Filed To Story: Fated is Overrated Novel Free by Brenda Minnaard
My mind is racing a million miles per minute and I can’t seem to think straight. Liberty and Justice’s sadness is intensifying my own, and just looking at him I doubt he will be able to pull through without any drastic measures. But, am I ready to be tied to him forever? And what if I’m not? Basically – do I let him die without ever giving this a shot, or do I jump in head first without a way back? ‘Girls? Your opinions?’ I ask both of them. I couldn’t make this decision alone, even if I wanted to. Liberty is the one to speak up first, with an unambiguous answer ‘I say mark him’. Justice remains quiet, and I give her some time to contemplate on it in peace. It’s not a decision you need to make every day. “Are you talking to Liberty?” Zane asks softly, bringing me back from my internal conversation. “Yes, and Justice of course”. “What are they saying?” he asks, but I think he already knows what Liberty is thinking. Our Lycan parts are really attached to their other half. In fact it was a small miracle for a Lycan that Liberty stood by me when we rejected them initially. I sigh “Liberty wants to mark him, Justice is still contemplating”. “And… you?” “I don’t know, Zane. It’s not an everyday decision, and especially not for me. I never even wanted a mate, I had deep rooted trust issues already. And then I met you both, and you were total douchebags to me, only further flaring up my trust issues. We only just recently started being on better terms. And now I have to decide between cutting our journey short, never getting to know if it could have worked or not, or irrevocably tying myself to him”.
Zane just nods wordlessly, and drops his gaze to the ground. We sit like this for some time, until we hear some noises coming from the door to our hospital room. Before I can even think about who it could be, the King and Queen step into the room. Uncharacteristically, they look like sh*t. But I guess I would be too, if my child was hanging onto life by a thread. As soon as Xena spots me, tears well up in her eyes and she rushes forward to embrace me in a hug. I freeze at the contact. I always loved her when I was there, but the fact that she didn’t stick up for me in the meeting still plagues my mind. I know she argued that her support for me goes without saying, but I guess it would have still been nice to hear her say it nonetheless. Especially with my lingering trust issues. Almost as if she didn’t notice my hesitation, she pulls back and cups my cheeks in both her hands. Tears are slowly spilling from her eyes as she speaks. “Lola, dear, I am so glad you are alright!”. She is still wearing a small smile on her face, despite her sad complexion. I only reply a soft, small “thanks” in return. Her gaze shifts to Zeke, and I see her smile falter. “I am so sorry about Zeke” I speak to no one in particular. “There is nothing to be sorry about, Lola. You are not the one who hurt him” Zion speaks up for the first time since entering the room. I glance over to him briefly, before he asks with a grave tone “who was the dragon that hurt him, and where can I find him?”. I chuckle lightly. Surely they didn’t think I would let him live? “His name was Lucian, he was my dragon’s fated mate. I assume he is at the castle gates still, unless they have started cleaning up already. Either way, he won’t be of much use to you anymore if you were hoping for revenge”. His gaze turns to me, raising a questioning eyebrow in my direction. “Let’s just say that Zeke’s wound is child’s play compared to what happened to him. He got what he deserved” I say coldly, with a clenched jaw.
Zion offers me a small appreciative smile, before nodding and saying “thank you, Lola”. “No need to thank me, your highness” I reply politely. “No need for the formalities, dear. You can call me Zion now”. I am not really sure how to respond to that, so I just offer a small smile in return and nod my head. As if on cue, we all glance back to Zeke’s lifeless body. And immediately, we are all at a loss for words again. We sit in silence for a while, before Xena and Zion leave to give us some time alone. I stand up from my bed, to walk over to Zeke’s. I carefully shift the various tubes and threads out of the way and pull up the covers , before climbing into bed with him. His amber wood and jasmine scent floods my nostrils, and I find it as comforting as I find it heartbreaking right now. I carefully scoot my body closer to his and wrap my arm around his waist, while burying my head in the crook of his neck. I feel the sparks and tingles everywhere my body touches his, which is about everywhere now as I am wrapped around him completely. ‘Lib, any sign of his Lycan?’ I ask Liberty, hoping she’ll say our close proximity is stimulating his Lycan. ‘No…’ Liberty whimpers back, before retreating to the back of my mind in complete agony. I feel tears falling down my cheeks again, before they land on Zeke’s shoulder. It isn’t long before sobs tear through my throat, and the shoulder of his hospital gown is completely drenched in my tears. Zane has moved to sit beside me, gently rubbing circles across my back. But it does nothing to soothe me.
