Filed To Story: Fated is Overrated Novel Free by Brenda Minnaard
My heartbeat shoots through the roof and I feel my palms getting sweaty. This was what I have been waiting for. What I have asked from them for so long, what I wanted. So why doesn’t it feel like that? Why does it feel like my heart is about to be ripped apart? ‘Because you love them, you fool! Stop them!’ Liberty yells at me. I gulp. Do I? ‘YES YOU DO NOW STOP THEM!!’. Both of them let out a deep sigh, before chorusing “I, Zeke/ Zane Nariva, acc-“, but before they can finish, I find myself almost stumbling over my own feet in a rush to get to them. My hands are clasped tightly over both their mouths, before I can even come to terms with what I have just done, and why. To say they look dumbfounded would be an understatement, they are looking at me as if they just witnessed burning water. Time seems to stand still as I try to find the words to say. What the hell do I say to them?! ‘That you love them…’ Liberty deadpans, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. But nothing about my situation with them is obvious. I even confuse myself.
“Lola?” Zane questions softly, as they remove my hands gently. “I… I….” I try to speak, but I can’t find the words. I don’t even understand it myself, so how could I explain it to them? “You don’t want us to accept the rejection?” Zeke asks carefully, almost seeming afraid for my answer. I look into their eyes pleadingly, but still at a loss for words. They both move closer carefully, until I am enveloped in a warm embrace. I allow myself to relax into their arms, inhaling their delicious scent deeply. “We are so sorry for everything Lola” “we will spend forever making it up to you if you’ll let us” “we will NEVER let you down again” they whisper into my ears, as I sink further into their embrace. For something that seemed so wrong for so long, it feels so right. “If you ever defend or choose someone else over me again, or make me feel like the third wheel again, I will nail both of your balls to the wall”. They both chuckle, but I’m dead serious. I pull back slightly to be able to look at them. “That wasn’t a joke” I raise an eyebrow.
“Oh we know!” Zane laughs, while tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “You’ll need to earn my trust. Trust isn’t given, but earned. And as you broke my trust, it’ll take some time” I mumble the last part. They both smile slightly and nod at me, before pulling me in for another hug. Zeke is kissing the top of my head and inhaling my scent, while Zane is kissing my cheek softly, passionately. He trails his fingers across my neck, while his lips are still planting small kisses on my cheek. I shiver at their touches, their scent, their close proximity, everything. I never knew a kiss on the cheek could feel so passionate, so intimate. But here I am, practically putty in their hands from the combined sensations. What happened to the independent kickass brute I used to be? ‘You still are. But even brutes need love. And lots and lots of steamy s*x’ Liberty snickers in my mind. I can feel she is over the moon right now, and I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t enjoying this myself. I just don’t want to be weak, I want to remain independent. ‘Oh sweety, we are anything but weak, nor dependent. Just because you want them, doesn’t mean you need them’. I guess she is right. If you told me I would be enjoying embracing them a few weeks ago, I would have called you insane and laughed in your face.
But then I recall something from a few minutes ago, and I pull back slightly to ask them what is on my mind. “Hey, by the way, how were you 2 able to go past the force field?”. They look at each other questioningly, while I see their eyes glaze over. I wonder what they aren’t telling me. “I don’t know” Zeke shrugs, but he is clearly lying. I raise my eyebrow and fold my arms across my chest, letting him know I am not buying it. And furthermore, I’m really annoyed about the fact that they are lying to my face unabashedly like this. Right after we had made some progress too. They don’t say anything more, so I ask “so that’s the lie you are going to go with?”. I can see the panic flare across Zane’s face from the corner of my eye, seemingly pleading with Zeke to tell me the truth. But Zeke insists. “It’s not a lie, we were just able to push through, I am unsure why” he speaks casually, but I don’t miss the small bobble of his throat after speaking. I chuckle humorlessly, while pulling back completely. “Wow. I thought… I thought you wanted to start over and fix things between us? And right when I am accepting you both for the first time, you decide to blatantly lie to my face. Your mom may be the one with the gifts to know for sure, but I am no fool. Except for thinking I should give you a chance, I guess”. I hate to admit it, and this is exactly the reason I didn’t want a mate, but this hurts. It hurts they wouldn’t trust me with their secrets. Especially considering they have been claiming to want me all this time. I turn to walk away, when Zane grabs my hand.
