CHAPTER 68: ONE OF THEM IS LYING

Eleanor’s POV

We were all seated in a tense, silent circle. The brothers occupied one large sofa, a unified wall of power and severe expressions. Scarlet and I were opposite them, each on our own separate sofa. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure everyone could hear it.

What did Keith mean, someone is lying?

The brothers’ gazes swept between Scarlet and me, and I felt a fresh wave of dread. Scarlet was the first to break the silence, her voice laced with a carefully crafted worry. "Keith, darling, what are you talking about?"

Keith’s eyes were like chips of ice. "Something happened today with Kayden. Something that should be impossible. And now the situation has become... confusing."

Scarlet leaned forward. "What could possibly be impossible?"

Then Kieran spoke, his gaze pinning me to my seat. "Eleanor. Did you do something to Kayden? Something without his knowledge?"

Oh, no. This was it. They still thought I manipulated the situation. "I didn’t do anything to him," I said. "I swear."

Keith’s voice cut through the room. "Then how do you explain why Kayden is under the impression that you are our mate?"

The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by Scarlet’s sharp, incredulous gasp. "What?"

My mind went blank. How was I supposed to answer that?

Wait a minute, Beatrice purred, suddenly alert. Did the handsome one say ’our’? As in... the three of them? The Moon Goddess has truly blessed us!

No,

I argued internally, my panic rising. It was a slip of the tongue. An English error. It has to be.

Scarlet let out a cut-off laugh that was anything but amused. "Is this some kind of prank?"

"I wish it were," Keith said, his voice grim. "But Kayden is adamant. He believes Eleanor is also our mate."

My head spun. He kept saying "our." It wasn’t a mistake. But I had to be sure. I had to clarify.

"I... I had no control over what happened," I began, my voice trembling. "But I felt it, too. My wolf... she called out to Sir Kayden. She identified him as my mate." I took a shaky breath, focusing only on Kayden. "I understand that I am just a mate to Sir Kayden, and if he wishes to reject me, I completely understand."

The brothers exchanged strange, unreadable looks. Had I said something wrong?

Keith’s eyes narrowed. "If you’re going to start playing games, acting as if you don’t know what it means for one of us to claim you as a mate..."

"I’m not playing games!" I insisted, utterly confused. "I don’t understand."

Keith leaned forward, his words dropping like stones into the quiet room. "A triplet always shares one mate."

The words hit me with the force of a physical blow. Everything clicked into place with terrifying clarity.

While Beatrice erupted in a silent symphony of joy, my world tilted on its axis. The room began to spin. A nervous, hysterical laugh bubbled in my throat.

"That... that isn’t possible," I choked out.

Scarlet immediately seized on my denial. "She’s right! It’s not possible. I am your fated mate. The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes."

Kayden’s hands began to move, his signs sharp and decisive. I couldn’t understand them, but I didn’t need to. The look of absolute certainty on his face was enough.

"Kayden says he is sure of what he felt," Keith translated, his voice flat. "His wolf is sure of it."

Scarlet made a sound of pure, wounded distress. "This can’t be happening." She turned her gaze to me, and while her expression was one of profound sadness, I could see the volcanic anger simmering just beneath the surface. "What did you do to my mate?" she whispered, her voice trembling with a convincing blend of heartbreak and accusation.

"I didn’t do anything!" I insisted, my own hands shaking. "I’m so sorry for this mess, but I swear, I have no idea how this happened."

My mind was reeling. I couldn’t be the triplets’ mate. It was an impossible concept. "And I don’t... I don’t feel my wolf calling to the rest of you as mates," I added, looking at Keith and Kieran. "So I don’t think... I can’t be..."

"That is precisely the issue we are having in believing it," Keith cut in, his gaze unwavering. "But we believe our brother. We believe that something significant occurred between you two."

Scarlet shot to her feet, visibly shaking. "I can’t stay here and listen to this. Are you seriously entertaining this?" She pointed a trembling finger at me. "She is obviously a fraud!" She rushed over to Kayden, dropping to her knees before him. "Kayden, why? Why would you think there’s another woman for you when you have me? Can’t you see you’re breaking my heart?"

But Kayden’s attention never wavered from me. His silent focus was a tangible force in the room.

"Answer me!" Scarlet pleaded, but he gave no sign that he’d even heard her. Humiliated and furious, she stood up, her composure shattered.

"Which is why," Keith stated, his voice cutting through the drama, "we believe one of you is lying."

