The Triplet Alphas' Regret

"You’ve got a lot of nerve," Cassian said, folding his arms across his chest, "to have the sick and injured come looking for you. Who do you think you are?"

"I see you are well enough to get up and have a nice little stroll around," I said evenly, patting the imaginary dust off my clothes.

I turned and looked at Samuel.

"Are you sure he still requires the healing sessions?" I asked. "He looks in the peak of health to me."

As if to corroborate my statement, an ugly red flush grew on Cassian’s face as he sneered and rolled his eyes at me. If Willow’s prone figure wasn’t lying on the bed, a silent witness to our altercation, I had no doubt that Cassian would have struck me.

"All animals might have a burst of vitality before their sudden death," was Healer Samuel’s simple response. He didn’t even blink at Cedar’s horrified face. His face blanched in shock.

"Let us proceed to the infirmary in case Alpha Cassian collapses in the hallway," Healer Samuel said.

"Yes, of course," Cedar immediately straightened to escort us out of the room. He bowed lowly to Cassian before shooting me a scowl.

"I told you you shouldn’t have been late. Look! Alpha Cassian is in grave danger!" He hissed under his breath.

I frowned, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. In the end, the best I could do was look at Cedar as though he were a dysfunctional puppy born with two heads and three legs.

"Cedar," I said, "Samuel was being sarcastic. You understand that, right? If Cassian was in any grave danger, he would never let him leave the infirmary."

How this brother of mine ended up as the Beta of a flourishing pack, I would never understand. If it weren’t for the fact that our family already had roots in this pack as one of the leading members and oldest families, I suspected that Cedar would never get the chance to climb this high up the hierarchy.

Sure, Cedar was hardworking, and he knew what to say and when to say it, especially in front of the Alphas. He was also close in age with them, and as a result, grew up with them as their childhood friend.

However, other than those qualities, Cedar wasn’t exactly the brightest tool in the shed. If anything, his unwavering loyalty made him a little daft at times. It was as though he had no brain to think for himself.

But perhaps that was what the Alphas liked about him― Cedar was a Beta who would put the pack before himself. That could be his only saving grace. They would never need to worry about Cedar plotting to take over the pack or betraying them for money or power. My idiot brother had no cunning in his body.

Cedar glared at me, as though he wanted nothing more than to strangle me. However, as soon as he took a step forward to close the distance between us, he paused, his gaze shifting to Cassian for a split second.

Almost immediately after, he pursed his lips tightly together as though he had just sucked on a sour lemon. His face seemed a little green, and he stepped back once more, clearing his throat.

"Either way, it’s not nice to keep the Alpha waiting," Cedar bitterly said. "He is your fated mate. You should always be by his side."

He looked choked up and so resentful that I would almost suspect that he wanted to be in my place. But unlike before, where he was allowed to freely spout his grievances and take his anger out on me, now, he dared not say a thing in fear of inciting Cassian’s wrath.

"You’d best be going," he continued. "I shall stay here to keep Willow company."

I raised an eyebrow. If I had known that this mark would be so useful, I would’ve worn a more revealing top to flaunt it to everyone in the pack. Since life had already given me lemons, I might as well make use of them.

A sudden bolt of mischief darted through me. After all the shit that Cedar had put me through, this might be one of the only times I could take my sweet revenge.

"In that case, please make sure you actually stay in her room this time," I said, raising an eyebrow. "If you’re to leave the door wide open again, who knows who’s going to enter the room while you’ve got your head turned the other way?"

Just as I thought, Cassian immediately frowned.

"You left the door open while you were away?" Cassian asked, frowning at Cedar.

"I―"

"He did," I said, before my brother could make excuses to defend himself. "That’s why I made my way here. I saw the open door when walking past on my way to the infirmary, and I got worried."

Cassian’s frown grew more pronounced at my words. He was so preoccupied by the fact that Willow’s room was left unguarded that he hadn’t even realized that her room was out of the way for me. I wouldn’t have ever seen the door open if it weren’t for the fact that I was already intentionally headed this way.

At his increasing displeasure, Cedar’s face paled further, and he hung his head.

"Why didn’t you close the door?" Cassian barked out angrily. "Do you want every servant to see how bad Willow’s state is? What if someone snuck in while we were none the wiser? Do you really think she can fend for herself in this current state?"

"I was only gone for a short time. I didn’t think―" Cedar spluttered, as he tried to defend himself. I bet this must have been the first time in a long while that he had pissed off the Alphas and gotten scolded.

"You didn’t think?" Cassian’s expression darkened at Cedar’s words. "We barely managed to bring Willow back alive. For all we know, the culprit behind her condition is still at large― and you still dare to leave the door open?! Were you waiting for the culprit to return and finish the job?!"

Cedar’s face grew more distraught at Cassian’s words, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes darted to me when the word ’culprit’ was mentioned. In my brother’s mind, he still thought I was in some way responsible for Willow’s condition.

However, what Cassian said had pretty much already made it clear that — consciously or not — Cassian didn’t think I was the actual culprit behind Willow’s condition and disappearance.

For some reason, that made me smile just the tiniest bit. It wasn’t because Cassian finally believed me, whether he knew it or not. Rather, it was because I finally had the chance to jab Cedar back where it hurt.

Revenge truly was sweet.

He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, bowing to Cassian.

"I understand, Alpha. This was indeed my own carelessness. I vow this will never happen again," he promised furiously. "I will always be around her. I never let anyone into her room without your permission."

"See that you don’t," Cassian said firmly. "I don’t care who wants to visit her― without our permission, even the Moon Goddess herself is not allowed inside, you hear me?"

Cedar nodded, but his eyes glinted as he glared at me. "But Alpha, I have to ask. Does Briar have permission to visit Willow? She shouldn’t be here either!"

Cassian paused, and I sighed internally. This was the price I had to pay for my little comeuppance against Cedar. Even if Cassian didn’t think I was the culprit, that didn’t mean that he was going to allow me free rein to enter Willow’s room alone.

This would just mean that I would find it more difficult to get the wolfsbane samples for Samuel to test. Maybe I could tell Samuel where they were, so he could get them himself. Surely a healer would be given permission.

I waited for him to deny me free entrance and exit, practically already bracing myself. However, surprisingly, Cassian didn’t give the reply that I thought he would.

"And what? Allow you the chance to leave the door open for a longer period of time? If she hadn’t shown up, who knows what could’ve happened to Willow?" Cassian snapped. "You should be more worried about your duties, rather than attempting to shift the blame."

Both Cedar and I basically gawked at Cassian’s reply. He didn’t outright give me permission to visit Willow as and when I wanted, but with his words, he didn’t seem to be against it either. In fact, he had just basically slapped Cedar’s face in my stead one more time.

I found myself in awe for a second. I didn’t think that Cassian would say something so... human for once. Strangely, I felt warmth bloom in my chest for a brief second.

But as soon as that warmth came, it disappeared with his next words.

Cassian turned and looked at me. Angrily, he huffed, "Are we leaving or not? I don’t have all day to wait for you."