Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

The silence engulfed us, and I could not even ask him again not to worry about dropping me home.

The elevator door finally opened, and I stepped out as if I had been struggling for my life in there.

He came after me casually, then walked past me.

I reached the exit and noticed all the cars had left.

The guards gave him a bow as they locked up the office while Ragnar reached his SUV.

”I’m not going to order you again,” he grunted.

For a second, I thought that if I did not go, he would not ask me again.

But wouldn’t that make him angry?

With that in mind, to avoid any unpleasant situation, I slowly stepped into the car, sitting with him in the backseat.

His strong scent almost instantly hit my nostrils.

He sat very comfortably, one arm stretched out behind my seat, all the way from his side to mine.

His legs were long and spread casually, one foot tapping on the floor.

I had given directions to the driver, but I was sitting on the edge of the seat, my spine erect.

”Have you found your mate yet?”

That question hit me like a bullet.

I shook my head without turning around to look at him.

He did not say a single word to me, but the moment I reached the door, he unlocked it and silently let me walk out.

Just before I closed the door behind me, my eyes met his.

”Stay away from my brothers.”

The cold command in his voice sent goosebumps across my skin.

And then, finally, it struck me.

He knew.

He knew something was up between me and his brothers.

But I began to wonder why he was taking me to this trip without anyone’s knowledge.

What had he possibly planned for me?

The next day, Alpha King Ragnar’s car picked me up and drove me to the airport, just as he had ordered.

From there, we flew to the island and headed toward the corner pack where Ragnar intended to settle a few matters personally.

The moment we arrived, rooms were arranged for us at a hotel near the airport.

After that, the entire day disappeared into endless meetings.

By the time the final meeting ended, we finally had a little free time.

That was when Ragnar informed me that we would be visiting a nearby village.

Apparently, the Omega community of that pack had been creating trouble, and he wanted to deal with it himself.

Not long after, we were back in a car together.

The silence made me uneasy.

None of the others had accompanied us except Ragnar’s warriors who were left behind at the hotel, and that only made me more uncomfortable.

I was dressed in a black dress that barely reached my thighs, paired with long heeled boots.

My hair was left loose, and the oversized glasses with golden frames rested on my face.

My layered platinum-blonde hair spilled messily across my back.

The drive felt endless. Sitting at the edge of the seat for so long had made my legs numb.

”You can relax.”

Alpha Ragnar’s sudden voice nearly made me flinch.

That was the problem.

I feared everything about him. His presence, his voice, even the silence around him.

And how was I supposed to take revenge on my brother’s behalf if I couldn’t even stop being afraid of him?

”I’m comfortable,” I replied, trying to sound confident.

But after staying quiet for nearly the entire drive, my voice came out rough and caught in my throat.

I cleared it quickly, though I didn’t bother correcting myself.

It would only make things more awkward.

”You tense every time I look at you,” Ragnar said in that low, steady voice. ”Makes me wonder what exactly you’re hiding.”

His gaze moved over me briefly.

”Or maybe you’re just looking for the right moment to jump out of the car.”

I shifted back against the seat, forcing myself to relax.

But after him pointing it out, the movement felt staged, like a weak attempt to pretend I wasn’t nervous.

After everything he had said, looking away would have made me seem even more suspicious.

So I forced myself to maintain eye contact.

Big mistake.

His icy gray eyes were almost impossible to hold for long.

There was something unnerving about how calmly he watched me, like he could see straight through every lie sitting in my head.

”I’m not hiding anything,” I said with a strained smile.

Which was a lie.

I searched for something believable. Something simple.

”I’m just–not very comfortable around men.”

It was the best excuse I could come up with.

Ragnar’s lips twitched slightly before he gave a slow nod, the kind people gave when they were pretending to take you seriously.

Wanting to escape the tension somehow, I quickly opened the water bottle and took a sip.

Ragnar’s eyes stayed on me.

”And yet,” he murmured, ”you made no effort to move away yesterday while my brother was grinding himself against you at that printer.”

I choked immediately, water spraying out of my mouth.

I had no idea how people pretended to be innocent in situations like this, but I still gave a small, uncertain shake of my head.

”I don’t know what you’re talking about. When did that even happen? Oh my God, no. That’s not possible.”

I tried to make it sound as if his brother had crossed a line without me realizing it, but the moment the words left my mouth, Ragnar’s expression hardened.

Because that would mean his own brother had been harassing me.

”Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that,” I said quickly. ”He was just helping me.”

Ragnar watched me quietly for a second.

”You know,” he said in that deep and measured voice, ”you don’t actually have to answer me.” He leaned back slightly. ”You could simply move back to your corner, stare out the window, and stop trying to insult my intelligence.”

Then he pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it with slow ease.