The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
(Bk 2) Chapter 44

I can't move My limbs are locked in place, frozen. My eyes don't feel as if they could grow any wider and I know that my mouth is open in surprise

The shock that goes through me made my eyes flutter close as my heart started beating a mile a minute. It was as if liquid electricity was coursing through my veins, shocking me from my scalp all the way to my toes that curled. I could feel it in my soul, how we have centered and aligned, how every part of me seemed to gravitate towards him and only him.

Mates.

We were mates.

How was it possible?

I try to look back, I try to see how this happened but there weren't answers, there was only this indescribable feeling between us.

There were no words said.

We were too surprised to say anything.

We could only gape and stare.

But we weren't alone.

Everyone saw this, everyone and the Luna who watched us, who looked at us like she knew what was happening... because she experienced it as well.

With the Alpha of the Mountain pack? I didn't know.

All I could do was follow her lead as she guided us down the platform. The Luna quietly told another organizer to replace her as she took us towards the woods, away from where we should be going... to the seats where all the other freshly mated couples were Deep in the woods where no one could hear us, she takes another look at us and she blows out a breath. "You're mates. Destined mates, aren't you?"

The hand that Tedros still held tightened around mine.

Hearing it out loud, seemed to only make the feeling, this burning under our skin worse.

"How did you know?" I asked, breathless and a little light headed.

She didn't need me to confirm, her eyes closing momentarily as if trying to gather herself. "Because I was like you once... a long time ago."

"With father?" Tedros' voice was low and husky like he too didn't know where to start with this. "You two never said anything-"

"Not with your father." His mother shook her head and I felt Tedros turn into a pillar of stone, his face almost of a bullet proof material. "But with hers."

She was pointing a finger at me and I almost whipped around to make sure she was in fact pointing it at

"My father?" I whispered, unbelieving. "You know... you know him?"

"Jeremy. We went to the Games together." The way she said his name was almost dreamy, like she was remembering a lost memory. "He was my destined mate when we didn't even know what it meant at the time."

Tedros, as loyal and as fierce as ever, let out a growl. He looked betrayed and angry. "Does father know about this?"

She smiles at her son, knowing and understanding his reaction. "Of course. It was a long time ago and a very long story, but I chose Ajax over Jeremy in the end. Regardless, Jeremy and I, were the only ones to be destined mates until you two..."

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't fathom it. My father? The father that told me everything about him. That taught me all that he knows.

He was destined with someone.

And he never once told me.

I feel my shoulders quake a little.

"But my father never

mentioned you. He never mentioned your pack. I had no idea."

"When your father met your mother, he thought it was best for her and for his future family to not know about me or at least that I wasn't as visible in his life. He wanted a fresh start. It was his last request that I couldn't say no to." She patiently explained. "To the world, mates are still extinct and after us, it certainly seemed that way. I... we never expected this."

I was breathing hard and Tedros was quick to wrap an arm around me in an embrace and that action alone made my heart beat a little faster. It was already happening, the little reactions, the pull. "What does this mean? What does us being destined mates mean?" She smiles at us and I don't know why, but it calms me down a little bit. "I do not know the answer. But unlike Jeremy and I, you two chose each other and maybe this could be the start of something. Maybe this is a sign that destined mates are returning to us." This is why my father didn't come back to the Games.

They were... destined

And yet they didn't end up together.

Before I left for the Games, my father embraced me and he had this expression on his face that I didn't understand.

'It doesn't matter who. Make the right choice. He said and I thought he meant he didn't care about rank or title... but really he just wanted me to follow my heart because he didn't.

He didn't choose her.

"Things happen for a reason." The Luna continues wisely, noticing my panic, my unanswered questions. "We do not regret anything that happened before. I believe what happened was meant to happen. Choices were made whether it was right or wrong. And in the end, we are happy. Right? Your father is happy, like I am happy?"

Though I can sense her underlying love for my father, it is no match against her love for the Alpha of the mountains.

Because as she stared up at her son, there was only love there and pure happiness.

No regrets.

My father loves me the same way. He never hid that fact, openly telling me so, as many times as he can, and I know he loves my mother too, but I wonder if it is the same love he had for the Luna.

"He's happy," I answered, squeezing Tedros' hand.

He senses my agitation and lovingly presses a kiss on top of my head. "I think it's time we returned to the Choosing.

Mostly to make sure Adelle and Otto hasn't kill e d everyone yet."

"You know Otto?" I replace myself asking.

The Luna glanced between us. "I'll go ahead to check on them. You deserve a moment after everything."

1 watch her go, walking back the way we came, but Tedros doesn't wait for her to disappear among t he trees, immediately embracing me in his steel like arms and peppering me with kisses until I feel like I might faint. Because all I could do was take it.

All I could do was enjoy the sensation of his lips on every part of my face, of my exposed skin.

It was suddenly, so hot, hot enough that I wanted to rip through this beautiful gown.

"You're a fool." He whispered, almost harshly, as he kissed me over and over. "You're a fool if you think I was letting you go, that I would ever give you up. You're a fool, Jewel, but Goddess above I love you."

The way he says my name almost brings me over the edge and it took everything in me not to rip the black uniform off him.

"That gown I chose looks good on you." He growled into my skin, making my entire body feel warm and electric." But it'll look better off."

"Oh, f**k," I whispered, losing the ability to breathe.