Lola POV
The look on his face screams despair, when he breathes out “please don’t leave me I never lied. I will tell you anything and everything you want to know”. He glares at Zeke, who is throwing daggers Zane’s way and growling lowly in return. Zane doesn’t seem impressed with his brother and continues “I can teleport. As a royal Lycan we all have special powers, mine is teleporting”. I am momentarily in awe of this revelation, being able to teleport is a massive asset. One I am a bit jealous of even. I smile at Zane and grab his hand, at least one of them cares enough to be honest with me. “Thank you for telling me Zane. Teleporting is a really cool power to have”. He smiles back at me so broad it makes his face impossibly handsome, and my heart flutters for him. But for him alone, his brother is a different story. “Would you like to walk back with me to my room, just to chat on the way there? I have to change clothes” I make a waving gesture to the borrowed attire I am wearing right now. Zane beams visibly and the relief is pouring off him in waves. He looks like a little kid in a candy store, he looks adorable like this. “Of course” he smiles broadly. I smile back at him, before resuming my walk with him alongside me. Our hands touch and our fingers intertwine, and I can’t fight the small smile that works its way to my face.
Our moment is interrupted when Zeke clears his throat “Lola, I….”. But before he can finish, I whip back around and cut him off. I have heard enough of his lies. “Don’t. Don’t say a word to me. I gave you a chance. And you clearly don’t trust me, your own mate, whom you had promised to prove your worth to just minutes ago. And if either of us should be wary of the other, it should be me”. I speak through a clenched jaw. His brows are furrowed and his eyes are telling a story on their own. The despair, the sadness is evident in them. I turn back around and drag Zane along to continue to walk away from Zeke. When we are out of ear shot for Zeke, I ask Zane “would we still be mates if Zeke and I rejected each other?”. I see the panic clear as day in his expression, when he answers “I…. I don’t know how the bond works in such cases. I would want to, of course. But Lola, I know you don’t want to hear it right now, but please don’t make a rash decision and talk to him…”. I cut him off with a glare before he goes any further. I pull my hand in an effort to remove it from his, but he doesn’t budge. “I just did. Talk to him, that is. And he chose to lie to me. If you don’t want to be my mate without him…” I make another attempt to pull my hand back, but Zane grips it even more tightly, as if it is his lifeline. “No! That’s not it. I- I-I am just unsure how it would affect our bond, since Zeke and I are identical twins and literally created from the same cells” he sighs, running his other hand through his hair. Clearly, this isn’t what he was hoping for. But I have had enough sh*t from them to last a lifetime, I don’t need them lying to me now, to us.
‘He could have a reason for it, maybe you should talk to him’ Liberty argues with me. But I just ignore her comment. ‘He doesn’t know us very well, Lola! Weren’t you the one saying trust is earned, not given?’ Liberty continues. ‘And whose fault is that?!’ I retort. She sighs, clearly agitated, and I hate how this is creating a wedge between Liberty and I. ‘You have to let go of the past, Lola. The only one you are hurting is yourself’ and with that, she retreats a little further into my mind before blocking me out, indicating she doesn’t want to speak with me right now. With Justice completely retreated already and now Liberty retreating too, it is suddenly really quiet in my head, really lonely. Ever since I got my girls, we never broke apart and there has always been either of the 2, or both, chatting in my mind. I am brought back from my state of trance when Zane squeezes my hand gently. We resume our walk back to the castle, while I am lost in thoughts, pondering over everything Liberty and Zane have said. My head is all over the place and everything that has happened thus far. Especially everything relating to Zeke and Zane right now. Was I not harsh enough after all our history and to then have him lying straight to my face, or was I too harsh and should I give him a chance to explain, like Liberty suggested?
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.