Resisting the Alpha Triplets by Cara Anderson

Ch. 8 Inner Torment

Colton’s POV

“Fucking hell!” I roared, picking up a stupid wolf figurine from my desk and shattering it against the wall.

“What the fuck is happening with us?” I growled at my wolf, though I was more angry at myself than him. He was just an animal, after all.

“I don’t know.” Kai answered with a wolfy shrug. “She’s beautiful and her scent calls to me. I want her.”

“Well you need to stop!” I snarled at him before admitting the truth. “I need to stop.”

I was so fucking pissed at myself. Just last night, I’d held Darcy’s hand and comforted her, reassured her I didn’t have feelings for Mallory. It was hard work getting her to believe me after the way I’d acted at dinner, growling at Mallory’s boyfriend and practically drooling over the girl herself. But I’d finally managed to convince her.

“Feeling better?” I’d asked her after her tears had finally stopped.

“Yeah,” She said, still sniffling.

“Not that I ever want you to cry, but your lips are all swollen and puffy, making them look especially kissable at the moment.” I told her playfully.

She was just leaning in for a kiss when my brothers came strolling through the room making her pull back. Neither of us were big on PDA, preferring privacy to an audience.

“Where the fuck are you two going?” I couldn’t help but ask, though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

“Out.” Was my asshole little brother’s response, knowing it would annoy the fuck out of me.

After that, all I could think about was what they were doing, with her. Were they with her? Were they touching her? If they were, did she like it? If they weren’t, did she want them to? Did she wish I was there, too? I couldn’t stop the questions from tormenting me no matter how much I wanted to.

“I should get home.” Darcy said, startling me out of my thoughts. “Do you want to come with me? Spend the night with me?”

I knew what she was suggesting. She wanted me, maybe even needed me, to fuck her. To prove to her I was still hers. But I couldn’t do it. Not with my head such a mess.

“I’d love to sweets, I really would. But I can’t tonight. I’ve got too much work to do.” I refused gently, caressing the soft skin of her cheek with the back of my knuckles.

“I hope this pack appreciates how hard you work for them.” She said, raising up on her toes to kiss me goodnight. But when she pulled away, the look in her eyes told me she suspected I was just putting her off.

I tossed and turned all night, wrestling with myself. I hated myself for hurting Darcy. I hated myself for this pull I felt to Mallory that I was too weak to stop. I hated the part of me that wasn’t sure I wanted to stop it if I could.

But despite all the self-loathing I felt, there was still another side to me. It was the side that kept me grounded, made me a man of my word, a man who kept his promises and made his own choices. So after a long, sleepless night, I resolved to prove to myself, and to Darcy, that I could overcome temptation.

“That lasted all of ten minutes.” My wolf snorted at the memory of my behavior on training grounds a few minutes earlier.

“What are you yipping about?” I snapped back. “It’s not like you were any help!”

I wanted to shift the blame from myself, but the truth was, it was my fault. The minute I laid eyes on Mallory at the training grounds, in those fucking tiny shorts and sports bra, all her soft skin on display, and fawning over some asshole’s puny muscles, I was right back to wanting her.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Clay and Cary pulled her up front to assist with training, meaning I had a ready-made excuse to put my hands all over her. But the worst part was when she pulled me down on top of her and every line of her lush curves was pressed against me. I groaned to myself at the memory. Thankfully, a knock at the door halted that line of thinking.

“Come in.” I called, knowing it was my youngest brother knocking on my door and interrupting my internal conflict.

“Hey, big bro! How are things?” He asked, obviously testing my mood before divulging the reason for his visit.

“Just tell me what you want, Cary.” I pressed him to get on with it.

“Goddess, you’re a prick sometimes!” He scowled at me. “Anyway, I thought training went well today, didn’t you?”

“Whose fucking idea was it to have Mal help with training?” It was my turn to scowl. I didn’t know where this was going but I knew I wasn’t going to like it.

“Clay and I thought it would be a great way for her to use that Warrior designation she earned and show some appreciation for our parents’ generosity.” He said, beaming with pride at his self-proclaimed genius.

“She also has a Master Healer designation” I reminded him. “Why didn’t you have her help at the infirmary instead?”

“Because I don’t need a doctor. So there’d be no excuse for her to touch me.” He admitted shamelessly. “And don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy touching her because I won’t believe you.”

“I was there to train the pack, not get off feeling up an annoying little omega.” I lied.

“Whatever you say.” he responded, totally unconvinced. “So, do you have any plans tonight?”

“I’ll probably just hang out with Darcy. No formal plans. Why?”

“Good. Mallory is meeting us here at six to discuss a new training plan for the pack.” He informed me, then walked out the door before I could argue.

Fucking fantastic!

At six pm on the dot, I heard the front door open and my brother’s greeting told me who it was.

