Twisted Loves

Chapter 10

Xander POV

    I quickly rushed to Nikki as Kade caught her when she fainted. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I needed to know she was okay. When I reached her, Kade handed her to me, and the tingles that exploded everywhere let me know she was okay. I cradled her against my chest as Josh walked over to us. He reached for her, but then pulled back, realizing she wasn’t just his responsibility anymore.

    “Alpha Xander, please, follow me. We should get her to the pack hospital. It was probably just stress from everything, but I want to be sure,” he said as I stood to follow him.

    “Why take him? I’m your best friend and her mate, I should be the one doing this!” Drake screamed at Josh. I was about to snap at him, but Josh beat me to it.

    “Drake, f**k off! You caused all of this bullshit to happen, so stay out of this. You rejected her. Now let us take care of her,” he said as he spun on his heels and led me to the hospital.

    When we arrived, the nurse motioned for us to enter a private room, and within minutes the doctor arrived.

    “Alphas, I’ve been linked and given the details. Please place her on the bed so I can examine her,” a friendly doctor stated as she entered. I did as she said, and backed up a few steps. I didn’t want to let go, but I knew the doctor needed room to work. Josh stood next to me as we watched her work. “She’s fine, gentlemen. Seems all the stress of everything has caused her to faint. I’m going to have an IV hooked up, because she seems dehydrated, but other than that, I think she just needs some rest. Her blood pressure clearly skyrocketed, and she needs to stay here until she’s back to her normal self.” As she said this, a nurse entered with a machine and hooked up her IV to keep her hydrated. They left without a word, leaving us to ourselves.

    I took a seat by her bed, and Josh took one on the other side. After a few moments of watching Nikki, I took the chance to really look at her brother. This was the first time it was just the two of us, and I saw a different person sitting next to her. It wasn’t the perfectly trained future alpha, but rather a concerned and almost broken man, trying to keep his head up for his sister. He didn’t care that his chocolate brown hair was tousled a little, or that his eyes were glossed over with unshed tears. I took this chance to get to know him a bit better.

    “Well, it looks like maybe we can get to know each other a bit better now,” I said to him, hoping to distract him a little bit as well.

    He closed his eyes then slowly turned to face me, and when he opened his eyes again, I saw the pain, worry, and unshed tears were gone. “I guess you’re right. So, I’ll start this off. What are you planning to do? I can’t have my sister hurt anymore,” he replied, whispering the last part, trying to hide his pain.

    “I love your sister. I always will. Drake was a moron for rejecting this precious gift, and I’ll be damned if I give up on her or let him take her away. She is my Luna, my other half, my perfect partner. Nothing will change that.”

    “What if she has two mates?”

    I froze. Two mates? How is that possible? What is he getting at? I was getting angry, because it seemed he wanted Drake and her to be mated together. I didn’t even realize I was growling until Kade entered and stood in front of me, pushing me back a minute.

    “Alpha Xander, I didn’t mean to upset you. It was an honest question. Before you begin to think I’m against you, it has nothing to do with Drake. I want him as far away from her as possible,” Josh quickly added, making sure to put emphasis on his negative feelings towards Drake.

    “Xan, go cool off, man. If she wakes up and sees you like this, who knows if it’ll end well. She needs the soft little puppy dog you’ve become, not some rage filled angry asshat,” Kade tried to reason with me. He’s the only one that I’ll ever let talk to me that way, and he knows it.

    I glare at him before realizing he’s right. I nod my head and walk over to the bedside, lean down, and place a kiss on her forehead before turning to leave. “Kade, stay with her until I’m back. I’m going to take a cool shower to calm down. Got it?”

    “You got it, boss.”

Kaden POV

    When Xander left, I had a weird feeling. Something happened before I came by, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know. I looked at Josh, raising my eyebrow at him. He shrugged and turned to sit next to his sister. I sat on the other side of her bed in the chair Xander previously occupied. I wanted to hold her hand, touch her face as I brushed her hair away, something. Anything. I know she accepted Xander as her mate, so I can’t. I won’t do that to him or her.

