Chosen By My Mate's Father-in-law-Chapter 78: Live a Little

[Jasmine’s POV]

I almost spit out my food and blinked in shock at Isabella. Out of all the things she could have said to me, that hadn’t ever crossed my mind. I had been preparing to answer her questions about Elliot being my fated mate without disobeying Gareth’s orders.

But Isabella hadn’t asked if we were mates. She asked if I was sleeping with Elliot. And I could honestly give the answer that she so desperately wanted to hear. Because Elliot and I never slept together. Not even when we were dating. We never took that final step before Elliot broke up with me to pursue Isabella.

"No, of course not," I replied with conviction.

Isabella’s body relaxed, but there was still a trace of suspicion in her eyes.

I waited for a moment, and when she didn’t say anything else, I leaned toward her.

"Why would you ask me such a strange question? I would never do anything like that to you, Isabella. I consider you a good friend."

Isabella sighed. "I’ve noticed the way that Elliot’s eyes follow you whenever you’re in the same room. When Axel and you were having dinner at the same restaurant as us, he didn’t pay attention to me the whole night because he was too busy staring at you."

That idiot.

So, that must be what Elliot and Isabella had been fighting about.

They’d been arguing about me.

"I’ve been wondering," Isabella continued. "If you guys were having an affair behind my back." Her lower lip trembled.

I laid a reassuring hand on hers, hating to see her so upset. "I swear to the Moon Goddess that we aren’t having an affair." I couldn’t ignore the fact that if Elliot had it his way, we would be sleeping together right now. "Elliot and I grew up in the same pack. That’s how we know each other."

I choose my words carefully, not wanting to blatantly lie to her.

Isabella’s eyes widened as she processed what I said.

"Why wouldn’t he tell me that? We’re engaged! He’s supposed to tell me everything."

I rushed to comfort her. "We didn’t know each other that well. Back then, my wolf was weak, so a lot of people my age didn’t want to hang around me, especially Elliot, with his high status." I looked directly into Isabella’s eyes. "I do not have any romantic feelings for Elliot. At all," I stated truthfully.

My wolf howled in protest at my words, but I told her to be quiet.

"Why would Elliot even give me a second glance when he has the honor of marrying you?" I continued. "Besides, if he is dumb enough to step out of your marriage, your father won’t hesitate to kill him." The image of Gareth choking Elliot against the cement wall popped into my mind. "And I wouldn’t hesitate to spit on his dead body for deceiving you."

Isabella seemed to fully relax now, and there wasn’t even a hint of suspicion in her expression.

"I’m sorry for suspecting you, Jasmine. Even though I’ve only known you for a short time, you’ve been such a good friend to me." She took my hand and squeezed it, smiling at me from across the table.

My stomach stiffened with guilt. I wasn’t telling Isabella the whole truth. But how could I without breaking my promise to Gareth? I was stuck having to lie to this sweet woman who had been the one to hire me as Michelle’s tutor and just stood up for me in a store full of people.

"And you shouldn’t sell yourself short." Isabella picked up her fork and dug into her chicken. "You have my cousin wrapped around your finger. Who knows? Maybe you and I could end up being related by marriage one day."

My pulse slowed since the worst of our conversation seemed to be over. For the rest of our meal, we talked about Michelle’s tutoring and giggled as we recalled Margaret’s face when she found out that Isabella was the Lycan King’s daughter.

As we finished our delicious crème brûlée, Isabella looked up at me with a mischievous expression.

"Do you want to sneak out?" she whispered.

For a moment, I didn’t understand what she was saying. But when she nodded at the closest guard to us about twenty feet away, I realized that she wanted to ditch her security team.

"I don’t think we should," I replied hesitantly. "Your father is pretty adamant about your safety. I wouldn’t want anything to happen."

But Isabella jutted out her lower lip. "Please, Jasmine. Aren’t I entitled to just a little bit of fun? I never get any freedom. I just want to live a little for once."

My resistance wavered as I looked into her pleading eyes. I glanced at the guard by the door, wondering if we could actually get away with something like this.

"Okay, I’m in," I murmured, an excited thrill shooting down my spine. "But we have to be fast."

Isabella told the server to put dinner on her tab, and when her guard looked away for a moment, we stood from the table and ran out of the back of the restaurant. The entire time that we were sprinting away, I thought this couldn’t possibly work. How could we escape from professionally trained guards?

Isabella burst through the door, and I was right at her heels. The sun was just dipping below the clouds as we ran through the empty alleyway behind the restaurant. Our feet pounded on the concrete as we ran onto the sidewalk.

Isabella paused and whipped her head around, searching for her guards. But they were nowhere in sight.

"Yes! We lost them!" Isabella cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

We looked at each other and immediately burst out laughing at our recklessness. My heart was slamming against my chest, but I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face as I noticed the joy in Isabella’s eyes.

"I can’t believe that worked!" she said as we walked quickly down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the restaurant.

"Isabella, I think we should go back soon. Once the guards know that you’re missing, they will notify your father and send a search party out. The situation could become serious very quickly."

"Oh, please, Jasmine," she replied, skipping down the sidewalk. "Just a little bit longer? I never get the chance just to walk around without men in suits following my every move and reporting back to my father."

Her pleading expression pulled at my heartstrings. She really did need some time away from the pressures that came with her title.

"Alright, fine. But just a little while longer," I agreed.

"Yes!" She threw a friendly arm around me, and we started to walk again. "Can we hang out more, just you and me? You’re so fun to be around."

I smiled at her compliment and nodded.

Her grin became so bright that it almost blinded me. How could someone not like her? Maybe Elliot did have some real feelings for Isabella. I was certain that he was using her to gain power, but a part of him must love her. She was easy to love. Hopefully, he could get his act together soon and treat her how she deserved to be treated.

We strolled down the empty sidewalk. There weren’t many people or businesses in this area. The hair on my arms raised, and the back of my neck heated.

Someone was watching us.

When I looked behind us, I noticed a dark van that seemed to be following us.

My stomach swooped, and my blood ran cold. I reached for Isabella’s hand and tugged her.

"Run!" I screamed.

But the van sped up and swerved right onto the sidewalk in front of us. The door burst open, and a group of trained warriors wearing black masks surrounded us. Their powerful scent hit me, making my stomach churn, and I gagged.

"No!" I shouted, jumping in front of Isabella to protect her.

One of the warriors came at me, and I reared back, punching him in the face. His head whipped to the side, and blood sprayed from his mouth.

Two more warriors ran toward me, and I managed to elbow one in the face. I heard a sickening crunch, and I was pretty sure I broke his nose.

But then, all of them converged on me at once, and I had no hope of fighting them all off.

One of them grabbed me around the waist. I tried to struggle out of their strong grip and shift into my wolf form, but it was no use.

"Isabella!" I screamed as one of them took out a syringe and jammed it into her neck. She fell against one of our captors, unconscious. "No!"

But another syringe was produced, and there was a hot pain on the side of my neck, and I immediately became dizzy. I tried to fight off the blackness, but it was like trying to fight death itself.

Then, I knew no more.

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