Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Jaguar:

As soon as I entered the bedroom, I watched Theodore lower Verity onto the bed.

She looked pale, but thankfully, I couldn’t see any serious injuries.

There were a few cuts and scratches on her neck and arm, though most of her body was covered by her long-sleeved shirt and pants.

"What happened to her?" I demanded of Theodore. "Why didn’t anybody call me?"

My voice rose with frustration as I realized that both my brothers, along with the warriors, had gone out while I’d been left behind.

"I don’t know, Jaguar. Ragnar called and asked me to come. He didn’t mention you," Theodore responded, sounding just as frustrated as I was.

Then both of us looked at Verity, who was still asleep on the bed.

I felt really low, probably because so much had happened while I’d been sleeping in my room.

Did nobody even think I might need to be told?

Ragnar arrived, and soon all of us were in the room, watching Verity sleep peacefully.

"I got a text from her earlier tonight," Ragnar stated, his face expressionless.

And I had a question for him.

Why the heck had he called Theodore and not me? He knew I was interested in Verity.

Why was he keeping me from going after her?

Then Ragnar turned the screen toward us.

The panic in her voice and the message in the video made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Theodore and I watched in horror.

"Wait, wait. Fucking hell! Her boyfriend was a lycan," I exclaimed, gasping for air.

It seemed like Theodore had already seen the video. He looked shocked, sure, but he wasn’t asking questions like I was.

So yeah, of course.

The two of them had left me behind while they’d gone out on a mission together.

"When I arrived, she was already on the road asking for help. She told me she’d killed him," Ragnar explained calmly.

"That’s what I’m confused about. She killed that lycan with a pocketknife," Theodore added.

I felt so hurt.

All of this had happened, and I’d had no clue.

The two of them had even more to share while I stood there clueless, like an idiot.

"Did you see the lycan’s body? The wound in his neck was pretty deep. His head had been completely severed from his body," Theodore continued.

I chuckled, catching both of their attention.

"I’m sorry, is this funny to you?" Theodore challenged.

That only made me laugh harder, throwing my head back.

"I mean, I wasn’t included," I muttered, my gaze shifting to Ragnar. "I would’ve loved to be a part of it. But, well, let the lazy ones sleep, right?"

I didn’t know why I was getting so emotional.

Probably because the woman I was fond of, the woman I had feelings for, had been in fucking despair, and everyone else had been there to take care of her.

Everyone but me.

They had no clue how that made me feel.

And I had no idea how she must have felt when she realized everyone had come for her except me.

"You weren’t feeling well. That’s why you skipped the eclipse dinner," Ragnar replied, his voice rough.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I didn’t know I’d passed away."

As soon as I said it, both of them looked at me. Theodore bit his tongue.

"Don’t say that. He probably just let you rest because, I mean, it could’ve been any one of us. We don’t usually wake each other up," Theodore reasoned, already making excuses for him.

Of course.

Verity was just anyone.

But Ragnar knew.

Ragnar fucking knew everything.

Maybe not the full extent of it, but he knew enough to understand that I had feelings for her.

"Let her rest now. We shouldn’t be standing over her, arguing with each other. She’s already been through a lot," Ragnar stated coldly, without a hint of guilt.

He wasn’t even trying to understand how I felt, and that was what angered me.

He stood there like he’d done nothing wrong.

And I understood. Maybe it seemed like something small to them, but it wasn’t small to me.

I’d spent the whole night restless, thinking she was with that asshole.

Imagine my worst fear coming true while I was asleep, unable to be there for her.

"We’ll talk in the morning when she wakes up. She was saying something about the cab driver as well," Ragnar added, casually checking his phone.

I noticed it light up with Gigi’s name on the screen.

"Excuse me," he muttered before answering.

Of course.

When his girl called, he picked up immediately.

If I’d done all of this, if something had happened to Gigi and I hadn’t included him, Ragnar would’ve stood there and torn all of us apart with his words.

A strange anger flooded my veins.

"Take a breath. Calm down. Don’t make it about mission and ego. It’s about someone who lives with us," Theodore reasoned, trying to explain that I was making this about myself.

But, of course, he didn’t understand.

He didn’t get it.

"Yeah, you know what? You guys should rest. I had enough sleep last night since nobody woke me up. So I’ll wait for her to wake up, and then I’ll interview her myself. Because let’s be honest, I’m not fucking nobody. I’m also an alpha, and I have my own theories," I snapped, swatting Theodore’s hands away.

His eyes widened at my behavior.

"Now, come on. Let’s leave her alone," I muttered, making sure Theodore left with me.

There was no way I was going to let anyone use Verity as some mission.

I should’ve been the one interviewing her because I was connected to her through my heart and emotions.

We both walked out.

After closing her door, I headed to my room.

I was anxious. I didn’t like that Ragnar hadn’t included me.

Why was he purposely leaving me out?

This was the first time I’d ever felt this kind of anger toward my brother.

So much anger that I picked up my phone and dialed Gigi’s number.

"I’m so sorry for cutting off the call earlier," I said dramatically.

"Yeah, I called Ragnar. He said something happened to Verity and the brothers went out to bring her home. Is she okay?" Gigi questioned, her voice filled with concern.

What I was about to do next was cruel.

Gigi didn’t deserve it.

But she also deserved the truth.

"The brothers? No, no, no. It was Ragnar. Remember, you said he left during the festival? Well, he received a video, a call for help from Verity. So he snuck out, went there, found her, carried her to his car, and then he called Theodore."

As I explained, I made sure to stick to what Theodore and the warriors had said happened.

It was only a small part of the story, but it was enough to remind Gigi that Ragnar hadn’t been completely honest with her.

Of course, he hadn’t exactly lied to her.

He just hadn’t given her the full story.

Why?

Because he didn’t want to jeopardize his own relationship.

But when it came to someone else’s relationship, he’d dragged every other man into the situation except the one who was emotionally attached to the woman involved.

Silence came from Gigi’s end.

That was when I realized that, in my anger, I’d probably hurt her too. Now she was going to be restless and worried.

But what was I supposed to do?

I was furious too.

And for the first time in my life, I felt this way toward my brother.