The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
(Bk 2) Chapter 15

I didn't even think.

Quickly, I jumped into the lake and swam to get all my things. Someone had thrown these out here.

For all the things in the lake were mine and no one elses.

Everything was here. Absolutely everything.

My golden wreath. My mask. My shoes.

The countless expensive things that my Alpha spent his hard earned money on just so we could look our best were all ruined in the lake.

It didn't make any sense.

Who would do this?

My bedsheets were even here and my pillows. My luggage.

I didn't understand how this could happen.

I swam to get everything, and again swam to shore to pile all of it there before diving back in to gather more.

My arms struggled with a gown that weighed more than me when drenched in water and I pulled and pulled and pulled trying to get it to shore, but it was heavy and the gems on it seemed to break with every tug I did. That is until I hear a splash of water and someone swimming towards me.

I prayed it was just my imagination and no one saw me, but as the water rippled and stopped before someone broke through the surface of the water right beside me, I knew my prayers weren't answered

It only brought even more dread when I saw Mister W and his sad eyes staring at me. He was still in his clothes, having jumped into the water with them.

We stared at each other for a while.

My lips parted, trying to think of an explanation.

But apparently, I didn't need one for now as he took the heavy dress from my hands and carried it to shore.

He helped me do this wordlessly a few more times until everything, at least from what I could see, was already saved.

I stared at my things and felt something in me break a little.

All my dresses, everything I owned was dripping wet, some torn and most were missing pieces here and there.

My mind still couldn't wrap itself around what happened.

Suddenly, the man beside me speaks and it makes me jump. "Who did this?"

My blood pressure did a funny thing in my chest and I laughed, a loud broken sound, that made me want to dig myself a hole. "It was me, I accidentally dropped it."

"It?" He says without any kind of emotion on his face. "You dropped your entire room in the lake by yourself?"

I swallowed, the lies making me sweat. Always the terrible liar. It wasn't even the believable kind of lie.

"Yes. Why?"

He only shakes his head. "Hmmm... you're not a very good liar, Miss X. Has anyone told you that?"

"No, really." I continued to dig myself further into the ground. "I dropped my things."

"Is someone bothering you?" He asked, towering over me.

"You're bothering me." I told him, trying to change the subject.

He lifts an eyebrow and Goddess he's so gorgeous.

Incredibly gorgeous.

"I know what you're doing."

"Aren't you supposed to be angry at me?" I said in an attempt to change the subject again.

This time, he bites. "Why would I be angry at you?" I wanted to know the answer anyway. Him letting the conversation go was just a bonus. "You left me remember? Walked away and never came back?"

Mister W knew exactly what I meant and he turned somber.

"That wasn't because of you. I wasn't having the best time.

"You don't look like you're having the best time. Period." I observed, watching his expression closely.

He doesn't laugh but his sad eyes seem to lessen. Only a little bit. "It seems we both aren't."

I blew out a breath, staring at my stuff. "Yes. Apparently so.

"I went back for you." He says out of the blue, his eyes towards the mansion.

I squinted up at him, the sun in my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Last night." He scratched the back of his head. "After I left, I realized that I was wrong about leaving without an explanation and I went back but you were with someone else." "Oh." I didn't know what to say, though my heart did a little flip.

He was quiet for a moment before looking at me once more. "I'm sorry for leaving."

I smiled at him, giving him a small nod to show that I accepted his apology. And just because we were being honest now; "I didn't accidentally drop my things and I don't know who did it."

He nods at me as well, knowing this already, and reaches for my hand, touching my knuckles softly. "Are you okay?"

"I am." I assured him, giving a cringy thumbs up with a big smile with my teeth out. "I'm just... I'm just surprised that this happened."

He opened his mouth to respond but stopped as his eyes flickered at something behind me

I turned to check what he saw and almost laughed pitifully to myself when it was my guard. "Oh, hi."

My guard didn't bother to hide the look of surprise on his face and the look of rage that came after that. His eyes were wide as he glanced between my wet selt and my stuff that we fished out from the lake. "Would you believe me if I told you I was giving my things a wash?" I joked, forcing a smile.

But my guard's frown was deep and d a mn a ble. The anger of five thousand men seemed to burn through his gaze and all I could do was watch helplessly.

I think he might curse or rip a tree out of the ground or something along those lines.

But instead, my guard took a step back, his face looking like it was made of bulletproof material. "I will take care of this. You need not worry."

Why did his words sound like a promise to kill? Or maybe because it was.

He was ready to kill.

"We're late for something, aren't we?" Mister W says, breaking the stare down between my guard and I by pointing to the mansion.

I blanked, not really knowing what he was talking about." Huh? What do you mean? Late for what- oh!" The arts and crafts thing I had with the other attendees.

