Fated To Three, And I Broke Them All

Gigi:

The dagger slipped from my hand and skidded beneath the bed.

We both looked toward it.

Neither of us moved for it. Going after the weapon would have been too much of a risk.

Instead, Rocky tackled me and climbed on top of me, wrapping both hands around my throat.

”Well, then I know how to silence you, you fucking stupid bitch!” he yelled.

I thrashed beneath him.

I hadn’t thought this plan through.

I never expected him to use his bare hands to fucking strangle me.

I’d thought I’d be able to run out of the house, make it far enough to find the Alpha King’s car somewhere along the way, and have them come to save me from him.

Instead, Rocky was on top of me, and I was losing consciousness far too quickly.

I didn’t even know how far away Ragnar’s car was.

Being a werewolf, I managed to struggle for a while, but soon everything around me began to darken.

Bright spots flashed across my vision like stars.

My hands slowly went limp.

I couldn’t fight him anymore.

”I’m going to fucking kill you,” he hissed.

His fingers finally loosened around my throat, but I was already fading.

Through my blurred, darkening vision, I watched him bend down and retrieve the dagger from beneath the bed.

Then he climbed back over me and chuckled.

”You really were the least interesting. Trust me.” He looked down at me. ”But what can I do? A guy has to fulfill his desires.”

He leaned closer and raised the dagger.

A tear slipped from the corner of my eye as I shut my eyes.

At least I’d tried.

But I guessed this time I’d messed with the wrong person.

”I’m pretty sure the Alpha King and his brothers will be happy to finally get rid of your victim ass.”

He lifted the dagger to strike.

And then everything went black.

I didn’t know what had happened.

Maybe I’d never wake up.

Maybe I’d died.

But if I was dead, why could I still think?

And why the heck was I waking up again?

As I slowly came to, the first thing I noticed was the steady beeping around me.

Was I in hell?

No.

That didn’t make sense.

I should’ve gone to heaven.

I’d been a good person.

I mean, I’d never really hurt anyone. Not physically, anyway.

Sure, I’d said things. Cruel things, sometimes. But people only got that version of me when they deserved it. When they hurt me first.

That didn’t make me a bad person.

It made me someone who defended herself.

So obviously I should’ve been in heaven.

Right?

Then why did my entire body hurt so badly?

Why did my neck feel like someone had crushed it?

When I finally forced my eyes open, I found myself staring at a bright white room. A machine beside the bed was connected to me, its rhythmic beeping filling the silence.

For a second, I just stared.

Then a woman walked in.

One look at her uniform, and I understood.

A hospital.

I had survived.

Relief rushed through me so quickly that I almost smiled.

Of course I’d survived.

My eyes met the nurse’s, and she froze.

She did a double take before rushing back out.

”She’s awake! The Alpha King’s girlfriend is awake!”

There it was.

The title and the recognition I had missed so bad.

The way her voice changed the moment she realized who I was.

Something inside me settled.

I was back.

Back in the normal world.

The world where people knew my name.

The world where people looked at me and saw the Alpha King’s girlfriend.

Not some naked thing crawling around for someone else’s amusement.

Not something beneath anyone.

Me.

Gigi.

Exactly where I belonged.

Before anyone could come into the room, I closed my eyes again.

I heard footsteps approaching, and then I felt Ragnar’s presence. His scent was strong and mesmerizing, so familiar that it settled something inside me almost immediately.

Rocky could never come close to Ragnar. He could never fill the void Ragnar had left behind.

I could tell Ragnar was getting closer.

Then I felt his hand gently touch the back of mine, careful to avoid the area where the cannula was attached.

”Gigi,” he whispered.

His fingers brushed softly through my hair.

”You said she was awake?” I heard him ask the nurse.

”I saw her open her eyes. I mean, she’s been in and out of consciousness,” the nurse replied nervously.

She sounded scared.

Ragnar must have been giving everyone a hard time because of me, and just the thought of that made me realize how deeply I was loved.

I had been wrong to question him.

Of course he’d been upset before. They had all been going through so much, and that was why he’d been rude to me.

At least now, he wouldn’t be.

”Ragnar, please don’t hate me,” I murmured, pretending I was still half-conscious. ”Please, Ragnar. Please come save me. Please love me again.”

I kept repeating the words that were coming straight from my heart until I felt him press his lips gently against my forehead.

”I’m here, my love,” he whispered. ”And I would never hate you.”

The moment he said it, I opened my eyes with a jolt, pretending to be startled. When my gaze met his, I immediately began to hyperventilate.

”You’re here. You’re here! You saved me!”

The nurse quietly stepped out of the room to give us some privacy while I started to break down.

Seeing me like that made Ragnar’s face twist with pain. I knew him well enough to tell that watching me in this condition was tearing him apart, so I made my performance even more convincing, crying harder as my eyes darted fearfully around the room.

”Wait. He must not see you. He’ll hurt you too,” I gasped, gripping Ragnar’s hand. ”He... he was going to kill me. He thought you would find him, and he...”

I deliberately let my words trail off and rolled my tongue awkwardly inside my mouth, pretending I was struggling to speak. Then I let my eyelids begin to droop.

”Nurse! Nurse, get in here!” Ragnar shouted.

The panic radiating from him was impossible to miss.

Frantic footsteps sounded in the hallway, and within seconds, nurses and doctors rushed into the room to check on me while Ragnar stayed close by, visibly shaken.

That was the kind of love I wanted.

And sadly, I had needed to do everything I’d done just to get it back.