“There’s our little wolf, right on time.” Clay called to Mallory. “So glad you could make it.”

“Like I had a choice.” I heard her grumble.

I chuckled to myself. She may have learned some refinement at the academy, but she was still our same old sassy wolf.

“You called her ours.” My wolf pointed out.

“It was a figure of speech, not a claim, Kai.” I tried to explain.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” He quipped before retreating.

Soon after, three sets of footsteps trudged their way to my office. As soon as they entered the doorway, my eyes flew to hers without my permission. She was looking back at me warily, confusion reflected in her beautiful hazel eyes. I really couldn’t blame her. I knew she didn’t know what to think of the three of us after the way we’d treated her all those years.

“There are only three chairs in here. Where should I sit?” Her question pulled me out of my thoughts.

“You can sit with me, darling.” Cary smirked at her, patting his lap for her to sit on.

“I’m here to work, not play whatever game this is.” She said, waving her hand between him and Clay.

“Take my chair, Mal.” I offered, vacating my seat. “I need to stand for a while anyway.”

Clay and Cary both sent me knowing looks, reading way too much into my act of chivalry. I rolled my eyes at them then handed out the packets with the training schedules I’d developed for everyone to review. Not expecting Mallory to join us, I’d only made three copies so I ended up sharing with her.

I was bent over Mal’s shoulder, one hand braced on my desk beside her with my face so close that I could feel the fine strands of her hair tickling my cheek. Her enchanting jasmine and lavender scent surrounded me, making it difficult to concentrate. And when she spoke, her warm breath caused goosebumps on my skin.

“If you truly want my opinion, I think you should add tracking into the training rotation.” She suggested. When we didn’t respond, she elaborated. “At the academy, we learned that some of the skills between warriors and trackers overlap. Even if our warriors don’t want to become elite trackers, the heightened senses they develop will significantly improve their reaction time during battle.”

“That makes sense. What do you think, brothers?” Clay asked.

“I think it’s a good idea.” I agreed and Cary nodded. “Let’s work it into the schedule.”

“While you’re being so receptive to my ideas, I also have another request.” Mallory stated tentatively.

“Go on.” I prompted.

“I’d like to offer some basic first aid and mass casualty response classes, not just to the warriors but to the whole pack. Wounded wolves can heal but some injuries take longer. I learned some techniques that can work with a wolf’s natural healing ability to speed recovery. In battle, it could return them to the fight faster. And if war ever comes to our doorstep, our healers will need all the help they can get. It’s only smart to be as prepared as possible.”

I listened to Mal make her case and I felt warmth bubbling up inside me at the concern for our people she was displaying. I knew she resented us for our past behavior toward her and she could have held it against the whole pack since we were the Alphas. But she didn’t. Her care for others outweighed her animosity.

“Very Luna-like if you ask me.” My wolf commented.

“I didn’t ask you.” I replied with a mental eye roll.

“Approved.” I announced gruffly, not wanting her to know the effect her request had on me.

“Thank you.” She responded simply.

An hour later, we had managed to rework the training schedule to incorporate tracking lessons and allocated time for the warriors to attend Mal’s other classes. Mal agreed to continue assisting with training, saying she would be attending either way to keep her own skills polished. I could feel my brothers’ excitement about that through our triplet bond. I could also sense Kai purring with happiness in my head at the thought of getting her underneath us again.

“It’s only seven pm. How about pizza and a movie?” Cary suggested.

I watched Mal carefully for her response and saw the moment her shoulders sagged in defeat.

“Fine. It’s not like I have anything better to do thanks to you.” She lamented. “But I’m not watching one of those ridiculous spoof movies you guys always choose.”

“Interesting. Our little wolf knows what kind of movies we like.”Clay teased.

“No!” she quickly protested. “I just know your tiny little brains only have the capacity to appreciate stupidity.”

Two low growls rumbled through them at her dig on their intellect. But she just ignored them and headed towards the door.

“You coming, Colt?” Cary asked as they turned to follow her.

“No, you guys go on. I still have work to do.” I dismissed them.

Between the way my wolf was responding to Mallory and my own growing attraction, It wasn’t a good idea to spend time alone with her in a dark room. I had to do better, for Darcy’s sake. That’s what I told myself anyway.

I did my best to focus on work. I really did. But after thirty minutes of drowning in her scent that still filled my office, and accomplishing nothing, I finally gave up.

I should have just gone to my room. But I couldn’t shake the jealousy I felt that my brothers were once again spending time alone with her and I wasn’t. That maybe she was warming up to them, laughing at their jokes, or even accepting their advances while still seeing me as the same jerk who used to ignore her or worse.

So against my better judgment, I found myself heading for the lounge and the girl who was fucking up the well-laid plans I had for my life. I told myself I was just going to watch the movie, but deep down I knew I was headed straight for hell.