Three Alphas, Three Mates

Chapter 30 - Who Needs Betas?

Michael nearly runs into Aiden on his way in. I can't see his face just yet, but I know it's nothing good.

Brittany follows close behind. "This is all a misunderstanding," she keeps repeating. Her eyes land on me, then Carson. They scream, 'Help me.'

I don't know what to do. This is quite possibly the worst thing that could've happened. I turn to Axel to see what he thinks we should do. He doesn't offer any pointers. He just backs away from the bed slowly.

But the door doesn't close just yet. More people come in.

"If we could all just calm down—" Ethel starts as he walks into the room.

Onai glares daggers at him. I flinch. He takes a step closer to Ethel. "If you could just keep your mouth shut and follow orders."

"Oni," Krys screams at him, nearly running into him on her way in. She does a double take between the two betas. "Are you guys still fighting?"

Ethel looks flustered. "I'm not fighting anyone. He won't leave me alone."

"Well to be fair, you started this," Krys mutters under her breath.

"Whose side are you on?" Ethel asks.

She gives him a flat look. "You ran into his and Onai's classroom screaming Aiden's calling the ambulance. Let's go. Whose side do you think I'm on?"

Michael doesn't pay them any mind, not even Brittany who's directly talking to him. His eyes just shift between the brothers, painstakingly slow—from Aiden to Axel to Carson, then back to Aiden again. Thankfully Carson's completely off the bed by now, but I don't think that helps the situation that much. There's no plausible explanation as to why I'm alone with three men. Again. Not a good explanation anyway.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Michael's eyes look over the room again and again, like he's afraid he's missed something. Like none of this is quite making sense. At first I think he might be asking me, or Aiden, or Carson, or Axel, or even the nurse, but then I realize it's just a general question. A rhetorical one. He doesn't wait for an answer. He walks forward in my direction with a look in his eyes I've only seen three times before.

The third was when he dealt with guitar boy. The second was a family incident. And the first, that was when I almost died. It's one of those stories I know not because I remember it myself, but because people have told it so many times it's like I lived it myself. I see myself lying there unconscious. I fell to the ground out of the blue, hitting my head on the table in the process. No warning. I was fine and then I wasn't.

At the time, Mom and Dad weren't home, and I was barely breathing. It was just Michael, Megan, and Charlie at home. They didn't think the ambulance was gonna make it. They thought I was dead.

That's when Michael decided to get his license. After that day.

"Michael—" I start.

He gives me a hard look while getting closer. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

Aiden doesn't move out of the way though.

If looks could kill, Michael would've killed him by now. It looks like it's taking everything in him not to try to beat the crap out of Aiden. "If you don't move," Michael says. The height difference is pronounced, but Michael doesn't look intimidated in the least. He looks up at Aiden, and for a second I think Aiden really will step back.

It makes sense. He didn't want to keep this a secret from Michael in the first place. Maybe he'll just spill everything.

I rub my forehead. We're doomed. There's no way around it. This looks bad. And it's only gonna get worse when my parents find out. Michael's gonna tell them everything, I know it—if he hasn't already.