Avenging The Triplet Alphas
Chapter 42

Arielle's POV

The dining room fell silent as soon as I walked in through the doors. I had wanted to come in as quietly as I could but given that they were all familiar with my scent, it was pointless. I could hear them arguing tersely as I made my way towards the dining room, the discussion was getting harsher and it was seeming like all hell would be let loose any moment from now.

My eyes landed on Loki's as soon as I turned toward the table. He looked just the same way he was when I left but instead of looking at me with hatred in his eyes, it was one of caution and a hint of relief. I didn't want to make things up but I couldn't help but think he felt somewhat glad to see me.

I broke off the intense stare-off I was having with him and looked at Jonathan and Elijah, they both mirrored Loki's look despite the slight differences. Where Loki's eyes held the tiniest bit of relief, Jonathan's looked outrightly pleased, while Elijah's held surprise. If there was one thing I was thrilled about it was that they now saw me in a different light. It had just been a year and a few months but I was a new woman now and they all acknowledged that.

"I wasn't expecting you just yet,"

I turned my gaze to Ethan who had a small frown on his face before it quickly became a huge smile.

He was right about that, I wasn't supposed to come in now but I couldn't help myself out there. I was running out of patience.

"What kind of host would I be if I didn't make it to breakfast?" I smiled sweetly at Ethan. "Besides, I'm hungry." I kissed Ethan on the cheek as I made my way toward his side of the table, taking the seat next to him.

"So what have I missed?" I asked, looking around the table. "I'm sorry I came in late, I had to deal with a couple of things before joining you guys."

"We were getting to know a couple of things about our packs, given the fact that we haven't seen each other before. Isn't that right, Ethan?" Loki began, a lazy smile playing on his life as he fixed his gaze on me.

I felt my heart skip a beat as memories from the past came flooding in, so I averted my gaze away from him hoping no one would notice my cheeks slightly flaming up.

"Yeah, Loki's right. We haven't gotten into any major discussions yet." Ethan assured me, giving my thigh a reassuring squeeze underneath the table.

"So what are we waiting for?" I was trying to act oblivious to the fact that I already overheard a substantial portion of their discussion. I reached over to the tray containing pancakes and served myself a rather considerable amount before I grabbed the jar of maple syrup as well.

"You're still a sucker for pancakes and maple syrup?" Jonathan asked me in a teasing voice. "You'd eat it all day for a week and you'd still crave for more."

I bit down hard on my lower lip. "I can't seem to help myself around it."

"Some things never change, I guess," Jonathan added, much to Ethan's disgust as I heard him growl under his breath.

"I guess not," I quickly added before switching to address the obvious elephant in the room. "So why are you here?"

"To bring you back home," Loki replied without missing a beat.

"If I remember correctly, you three chased me away from our pack on our wedding day without giving me any tangible reason. All either of you could come up with was some silly excuse about my alleged promiscuity before I was tossed out with only the clothes I had on me." I began. "You didn't care if I died out there and now that I've managed to turn my life around for the better, you dare to come back?"

"Look," Loki cleared his throat, sitting upright as he fixed his eyes on me once again. "We don't expect you to forgive us right now, no one in his right senses would demand that from you."

"So what do you want from me?" I scoffed. "If it's pretty obvious that I loathe the very sight of you and your brothers. Why are you here?"

"We're here to take you home first, then we can discuss our unforgivable actions once we've gotten back to our pack," Jonathan added and I turned towards him. He had the same serious look on his face as well.

"Why do you want me back?" I relaxed into my chair and crossed my arms across my chest.

"We've realized our mistake and we want to atone for it."

"I'm not buying that story." I glared at Jonathan. "You ought to come up with something better."

"Jonathan's right, Arielle." Loki cut in. "We made a mistake and we want to rectify it. We could've come a lot sooner than we did but a lot of factors delayed us but we're here now hoping to make amends."

"You realize I'm getting married to Ethan in a couple of months, right?" I took Ethan's hands in mine as I stared at him, trying to read his stoic expression.

"We found out a while back," Loki replied, eventually dragging his gaze away from my mind intertwined with Ethan's.

"And it didn't deter you in the slightest?"

There had to be an explanation for their desperation. There were a lot of other women out there, they could easily pick the best out of the most desirable women in the world and claim her like they once did with me but they decided to come back for me. There had to be a backstory to it or I'm probably reading meaning into something inconsequential.

"Come on now, Arielle." Elijah groaned, running his hand through his hair. "You know Ethan for what now? Fourteen months and he's not even claimed you yet?"

"I've had enough of making decisions out of thin air, my days of spontaneous thinking are over. I take my time dealing with certain things now." I retorted.

I spared Ethan a side glance, but he remained silent. His grip on my face was getting tighter, a clear indication that he was becoming uncomfortable, and rightly so.

"Spare me the details of whatever you two have going on but you and I both know that you don't love that man." Elijah finding,

"I see what this is all about now," I laughed out loudly. "You're hoping to use that same ploy you used in claiming me. Let me make this very clear and simple to you all. The Arielle you once knew is dead and consigned to the grave with whatever past we might have had together. She's never coming back and you're never going to get me back."

"You heard my fiancée," Ethan spoke for the first time since I entered the room. "She doesn't want you back and more importantly, she's not going anywhere. She's not leaving my pack, she's found a home here and I'm certain that she's delighted to be here as well." "She has a mind of her own, Ethan." Loki motioned for him to quiet. "We had our time to talk about what would be the best outcome to this situation at hand but you were unwilling to judge."

"I'm fed up with your blatant disregard for my person." Ethan roared.

"Ethan," I began, hoping to pacify him. Losing his cool right now would do me a lot more harm than good.

He turned to look at me and he understood immediately.

They were on the brink of wrapping up things here and with one wrong mistake, we would come crashing to the ground.

"You ought to be with your family," Loki argued again and I mentally slapped my hand across my temple. He just didn't know when to give up.

"When you tossed me out, the moon goddess was fortunate enough to send Ethan my way and he nurtured me back to full health. He took me in and his pack welcomed me with open arms, that's the true definition of family. I'm very much happy there and unless you want to haul me out of here, you wasted your time and resources coming down here."

"No matter how you try to twist the narrative, you don't belong here and you know it," Loki answered. "You know where your heart is and if you truly love Ethan like you claim you do, he should claim you to be his mate right here and now." "Loki..." I heard Jonathan warn in a low tone.

"To hell with playing it safe," He glared at Jonathan before turning his gaze to Ethan. "Go on, Alpha. Claim her, prove to us that you love her and that she loves you just as much as you've claimed."

"I think it's time for you and your brothers to leave." Ethan began, pushing back his chair and standing up. "We've entertained you and your entourage for as long as we can manage and it's time to head back to your pack and count your losses. I don't need to prove anything to you, Arielle is mine and I'm hers as well."