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

Leilani.

Her reaction made me so shocked that I didn’t immediately know whether to run after her or to laugh. And when she continued to run— to the gates— something within me snapped.

My brain, which at this point seemed forever frozen, picked up signals, and I immediately dashed after her, screaming wildly at the top of my voice as I tried to reassure her that I was indeed not a ghost.

But did she stop?

Hell no!

If anything, the fact that I was running after her made her run even faster. She rushed through the high gates, stumbled into the quiet streets ahead and continued to scream as loud as a banshee, causing the guards and the maidservants all around to turn and stare in her direction, as if in shock.

I do not know how I did it, nor do I care, but one minute, I was a couple of metres away from her and in the next, I was tackling her to the ground and throwing my entire weight against her as we both crashed to the hard ground.

"Fuck, fuck fuck it, bitch!" She growled in my face, but upon seeing that it was me, her face instantly turned ashen, all the fight she had left in her disappeared and in the blink of an eye, the screaming fighting woman that was once in front of me morphed into someone else. Someone I didn’t— couldn’t recognize.

And someone whose face immediately fell and tears streamed down the corners of her face, slipping to the ground behind her back.

At the sight, my first reaction was to get off her and that was exactly what I did. I tried next to help her to her feet but she refused to take my hand, insisting instead to lay on the floor and cry while I hovered over her like a freaking predator.

"Maya," I sighed, feeling slightly frustrated now. "Please stand up. It is me. It really is me!"

At the sound of my voice, her closed eyes fluttered open. She stared at me for a second too long as if trying to memorise my face.

When I stretched out my hands towards her for the second time, she took it— too fast if I must say; But as soon as she rose to her feet, she kicked me hard in my crotch and resumed running around like a headless chicken.

"Ouch!" I groaned, "...that hurt like hell!"

Now, gone was the time when that made me laugh. If anything, it made me extremely embarrassed now. So I sighed in distraught as I walked away from her, walked back to the house, sat on the porch and waited patiently for her to snap out of it.

A couple of minutes passed and then more...

Then more.

And more.

Before she slowly began to walk over, her eyebrows shooting into her hairline as she asked; "You didn’t die?"

"Was I supposed to?" I hissed back, not missing the way her eyes widened slightly before tears began to stream down her face.

"You were never dead?!" She said, louder this time. I even noticed that her voice had grown firmer and for some reason, she was standing way closer than she has ever gotten to me since today.

I nodded quietly as I watched her take slow deep breaths, and when the realization slowly dawned on her, she heaved out a sigh, rushed into my already open arms and began to sob loudly.

And ladies and gentlemen, that finally broke me.

It shattered me into a million tiny pieces, leaving me bleeding out at her feet.

My eyes burned with tears that I didn’t bother to hide, and also didn’t feel embarrassed when they soaked into her shoulder, leaving a huge damp mess behind.

I do not know for how long we stayed there crying to our heart’s content, but when we were finally done, and finally had the courage to pull away from each other, I felt strangely better. I felt rejuvenated in ways I couldn’t explain and felt my heart, once stable now beating erratically in my chest.

"I am sorry." The word slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them and at the mention of those words, a slow cloud suddenly made its way up her face which darkened almost instantly as she hissed;

"What are you sorry for?"

"You know it Maya, don’t make me say it," I cried, but she simply shook her head at me, slowly rising to her feet as she now came to stand tauntingly in front of me.

Usually, Maya was a lot taller than me, but seeing her like this, towering over me like some fucking canopy made me very antsy. So I rose to my feet as well, while wiping my suddenly clammy hands against my cloth.

"I am sorry for not letting you know the truth. I couldn’t bring myself to let anyone know that I was still alive after everything. Not my brother, not my mother and not even you, my best friend."

"But you told your mates. You say you hate them but when it comes down to it, they’re the ones you chose over everyone else."

"Oh, no!" I cried, sobbing hysterically now. "I didn’t tell them. They just knew that it wasn’t my body that was found after the fire! They felt it because of the mate bond..."

"God, Lani, these are excuses!" She shrieked, interrupting me, "...you met with them, didn’t you?! You even live with them now!"

"I only met them after Keisha kidnapped me and injected me with bucket loads of wolfsbane and the Moonlight draught!" I snapped, and as soon as I did, she smacked her lips shut, her eyes widening as she whispered;

"She did?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling deflated. "Yes, she did. I am even sure that she’s still very much after me as it is."

"Why?" Maya asked softly, her face suddenly taking up a pitiful look, and for some reason, that made my heart melt even more.

So I shrugged again, and began to explain everything I know about in detail.

I watched as her face went from interested to mortified and then to annoyed... and then back to pitiful before it finally rested at irritated.

She hissed; "But that doesn’t make you responsible for her misfortunes!"

"Well, she thinks it does." I answered, rolling my eyes. "I was scared that she would try to attack me again and succeed, so I had to come here..."

"Where there’s enough protection," she finished for me and I nodded.

"I understand."

And because I didn’t know what else to say to her, I simply stood there, watching her glowing pink hair which matched the faint blush on her face.

I then took her hands in mine and was just about to lead her into the house when suddenly she called out to me in a small voice, making me halt in my tracks.

She snapped; "Leilani?"

I frowned slightly as I turned to face her. "What?"

"You know... I am pregnant."