The Invasion

35 | Grudges

He stumbles backward in surprise, blinking repeatedly. In a split second, he advances towards me angrily, but Zarius flies to my side immediately and steps between us. Blocking him with his towering and muscular build.

"Delia." Zarius holds me close behind him, throwing a murderous glare in Matteo's direction. His voice comes out in a deep, low growl and the tension in the air intensifies. "Did he hurt you before? What do you want me to do?"

My mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out. If Zarius is thinking of going against a human like Matteo for my sake, we all know who's going to end up dead. "It's alright. I can handle this."

Zarius nods and steps aside, but remains close to me.

"What the hell—" Matteo's gaze shifts from him before landing on me. Recognition registers in his face, which morphs into a sly grin. "Oh. Fancy meeting you again, girl. Still as rude as ever?"

I grit my teeth. "And you're still behaving like the crackhead I know you from before. I've not forgotten what you did back there."

His eyes widen in surprise. He feigns innocence, his voice growing louder knowing we've caught everybody's attention in the cafeteria. "I'm sorry. You must have been mistaken about me. Sometimes, I appear unfriendly. If I've upset you before, I didn't mean it."

Anger flares within me. So this is the game he wishes to play? "That's not it," I hiss. "We both know what you did."

Matteo clicks his tongue in disagreement. "Now, now. Don't look at me like that. I assure you I'm on your side. We're all looking to survive together. Look, I've brought all the guns and ammo that we've found."

With his boots, he nudges the two black duffel bags sitting at his feet, but I'm not amused by his gaslighting words and his peace offerings. Ignoring him, I turn towards Max to shoot him a question. After all, between the two brothers, he's the more logical one.

"Where's Charles?"

Colors drain from his face before he swallows hard and looks away. His expression is full of remorse and shame. "Dead," he reveals. "The night after you left, the creatures found us. Must be the trail of blood that came from Charles's injuries. It led them straight to our hideout. Matteo and I barely got away."

"And Emily?"

"Dead too. Wouldn't leave without her husband and she got caught by the creatures."

Sadness washes over me as I think of the kind-hearted couple who had housed Mom and me at the beginning of this attack. But we don't have the time to grieve, neither does my heart can stomach it.

"You keep your brother away from Mia," I warn, eyeing Matteo with another death glare. "Otherwise, I'll make him regret it."

Without waiting for their response, I march back to our group with Zarius in tow. Maddie is already waiting for me, and she lifts her brow questioningly.

"That's the guy whom you told me about before?"

"Yes."

Her expression darkens. "I'll tell the others to be careful."

I nod. After the show is over, the entire crowd in the cafeteria disperses. Zarius bends down so that he's almost my height. His hand sweeps my sweaty bangs off my forehead as he searches my eyes for any sign of distress. "Are you alright?"

The gentleness in his tone wraps me like a blanket. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Sorry for startling you back there."

His features tighten as he glowers at Matteo, who is standing across the cafeteria. "I dislike how that human male spoke to you," he admits with a deep frown. "If he bothers you again, let me know. I'll feed him to the nightcrawlers."

Each time he portrays his concern for me, my stomach does a somersault. "Thanks."

But unlike me, Jace remains unimpressed, and I can hear him grumbling from behind us. "Seriously, guys... Can't you spare some consideration for the rest of us who are single?"

Zarius and I stare at each other, almost smiling at his remark, until Maddie comes back to our spot with a dreadful reminder.

"The sun is setting soon, guys. Are you ready?"

A/N: It has been a while since I posted the last update! How's everybody doing? :)