CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69: A WIN-WIN

Max looked back at his future Alpha and put the car into park.

"I would never joke around about something as serious as this," Max said with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "Frankly, I couldn’t come up with a better plot twist than this if I wanted to."

Axel leaned forward in his seat with an intense look in his eyes. He needed more information. He needed to know everything Max had discovered.

"Why did they break up?" he asked.

It was common knowledge that it was impossible to choose another partner other than your fated mate without extenuating circumstances. In the short time Axel had known Jasmine, he didn’t sense any problems that would warrant a rejection.

Why would Elliot choose to marry Isabella if Jasmine was already his fated mate? It didn’t make sense to Axel. If he were in Elliot’s shoes, he would have married Jasmine in a heartbeat if he were lucky enough to be her fated mate.

"Elliot and Jasmine are from the same pack," Max explained, turning around in his seat so he could look back at his future Alpha.

Axel nodded and gestured for Max to go on. Jasmine had already told him this. But she had lied to him and said that she barely knew Elliot. Obviously, that wasn’t the case.

"They discovered that they were fated mates when they were eighteen," Max continued. "Although most people in their pack knew that they dated for almost three years, only Elliot and Jasmine’s close friends and families knew that they were fated mates."

Axel absorbed all this new information.

"Then, after nearly three years of dating, Elliot and Jasmine suddenly broke up."

"When did Elliot meet Isabella? If he was dating Jasmine not too long ago, how is he already engaged to my cousin?" Axel asked.

"A couple of months ago, the former Ashborne Alpha passed away," Max explained. "That’s where Elliot met Isabella. A lot of people saw him charming her during the reception. I guess your Uncle Gareth had to practically drag her away from Elliot that night."

Axel’s hands clenched with anger. Did Elliot break up with Jasmine so that he could seduce Isabella? That was most likely the case. His stomach stiffened with disgust when he realized that Elliot did this in an attempt to gain the Alpha position by securing his Uncle Gareth’s approval.

Why else would he break up with his fated mate? His wolf must be going crazy without Jasmine, and Elliot had to feel weakened without his mate by his side. Breaking a fated mate bond had lasting consequences.

If his theory was right—and Axel was pretty sure he had it right—this scenario wouldn’t turn out well. If his cousin ever found out, the news would crush her. Axel could tell that Isabella truly loved Elliot.

He decided that he wouldn’t tell his favorite cousin that her beloved fiancé was using her as a pawn in the sick game only he was playing.

Axel leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. Because Jasmine seemed to be doing well without her fated mate, he decided to focus on romancing her. When they were in love—and Axel had no doubts in his ability to woo her—Elliot would have to give up his infatuation with Jasmine. Which would also save Isabella and Elliot’s relationship.

It was a win-win situation.

"Are you still going on the date with Jasmine tomorrow?" Max asked.

"Of course." Axel smiled, pleased with his new plan.

***

Elliot sat next to Isabella on the couch in the sitting room. He noticed that she leaned slightly away from him, but at least she didn’t get up to sit somewhere else entirely.

It was the evening after their disastrous date, and the tension between them could be cut with a knife.

Last night, after Elliot caught up with Isabella on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, he came up with an excuse as to why he couldn’t keep his eyes off of Jasmine. He told Isabella that he couldn’t figure out why anyone would defy the Lycan King. He stressed that he had been looking at Jasmine and Axel both.

Elliot said that he was worried about Axel’s well-being because he was going against his uncle’s demands. Elliot made up some story about how Gareth’s treatment of Axel in the backyard had really shaken him.

He put his arm around Isabella and pulled her close, saying that he only had eyes for her and he had been worried about her cousin. He didn’t want Gareth to hurt him if he found out about their date.

Lastly, Elliot had said that he didn’t want a strange triangle to develop between Gareth, Axel, and Jasmine because then it would affect Isabella since she cared for all those people.

He could tell that Isabella didn’t fully believe his story, but she had seemed to give up and allowed Elliot to drive her back home. The ride had been filled with silence, and Isabella had stared out the window the whole time.

But Elliot was pleased that last night’s repercussions weren’t worse. He had really dodged a bullet. He was also glad that Isabella had allowed him to come over tonight. He wanted to keep an eye on Jasmine and knew that she was tutoring Michelle.

As if his fiancée had read his mind, Isabella turned to her sister, who was writing in a notebook and sitting in the armchair next to the fire.

"Is your tutoring done for the day, Michelle?" Isabella asked. "Isn’t it a little early to be over?"

The younger girl nodded. "Yeah, Jasmine had to go because she has another date with Axel tonight. She’s getting ready now."

Elliot froze, but he tried to control his expression.

"How wonderful!" Isabella clapped excitedly. "They are going out two nights in a row. They must really like each other." Then, she turned to Elliot. "We should go on a double-date with them. What do you think?"

Elliot wondered if this was some sort of test. Was Isabella watching how he reacted? Of course he hated the thought of watching Axel romance his mate, but he forced himself to smile and prayed that it looked genuine.

"That would be fun," he replied. Then, he had an idea. Elliot turned to Michelle. "Does your father know about the date yesterday or the one planned for tonight?"

Michelle shrugged and didn’t bother to look up from her notebook to answer him. "Probably not. I’m sure that Axel will speak with my dad in private when he’s ready."

After another five minutes of Michelle writing in her notebook and Isabella droning on about the wedding, Elliot said that he forgot something in Isabella’s room earlier and wanted to grab it now. Isabella gave him a slightly suspicious look, but thankfully didn’t follow him.

He was going to find Jasmine.

As he jogged up the grand staircase, Elliot used his heightened sense of smell to find her. He followed her sweet scent like a dog would a bone.

He planned to convince his mate not to go on this stupid date.

But he met Axel at the top of the staircase. Isabella’s cousin had his arms crossed, and a smug smile crossed his face when he laid eyes on Elliot.

"Excuse me," Elliot said, feigning politeness.

"Don’t bullshit me," Axel responded. "It’s just us here. You don’t have to fake manners just for me."

Elliot reared back. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

"I know who you’re sniffing around for," Axel pointed out. "If you’re smart, you’ll stop and go back to Isabella. Or you might just get hurt."

The veins in Elliot’s neck bulged as his anger rose.

"Maybe you should keep your snout out of other people’s business, or you might get hurt," he snarled back.

"You’ve turned it into my business when you started searching for my girlfriend while my cousin is sitting downstairs waiting on your sorry ass." Axel leaned toward him and lowered his voice. "I know that you and Jasmine are fated mates. I know that you’re still obsessed with her, and you’re only using Isabella to gain power."