Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose. Chapter 48: The fuck?

Leilani.

For most of the ride, Alpha Richard Landry and I remained quiet until he arrived at the front of a small dimly lit restaurant.

I wiped the tears on my face with the back of my hand as I got out of his car and followed him into the restaurant.

The interior was grander than the exterior with golden chandeliers hanging low in the ceilings, bright rich flowers lining the entire space and filling the air with rich sweet fragrance, large windows; And there was soft music playing in the background.

Not loud. Not too low but simply there.

I watched him converse animatedly with the staff and after he’d helped to a corner of the restaurant and our orders had been taken, he leaned back, his bright green eyes drilling holes into my flesh as he asked;

"Do you feel better now?"

I nodded, not wishing to talk. Gosh, I wasn’t even in the mood. "Yes, thank you."

But he didn’t drop it. If anything, he leaned closer. His fingers brushed against my hands clasped together on the table, and as soon as I felt his skin against mine, I flinched, pulling away to cut off any form of contact with him.

"I know you may not wish to talk to , but I’m curious..."

"Huh?"

"I don’t know what transpired between you and Alpha Frostclaw but I’d like to let you know that you can talk to . And that I’m always here for you... any day. Any ti."

Liar.

"I couldn’t bring myself to let you go ho earlier so I brought you here. I hope you don’t mind?" He asked, and at that, I lifted my gaze to et his.

"I don’t. Thank you."

The air between us grew thick with unasked questions. I knew he wanted sothing... everyone wants sothing. But seeing as he hasn’t stated what it was yet, I couldn’t bring myself to ask, so I busied myself with admiring the interior decoration of the space; that is until...

The doorbell rang.

And my mood plumted even more when Zevran and Kael stepped in, their eyes finding mine as soon as they stepped their feet into the restaurant.

"Oh goddess!" I sighed under my breath, but Alpha Richard didn’t miss it. He imdiately turned around to see who it was that had stirred a reaction out of and when his eyes landed on them, his shoulders stiffened.

He drawled; "I know you’re also not in a very good place with them... will you like to leave?"

"But we’ve placed our orders..." I drawled, eyeing them one last ti before turning to a worried-looking Richard. "It’s fine, we shouldn’t let the food go to waste."

He nodded at but didn’t say anything and then in a bid to lighten the atmosphere, began to ask questions regarding work.

I may be in a very foul mood, but I could easily shrug it off when work was involved so I easily began to respond. My chuckles ca freely next, and for a minute, I had almost begun to forget about how shitty my life was, and how my best friend had suddenly switched sides on ... when I felt it.

Sharp. Burning. Extrely hot.

I instinctively turned around, frowning when I was t with both Kael and Zevran’s dark gazes. They stared pointedly at , not taking their eyes off even when I was glaring right back.

And then suddenly, they rose to their feet and began to walk over.

Oh no. No no no. Can today not get any better?

My breath caught in my chest when Kael leaned in, his eyes on my face as he drawled; "Fancy eting you here, Alpha Landry."

Richard shifted uncomfortably then smiled back. "The pleasure is all mine. Ms Sinclair and I were just talking about business—"

"Oh business?!" Zevran shrieked. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought he was interested. He rushed out; "Then it’ll be nice if we join in, right?"

My eyes t Richard’s. He frowned. I dropped my head.

"Uhm, I don’t think—" he began to say, but before he could finish, Kael butted in.

"Please. I’ve heard so much about Ms Sinclair and I want to see for myself how good she is."

Now, that had my eyebrows shooting into my hairline. I turned to him, my annoyance visible on my face, but he rely shrugged at then smiled. "Or are you not as good as everyone says you are?"

That stupid comnt made bristle. "Join us." I seethed, ignoring the triumphant smile on his face.

I had no idea what they were playing at. But I knew that whatever they touched led to ruin. So I scooted as far as possible away from them and turned to Richard. "I hope you don’t mind?"

"Oh, I don’t." He answered quickly— a little too quickly. Obviously, he was just as uncomfortable as I was.

We resud our conversation, and while we talked, I couldn’t help but notice how Kael and Zevran didn’t try to join in. They simply sat there, stiff as statues, watching my every move like hawks, their eyes drilling holes into my skin so much, I feared they would laser my dress off soon.

As the conversation progressed, Zevran leaned back, his hand draped over the back of my chair, the other on his chin as he stared pointedly at .

Kael, on the other hand, was more aloof besides his occasional growling here and there whenever Richard tried to ask personal questions.

But truth be told, they were riling up.

Their presence was irritating the fuck out of . And what was more annoying was the little bodyguard roles they had suddenly taken up—pushing my drinks to , helping with my fork whenever it dropped, wiping off the broth from the corner of my lips.

—And that was just a few!

I frowned, turning to Zevran when he leaned in to whisper into my ear; "when do you plan to go ho?"

"How’s that any of your business?"

"It’s my business because I intend to drop you off." He snapped back.

And heavens, the nerve of him!

I snorted. "Oh, get out of your head! You’re stupid if you think I’ll be riding ho with you!"

As soon as I said that, the atmosphere charged with tension. Kael and Richard imdiately turned to us, and Richard, the peacemaker muttered; "I’ll drive her ho. She ca with ."

But as soon as those words slipped out, Kael growled. Zevran, clamped his hand tighter behind my chair. He leaned so close, I could sll the mint on his breath... and the vague cologne on the collar of his shirt.

He drawled; "As much as I understand that... and know that etiquette demands that, I do not trust you with her safety. And for that reason, she cos with us."

Richard gulped, anger flitting into his eyes. "Don’t be ridiculous!"

"You’re the ridiculous one here." Kael clapped back, ignoring the frown on my face. "You see, Leilani here is our mate, and it’s only logical that we drive her ho after a tedious day at work."

I blanched. My jaw dropped so low one could literally pick it off the floor.

Even Richard appeared to have been hit by a large boulder. He glanced at then at the two stupid n by my sides and whispered; "Mate?"

Kael flashed him a smile, and then he did sothing that shocked to my bones. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Yes, our mate."

But for , that was the last straw.

I snapped, angrily rising to my feet and pulling my hand out of Kael’s hold. "I am not your mate!"

"Well, tell that to the moon goddess who decided to pair us up!" Zevran snapped, and with that, clamped his hand around my wrist as he rose to his feet as well.

His deep dark eyes bore into mine as we stood chest to chest, his stupid warmth seeping into the thin material of my dress.

I closed my eyes for a second to push out all the strange sensations this was sending down my spine; And for a minute, I swear I could feel his rage... his irritation... his... his... jealousy.

My eyes snapped open.

What the fuck?

Why the hell is he jealous?