Page 45 of Wedded Witch

“Hellhounds actually.”

What. The. Fuck.

This has to be some kind of joke, right?

I glance around waiting for the camera crews to jump out and yell ‘gotcha’ but my gaze lands back on the three guys before me, they’re all wearing deadly-serious expressions.

Matchingdeadly-serious expressions.

“Who the hell are you, and why?—”

“We’re triplets,” Boxers-Kel interrupts with a scowl, as if that’s supposed to make this all better. “Identical triplets in case you didn’t notice.”

I blink at him, then at the other two. “You’re... identical triplets? All of you are Kel?”

Obviously not, Swyn, they’re three different people. What mother would name triplets the same thing? Get a grip!

Towel-Kel winces. “Sort of. I’m Sol. He’s Kel,” he points to Pamphlet-Kel. “And that’s Ri,” he gestures to Boxers-Kel. “We didn’t... mean for you to find out like this.”

I stare at him, my brain completely fried at this point. “Sol, Kel, and Ri?”

Pamphlet-Kel—actualKel—shrugs. “Technically, I’m Celio Kelani, but I mostly go by Kel. Sol is Elio Solis, and Ri is Adria Kallan.”

My mouth opens, but no words come out. I look around at the three of them, my mind trying to grasp the insanity of it all. The only thing that comes out is, “You all have different last names?”

Kel shakes his head. “No, we’re the Accardis.”

“Full names? How formal,” I snort, verging on hysteria and looking to rely on humour to keep me from losing my shit.

“Figured you should know who you’re sleeping around with,” Ri deadpans, with a disapproving curl to his lip.

“I am not sleeping around!” I bark, before whirling on Sol. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You slept with me knowing that I thought you were your brother, and now your freaking triplet is trying to turn this situation against me and slut shame me? When I was a freaking virgin until you came along!”

Ri’s eyes narrow, his arms crossing over his chest as he glares at me, his jaw clenched tight.

“Oh, please,” he spits out. “Don’t act all innocent now. You’re the one who couldn’t tell the difference between us.”

My blood boils. “I was a little distracted with the whole ‘waking up next to adogthat turned into a person’ thing, Ri! Excuse me if I wasn’t ready for a pop quiz on who’s who among the magical triplets!”

Kel steps forward, raising his hands between us like he’s trying to mediate.

“Swyn, listen, we didn’t mean for this to happen. Sol wasn’t supposed to?—”

“I wasn’t supposed to, what?” Sol interrupts, his voice tight. “I didn’t plan for this either, alright? It just... happened. She’s mine.”

“That’s rich,” I snap, turning to Sol now. “You let me think you werehim. You didn’t say anything. Not one word. I’m notyours.I’m not anyone’s. Just because we spent one night together doesn’t give you some right to claim me. And now, this asshole is acting like I’m some kind of—” I fling my hand toward Ri, whose expression sours even more.

Ri cuts in sharply. “I’m just saying, maybe you shouldn’t have jumped into bed with a guy you barely know. Especially when that guy wasn’t even who you thought he was. And you kissed his brother.”

The venom in his voice makes my chest tighten, and before I can stop myself, I take a step closer to him.

“You don’t get to judge me. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve been through.” My voice shakes, but I stand firm, glaring up at him. “I didn’t ask for this...mess. I didn’t ask for any of you to barrel into my life.”

Ri scoffs, his gaze hardening as he steps closer, looming over me. Rich, smoky, sophisticated tobacco invades my senses.I’m sure I didn’t kiss this guy. I’m certain it was Kel, not him. Please don’t let it be him. Please.

“You’re right. I don’t know you. But what I do know is that people likeyou—people who just stumble into things they don’t understand—end up making everything worse for everyone else.”

“People like me?” I hiss, my hands balling into fists. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

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