Offered to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: I Release You

I stared at Leo, my heart hammering against my ribcage.

“I asked you first,” I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Leo’s lips twitched into what might have been a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He turned away from me, running a hand through his dark hair.

“Always deflecting,” he muttered.

“I’m not deflecting,” I insisted. “I just need to know where you stand.”

Leo paced the small confines of the cell, his movements reminding me of a caged wolf. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight with restrained emotion.

“Where I stand?” He let out a bitter laugh. “I stand nowhere, Hazel. I’m a rogue with a faded mate mark and feelings for a woman who already has three mates.”

I flinched at his harsh tone.

“Is that all I am to you?” I asked softly. “Just Helena’s replacement?”

Leo’s head snapped up, his eyes flashing with anger. “Is that what you think? After everything?”

“What am I supposed to think?” My own frustration bubbled to the surface. “You admitted you wanted me because I looked like her. You tried to use the Vox Solis to manipulate our bond.”

Only ironically, there wasn’t even a need for it.

“That was before—” He cut himself off, jaw clenching.

“Before what?”

leaning against the wall and staring at

standing up

words. Outside, I could hear one of the triplets—probably

his voice so quiet I barely heard him.

in my chest tightened at his admission. I took a step toward

continued. “Your mates would never accept

argued,

Emberfang Pack, would be willing to share their mate with a rogue? That all

and shook

also be a Sullivan, but I am not one of them. You

movement when he was near me. But I also remembered their words—that they wanted my happiness above all

what I want,” I said. “If

moment before his usual

“Stop hiding

in Leo’s carefully maintained composure. He pushed off the

me to talk? Fine. I’ll talk.” His voice was low, intense. “When I first saw you, I was drawn to

but he

“The way you stand up for yourself even when you’re terrified. How fiercely you protect the people you care about. Your stubbornness, your compassion even towards someone who

“And that scared the hell out of me, because it meant I wasn’t just trying to

in

voice cracking slightly. “Like I was betraying my chosen mate by feeling something real for someone else. Even if that someone else is her

vulnerability in his confession stunned me. This wasn’t the sarcastic, aloof Leo I knew. This was a man laid bare, his walls temporarily

said softly. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s unfair to the triplets that they have to share me