9Ingrid fell to the ground, feeling really weak. The anxiousness which filled her heart up, made her seem weaker, and like she was going to die, anytime soon.“Help.” She managed to utter, but it was in a low tone, and even if an ant was passing by, it wouldn’t hear her.Her eyes had cleared a little, and she could see her phone a distance away; which wasn’t too far from her hand, but at that moment, not even her hand could move.It was like she was using all her strength which was divided to help every part of her body to function; to breathe.Tears streamed down her face as she had no idea of the things which were to happen to her next. She remembered that Reece had told her to be extra careful and at alert. What she should have done was to have been extra alert before she walked right into the alley.The man would have certainly been trailing her the moment she was away from the public, but now, there was nothing she could do. The deed had been done, and the only person that kept
10They all had no choice than to accept the news, as long as she was okay at that moment. Reynold also felt that he had to be quick with things, so that Ingrid wouldn’t have to go through such excruciating moment.“Thank you so much.” Reynold appreciated the physician.“My pleasure.” He responded.Reynold had to escort the physician out since he was an important man, and time was far spent already, as he really tried by coming to their aid, by this time.“Alright, goodnight. And thanks so much again.” “You’re welcome, Alpha Reynold. Just ensure she’s fine.” The physician spoke as he got into the carriage, and Reynold nodded in response.After he had watched their carriage leave, he went back inside, and up to the room where Ingrid was.Ingrid seemed to be sleeping soundly, which meant that she wasn’t really feeling pain and all.It made Reynold feel less burdened and relieved that she was better, now.“I really do hope she doesn’t have to go through that excruciating moment.” Reece
11“No, Reynold. Get that out of your mind.” he said to himself, and concentrated on heading off to the Overall Alpha King’s palace.It wasn’t a place that was easy to go to because most of the time, there was a probability that one wouldn’t get to see him and would only keep trying until one would give up, but Reynold was willing to give it a try just so that Alpha Dan would be curbed.Soon, he got to the building where the main Alpha King’s palace was, and he dusted his outfit like there were specks of dust on it.“Let’s do this.” He encouraged himself, and walked right into the building.He was directed to the Alpha King’s female beta, and he didn’t have a hard time in finding out the reception where visitors stayed in before they would be taken to the living room.“Good day, I am Alpha Reynold, and I had contacted you earlier, regarding meeting with the Alpha King. I have already sent a mail, stating the reasons I need to see him, but I haven’t gotten a response, yet, and it’s qui
12“What are you doing here, Ingrid?” Reynold questioned, looking baffled.“I was bored and wanted to see your handsome faces.” She whined and pouted her lips.Although, the boys were charmed by her beauty, but they knew that it wasn’t nice as she was had to come over here. They didn’t want her to do anything that would make the temporary antidote to wear out.“But you should know that you can’t. I ought to head home right now, so let’s go back together.” Reynold uttered, then he turned to his brother. “Think about what I said. Also, try to reach out to Ryan to know his progress.” He said to him and stepped out of his office, pushing Ingrid gently out.They both headed back home and he ensured that she went back to her room and in the living room, he leaned back on the sofa, thinking hard of what he could do next and Alyssa appeared before him with a tray which contained a glass of water.“You must be thirsty.” She said, offering him the glass of water.“I didn’t ask you to do this. T
13“I hope you do understand, Reece. Loyalty needs to be tested, sometimes, to be certain of our acquaintance, or alliance.”“Yes. You are right. And that’s why I asked you to know what I need to do to prove that I am in.”“Well, it all depends on you, Reece. You should be able to do anything. Just show us. What do we need to see or know, to be certain that you’ve totally left your cheap brothers?”Reece sighed, and then thought for a while.“Alright, I know what to do. Listen up.” He urged Lucinda, and Lucinda listened keenly. “I have a log book of ideas which my brothers and I came up with, for our district to be better and other things that would bring in money. Each idea if it is to be sold out, would cost a lot. Here it is.” Reece said, handing over the log book to Lucinda.Lucinda opened it, and stared at each of them, with widened eyes.“Wow.” She exclaimed softly. “You’re really giving this out?”“Yeah, I am. It’s going to be really beneficial for your pack or whichever pack h
14Reynold couldn’t believe his ears. Did Reece just threaten him, without budging, or feeling like he was saying the wrong thing?“Reece?” He called his name, still feeling unsure that he heard well.“You heard me well.” Reece spoke, and then rose to his feet. “Tired of seeing this loser’s face. I think I need to go.”“Even I am tired of seeing him, as well. Let’s leave the restaurant together.” Lucinda said to Reece and also rose to her feet, clutching her purse in her hands.She smiled at Reynold and then sneered at him.“I hope this teaches you one lesson; you can never win against Alpha Dan and I. So, if you’re smart as you claim to be, it’s time you back off.” Lucinda said, and then left with Reece.Reynold stood there, dumbfounded, not knowing what to say or what to do. This had never crossed his mind, that it could ever happen.As he got over the whole thing a little, he left the restaurant, and stepped out, looking around for Reece but he didn’t find him, neither did he find
