noveltune Chapter 231: The punishment
Chapter 231: The punishment
Scarlett’s POV
I practically sprinted down the hallway, ignoring the cold ache between my thighs and the slick dripping down my legs. The moment I slammed my bedroom door shut, I clicked the heavy lock into place, leaning my back against the dark wood as my heart hammered violently against my ribs.
My chest was heaving, my mind completely spinning from the sensory overload. One second I was practically drowning in their combined touch, and the next, I was being handled like a piece of meat at an auction block.
Idiots. Complete, territorial idiots.
Inside my head, my wolf was pacing restlessly, her fur bristling with a mixture of leftover arousal and pure annoyance. They went too far, she growled, her sharp teeth bared in my mind. We are their mate, not a trophy to be won by whoever can shove the hardest.
"Exactly," I muttered aloud to the empty room.
I mean, can you blame me for cutting them off? I wanted them—god, I wanted all of them so badly my body was literally screaming for satisfaction—but I refused to let them turn our bond into a toxic competition. If they couldn’t learn to share nicely, they weren’t getting any of it.
Suddenly, my mind link exploded.
Scar, open the door, Leo’s voice growled through the mental link, sounding completely frustrated and desperately hard.
Scarlett, sweetheart, please, Liam chimed in, his tone tight, practically begging but still carrying that underlying Alpha edge. We didn’t mean to overwhelm you. Just let us in.
Let us fix this, mate, Leonard pleaded, his heavy rumble vibrating in my skull.
I squeezed my eyes shut and blocked the link entirely, shutting them out with a heavy mental wall. I wasn’t going to listen to their excuses. Not yet. But as the silence settled over the room, a loud, aggressive growl ripped from my stomach.
Right. I was still absolutely starving. Leo had worn me out, the assassin’s poison had drained my magic, and the mini-riot on the study couch had used up whatever energy I had left.
Opening the mind link just a little, I sent a cold, sharp message to all three of them. I am locking this door. Do not try to open it, and do not use your Alpha commands on me. I am starving. If you want any chance of me ever letting you touch me again, you had better bring me food. Real food. And it had better be spectacular.
Before any of them could reply, I snapped the link shut again.
I walked over to the bathroom, grabbed a warm, damp towel, and quickly wiped the sticky remnants of our encounter from my inner thighs. Once I felt clean, I marched back into the bedroom, pulled the thick duvet all the way up to my chin, and sat cross-legged in the center of the bed like a queen waiting for her subjects.
An hour passed. Then two.
I was just about ready to break my own rule and storm down to the kitchen myself when the faint scent of sizzling garlic, roasted meat, and rich spices began to seep under my door. My nose twitched, and my wolf instantly perked up.
A soft, tentative knock echoed through the room. It wasn’t the demanding, aggressive thud of an Alpha. It was quiet. Hesitant.
"Scarlett?" Liam’s voice called out from the other side, completely stripped of his usual dominant arrogance. "We brought the food. Can we come in? Please?"
I took a slow breath, smoothing down Leo’s oversized shirt over my knees. "Come in," I called out, keeping my voice entirely neutral.
The lock clicked, and the heavy door pushed open.
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud at the sight before me. All three of them walked into the room in a single-file line, and their proud, terrifying Alpha egos were nowhere to be found. They looked completely humbled. Leo was still shirtless, his knuckles a little red—probably from elbowing his brothers in the study—but his eyes were downcast, looking at the floor.
Liam and Leonard were carrying massive, heavy silver trays piled high with food. They hadn’t just ordered the staff to cook; the distinct, slightly messy presentation and the specific scents told me they had personally been down in the kitchen, sweating over the stove themselves to make up for what they did. There was juicy, seasoned steak, roasted potatoes, freshly baked bread, and even a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries.
They stepped up to the edge of the mattress and stopped, staring at me with wide, anxious eyes.
"We made everything ourselves," Leonard said softly, his brown eyes searching mine for any sign of forgiveness. "We know you’re drained. We wanted to take care of you."
"Put the trays on the nightstands," I ordered, crossing my arms over my chest.
They moved instantly, placing the food down with absolute care, treating the plates like they were made of fragile glass. Once the food was set, none of them climbed onto the bed. They didn’t even try to sit on the edge.