No wonder my guard came to replace me. It has already started.

I looked down at my dress, how it was still dripping in lake water and how my hair needed a good wringing. The rest of my things were still wet as well. There was no way I could change-

"I's just a random class." Mister W tells me, understanding my predicament. "We don't need to get dressed for it. Let's go together."

It wasn't a question, but I answered it anyway. "Okay." He nods, those sad eyes waiting for me. It was hard to imagine what could make such a man carry that kind of emotion.

Was it true that he loved someone before?

Is that what made him this way?

"You go ahead. 'Ill follow." I rushed out, glancing back at my guard who hadn't moved an inch from where he stood.

My guard waits until Mister W disappears from sight before speaking. "I don't like him."

A laugh leaves my lips at how frank and straight forward he was. Gone were the times he would simply glower at me. "You don't like anyone."

His eyes glanced from me to where Mister W went. He didn't look impressed.

"Be careful around him. One i di ot

already broke your trust, you don't need two of them to do that."

"I thought guards weren't supposed to meddle." I lifted an eyebrow in challenge, happy to tease and use his words against him.

My guard turned unnaturally still, blinking before shooting me a glare.

"We're not."

"Then?" I pushed, fighting a smile from my lips. Quietly, I thought about what he was thinking, how that mind of his worked. "You're meddling right now, you know. Anyway, you're scary enough that no one would dare do anything to me." He stared at me with a look that made thousands of knots twist in my stomach. "Just watch yourself around him."

It was a quiet warning.

He knew something I didn't.

Something I might not want to know about Mister W.

"Okay," I said, mostly just to appease him because it wasn't like Mister W and I were anything. Instead, I focus on what did affect me, which was the ruined things fished out of the lake. "I'm sorry about all this. I truly don't know what happened." "This wasn't your fault." My guard quickly assured me. "It wasn't supposed to happen to begin with, but I will handle it. Don't worry about your things either. I'll have replacements sent to your room immediately."

I watched my guard as he looked at me, really looked at me, and I wondered... I wondered who this man assigned to me was.

"Are you one of those successful mated attendees?" I asked, coming to step closer to look at him from under his cap.

The shadows yet again gave me very little to see.

But there he was, handsome and strong.

He didn't look old like the other guards, but he did look old enough to have finished his five years in the Games.

Who was he?

Did he live far?

Did he have a mate at home?

He furrowed his eyebrows at my actions but didn't move away from me. "No."

"No?" I whispered, looking at my guard as if I was trying to memorize all of him. "What do you mean no?"

"I went to the Games and didn't choose." He answers, his eyes looking like they had glazed over for a moment, lost in some memory before refocusing.

I tiptoed to get even closer to him, to his handsome face that gave nothing away. We were inches apart and the closeness made this tiny jolt of electricity shoot up my spine. "But why? No one was good enough for you?" Somehow...

I couldn't believe that this handsome man was unmated.

He doesn't answer the question. At least not in the way that I wanted him to. "The Games wasn't for me like it is for you."

"Then why are you here now?" I was so nosey, giving question after question. I don't even know why he was entertaining my blabbering at that point.

But he does and I don't think he normally does this. "My punishment. A joke of some sort. I didn't want to be here so they thought it would be funny that I came back to the place hated and guarded the attendees." "You have to appreciate the humor." I mused, replaceing his punishment hilarious.

He did not seem to share my feelings. "Hm."

"There are positives to this." I continued, almost face to face with him, our noses nearly touching.

He still didn't take a step back, meeting my stare head on." And what would that be?"

"Me." I wiggled around like a puppy getting rid of the water from her fur or, in this case, my hair and my dress. "Where would you be without your little ball of sunshine?"

"You're a ball of headache, not sunshine." He finally breaks away, taking two, five steps away, to look at his watch." And you're late."

I let out a squeak before turning away, running to the direction of the mansion.

"I'm sorry again! Ill see you

later!"

My guard said something that I didn't catch but I did see him wave a little before trees covered my view of him.

I caught up with Mister Wright as he was about to enter the mansion. "Hey,"

He turned, waiting for me to make it by his side before continuing to walk. He didn't have shoes like I didn't have shoes, having lost them one way or another in the lake. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

Our toes were out on the perfect marble floors of the mansion and I couldn't help but laugh. "And miss walking on the unbelievably expensive carpet with my shoeless feet? No way."

And then just like that.

For the first time, Mister W smiled.

It was the smallest of smiles, but a smile nonetheless with his beautiful eyes bright, the sadness gone.

At least for a short time.

Because as we walked through that door smiling at each other with all the attendees gathered around already waiting for the activity to start, they watched us with wide eyes and, though some were intrigued, the rest weren't.