Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

As annoying as it had been, the truth was that Gigi was getting engaged to Ragnar, and I could only expect her to immediately start wanting to get married as well.

I had come to understand her pattern.

Somewhere along the way, her story about being abducted had also started to falter.

According to Gigi, it had been ridiculous that Jenna wanted to have a mate ball.

I had heard her say it countless times after she arrived, before Bruno revealed that he was Jenna’s mate.

Gigi herself had insisted that Jenna should have focused on getting better first, dealt with her trauma, and only then thought about having a ceremony.

Yet here she was, happily gushing over her own engagement ceremony.

Then Bruno told us that he was Jenna’s fated mate, and silence swept through the room.

The awkward situation eventually ended with Lady Lucille inviting Bruno to lunch, but Jenna went to her room and never came back out.

Bruno didn’t ask about her again, and eventually excused himself and left as well.

Gigi, however, stayed much longer.

I could only imagine her moving between Jaguar’s and Theodore’s rooms, playing games or doing whatever they did when they were alone.

But this time, those brothers were in for a ride.

"Is somebody having lunch alone?" I asked a maid when I noticed several large trays being prepared.

The maid glanced at me, then at the amount of food spread across all four trays.

"Actually, Alpha King Ragnar is out for a meeting and won’t be back until late tonight. Lady Gigi, Alpha King Jaguar, and Alpha King Theodore are eating in Theodore’s room," she explained.

She was already putting so much respect behind Gigi’s name when, honestly, I didn’t think she deserved any of it.

But who was I to complain?

She was the one getting engaged to Alpha King Ragnar.

"Yeah, it was about time they actually had a ceremony," another maid commented, probably referring to the fact that they had previously claimed to be engaged and that Gigi was already his fiancée.

Plenty of tabloids had called her his fiancée too.

"Yeah, I think they’re really getting married this time," said the maid arranging the trays.

"Oh, it’s going to be so hard for us living with her," the other maid murmured, letting the words slip out so quietly that it almost seemed as though she hoped none of us would hear her.

"So everybody is pretty much eating in their own rooms?" I asked, interrupting the maid.

"Yeah. I can bring your food to your room too," she offered and I nodded.

"Thank you so much, that’ll do."

I started to leave the kitchen when I spotted Theodore hurrying toward it, probably coming to ask whether the food was ready.

The moment he saw me, he slowed down.

By now, he knew better.

He knew I had a problem with them spending ridiculously private time with Gigi, and I had every right to.

They were the same ones who had called me out for spending time alone with each of them.

If they couldn’t tolerate their mate spending time with someone else, how did they expect their brother’s chosen mate to spend time alone with them without anyone objecting?

Theodore avoided my eyes as he approached, scratching the back of his neck with one hand while the other rested on his waist.

He tried to slip past me quietly, but I was going to ruin their fun.

"Next time, don’t complain if you find me in someone’s room."

The second the words left my mouth, his sneaky glances disappeared.

He turned sharply, then strode toward me and grabbed my arm, forcing me to face him.

"What did you just say?" he demanded.

I yanked my arm free and glared at him, irritated that he thought he had any right to touch me against my will while confronting me over the exact same thing he was doing.

"Listen, Verity. Gigi has been our friend for a very long time, and it’s not like we’re doing anything wrong. You can come sit with us." His tone shifted, almost becoming ridiculous. "You know what? Join us for lunch."

He knew damn well that would be inappropriate.

Gigi didn’t even know what our relationship was.

"I’m not stopping you from spending time with your best friend," I replied harshly. "I’m just saying don’t complain when I spend time with someone as well."

I shrugged as I said those words.

"You don’t have anyone else except your mates," Theodore muttered.

His meaning was obvious.

He was suggesting that if he ever saw me alone with Jaguar, it would only be because Jaguar was my mate.

"You don’t know that," I said. "I can always make new friends."

With that, I walked away.

I was so annoyed with them and with this fucking mate-bond thing.

Now I understood why my body reacted with such intense jealousy.

But I also knew how to control it, no matter how much my wolf started wanting them.

And that was the point.

I had to take this far enough that, by the end of it, their entire lives would be destroyed.

I hadn’t even crossed the hall when Theodore’s loud voice rang out behind me.

"Everyone’s eating lunch in the living room. No one’s eating in their rooms."

It was almost as if he wanted me to hear him, wanted me to know that he had noticed my discomfort and was changing the plan because of it.

These were the little things I had started noticing. The things I wanted them to change for me.

That was why they had to work hard.

And in the process, they were going to lose a lot.

I went back to my room and had lunch there by myself.

Later, one of the maids told me that Lady Lucille, Mr. and Mrs. Bundy, Jenna, Gigi, Jaguar, and Theodore had all eaten together in the dining room.

It was Theodore’s way of setting a boundary without actually saying it.

He knew that if he did something I didn’t like, I wasn’t the kind of person who made empty threats.

If I said I would do something, I would eventually follow through.

And he couldn’t afford the thought of me having a male friend around me.

..