The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
(Bk 2) Chapter 45

I stared at this woman, this beautiful and stunning woman with her thick black hair and beautiful amber eyes. She could have anyone she wanted... anyone at all. But she didn't want them.

She wanted someone else.

Someone that didn't see her that way because he was occupied with me.

And if I thought she would be another Miss E- Emily, I am proven wrong by how she smiles at me with this level of respect that I didn't deserve.

"I have loved him my entire life." She confesses almost shyly, laughing a little at herself. "I loved him the moment I first met him when he visited us in the mountains. He was this older, gorgeous looking guy that was nice to me but was almost always unreachable. He was kind and he was funny and he was smarter than everyone in the room. He always dressed fashionably and carried himself like he could buy the ground I was standing on."

My breath catches because I realize... she has already told me this.

She told me this on our first day.

And I hate how I didn't know she was describing Otto all this lime

"And I know he doesn't want me." She says this without anger, without jealousy. She says this like it was a fact that she had accepted long ago. "He wants you. He loves you... he has always loved you. I know this because he told me so and that's okay." I shook my head, ready to say something

Anything

But she stops me. "I can't blame him. You are incredible, X.

When I first saw you at the Games, I knew who you were instantly. You were exactly how he described you. Beautiful beyond words. Like sunshine. Like a shot of expresso to the heart. Eyes so blue it was like staring at the sky in spring. I had hoped you would be someone I could easily hate but you only proved to me why he loves you."

"Oh, A," I couldn't help it anymore. I grabbed her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry!"

She sniffled and shook, returning my hug without hesitation. "I swear to you that I didn't do anything with him in the Games. I didn't even speak to him, let alone attempt to be close to him. I respected our friendship and didn't try anything because I know you love him too."

"I don't doubt you at all." I assured her, not even thinking or considering that. Because she has always been honest and true. ⚫

"When you told me that it was complicated and it didn't work out... 'm sorry but I did hope a little. I know it's foolish because his life is so short, but I thought about it, you know. Maybe, just maybe, he'll have room for me. And I'm so sorry, X," She admits with such shame in her beautiful face. "But I thought about how I could wait for him for however long it takes and stay by him even if he only has a week or a day left in this world."

"I think that's really beautiful, A. You have to know that Otto isn't mine. He was never mine. You shouldn't feel sorry about what you feel about him, especially with how pure your intentions are." I tried to explain, I tried to word everything to encourage her and to make her feel better but I was failing at it. "Thank you for even keeping me in mind, but if you want him, if you love him, there's still a chance.

There's still time. And if there's anyone that I would be happy to see Otto with, it would be you."

It was true.

I thought I would feel differently about it. That I would be sad or jealous or maybe even scared, but the truth is, I want Otto to have his happiness even if it's with another.

And if it was with Adelle, someone kind and strong and beautiful, I would even be happier for him because they would be great together.

Because if there's anyone that deserves Adelle, it would be him and vice versa.

"Even if a miracle happens and he decides to give me a chance, we've been banned from the Games." She says in this tortured laugh. "We revealed our identities and my mother is fair or at least she tried to be, so we had to be punished." "Why wait for the Games?" I urged, thinking about my parents and how they made it work despite everything."

There's nothing stopping you. I swear to give my support, to silence anyone that challenges your claim or whatever they wish to take from you if you decide to be with him."

She wipes at her ears, blinking up at me. "You know... I truly get it."

"Get what?" I asked, confused

་་།

I get why he loves you and cherishes you above everyone else" She tells me, smiling through the tears that fell from her eyes. "I get it. And I'm lucky that I can call you my sister now."

I start blinking as well until my own tears start falling

"Hurry and wipe your tears." She mumbles, her eyes still watering as she tries to wipe my cheeks.

"My brother will

think I made you cry or something."

A shadow loomed over us and sure enough she was right.

"Did you make my mate cry, Adelle?" Tedros questioned, slipping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against him.

"No," We both said at the same time.

The brother and sister both playfully scowled at each other and Adelle was about to unleash the foul language she was keeping when a softer tone called for me. "Jewel,"

It was Otto.

