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

Kael.

I have never been jealous before, or so I thought until I was made to witness Caelum ruffling Leilani’s hair like pals in a rom-com would.

I never even knew I had it in me until I saw her smiling at him— It was a smile that was too soft, too genuine, too intentional. It was something I have never seen on her face before, especially directed at a man like Caelum whom we all thought she hated the most amongst us.

My heart skipped a beat when she turned to look at me, but instead of responding right away, she slowly dropped back into the sofa, picked up the plate of food, brought a forkful of pasta to her mouth, moaned in delight and then drawled;

"I have some suspicions."

My eyebrows touch my hairline. "Suspicions?"

"Yes," she answered before pushing another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

I almost saw red when she looked at Caelum, beamed a smile at him and muttered under her breath; "This is really delicious, Caelum."

But I had heard her, clear as day. And I guess that Caelum had heard her too because his face immediately stained a bright shade of red. He glanced away but not before I saw the smile playing across his lips nor the gleam in his eyes.

And as if to further infuriate me, he ducked his head and began to scratch the back of his neck like a horny shy teenager.

My anger peaked.

"Tell me about this thing between you and Caelum before you tell me about your suspicions." I snapped even before I could stop myself, not missing the way Leilani’s eyes widened in surprise before she too looked away with a knowing smile on her face.

Or was I imagining things?

Was that not a knowing smile?

"We met about some hours ago." She answered gruffly, "He paid for my cab fare and has been telling me about how worried you all have been about me. He also got me a change of clothes and prepared me a warm bath. He also volunteered to make me dinner himself, and to me, that’s more than enough to be grateful for."

That’s it?

Like really it?

I glanced between both of them one more time, and even though most of my jealousy had dissipated, I still couldn’t help but feel that the usual air of hostility hanging between both of them was completely gone now. Disappeared like it never existed.

"Really?" I hissed.

Silence. No one responded.

"You’re simply just grateful?"

But instead of replying with either yes or no, Leilani decided to shove the knife deeper into my chest by saying; "We’re adults, Kael. We can take care of ourselves."

"Huh?"

"I mean, even though I may have omitted some things, you shouldn’t worry about it. I have told you what is important, and—"

"What did you omit?" I snapped, interrupting her, and to my utmost dismay, she smiled— brightly."

"That you’re jealous."

"I am not!" I hissed in annoyance. "I am merely curious."

"And jealous." She sassed, "...very jealous if you ask me."

Her words made the blush already creeping up my face spread significantly, and I found myself looking away, my voice not even nearly as cold as I wanted it to be when I drawled; "I really am not."

"You are."

"Well, you should tell me about your suspicions now, shouldn’t you? I’d love to know how to help you." I hissed, changing the topic, and not missing the way her eyes lit up in excitement before she slowly dropped the plate to the side and mumbled;

"Yes, of course."

—

By the time Leilani was done telling me— us— about everything that happened before the fire and how the mastermind behind her kidnapping was Keisha, Alpha Jarek’s insane ex, I was fuming.

My hands were balled into tight fists and a frown so deep it almost cracked my face open etched its way onto my face. "You’re very certain of everything you told us, right?" I asked coldly and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Of course, I am. Would I ever say something I am not sure of?"

"No."

"Why would I lie about being injected with Moonveil draught if I wasn’t so sure?" She continued, and again I shook my head.

"No reason."

And at that, she let out a soft sigh. I watched her quietly as she lowered her head, a flicker of something akin to sadness crossing her features for only a minute before she schooled her face into that of cold bravery. She looked up and whispered; "I think she’s still after me even now. She said something about losing her child because of me, and that is why I have refused to go back to a motel knowing fully well that she could easily find me in one."

"What does she mean by you causing the death of her child?—" I began to ask but stopped when Caelum started talking at the same time.

"Also, you have no money." He hissed at her jokingly, and again, I had expected her to snap at him or to... you know, do anything; But do you know what happened instead?

She smiled.

She freaking smiled at him!

I think she’s become insane.

"I’m not broke. I lost my phone and my cards... so until I get new ones, I do not have any money."

"That’s the same as being broke." He countered with a smile, but at this point, I was no longer interested in seeing their bickering as long as I was not involved because I was mad and jealous... and also strangely possessive.

So to protect myself and my sanity, I turned to leave the room, drawling under my breath;

"I think it’ll be sensible to bring that to Alpha Frostclaw’s attention," I said, "...so I’ll meet with him while Caelum watches over you."

My eyes darted to meet Caelum’ for a very brief moment, but just as I was about to step out, I stopped when she suddenly called out to me. She said;

"Wait!"

I waited.

"I don’t think you should go to his office." I added, her voice so low, I had to strain to hear it.

I couldn’t help the frown that made its way to my face as I asked; "Why?"

"Because I suspect that Yvette, his PA, is in on it too. I think she’s working with Keisha."

For a couple of minutes after she said that, no one moved or spoke. Silence settled in the room, enveloping us like a very thick cloak. I for one, even froze for a second or two before I finally snapped out of it.

"Yvette?" I snapped, still stunned.

And to my utter bewilderment, Leilani nodded. "Yes, Yvette. The girl who wears different colors of hair everyday."

Again I gasped, still in disbelief, but I was suddenly snapped out of my reverie when Caelum scoffed and then rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with disdain and a tinge of anger as he seethed;

"Why am I not surprised?"

I balked. "Huh?"

"Weren’t you there?" He hissed, "...didn’t you see the way she wore silver hair— the same shade as Leilani’s— for the first few days after her alleged death?"

The memory made my chest tighten and I stuttered; "I... I thought it was honorable. That she was doing it to honor—"

"Honor my ass!" Caelum snapped, rolling his eyes. "She did it to show everyone that now she has Leilani’s place! That she doesn’t mind taking everything, especially her position at the company!"

And as soon as I heard that, for some reason, it made some semblance of sense to me, so I found myself nodding in agreement while an overwhelming sense of rage rushed wildly through my veins.