/ And I can't let you go / Your handprint's on my soul /
I honestly thought Miles would come defending his sister and perhaps even challenge me to a duel or something — I'd read online that some werewolves did that in order to protect someone's honor. Yet he did none of that. Instead, he laughed. Uncontrollably, and his face was full of mirth. Alana threw daggers at her brother while her hand was holding a handkerchief to her nose.
"You know," I fought the urge to wipe my knuckles. Gosh, I might need to use disinfectant after I washed it later. "I've tried not to hit you because that would be animal abuse, but you were just kinda asking for it."
"You broke my nose!" Alana stared at me. Her face was pure of shock and I had no doubt she hadn't seen it coming. She'd let herself believe I wouldn't do anything because I had done nothing back in the church a few weeks ago. She didn't know that the reason I did not resort to violence was that I was so good at fighting. Both Eros and my dad had trained me growing up. If I didn't know better, I'd initially thought that I was going raised by gangsters. But right now, knowing about The Erebus, I knew why they had done it. Aside from the fact that The Erebus was a mafia werewolf pack, they also wanted me to be able to protect myself from anyone who wanted to harm me — although, in this scenario, it was just a crazy girl who couldn't stop calling me a bitch.
"Well, you started it." I could still feel the burn on my left cheek. I turned to Miles and gave him a look that said 'See what I'm talking about'.
There was a mischievous glint in Miles' eyes. "It changes nothing. I still like you."
Something told me he liked me more now that I'd punched his sister. "Just stay away," I told him, then turned to Alana. "Look, I'm sorry about your nose. I hope you'll get that fixed." I sighed exasperatedly, knowing that this would go nowhere, but I just had to tell her. One last time. And if she didn't get it, then I wouldn't say it again. "Not everything is about you. I didn't go to the North to piss you off. I needed shelter, and I also wanted to get to know him."
The last bit was actually a lie, but I didn't care. Alana didn't need to know that the reason I came to the North was to get my revenge on them both and to also discover more about my mother's death and locate my father.
"You've probably spent more than half of your life being with him. You already know him in and out. I just found out that he's my mate three weeks ago. I'm not telling you I'm going to accept him or that I'm going to agree to be his mate, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to get to know him. So please, no more drama and certainly no more violence because I can assure you that that fist is nothing compared to what I can do to you if you slap me again." I ended the speech and walked toward the boutique, not wanting to hear any more words from her. Davina must have been waiting for me inside, either that or she enjoyed shopping too much, that she hadn't realized I wasn't there.
Surprisingly enough, Miles caught up with me. He even opened and held the door for me. "Hey. I'm sorry about the slap." He touched my knuckle, and I resisted the urge to hiss in pain. "I hope you still want to hang out with me."
I sighed. Like a brother, like a sister, they both were truly annoyingly stubborn. "Which part of 'just stay away' did you not understand?" I stepped inside and he took one step in, still holding the door.
"I just take that as a challenge." He smirked. There was a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. "Plus, if you ever wanted to use me to piss my sister off, I'm okay with that."
I raised one brow. "Use you?"
"Yeah, you know if you want to kiss me just to make her so angry that she would light herself on fire, that works, too." His smirk stretched into a grin.
I had to laugh. Who would've thought that Alana's brother would react this way? "You know you should be a good brother and defend your sister."
"What's good in that?" Miles scoffed, still having that smile on his face. "I always know my sister is a bitch, but other people — especially the pack members back home, don't seem to notice that. I'm just glad I found one more person who does."
"Whatever." I shook my head, repressing a smile. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Don't worry, if anything happens, it's my fault." He shrugged, still grinning. Although he became slightly nervous when he said, "Anyway, I want to ask if you'd like to go to this gathering with me."
"What gathering?" I asked, out of curiosity. Not that I'd go.
"Just a college party here in the Center." Miles scratched the back of his head nervously. "If you want to, I could pick you up this Friday night, then drop you home after the party."
"I'll think about it." His eyes looked so hopeful that I didn't have it in me to reject his offer on the spot. "If I decided to come, I'll let you know."
"Cool." He nodded, then caught my hand.
I didn't pull my hand because he didn't look like he'd bite it, but I eyed him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"I told you my name. What's yours?" His smile returned.
"Xyrra." Learning from last time, I didn't give my last name this time although now that I'd learned that 'Lancaster' wasn't even my real name, I felt that it would do no harm should I continue using it in an introduction like this.
"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
"Alright." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Go now before your sister comes here and I run out of things to break."
