Fated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 100: Watched

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Chapter 100

~Jade’s POV~

Xavier stood a few steps away from me, and even with his calm expression, I could tell something was bothering him.

"Xade wasn’t happy," he muttered, glancing briefly at the ground before looking back at me. "He kept saying Xander got ahead of us."

A small knot of guilt tightened in my chest."I didn’t mean for it to happen like that," I admitted quietly.

Xavier studied me for a moment, then his brows pulled together slightly.

"I can still smell him... or them strongly on you."

The words made heat rush straight to my face. I bit my lower lip before answering. "Yes... We did. Xade and I didn’t go far but Xander and I... we had sex."

For a moment, Xavier simply stared at me. "Oh."

It was a soft sound, almost absent, but the shift in his expression was immediate. Something closed behind his eyes, like a door quietly shutting.

The warmth that had been there earlier when he arrived, disappeared. It made my stomach twist.

"You want Xander?" he asked after a moment.

The question caught me off guard. I shook my head instinctively, but then hesitated and nodded slightly as well, unsure how to answer without hurting him.

"It’s not like I prefer him over you guys," I said carefully. "It’s just... you’re all my mates. I care about you three." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Xavier gave a small nod, then he turned halfway toward his car as though not believing me, or he got the confirmation he wanted.

"I’m guessing this is goodnight."

Panic flickered through me immediately. When Xavier had texted me earlier asking if we could talk, I had been surprisingly happy.

The Cold Strategist rarely reached out first. Knowing he wanted to see me had made my heart flutter more than I expected.

Thankfully, Mom had locked herself in her room earlier, and Kael had been quiet since returning home. I had taken the opportunity to slip outside quickly before anyone noticed.

And now he was leaving just like that?

I stepped forward quickly and reached for his arm, pulling him back. "Don’t go," I said before I could stop myself.

The words came out softer than I intended. I exhaled slowly before adding, "Just... not yet."

Xavier looked down at my hand on his arm. "It’s okay," he said calmly. "If you’ve chosen him, I’ll step back and let you guys—"

"No." The firmness in my voice surprised even me. "I don’t want you stepping back," I continued. And then my mouth moved before my brain filtered through my words. "Think about your curse for a moment. Don’t you all need me? We’re supposed to fall in love with each other, remember?"

"Oh... yeah. The curse."

The way he said it made my chest tighten. It sounded like he thought I was only saying that because of the curse, not because I actually cared.

Sensing the shift, I stepped closer and gently turned him so he was facing me fully again.

"I mean it," I said quietly. "Curse or no curse, I care about you guys."

Xavier exhaled slowly. "Then maybe you should explain why I’m standing out here feeling like the third wheel," he said.

I raised a brow slightly. "So that’s why you came?" His jaw tightened just a little. "Did you only come to confirm whether Xander and I had sex?" I asked.

Xavier’s reaction was instant. The muscle along his jaw flexed, and his gaze shifted away briefly before returning to mine.

For a moment, neither of us said anything, then Xavier relaxed slightly. "Maybe," he admitted.

That honesty made me smile faintly. "Well, now you know," I said lightly. "I did not choose."

He huffed quietly. "Doesn’t seem so to me or anyone who even hears this."

I rolled my eyes, holding back the laughter threatening to slip out.

"I didn’t know you were such a cute teddy bear."

He arched a brow for a moment before chuckling softly. "Me? An Alpha, a teddy bear?"

I gave a nod of approval, and he chuckled again.

The tension between us eased a little after that, and the conversation slowly shifted into something lighter.

We talked about school, about Xade’s terrible mood earlier, and about how Xander had apparently been walking around campus looking unusually pleased with himself.

"I swear he was smiling like he won a championship," Xavier said dryly.

I laughed softly. "I noticed that."

As he spoke, my eyes drifted briefly across the street.

A car was parked opposite our house, slightly angled near the curb. It wasn’t directly in front of our gate but was close enough that I noticed it.

For some reason, a strange chill brushed across my senses. I frowned slightly as Javelin stirred quietly in the back of my mind, but the feeling passed quickly, and I pushed it aside.

Xavier cleared his throat suddenly. "Jade." I blinked and looked back at him. "Would you go out with me?"

For a moment, I simply stared at him. "Like... on a date?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied calmly.

