Three Fated Hearts by LNC

~Nikki~ | can’t believe how much fun | just had. | can’t remember the last t| enjoyed myself so thoroughly. | laughed and danced until | couldn't anymore. | never actually considered what life could be like if | got away from Stuart. Now | don’t have to think about it, | can live it, and it's good.

A warm hand touches my knee, sending butterflies to my stomach. | really need to get laid if a simple touch is enough to getgoing. “Are you okay?” | nod. “We're here.” | look around and realized that we are, indeed, back home. | swear the trip from the airport was quicker than ever before.

The car door opens for me, and a hand waits. | grab the hand, and the driver helpsout of the car. Paul follows behindand walksto the door. “I had so much fun this weekend. Thank you for making it a good time.” | look at Paul, his smile warming my heart.

“No, thank you. You helpedremember what fun was.” Paul leans in and kisseson my forehead.

“1 will see you later.” He turns and walks down the steps and to the left. I'm still staying in the packhouse. | considered going back to my home, but there are too many memories there, and many of them aren't good ones. After everything died down, Paul had a house built not too far from the packhouse. It was completed while he took the tto travel. | guess the packhouse held even more memories for him than my house did for me. | walk inside and upstairs to my room, determined to get ssleep.

~Paul~ There are no words to describe the complete difference between this weekend and other past events. | was finally able to sit back and truly enjoy an event. | didn’t have to play politics or listen to the complaints about other Lunas. The difference between my ex and Nikki is monumental, not that I'm trying to compare the two.

Nikki was never someone | was able to get to know in the past. She always stayed to herself, not really dealing with many people. | would see her at the clinic, with the kids, or with Stuart. | hated that | never pushed to get to know her. | always tried to know all of my members personally. Maybe if | had pushed the issue, | could have spared her sof the mess she had to deal with.

| open my door and immediately catch the scent of freesia. The table by the door is filled with flowers, and | couldn't help but smile. This has to be my daughter-in-law because my sons would never think to have the place smell good when | get back. | take another whiff of the flower before moving toward my room. | want to check out the new house, but I'm too tired. It can wait until the morning.

| kick my shoes off and get rid of my pants and top. | pull the covers back and slip in, placing my phone on the nightstand. | close my eyes, but my phone rings before | can drift off. | feel around for it, refusing to open my eyes. “Hello?” “Paul.....baby?” FUCK! How the hell did she get this number? I've changed it several times over the past few months, and she gets it every time. “PLEASE! Don’t hang up!” | swear she was reading my mind because that's exactly what | was about to do.

“Make it quick, Kim.” “|......I miss you so much. | miss the kids, our family.” | swear she just won't quit. She misses her family so much, yet built that family on a lie. It’s her lie that has everything the way it is right now, and she’s just going to have to live with that. The silence stretches between us; breathing is the only sound that can be heard.

“Is that it?” “Paul.....Paul, please.....” | end the call and place my phone back on the nightstand. | guess | will just start blocking numbers because I'm sick of changing mine. I'll figure it out in the morning; | need to sleep right now.

~Kimberly~ | sigh, placing the phone to my temple. | knew it would be hard to get through, but he’s giving no wiggle room. | just want my life back. | want Paul and my sons back in my life. | have to figure out how to make that happen. | toss the phone on the bed and let my body follow. These past few months have been torturous, and | just want it all to be over.

“Kim, babe? Where are you?” | roll my eyes and huff. | can’t believe that I'm stuck with him. | should have gotten rid of him when | found out he was my mate. | wouldn't be without my men now if | had done that. | remain quiet and listen to the doorknob jiggle.

His scent hits me, and | want to gag. | used to love the smell of leather and sage, but now, | can’t really stomach it.

The bed dips next to me, and sparks erupt on my back. Stuart starts to rub small circles on my back, and | feel myself relaxing completely. “How was your day? Is everything okay?” If | stay like this, | know what will happen, and | don’t want it. | sit up and reach for my phone. | sit on the edge of the bed before getting up.

“I have errands to run.” | don’t wait for a response. | just leave the room as quickly as | can. | need to get my family back and shed the dead weight.

~Stuart~ More and more, | regret holding on to Kim for so long. | had a good mate, even if she was chosen. She gavechildren, and we had a good life. | had to mess it all up, trying to keep that woman by my side, even if it was at a distance.

I'm almost certain that Kim's trying to get back in with Paul and her kids. What | don’t understand is why she hasn't rejectedyet. If what I'm offering isn’t good enough for her, she needs to letgo. | know | could have rejected her a while ago, but | always felt that | needed to do everything | could to make it work. She's my fated mate, and that isn’t something I'm really ready to part with at this point. If she decides that she’s done with it, there's nothing | can do.

I'm constantly replaying everything that happened in the last few months. So much has changed so quickly that I'm just now able to sit and hash through it all. I've visited Aida a few times, and my heart breaks every visit. | hate seeing her so lost to the world.

I've realized that | may have played a part in where she is now. I've always doted on my twins, and | think | did too much all their lives.

I've also been thinking about Portia all this time. She could have killed me, but she didn’t, and that says a lot. It's been my own shortcomings that caused a rift between Portia and me. | should have been better; | should have treated Portia as my child, not the enemy. She didn’t ask to cinto this world, and I've been treating her horribly.

| grab a beer and sit on the couch. | seem to have had deep reflections many days lately. I'm constantly replaying the events in my life and reevaluating my choices. | doubt Portia will ever welcme, but | need to figure out if my mate is worth all this trouble.