Offered to the Triplet Alphas

[Xanthea]

Just the thought of it made me break into cold sweat even when I was submerged in a fragrant bath. Mavka and a few other maids prepared me for the night while neither my body nor my heart nor my mind were ready for it. As the time of their arrival drew nearer, my anxiousness grew louder in my chest.

I winced as the soft fabric of the green lace panties grazed against my leg. Even a small touch on the welts triggered a flutter of pain. I wore a green three-piece lace lingerie. The dark green bra was adorned with intricate floral patterns that made my breasts stand out even more. While the panties hugged the curves of my crotch. Mavka put the garter belt around my hips and then reached out for the stockings.

"Can I not wear the stockings, please?" I asked.

"Your highness, you already know the answer. But..." Mavka placed the stockings on the bed. "I'll leave it on you. Please do as you deem fit."

She looked at the antique grandfather clock that stood against a wall.

"It's nine already. My lords should be here by 9: 09, your highness," Mavka said, helping me put on the viridian silk night robe. They didn't style my hair, but allowed it to hang loose and damp. They applied various perfumes to different parts of my body. By 9:05 I was ready.

"Hope to wake you up tomorrow, your highness. We'll take our leave now," Mavka said, bowing, and so did the other maids. "Thank you for taking such good care of me," I bowed back.

Mavka and maids left the room at 9:07.

Waiting for the two minutes felt like waiting for years. As the time drew closer, my breaths turned shallow as my mind ran wild with chaotic thoughts. The sound of the clock ticking grew louder in the pin drop silence of the room. I fumbled with the vial of painkiller and gulped it down before putting on the stockings at the last moment.

The clock struck 9: 09 and my head snapped towards the door.

Another minute passed like a century before the doorknob turned and the door opened, instantly filling the room with a comforting pheromone, immediately followed by an overpowering scent, making it hard to breathe.

I got down from the bed, ignoring the sting in my leg, and stood, lowering my gaze as Ezra sprawled on the royal armchair right in front of my bed.

"Ten minutes..." his voice zapped through me. I clenched my hands together, trying to stop them from shaking. "That's the longest I will wait for Raven, Asher."

Ignoring Ezra, Asher stepped closer to me.

In a soft pull, he untied the knot holding the silk night robe on my body. His fingers brushed against my skin as he slid the silk down my shoulders. The fabric effortlessly flowed around my feet into a puddle. My eyes restlessly skimmed from the clock to the door and then returned to Asher. He held my shoulders and made me sit on the bed.

My hair curtained the side of my face. I reached out to brush them back when he held my hand. My eyes locked with his eyes. I lowered my hand to the bed. He gently tucked the free strands behind my ear.

A warm flutter stroked my heart as Asher slowly got to his one knee before me. Breath froze in my chest as I peered at him, confused.

Detaching my stockings from the garter belt, he gently pulled them off my legs. I clenched the bedsheet to fight a moan back into my throat.

He carefully held my injured feet in his palm.

"Alpha..." He looked up at me and I no longer needed answers to the questions pulsating in my chest. I averted my eyes, unable to hold the intensity of his gaze.

"Ah!" I drew in a sharp breath through clenched teeth as he ran his hand over the welts.

He contemplated my injuries with an inscrutable face.

Releasing my leg, Asher walked to the nightstand and picked up an ice cube. He was about to kneel again when I...

"Alpha... I-I can do it myself. You don't have to do this... i-it's not hurting..." I lied, feeling my face tense up with a fever that flowed right from his intense eyes into my skin.

He had only taken a step towards me, but I could feel his breaths on my cheeks like the soft breeze caressing the ambers to ignite into flames. His gaze descended to my lips and then rose to meet my eyes. Holding my gaze, he slid his one hand beneath my ear, and with the other, he parted my knees.

He leaned in closer and closer. A tempting heaviness fell over my eyelids. With a quick gulp, Asher pressed his lips against mine. My eyelids fluttered before surrendering to the tantalizing sensation of his lips against mine.