Heat rushed into my cheeks instantly.

"That’s funny," I murmured. "It seems like I have a lot of dates this week."

Xavier’s expression changed immediately. "You have?" he asked slowly. "With whom?"

I tilted my head slightly. "Are you jealous?"

He scoffed. "I’m not jealous."

"Sure," I said with a small smile.

"Tell me," he insisted.

"Why?"

"Because I’m taking you out on Saturday."

I folded my arms playfully. "Admit you’re jealous first."

Xavier looked away briefly before answering. "I’m... mildly curious," he said carefully.

"That’s not admitting it."

He sighed before muttering, "Fine, maybe a little. I mean, whose mate wouldn’t be?"

I smiled. "Well, tomorrow I’m going out with Xander." His expression darkened slightly, but I ignored it intentionally to push at his buttons. "And for the Valentine’s party," I continued, "Silver asked me to go with him."

At the mention of Silver, Xavier’s eyes narrowed immediately. Before he could say anything, I added quickly, "It’s just for the party. Nothing more."

He exhaled slowly. "I forgot the party was that day."

"Well, now you remember."

Xavier nodded thoughtfully. "After the event," he said, "I want to take you somewhere special."

My cheeks warmed again. "Okay."

A small smile appeared on his face. "So it’s a date, then."

Before I could reply, he stepped closer and leaned forward. His lips brushed mine in a soft kiss.

Just as the kiss began, a strange wave of dark energy flickered across my senses from somewhere across the street.

I tried ignoring it and focused on the moment with Xavier. Xavier must have sensed something because he paused the kiss, and instead, I kissed him back, pushing my tongue into his mouth.

The sound of a car horn suddenly blared through the quiet street. I felt Xavoer tense a little, but we did not react to it again.

To me, it was just some soul, angry at two lovers making out. When we finally pulled apart, Xavier glanced briefly across the road.

"That’s... suspicious," he muttered.

"Probably someone driving by," I said.

"Maybe."

At the same time, the car was put in reverse and off it went. That alone ticked Xavier’s protective instincts. He looked back at me. "Just be careful, alright?"

"I will."

"And go inside after I leave. Lock the doors."

I nodded. Xavier stepped back toward his car and gave me a small wave.

"See you at school tomorrow, little wolf."

I nodded before stepping back. "See you."

—

The kiss between Xavier and me was nice. However, before I slept, my mind kept replaying the whole situation again and again, trying to make sense of what I had felt earlier and figure out who the hell had been sitting across the street.

The car, the horn, and that strange flicker of energy brushing against my senses.

My brows furrowed slightly as I stared up at the ceiling.

Was it...?

"Your fourth mate?" Javelin asked quietly inside my head.

I inhaled slowly. "I doubt it," I murmured under my breath. "He doesn’t have such dark energy and doesn’t even know who I am."

"Maybe," Javelin replied thoughtfully. "But one could always find out."

I shifted onto my side, pulling the blanket a little higher over my shoulder. As much as she was right, I still hoped she wasn’t.

The last thing my life needed right now was another complication.

Between Xade’s temper, Xander’s smugness, and Xavier trying to pretend he wasn’t jealous of any of it, things already felt complicated enough.

"You should let them know soon and meet up with him," Javelin advised.

"Goodnight," I said, shutting her up.

My eyes slowly began to close as exhaustion finally started pulling me under. Just as sleep began creeping in, my phone screen suddenly lit up beside my bed.

I frowned slightly and reached over to grab it.

A new message had popped up. For a brief second, I wondered if it was Mom checking in or maybe even Xander being his usual annoying self.

But when I opened it, I saw Xavier’s name.

I’m home. Goodnight, Princess.

A small warmth spread through my chest as I read the message.

My fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before I typed back.

Goodnight, Xavier.

A second later, the three dots appeared as he began typing again, but then they disappeared.

For some reason, that tiny detail made my chest warm, reminding me of the incident that brought us close. My thoughts flickered to that fateful New Year’s Eve and how Troy had disgraced me, as well as the coldness I got from my mates.

We’ve come far.

Not wanting to recall any bad moment, I shifted my focus back to my message. Xavier wasn’t the type to send long goodnight messages anyway.

Then I placed the phone back on the nightstand, turned off the lamp, and turned onto my side again, letting my eyes close fully this time.