LILITH’S POV:Ivan stops right outside his office and I walk past him, pushing into the room.He’s deeply engrossed in work, looking over a few files as always. Only this time, he seems like he has more than the usual mountain of documents waiting for him to be assessed. A few piles sits on the floor beside his desk due to the lack of space on the table.It probably explains why he’s been so scarce these past few days.“Alpha Kain, you called for me.” I announce my arrival from the door, putting enough distance between myself and his desk.For reasons not fully understood, it still feels so awkward around him.He looks up at the desk right at me without saying a thing for a while. I bow my head to avoid his gaze.“You’re acting more respectable than your usual disobedient self.” He comments, rising from his desk.I take offence in his words instantly but maintain composure.“I have to show my respects while in your presence, right?”“I don’t remember you ever bothering to show respec
LILITH’S POV:The day I’ve been dreading finally approached, and I’m waiting just at the entrance for Yvonne to be finally done getting ready so we can leave.The main objective today is to pay a visit to a few of the impoverished parts of the pack, the areas where most of the Xenos reside and deliver food provisions and take notes down on what they need.I’d never thought Kain would be interested in what actually goes on, but if he really wanted to fix anything he should focus on the stigma against outsiders that runs vividly in his pack.We were meant to have left two hours ago but because of Yvonne and her hour-long preparation, we have not. There’s no surprise there.Though my job here is to essentially stop Yvonne from doing something drastic or stupid, it seems as though I have to tell her what to do at every turn.Thirty minutes more and she finally emerges from the door, dressed in a lavish sequin dress that reflects the sun's rays a bit too much and heels.It's an outfit too
KAIN’S POVMy eyes absent-mindedly fall onto the wide windows that let a bit of the setting sunlight spill into the room again, and I look past it into the garden view while I tap my feet almost impatiently.Since the morning came, I’ve been unable to focus on simple tasks in front of me while my mind wanders aimlessly.From the moment she left with the rest of her group, my mind has only wondered what she would be up to every moment.I had given this exact punishment for the sole purpose of annoying her, getting a rise out of her, so she would be frustrated as always and barge into my room, screaming profanities.It’s crazy, but the sight of her losing her usual calm and calculated composure fills me with a kind of entertainment. Anything besides the gloomy attitude she’s put on since that night fills me with a sense of exhilaration.Once again, my heart strings are tugged, recalling that memory — the sight of her disgusted and disappointed gaze chills me.I shouldn’t care what anyo
LILITH’S POV:There’s no guessing it, it definitely has to be Yvonne’s plan to get rid of me by tossing me into a desolate and abandoned well.Unluckily for her, she needs to do more than this to achieve that.Before I can think, I need to get rid of the throbbing in my shoulder. From the feel of it, the bone must have shifted from its socket during the fall, the skin around is equally bruised and battered.I wince while trying to sit up with one arm and then bite on my lower lip, counting to ten backwards.Once I reach one, I push back at my shoulder with enough force to pop the bone back into its usual spot.“Aaargh!!” I scream from the pain that wrecks through my entire body from the shoulder.It dissipates in seconds, leaving an only slightly throbbing shoulder with a joint that is too weak to be used for now.I fall on my back, gasping for air and taking a break from the pain.I hate this so much; I hate that I have to deal with people like Kain and Yvonne just to have a livelih
LILITH’S POV:For a moment, my consciousness briefly flickers and when I open my eyes again, we’re out of the well just like magic.The heavily pouring rain falls ceaselessly though, with winds so heavy the trees around battle to remain erect on their own. Even with all this, he moved through the weather with me in his arms.“Where’s the car?” I ask, trying to see in this darkness while squinting my eyes.He says nothing without looking at me. His silence says a lot.“Wait, don’t tell me…”“I sent the car away since finding you proved difficult, it was supposed to return an hour later.” He explainsWell, there’s no way the car is returning in this storm. Even if it was still here, we wouldn’t have been able to drive back either, and he seems to know that.It's clear from his movement that he’s trying to figure something out in this storm but hasn’t come up with anything yet but acts like everything is fine on his part.Just like me, he doesn’t want to ask for help.“I know a place wh
LILITH’S POV:By the time I open my eyes again, it's already morning and the thundering rain is over. The fire place in front of us has already been put out.I try to sit up but something firm holds me from moving forward. I realize I’ve been sleeping on Kain’s warm bare chest all through the night while wrapped in a thick blanket.Memories of the night before and all the shit I had said files in one by one, and the embarrassment hits as well.I must have been really fucked up to have cried in front of Kain and let him see a little too much of me.I lift his protective arm off me, jumping to my feet and putting on the dry clothes Kira had laid out for us in a rush. I don’t want to be anywhere near Kain right now, for some reason.The residual pain in my ankle causes a little limp but it's technically fine.“You’re awake.” He says groggily, now moving and rubbing on his tired eyes.His actions almost seem cute but I don’t let myself fall for it.“Yeah, I am.” I say coldly.He sits up j
LILITH’S POV:Within a few minutes of our little argument, the car finally comes to get the both of us and this little adventure ends with me promising a crying Mia that I will find some way to see her again. And also bidding the others farewell while Kain remained silent by my side.We step into the car now and I give off a sigh of relief, settling in.Kain picks up an Ipad almost instantly, diving straight into work right beside me, leaving me alone with my thoughts.It’d be a lie if the events that had transpired hadn’t left a little bit of self-doubt within me.After being almost killed by Kain, I had put in so much effort into hating him because a part of me desperately wanted to advocate his innocence.Meeting Arden had set me to realize how soft I had gotten the past few weeks and what should really matter to me, yet he doesn’t let me hate him as much I need to.The fact remains, however, no matter how alike we are, or how much I sympathize with him, this whole thing is just a
LILITH’S POV:From the way she stares at us with a weird look on her face, I suddenly feel really awkward being carried in Ivan's hands.“Drop me.” I say.“No, your ankle will only get worse if you put so much pressure on it.” He denies my request abruptly.I try to wiggle off him but his hold is firm and by the time I want to say something else, she’s already walked up to.“Ariel, I—” I try to explain but she cuts me off.“I heard what happened. I wanted to check if you were okay.”“Uhm, yeah, just a bruised ankle. Besides that, I’m totally fine.” I respond as cheerfully as I can.Her expression remains the same while seconds of silence passes, fucking awkward silence. Her eyes remain fixated on his arm holding me.“If you’ll excuse us, Miss Ariel.” Ivan says formally once there’s nothing left to say and walks past her with me in her arms.I turn back to look at her as we move away. She remains standing at that spot, motionless for seconds until we enter the building.She must be ups