The Alpha Triplets And The Rogue
Chapter 188

Raven’s POV

I stare at Elise, trying to decide if she is lying to me or not, but she refuses to look in my direction. Her eyes are glued to the ground in front of her, and she is twisting the bottom of her shirt in her hands. ‘

Taking a step forward, I use my fingers to tilt her chin so she looks into my eyes. Her dull brown eyes are filling with tears as she looks into mine. I search her eyes and her face for any indication that she is lying. I realize that one of two things is happening. Either she is telling the truth or the best liar I have ever encountered.

Dropping my hand from her chin, I huff out in anger. “Thank you for telling me, Elise,” I try to keep my voice even.

“You won’t tell him I told you… will you? I don’t want this to come between us. I enjoy working for you,” Elise spits out the words quickly.

“I won’t say a word,” I say, crossing my fingers over my heart.

Elise lets out a breath she has been holding and turns to leave the room. I want to stop her and demand that she tell me the truth, but I decide against it. If I am going to play Elise’s game, it must be done carefully. I cannot give away all my cards at once.

As Elise leaves the room, I dramatically throw myself onto my bed and hide my face in my pillow.

“Is it that bad?” Aunt Ashley’s voice comes from the door.

Rolling over onto my side, I look at Ashley and fight back the tears that are streaming down my face. “This trip is a disaster,” I grumble. “We should have never chosen to visit the packs individually.”

“Why are you second-guessing your decisions now?” Ashley says as she sits beside me.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I g***n. “Because now I have an assistant that is probably working for the other side. My mate is laid up in a hospital bed, fighting for his life. And not to mention, my mate doesn’t want me at all and is probably in love with my assistant.”

Ashley smirks but tries to hide the gesture behind her hands. “What do you mean he is in love with your assistant?”

“She all but told me they are in love,” I begin to cry. “And when I was in the hospital, I thought he was leaning in to k**s me, and all he did was k**s me briefly on the forehead. He kissed me like I was his sister or something.”

Ashley grabs my hands and pulls me off the bed. “First off, I don’t think we can believe a word that comes out of Elise’s mouth. She has proven herself to be deceptive already. Secondly, I think Alpha Leo wants to k**s you, but I think he is afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” I g***n. “He is my mate. He is supposed to want to k**s me.”

“Put yourself in his shoes for a moment,” Ashley begins. “Pretend you have been able to have any woman you want, but now you are confined to one woman. A greatly inexperienced woman.”

“I am not inexperienced,” I yell out loudly, making Ashley chuckle.

“Being inexperienced is not a bad thing,” Ashley says gently. “It just means that maybe, Alpha Leo doesn’t know what to do with you. Perhaps you intimidate him.”

“That is ridiculous,” I scoff. “If anyone should be intimidated, it is me. You didn’t see the vision that I saw. The hundreds of women that have been in his bed night after night. How will I ever live up to that expectation? I have never even kissed a man.”

“Did you see Alpha Leo in any of the visions, or was it just the women?” Ashley asks me curiously.

“He was there,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Was he smiling? Did he look happy? Did he look fulfilled?” Aunt Ashley asks.

Closing my eyes, I pull forward Leo’s memories. Carefully I flip through them. This time I don’t look at the women leaving with a smile on their faces. I look at Leo. Each time a woman leaves his bed, there is a frown on his face. There is a hint of shame in his eyes that I don’t think I have seen before.

“No,” I reply to Ashley. “He doesn’t look happy or fulfilled. In fact, he looks sad and disappointed in himself.”

“There you go,” Ashley says with a chipper voice. “That is what you can offer him that none of these other women could. Happiness.”

I sit quietly for a moment and consider Aunt Ashley’s words. Tears are flooding the corners of her eyes. She doesn’t have a mate. Or she doesn’t have one anymore. He died before they were even able to meet. Ashley has often said she still felt the tether to him snap even though he didn’t mark her. I think her wolf still mourns his passing. She hasn’t been lucky enough to find a second chance mate.

“Trust me,” Ashley fills the silence between us. “He is looking for happiness that only you can provide.”

A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as I think about being the only person to make Leo happy, and suddenly all of the doubt that I have about us washes away.

Reaching over, I grab my aunt and pull her into my arms. “Thank you,” I whisper as I hug her.

Ashley pats me on the back, and I hear her sniffing back tears as we embrace. “We need to get you ready for your meeting with Elder Council,” she says, pulling away from me.

“Crap,” I g***n. “I forgot all about my official duties.”

Racing into my closet, I find my most business-looking attire, a black pencil skirt and a white blouse. Quickly I dress and run a brush through my tangled hair. Pulling my long tresses back into a quick braid, I look in the mirror.

My makeup could be better. I quickly wipe the running mascara from under my eyes and sigh. “This will have to do.”

Slipping on my shoes as I run out of the closet, Ashley gives me a quick thumbs up. “You clean up nicely,” she says, giving me an approving smile.

“Let’s get this over with,” I g***n as I walk out the door.