300 Days With The Alpha Beta Triplets
CARMILLE'S POV

Bella:

A thick silence hung in the air, making me regret speaking.

"I'm sorry, and I..."

"No, Bella, it's fine," she said, turning to face me. "I would have been curious too if I were in your shoes. I assumed your mother told you the story from her point of view, but I was wrong," she said, placing the last batch of plates in the sink.

"She never tells me anything," I replied, watching her wash her hands before turning around.

She took a deep breath.

"It's not my place to tell you Evelyn's story. She's your mother, and she owes that privilege," she said, and my face fell. "You called it a triangle, right? So, I will tell you the story from my point of view, and that will be it."

I felt a glimmer of hope when she said this. Then she leaned against the kitchen counter, grabbing a rag to wipe her hands.

"Take a seat," she said, and I pulled out one chair.

"Fred and I used to be good friends as kids. As a matter of fact, we were best friends. His father was Alpha, and Evelyn's father was Beta. Although my family, Stardust, wasn't Alpha or Beta, we were held in high regard alongside the Lycanthals and Storm family. So, get this-we were like the royal five." I adjusted a bit in my seat. "Among the five families, my father was closest to the Alpha, so Fred and I became best friends. Before the Lycanthals took over as Beta, Fred's father and the Lupins met often because they were the Betas then, so Fred saw Evelyn frequently. The Lupins had only daughters, beautiful ones that were considered to be goddesses, and Evelyn was the youngest among them. Fred loved her, but the age gap between them scared him so much. Although he was the Alpha Prince, he feared Beta Lupin. He made his feelings known to Evelyn, but she was only fifteen then, and he was nineteen, so he knew he had to love her in secret. But luck shined on him when Evelyn turned sixteen, and they were fated mates. Then he had the courage to ask her out."

"Their relationship was a fun one, and they were so in love. She confessed to having a crush on him too, and they started a relationship, but a pure one because it was taboo to be sexual in those days, plus the fact she was underage. Everything was wonderful, and Evelyn and I were friends too. We considered each other best friends because Fred and I were best friends, you know." She paused to catch her breath.

"Fred intended to marry her at nineteen, once he was done with university, but everything changed when Herald Runestone made a trip to our pack." My heart skipped a beat when she mentioned my father's name.

I wanted to tell her to stop, but I was deeply invested and needed to know what happened.

FLASHBACK:

THIRD-PERSON NARRATIVE:

After Evelyn was married off to Herald, Fred's life went down the drain. For days, he couldn't sleep, and worse, his best friend Carmille was nowhere to be found. Carmille, on the other hand, had her issues with her boyfriend, Duncan, the son of the Dusk Pack's Beta.

They had planned to get married in a couple of months, but the more they spent time and made plans for a home, the more they realized they were very different. Carmille was raised in a calm home, but Duncan had been forced to make tough decisions as a child.

"I'm sorry. I cannot agree with that, Duncan. If we can't have kids when we get married, then I am sorry, I can't," Carmille said, attempting to leave, but Duncan grabbed her, pinning her against the wall.

His father was a cruel man, and Duncan, being the only child, swore to end the man's lineage.

"You belong to me, Carmille, and no one can have you but me. I swear, I'll kill any man who dares come close to you!" he growled. She hit him in the face, causing him to tighten his grip on her wrists.

Her eyes became clouded with tears as she stared into his eyes.

"You claim you don't want to be your father, but nothing separates you two. Look at the monster you've become," she said, struggling under his grip, and then he let her go.

There was a moment of silence between them.

"Leave!" Duncan yelled, startling her.

He had always had a temper, but never towards her-until now.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Carmille! And I don't ever want to see you again!" he growled, and she grabbed her things, rushing out of the house.

Carmille couldn't go home that night because her house was empty. She was the last child. Her brother had moved from the Frost Pack after marrying, and her parents were on vacation. The last thing she wanted was a quiet house. Having nowhere to go, she showed up at Fred's apartment, hoping he would be there.

When Fred opened the door, her heart sank further as he reeked of alcohol.

"I thought you stopped drinking?" she asked as she walked into his house.

"I've lost the love of my life."

Hearing that from him made her own situation sink in. She had lost the one she loved, and she knew Duncan-he would never come back for her.

"Give me that," she said, grabbing the bottle from Fred's hand, and then she chugged the entire contents, wiping her mouth.

