Page 25 of Knotted By the Triad

The sweet scent of strawberries and a hint of chocolate filled the air. That was me. My scent. But the old Zuri didn’t have a scent. So what the hell was going on? A low growl filled the air. I was pretty sure it was coming from Daemin.

Zian inhaled deeply, his teacup stopping halfway to his mouth. His eyes widened. And with a shaky hand, he slowly set the teacup down and then looked my way. His dark eyes, which had stared at me with disdain last night, now held something else.

Desire and regret.

Was he regretting the fact that he desired me? Well, same, Zian. Same. I hated that my body was growing wet for alphas who didn’t belong to me. If I could, I would tear this pussy off and toss it in a lake or something.

Since I was stuck with it, and this damn slick, I had no choice but to endure. Zian’s gaze roamed over me slowly, causing me to shiver. Damn, why did his stare feel like a caress? I expected him to frown at the sight of my dress, considering it was nothing like what their Lin’er would wear.

But he didn’t frown. Instead, another growl filled the air, mingling with Daemin’s and wreaking havoc on my body. I mean, seriously, how wet could one pussy get? This was just embarrassing.

And the wetter I got, the stronger my scent grew. From the corner of my eye, I could see Allie looking over at me. Oh, right. I forgot that in the book, her sense of smell wasn’t that good. But even she seemed to notice something was off about me.

I was not a true omega. I was a human trapped inside a fictional world. I was stronger than this hallucination or whatever it was. These omega hormones weren't going to control me. I could control my body.

Taking a deep breath, I strode forward. Damn it. I shouldn’t have done that. All that did was force me to breathe in their scents. And they smelled divine. My mouth watered as I approached the table. Kai didn't look up. But his fingers tightened around his chopsticks.

Still, he kept his eyes glued to his precious Lin’er. Mei Lin continued talking, apparently unaware that she'd lost the attention of two-thirds of her audience. Kai's gaze narrowed slightly as she spoke.

Then he smiled at something she said. I knew a fake smile when I saw one. Interesting. I glanced at Daemin and Zian again. They were still looking at me. Their low growls were still rumbling through them.

Kai and Mei Lin had to be pretending not to hear it. I almost chuckled as I stood at the end of the stone path leading to their table. I didn’t want to get any closer. Their scents were already wreaking havoc on me from this distance.

I cleared my throat and waited for Kai and Mei Lin to look my way. Kai didn’t, not right away. But Mei Lin did. And she didn’t seem surprised to see me. I knew she’d already noticed me.

She probably noticed me the moment I stepped into her courtyard. Omegas could sense when another was near. I’d caught a whiff of her lavender scent as I was walking this way. I wasn’t a jealous woman.

Plus, I was a girl’s girl. So, I never hesitated to give a woman her props, and I never compared myself to others. Mei Lin was gorgeous. I mean, she was the story's heroine. She had to be gorgeous.

Her Blasian roots were evident in her almond-shaped eyes, her warm caramel complexion, and her long hair that dropped to the small of her back in dark, luxurious curls. I could see why the alphas adored her.

However, there was nothing about her or any other woman that could make me lower my head or feel inferior. All women were beautiful in their own right. There was no need for competition.

Even so, I caught a hint of jealousy in Mei Lin’s eyes before she smiled and turned in her seat to face me fully.

“Good morning, Sister,” Mei Lin greeted, her voice sweet. “I wasn't expecting you in my courtyard this early in the morning. Especially not on the day after our weddings.”

Sister? Oh, right. I guess we were sister wives in this harem.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be here the morning after our weddings,” I drawled. “Especially since the custom is for the secondary wife and the concubines to come to the primary wife’s courtyard to kneel and offer her tea the morning after they marry into the manor.”

I didn’t miss the tick in Kai’s jaw at my words. His gaze was still on Lin’er, though. As for Lin’er, anger flashed in her eyes. But she quickly composed herself, and as expected, her eyes began to shimmer with tears.

This was the part of the book that I hated. Lin’er was the heroine. Yet she cried at the drop of a dime. Mei Lin sniffled, then grabbed her handkerchief and covered the lower half of her face.

“I’m sorry, Sister,” she said, sounding beautifully pitiful. “I just married in, and I’m not familiar with all the post-wedding customs. My alphas’ original plan was to have only me as their omega. We never planned for there to be another wife in the manor. I apologize for not following the customs.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything,” Kai said, taking her hand and pulling her attention from me. “You did nothing wrong.”

Before he could say more, I spoke over him.

“Of course you did nothing wrong, Mei Lin. It was the alphas who should’ve also been present when you presented tea to me this morning. Since they weren’t there, how could I expect you to be? Oh, well,” I said with a wave of my hand. “What’s done is done. Manners can’t be taught overnight. I’m not here to talk about that anyway. I’m here to ask our husbands why I only received cold porridge for breakfast.”

My gaze drifted over the spread on Mei Lin’s table before moving to Daemin and Zian. Both alphas had the nerve to look embarrassed.

Without looking at me, Kai said, “Isn’t that something you should take up with the kitchen?”

“You’re right. And my maid did. She even offered to cook my food for me, so that my little courtyard didn’t have to disturb the kitchen. However, they told her she needed the princes’ permission and kicked her out of the kitchen.”