The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
(Bk 2) Chapter 13

"Dinners over." My guard says in a clipped voice. He was standing unnaturally still and didn't look as though he would ever move from his spot directly in front of my door. "Everyone must stay in their own rooms."

My guard says this so pointedly, so seriously, like he was trying to tell O that he shouldn't be here in the first place.

That this was my room.

Therefore, his to guard.

And by extension, for 0 to leave as he was not welcome. At least by the expression on my guard's face.

"Do you know what today is, meddling guard?" O smoothly says, hands still on me.

The look on my guard's face told me he knew the answer but wasn't going to say it.

"You do." O grinned. "You also know that no one is staying in their rooms tonight, whether it be because of where we're going or because they're all fucking somewhere else."

I flushed at how horrible he made it all sound. "O,"

"You look like you've been to the Games before," O continued, squinting at my guard who had his mask off but his cap back on. "You've either f****d your way through the girls at this point or was busy having fun somewhere else. Honestly, you don't look like you did either.

Otherwise, you'd smile more."

"Enough, O," I tried to push him back into the room.

He didn't move. "Do you want me to stay in X's room all night? Is that what you want? Because I will and you will not like it."

The answer was so clear in my guard's face.

No.

He didn't want O here.

If he could, my guard would have disqualified him again.

And I can't help but see jealousy in those sharp eyes of his.

"I also know that guards, all guards" O emphasized sharply. "Leave their posts at night. I wonder why you're still here when everyone else left?"

A quick sweep of the quiet hallways showed how right O was.

My guard was the only one here.

The only one that stayed.

"You must be new, huh?" O continued, trying to get a measure of the man in front of us. "X is my responsibility.

She is from my pack. Why don't we both forget this ever happened and see each other tomorrow morning? Bright and early."

"No." My guard didn't even flinch, didn't even pause, his voice commanding and sure of himself. "In the Games, Miss X is my responsibility and if she doesn't want to come with you, she doesn't have to." My eyes widened.

Has he been listening this whole time?

Are the walls thin? Did my door have any gaps?

O's patience was paper thin at this point as he glanced down at me. "Well?"

I don't know why I felt like I had to explain myself to my guard. Maybe I was being too nice again. "I won't stay out long. I just want to see what it will be like for a run in the woods. If I get uncomfortable, I'll come right back." My guard didn't move.

"You can trust me." I promised, not really knowing what I was saying. "Five years, remember?"

He moves after that.

I smiled, triumphant.

Beside me, 0 all but groans. "Fu c king hell. He's not your boyfriend. You don't need his permission."

I didn't even give him a response to that, already running down the hall in excitement. O races after me, still muttering things under his breath.

"Hurry!" But I didn't care at this point, laughing at him, my lungs filling with the cold night air. I wasn't wearing shoes or slippers, completely barefoot as I raced down the stairs with O right behind me, finally laughing as well.

When he's close enough, he takes my hand, holding it tight as we leave the mansion and headed for the woods. The lights from the lanterns are still open, lighting our way in the otherwise dark night.

O tilts his head back and lets out a deep guttural shout. It echoes through the trees, shaking branches. I copy him, feeling the pressure in my heart lessen just a little bit.

Beside us were other attendees running through the woods and screaming up to the moon as well. They cursed, mentioning their families and lovers and whoever else into the night for no one to remember. I thought I would be underdressed, but everyone was wearing either pajamas or nothing at all.

It was just us and the moon.

And nothing could be better.

We don't stop running, our smiles wide and our laughter loud, but there must have been a couple dozen of us here. I didn't know which direction we were running, trusting 0, who led me there.

It felt like minutes before we got to our destination, but it was probably almost an hour or so because I couldn't feel the mansion or its gardens close anymore. We only stopped when I saw a cave up ahead, a light from a fire coming from it.

And then more laughter came, mostly from the cave as someone danced around the fire, the shadows on the walls and trees giving it away.

I turned to O, a little confused. "What is all this?"

With his hand still on mine, O takes me towards the wide

cave.

