Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Verity:

I guess I did a great job. Everyone had nothing but praise for the evening, except Jenna.

Even though she thanked me, she looked completely out of it.

At this point, I had stopped blaming the event for it.

It was pretty obvious she was dealing with some other kind of stress, and my heart broke for her.

Whatever was bothering her had ruined the day she had been waiting for.

I wondered how she would feel when it was time for her mating ball ceremony.

But I wanted to fix things for her. I wanted her to attend that ball with much more enthusiasm and happiness than she’d had on her birthday.

But I wouldn’t be able to help her if she didn’t tell me anything. So, I had to pry the information out of her.

For now, I had returned to my room and changed into a pair of black shorts and a black satin top with noodle straps.

I had only just sat down on my bed and opened a book to read when there was a knock at the door.

From the way he knocked, I could already tell who it was.

Ragnar.

It had to be him.

The knock was extremely powerful, like someone had come over for something important.

And only Alpha King Ragnar knocked like that.

”Wait a bit,” I answered, immediately getting up to grab a silk robe and put it on.

I reached the door and opened it, almost acting surprised to see Alpha King Ragnar, although I was more surprised that I’d known it was him just by the way he knocked.

”Um, Alpha King Ragnar. I mean, sir, is there something you want?” I asked as I turned to look at the clock.

It was 1 a.m.

Why was the Alpha King walking into my room at this hour, wearing black pants and a black shirt, just to have a talk with me?

”There’s something I need to speak with you about,” he said, his hands anywhere but in his pants pockets.

I don’t know why I noticed that.

Maybe because he had such big hands, and I thought if I had hands like his, I would need somewhere to rest them.

Maybe I was just trying to distract myself from the fact that he looked really good with his hair down.

”Okay, come in,” I said as I moved out of the way.

However, he pointed toward the living room in my wing.

”I’ll wait here,” he said, pointing at the couch.

I watched him walk over and sit down.

Scratching the back of my neck, I walked out and sat on a separate couch, making sure my legs weren’t visible because, well, I did not want Alpha King Ragnar telling me to behave or sit properly.

”Is it important? Is it about the Lycan?” I asked, wondering if that was the case.

I mean, we had discussed things. We should have known it was Roman because he was a doctor.

Most of the victims and witnesses said they saw the lycan after visiting the hospital, and he worked there. He knew who was coming and going.

Apart from that, I did not know what else Ragnar would need to talk about.

”It’s about you and Oliver,” he said, not seeming cautious or even trying to soften his tone when he said Oliver’s name.

He said it rather harshly.

”Oh,” I uttered, clicking my tongue. ”What about him?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow slightly.

”What kind of relationship did you two have in the past?” he questioned, crossing one leg over the other, one hand resting on the armrest and the other stretched across the back of the couch.

The way he sat there and asked me that question, it was already clear there was no changing his mind.

I mean, I had heard Jaguar talking to someone on the phone about it the other day, and, well, I realized that was what had been going on behind the scenes.

I genuinely thought they wouldn’t pursue anything against Oliver.

So, for Alpha King Ragnar to come here and ask me that question seemed completely out of left field.

I leaned back and clasped my hands together, my nails leaving crescent marks on my palms.

”He was Gigi’s brother, and I was Justin’s sister,” I replied.

Even though I wanted to say more, the words lingered on my tongue, leaving me at a loss for words.

”Huh,” Ragnar murmured.

Then his eyes dropped to my clenched hands. The minute I noticed, I let go and relaxed.

”He used to bully you.”

It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.

I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and moved to the edge of the couch.

”Yeah,” I replied.

”Miss Verity, we work on pack matters together, and I’ve seen how confident you are about the projects. Even when I took you with me to question the victims or witnesses of the Lycan, you were very confident,” Ragnar began.

I didn’t know if it was praise or if the conversation was leading somewhere.

”But looking at you right now, so tense and uncomfortable, makes me wonder what you’re hiding.”

My heart lurched when I heard him say that.

”It definitely wasn’t just about some bullying in the past. What else?” he questioned.

I raised my eyes, and this time, I clenched my fists again.

”Well, I was a little overweight.”

As soon as I said that, a small chuckle left my lips, but it was more like a hysterical laugh.

Because looking back at that time, oh my Goddess, it had been a horrible, horrible time in my life.

”And he would—” I said, shifting on the sofa. ”Make things really hard for me.”

I reached for the cushion and started fluffing it.

I knew I wasn’t supposed to do that.

I was supposed to give him a proper statement, but I didn’t know what happened. I was suddenly all over the place.

”What else?” Ragnar questioned in the same tone as before.

Without looking at him, I started dusting off the cushion and cleared my throat.

”And then, when my brother died—” I paused, and my body started to shake just a smidge.