15“Alpha King?” Reynold voiced out, still looking shocked.“Wow. You recognize me.” The Alpha King spoke.Then they heard the sound of horses coming towards their direction, which meant the guards were close. Reynold who didn’t want to miss his golden opportunity, decided to strike immediately.“I would like to meet with you, Alpha King. It’s over something I wanted to talk about, but I wasn’t given the chance to speak with you.”“Oh, I get a lot of letters, and all, everyday. Can’t recall which is yours, but here is my card. You can come over to my office, tomorrow.” The Alpha King said to Reynold.Reynold felt so happy. That was like the highlight of his day. Although, he had gone through a mess, tonight, but he was glad that he managed to achieve something.The contact card had all the necessary information that even his beta wouldn’t be able to deny that he met with the Alpha King.Then the guards arrived, and some of them covered the scene, while three others walked up to Reynol
16The next day, Reynold woke up, and the first thing he set his eyes on was the ceiling. He had slept off in that position and remained in that position.Then he sat up, and brushed his hair to the back, and yawned. He looked back at the toilet, and headed towards thay direction.The first person that came to his mind was Ingrid, but he wanted to brush his teeth before doing that.As he stepped into the bathroom, he did the necessary while staring at the mirror, and when he was done brushing his teeth, he focused on only the mirror.“Today isn’t going to turn out the way yesterday did. So, brighten up, Reynold. He encouraged himself and then stepped out of the bathroom.He changed into something else rather than wearing a robe, then he stepped out of his room and headed to Ingrid’s. But on getting to her room, he didn’t see her on the bed like he had thought he would. Then he knocked on her bathroom door, hoping she was there, and just taking a bath.“Ingrid? You in there?” he calle
53Ingrid’s PovApart from the awkward moments, I had a nice time hanging out with Maya. To have fun was a really nice feeling and I think I’m beginning to have more than I ever thought.Soon, we got back to the hotel room and we both sat on the bed to talk about our experiences while having fun.“You look like someone who hasn’t really been in much relationships? I mean, that is before you met your husband. Am I right?” Maya asked me, then folded her legs to get more comfortable on the bed.“Uhm… Yeah, you’re right. I guess it’s so obvious.” I said with a slight smile on my face.“Well, it depends on the person looking at you. As for me, I can just tell due to the little time we’ve spent together.” Maya replied and tucked her hair behind her ear.I chuckled shyly and cleared my throat to get a hold of myself. The topic was a little sensitive for me since it only reminded me of something, I didn’t want for it to get to the limelight at all.“What about you? You seem like you’ve been i
52Ingrid’s PovWe had a nice time at the hotel and we went back to our hotel rooms.On getting to mine, I was about to go and have a shower when I began to feel dizzy and it was so uncontrollable that my toes kicked against some things and before I knew it, I fell on the bed and that was it.“Ingrid! Ingrid!” I heard my name and I gasped as I woke up to reality.But to my shock, I was still at the restaurant with Reece.“What the hell is happening?”“Are you okay?” Reece asked me, looking concerned.“Yes… I am. I guess I just… blanked out or something.”“Were you getting bored of the conversation?” Reece asked me, still staring at me with so much concern.I shook my head as I blinked my eyes.“No. No. How could that be possible? I’m just… tired. The whole stress of today and we’ve really had a good time so my body is feeling a little tired.” I said to him to make him feel better.It wouldn’t be nice if he actually thought that I was getting bored of him. There was no way he would fee
51Alyssa’s PovSomehow, it has seemed a little peaceful ever since Ingrid left with Reece. Although, a part of me missed Reece, but since his leaving was giving me some space from Ingrid, it was likeable.“So, I have decided that you run just two laps today, and gradually, you’ll be able to step up to three, four and five.” Reynold said to me and I felt relieved.At least, if I was running just two laps, I would be able to lie on the ground and get some rest, rather than knowing that I had more to go. That’s one thing; I think the Alphas are nicer when Ingrid isn’t around than when she is. If not, I am so certain that he would be harder on me than he is right now.“Noted.” I responded and started running.While running, I wondered why they were still insisting on me doing this because I haven’t really showed much progress since and knowing the kind of men they were, they didn’t like to lose, so it would be only unfair for me to be treated badly just because I lost.After running the
