Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.

Chapter 441: Touch me.

Darius.

I sat frozen on my favorite couch, twirling the wine glass in between my deft fingers as I watched the dancers perform in front of me, but I made no attempt to bring it to my lips.

Why?

Because there is a high tendency that I would throw up if I took a sip of the drink due to how annoyed I was.

I was so irritated and upset that my stomach felt nauseous, and this is only because I felt like I had been played one more time, by none other than... drumrolls please... Leilani herself.

I mean, who else could play with me like this and easily get away with it?

Who else could make me feel like such a fool without even trying?

My frown deepened as I remembered her words from a couple of days ago when she had promised to meet with me. Promised to reach out first, yet she was nowhere to be found. Yet, it felt as though she had disappeared into thin air one more time, leaving me to grasp onto scraps of her presence.

She treats me like I am nothing but an annoying little pest that she has to discard. Like her presence was too precious to waste with me.

However, while I found that extremely annoying to begin with, I couldn’t help going back for more. Trying for more... reaching out time and time again, whilst hoping that my perseverance would make her soften towards me.

Why?

Because I needed her as much as she needed me, if not more.

I knew that I would never be allowed to fully ascend the throne without her by my side, and with these rumors already spreading, rumors about some certain Valemont who was back in NYC, I needed her now more than ever.

"Back to earth, handsome," one of the dancers whom I couldn’t recollect when she got between my legs cooed from where she knelt, her large doe eyes glinting with affection as she rested one of her hands on top of my thigh.

I found her touch very appalling but I managed to force a stiff smile. I drawled; "why beautiful? Are you mad that you do not have my attention?"

At my question, she smiled smugly, batted her long lashes at me and then pulled even closer— so close that her citrusy scent filled my nostrils.

"Yes, I am," she answered flirtatiously after a moment, just as her hands went slowly from my thigh up until it was resting just underneath my flaccid balls. "I like my men to be attentive." She finished and winked at me.

Her bold move made me flinch but I smiled tightly, and for a moment, I could only wish that it was Leilani touching me like this. That she was the one begging for scraps of my affection just like this girl is and not the other way round.

My eyes couldn’t help lingering on the young girl as she rose to her feet and began to slow dance in front of me, and goddess, my throat went dry when she slowly lowered herself to the floor and began to hump against the ground with her eyes latched firmly on mine.

She was trying to seduce me and was NOT failing, especially with that outfit of hers that left nothing to the imagination.

A couple more minutes went past and by the time I snapped back to focus, she was straddling me with her head thrown back as she dry humped against my rising bulge.

I gritted my teeth together, hating the way my body was quick to respond to her like a manwhore, but just as my palm circled around her ass, pulling her even closer to my completely aroused dick, a knock sounded on my door.

I stopped, frowned and growled; "Who the fuck is it?"

"It is I, Alpha," a guard answered, slipping into the room even before I gave him the permission to do so. His eyes darted around the room and when they landed on me— on the compromising position of me and the female dancer— he gulped thickly and turned his face away.

"I am sorry Alpha," he hissed quietly but I could only roll my eyes at him.

"Say what you want and leave!"

That made him straighten up and when he turned back to look at me, all traces of his initial shyness were gone. In its place was a mask of indifference. He said; "Ms Sinclair is suspected to have left the city. She’s nowhere to be found."

My frown deepened as I listened to him speak but just as I was about to respond, he quickly added; "However, there is a man who wants to meet with you. He didn’t give anything away besides the fact that what he has to say to you is important."

"I don’t want to meet with him or anyone else."

"He says that it is about Ms Leilani and the late Alpha Ragnar." He chirped in quickly and as soon as I heard those words, I froze.

A feeling akin to fear immediately rushed through my body in waves so strong, I nearly fell over. My hands holding the lady stiffened and without a word or a warning, I rose to my very, ignoring the way she fell to the floor because she hadn’t expected me to move so abruptly.

I gritted out; "When does he want to meet?"

"Today," the young lad answered quickly— a little too quickly, "...at Frostclaw. Inc."

At the company’s building? When Leilani is rumored to have left the state?

I squinted my eyes at him in suspicion but then turned away to head out the door.

The drive to Frostclaw. Inc was remarkably quiet, save for the million and one voices in my head.

When I arrived, I headed straight for the cafeteria and waited... and waited.

I was however just about to leave because this whole scenario had started to feel like one big joke when a large figure suddenly walked into the room, immediately pulling all the energy towards him like he was an energy magnet.

I lifted my head up just in time to see him walk in and froze when I was met with a familiar set of purple eyes, a head of silver strands and face so sharp it could cut through glass.

My breath hitched in my chest when he smiled at me, showing off his deep dimples buried on each side of his face, and then he drawled;

"Alpha Darius."

I gulped. "Father...?"

No, it cannot be father. Father is dead.

"Who the fuck are you?"

—

Leilani.

The water was colder than I had expected, lapping gently against my shoulders as I floated on my back and stared up at the golden streaks of sunset painted across the sky. We’d been swimming for what felt like an eternity, splashing each other, racing to the far end of the lake and laughing like we had no problems whatsoever until our stomachs began to hurt.

It was peaceful.

For the first time, I was at peace.

Several minutes had gone past before my arms began to hurt so I stopped swimming, pushed a wet strand of hair from my face and turned toward Zevran.

He was already staring at me.

I gulped.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. We didn’t even move an inch either because for some reason, the playful energy between us had settled into something different... something that made my heart beat a little bit faster.

My face lit up with flames as I turned away from him only to catch Kael staring with the same intensity. "What?" I asked coldly, desperately trying and failing to hide my blush.

Kael was the one to shake his head first, and I could only press my hand against my fluttering heart when my eyes traced the water dripping from his dark hair. "Nothing." He said,

But the way he said it didn’t make it feel like it was nothing.

In fact, that only cemented my resolve that there was something going on in his head. Their heads.

My heart picked up speed as I started swimming toward the shore, and when I realized that they followed, I began to panic— not in fear, no.

But for some reason I couldn’t explain.

By the time we finally reached the shallow water, the air felt cooler against my skin. I wrapped my arms around myself and glanced back at them, and goddess, they were standing so close now— Close enough that I could see the tiny droplets of water clinging to their eyelashes...

...and close enough that the scent coming from them completely filled my head until I forgot what I was about to say.

Zevran’s gaze flickered briefly to my lips before returning to my eyes and in that moment, the world seemed to go strangely quiet.

There was no splashing water.

No sounds of birds chirping away in the distance.

Just the sound of my heartbeat.

I do not know when or how but slowly, the gap between us seemed to disappear and next thing I know, his fingers were wrapping around my neck, pulling me closer and closer until the warmth of his lips hit mine.

And I should fight it.

I shouldn’t let him touch me like this...

But for some reason, I couldn’t do any of that. Instead, I closed my eyes and accepted it.