"A few years ago, the attendees of the Games wanted an escape from the ever watching organizers and found the cave, seeing an opportunity. They stole bottles and bottles of alcohol from the mansion, trays of food and set up shop here. It's a place we can be ourselves. Away from

all that."

"Do the organizers know about this?" I asked, seeing so many of the attendees around us who were giggling and already drunk. It wasn't a pretty looking cave but I suppose that was the point. It was far from the mansion that reminded us of the choice we had to make in a week.

"Of course they do. But they let us." He explained, taking two bottles of whatever liquor was on the pile on the floor and giving me one.

"They stopped the first night's party

that they scheduled because everyone preferred to be out here."

I opened the cap, replaceing a seat near the mouth of the cave.

Squinting ahead, I could not see the beautiful mansion anymore. There were trees and shadows. "How far are we?

He takes a seat next to me, our legs pressed together. " Exactly on the territory line of the Games."

"But you never had a first night at the Games. How would you know about this?" I turned my attention to him, suspicious eyes carefully watching 0.

He grinned widely, his eyes twinkling in the partial darkness. "Miss Goody Two Shoes, everyone talks about the Games at home. Except you. Just because they say it's not allowed, doesn't mean you have to follow it."

Then what are the rules for if we're just going to break it? I wanted to say the words but kept them to myself.

A song from a crappy sounding radio starts to play from inside the cave, making everyone cheer and stomp.

O extends his hand for me to take and I do, with bottles of hard liquor in our hand, we dance to the scrappy music. It was loud and full of static, not really knowing what I was dancing to, but I was giggling, actually giggling at how silly we both looked- how everyone looked

Some have come straight from dinner, the dresses and suits removed, tossed on top of a pile somewhere, wearing nothing but the masks on their faces.

I spotted Miss A and Miss E at one point. They gave me air kisses, continuing to dance with their own partners. They were boys I didn't recognize, but the girls smiled up at them happily, making me happy in return.

My head was spinning as we drank more, danced harder and laughed louder. O's hand was on me the entire time, keeping me close as things got a little blurry.

As the night grew late and the laughter subsided to puking and the likes, I pressed my back against the cold cave, breathing hard. My thoughts were muddled, my feelings were a mess. It was the drinks. I drank too much.

I kept thinking about my parents, the Games where I had to choose my mate and how stressful today was. One moment, I'm worried, the next I'm excited and happy, then disappointed and embarrassed. Left by Mister W.

Humiliated by Mister F.

The endless prepositions that were too much for me to take.

But, at least, I had O

He was the least likely to be the one to lift me up, but he did.

He gave me that hope.

That warmth and possibility for a future.

"You okay?" He asked, smiling down at me.

He smelled like bottles of liquor we were drinking, sharp and sour at the same time, but he didn't look the least bit drunk.

Unlike me.

Since we arrived he hasn't moved from his spot beside me, his hand holding mine.

Always holding me.

I wanted this. Us. I wanted to be like this forever.

"Do you wanna go back?" He offered when I didn't answer, leaning low so he could press his forehead on mine.

My entire body was heating up, wanting to press closer to him.

Most of the people around us were already passed out and the music from the radio was still blaring out some kind of tune that would keep my next words to him for just the two of us.

"Let's talk about it now, O" I said to him, my words a little slurry but still understandable.

His face froze, the expression causing my heart to squeeze. "X, you're drunk."

"No." I insisted, letting out a hiccup. "I want to talk about it.

We've had our fun."

Something inside of me told me to stop.

To not push it.

Stop.

Don't do this to yourself.

Let it go on for a little bit longer.

Have him for just a few more days until it's all over.

I wanted to stop, I wanted to listen to myself, but I couldn't.

I just couldn't. I wanted answers and he was going to give them to me.

His hands were on my face again, staring into my eyes as his fingers brushed against my cheeks. "Let's not do this now. Please, I beg,"

He was pleading with me.

I should stop.

Now.