    “You know, you’re going to have to talk to them about it eventually,” Josh broke the silence, making me snap my head towards him. He rolled his eyes and quickly grabbed then tossed Nik’s hand off the bed in my direction.

    I quickly caught her hand and gently positioned her arm back on the bed, holding her hand in mine this time, not letting go. I didn’t even realize I was smiling until I heard Josh laughing at me.

    “What?!” I snapped at him, then quickly lowered my voice, realizing I didn’t want to wake Nik. “What’s so funny?”

    “You are. She tells me everything. I know you and Nik are mates as well as her and Xander. So unless you plan on making her miserable for the rest of her life, I suggest you talk to her about it as soon as possible. Unless you don’t feel a bond towards her and you’re just toying with her.”

    “EXCUSE YOU? I WOULD NEVER TOY WITH HER! I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HER! SHE’S MY PRINCESS, REGARDLESS OF IF SHE ACCEPTS OR REJECTS ME! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE HER!” I had stood up and screamed at him, forgetting where I was and what was happening.

    “Kade..? You… it’s not… we’re... “ Nik tried to say, but she was still so weak from everything happening. I quickly calmed down and stood closer to her, taking her hand in mine and gently cupped her cheek with my free hand.

    “Shh, princess. It’s okay. I’m sorry I woke you, just relax. I’ll get you some water, and see about getting some food brought in. What else-” I started to rattle off, but she quickly cut me off.

    “Ew, do not give me water. I hate that s**t. So bland. I’ll be fine with just a Mt. Dew,” she said hoarsely.

    I quickly ran to the fridge in the room to see if there was any, and when I found it stocked with Dew, I grabbed a bottle, opened it and helped her drink from it. Once she was finished, I closed the bottle, sat it on the table and smiled down at her. She looked so strong, even when she was exhausted. Her eyes held so much care, love, and concern, even when she was too tired to hold herself up.

    “Kade… we need to talk,” she finally said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I nodded and sat down in the chair next to her. I knew what was coming. She was going to reject me, and I would accept it to make sure she was happy with Xander and didn’t have to deal with me.

    “Whatever you want princ-Nik,” I replied, correcting myself. After this rejection, I couldn’t call her princess anymore. It wouldn’t be right or fair to her.

    “First off, call me whatever you want to. It doesn’t bother me. I heard everything between you and Joshy. Any who, we need to talk about this bond between the two of us, since clearly we both have strong feelings and an interesting mate pull between the two of us. Once we’ve discussed things, then we need to discuss this with Xander as well,” she firmly stated, a hint of guilt peaking it’s way through her eyes.

    “Nik, you are my Luna, and Xander is my Alpha, as well as my best friend. I will do whatever you two want me to do. I understand you need to reject me, and I will accept that. You two deserve each other, and the happiness between the two of you I will not ruin that. I don’t need any more explanation or anything like that, so if you will just go through with rejecting me, then it will be done.” As I made eye contact with her through the whole thing, she never once broke it. I did see a little confusion and sorrow in her features, but she never interrupted me, so I thought she was a little relieved that I cut to the chase.

    “If that’s what you want, then reject me, and I will accept it,” she nonchalantly stated.

    To say I was shocked is an understatement. She wasn’t making any sense. Why would I reject someone as perfect as her, unless she didn’t want me first? I was frozen in place, and my face showed my confusion, and I kept opening and closing my mouth like a fish, not able to put my thoughts into words.

    I finally got the courage to speak. “Alright, if that’s how you want this to go, I guess I won’t fight you on it. I, Kaden Black of the Sapphire Moon Pack, reject you-”

    “KADEN!” she screamed at me, making me flinch a bit. I didn’t understand why she was so mad. She told me to do this. “I said if it’s what YOU want. I don’t want to reject you, but I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to reject me. Kaden, this may be a f****d up situation, but Sapphire and I both recognize you as our mate as much as Xander. So we need to talk, so we can figure out what we want and feel. So unless you don’t feel for me and want me, then don’t you dare finish that statement.”

