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

Leilani.

I giggled quietly as I watched Kael practically haul Zevran out of the room while screaming about something that had to do with the doctor coming in later to check Zevran’s vitals.

Which I knew was a lie.

I mean, I have been here for about two days now, and I know for a fact that the doctors only come around by 3:00pm. Chat, it was just 10:46am. So Kael was lying, and while I suspected that he had just said that to get Zevran off me, I didn’t complain.

Hell, I couldn’t.

If anything, I was glad that I now had him out of my hair. I was glad that I no longer had to deal with my traitorous heart skipping ten beats every second simply because Zevran was so close to me, and I didn’t have to worry about the heat rushing through my body system like a volcano simply because I could feel him literally everywhere— even in my vagina.

The thought made my face heat up and in response, my hands flew to my chest as the boys walked away, leaving Caelum who has been surprisingly so sweet ever since I came here the first day.

Now, while I understand that a lot of you may be confused as to how we suddenly became good friends, I would like you to know that it was never my intention to do so. Goddess, I never even imagined that I would ever be this cool with him, until...

Until—

"Thank you for paying for my cab fare," I said quietly, glancing away from the cab driver who hasn’t stopped thanking me and him ever since Caleum gave him the six hundred dollars in cash to Caleum who seemed as though he was having the time of his life watching me.

He flashed me a small smile, one that I would’ve returned if the situation were a little different. But it was not.

Hell, who doesn’t know that I do not like him?

No one!

So I quietly followed him all the way to the house, listening to his incessant chattering but not responding to anything he said besides my occasional "hmms" and "ohhs" that I threw around here and there so that I would not come off as rude.

And then when he led me inside the house, he stopped suddenly, turned to me and said in a small voice;

"Please do not be loud."

"Have I ever been loud?" I hissed under my breath, rolling my eyes at him.

"No." He answered quickly— a little too quickly. "It’s just... it’s just that Zevran is quite unwell and is undergoing treatment as we speak. And I fear that he will try to get off his bed when he realizes that you are in the house."

"And is that such a bad thing?" I had asked quietly, hoping to spend the rest of the day with Zevran and not Caleum.

The way Caelum spun around to face me when I said that had me almost tripping on my own two feet. He shook his head at me and said seriously; "Yes. Yes, it is. He caught pneumonia some nights ago and needs enough rest to recover."

His words then had made me so stunned I almost lost my footing. Why?

Because I knew for a fact that it was almost impossible for werewolves to catch a cold, not to mention pneumonia.

As if noticing the shock on my face, Caelum stopped walking and turned to face me one more time. His gaze softened for a moment as he continued; "His immune system had been acting up. The doctor says it is weak but Zevran is too stubborn to acknowledge that."

"Ohh." I gasped because what else do I have to say besides that?

How else do I explain that I am so worried especially since it is the least favorite brother that I am talking to right now?

Pushing away this thought, I then focused on trying to block out the remaining words Caelum said to me until a loud shout from somewhere tore me out of my reverie.

"Lani!" The person had screamed but because I was too lost in thoughts and too stunned, I staggered then stumbled backwards.

And next thing—

I do not know what happened next but one minute I was standing, admiring the dupe MonaLisa painting hanging on their wall, and the next minute, I was falling. My back hit the floor with a loud thump, followed by the back of my skull which smacked against the rugged floor. But that wasn’t all...

It wasn’t at all.

The cherry on top of the cake was Caelum who was now right on top of me, wincing in pain because for some reason, the chandelier hanging above had decided that this was the perfect time for it to fall.

And it had fallen straight at me— well, at me until Caelum got in its way!

Its glass pieces shattered everywhere, and even some bits got into Caelum’s back. But do you know what the man did instead?

Yes... no?

He watched me closely. His deep dark eyes trailed from my eyes to my lips and then back to my eyes before he quietly rose to his feet, helped me up and then helped me clean up the bleeding cuts on both of my knees. By the time he was done with that, he helped me to clean clothes and shoes, helped me to the warmest bath I’ve had in a couple of days and then went into the kitchen. Alone. To nurse his injuries. By himself.

Without any fuss. Any complaints or any of the other things I would’ve associated him with.

And that... that was not the Caelum I used to know.

That made me, despite my reservations and my unending hatred for him, go to him to help him pick out the remaining shards of glass from the several cuts on his back.

—And that also became the start our friendship.

Now, looking at him and at the knowing smile on his face as he stared at his brothers bickering as they left had me smiling. He pointed to the popcorn still resting on the table in front of me and drawled; "You can continue watching the movie. I need to check on both of them."

While he spoke, I didn’t miss the blush that colored his face, nor did I miss the way he seemed to be unable to look me in the eye.

He scratched his neck quietly, ducked his head and slipped out of the room, leaving me staring at his retreating frame in mortification, embarrassment and... and... goddess what was that?

Pity?

Likeness?

Admiration?

I do not know!

However, it wasn’t until they were fully gone that I allowed myself to exhale the air I didn’t even know I was holding. And it wasn’t until that moment that I heard the doorbell ring.

I rose swiftly, intending to hide before whoever it was that came in and saw me, but I was too slow...

Or maybe they were too fast.

Because in the next second, I was being hit by a familiar smell, and then a pair of eyes I have seen, known and loved met mine.

The owner of the said eyes let go of his phone as soon as he saw me, letting it drop to the floor just as his jaws dropped too. He drawled;

"Leilani?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, dragged in a lungful of air and whispered;

"Gavin."