Lahat ng Kabanata ng Owned by the Triplet Alphas : Kabanata 191 - Kabanata 200

190Tara’s PovI felt his sincerity deeply, and a tear fell down my face. He hated children but was willing to take mine because of me. His gaze fell to my lips, and he kissed me slowly.I hadn’t realized how much I had missed his touch until his hands found me in the right places, and my longing and desire for him flared up like the flames of a fire engulfing a pan with heated oil.We kissed for minutes, our hands roaming over each other, although mine was more careful. I crawled onto his bed, and in seconds, our clothes were strewn across the floor as we gasped and made sounds of pleasure as we filled each other with the delight and longing we had wanted for long.No words were exchanged and we had sex all night. Whenever we got tired, we lay down breathing heavily only to get aroused and start again as if trying to make up for the days in which we had missed each other, and by the time the sun came up, we were lying exhausted under the covers.There was a knock on the door, and I j

200Alyssa’s PovIngrid’s laughter lingered long after her boots had stopped crunching over the frozen grass. I didn’t even hear her walk away. I just knew she was gone because the cold settled heavier around me, like it missed her warmth too. I sat there in the shallow pit I had dug for myself, knees pulled to my chest, arms wrapped tight around them to keep myself from shaking apart.At first I tried not to cry. It felt like that would be giving her something, another scrap of me she could hoard away and throw back at my face when she needed to remind me who I was. But my chest ached so badly I thought my ribs might split, and when the first sob broke loose, it tore the rest free.I pressed my forehead to my knees and let the tears come. I hated how they stung the raw places on my cheeks where the cold had bitten deep. I hated how my shoulders jumped with every gasp. I hated how small I sounded in the big empty field, no one to hear me but the crows picking at the frost.I don’t know

202Alyssa’s POVI didn’t sleep well after Ryan left. I lay there in the dim hush of my room, the blanket pulled tight under my chin, the faint taste of him still warm on my mouth. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his; that flicker of softness that turned to steel the second he pulled away.No. The word echoed in my head like a ghost.No, he had said, to me, to himself, to whatever fragile thing we might have let slip between our ribs if we’d been braver.When dawn finally slipped through the cracks in my shutters, I pushed myself up. My body ached from yesterday, the shovel, the dirt, the climb out of my own grave. But more than that, I felt hollow. Like someone had scooped the warmth from my chest and left nothing behind but frost.I dragged myself from bed. The floor was cold under my bare feet, but I didn’t flinch. I pulled on my plain grey dress, the one with the patched elbow and the tiny tear near the hem that I never found time to fix. I combed my fingers through my hair and

205Alyssa’s POVWhen they were done with me, I didn’t know how long I’d been down there. Time didn’t exist in that cold little hole, only the ache in my wrists where the chains had rubbed my skin raw, only the bruises blooming under my dress like ugly flowers. I could taste blood where I had bitten the inside of my cheek to keep me from crying out too loudly.When they finally unlocked the chains, I could hardly stand. Reynold didn’t look at me. Reece did, but only to sneer when I stumbled trying to pull my dress down over my knees. Ryan’s face was the worst, blank, cold, like I was nothing but a stain they needed to scrub away.He didn’t say a word. None of them did. They just turned and left me there on the cold floor until two guards came in.The guards didn’t meet my eyes either. Maybe they pitied me, maybe they didn’t. It didn’t matter. Their hands were rough as they hauled me up. My legs buckled on the first step and my shoulder slammed the stone wall. I bit my lip so hard I ta

207Alyssa’s PovI ran. I ran like my life depended on it, because it truly did. The night air brushed against my face while branches clawed at my arms and legs. My bare feet tore open on rocks and roots, but I didn’t slow down. All I could hear was my ragged breathing and my heartbeat, loud and frantic like it wanted to burst out of my chest.Behind me, I heard the guards’ loud voices echo through the trees. I didn’t dare look back. I knew exactly what I would see, torches bobbing like angry fireflies, bows drawn, arrows ready.They had nearly caught me when I slipped past the pack’s gate. If Tara hadn’t grabbed my hand and shoved me ahead, I would have frozen right there.“Run, Alyssa. Don’t look back.”That was the last thing she told me.The memory made my chest burn. I pushed myself harder, lungs on fire, legs trembling as I crashed through bushes and leapt over fallen logs. Rain was in the air, I could smell it coming. I prayed it would fall soon, wash away my scent, my tracks,