Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.-Chapter 319: Promise…

Zevran.

"You promised me..." her soft voice rang out, echoing throughout the now ethereally quiet room. "You and your brothers promised to mark me in order to help me get better and to..."

"I know what I said, Leilani," I spat, my voice sounding too cold, "...and I still want to help you. But not like this. You’re not in the right frame of mind. You’re drunk and—"

"You think I’d invite you to my bed because I am drunk?" She hissed under her breath. Then sitting up, she added; "I am not that drunk."

But even those coldly said words were not enough to convince me. Not even her icy purple eyes that now glared at me with open hostility could soften my resolve.

Yes, maybe she was not that drunk but what about me? What about this heady feeling creeping up my head, threatening to rid me of any sane thought?

My eyes darted to my brothers and when I found the confusion mixed with worry fleeting across their gazes, I only became more worried and slightly agitated. I was however snapped out of my reverie when she scooted over, coming to sit beside me, her cold fingers brushing against my hand as she said slowly;

"I need it, Zevran. You and I know that, and I am sorry for putting you in such a tight spot for some selfish reasons but I really really need your help..."

The way her voice croaked made me realise that she was still very drunk. But besides the drunkenness, there was something else in her eyes... something akin to fear. It was so strong that I could almost taste it on my tongue. And I was about to ask her about it when she suddenly began to speak again, and confirming my suspicions, she said;

"Darius will do anything to be the one to mark me."

At the mention of his name, I felt my chest harden. I leaned back without realising until the space between us became impossibly uncomfortable.

The frown creasing her face deepened; And in that instant... in that minute, I felt this weird urge to protect her. To pull her into my arms and hug her until all of her troubles disappeared.

I knew that this was just a foolish thought so dismissing it, I turned away from her and asked; "And you don’t want him to?"

Wait... wait? Am I going crazy?

Why the fuck would I ask her something as stupid as that? Who the fuck would even want him to in the first place?

Not me though.

I shook my head quickly and stuttered; "I... I do not mean it t-that way. What I mean is—"

"Darius is crazy." She spat, and goddess, I could swear that she didn’t sound drunk when she said that. Her droopy eyes snapped open and she lifted her head up to slowly meet our gazes. "One minute, he tells me that we’re family... almost siblings. And in the next minute, he’s proposing marriage to me. How does that make any sense?"

"It doesn’t,"

"He also wants to mark me, mate with me... and wants to ascend some stupid throne with me by his side. He always talks about how powerful I am and how powerful we would be when we ruled side by side..."

"He wants to use you." The words left my mouth before I could stop it and she froze. Her eyes met mine for a second. Then more.

She shrugged. "I always suspected that." She said, and because I hadn’t expected that to be her response, I was momentarily stunned.

My throat felt tight and dry and my hands trembled slightly as I found myself leaning closer to her. So close that my skin was gently brushing against hers... so close that her scent— wild, sweet yet intoxicating— filled my nostrils.

Sparks flew where our bodies touched, and my heart, the traitorous beast, fluttered wildly in my chest when she cupped her hands on my cheeks and drawled; "Do not worry about me and do it. I beg of you."

And those words... those softly said words had Caelum and Kael shooting out of their chairs.

The looks on their faces were that of pure desire. Of untapped want. Of frustration mixed with pleasure with a tinge of jealousy. And it was the last thing I saw before I pulled away to fasten my hungry eyes on her beautiful face.

I felt a thrumming sensation grow on the tips of my canines and I knew without being told that they were elongating with the need to sink my teeth into the soft spot between her neck and shoulder.

The creamy fair skin called out to me just as her swirling stormy eyes bored into mine, unravelling me... breaking me down into tiny messy bits before her feet.

I dragged in a lungful of air and whispered; "I will..."

"Yes..."

"But first, I need to be sure that you’ve forgiven me for everything. Lani, I want to be sure that you’ve forgiven me and my brothers for being such a bitch to you. For not believing you... and for Jennifer’s case."

At the mention of that name which I now knew she held in high regard, she froze infinitesimally and I had almost begun to think that she would pull away when she shrugged; "We’ll talk about forgiveness later. For now, mark me. Help me... and then maybe, just maybe, I will be indebted to you."

I was not a con man, but hearing those words made my heart flutter.

If having her feeling indebted to me for all of eternity was the only way to keep her close, then I would gladly take it.

So I pulled her impossibly close, moaning when her heady scent filled my head and leaned down to kiss her neck. She trembled against me, letting out a soft breath when my hands found the curve of her waist.

I do not know how it happened... or how Caelum and Kael came to be with us; but one minute, they were hanging by a literal thread, their mouths watering as they watched me pull Lani flush against myself, and in the next minute, they were both behind her.

One was peppering kisses down her neck to her arms and the other was massaging slow circles into her back while kissing her.

She didn’t push them away so I didn’t complain either.

And then I sunk my teeth into her neck, feeling my blood rush to my groin when her loud high pitched scream tore into the night air..