Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.-Chapter 326: Feverish dreams.

Leilani.

As Darius words rang through the tense air, all I felt was annoyance.

In anger, he stepped forward towards me like the fucking predator that he was, leaned downward until his hot breath steamed my face and hissed; "Who the hell marked you?"

That question... that very stupid question made me immediately annoyed. I rolled my eyes at him, hating the way goosebumps spread across my skin, and after managing to calm my raging heart, I shrugged in feigned indifference and muttered;

"That is none of your business."

"Oh, but it is!" He screamed back,

And goddess, I tried to fight the urge to roll my eyes at him. I tried to stop myself from scoffing derisively... But the betrayed expression he had on his face made it impossible for me to hold off on doing these things and with an eyeroll, I hissed;

"Weren’t you the one who told me it would help me and my wolf?"

"Yes...?"

"And I did. Why are you pissed now that I did it even though I had taken your own advice?!"

And at my question he scoffed. His hands shot out to grab my upper arm but just as his fingers skidded across my skin, Jay slapped it off and came to stand protectively in front of me, his frown etched deep into his face as he snarled in a voice cold enough to freeze rivers; "Don’t touch her!"

I froze.

The silence that settled between us after he uttered that statement was deafening. It made me acutely aware of how stuffed in between these two large men I was. Made it impossible for me to ignore the open hostility that rolled off them like waves on an ocean.

Darius’ eyes darted from my face to Jarek’s and I didn’t miss the way his lower lips curved downward into a snarl. He gritted out;

"I also remember telling you just how much ’my mark’ would help," he drawled in that cold tone that I found annoying yet impossible to ignore. "You of all people should know that what you needed was a Lycan. Someone like me work infinite powers; not him..." he hissed, secretly pointing to Jarek with his elbow.

The way he said that word: ’him’ like the thought of Jarek touching me made him gag made me inexplicably angry.

I folded my arms across my chest and hissed; "He’s an Alpha."

"He’s not enough for you!" He growled back, "isn’t he the feral one? The one whose mind is in shambles?"

"And who are you to speak about me in that manner?" Jay snapped back, his face twisted into the ugliest frown possible.

When my eyes met his, I could swear that I saw the madness tethering towards the surface, so I quickly shook my head and whispered; "ignore him."

As soon as my words rang out, echoing throughout the uncomfortable silence that hung above us like a damn stormy cloud, Darius snorted, threw his head back and began to laugh. It was loud and derogatory; And it made me want to snap his head off his neck.

I do not know for how long he stood there laughing at Jay and I like we were nothing but clowns; But a couple of minutes later, he stopped and shook his head, his condescending tone returning as he spat;

"Touchè,"

"Darius..."

"I used to think that you were smart, Leilani. I hoped that you would be reasonable enough to know what you want. What you need. Never in my life did I think you would be this gullible... that you would allow yourself to be so blinded by your stupid affection for the mad Alpha and..."

"That’s enough!" I yelled, interrupting him before he would say something worse.

My hands flew upwards to strike his face but he was fast. Fast enough to duck even before I could register what I was about to do. Fast enough that all I felt was the whooshing sound of air as my fingers almost grazed the surface of his skin.

Almost.

He stepped back quite quickly, his frown returning to his face. And in that moment, gone was sassy Darius.

Gone was the man who would make jokes about every situation.

Gone was the man who I used to think was pesky and witty.

This one was ice cold. He was sharp and dark and his aura... the incredible aura that shot out from him almost sent me to my knees.

I hissed; "you don’t get to tell me what to do."

"Of course, I do not," he snapped. And then with a smile— one that was so cold it sent shivers up my spine, he added; "Just so you know, that nonsense on your neck is shit. It wouldn’t work. You are stronger than this... your wolf deserves better and she should’ve been what you thought about before making this grave mistake."

I folded my arms across my chest as I looked up into his swirling purple eyes and then I smiled, stunning him. He frowned.

"What?"

"I think you are the clueless one," I responded lightly, ignoring the way his mouth slightly hung open. "Or maybe you’re just blind because if you weren’t, you would’ve seen that I have three marks, not one. Meaning that I was marked by not one, but three Alphas."

When I said that, he stumbled backward as if he’d been physically struck. His eyes widened as he took me in... like really took me in. I almost shrunk into myself when his eyes darted from my face to my neck then to my shoulders.

He seethed; "The triplets,"

I slapped my hand against my chest sarcastically and gasped; "Oh finally! I have now seen that you have the ability to think and see outside the things you wish to see and think,"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you’ve finally pulled the veil off your eyes and now, you can see clearly. Have a nice day, Alpha Darius!" I sassed and he froze.

A couple of seconds went by before he finally moved. His eyes went from my face to Jay’s and then he snapped out of it, hissing; "You’ll regret this, Lani!"

"I won’t."

"Those men are weak! They are not what you need!"

"Well, shame on you because I do not need them. I do not need you either or anyone else. All I need is myself and that is enough!"

"You don’t know what you’re talking abou—" he began to say but stopped when I waved my hands in front of him dismissively.

"Oh, I do!" I clapped back, my voice cold,

"Come on—"

"You want to talk about my wolf; isn’t it?" I hissed, interrupting him, and goddess, I almost smiled when his mouth hung open in shock. He shook his head at me but I ignored him. "I have that sorted out by the way, so you do not need to worry about it!" I added and with that, I stormed away from him and up the stairs, ignoring the way my heart hammered against my chest.

And ignoring the weird sudden chill now creeping up my spine.

Well, fuck him.

—

A couple of hours went by before I could finally convince myself to come out of my room, and by this time, it was also sure that both men must’ve left my house.

However, this sureness soon turned into confusion when I arrived downstairs only to find what used to be Jay sprawled on the floor, face down and bleeding from an open cut in his neck.

The crack on the floor made it look like his face had been bashed in and his limbs were twisted in angles that you could never even imagine anyone being twisted into.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight and I rushed forward, screaming, only to stop in my tracks when I smelled something like ash in the air.

The smell was choking and strong. It momentarily made me forget how to breathe and made my knees go weak until I crashed to the floor, writhing when a strange kind of pain began to make its way up my spine, searing through my body and filling me with angina so raw, I almost died.

A loud cry slipped out of my lips and I moaned; "Stop, whatever is happening... please stop."

But instead of feeling better, I felt worse. My body was spasming and my chest felt so hot, one would think I was being boiled alive.

When I couldn’t take the pain anymore, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to my feet. My vision blurred at the edges but I could still make out the silhouette standing close to my door.

"Darius,"

"This is what you get for not thinking like the queen that you are meant to be." He seethed, his voice echoing through the air so much so that I heard that particular statement thrice.

"My life is not your business!" I cried back,

"Oh, but it is," he drawled so softly, it felt like a caress. "You are my business!"

And maybe it was how indifferent he seemed. Maybe it was the mocking look in his eyes... and the way it was obvious that he expected me to go on my knees, begging him, but I felt myself snap.

I charged at him like a wild beast, hoping to strike him; But instead I ran into the wall and—

Thump.

My forehead hit a hard surface and I blinked my eyes open, realising that it was nothing but a dream.