He laughed but then let go of my hand and went to his sister, who was waiting next to a white city car. I moved away from the door but looked at him from behind the curtain. He looked over his shoulder at the boutique for one last time as if he knew I was there even though he couldn't possibly see me. He had that smile on his face, then he turned around and opened the car door.
I shook my head, knowing that I wouldn't go to Miles' college party this Friday. The last thing I needed was another distraction. I scoured the boutique and found Dav trying out some dresses that she claimed would look perfect for prom. She asked me to try on some dresses too. Since I didn't want to ruin her mood, I let her choose the dresses for me. About ten dresses later, we left the boutique. Dav was carrying three bags now — one was from the previous store where she'd bought the sweater and the tank top, while I carried one bag filled with only one black cocktail dress. My savings were running out, and I knew I should find a part-time job soon.
After I dropped Dav at her house, I headed to Eros's flat. Not that far from District 8 and fifteen minutes later, I'd already parked my bike in front of his building. I rang the doorbell next to the word 'E.A.' and waited. He didn't ring me so I pressed the doorbell again. After trying for the fifth time and with zero progress, I turned around and was ready to leave when the front door swung open. A middle-aged lady with blonde, nearly white hair came out. "Are you Xyrra Lancaster?"
I blinked. "Yes."
"Here is a note for you from Mr. Eros Adler." The woman pulled out a small envelope and handed it to me.
"Thank you." I held the envelope with both hands, then stopped the lady from going away. "Wait, do you know where he is? Is he at home?"
The lady shook her head. "He hasn't been home in a while. This came by mail the other day with a strict instruction to give it to Xyrra Lancaster who might come here looking for him."
"Oh. Okay. Thank you." I walked back to my bike. I swung my leg over my bike and took a seat before opening the envelope. Judging from the penmanship 'XYRRA L.' on the front of the envelope, I could tell that this was truly written by Eros.
'Dear Xy, if you receive this note, then something big has happened. I know you have so many questions, but I can assure you that not all of them have good answers and not all of them are worth the trouble. So please, give up. There are dangerous things out in the world and I am not just talking about the Night Walkers or the Erebus. And if by some chance you find a book titled 'Book of the Damned', do NOT touch it or even attempt to open it. There's a reason I took that key. Trust me. Yours, Eros.'
"I certainly hope that letter does not piss you off or anything that might cause you breaking another person's nose."
I glanced up and saw Dmitry standing imposingly a few feet away from me. How did he get here? How did he know about me punching Alana? I narrowed my eyes, not the least bit pleased to find him here. "Have you been following me?"
He was wearing his usual businessman attire, along with the tie too. Only this time, he was wearing a black leather duster on top of it. "I am here to protect you."
"I don't recall needing your protection." I put the letter into my back pocket and then crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Did Ryker send you to follow me?"
"He worries about you." He offered no other explanation. Great. Talking to Dmitry was exactly the same as talking to Siri or an AI, except that he looked like he was an expert in mind games.
"He doesn't even seem to notice that I exist." I shrugged. "Whatever it is that you think you're doing, stop. I don't need your protection. You're wasting your time."
Without waiting for his reply, I put on my helmet, turned the key, and kicked the side stand before leaving him behind. I secretly hoped he had brought a car with him or that would be a long walk home.
* * * * * * *
Right before I managed to cross the border between the Center and the South, Dmitry and his crazy black Porsche cut me off. Literally. His car sped up until he was in front of me, then he slowed to a full stop. I would've bumped into him if I hadn't seen this coming. We'd been racing pretty much since he'd caught up with me three lights ago.
"Seriously," I yelled at him as soon as he got out of his car, not bothering to take off my helmet. "You have no right to prevent me from going to the South. I can go there as much as the next person."
"I'm not preventing you," Dmitry said, which made no sense.
"Okay, if you're not preventing me, then what the hell are you doing?! Let me pass."
Dmitry gave me a hard look. Still, there was no expression on his face. He was so good at masking his feelings. Perhaps he should play poker in Vegas or something. "The Erebus won't let you come into their territory. You can go into the market and the B&B there just like any other humans can, but you can't get where you want to, which I assumed is their territory."
"How would you know?" I crossed my hands in front of my chest. "They let me in before when I came here with Ryker."
"Maybe because your friend was there, but if you go in there now, barging your way in, they will not tolerate you." Dmitry sighed, then walked closer, then leaned back on the trunk of his car a few feet away from me and my bike. "If they shoot you or capture you, I would not be able to protect you."
"And I've told you I don't need your protection," I argued desperately. But even I knew it was rather foolish to come there and demand to see Eros when I did not know where he lived in the South.