"Walk with me?" He asked

The arm around me drops and Tedros nods his head towards Otto. "Take your time. I'll see you in our room."

Otto started to walk towards the lake, waiting for me by the trail lit by candles. It was dark now, late into the afternoon, making the light come alive in all directions.

tiptoed, pressing a kiss on the side of Tedros' face before I followed after my Beta.

Side by side, we walked in silence with only the sounds of the hooting owls and the crickets surrounding us. We don't touch, we don't even look at each other, but it was a comfortable silence, the kind that I can only ever have with someone I know better than myself.

Just as we make it to where the singles are having their dinner, Otto heads to the other direction, where we had the first Games.

It doesn't feel like it was just yesterday. It feels like a lifetime ago.

We stop right as we make it to the water, his eyes on the stars.

"He's perfect for you. The right man." He finally says, breaking the silence. "I always tried to picture what he would look like- the man you would choose and I guess, begrudgingly, I am not disappointed. I believe he will love you, protect you and be with you more fiercely than I ever could and that's all I ever wanted. Does he make you happy?"

It must be the tears from A, but I felt more of them prickle the corners of my eyes. "He does"

In truth, I do not know how to feel about my situation with Olo

I am lost like the little girl that just found out I was losing my future Beta, the one I secretly loved to an incurable disease.

But it wasn't just that

There was more than just some love we were about to lose.

We were a team. We were each other's strength. Through his sickness that had him bedridden for days and weeks sometimes, through the people that thought I was an illegitimate child due to the circumstances of my birth, we had each other. Always.

He fought for me as hard as I fought for him.

It wasn't just about losing him romantically.

Because I love Tedros and I do not regret choosing him over Otto, which is painful to even admit.

What hurts the most and what was literally tearing me apart, is that I was leaving him, alone. With no one.

That he was happy to be alone as long as I wasn't.

"You know what you mean to me." He says in the quiet of the night. "How much I would... how much I would sacrifice it all for you. I hope you understand why it didn't end the way we planned. And Ihope this does not ruin us."

Even now, when I should be the one that was supposed to make sure he was okay.

he worries about me.

Because that's the kind of man he is.

Unsellish.

A heart of gold.

I knew that I would always love him. Maybe not the way I did before, but I will love him even when the time comes and he permanently leaves me.

"I don't want us to lose everything." He flinches as he tells me this. "Because I care about you, and I love you, and it's not just because I have loved you all my life, but it's because I want to be the man I swore to be for you. Your Beta. Your champion. I admire you, Jewel. I have always admired you. You have worked hard and you have always made your father and the pack proud. I want to be a part of your life in whatever way I can be, for as long as I can. I want to help you with the pack and support you as you transition to become the next Alpha. I want to be what my father was to yours. I will not get in the way between you and Tedros. I simply... I simply..."

His voice c ra c ke d. Once. Twice.

And it took all of me not to stop him, to tell him it was okay and that I understood.

But he needed to say this.

He needed to reaffirm and swear himself to me again even if he didn't need to.

"1. want us to try and be like before. Not strangers like we said in the Games. And not enemies who want to be as far away from each other as possible."

Not lovers. He didn't say it but I know he wanted to. But friends.

"But us."

Choked up and barely breathing, I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around him. Too emotional to say anything yet, I hope he will take my embrace for what it was. A thank you and a good bye and ... a quiet- almost painful, I love you. Words wouldn't have done my emotions justice but I find myself trying to find the right words anyway. "I love you and I am so lucky to have you in my life. And I know you need to hear this; my parents and most especially your. parents are so proud of you and what you have done for us all. Your mom and dad raised a good man, the best man."

He takes my face between his hands, staring into my eyes, into my soul. He doesn't do anything else. He doesn't pull me closer. He doesn't tell me to stop all of this and just be with him.

He does none of that.

He was too good to me to be that man.

Instead, he nods and blinks away the tears that fell from his face.

"You're going to be an amazing Alpha, Jewel, and I know with him by your side, all will be well. I can rest peacefully ow"