Instead, right in front of my eyes, the three most powerful Alphas in the region sank down onto their knees right on the floor beside my bed.
I mean, let’s be real—seeing the triplet Alphas willingly drop to their knees just to get back into my good graces is a sight I will never, ever get tired of. Any other werewolf would probably faint if they saw the fierce leaders of the Full Moon pack acting like obedient pups, but for me? It was exactly what they deserved.
Leo looked up through his dark lashes, his large hands resting flat on his thighs as he knelt before me. "Scar... we’re sorry," he whispered, his voice rough and completely sincere. "We acted like beasts downstairs. We got so caught up in our own jealousy and the fear of almost losing you today that we forgot... we forgot to treat you like our mate. We treated you like a prize."
"We did," Liam agreed, his green eyes burning with a deep, painful regret. "We swore we would protect you, but we were the ones pushing you and fighting over your body. It won’t happen again. We promise."
Leonard leaned his head against the edge of the mattress, right near my knee, but he didn’t dare touch me without permission. "We talked down in the kitchen while making the food. We settled it. No more fighting over days, no more shoving each other out of the way. We want to do this right. Whatever rules you set for us... we will follow them."
I let the silence hang in the air for a long moment, letting them stew in their own suspense. I wanted them to know I was serious.
"Alright," I finally said, leaning forward and reaching for a piece of the perfectly seasoned steak. I took a bite, moaning softly at how incredible it tasted. Their eyes instantly tracked the movement of my mouth, their throats bobbing as they watched me eat.
"Here are the rules," I said, pointing a fork at the three of them. "Rule number one: You are completely banned from touching me tonight. You will stay right there on the floor, or you can sit on the chairs, but you are not getting into this bed, and your hands stay to yourselves."
A collective, quiet groan rippled through the three of them, their hard cocks visibly straining against their trousers, but none of them moved an inch to disobey.
"Rule number two," I continued, smirking as I picked up a chocolate-covered strawberry. "You are going to serve me. Liam, hand me that glass of water. Leo, feed me those potatoes. And Leonard, you’re going to tell me exactly what you found on that suspect list while I eat. If you three can survive one night without tearing each other’s throats out over who gets to hold my hand, then maybe tomorrow I’ll think about letting you back into my bed."
Leo’s jaw clenched, a low, desperate hum vibrating in his bare chest, but he immediately reached for the plate of potatoes, his fingers shaking slightly as he held a piece up to my lips.
"Yes, love," Leo murmured, his dark eyes locking onto mine with a fierce, burning devotion.
Liam quickly handed me the water, his fingers carefully avoiding any contact with my skin, while Leonard cleared his throat, his expression turning completely serious as he prepared to lay out the investigation.
I leaned back against the pillows, letting them serve me hand and foot. They had a long way to go before they fully figured out how to share the fated mate bond, but looking at the absolute submission in their eyes as they knelt by my side, I knew I finally had these three wild Alphas exactly where I wanted them.
I took a slow sip of the crisp, cold water Liam handed me, keeping my eyes fixed on Leonard. Leo carefully fed me another piece of potato, his dark gaze heavy and completely focused on my lips as I chewed, but the playful atmosphere in the room shifted the moment Leonard took a deep, steady breath.
The submission in Leonard’s brown eyes hardened into the calculating stare of a true pack leader.
"Alright, let’s talk about the suspect list," Leonard began, his voice dropping into a low, serious rumble that cut through the quiet bedroom. He rested his large forearms against the edge of the mattress, still kneeling but completely focused on the task. "We ruled out our parents. Like you said, Scar, our parents wouldn’t be sloppy enough to hire a random assassin on our own land. But that doesn’t mean the threat isn’t coming from inside the family circle."
I lowered my glass, my brows furrowing as I looked between the three brothers. "What do you mean? If it’s not your parents, then who?"
Liam’s jaw clenched tight, his green eyes flashing with a sudden, icy anger from his spot on the floor. Leo froze for a second, the fork in his hand turning completely still in the air. It was clear they already knew what Leonard was about to say, and none of them liked it.
Leonard looked directly into my eyes, the heavy gravity of his words hanging in the air before he even spoke them.
"I’m suspecting our wives," Leonard revealed bluntly.