Owned By Her Triplet Bullies
Chapter 74

Julian's POV

I woke up to the sound of excited chatter and plates clanging against each other after enduring days of misery. I stood up with the intention of heading downstairs to replace out what was going on. When I opened my door, I was surprised to see Alexander and Philip also heading out of their rooms. Judging by their expressions, they had been woken up by the noise too. We walked downstairs together, and my eyes widened in surprise when I saw my mother, father, and Hailey.

Father was sitting in front of a steaming cup of hot coffee, reading a newspaper, while Mother and Hailey were setting the table and chatting non-stop. Was I the only one who didn't understand the reason for this gathering and excitement? I turned toward my brothers, and they had the same confused look as I did. It was reassuring to know I wasn't the only one. Finally, they seemed to notice us, as we had been standing there for quite a while.

"Boys, you're awake," our mum said, wiping her hands on a towel and walking towards us. She hugged us all fondly, and we greeted them.

"What's all this about?" I asked curiously.

"Hailey called us over. She felt like we hadn't been spending enough time together lately, which is why she organized this breakfast, even though I cooked all the meals myself," she chuckled. "Mother," Hailey gasped, walking towards the dining table with her hands full, looking embarrassed.

"The good thing is, she did it with good intentions. Besides, you will all be graduating very soon. We should have our own little party before that happens. After this, I will still organize a huge party just for my children," she said with a smile. "Why throw such a big party? It's only a graduation," Alexander grumbled.

"Don't be so cranky, Alex. Graduating is a big deal, and we should celebrate accordingly. Right, honey?" she asked our father.

"You're right. Don't forget the fact that you're also excited about meeting their mate," he replied, sipping his coffee lightly. My face fell when I heard the word "mate."

"Like you aren't excited. Boys, you've really raised our hopes. I hope you're already making plans for our introduction?" she asked, unable to contain her excitement. I glanced toward Alexander and Philip. Alexander had an aloof expression on his face, while Philip was munching on an apple, lost in deep thought. I was left to answer the question. I stared at my mother's happy face. What was I supposed to say? I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth.

Suddenly, she started sniffing the air. "Oh my! Hailey, are you burning the toast?" she asked, hurriedly walking towards the kitchen. I sighed in relief.

"Where is Emma? I haven't seen her all morning. Isn't she home? She would have come to help me if she was," she asked, coming back towards the dining area.

"Emma left," Hailey deadpanned. I whipped my head towards her, shocked.

"She left? Did she go out to get something?" Mum asked curiously.

"I don't know. Unless she went to get something with most of her belongings," she replied. I immediately walked toward Emma's room, and I could hear footsteps behind me. I pushed her door open and walked in. True to Hailey's words, most of her belongings were gone.

"Did she really leave?" Philip asked, peering into the room. I picked up the cell phone we had given her from the table.

"She must have departed covertly, as we were engulfed in such excruciating pain that we failed to notice. The nerve she has to leave without offering an apology for her wrongdoing," I bitterly spat out. I still couldn't come to terms with the fact that Emma had actually slept with someone else and had been reckless enough to be recorded. Her claim of being kidnapped and nearly assaulted lacked evidence of a struggle in the video that was sent to us. Who knew if she had been doing it for a long time?

In truth, it appeared as if she was relishing the experience. I tightened my grip on the phone in my hands. Sleep evaded me throughout the night. Whenever I closed my eyes, all I could envision was Emma with that man, coupled with the pain. If only I could get my hands on that man, I would snap his neck. I had never experienced such profound hurt before.

"She didn't have the decency to apologize or speak with us; she just fled in the middle of the night?" Philip inquired. While we had instructed her to leave the pack house, I never expected her to depart so early or even depart at all, considering she had nowhere else to go. Not that it mattered to me. I hold no regard for a liar and a cheater. She is no longer our mate, so she can go wherever she pleases. It's none of our concern.

Alexander had remained silent since we entered the room, and I knew exactly what he was contemplating.

"Boys, breakfast is getting cold. Why are you still here?" Hailey walked into the room, joining us.

"How did you know she left? Did you see her as she was leaving?" Alexander finally spoke, walking toward her.

"I didn't see her. I came to ask her for help in preparing breakfast, but when I couldn't replace her or her belongings, she must have left, right? That's why Mother assisted me instead," she replied.

"This is for the best. She realized she didn't belong here. Let's forget about her and go have breakfast before it gets cold. Do you want your parents to sense that something is wrong? Or are you ready to explain everything to them, including the part about your cheating mate? I'm sure your father would greatly appreciate that," she remarked. Did she really need to mention the cheating part?

However, she is correct. We have severed all ties with Emma, and now it's time to move forward. We can't dwell on the past. On graduation day, we will have to come up with an excuse to tell our parents. But for now, we must pretend that everything is perfectly fine. We all returned to the dining area.

"Is something amiss? Where did you all go?" Mum skeptically stared at us.

"We just went to confirm something. There's nothing wrong. Emma left," Philip replied.

"Really? But why?" she asked curiously.

"We don't expect her to live with us forever, right? She probably went to live with one of her relatives," Hailey answered.

"Who is Emma?" Father asked.

"She's a girl I met here. She was sold to pay off her parents' debts. Poor thing. She was really a nice girl," she responded.

Father didn't know who Emma was because there were many people like her in the pack house. They had become slaves to settle their parents' or relatives' debts. Once they reached the legal age and fulfilled their obligations, they could leave. Besides, Father was often away from the pack and couldn't possibly know every single person. We knew Emma had no relatives since she was an orphan, so where did she go?

We continued eating in silence, though I had no appetite whatsoever. I pushed my food around on my plate.

The medication we took provided some relief, but we still experienced lingering pain. I even heard about people who lost their mates and died, and I hope that won't be the case for us.

"But why did she leave so early? Aren't you all getting ready for graduation?" inquired my mother curiously. I paused before responding.

"Mother, she must have had her reasons. If she wanted to graduate, she wouldn't have left," Hailey replied.

"Boys, I didn't want to mention this earlier, but you need to introduce your mate to the pack soon. It's time for one of you to step up and lead the pack. It's long overdue," he said. I glanced at my brothers, noticing Alexander clenching his jaw in anger. He abruptly stood up.

"I've lost my appetite. I'll be in my room," he said, walking away. I sighed. We should never have brought up our mate to our parents. We had good intentions, hoping that finally having a mate would bring us happiness. Throughout our lives, replaceing our mate was all we ever wanted, but now this had happened. We were deeply hurt and humiliated, and I would never forgive her for that.

"Is something wrong with Alex? He's been grumpy all morning," our mother worriedly inquired.

"He's fine. He's probably just tired. We had quite an eventful night yesterday," Philip reassured her.

"I still think I should go check on him," she insisted, rising from her chair. However, the news on television halted her movement.

"A body was discovered this morning. It has been identified as that of a young she-wolf, likely still attending school. She was struck by a truck, and her body was disfigured, so we are still trying to determine her true identity...." I tuned out the news anchor's report, giving Philip a sharp glance.

"It couldn't have been Emma, right? Or could it?" he nervously asked me through our mind link.