Red String {EDITING}

Chapter Eight | Cypher Division

Lyra woke to the smell of pancakes. Blearily, she opened her eyes, blinking at the sight with which she was met. Pale blue eyes stared down into her own, a plate stacked with the source of the delightful scent held out to her. "Good morning!" Rylan proclaimed cheerfully. "I thought you—"

"Uh, Rylan?" Lyra blinked yet again, confirming that her mate was there in her private apartment before she freaked out. She rolled away onto the other side of the bed, placing a hand over her frantically beating heart. He'd scared the living daylights out of her, appearing there as he had.

"Are you alright?" He peered down at her, concern written across his face. "What's the matter?"

"The matter?" she muttered, glancing between him and the pancakes. "Why are you—How are you in my private apartment?" she hissed, bristling as she glared into those annoyingly confused pale blue eyes.

"I wanted to make you breakfast for your first day of work!" he said, excitement leaking into his tone as he spoke. "You seemed to like pancakes the most when you were—"

"And that means you can break into my apartment whenever you feel like it, because...?" Lyra raised an eyebrow, pinning him with the most judgemental stare she could muster.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh," Lyra grumbled, rolling her eyes as she adjusted to the fact her mate clearly had no idea of personal boundaries. She waited there for a few moments in silence, glancing pointedly between him and the door. "What are you still doing here?"

He held the plate of breakfast closer to her. "Pancakes," he said – as if that explained everything.

"Thank you," Lyra said, taking the plate from him with forced calmness, sliding out on the other side of her bed. "But I really think you should go and get back to whatever it is you're supposed to be doing."

"I still need to show you the way over to your new workplace," he continued, shuffling awkwardly on his feet. "And I wanted to surprise you..."

"Consider me surprised then," Lyra grumbled dryly, licking her lips as she dug into the food he'd so graciously prepared. There was no point in wasting perfectly good food.

Rylan waited there, shifting from foot to foot as he stared determinedly at the floor. "I thought you'd like it," he said, hunching his shoulders. "I mean, the others don't mind when I cook them food – they say I'm a good cook – and my parents always thought it was cute when I broke into the kitchen to cook them breakfast..."

"You know your parents and the other alphas well – you can hardly say the same thing about me," Lyra said between bites, still glaring daggers at him as he shuffled about awkwardly. "I, for one, don't like it when practical strangers break into my home. I think a bit of privacy is overdue – considering everything I've been through... and I don't care if you're my mate – you're included in that too," she continued, hands on hips, having finished her meal. "No more breaking into my apartment. If you want to come over and visit, then knock and ask like any other person would."

"OK," he mumbled, looking suitably chastened, and a tense silence fell for a single moment. "Does that mean you wouldn't mind me visiting then?" Rylan asked, pressing his fingers together. "I mean..."

"I wouldn't mind you visiting, silly," Lyra said, letting out a little huff as she moved her plate off her lap. "We're tied together by the crimson string... and somehow I don't think that fact is about to change"—a blush rose in her cheeks at the intent, almost hopeful stare directed her way—"so, what kind of person would I be if I didn't give you a chance? You deserve that much... as do I..."

Rylan grabbed both her hands in his own, a wide grin on his face as he said, "Thank you."

"I'm not good with second chances... and I don't have much of a sense of humour..." she muttered, glancing down at their joined hands. "So try not to mess up, idiot."