Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Bruno:

"It’s strange that they let Verity go home," I told Jenna.

She only shrugged and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

She had come to meet me at a park wearing a pastel green dress.

We hadn’t discussed the mate bond again after discovering it.

Of course, there was pressure from our families.

They wanted to know what we thought about each other.

Thankfully, Ragnar and his brothers hadn’t pushed the matter.

Most of the pressure came from Lady Lucille and Jenna’s parents.

Jenna herself didn’t seem interested in talking about it either.

So we had agreed to meet and keep things casual.

"I don’t know. Even I found it strange," Jenna admitted. "The atmosphere at home has changed since then."

"How?" I asked.

She shifted on the bench and turned toward me.

A lunchbox rested in her lap, filled with food she had prepared for us.

There was something strangely comforting about Jenna’s presence.

I had never really looked at her this way before.

Of course, she had always been extremely beautiful, but she had also seemed forbidden somehow.

She lived with my cousins and was under their protection.

She had always been shy, and nothing had ever happened between us.

But now that I knew we were mates, looking at her differently didn’t seem so wrong anymore.

Whether we eventually chose each other was another matter entirely.

Jenna didn’t seem to be in any hurry either.

"Ever since she left, the Alpha King brothers have been acting really distant," Jenna continued. "Before, the brothers were always together. They had meetings, sat around talking, had drinks together. But now everything has changed."

She paused.

"Theodore and Jaguar barely seem interested in eating anymore.

Jaguar isn’t even going to the office. Something definitely happened."

Her words made me wonder what exactly had gone wrong.

But she was right.

I had noticed the tension at the office too.

The entire environment had become uncomfortable, and it had only been two days.

Verity had taken a week off.

I had no idea what would happen once she returned.

"Don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine," I assured Jenna with a fabricated smile.

At the same time, I needed to know what was happening inside the mansion.

That information mattered to me.

"The engagement preparations must be in full swing," I commented, reaching for the lunchbox.

Jenna immediately opened it for me.

She had brought dumplings, and I could tell she had made them herself.

I took a bite and closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the taste.

"Yeah, I don’t know. Gigi is handling everything," she replied.

The instant Jenna said her name, my heart flipped in my chest.

After that, we ate in silence, talked about a few random things, and eventually decided it was time to head home.

We were walking along the sidewalk toward my car.

I planned to drop Jenna off at the mansion and then go straight back to my own place.

Even though Lady Lucille usually tried to pressure me into coming inside, I couldn’t do that.

"So... do you think we’ll eventually reject each other?" Jenna asked.

I turned to her in surprise.

"Oh, come on. Don’t look at me like that. The mate bond was forced on both of us. Before this, we never had any kind of connection," she added with a faint smile.

"I think that’s how a fated mate bond works. You don’t necessarily have a connection beforehand. Not everyone has to meet, fall in love, and then suddenly realize they’re fated mates," I explained, keeping my hands in my trouser pockets.

"Yeah, but we’re different." Her expression shifted. "And Bruno, even though you’re kind enough not to bring certain things up, I know it isn’t easy for anyone to be with me after what happened."

Her words immediately upset me, but before I could respond, she continued.

"And please don’t try to comfort me or tell me otherwise. I don’t want that either. I’m still not healed."

I was stunned.

The way Lady Lucille had questioned me about whether Jenna and I had truly felt the mate bond had given me the impression that Jenna would be happy about it, mainly because someone would finally accept her.

Yet after spending time with her, I didn’t get the feeling that Jenna was interested in anyone at all.

And for some reason, that hurt a little.

"Well, I’m not thinking about rejecting you right now. If you are, that’s a different matter," I replied.

She gave me a sidelong glance.

"I mean, why wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you want to get rid of a girl like me?"

I didn’t understand why she kept talking about herself that way.

Then it hit me.

It was the trauma.

Maybe she had never really been given the chance to heal.

She was forcing herself to appear fine, but that was all it was.

An act.

Still, that was okay.

Maybe I could help her.

"Anyway, let’s get you home and talk about this another day. Because right now, I’m really not thinking about rejecting you," I said casually.

Jenna slowed for a moment, as though my answer had caught her off guard.

I kept walking, so after a second, she followed.

After dropping Jenna off, I returned to my apartment.

To be honest, I lived alone, and I preferred it that way.

The moment I stepped inside, I took off my coat and tossed it onto the sofa.

Then I headed straight to my bedroom, opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a photograph of the woman who had once been mine.

The woman I had once believed was the love of my life.

"Gigi," I murmured, breathing heavily as the memories and emotions came rushing back.

A low grunt escaped me.

"Ah that fucking slut."

My wolf stirred awake inside me.

’We’re not going to let her get away with what she did to us, are we?’ he questioned.

A smirk slowly formed on my lips as I shook my head.

"No. We’re not."

I tightened my fist around the photograph, crumpling it between my fingers.

"We’re just getting started."

For the first time, it felt like I finally had the chance to take my revenge on her.