Resisting the Alpha Triplets by Cara Anderson

Ch. 24 Fragile Heart

Mallory’s POV

“I love hearing you laugh and seeing that beautiful smile light up your face. I love it even more when I have something to do with putting it there.” Cary’s warm breath on my ear made me shudder involuntarily. He was so close. Much, much too close.

My breathing hitched as Cary’s massive frame loomed over me. A spike of fear tore through me, though I knew he would never hurt me physically. It was actually that knowledge that scared me. I felt so safe with his arms around me, with any of the triplets if I was being honest with myself. Just like I’d felt safe spending the night in his arms last night.

What scared me even more was that a part of me liked his nearness. His bergamot and cinnamon scent hung thick in the air around us, sending a jolt of pleasurable tingles right between my thighs. I hated that I had that reaction to him and I hated even more that he knew it. I needed to get away from him before my arousal flooded the whole room but he had me trapped.

“Wh-, what are you doing?” I breathed out.

“Helping.” He answered coyly, picking up a rag and absently wiping circles on the counter with it, only managing to spread the flour around in a pasty mess.

“Sh-, shouldn’t we divide and conquer?” It irritated me that my voice kept breaking, coming out like a frightened damsel.

“But this is so much better, isn’t it darling?” He leaned even closer, his hot breath skimming my neck, his lips brushing my skin as he spoke. “Admit it, you’d miss me if I moved away. Miss my scent, my presence, the heat of my body pressed against yours. Wouldn’t you?”

“N-, No.” I lied, making him chuckle. Because he knew I was lying too, the trembling of my traitorous body giving me away..

I could feel anger bubbling up from the pit of my stomach. Though I couldn’t say who I was more angry with, Cary or myself. He shouldn’t affect me this way. None of them should. I shouldn’t let them after everything they’d done to me. And who the hell did he think he was to keep insisting I wanted him when I told him I didn’t?

“I can feel the way your body responds to me and I can smell your arousal. Keep lying to yourself if you want, but you can’t lie to me. You never could. Even as a fifteen year old girl, your body always told us the truth.” He said arrogantly, stirring the burning rage within me even further.

“You’re an arrogant dick! You know that, right?” I snapped at him, my rage fueled by the reminder of the way he used to tease me into a needy frenzy then belittle me.

“Oh, I know. But it doesn’t change the fact that you want me. Want us. Tell me, darling. When you finally give in and realize you’re ours, which one of us are you going to let claim your virginity? Colton doesn’t deserve it for denying his feelings for you for so long. Clayton would be a good choice for your first time. He’d be sweet and gentle. But somehow I don’t think that’s what you want. You’re too full of fire and passion for that. I think you’ll want it hard, rough. And I’ll be more than happy to give you just what you need,”

My heart raced and my breathing increased, my chest heaving from a mixture of desire and fury. He’d crossed a line and something inside me snapped. I would examine later this feeling that his words had hit way too close to the truth.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I demanded, all the pain of the past leaching into every word. “I was a girl! And for some Goddess forsaken reason, despite the fact you were all undeserving pricks, I was smitten with you and you knew it.

“You had the opportunity to take my fragile teenage heart and treat it with kindness, gentleness. But instead, you used every opportunity you could find to destroy my self-confidence, to make me look foolish and ensure I knew just how beneath you I was. Two years ago, I left here all but destroyed.

“You did that to me! Sent me away beaten down and left it to another man to repair the damage you’d done. Nathan fought for me, but more importantly, I fought for myself! So there is no fucking way, in this lifetime or the next, that I would ever let you get close enough to tear down everything I’ve rebuilt!”

“Mallory, I-, we- .” Clay stuttered, at a loss for words.

“You what, Clay? You didn’t realize how your words, your actions made me feel? Bullshit! You knew exactly what you were doing, thrived on it even. It made you feel special.

“Or were you going to tell me you’re sorry? Don’t! Because that’s bullshit too! If you were truly sorry, that would have been the first thing you said to me when I came home. And instead of more of the same pompous attitude, you would be spending every second trying to win back the heart you practically served Nathan on a silver platter. So save your empty words for all the pack sluts who hang on them. I certainly won’t!”

Both of them stared back at me wearing identical looks of remorse. I could tell my words hit a nerve, illustrated a story they’d written totally differently in their own heads. One where they were the heroes and not the villains. But now that I’d finally made it crystal clear how I saw them, I couldn’t stop myself from putting just one more nail in their coffin.

“Let me make one more thing crystal clear. I came here today for one reason only. I thought if, and it was a big if, we could actually get along, actually be friends, it would make our parents happy and save me the headache of your constant torment. But there is NO WAY I would ever give any of you manwhores my virginity.

“Of the four of you, Nathan is the only one who’s earned that privilege. But if someday hell actually froze over and I did decide to sleep with you, it would only be after I’ve had as much sex as the three of you combined and you were the only option left!”

Clay and Cary both growled at my words but I didn’t care. I had turned to face him as I railed at him and I was attempting to push him away so I could escape but he held me back. Both of them worked to cool their tempers and shove back their wolves while I watched them warily. Then slowly, a smirk crossed Cary’s face.

“We’ll see, darling.” Was his cocky response. “I think you secretly like my pompous attitude.”

“Yes, we will see. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a date to get ready for. With the Alpha who taught me how a real man behaves.” I stressed the last part, unable to resist one final dig.

I shoved hard and he let me escape his hold. I kept my head down and made a beeline for the door, refusing to look back at either of them. I was almost home free until I smacked into something hard and nearly fell backward. But a pair of strong arms reached out to steady me and I looked up into Colton’s eyes, swirling with some undecipherable emotion that I had no time to puzzle out.

“Thanks.” I said quietly, then stepped around him, not stopping until I reached my car.

I was proud of myself for the tongue lashing I’d delivered, standing up for myself after all those years of letting words like the ones Cary had just used make me crumble at their feet. Overall, I felt good about myself. Well, except for the part where I barrelled into Colton like a bull in a china shop, but that didn’t count.

I hurried home to shower and change for my date with Nathan. I took extra care with my makeup and curled my hair, wanting to look nice for him. To show him he was still special to me, still worth my time and effort.

I told myself I wouldn’t think about the triplets or the burning need I’d felt to claim them as mine all day long. I wouldn’t think about the words Cary had breathed in my ear and how I’d felt deep in my soul that he was right. I wouldn’t think about any of that. At least not tonight.