66
JARIS
My mother came in not long after I got into my bedroom. I was almost tempted to order her to leave. This woman hardly came with good news.
She asked customary questions like how my day went before dropping the unnerving reason she was there.
“Your sister ran away.”
I was taking off my jacket and paused when her words reached me.
“But they managed to find her,” she adds, calming me the hell down.
For Moon sake, she couldn’t have said that sooner?
“Good,” I mumbled, undoing my buttons next.
“But she wants to come home, and the asylum’s thinking of releasing her.
Like this couldn’t get any worse.
“Mother, please.” I whirled around to face her. “I honestly can’t deal with Maddy right now.”
Remove a ‘d‘ and the ‘y‘ form her name and you’ll have mad. And it wasn’t even an insult. She really was mad.
“I know, Jaris. But-”
“The last thing I need right now is Maddy on my neck. You know how it is with both of us.”
She never shuts up about our brother. I can’t deal with her.
“But she’s been away for so long. I’ve missed her, Jaris. I want her home.”
“You can visit her anytime you want. There’s no restriction.”
“I know. But it’s not like having her here at home.”
I closed my eyes as I held onto the table for support. I couldn’t do this. I was so close to losing my mind.
“Maddy isn’t coming home. With the Alpha King trials coming up, the last time I need is her kind of distraction. You know what she does to me when she’s around.”
“Oh, Jaris…” She grumbled.
Really, what is so hard to understand?
“She’s not coming home, Mother at least, not now. I have things to do. Please.”
I proceeded to take off my jewelry.
Mother spent a little more time in the room, silent. Then she huffed and left.
I took a shower and had a few more things to cover before retiring to bed. I was in the middle of work when Kael showed up, bringing more work to my table.
“She’s at the bar. Drunk.”
I didn’t even need to ask to know who he was referring to. And it was exhausting that I was already so accustomed to the one person that was a pain in the ass.
“For how long now?” I stared down at the table as I asked.
“Since we got back. She left her room almost immediately and had been there ever since.”
I growled low in the throat. Seriously, what was it with her always getting drunk?
I stood up with a grunt and in a couple of minutes, I was at the entrance of the bar.
The place was a little filled up. It was night, and this was when most people had the time to make merry.
But Lyric was alone, asleep on the counter.
The light chatters of the people died down the moment they saw me. They stood up immediately, some going on their knees.
I strode up to Lyric, getting a clearer view of he like a fucking child.
her lips slightly open and drooling. She looked
Successfully unlocked!
I huffed. This girl has been a pest from the moment I saw her.
Kael stepped beside me. “Do you want me to carry her? Or should I simply wake her up?”
Huh? Wake a drink Lyric to walk on her own in front of all these people? It’d be beyond embarrassing.
1/3
66
“I’ll do it.” I ground my teeth.
As I gently lifted her head from the table and pulled her backward to my arms, I told myself i was only doing this to create a good impression. I wasn’t the type that gave shit about people’s opinions, but these were my people. A lot of them already thought I was wrong for arriving late to the mating ceremony–so late that all the guests had left, thinking the ceremony
was over
Maybe carrying Lyric in my arms would placate their thoughts. Or that’s just what I wanted to beliere,
I glanced at her face as I carried her in bridal style. Her hair was all over her face, further making her look wasted. She mumbled something but didn’t even open her eyes.
She looked so innocent. Like she did most of the time.
Walking out of the bar with her, my mind drifted to the first day I’d seen her. She had been standing right next to her father, having those doe unsullied eyes like she couldn’t hurt a fly and was afraid of getting hurt in return. I could still remember how shocked and nervous she looked when I walked into the room, and the quick disappointment that crossed her face when I walked out on them without uttering a word. She must’ve been really hurt.
But it was just like they said: the innocent ones could be the most dangerous.
I reached her room and laid her in bed. I couldn’t begin to imagine the hangover she’d get in the morning from being this
way.
I brushed some messy hair strands from her face, my fingers grazing her skin. She seemed to relax and mumble something under her breath.
She was still unconscious. I wonder what must be going through her head.
Her hand gripped the collar of my shirt when I didn’t expect. Her head tilted slightly, and this time, when she murmured, i could make out the words. “Please, stay.”
My brows scrunched up in surprise. Could this have something to do with Penelope? Who was that woman, and what hold does she have over Lyric?
“You always leave,” she slurred the words. “You always leave, Jaris.” She tugged at the fabric, bringing me closer to her face. My chest was just barely an inch from her face. What in the moon’s name was she doing?
More to my surprise, she buried her nose in my shirt, moaning softly.
Lyric Harper. She was talking about me. She called my name.
This did nothing to ease my confusion. What did she mean by that statement?
I pulled back so her face was free of my chest as I didn’t want her to suffocate herself or something. However, she only moaned from the loss.
She squirmed on the bed, tilting her head up. She murmured more incoherent words under her breath. It was tiring.
I tried to pull away but her hand found my shirt again, pulling me back to her.
“Damn it, I cursed.
And I knew she wasn’t the problem. She was drunk and defenseless. I could easily escape her grip if I wanted. Yet, here I was, allowing myself to be dragged by her.
‘This isn’t you, Jaris‘, my subconscious told me, trying to warn me that I was doing something stupid.
I should push myself away from her. Leave this room and go away.
Instead, I wanted to touch her face. Wanted to bury my fingers in my hair and inhale that fucking apple shampoo fragrance. I wanted to claim her lips and feel her body against mine.
This body.
This very one that had been grating on my nerves.
For the first time in as long as I could remember, my heartbeat accelerated. This was not right. Nothing ever fazed me.
Yet, the prospect of being alone in a semi dark room with Lyric Harper was enough to take me out of ease.
Time moved sluggishly. Her lips were parted, begging for an invite.
‘She’s drunk, Jaris, the evil subconscious said. ‘She won’t remember any of these by morning.‘
It was right. And even if it wasn’t, even if there was a chance that she could wake up and remember what I did to her, I didn‘ t care anymore.
‘It’s just a taste.
I crashed my lips on hers.
2/3
67
