"Are you sure, Theodore?" She asked, turning swiftly to et his eyes, a dark smirk gracing her lips as she looked into his fear-stricken ones that he tried to hide by breaking the stare. "You look pretty shaken up to ." She added again, the cream before the cherry.
"I’m perfectly calm, Princess." He defended again in a very deep, low tone, glancing at her sideways.
A chuckle almost broke through her lips as she watched him. She found it very amusing that from where she stood, she couldn’t help but feel taller than him despite the fact that she was several inches lower than him, but as always, your rank or level would always be determined by how much power you’ve been able to accumulate against your opponents.
He was defending again. Disappointing her. Her father had taught her when she was younger to never defend but to attack. Defending would always cent your position as the substitute and not the main, but when you attack or you’re patient, that gives you an upper hand absolutely no one can reach or decipher, until you decide to show them that is.
"That’s your defense?" She asked, chuckling. " Your fists are clenched, fear is swimming freely in your eyes. The worry lines on your forehead and face are very much evident despite your efforts to keep them hidden. Maybe when you rectify all of these, I can believe you’re calm." She said smoothly, blinking slowly, a satisfied smirk sitting on her face.
"I won." She said after a few seconds, winking at him.
Theo chuckled, shaking his head. No one, absolutely no one, has ever been able to not just block him from reading them, but block his mind completely, stopping him from reasoning.
Surely his brothers have read him before, sotis like an open book, but they never used the master weapon: fear.
Fear is like the master key to unlocking all emotions. Fear of incompetence, fear of loss, fear of failure. It’s like spilling oil on specific parts of a tiled floor.
If the person on the receiving end is careful enough to avoid stepping on it, he’s safe. But if he’s not, he loses complete control of his movents, his thoughts, everything. He’d make rash decisions, his mind would beco numb, everything else would disappear, save him and his fear.
And that was what she had done. She had placed one of his fears before him, placing him in the spotlight, causing him to doubt abilities he had been so sure he was terribly good at.
He had to give it to her; she was very good. And funny enough, he didn’t feel any hint of sadness or anger towards her. Sure, it was embarrassing to be beaten at your own ga, so he could definitely feel embarrassnt creep in, but sothing else washed over him faster than embarrassnt did.
Pride.
The pride of knowing that his mate wasn’t just physically strong, but ntally strong as well, despite her heavy history. He couldn’t be any prouder.
He was definitely telling the guys.
"Where and when did you learn to read people?" He couldn’t help but ask, leaning sideways on the railing, his arms folded across his chest as he peered at her, genuinely curious.
"I’d say most of it ca naturally. But what I didn’t know how to do was deflect being read and belittled. Then, kids would look at and belittle , and instead of standing my ground, I’d defend myself, not knowing I was handing them the sick satisfaction they craved on a gold platter. One day, I ca ho beaten, sad and depressed. Dad asked what happened and demanded that I left nothing out. So I told him everything, leaving out nothing._"
"- And by the ti I was done, he asked a question I found very funny and annoying then." She said, chuckling, her eyes on her hands.
"He said, ’Bunny, are you a human?’ and I was like, what sort of question is that, like really. I just gave him a weird look, and he returned it with one that said I should just reply, so I said no.-"
"- And he was like, ’Are you sure?’That was when it beca annoying. Luckily he didn’t press any further. He told that wolves are strong, not very independent, but strong and unwavering. He said they do not succumb to asly pressure. He said they don’t defend, they attack ferociously. He made understand that just because they are attacking , it doesn’t an I have to defend. He told to attack right back when I’m attacked, and that I should stop at nothing.-"
"- Prey on anything and everything they have. Especially their fears, he said. They will avoid you from then onwards, but that doesn’t matter because they were never important to begin with. That was when it struck . I hated being weak, hated being picked on. It thought I was strong because I hadn’t crashed out yet, but it turned out enduring without planning to fight back was weakness. So, I fought. Physically, ntally, emotionally. I guess that’s how I learnt to not just guard my mind, but attack my opponent’s."
Theo stared at her, completely at a loss for words. Pride swelled uncontrollably in his heart, almost suffocating him.
When he asked her how she learnt to guard her mind and read other people, that wasn’t the kind of story he was expecting. Hell, he wasn’t sure he had the slightest idea of what to expect.
Being the third of the Triplets, being ignored was the order of the day. The elders, pack mbers, and everyone fawned over Tristan and Troy.
Tristan was the first and had a tad stronger Alpha aura compared to him and Troy, so naturally, people were drawn to him in search of safety.
Troy, the baby face and second in command was the pack sweetheart. The won of the pack practically swooned at his feet, always at his beck and call, hoping that one day he would acknowledge even one of them as his.
But he, the third triplet, was seen as the scariest one. Too straightforward, too harsh, too brutal, and to top it off, he was made executioner. That title just sealed him as the demon of the trio.
Honestly, most of the ti, he wouldn’t give a flying fuck, but before becoming a werewolf, he was first human. So sotis, the taunts, the rumors, the unnecessary hatred got to him.
Everyone, excluding his imdiate family, regarded him with utmost fear and caution that he most tis enjoyed but got sick of it pretty quickly.
Just because he was the one in charge of taking care of rogues and so other dirty jobs, everyone began to see him differently. They began to view him through a very dark, deceptive lens.
He had always hoped silently that one day, soone else was going to see him for who he truly was. Soone who wouldn’t just view the demon part of him, but his very pristine angelic side as well.
Soone who would take him whole.
When he had found out that she (Bethany) belonged to his pack, he couldn’t help but beco afraid, knowing she was more than aware of most of his deeds.
He worried that she was going to run away, or reject him, given his life and everything, but when she didn’t, he knew instantly that she wasn’t just his mate, but the one.
The one he had been waiting for his entire life. The one who looked at him like he was her entire world.
So he knew what it felt like to be looked down upon, to be preyed on, not directly but it didn’t matter much because he was a prey either way.
And now, hearing how she had fought extrely hard to get rid of her fears and bullies, he couldn’t help but fall even more deeply in love with her.
She didn’t let them swallow her whole. She fought hard to the surface of the water and she prevailed.
His mate, His pride.
"I like to think my story isn’t that depressing." She chipped, picking on her cuticles, worried that her story might have triggered sothing in his mind.
Her statent pulled him out of his reverie. "Nothing is depressing about your story, Princess. I was just thinking. " He pacified, placing his palm over her busy ones, causing her to look up at him.
"I’m proud of you, Princess. Extrely proud." He said sincerely. "I find it really hard sotis to fight my demons and keep my head above the water. It was even worse when I was around your age. Hell, I didn’t even try. Honestly. As at that ti, I hadn’t earned my title and all, but I was always seen as broody and all. And I didn’t have friends, because I could read their intentions before they even made it close to so that always seed to push them away easily.-"
"- People, including my brothers, sotis saw as pained and all, they often said that due to my ability to read people deeper than anyone else, I wasn’t unable to have friends, both fake ones and real ones. Those days were dark, and they pulled under seamlessly, and I didn’t fight it, because it didn’t make sense to. But you did it at a very young age. You even fought relentlessly just now, even though I didn’t really press you and all, but you still fought without holding back."
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