His finger caging the ice traced a languidly arousing path from my knees to my hips and spine. My breasts pressed against his chest as he pulled my hips against his. And before I knew I found myself clutching the fabric of his shirt. Our slow kissing transitioned into something deeper. Something that wiped every other thought that wasn't about him right off my mind. A temporary escape from the impending reality that was meant to unfold.

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As we parted, the lingering heat of the kiss spread through every inch of my skin.

He dipped into the curve of my neck, offering a comfort I hadn't known I craved. The pain that had seemed remediless moments ago now found solace in his touch.

His lips found my earlobe, and a husky whisper teased me. "Still not hurting, Xanthea?"

Goosebumps charged through my body, and this time, when he looked at me, I couldn't even lift my gaze to meet his.

My breaths hitched as he kneeled once more before me, gently applying the soothing touch of ice along my leg.

"Alpha... can I... can I ask for something before the end of these ten minutes?" I asked hesitantly.

If those ten minutes were indeed the only time left with me. I didn't want to waste them.

"Who are you addressing, Xanthea?" Asher asked serenely.

"You."

"Then call my name," he said.

"Alpha Asher, can I ask for something?"

"Hmm."

"Before the end of these ten minutes... can I see the High lady once?" I asked. I swallowed the lump building in my throat. "I'm... worried about her." Ezra scoffed.

"Do you have time to worry about anyone else, little toy? Your sense of humor is killing me," Ezra taunted. "And how long have you spent with our mother to care about her when, in the very next second, you might be losing your life?" He leaned forward in the chair. "Oh, sorry. You are the universal goddess of goodness type. Saving a plant before yourself. Hmm. Makes perfect sense. Ha-ha." He chuckled. "Seriously, I hate mortals like you who don't appreciate death." Tears stung into my eyes.

"I fear death, Alpha Ezra..." I looked at him. "No one likes pain and the first promise death makes is pain. Pain of separation, pain of shattered hopes, pain of never seeing someone again. But what scares me more is someone else suffering, hurting because of me or my foolish mistake..."

Enjoying the book? Don't forget to visit 00005s.org for the full experience. You won't find the next chapter anywhere else. Happy reading! Ezra's face blurred in my bleary eyes, but I could tell just from the stabbing aura filling the room that he didn't like me talking back to him.

"So cat gave back your tongue to you, huh?" Ezra got up from the chair.

Asher got up as well, ice cracked in his hand as he clenched his fist.

"Relax, I'll not kill her until 9: 20. We still got four minutes for a nice chit-chat. Little toy seems to be in a mood for it," Ezra ambled to me. "Go on, I am here to listen."

I lowered my head, biting my lips.

"Back off, Ezra." Asher placed his hand on Ezra's chest, pushing him back.

"Speak! What happened? I know nothing about alchemy or that kind of stuff, ok? But serves you right for acting over-smart! Die with a regret that an innocent person might be in a lot of pain because you wanted to play the hero. This is your punishment for toying around with our mother. And just because it bothers you more than death, I hope you never forget this incident and it leaves a permanent scar on not just your body, but your soul."

I shook my head. His words settled as a searing pain in my chest. The foreboding took no time to turn into panic.

"No... please, Alpha..." Tears streamed down my eyes as I fell to my knees before Ezra. "Please... just let me see her once. Please. Just once. Please..."

"Nice drama, but your time's up, little toy." Ezra's voice reverberated like it had when he had taken his wolf form.

I shut my eyes tightly. The ticking of the clock grew heavier in my ears, pushing every other sound into the background.

In a blur, I glimpsed at the approaching shoes. Clenching my fists over my thighs, I braced myself.

"Ungh!" A gasp escaped my lips as I felt arms wrap around my head and back.

My back arched as my body was pulled against firm muscles. I barely had a moment to blink before I found my lips entangled in a breathlessly violent kiss. My lips stung from the force of the claim.

The broad hands raked up my spine as the deft fingers unhooked my bra.

It was in the fleeting seconds that took Raven to push me on the bed; I realized what had happened. I sunk into the bed under his weight as he claimed my lips again, with a voracity that ran wilder than my thoughts.