Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose. Chapter 26: If Only He Knew

Chalice.

At first, I was jealous of the stunning woman strolling about the party like she had the entire world right under her Louboutin clad feet until Gavin walked up to our table and dropped the bombshell on us;

She was Leilani.

Pesky little Leilani. My stupid naive sister.

First ca surprise then annoyance. And then it morphed into an overpowering rage when it finally dawned on that all this while, while I’d hoped she was living the absolute worst kind of life, she maybe wasn’t.

She had slowly morphed into this beauty that’s got all n around srized. And to top it all, she had the most eligible bachelor, Jarek Frostclaw, following her about like a pup on a leash.

"Urghhh!" I growled in annoyance. "Why is she here?" But then after rembering that I was ant to be the ’sweet unassuming sister’, I cleared my throat and turned to Gavin. "I just hope she isn’t here to cause any trouble."

At the sound of my voice, Gavin’s gaze softened. He tucked a stray tendril behind my ear and smiled softly. "I hope not."

"Can she not be thrown out?" That was dad. I smiled before turning to him with my head lowered. "No, papa. This is the first ti we’re seeing her in four years, we cannot... you cannot possibly want to throw her out now."

All this while, mom said nothing but I didn’t miss that expression akin to longing passing across her face as she stared pointedly in Leilani’s direction. I frowned.

"Let go talk to her!" I exclaid sweetly, picking up a glass of wine as I approached her slowly and not failing to notice the way she spoke so freely with Alpha Jarek Frostclaw.

And I hate her for having everything I wanted... and even more.

I sneakily tipped the glass as I approached her and poured just as she bumped into .

By the goddess, I had been half expecting her to embarrass herself by screeching, or by allowing our lifelong beef seep into her actions. But she did none of that.

Instead, she glared at coldly. Aloof-ly. Her voice did not rise by even an octave as she regarded like I was so stranger.

What irritated the most was how she seed to have Alpha Frostclaw completely wrapped around her finger and when she denied ever eting .

However, she had just begun to walk away with him when a beautiful opportunity presented itself to . I grabbed her arm, knelt before her and dropped my head in a gesture of submission. A lot of people in the crowd gasped.

I smirked. "I know you must be mad at , Leilani, for everything... but I am sorry. I really am and I can prove it to you. For four years, I’ve tried looking for you to apologize but I just couldn’t find you. I am..."

"Chalice stop!" Father barked from behind and due to the sharpness in his tone, I found myself flinching in surprise before gathering myself to my feet.

"Papa."

"You are the reason she has beco so unruly. You let her hurt you and then you apologize all the ti. She’s a bitch and we all know that—"

"I see you all are forgetting that she’s with . And I can make you pay for speaking to her in that manner." Alpha Jarek cut in and I scooted backwards in fear when he casually stalked closer to .

I noticed—saw it—when father gulped too, and then dropped his eyes, refusing to look at Leilani or Alpha Frostclaw. He looked... scared.

"...in fact, I think..." he drawled, turning to Leilani, who has been quiet the entire ti, "...what should I do with them?"

’With them’ like we weren’t people ourselves.

’With them’ like our fates now were in her hands.

I balled my hands into fists when Leilani raised her head to glare coldly at us, and in that mont, I saw it. I felt it. Sothing akin to fear lanced through when I realized to my absolute horror that she was unshaken by everything that’s just happened.

She didn’t care one bit that after several years, this was all she got from her family.

She was so hard. So cold. I had to look away in discomfort.

She drawled. "Ignore them. They’re not worth shit."

And with that, she strolled off, not even bothering to wait to see our reactions. Our parents gasped; even Gavin looked taken aback, and I... I felt like I wanted the ground to open up and swallow whole.

Alpha Frostclaw smiled politely at us like he hadn’t just insulted us so openly. He bowed curtly and muttered; "if you’ll excuse ."

"You need to know that she’s a viper!" Gavin said quickly, earning himself a stunned look from Alpha Frostclaw. "She’s evil and vile... and a murderer."

"Really?" Now, Alpha Jarek seed genuinely invested. "How so?"

A sultry smile made its way onto my face when I noticed the curiosity in his features. I leaned closer to him and with my voice barely above a whisper, I said; "She may act like she doesn’t know us, but she does. She’s my sister... our family. And everything my brother just said is true."

"No shit."

"She killed our grandmother... but it was an accident, I assure you. She may hate but she’s not an intentional murderer." I said slowly, choosing my words carefully to get the reaction I desired.

I did.

Because for the first ti that night, Alpha Frostclaw flashed a genuine smile at and sothing about it made my stomach dip. He drawled; "I think I’ll need to set up a eting with you later, beautiful Ms Blackthorne, but for now, I need to go to my companion."

And with that, he waltzed away, leaving grinning like a fool as I watched his retreating fra.

My smile didn’t leave my face when I turned to my parents, and it certainly remained when Gavin pulled into a crushing hug.

"You may bag that job you’ve been dreaming about soon!" He squealed excitedly. And while I also thought about that, that wasn’t the only thing I wanted anymore.

Now, I had grown quite greedy. I wanted the job. I wanted the man. And I wanted my sister back to where she belonged... below . Not sashaying through elite crowds like this.

And certainly not hanging on the arms of one of the most eligible bachelors in our circle.

"What I cannot seem to shake off however is Leilani’s relationship with Alpha Frostclaw." Gavin said suddenly, catching my attention, "They seem pretty close, and I hope to the heavens that she doesn’t try to ruin your chances of working with him out of spite."

"I think he’s her sugar daddy," I muttered quietly, smiling secretly when everyone’s faces hardened. "She won’t have anything to do with my work. She only has to be in his bed,"

’For now.’ I thought to myself but didn’t say that out loud

"She really is shaless," Father spat darkly. "Once a whore, always a whore."

"She isn’t a whore." I cried softly, causing everyone to turn to in surprise for a mont before Gavin began to berate for having a very soft heart— as usual.

I smiled. If only he knew...