Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.

Jarek.

I watched Leilani silently from the corner of my eyes, feeling my heart race as I watched her smile out the window.

The evening air was chilly and strong, and with it came a slight snow that fell like cotton candy from the sky.

But I wasn’t admiring the beauty of the snow, or the beautiful bright Christmas decorations scattered here and there across the streets.

I was worried— about Leilani.

A couple of years ago, I had strongly believed that her wolf was being suppressed by some strange magic. I had believed that her weird family had something to do with it, but she’d proven me wrong time and time again; And one time— the only one time— she’d ever shifted, she had landed in a hospital and refused to do it again.

A few months later, she told me she’d gone for therapy and tons of treatment, and that she could no longer feel her wolf so it was possible that it had left; and while I didn’t want to believe that, she had made it sound quite believable.

I mean, who am I to say no when she says yes?

So how the hell did she just do what she did in the parking lot?

How did she rip off my car door all those weeks ago after the gala?

While I didn’t want to easily believe it, I feared that Leilani wasn’t a regular wolf. I feared that she was something far stronger. Goddess, I even feared that she could beat me up in a one on one combat at this point.

Just then a particularly strong wind blew, ruffling her hair, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as she struggled to tame the wild silver strands, whilst coughing when a few got into her mouth.

She snorted; "Aish!" and then turned to me with a frown; "that just ruined my hair!"

And that was my cue to ask my driver to roll up the windows.

I sighed; "You still look breathtaking though. Relax!"

We continued the rest of the trip in silence, only stopping in front of a hotel that Leilani had asked us to make a quick stop at.

When we got out, I frowned as a young girl with a large woollen cap and old coat ran over to Leilani, waving a paper bag as she called out; "Here? Right here!"

My frown deepened when she pulled Leilani into a hug and stepped back with wide eyes. "Woah!" She screamed, "you look so... gorgeous!"

Glad to know I wasn’t the only one who thought like that.

"Is this the hard drive?" Leilani asked her seriously and she nodded quickly with a bright smile.

"Yes it is!" She squealed, "...though I had to allow my lil ol’ boy to ride me in at least seventeen different styles and was forced to scratch his balls before he finally decided to release it to me."

I scrunched up my nose. Leilani giggled. "Stop already, Agnes!"

And if there was one thing I noticed about the girl named Agnes, it was the fact that her smile widened significantly when Leilani was smiling back. She looked like one of those few people I’ve seen that truly liked Leilani— like me... and Maya.

She hugged Leilani one more time and muttered; "I’ll have to go now before they notice I’ve been gone for too long!"

"And I’ll send you the rest of your money tonight... with more than enough tips so you don’t have to work there anymore!"

The girl’s eyes glistened with tears as she pulled Leilani into another hug. She whispered; "thank you!" and with that, she rushed away, hailed a cab, and turned back to smile one more time at us before getting into the cab.

Leilani sighed.

I frowned and asked; "What was that about?"

At the sound of my voice, she turned around to face me, sporting the most genuine, most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen on her before. She raised the brown paper bag over her head and drawled; "You remember that time I told you about the CCTV camera back at my father’s house? The one I’ve been trying to get my hands on for so long?"

"Yeah I remember," I said slowly.

"This is its hard drive!" He squealed, and I couldn’t help but gasp as a mixture of relief and joy flooded my veins.

My joy increased when Leilani did a small happy dance before running into my arms, her arms snaking around my waist as she muttered; "Agnes used to be my best friend but now she works there. She helped me retrieve it, and now I plan to hack into it and see if I can retrieve the footages that I need. It may take a while but I’ll get it."

"Oh."

I hugged her back— tightly— almost moaning when her sweet soft scent filled my senses. And Hades, I loved the way she fit perfectly against me. I loved the way her warmth seeped into my clothes, filling me with a kind of sweetness that I haven’t felt in a while. I could never say that anything was perfect but she was.

And she was a little bit... a tiny bit more than perfect.

Oh goddess, how I love this woman. How I wish to spend the rest of my motherfucking life with her.

Pushing these thoughts away, I placed a kiss on her forehead and asked her softly; "So now, what’s left? What else do you need to complete Chalice’s wedding gift?"

"A cake." She answered softly, her eyes shining bright, "a mango cake to be precise."

I didn’t ask her why she chose that flavor or what it signified as I simply nodded.

Whatever she says goes, and I was in no place to question it.

I could never be.

—

A few minutes later, we parked in front of her house and to my utmost annoyance, we found the usual bouquet of roses by her door.

However, what surprised me is the fact that she didn’t discard it this time, she took it into the house and placed it on her kitchen counter, only to come back to the living room seconds later with a smile, like she wasn’t affected by it anymore.

I guess she’s grown used to it now... it was one of the perks of being such an attractive young woman.

At the thought, I frowned but pushed it away as I pulled her into a hug, and whispered; "Goodnight Leilani."

"Won’t you stay for a while?" She asked hopefully but I quickly shook my head.

"No, I’ll be quite busy tonight. But I’ll come see you tomorrow morning." I said, and with that, I turned and left immediately, afraid that I would change my mind if I looked into her eyes one more time.

She had that much power over me.

However, the true reason I wanted to leave was not because I was busy, it was because I was crazy... madly attracted to her.

Because I feared what I’d do if I remained in an enclosed space with her for another minute.

—And also because I had a few things I needed to look into, and an example of which is why she manifests some strange strengths but swears to not have a wolf.

And swears to have undergone treatment and therapy, even though I suspected otherwise.