Rejected By My Mate; Claimed By Lycan Quadruplets Chapter 133

Enzo's POV

The moment Lisa slipped out of my room, closing the door softly behind her, I lay still for a long second, staring at the ceiling and forcing my breathing to even out. My chest was tight with a mixture of frustration and something else I couldn’t name. She had told me about her day with that innocent glow in her eyes, the excitement about seeing her old friend, Fiona. She had looked so alive, so radiant. And for a moment, I almost forgot what this whole arrangement was supposed to be about. Almost.

I shut my eyes, rubbed the bridge of my nose, and mind-linked Ash.

*It’s your turn,* I told him curtly.

A beat of silence followed before his voice echoed back through the link, casual but with a trace of eagerness he didn’t bother hiding. *Finally. You kept her long enough. I’ll head to her room now.*

I didn’t reply. I cut the link and rolled out of bed, irritation simmering under my skin like hot coals. My jaw tightened as I stripped off my shirt, tossing it into a corner, and grabbed a fresh one before heading out. Ash could do whatever he wanted—it wasn’t my concern. That’s what I kept telling myself.

Kael’s door was just down the hall. I knew he’d still be awake, the bastard barely ever slept early. I pushed the door open without knocking, and sure enough, there he was sprawled across his bed, flipping a knife idly between his fingers. He looked up the moment I stepped in, his lips already curling into that infuriating smirk of his.

“Well, well,” he drawled, sitting up. “Look who finally decided to crawl in here instead of hogging Lisa all night.”

I growled under my breath, slamming the door behind me. “Shut up, Kael. I’m not in the mood.”

He chuckled, a low, mocking sound that grated on my nerves. “Not in the mood? That’s rich. What happened, Enzo? Did sweet Lisa tire you out already? Or maybe she’s starting to get under that thick, cold skin of yours?”

I shot him a sharp glare as I kicked off my boots and dropped onto the chair by his desk. “You think you’re funny.”

“I don’t think. I know.” He leaned back, resting on his elbows. “But seriously…you’re getting soft. I can smell it on you. The way you talk about her, the way you look at her. Don’t even try to deny it.”

“Kael,” I warned, my tone sharp as a blade. “Don’t push it.”

That only seemed to amuse him further. His eyes gleamed with mischief. “You remember back when we were kids? You used to swear you’d never let a woman get into your head. What was it you said again?” He tapped his chin dramatically, pretending to think. “Ah, right—you said, *‘Women are distractions, and distractions get you killed.’*” He laughed loudly, shaking his head. “And now here you are, practically tripping over yourself for Lisa.”

My teeth clenched so hard I thought they might crack. “I’m not tripping over anyone,” I snapped.

“Oh, sure you’re not.” Kael’s smirk widened. “That’s why you kept her with you instead of passing her along sooner. That’s why your chest burns whenever Ash takes his turn. Admit it, brother, you’re jealous.”

The word hit me like a punch. I stiffened, heat crawling up my neck. “Jealous? Of Ash? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Kael laughed again, long and hard this time, as if he found the very idea hilarious. He tossed the knife onto the nightstand and sat up straight, eyes locking on mine. “You can lie to yourself, Enzo, but you can’t lie to me. I’ve known you too long. I can see it plain as day. You want her for yourself, but you can’t admit it because then you’d have to face what that means.”

I growled low, my hands curling into fists on my knees. “Drop it.”

But Kael never dropped anything. Not when he knew he was getting under my skin. He lived for moments like these.

“Remember that girl when we were seventeen?” he pressed, eyes alight with mischief. “The one from the river village? What was her name again? Mira, wasn’t it? You were all hard stares and icy silence, but the moment she looked your way, you turned into a stammering idiot. Oh, you tried to act cool, but I saw you, Enzo. You were soft on her. Just like you’re getting soft on Lisa now.”

I shot to my feet, my chair scraping across the floor harshly. “Don’t you dare compare Lisa to some random girl from years ago.”

Kael whistled low. “Ah, so there it is. You don’t even realize how protective you sound.”

My chest heaved with the force of my anger. I wanted to punch him, wipe that smug grin off his face. But deep down, I knew he wasn’t wrong. And that infuriated me even more.

“I’m going to bed,” I muttered through clenched teeth, dragging myself toward the spare mattress he kept in the corner for when I crashed here.

“Sure, sure,” Kael said casually, flopping back onto his bed. “Go ahead and pretend. Just don’t be surprised when pretending gets harder. Because let me tell you something, Enzo—you can lie to me, to Ash, even to yourself. But you can’t lie to Lisa. She’ll see it. And when she does…well, let’s just say things are going to get interesting.”

I didn’t answer. I yanked off my shirt, threw it aside, and dropped onto the mattress. My back faced him, my eyes squeezed shut, but his words clung to me like a curse.

Kael kept talking. He always did. He teased me about the old days, about stupid pranks we’d pulled, about fights we’d gotten into as boys. He brought up every embarrassing moment he could think of, from the time I fell into the river during training to the time I broke my nose because I refused to listen to his warning about the wild boar in the forest.

I groaned, pulling the blanket over my head. “Do you ever shut up?”

“Nope,” Kael said cheerfully. “Not when I’m having this much fun.”

He kept at it until dawn, needling me with stories from our past, poking at every bruise he could find. By the time the first light of morning crept through the curtains, I was exhausted—not just from lack of sleep, but from the storm raging in my chest.

Because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake Kael’s words.

Maybe he was right. Maybe I was getting soft. Maybe Lisa wasn’t just a distraction anymore.

And maybe, just maybe, that terrified me more than anything else ever had.