Chapter 6

After dinner, I didn't waste any time and gathered the triplets in the living room. I have decided that since living with these three jerks would be a huge pain in the ass, I'll have to set some house rules.

I sat on the edge of the couch while still holding a warm mug of tea that Tyler had handed me earlier. Ethan sat on the single chair while Tyler was on the far end of the couch. And Jason, he flunked across the middle like it was his throne.

I hastily cleared my throat. "Okay. If I'm staying here until the end of the semester, we need ground rules."

Jason groaned. "Aw come on, rules? Boring."

I raised my brow in them. "Unless you want me waking you up at five in the morning blow-drying my hair in the living room, I suggest you let me finish, Mr. Hilarious."

Jason held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, pumpkin. Proceed."

I heaved a sigh. "First, no entering each other's rooms. I don't care if you're an Alpha, a triplet, or the Pope itself, my room is my space. Got it?"

Tyler nodded immediately. "Of course. Privacy's important, lady."

Jason gave a mock salute. "I won't even sniff in your direction, pumpkin. Don't worry."

Ethan didn't say anything and just leaned back in the chair.

"Second," I continued. "No guests without permission. I don't want to walk out of the shower and find someone's girlfriend or random pack member sitting on the counter."

"That's fair," Tyler responded.

Jason leaned over and whispered to him, "Remember when Mike brought that rogue chick last year?"

Tyler sighed. "Yeah, and she tried to mark the wall."

I gasped. "Don't tell me... never mind. I don't wanna know. Third, no food sharing. I label my stuff, you label yours. No touching my snacks. That includes my protein bars, Mr. Hilarious." I pointed at Jason.

"Noted," Jason replied. "Though if there's ever pizza night..."

"Ask," I cut him off.

He sighed. "This is gonna be a long semester."

"And finally, the bathroom schedule. I'll wake up early for my morning class showers, and I expect no interruptions. You can have the evenings or whatever wolf grooming ritual you guys do."

Tyler smiled. "I can make a shared schedule. I'll post it on the fridge, Sarah."

"Thanks," I muttered. I was surprised at how... decent he was.

After almost 30 minutes of more small comments and some teasing from Jason, both he and Tyler stood and stretched.

"I'm off to recharge this magnificent body," Jason uttered with a yawn, and then he gave me finger guns as he walked down the hallway. "Good night, pumpkin roomie."

Tyler also gave me a soft nod and followed. "Sleep well, Sarah."

I just smiled at Tyler in response.

That left me and Ethan, alone in the living room. But I immediately stood up and clutched my mug. When I was about to head to my room too, Ethan darted in front of me. So Fast.

He had me cornered against the wall beside the couch. His hands were on either side of my head while caging me in.

"E-Ethan," I whispered while stuttering. "What the hell are you doing?"

He didn't touch me. But he leaned in while his face was so close enough that I could see the faint scar along his jawline.

"You made the rules, omega," he uttered. His voice was rough. "But let me make something clear."

I glared up at him. "You're way too close—"

"This is still my house," he growled. "And in my house, I lead. You're not in a dorm or a neutral flat anymore. You're living with alphas now. That means, whether you like it or not, you'll submit to me. Only to me."

I swallowed hard while trying to avoid his gaze. "But I'm not one of your wolves."

His expression didn't change. "Then act smart, and stop testing me."

He stared at me for a bit longer that I could already feel the heat of his body. After a few seconds, he stepped back and turned toward the hallway until I couldn't see him anymore.

Fuck him!

I gently tapped my chest a few times and rolled my eyes. "This semester is going to be hell..."

***

The next day, it was already a few minutes past eight in the evening when I arrived at the condo. My feet were killing me after a whole day of school activities.

Two labs and one project presentation in Genetics, and those back-to-back group meetings.

Damn! I was ready to collapse.

I barely had the energy to toss my bag down at the entrance before I reached for my phone and opened my food delivery app.

"Double cheeseburger meal with large fries and a milkshake," I whispered while hitting order since I didn't have the time to do groceries for this week.

I just went to my room and waited. Twenty minutes later, my food was still pending so I decided to go out and wait for my food in the living room.

But when I was walking through the hallway, I smelled chocolate. A sweet and will melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. I faintly followed the scent toward the kitchen.

There, I found Tyler carefully pulling a chocolate cake out of the oven while Jason was leaning against the counter beside him. Just looking at it made my stomach growl loud enough to be heard by them.

Both of them looked up.

Tyler smiled at me. "Smells good, lady?"

I nodded faintly.

He gestured at the cake. "Unfortunately, house rule number three. No food sharing."

Jason also gasped and chuckled. "What a shame. I guess rules are rules, pumpkin roomie."

I just shrugged and left the kitchen.

After thirty more minutes, I checked my phone but there was still no delivery. Then after a few seconds, my phone vibrated.

"Apologies, due to severe weather, your order will be delivered tomorrow."

I stared at the message in disbelief. "What the—Tomorrow?!"

I wanted to scream. But I couldn't so I just dragged myself off the couch and glanced toward the kitchen. The lights were off already so they must have gone to bed early.

I peeked around the corner and saw no one.

The cake sat on the counter and it was covered in foil but definitely not locked. My stomach made the decision for me. I grabbed a knife and sliced a tiny corner piece. And finally, took a bite.

Oh my gosh!

It was so good. I closed my eyes for one second, just to savor it. But before I could finish the whole slice of cake, I heard footsteps.

I turned mid-bite and froze when I saw Jason, standing in front of me while shirtless.

He slowly squinted his eyes. "Are you... eating our cake?"

I panicked. "N-No! This is from my delivery!"

He crossed his arms. "Then why is the fridge open and the foil in our cake was crumpled?"

I froze.

He just smirked and slowly walked toward me. "You know, for someone who set the food-sharing rule, you're doing a pretty bad job following it, pumpkin."

I hastily wiped at my face with my sleeve. "Look, I was starving. You guys were asleep, and I thought no one would—"

Before I could finish, Jason cornered me and the counter. He gently leaned closer, and with the tip of his thumb, he wiped a bit of frosting off the corner of my lip. "Caught red-handed. Or should I say, chocolate-faced?"

"I-It's not that serious, Jason."

He smiled. A creepy smile. "Breaking house rules has consequences, pumpkin."

"Like what?" I asked.

He leaned in closer and gently touched my lips. "Like me deciding what to do about it, omega.”