    I didn’t know what to say. She was saying everything I wanted to hear, but it was still difficult considering that Xander’s my best friend. I couldn’t betray him. I couldn’t hurt him. I couldn’t be the reason he loses his mate. I wouldn’t. “Princess, I… I don’t know what to do. I can’t hurt Xander or you.”

    “That’s why we’re talking, Kaden. Tell me what you feel, what you want, what you’re thinking.”

    “I don’t fully know, Nik. I feel for you in so many ways, and the sparks when I touch you drive me wild. But Xander… I’m afraid of hurting him. I don’t want to make him hate me or you. Seeing how you two have picked each other up was bittersweet. I was so happy for you both, but extremely jealous as well. You’re always going to be my princess, and I will always do any and everything for you, but I can’t be the mate I should be because you deserve Xander. I’ve screwed up in my past. I’m a man w***e, anyone who knows me has seen that. Xander and you are so pure, you deserve each other. I don’t deserve this happiness.”

    I hadn’t realized I started crying until I felt her tiny hands and fingers cupping my face wiping away the tears. She had unshed tears in her eyes as well, and smiled a sad smile at me. I closed my eyes, leaning into her touch and waiting for her to reject me now.

    “I’m not perfect. No, I haven’t slept with anyone, but that doesn’t mean I’m an angel. You deserve happiness, Kaden. I know it’s not common, but polyamorous relationships do exist. Is that something you’ve ever considered? Something you would even want right now?” she asked me, causing my eyes to snap open and search her face for any hint of a lie. She showed none. This beauty wanted to have me in her life as much as she wanted Xander. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t even form words, so I just nodded in agreement. “Then the only thing left is to have a discussion with Xander. We need to tell him.”

    “Tell me what?” Xander asked, closing the door behind him.

    Well s**t.

Xander POV

    When I walked back in the room, something weird was happening. Josh was in the corner texting on his phone while Kade and Nikki were talking. She held his face in her hands, looking him dead in the eye until I spoke. I didn’t know how to feel. I didn’t know how to react. Chase was pacing in my mind.

    She’s touching him! Why is our mate touching someone else?! Chase asked.

    Kade stood up and motioned for me to take the seat he was occupying. I sat and nodded to him, then turned to look at Nikki. She had the sweetest, most angelic smile on her face, and I couldn’t help but return it.

    Nikki looked at Kade, then to the seat on the other side of her bed, and he slowly made his way to it. She then looked into my eyes and said, “Xander, baby, we need to talk. Some facts have come to the surface, and they affect you as much as the two of us. I need you to listen and think before you give any responses, okay? Can you do that for me?” Her voice was so soft and careful. She was nervous, and I didn’t want her to be. She could tell me anything, and I wanted her to believe that.

    “Of course, butterfly. You can tell me anything. I promise, I’ll listen. I’ll do anything for you,” as I said those words, I knew that was the truth. She smiled, turned to look at Kade then back at me.

    Nikki started to fill me in on her feelings, her conversation with Kade, their reservations, and lastly, the options. The options were confusing to say the least. Either she would reject both of us, the three of us became a poly relationship, or Kade offered to have her reject him. In my mind, I also realized I could have her reject me if Kade made her happier. Shock is too small of a word to describe my mind. I never knew this could be possible.

    While I sat there processing everything, Josh had come to the bed and helped Nikki stand and start to walk towards the door.

    “Nik?” Kade asked her. I didn’t understand why she was leaving.

    “You two need to talk. You were friends for years before I came into the picture. This affects all of us, and I don’t want you two to be torn apart because of me. I’m going to go to the cafeteria with Josh so that you two can chat. Come find us when you’re ready,” she replied. Before we could protest, she was out the door.