The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
(Bk 2) Chapter 29

"So, tonight is going to be the best night of your life." Miss E said after sitting down at our table, she was still licking off some salt from her hand.

"What's happening tonight?" I asked, trying to swallow some food through the lump in my throat. My mind was still abuzz with Mister W and how he simply vanished without a word. My fingers momentarily touched my lips, remembering the phantom of his kiss. "A "Not just any party" Miss E squeals, pulling her seat closer to us.

party?"

"It's the Bachelorette Party."

"Day four is usually when people start to choose from their potentials.

. It's the time when gifts are given, proposals of

love are brought out and, you know, where everyone is preparing for the Saturday Choosing." Miss A explains, making my stomach drop as I get another reminder that I was running out of time. "The Games do these Bachelor and Bachelorette party for our last hoorah as singles.

"It's fun. The absolute best, I promise you." Miss E places her hands above her heart, looking dreamy. "The girls always get a little crazy and at night after we have all drank our weight in liquor and have eaten enough di c k pops, we get to meet with boys who are equally smashed and it's just so much fun because everyone's a little drunk and excited and handsy."

"Not the best way to meet your future mate, but most people replace their 'forever' at the end of the party." Miss A says with a yawn as she leans back in her seat.

Miss E happily agrees. "People like to profess their love when they're drunk out of their mind and slightly desperate.

I sure was slightly desperate.

With the Choosing so close, I had no one definite.

Mister F was giving all the wrong signals.

Mister O has basically confirmed that nothing would ever happen to us.

And then there is Mister W, who I am not so sure of. He said he wanted to choose me, that he wanted but hasn't really asked and he looked far too sad to say anything else.

The only constant I had at the moment was my guard, which was a little sad.

"Miss A?"

The three of us whirled around to face the voice that spoke. It was a man and he was looking shyly towards Miss A, clutching something behind his back.

"Do you think I can talk to you for a few minutes?" He asked, head bowed low, his lips wobbling with every word.

We all shared a look before Miss A nodded, the perfect attendee. It's no wonder she's been crowned three years in a row. "Of course."

Miss E and I watch as she walks away with this nice looking guy. They sit on the stone benches overlooking the lake and, though we can't hear what he's saying, we can almost imagine it with how passionate his expression was. He gives her flowers and his hand crafted gift that I couldn't quite see from where we were.

"A always gets the good ones." Miss E tells me with a smile on her face. "Last year she was the candidate almost all the boys proposed to."

I watched Miss A thank the guy, taking his gift and patting his hand comfortingly. "Let's hope she replaces the one."

"Her one is long gone." She says quietly, watching them as well. "She's only here to replace a replacement."

"What about you?" I asked, knowing this was probably her final year in the Games if she didn't extend. "Do you have a one?"

"There aren't guys like that for girls like me. I can only hope to replace someone that will love me the way I'll love him." It was the first time that her smile went away. "It's my last year and sadly, it's looking grim."

"I hear that." Grim was one way to put it. This entire week has been grim and worse.

She turns to face me, reaching over the table to squeeze my hand. "You have a long way to go. Don't be too sad about it. Unless...

I saw her look behind me and that torturous thought of my guard being an option came swimming back to my head."

Unless?"

She didn't have to answer because he did for her.

"Hi, Miss X,"

My entire body stiffens because it is not my guard who I would have been excited about.

It's...

"Mister F," I greeted, my heart pummeling even lower than it already was. "Hi,"

He fiddles with something in his pocket and I know cannot run away from him much longer. "I'm sorry for interrupting you two. I was wondering if I could speak to you, Miss X?"

It must have been my imagination, but I could hear a low growl coming from my guard.

I cleared my throat to hide the sound.

Just in case, it wasn't my imagination.

The last thing I needed was for the Organizers to replace him for meddling too much.

Sharing a look with Miss E, I downed my glass of mimosa

- Goddess knows I needed courage to get through this.

I hate disappointing people.

And though Mister F creeped me out, I still hope to avoid disappointing him.

With a smile that was surprisingly genuine, I nodded my head and got up from my seat. "Sure, Mister F."

Together, we walked in silence with only the sound of my guard's heavy booted feet echoing around us. He didn't have to be so noisy, but he was doing it on purpose.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't irritate Mister F as much as he would have hoped

For Mister F was distractedly taking us to the lake, his attention on his hands.

A few of the attendees were swimming around the lake, splashing each other while boats followed them carrying more food and drink.

I leaned against a tree, watching all this while Mister F crouched down to touch the water.

My eyes automatically found my guard. He had his arms crossed over his chest, glowering at us from under the shadows of a tree. He was beside another guard - Mister F's, who was trying to talk him down from something but my guard didn't respond, continuing to

stare at me.

He looked ready to shift.

A lace fan was suddenly thrust up my face, making me press against the tree.

"Miss X, please accept this token of my love for you." Mister F was on his knees, his big eyes on mine. And I can see, in some messed up way, how much he thinks he means his words. "I can provide for you, care for you and protect you. I will keep you safe and warm and loved. You will want for nothing when you become my mate... if you leave with me and with me alone."

My throat closes with every word he says.

