join us later to check on Willow’s condition.

Rowan and I traveled down the corridor in silence.

I was still a little embarrassed by what happened earlier. Even though Rowan had ended the topic, I still felt a little uneasy, especially now that there was an awkward air of silence between us.

I turned to peek at him. Rowan’s gaze remained focused straight ahead. He looked as natural as ever, just like his usual cold, unfeeling self. But the subtle pulsing warmth of my mark somehow told me that he felt otherwise. I couldn’t entirely make out his emotions, but it gave me a ballpark to guess.

My mouth opened and closed a couple of times, struggling to find the right words. I wasn’t used to being on this end, where I had wronged him, instead of the other way around. Despite my anger and frustration towards him, it didn’t feel good, especially knowing he had been caring for me night and day for the last three days while I was unconscious.

I took a deep breath, mustering my courage. I had to peel this off like a band-aid.

"Rowan, listen―"

I was abruptly cut off when a distressed sob came from the other end of the corridor.