Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Chapter 18: 18-My Mate Hid Her From Me

Gigi:

"What’s taking so long, Gigi?" Rochelle called from the couch as I walked out of the kitchen.

I emerged from the small bar area of my house carrying two glasses and a bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild.

I set them on the coffee table in front of her.

Her gaze immediately landed on the label, and a smirk of acknowledgement tugged at her lips.

My new lifestyle had impressed her from the very beginning.

Even after more than two years, she still brought it up, amazed by how drastically my life had changed.

Not that she was wrong.

Things had only gotten better with time.

Ragnar was absurdly generous when it came to material things.

Well, generous wasn’t exactly the right word.

He would simply hand me his card and let me buy whatever I wanted.

He never questioned the amount, never asked where the money went.

"These things take time," I replied, filling my glass before pouring one for her.

"Have you even talked to Jaguar about me?" Rochelle asked, crossing one leg over the other.

Rochelle and I went way back.

She was the daughter of a royal beta from another pack, just like me.

She knew everything about my past, including my ex and all the mess that came with him.

Lately, though, her attention had been fixed on Jaguar.

She barely spoke to any of the brothers outside official gatherings, but whenever there was an event, she was there because of me.

And every single time, her eyes followed Jaguar.

It wasn’t hard to see what she wanted.

She was hoping for the same stroke of luck I had found by ending up with an Alpha King.

"How’s it going? Because I’m running out of patience over here," Rochelle remarked, rolling her eyes.

There were times when I seriously considered cutting her out of my life.

I wanted a clean break. A fresh start. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

At this point, being friends with someone who wasn’t an Alpha or connected to one felt beneath me.

The problem was that I couldn’t get rid of Rochelle.

She knew too much, and she was fully aware of it.

Which was exactly why she’d felt comfortable making such a ridiculous request.

She wanted me to make Jaguar fall for her.

"Rochelle, Jaguar isn’t easy to approach. He’s guarded, and his patience runs thin. One minute he’s tolerating a conversation, and the next he’s looking ready to bite someone’s head off."

I tried to reason with her,

"I don’t know how I’m supposed to bring you up to him. Ragnar has made it very clear that while he loves me and cares about me, his brothers are his life. He doesn’t want my involvement in their personal lives."

I was trying, as gently as possible, to explain that relationships couldn’t be forced.

Then I caught the look on her face.

Her tongue swept across the inside of her cheek while her eyes narrowed slightly, studying me.

It was the look of someone who thought they were being fed excuses.

"Look, Ragnar doesn’t want me to play matchmaker for his brothers. He believes a man should choose his own mate and pursue her himself," I muttered.

"Why don’t you talk to Jaguar on your own? Why am I supposed to arrange a date between you and a man who barely knows you exist?"

The truth was, I couldn’t decide what I wanted.

Part of me thought Rochelle ending up with Jaguar would be beneficial.

Two friends connected to two powerful brothers had its advantages.

The other part of me saw the danger in it.

Rochelle wasn’t someone I wanted standing too close to my position.

"Fine," she sighed, setting her wine glass down. "Then you’ll have to help me some other way."

Finally, she decided to change the subject.

"Why haven’t you moved in with Ragnar yet?"

The question hit harder than it should have.

My back straightened instantly.

Because it was the exact same question I’d been asking myself for months.

"Ragnar’s a little old-fashioned," I answered with a smile. "He wants us to get married first."

"And when is that happening? Has he proposed yet?"

I hated questions like that.

Questions that forced me to acknowledge how little progress had actually been made.

"Everything happens in its own time, Rochelle. Honestly, this is probably why Jaguar doesn’t pay attention to you. You’re too impatient. It comes off as desperate."

For once, I was the one being sharp.

She lifted both hands in surrender and laughed.

"I heard Ragnar’s stuck in a meeting. Why don’t we stop by his place? You can bring some food for Jaguar and Theodore. I’ll tag along, and it’ll give me a chance to talk to them."

She flashed an eager smile.

As if Jaguar and Theodor didn’t already have an army of chefs waiting to prepare whatever they wanted.

But apparently, she expected me to spend my afternoon cooking for them just so she could chase after Jaguar.

"Oh, that reminds me. I should check in with Ragnar and see how everything went," I said, reaching for my phone.

Earlier, I’d texted one of his guards to make sure he’d arrived safely, but I hadn’t bothered checking for a reply.

The second I opened my messages, my stomach dropped.

"What?" Rochelle asked immediately, setting her wine glass aside. "What’s wrong?"

I stared at the screen.

Guard: Ma’am, there was an incident. The car broke down, so Mr. Ragnar and Miss Verity are staying at a motel overnight.

My grip tightened around the phone.

I didn’t know why, but this one piece of news had thrown me into a spiral.

My thoughts wouldn’t stop racing.

The Verity I remembered from two years ago wasn’t the same woman she was now.

Back then, she had never been someone I considered a threat.

To me, she had been harmless.

Very insecure of her looks..

She used to be so self-conscious about her appearance that even a little male attention would make her retreat into herself.

But somewhere along the way, that had changed.

I used to mock her weight behind her back.

Everybody did.

Now she’d lost it in all the places she wanted to and somehow kept it everywhere else.

It annoyed me because it didn’t feel fair.

She had curves now.

And every time I looked at her, they made me feel insecure.

That realization alone made my stomach twist.

So yes, I was panicking.

Why had Ragnar taken her with him without mentioning it to me?

The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.