Chosen By Fate, Rejected By Hate

Chapter 18

Mavi Pov

I sat up abruptly the moment I opened my eyes and realized I was lying on a soft bed inside a quiet room. What happened? Why was I here? I had fully expected to wake up in some dark corner, hurt and mistreated by the men who had taken us. Yet here I was, completely unharmed, my clothes still neat and untouched, and not a single part of my body bore any sign that I had been violated. I was certain then that I was safe. But who had saved me? And more importantly, where was Lotlot?

I quickly swung my legs over the side of the bed and hurried toward the door. I had barely reached out to touch the handle when it swung open, and the very last person I wanted to see stood right in front of me.

"Oh, you are awake, Mavi. I brought you some breakfast. Eat it while it is still warm," he said.

"Thank you, but no thank you," I replied firmly, keeping my expression steady and distant. I would never forget how easily he had cast me out of his own home just because of Sonia’s lies. He should not expect me to treat him with kindness after that. Still, I was not ungrateful. "But thank you for saving me last night," I added simply.

After speaking those few words of gratitude, I stepped past him and started walking away.

"Is that really how you treat the man who saved your life, Mavi?" Alpha Magnus asked, his voice carrying a clear note of irritation. I paused in my steps and turned to face him.

"I have already thanked you. What more is it that you want from me?" I asked him, frowning deeply.

"What I want is for you to sit down and eat the meal I prepared for you before you walk out that door," he said, and the sharpness in his tone vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"I do not want your food. For all I know, you might have put poison in it so you would be the only one to raise our child," I replied sharply, my words laced with sarcasm. I was only returning the hurt he had caused me, the way he had accused me of wanting to take Moses away from him.

Alpha Magnus’ face darkened visibly, and his jaw tightened as he listened to me. "If I truly wanted you gone, I would have simply let those men take you last night. And I am certain they were sent by Alpha Abner. He is the one who ordered them to kidnap you."

I fell silent for a moment, because what he said made perfect sense. It was very likely Alpha Abner who had sent those men to seize me. But even though his reasoning was sound, I refused to let him see that I agreed with him.

"I am leaving now," I told him instead of acknowledging his words. I turned away and began walking again, but stopped short when I remembered something important I needed to say. I looked back at him, my face serious and without a hint of a smile. "Before I go, Alpha Magnus. Take good care of Moses. If I ever find out that your future wife is mistreating him in any way, I will come back and take him away from you. You can be angry at me, or even try to kill me, but I will not let anyone hurt my child."

I did not wait for him to reply. I turned and walked briskly down the staircase. In the living room below, I saw Lotlot standing there looking thoroughly annoyed while talking to Alex. It appeared that after saving us, Alpha Magnus had brought me straight to his best friend’s house.

A question suddenly crossed my mind. How exactly had he found us and saved us so quickly? Had Lotlot managed to escape and call for help? Had Alpha Magnus just happened to be nearby and arrived at exactly the right moment? In my haste to get away from him earlier, I had forgotten to ask how all of it had come to pass.

"Mavi! It is good you are awake so we can leave this place immediately. I do not like the feeling here. The atmosphere is heavy and unpleasant," Lotlot said, raising one eyebrow as she met me at the bottom of the stairs.

I could not help but raise an eyebrow in return. There was clearly some history between these two. The way they looked at each other and the tension in the air told me they had known each other for a very long time.

"Did the two of you know each other before?" I asked Alex, curiosity getting the better of me.

"She was my girlfriend once, and my first love," Alex answered proudly, wearing a wide, knowing smile. Lotlot’s face twisted into a scowl the moment she heard him speak.

"He is right about being my ex-boyfriend, but he is terribly wrong about being my first love," Lotlot corrected sharply. "He was my boyfriend, yes, but he was never my first love. And how dare you claim such a thing? For your information, I would never fall in love with a womanizer like you. You are the type who would even stop to admire a goat walking down the street wearing a skirt, for goodness sake."

I could not help but laugh out loud at my friend’s wildly exaggerated description, while Alex simply frowned in disbelief.

"It has been two years since we parted, Lotlot. Yet you are still this angry whenever you see me? That simply proves you have not moved on at all. It means you still love me," Alex said with unshakable confidence.

Lotlot looked as though her nostrils would flare wide open from pure irritation at his arrogance.

"In your wildest dreams!" Lotlot snapped at him before turning back to me. "Come on, Mavi. Let us get out of here. Every hair on my body stands up the longer we stay inside this house. There are simply too many stubborn and unlucky men in this place."

Lotlot took my hand firmly and pulled me toward the door.

"Is this really the thanks we get after saving you? We should have just let those men take you last night!" Alex called out loudly behind us.

We stopped walking for a moment, and Alex stepped forward. But it was not I who answered him.

"Why? Did we ask you to save us? Did we ever beg for your help?" Lotlot shot back, her eyes wide as she raised her voice at him.

I stood there smiling quietly as I watched them bicker. They looked exactly like a couple caught in the middle of a lovers quarrel, unable to let go of each other even when angry.

"Ungrateful!" Alex shouted back. "If it were not for me and Magnus, you would still be in danger right now! Do you have any idea just how far we traveled and how hard we searched just to find—"

"Alex!" Alpha Magnus called out in a loud, commanding voice from the top of the stairs. He stood there watching us, his expression calm and unreadable as his gaze settled on me. "Let them go."

"Let us go, Mavi," Lotlot whispered the moment she heard Alpha Magnus speak. She seemed suddenly afraid of him and quickly stepped behind me as if seeking shelter. "I hope our paths never cross again. Goodbye!" she called over her shoulder to Alex before pulling me out the door.

"We will meet again, Lotlot! Mark my words! You are my destined mate! Do not ever forget that!" Alex shouted from inside the house, but we kept walking as if we had not heard a single word he said.

When we finally arrived back at Lotlot’s house, we both felt exhausted and sank heavily down onto her sofa.

"Alpha Magnus truly has a terrifying presence, Mavi. When he looks at you with those eyes, it feels as though he could tear your heart out with a single glance," Lotlot said while leaning back against the cushions, her eyes closed as she tried to recover from the earlier tension.

"I used to be terrified of him too, especially whenever I spoke to him inside his office," I admitted. "But strangely enough, I did not feel that same fear anymore when I spoke to him just now."

Lotlot opened her eyes and gave me a warm, proud smile. "That is my friend. Brave and strong. You have truly changed so much from the girl I knew before. And I like this new version of you very much."

I simply smiled back at her comment and did not say anything more. Then I remembered what I had been meaning to ask. "By the way, Lotlot. How did Alpha Magnus happen to find us? Did you manage to escape and call him for help? Did you get away from those men?"

"I did not escape at all," Lotlot said quickly, shaking her head. "The man who grabbed me pressed something over my nose just like he did to you, and I fell asleep almost immediately. But right before I lost consciousness, I saw Alpha Magnus and that annoying Alex rushing toward us." She frowned deeply as she mentioned Alex’s name.

I fell silent and became lost in thought. Was it truly just a coincidence that Alpha Magnus had been in that exact place at that exact time? Had he been searching for me all along because he suddenly felt guilty about sending me away? But why would he go looking for me when he had been the one to kick me out of his house in the first place?