Scarlet whirled around, her eyes blazing. "It’s obviously not me! You all felt the mate bond with me, and I felt it with you! There is no other explanation for this... this farce except that she is lying!"

Scarlet took a deep, shuddering breath, visibly pulling the frayed edges of her composure back together. She smoothed her dress and returned to her seat, her expression a mask of pained dignity.

"I apologize for my outburst," she said, her voice now carefully controlled. "It’s just... this news is... shocking. You know what you all mean to me. And I to you." She turned her gaze to me. "I have no reason to lie. And I have never met this woman before in my life. The only logical explanation is that she has found some way to mimic the signs of a mate bond."

She looked at me, her tone chillingly calm. "This isn’t going to end well for you. Trying to trick these men? If you think they aren’t intelligent enough to see through your deceit, then you’ve made a fatal mistake."

"I didn’t do anything," I repeated, the words feeling hollow even to me. I feared they wouldn’t believe me. The truth was, I hardly believed this was happening myself.

"I didn’t even know I was a werewolf until many weeks ago," I explained, desperation creeping into my voice. "I lived my entire life as a human. It changed after a hit-and-run accident. I should have died. I felt my body breaking, I knew it was the end... but I didn’t die. Ever since that day, I started seeing signs that I wasn’t human anymore." I looked at each of the brothers, pleading for them to see the truth. "I’m still trying to understand what I am and how your world works. I can’t even begin to think of a way I could possibly deceive Sir Kayden into thinking I’m his mate. What would I even have to gain from lying?"

Scarlet gave a dismissive, elegant shrug. "Their wealth. Their power. It’s what every woman is after. And I know you are no exception."

Before I could protest further, Keith raised his hand. The simple gesture commanded instant silence, cutting off all argument.

Keith lowered his hand, his gaze sweeping over all of us. "I’ve heard from both sides," he stated, his voice devoid of any emotion. "If we continue like this, we will not reach a conclusion. This could also be a rare situation. A one-in-a-million occurrence in the supernatural world."

He looked at his brothers, who gave subtle nods of agreement. "Therefore, my brothers and I will research this. We will find out if it is possible for a triplet bond to recognize two mates." His cold eyes then landed on Scarlet and me. "Until we have an answer, both of you will remain under our close observation. We will discover if one of you is, in fact, deceiving us."

He turned to Scarlet first. "I do not wish to be biased. If you are certain in your heart that you are our fated mate, as you claim, then you have nothing to fear. No enchantment or deception can hide the truth forever."

Scarlet lifted her chin, a picture of confident grace. "It’s no problem at all. I agree completely. I have nothing to hide."

My heart sank. This was a nightmare. "Wait," I blurted out. "Instead of going through all this trouble... I could just reject Sir Kayden. If he accepts the rejection, the bond will sever, and this will all be over."

Kieran, who had been quietly observing, leaned forward. A charming, dangerous smile played on his lips. "Why are you so eager to run away from the problem?" he asked, his voice a silken trap. "Is this your way of making us think you have no idea what you’re doing? A clever trick to make yourself seem innocent?"

"No! That’s not it!" I managed to say, my voice trembling.

His smile widened, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Then you should stay."

The universe is absolutely, without a doubt, playing a cruel, twisted game with me. Every single time I think, "Well, it can’t possibly get any worse than this," it gleefully proves me wrong.

If it finds a way to get worse from here, I might actually just spontaneously combust. I don’t want to die.

"Alfred," Keith said, his tone respectful but firm.

The butler, who had been a silent, observant statue throughout the entire ordeal, stepped forward. "Sir?"

"Please have the staff prepare a room for Miss Eleanor."

My blood ran cold. Alfred gave a slight bow. "Of course, sir." He turned and left without another word.

Wait. Prepare a room for her? Here? In the Vexxon estate?

I opened my mouth to refuse, to argue, to do something.

Keith’s icy gaze met mine, cutting off my protest before it could form. "When I said we would be observing you closely," he stated, his voice leaving no room for argument, "I meant it literally. Your refusal now would be... very telling."

I snapped my mouth shut. The unspoken threat was clear: if I ran, I was admitting guilt.

Meanwhile, Beatrice was having an absolute field day in my head. We get to stay! Under the same roof! With all three of them! Do you know what this means? The proximity will strengthen the bond!...

She continued with a stream of increasingly intimate and wildly inappropriate suggestions about our "Greek god-like" mates, while I sat there, numb, hoping against hope that this was all just a very bad dream and I would wake up any second.