Page 8 of Wolf Fated
"This is on you. I had nothing to do with this. We're only here because you wanted me here. I wanted to start our lives together and get married." I hiccupped a cry.God, I feel sick.Like I was in some twisted nightmare I really wanted to wake up from. One that had relief flooding me that it’s not real. Tears slid down my cheeks.
"Hey, hey," he pulled me to his chest and wrapping his arms around my waist, "we will get married. All this isn't going to happen. It’s just a backup plan, a what-if scenario. I have a winning hand, remember?"
I pulled back, my body trembling. "I know, but it's not—" I couldn't even say it. My thoughts that Stephen was being a jerk crashed into my mind. Everything was riding on him winning and I couldn't jinx us by saying anything against his cards. I might not be a gambler like him, but I knew when not to tempt fate. “I have a bad feeling about this. Please, let’s go.”
"I’m going to win this. Don’t you trust me?” He frowned, then softened his voice. “We will get married. Tonight. I promise. All you have to do is say you're willing to be in the pot and then we finish this, and I win." He rubbed my arms, looking at me with a sorrowful expression. "All of this is for you—for us. I hate that you have to work as a waitress and had to scrounge up tips to pay for your wedding dress.”
“H-How do I know you won’t do this again? Gamble?” Was I just being naïve to believe him this time? I’d have to tell Dawn, my mom, and all my friends that the wedding was off. Sure, we were eloping, but I’d bragged about how Stephen and I were getting married.
My mom would blame me and tell all her friends that I’d screwed this up. How I wasn’t brave enough to trust the man I was supposed to marry.
And if I said no and walked away, Stephen would never forgive me. I could see it in the harshness of his jawline as he watched me. This had been the longest relationship I’d ever had despite us only dating less than a year.
None of my other boyfriends had stuck around longer than a few weeks once they figured out how long it took me to get turned on. I doubted anyone else would ask me to marry them or try this hard to secure our future.
Was I just being paranoid? I shook my head, trying to push aside the worry clawing in the back of my throat.
“I know you have no reason to trust me, but Brookie, you saw my cards.” He laughed. “I can’t lose. They’re bluffing, that’s all this is. We’ll call them out and we’ll walk away rich. That’s all I ever wanted was for you and me never to have to worry about anything. So, let's do this and never have to worry about them or money ever again."
Never having to work again sounded like heaven. And being able to show my mom and friends that I was rich would be an added bonus. Besides, Stephen was right. This was our chance, and the odds were in our favor.
“Come on,” he pleaded. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you. We’ll travel the world for our honeymoon and have brunch in Pairs.”
It sounded wonderful. But I’d trusted him before and now look where we were. “How do I know this is it, Stephen? That you won’t take our winnings and gamble again. This is our lives.”
“No, this is everything.” He stepped back. “I’ve put everything into this game because I have the same feeling in my gut that I had when I met you. And you are the best prize I could ever have. We walk away from this, and we lose everything. We won’t have a penny to our name.”
“God, Stephen, why would you do that?” How long would it take for us to pay off his debt from this one game?
“Look, I vow on my life I will never gamble again. This is it. Our chance. Can’t you feel it?”
I crossed my arms. “How do I know you won’t have a relapse again?”
“Don’t be a coward,” Stephen said in a mocking tone. “You always complain that you want to take risks, that you want to expand your horizons and try something different. This is your chance. Prove your mom and everyone who ever said you weren’t good enough wrong. And we’ll be telling our children and our grandchildren about this.”
“I’m not a part of this, you are.” I lifted my chin. “None of this means anything to me except the debt, Stephen, that you did in my name. I could just walk away and—”
He pinned me to the wall, panic in his dark eyes. “It doesn’t work like that, Brookie. I can’t walk away, or they’ll chop me into pieces and feed me to the sharks. Is that what you want? To kill your future husband?”
Because I didn't trust my voice, I merely shook my head.
“Good. Now we’re going in there and calling their bluff. And don’t ever make me force you to do something I want again.”
A chill swept through me, but I let him lead me back inside the high-stakes room. These three didn't seem to have a care or fear in the world. They didn't even blink as we re-entered the room, but the tension was thick.
"Brookie agrees." Stephen sat back down in his vacant chair.
"We will hear her say it or there's no deal." Axel flicked his gaze to me and my face heated. "Do you vow, if one of us wins against your fiancé that you will be ours in any way that we wish for the next thirty days?"
The muscle in Stephen's jaw twitched, but he stared at me like he wanted to yank me onto the table to solidify his acceptance into the game. And I hated him for this. For being willing to sell me, basically, to three strangers over poker. But his hand was one of the highest. I took a sharp inhale, placing my hands in my lap and nodded.
"We'll hear the words," Nathan said.
"And of your own volition." Drake leaned forward, his elbows on the table.
All four of them stared at me like I was a frog pinned onto a tray and awaiting dissection. There was a rushing in my ears, and I swallowed.
I glanced at Stephen, but he wasn't looking at me, he was staring at the pot on the table.If I do this, I'll never have to work as a waitress again. Never have to see my mom shaking her head when someone asks what her oldest daughter does for a living. She'll puff up with pride and brag about me for the first time in my life.