"You will need one when you find yourself in the middle of the woods, surrounded by wolves," said Dmitry, deadpan. I wished he showed more emotion, any proof that he actually cared, and yet all I saw was nothing. I could tell that the only reason he was babysitting me the whole day was that Ryker had asked him to.
"I'll take my chances." I placed my hands on the handles, my middle finger on the clutch, and I was ready to go when he caught my right wrist. I looked up and met his eyes. Only now I'd realized that they were deep brown, like melted dark chocolate, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of fear there.
"Just go home with me," he said softly and not in that expressionless, flat tone that he'd been using.
"I need to find Eros," I reasoned with him. "He took something and I need to get it back." Not to mention that I also needed to confront Eros about other things. He seemed to know well about the Book of The Damned, or else he wouldn't have mentioned it in his note earlier.
"You can call him, ask him to meet you somewhere, anywhere else, but here." Dmitry made it sound so reasonable. "Ask him to meet you in the Center. Do not go into their territory, Xyrra. You have met a couple of people in the North, but even our worst member is nothing compared to these guys."
I weighed my options. Dmitry was right that I could try calling Eros again. If I went there now, not only was it already late, but I wasn't sure who I would meet. Their Alpha, this Leonidas person, seemed to be very scary and dangerous, too. Then there were the Night Walkers who apparently were looking for me, too. With a sigh, I finally agreed that what Dmitry had suggested was a logical thing to do.
"Fine," I said with a sigh.
Dmitry extracted his hand and gave me a nod before heading back to his car. I turned my bike around and took off, heading North.
I beat Dmitry by twenty seconds. I was parking my bike when he drove his car into the other side of the garage. He got out of his car and then leaned on the door, watching me as if he was expecting me to say something. I didn't. I didn't have to explain myself to him and we both knew it. He probably wanted me to explain just so he could tell Ryker.
Ignoring him, I walked inside the pack house and went to the kitchen. Even though Dav and I'd had our lunch and desserts — and I'd had tons of snacks, I still wanted to eat something. I'd already grabbed the empty bowl and spoon and was going to grab the milk and cereal when Dmitry came into the kitchen and said, "I could make you some pancakes or waffles."
"Is that your way of apologizing for following me around?" I looked at him and even though it was subtle, I saw a tiny movement of his eyes widening and knew I nailed the right spot. "Yeah, right?! I'll take the cereal." I put the bowl on the island and grabbed the milk from the fridge.
Before Dmitry could reply, Ryker was storming into the kitchen. His silver eyes hardened and his jaw tightened when he caught the sight of me. "You shouldn't have done that."
Good to know that he was taking Alana's side. I should've expected this. She surely wouldn't waste time calling him and reporting the entire story. Perhaps she'd even twisted some facts to her advantage just to make me the villain. Instead of getting into an argument with Ryker, I felt no need to reply to him at all, so I continued ignoring him as I moved to fetch the cereals. The only thing that prompted me was when he caught my wrist as I was about to open the cabinet where the cereals, muesli, and other stuff were stored.
"Is that what this is about? You're angry for the sake of Alana. How much of the truth did she tell you?"
"What? Alana? Why does this have anything to do with her?"
Now I was confused. "Aren't you angry right now because I broke her nose? Tell me, what did she tell you? Just so I could clear any lies that she might've cooked up."
Ryker frowned and then looked at Dmitry. "And you're just telling me this now?"
Dmitry shrugged. "It is not important."
That was when I knew Ryker didn't hear it from Alana, he'd heard it from Dmitry. And not through phone calls either apparently, but through their mind link thing — which was creepier than if he'd just texted him.
Ryker let out a sigh, but he nodded his agreement. "I suppose it's not." He then turned to me again. "I was talking about you trying to go to the South on your own."
"I didn't though, right?" I poured the milk and then the cereal.
Ryker let out an exasperated sigh. As if Dmitry knew that something was about to happen, he nodded his head toward the front. "I'll be outside if you need me." Then he left.
Great. He left me with Ryker. This was just perfect.
I took my bowl, placed it on the island, and hopped on the barstool. I tried to eat, but with him staring at me, it was a pretty hard thing to do.
Ryker took the stool next to mine. I was bracing myself for a lecture on how we weren't supposed to hit other pack members. I'd already prepared a counterargument for that by saying that technically I was not a member of The Ethereal. Yet he surprised me when, instead of a lecture, he asked, "Do you like Miles?"
* * *
Dear Readers, any thoughts on Miles?