I know that the attendees at the Games would feel lucky to get a proposal, any proposal... but why didn't I feel happy?

Even when I literally had no one,

I still didn't feel lucky to be

chosen by someone.

He took my hand and pulled it to rest on his chest, which I could feel was beating rapidly through his shirt. "I know you do not feel the same way and that it's only your first year, but I think you'll learn to love me in time."

I swallowed

It was now or never.

"I won't." I replace myself saying, pulling my hand away from him and standing up straight. "Mister F, I am truly sorry. I think you're an amazing man and I do not doubt that one day you will make someone very happy. It's just that I do not feel the same and I know even with time that I will never feel the same way about you. It has nothing to do with anything else except that my heart does not want you.

And in these Games, it's all about following the heart. I intend to do so."

"You haven't even given me a chance." He argued, tight lipped and shaking. "You've rejected me at every turn, avoided me like I was some plague."

I saw how his eyes watered and something inside me wanted to take it all back, but I steeled myself. "I'm sorry, but my decision won't change."

He took a step towards me, coming a little close for comfort. "Those guys will only break your heart. You know that, don't you? Everyone can see how much you hope for them, how you pray they'll come to you."

I pressed further into the tree to put distance between us."

If my heart does break, it'll be my choice, Mister F. And because it is my choice, I can live with that."

"You're making a big mistake!" He pointed at me, his finger nearly at my forehead.

"You are so blinded by these men

who do not care about you. I could do so much more for you than others ever could. I can be what you need without you begging for it."

I felt the air turn thick and cold, the hairs on the nape of my neck rising, which usually meant there was a werewolf shifting nearby.

It was my guard.

The feeling was coming from him.

Finally, the last of my patience snaps.

Instead of getting angry, which I was, I felt my lips pull into a smile as I walked into Mister F's space. This startles him, nearly toppling him over, but I continue until I'm inches away from his face. "You're the one that's going to beg if you don't get out of here right now." He sees the sudden change in me, the way my body has become hauntingly tense, ready to attack if need be.

It was so unlike what he was used to with me.

But I have been kind long enough.

I have done what I could

"M-Miss X," He tried, but I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to continue.

He takes a step back, followed by another and I can tell he is waiting for me to call him, to apologize, but I don't. I never would. At least, not anymore.

I don't take my eyes away from him until hes running away, heading back to the mansion with his tail tucked between his legs.

When he is gone and completely out of sight, I feel my knees give from under me. I press my back against a tree and let myself slump to the roots, the feeling of hopelessness settling.

My guard chose this time to stand over me with his arms behind his back. He was still shaking slightly - fighting off the shift that no doubt wanted to take over his body, "That boy can't protect you. He doesn't even look like he can protect himself."

I didn't say it out loud but, on some level, I had to agree with him. So instead of voicing this out, I continued to look up at my guard.

He had that protective and dare I say... possessive look about him again.

It did something to me.

"And you did not beg." He adds with a vengeance. "Don't listen to a word he says. He can barely walk on his own, let alone provide and be what he thinks you need."

Despite how wrecked I felt inside, a laugh left my lips. "You truly have a lot to say about these men who could potentially be my mate."

He scoffs, razor sharp eyes looking away. "Guards do not meddle with attendees and their poor choices."

1 pout my lips. "Harsh but we both know you like to meddle.

We're way past that."

He didn't argue with this, as his eyes were on my lips and they grew darker by the second. "He was never a potential."

Unable to hold his gaze, I quickly looked away and focused on the water. "I'm glad that my future mate is a group discussion for you."

"Look at the positives." He says, mirroring my words from before.

"And what would that be?" I humored him, smiling.

"Me." He tells me without missing a beat, remembering our conversation almost word per word. "Where would you be without your grumpy and demanding guard?"

"Happier, I would assume." I teased, making him growl at me playfully.

I was about to say more when I caught sight of Mister W not too far away. He was against a tree as well, looking at the water. A girl was in front of him, clutching her gift in her hands as she no doubt professed her love for him. But he wasn't paying attention.

His eyes focused everywhere but on her.

She was talking, asking a question by the expression on her face, but Mister W didn't respond

Seconds passed and the girl started blinking tears away from her eyes until she was bawling. With a hiccup, she turns away from him, her gift ruined as she held it so tightly.

He does not watch her go, still barely acknowledging that he was with someone in the first place.

As if sensing me looking, he glanced in my direction.

Despite yet another girl trying to get his attention, he abandons her to approach me

But just before he could come close enough to speak, a man with a smile as wide as the lake steps between us.

The man went right into introductions, cutting off Mister W completely. "Hello, Miss X. I heard that you and Mister O are no longer together. With him choosing another girl, you know." My heart stopped beating.

"Before the rest of the animal-like men come over to stake their claim on you, I wanted to present myself."

But I couldn't even hear the rest of the words he said or how he forced gift after gift into my hands. My thoughts were on O and this girl he was apparently choosing.

Because... when he said he didn't want me, a silly part of me simply believed he didn't want anyone.

And now he was choosing someone.

And it wasn't me.

And as much as I tell myself that it didn't hurt, it did.

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