But I didn't. I couldn't. The liquor in my empty stomach fueled my courage, fueled the impending heart break." Please, answer, do you want to be with me?"

He flinched, pulling away from me like he had been burnt by silver. "X,"

"Do you want to be with me?" Blood was pumping into my head, my ears heating up. "O-"

His cold voice cut through my heart with a knife. "You were never promised to me."

"And you were never promised to me, but I certainly thought about it. Haven't you?" I don't know what I was saying. I was hurt and confused and so many more things. "Tell me you haven't thought about it?"

He took a step back from me as though he couldn't stand me all of a sudden. "But it can't happen. You know why. I have expectations that-"

"I don't care." The corners of my eyes stung but I held them back. "This is our choice, your choice. Not the pack's. Not the Alpha. Ours."

"No." He snapped in a tone he had never used on me before.

I was grasping for anything to steady me, to steady my heart, to keep my emotions at bay. But my voice c ra c ke d as I felt like my throat was closing. "But-"

"Don't say it." He warned almost hatefully. "And don't you dare cry on me. Don't do it."

But I thought, if this was it, if this was my last chance, I might as well say everything. I might as well tell him what 11 felt, no matter how scary. "Choose me. Take me. Love me."

"I can't!" He bellowed loudly, his fists balled up tight and turning white.

"You know I can't."

"But-" I almost said his name, but his eyes turned black, enraged, making me stop.

"Enough." He dismissed me angrily, taking his wrist and yanking my bracelet off before throwing it at me.

. "Don't

make this harder for the both of us."

I felt my entire body give but I kept standing, my pride keeping me up as I held onto my bracelet. "That's it?" "That's it." He confirmed, turning away to grab another bottle and drinking it quickly. "Let me take you back and-"

But I was already walking away.

I was warned about him. I knew about him. This wasn't new. This wasn't surprising. But why did it still hurt? I never imagined heartbreak to feel so literal, that my heart was indeed being torn to shreds, ripped into pieces as he stomped on it.

I heard him try to approach me but, without looking at him, a growl left my lips. It was vicious, so vicious that I couldn't believe it came from me. "Don't come close. Don't ever come close."

Behind me, I heard him suck a breath. He sounded in pain or was that regret? I didn't care, continuing to walk away.

Tears started to pool along my eyes but I forced it back with every fiber of my being.

The walk was long, longer now that I'm alone. The entire walk was just me fighting the tears, fighting the emotions and quietly cursing at my stupidity.

He won't ever change

Things won't ever change, no matter how much I want them to be.

Thad always known this would happen but I still pushed it, demanded it, I hoped...

That was my fault.

A new wave of tears threatened to fall and I kept breathing heavily, stumbling a little from how dizzy and blurry everything was.

When I made it back to the mansion, it was almost morning, the moon out of the sky. My chest was still tearing itself apart and my head was swimming-

I stopped, having made it to my hallway.

It was dark, the only light coming from a few lanterns that were dying out and the window where the sun was just about to come up.

A man was standing in front of my door, already facing me, already looking at me.

My guard.

My ever faithful shadow.

He didn't say anything, but his eyes watched me carefully. I knew what he was going to say: 'I told you so' because he warned me, because everyone warned me.

Yet here I was.

At the sight of him, the dam finally breaks and tears that I've fought fell down my face like a waterfall that would not cease.

My vision goes blind with tears, squeezing my eyes shut and gripping the bracelet in my hands like my life depended on it. Anger and pain twisted my insides, making it hard to breathe, to function.

To anything.

I heard heavy footsteps coming towards me and then I felt warmth not too far away... near, so near.

Before I could blink away to see what was happening.. strong arms were circling my shaking body in an embrace.

His arms were steel around me, keeping me in this tight hold of protection, like he would defend and kill everything for me.

My breath came out choppy and before I knew it, I was crying harder, sniffling and drenching his black uniform.

He merely places a hand behind my head and starts gently caressing it. He kept his arms around me for Goddess knows how long, embracing me and embracing me even tighter.

"I'm here. I'm always here for you."