They both sat hopelessly on the floor of Fred's living room, drinking away their sorrows, but it didn't stop there. Before they knew it, they were eating out each other's faces, and they ended up having sex.

After their one night of passion, they both regretted it. They swore never to tell anyone. Carmille was ashamed of what she'd done, and she hated herself for it. Fred apologized repeatedly, offering to marry her to protect her dignity, but she didn't want his pity. She asked him to leave the pack for a while so they could both heal, and Fred did just that.

Duncan, on the other hand, showed up at Carmille's doorstep the next day.

"I'm sorry for what I did, and I swear I'll make it up to you," he said, but Carmille shook her head in disagreement. She was no longer a virgin, and she feared what Duncan would do if he knew.

"I'm tired of going back and forth, Duncan, plus I'm still young. You're twenty-seven, and I'm twenty-one. I'm sure I'll replace my mate."

"I don't care about that, Carmille. I love you, and I can't live without you, please," Duncan fell to his knees, grabbing her legs, burying his head in them.

Her heart shattered over and over again, and she questioned why he hadn't shown up the night before. "I'm sorry, Duncan, but I'm done."

Carmille thought her problems had ended, but a few weeks later, she became very ill, throwing up at the slightest. A doctor was called, and she was confirmed pregnant, leaving her parents raging mad. When she revealed Fred had gotten her pregnant, they arranged a quick wedding to conceal, and a couple of months later, Ryder was born.

END OF FLASHBACK

Bella felt her heart break, knowing what Camille had faced.

"But Fred and I could never be happy in our marriage," Camille continued, drawing Bella's attention back.

There was more to the terrible story.

"We went from best friends to literal enemies, fighting over the smallest things. It got so bad that when Ryder had just turned one, he hated Fred so much, he would cry every time Fred tried to hold him. Everything went downhill for me, and as for Duncan, he found his mate, but he remained unhappy too."

"When a minor war broke out and vampires attacked the Rune Pack, Evelyn escaped..."

"Escaped?" I questioned, cutting her short.

I'd heard she ran away and left me behind.

"Yes, she escaped. She barely had anything to return to here, as her grandmother had passed, but Fred took her in, and I saw the way he looked at her. That was the calmest he had been in two or three years. He moved her to an apartment, but you should have seen how happy he was each time he returned from visiting her." Her voice was heavy now.

"Evelyn respected me because I was married to Fred. They both had a clean relationship, but I knew I was their burden, and I couldn't stop feeling like that. After the war, the leaders of the four packs and their Betas attended a meeting at Frost Pack, and Duncan came. That was the first time I had seen him in three years. He looked terrible, and even though he saw I was married, he still wanted me. He was the love of my life."

"That night after the meeting, Fred didn't come home. He stayed with Evelyn because she was sick, and I allowed him to because I couldn't take him away from the love of his life. When Duncan came to me, I didn't resist him, and I'll be honest with you. I slept with him for my own selfish reasons, but I knew I was deceiving myself in this marriage, and I had already lost my best friend, so what more could I lose? My husband was out, but I couldn't keep him away from his mate either, so I did it," she said, and I stared at her, trying to imagine how I would have killed myself if I were in

her shoes.

"I got pregnant, and Fred banished me from the pack. Life didn't get easier. Duncan's mate was the Alpha Princess of the Dusk Pack, and her brother, the Alpha King, was furious. He forbade anything from happening between Duncan and me, so I was a mistress for fourteen years. But she passed away last year," she said, and I saw a tear slip from her

eyes. "Carmille, I'm..."

"It's okay, Bella," she wiped her tears with the back of her palm. "These are happy tears. It's been almost a year since she passed. May she rest in peace, but I am living a good life now. I have my sons, and I am married to the man I love, which is something I wouldn't trade for anything," she said with a smile on her lips.

"So everything happened because of my father?" I questioned, my brows wrinkled.

"I told you it is their story to tell, because as you can see, we are villains in everyone's story. I am the villain in Fred

and Evelyn's story, but I do not care anymore," she said. "You really should go to bed."

"Does Ryder know any of these things?" I questioned, and she shook her head.

"It should be our little secret."

I nodded at her, then I walked back to my room, carrying the biggest secret in the entire world. As soon as I opened

the door to my room, I saw Ryder on my bed.

"I heard everything," he said...