Fated To Three, Betrayed By All… Until She Rose.-Chapter 341: I accept.

Zevran.

Caleum’s plan was unrealistic. It was brave— yes, selfless—yes. But also very unrealistic.

Because what do you mean by ’we had to make peace with Ragnar?’ The same man who was dead and gone? The same man whose head had fallen off his neck after that one strike that changed my life in a way I hated to admit.

I could still remember the day like it was the back of my hand. I could still remember the cocky smile he had on his face while I let the sword swing free.

It was my first kill.

He was my first kill.

And why had I done it? Because my father had accused me of being a weakling. A freaking scum. The night before, he had planted his hand on my shoulder, looked deep into my eyes and whispered so quietly you would think he was singing me a lullaby.

He had said; "If you weren’t one of my sons and aren’t so close to your brothers, I would’ve sent you to the gallows and forced you into a life of misery."

His words had stunned me beyond belief because I always believed myself to be the most level-headed amongst my brothers. The council believed that I was a strategist. Everyone believed that what I lacked in skill, I made up for it in knowledge.

But not my father.

He believed that I would never make a great Alpha without having blood on my hands.

He believed that I was nothing because I never visited the dungeons or tortured anyone. I was merely an observer. An enabler.

"Father, I do not understand what you mean by that!" I had said. My voice had been laced with desperation and fear. "Have I not been doing everything you’ve asked me to do?"

"You have." He spat, anger flashing in his eyes. "But if you want me to take you seriously, if you want me to treat you as one of my sons, and to accept you like I have accepted your brothers, then prove to me that you are my son. Prove to the pack and the entire world that you are a Stormborn, not some stupid weakling hiding under the shadows of his mother!"

"But..."

"Prove to me that you would survive this world if your brothers and I were dead!"

For the longest time, I was very dissociated from my family and from the responsibilities that I had been forced into by just being born into a royal family. And while Caelum and Kael— especially Caelum, had had their first kills and their first dozen kills at the age of twenty, I was twenty five and still feared killing a roach.

But that night, after hearing my father speak to me in that manner, something in me cracked open. It may have been my desperation or something else, but when I took that swing the very next day, under that scorching sun that hot afternoon, I didn’t feel joy. I didn’t even feel like I had accomplished anything.

And when my father smiled brightly at me, his dimples digging into his skin as he spread his arms wide, I only felt numb.

Like a fool.

Like a puppet.

I had scrubbed myself clean that night, hoping to wash off the blood off my hands, but no matter how hard I scrubbed, I could still see the streaks of red on my skin. I could still smell the metallic stench of blood and could still perceive the man’s fear.

—And for a very long time, I managed to get that memory out of my head.

Until tonight.

Until I saw Leilani shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Until the memory of her crying silently filled my head with her head bowed and her eyes closed... And goddess, she looked exactly like Ragnar did on the day I had killed him.

Hell, he was indeed her father.

And now... now, Caelum was talking about righting wrongs? He was talking about undoing what we had done?

How?

He turned to me and bowed slightly, and as if understanding that I didn’t share in his sentiments, he sighed. "We could surrender to the Lycans," he said hopefully. "We could tell them the truth and inform them of how we are responsible for their Alpha’s death. We could also tell them about the circumstances that led to his death and the part that we were made to play..."

"And if you think that would do the trick, then trust me, brother, you are a very big fool."

He gulped and turned away, muttering under his breath. "I know it won’t. But it’ll work when we give up one of us— me to be precise. It would work if we’re willing to die just like Ragnar. Beheaded and wrongfully accused of theft. But you do not need to worry, I will be your lamb."

—

Leilani.

I do not know or understand how, but by the time I finally woke up from my long sleep, I realized that I was in my house, in my bed, and tucked under my very new soft blankets.

My body felt stiff in ways I couldn’t understand but besides that, I couldn’t help but feel like something in the air had changed.

I was extremely exhausted but I forced myself to crawl out of my bed and got into my shower. And by the time I was done with that, I changed into clean work clothes, styled my hair into a tight ponytail and headed straight to work.

I didn’t need to have breakfast. I was long past that stage.

When I arrived at my workplace, I went straight for Jarek’s office, not mine; and as soon as I stepped in— without knocking— I slapped the folder in my hands on his table and said coldly;

"I will do it."

He froze, slowly dropped the documents in his hands and turned to look at me like I had gone mad.

"What?"

"I will go to Germany or wherever it is you have decided to send me to. I can even go to Africa if that is what you want. I am ready." I hissed, and at that, Jay froze.

I watched him quietly as he slowly rose to his feet, his eyes wide with shock and was that fear? Was that regret?

Annoyance perhaps?

He rasped; "Why?"

"Do I have to have a reason?" I sassed, sounding almost annoyed. "You wanted me to go to Germany because you could no longer stand having me around here. I also do not have anything going on for me here anymore, so I am taking the deal. I have agreed to transfer to the company overseas."

As soon as I said those words, Jarek looked like he was about to implode, but I didn’t care anymore. And for this reason, I turned and left his office, leaving him screaming out my name, but not responding.

Because Goddess, I couldn’t. I couldn’t even look at him right now."