I rarely ever cry. And since I am balling my eyes out right now – does this mean I care for him after all? I guess I do, don’t I? Who would have thought I would ever start caring for the 2 men that I have called about every name in the book. I would blame it on the mate bond, but I have proven to be able to withstand it once already. So, I must really care for him now somehow. I feel Justice coming forward, and I am left stunned when she says ‘I say mark him. Mark our mate’.
Lola POV
‘Are you… Are you sure Justice? There is no going back if we do’. ‘I am, Lola. So, we leave the choice up to you’. Well, no pressure there. But then again, I don’t have to think about this too long either. I guess I care for this man, despite him being an idi*t at times. And his death will not rest on my conscience. I tilt my head up to give him a soft kiss on the lips, before I bury my head in the crook of his neck again. I kiss the spot where my mark will go, before running my tongue over his skin in small circles. I whisper softly against his skin “never make me regret this, you idi*t”, before elongating my canines and sinking them into his skin in 1 swift motion. Everything anyone has ever said about marking your mate was true. The feeling is f*cking euphoric, and not to mention sensual as hell. Tingles are coursing through my entire body and I feel warm and fuzzy inside. Not to mention an immense need to be as close as possible to him. Feeling what it feels like now, I wish he was buried deep inside me in this moment. But unfortunately, the circumstances didn’t allow for it. And honestly, if there wasn’t this added pressure to mark him, goddess knows how long it would have taken for my (some would say stubborn) *ss to take the plunge. And I have to admit I kind of like the fuzzy feeling it brings. I just pray to the goddess he doesn’t f*ck things up again, or I will have his balls for it, mate or not.
Coming back from my high and suppressing the wanton urge to mate with him, I lick the wound to seal the mark and help it heal, before pulling back. When I glance back to look at Zane, I can see his mouth is parted in shock, and his eyes have turned black. Whether it is from jealousy, anger, or lust, I don’t know. I soon get my answer, when he grabs the collar of my hospital gown roughly, and pulls me towards him. Rather than being ticked off by his roughness, I find myself being aroused by it even more. When did I become such a horny little hussy? He kisses me urgently, wasting no time to plunge his tongue into my mouth. I lose control momentarily, kissing him back equally urgent. Our moment of passion comes to an abrupt halt, when I remember where we are and why we are here. I pull back from him gently, resting my forehead against his while we are both breathing heavily. “We can’t, Zane. Not without Zeke” I breathe out. After a few minutes of silence stretching between us, a tsunami of emotions hit me like a tidal wave, and I am clueless as to where these overwhelming emotions are coming from. I am feeling an overwhelming amount of love, along with a lot of guilt, but also a burning desire. What am I yearning for so sudden? ‘Turn around dumdum! It’s Zeke’s feelings you are experiencing, you can feel them through our bond. He is awake!!!!’ Liberty exclaims excitedly. I snap my head around, to be met with a set of puppy eyes I have never seen on him. The longing is evident in his expression.
“ZEKE!” I shriek in excitement, momentarily forgetting that he is just waking from his near death experience. He doesn’t seem affected by my inability to keep quiet though. If anything, it seems to bring a smile to his handsome face. Still pale, but handsome. “Hey gorgeous” he croaks out, and Zane rushes over to his side to bring a glass of water to his lips. “Better?” he asks his brother eagerly. “Yeah, thanks little brother” he smiles at him, before they give each other a hug. The sight of Zane tending to his brother like that, and them hugging each other warms my heart. I don’t know what to do, though. I haven’t ever been in a relationship before, let alone marked someone for life. How do I act around him now? Do we just act like nothing happened, or do I act like his girlfriend now or something? What if he didn’t want me to mark him? ‘Stop overthinking it, you goon!’ Justice scolds me playfully, while Liberty just snickers. As if he can feel my indecisiveness (and I guess he can now, with the bond in place), he breaks away from the hug to look at me with a reassuring smile. My heart skips a beat at the sight of it. “You… You marked me?” he turns his reassuring smile into a megawatt smile, and I feel my knees going weak. I have never seen him smile so broadly, and he looks absolutely devilishly handsome like this.
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.