He was quickly losing control as well, shoving me against a tree and standing between my legs. He pressed his hard muscular body on me until every part of us was touched, an unbearable heat searing where our bodies connected as he pinned me against the tree firmly. His eyes were intimidatingly dark, giving away his lust, as there was an unquenchable hunger in them.

I was shivering uncontrollably, wanting more of him.

He reached down to my wrist, where the bracelet that kept my scent hidden was and with a quick flick of his finger it broke.

His eyes darkened even more as he lowered his head to the side until his face was a breath away from where my neck met my shoulder. "When I first caught your scent when you arrived at the Games... it stirred something in me and all I've been thinking about since then was to do this."

Slowly, as if savoring the smell, he takes a deep breath that makes a growl leave his lips.

"I should mark you right now." He didn't sound like himself.

He sounded like he was keeping his wolf at bay and was losing. "I should show you just how much lil worship you."

The sound of his voice set my insides on fire, making me squirm, but he only pressed his knee against my core, making me whimper.

He closed the breath of distance between his lips and my neck by pressing a long tantalizing kiss where marks are usually placed and this almost makes me reach a high that I only knew from the night before. His mouth worked diligently, skimming the area below my jawline and trailing down until he licked my collarbone.

I felt like I was on fire.

"Tonight, you're mine, and every day after that, He pulls away, a glint of something dangerous in his eyes as he smirks.

My mind was swimming, reeling, trying to come out of these thoughts of him.

We would have continued on if not for the sounds of the Choosing happening in the distance, a reminder that we shouldn't be away too long.

"I know him." He says after a few deep breaths to calm himself. "I know Otto and I know he was d y in g. His family often visited the mountains but we weren't friends.

His head was always in the clouds... always on you."

It took me a moment to get back down from the high I was feeling, trying to wrap my head around his words. "Did you know about me?"

"Not personally." He tells me honestly. "I only knew that you were to be the next Alpha of the city pack, Ottos future Alpha, but nothing else. My mother kept her promise with your father. She didn't involve any of us with you."

"Did you know about us?" I asked, hesitant. "About Otto and-"

"No, but I guessed it because whenever your name was mentioned by his parents, even fleetingly, he would both light up and sadden at the same time." Tedros explains, his expression unreadable. "In the beginning, and even before the Games, I didn't really think, much of it. I didn't know you back then. I didn't even know what you looked like until you came out of that car. I didn't plan any.of this, Jewel:

Seconds before you arrived, I wanted nothing to do with the Games. I didn't... I didn't know this was going to happen. I didn't know you were the one in that car randomly assigned to me, but here we are and I'm willing to do anything, absolutely anything to be with you. I don't care about your past with Otto or if you continue to be friends with him, as long as you choose me, I will be the happiest man alive."

No words came.

No words seemed to be enough.

So instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down until I could kiss his lips, until I could seal all this with my love for him.

We were destined

It wasn't planned

It was meant to be.

And 1hoped that the kiss said all that and more.

But just because I couldn't help myself, I bare my soul to him by saying, "I love you, Tedros. I want you and I want all of you forever. I choose you and I will continue to choose you every day."

He kisses me passionately, tenderly. He kisses me like I ve never been kissed before. He kisses me and I know there is nothing better than this... than us. "You and you and only you, Jewel."

And just when I think we will forget the Choosing happening a few feet away from us, Tedros smiles into the kiss before taking a step back. He gives me one last peck as if for good measure before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "If I take this any further, my mother will kill me for having my wicked way with you in the woods.

"I'm mated to such a respectful man." I teased, sticking my tongue out playfully.

A glimmer of something devilish goes through his handsome face. "You'll see how respectable I can be tonight. Just wait."

I fight the blush on my face valiantly, but I know I've failed when he only smirks.

Hand in hand, we walked back to the Choosing but we must have been gone for quite some time because people were out of their seats. The couples are leaving for the mansion and the singles are walking to the lake where there is a quiet dinner for them. But what I did see through the throngs of rushing attendees in white were Miss A and 0- Adelle and Otto.

They were in deep conversation but not talking in hushed tones and, after what I learned from Tedros, I know they know each other. That Otto had visited their lands.

As if sensing our arrival, they turned to face us.

Otto's light green eyes were bright as he smiled. "Hey""

"Hey," I said back, giving him my own smile.

A quiet understanding goes between us, an understanding that only two people raised together would ever share.

He was happy for me.

And he didn't care if that hurt him.

"Do you mind if I talk to Tedros for a while?" He asks, gesturing to the man beside me.

I glanced up at Tedros, who was already looking at me. His silent answer made me nod. "Of course."

Tedros runs his thumb over my knuckles before letting go.

"Wait for me."

Left with Adelle, we watched them walk to the tree line, already engrossed in whatever conversation they wereBook 2 Chapter 11

having

"My guard is your brother" It wasn't a question but a statement:

She answers like it was anyway. "Yes. He is. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

We were still staring at the trees and not each other when I smiled to myself. "You weren't allowed to tell me. Identities are secret in the Games. So it's okay. I understand."

It was quiet for a few heart beats until I turned to face her and she turned to face me. I should have seen the similarities between them. The dark hair. The golden eyes that were often black from repressed rage. The flawlessly tanned skin. I should have noticed the way they both smiled and spoke, how perfect they both were in their own way.

She knew what I was going to say before I even said it.

"It was Otto. The one you told me about. The one you love."

She doesn't lie.

She doesn't hide it.

"Yes. It's Otto."