Mated to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: An Unexplainable Connection

The triplets exchanged uncomfortable glances at my question about Leo. The tension in the room thickened instantly.

“What happened to him?” I pressed, ignoring the pain as I tried to sit up straighter. “Is he okay?”

Lucas stepped forward, his face serious. “He’s alive, Hazel.”

“Then where is he?” My heart raced. Despite everything, I couldn’t shake my concern for Leo.

The brothers shared another look, communicating silently in that way only they could. Finally, Liam broke the heavy silence.

“Leo is currently being held in the cells,” he said gently, his warm eyes filled with caution.

My jaw dropped. “The cells? Why?”

Levi snorted, crossing his arms. “Why? Because he’s the one who caused this whole mess in the first place!”

“Levi,” Lucas warned, shooting his brother a stern look.

“What? It’s true!” Levi threw his hands up. “He confessed everything while we had him locked up! He practically started the Vox Solis with Esther. He kidnapped you because he wanted to make you his mate!”

My breath got caught in my throat. “He... confessed all that?”

That was surprising. I thought it would had taken a lot more convincing to get Leo to confess.

“Hazel, you have a twin sister,” Lucas gently revealed. “Leo was her chosen mate.”

I nodded. “Yes,” I said. “I know that. He eventually told me.”

I vaguely explained how they met, and Lucas, Liam, and Levi shared a look and a nod.

“Other than confessing, he also came with us willingly,” Liam explained, his voice soft. “He said he’d accept whatever judgment we passed, in exchange for...” He trailed off, looking at his brothers again.

“In exchange for what?” I demanded.

Lucas sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “He just wanted to know if you were alright, Hazel. That was his only request.”

Something tightened in my chest at his words. Leo, who’d risked everything to save me from that needle, who’d taken the serum meant for me, had only cared about my safety.

The way we met started out so wrong, but he was doing his part to rectify everything.

Matilda cleared her throat. “I should give you all some privacy. Call me if you need anything.” She slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Liam sat on the edge of my bed, taking my hand in his. “Why do you care so much about him, Hazel? After everything he did?”

I stared at our joined hands, struggling to find the right words. My skin tingled where I touched Liam. It felt right to have my hand in his, and warmth instantly bloomed through me in the best way.

Oddly enough, I couldn’t help but think this was also how it felt to hold Leo’s hand when he pulled me through the exploding building.

“I know what he did was wrong. I know he created this mess, but... I feel sorry for him.”

“Sorry for him?” Levi scoffed. “He literally tried to steal you from us!”

“I know that!” I snapped, then softened my tone. “But he also saved my life. Multiple times. And there’s something else...”

Lucas moved closer, his green eyes intense. “What is it?”

I took a deep breath. “I feel a strange bond with Leo. It’s not the same as what I feel with you three, but it’s... similar. Like a weaker version of our fated mate bond.”

The room fell silent. Lucas’s jaw tightened, Liam’s grip on my hand loosened slightly, and Levi’s playful demeanor vanished completely.

“You feel a mate bond with Leo?” Lucas finally asked, his voice carefully controlled.

“Not exactly,” I rushed to explain. “It’s different. Weaker. But after he took that injection for me—the one that was supposed to erase mate bonds—I felt it even stronger.”

Liam’s eyes widened. “So that’s why you wanted to find him so badly even when the building was falling apart.”

I nodded, guilt washing over me. “I feel like I’m betraying you three. And Helena— Oh Goddess, I am terrible. What am I even saying?!” noveldrama

I buried my face into my hands. This was all so wrong. I already had my mates. Not only that, I had three of them! I wasn’t expecting to find a fourth one as well.

Lucas paced the room, hands clasped behind his back. “This doesn’t make sense. Mate bonds don’t work that way. We are an exception only because we are triplets.”

“He sure looks like us,” Levi said, wincing. “But Mom and Dad are insistent they don’t have a fourth son. Even they were pretty surprised when they first saw Leo.”

I peeped out from between my fingers, a smile tugging at my lips. What I would give to see the look of horror on Evelyn’s face when she realized there was another man with such a similar appearance to her beloved sons.

“Unless...” Liam’s face lit up with understanding. “Unless the serum they injected Leo with didn’t erase mate bonds at all.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“What if it did the opposite?” Liam continued, excitement building in his voice. “What if instead of erasing a bond, it created one? Or strengthened an artificial one?”

Levi snapped his fingers. “That’s it! They were experimenting with creating mate bonds, not just breaking them.”

Lucas stopped pacing. “And Leo could be a test subject without even realizing it.”

The pieces started falling into place. “So the bond I feel with Leo...”

“Might be manufactured,” Lucas finished. “Not natural like ours.”

“But...” I shook my head. “No, that’s not possible. Esther was aiming for me, remember? She wanted to sabotage my bond with the three of you.”

Almost immediately after the words left my lips, the triplets’ faces fell.

“We need to have Matilda assess both of you,” Liam said decisively. “She might be able to figure out what’s going on.”

“Did they perform any procedures on you while you were there, Hazel?” Lucas asked, his voice tight with concern.

I shook my head. “They tried, but the preliminary tests kept failing. Esther’s guess was that it might be due to the baby. That’s why they kept injecting me with wolfsbane before you all found me.”

A complicated expression washed over the triplets’ faces. It was a mix of worry and relief.

“Thank the Moon Goddess,” Levi breathed. “At least nothing irreversible happened to you.”

“But something happened to Leo,” I whispered. He had lost the remaining connection he had with the woman he loved. “And it’s partly my fault.”

Lucas sat beside me, opposite Liam. “None of this is your fault, Hazel. Leo made his choices, for better or worse.”

“And regardless of what’s happening with this strange bond, we’re your true mates,” Levi added, his usual playfulness replaced by rare seriousness. “Nothing will change that.”

I nodded, but couldn’t shake the heaviness in my heart. “I need to see him.”