50Reece’ PovIt was quite surprising to see them here, but then, I had to act like all was well. Besides, it wasn’t like I acted badly to them personally“We’re sorry for getting here a little late. I believe we can all start now.” The man said with a smile on his face.“Yeah, sure.” The others said.We all re introduced ourselves again and got into business.“So, what business are we talking about here?” Mr. Daniel asked, looking ready for official talks.“About the fashion industry. We’ve got to brainstorm to bring about something really nice that would mind blow everyone in the society.” One of the business men spoke.“Most times, when I want to bring about a new product, what I do is to look at what others have done recently, then I tell our mastermind in the company to also make some research about what seems to be the current need of people. Sales always turn out well once we do that.”“I see. That’s really nice. Okay, regarding mine, we use the perfect models for our fashion,
49Ingrid’s PovI was in my room arranging some things since there happened to be two rooms for us. Also, it seems we’ll be staying for a while so it’s only advisable for me to arrange my things with the time I get just so I’ll quickly be able to reach anything that I need without wasting much time.My eyes fell on the rose which Reece got for me the moment we walked out of the airport and I smiled. I walked to my bed, sat on it and picked up the rose.It really had a nice memory attached to it; something I will always remember even after leaving Paris.Just thinking of Reece’ handsome face, smile, charisma, the manner in which he speaks and how he romantically handed the bouquet of flowers to me, made me smile so much that I could feel my cheeks going red.“Why am I blushing so hard? I shouldn’t feel these many butterflies too quickly.” I said to myself with a smile as I kept thinking about him.From the flowers he had given to me, my mind drifted to the lovely moment we enjoyed toge
48Thankfully, Reece was able to catch Ingrid before she fell and hit her head against the wall or floor. Ingrid was breathing heavily as he caught her and she laughed all of a sudden.“Are you okay? I’m sorry I caught you unaware.” Reece apologized as he helped her stand.“No, it’s fine. I can’t believe I almost slipped. It would have been another thing if I actually did.” She said, and chuckled.It was really relieving for her that she didn’t end up falling, so she felt happy about it.Then she noticed that he was naked too and she felt a little shy about it because it seemed to her that he came to have fun with her and it almost ended in catastrophe because she was taken by surprise.Then she watched as Reece went into the bath tub which was really big enough for up to three people to go into it.“The water is chill. You should come in too rather than using the shower.” Reece suggested to Ingrid.She was a little shy because she didn’t expect that, and they had never been together
47Reece’s PovTowards evening, I was right in my room, thinking of plans to come up with to make Alyssa pick up as fast as she can before the day of the contest would finally arrive and suddenly, a knock came on my door.“Who is it?” I questioned, feeling a little irritated by the sudden interruption.“Alpha Ryan and Alpha Reynold has asked for your presence in the living room.” The maid informed me and I got down from my bed, wondering what my brothers had to tell me.I walked out of my room until I got down to the living room and also saw Ingrid who just joined us.“Do you guys want to have a meeting without me?” She asked, and I smiled.“Come on, Ingrid. It’s not really a meeting.” I said to her, then my phone which I had kept in my pocket, vibrated. “Excuse me, guys.” I said as I brought out my phone and checked the message.A smile came up on my face as I saw the content of the message. It was quite delightful.“Guys, do you remember a particular business meeting I said I would
46“You all should go back to your posts.” Reynold instructed and everyone left.They were quite surprised that they had chosen Alyssa when she seemed like the most hated there, and she clearly didn’t have all that it took to emerge a winner in the upcoming contest. But there was nothing they could say to it. The Alphas had the final say to whatever came up, anytime, any day.As the maids dispersed and the Alphas headed to the study room, Ingrid followed after them with anger rising in her heart. Just when what she thought that what she had planned against Alyssa would make the triplets hate her more and push her away, it only seemed like it didn’t work.She was beginning to feel so threatened because she knew so well that Alyssa wasn’t the right fit for the pick, but she wasn’t ready to accept the Alphas’ choice.“Hey, Ingrid, what’s up?” Reece asked her, noticing that she wasn’t looking quite in a good mood.“Why would you do that? How could you choose Alyssa while I’m still alive?
45Later in the evening, about three maids went to the dungeon and released Alyssa and also clothed her.“We were instructed to take you back to your room.” They informed her before two of them placed her arms around their shoulder and began to assist in her walking back to her room.On getting to her room, they helped in taking care of her bruises and when they were done, they left her room. But it wasn’t long after they left that Anita opened the door and walked in, looking really concerned.“Alyssa. Are you okay?” She asked as she walked up to her and sat by her side on the bed.“Yes. I feel better, I guess.” Alyssa replied, with a slight smile.“You don’t look it.” Anita said, scrutinizing her body and feeling really bad to see her in such state.“But my situation right now is way better than being before the Alphas who I always have no idea what punishment they could give to me.” Alyssa said and Anita watched as tears ran down her eyes.“Please don’t be so sad. I know they really