Chapter 3

Valerie:

“Where the hell were you last night?” Vadim asked, snapping at me and I raised an eyebrow. The fact that the man was in my apartment was confusing enough as it was, and to think that he was asking such a question was even weirder.

“I doubt that I need to answer to you at the age of twenty-six, do I?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I was forcing myself to ignore the clench that I felt in my chest as anger boiled through every cell in my body, and though I didn’t even understand why I was feeling this way because of a wolf, I knew to keep it quiet. 

“I waited for you almost all night only to find out that you went clubbing…”

“Again, I don’t need to answer to you, Vadim.” I said, reminding him of his limit. The man was my twin, and though we were both close, I hated when he tried shoving his nose in what didn’t concern him. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, avoiding my eyes. “I was worried when I didn’t find you in the house and when I found out that you were clubbing at the wolf’s…”

“The two of us know very well that I chose to move out of the house because of this ‘wolf’ obsession.” I said, stopping him. “Therefore, unless it is another topic, please, we either close this one or you show yourself out the door.” 

He frowned in confusion at my attitude before cupping my cheeks to make me look at him. Tears fell from my eyes before I could stop myself and he frowned before wrapping his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug. I fisted his shirt, knowing that he wouldn’t be asking any questions. At this point, I knew that he would just hug me to let me know that he was there for me.

But I knew that I had to compose myself fast; otherwise, he was going to start getting suspicious and if that happened and if questions were to be asked, I didn’t know how I was going to answer them.

I pulled away to look at him and he smiled in assurance. “How about we take a seat and watch a movie? Maybe I can get you some chocolate? Or better yet, call mum to come over…”

“Mum?” I asked, and he smiled. The fact that she was here was a surprise as it was, and I couldn’t help but shake my head in question. “How?”

“I don’t know how he did it, but he convinced her that coming over would be best. I wanted to come and get you yesterday, but you never showed up.” He said, and I smiled before wiping my tears. I went to take a step back but he grabbed the jacket that I was wearing. “But first, you are going to tell me where you got this jacket.”

“If I am going to be telling you about every man that I sleep with on a drunken night, I doubt that you, as my BROTHER, would be okay with it.”

“TMI.” He said, and I rolled my eyes. “At least tell me that you remember his name this time?”

“Don’t answer, number ten.” I said, and he laughed, shaking his head at me. It was a name that I knew that I would never forget, and the fact that he used me the way that he did was one thing that I was going to keep in mind; however, for now, I was going to shut the topic before more questions were asked. “I’ll go and get ready before the two of us head out. I also have a jacket to burn later.”

“Yikes, he was that bad?” He asked, and I raised an eyebrow. He raised his hands in mock surrender and I shook my head.

“I swear, sometimes you forget that you are my brother and not my girl-friend.”

“I can be both depending on the situation, but then again, you would rather speak to a girl than to your own sibling.” He said, mocking me and I laughed. 

“Yes, just like you would rather not gloat about the next girl that you have sleeping in my guest room after you’ve both kept me awake throughout the entire night.” I said, and he smirked.

“Touché.” I walked to my bedroom without answering as I stripped off the jacket. My heart raced against my ribcage as I looked at it for a second too long, recalling his kisses, his eyes on mine, the gentle touch. I looked away as I tried recomposing myself, and taking a deep breath, I threw the jacket on top of my bed before entering the bathroom to shower.

My heart raced as the hot water cascaded around my body, and I couldn’t help but find myself thinking of his blue eyes. The way they met mine as we both danced. The man had approached me in the club, his eyes focused on mine, as if led by some trance, and his voice, which made my heart skip a beat as goosebumps rose over my skin despite the loud music made me gulp.

His words were simple, and his voice was barely loud enough for me to hear, but it was my body that heard it long before my ears did.

“Hello, mate…”

I shook my head, snapping myself out of my daze as I took a deep breath.

“Snap out of it, Valerie.” I whispered to myself. “Just fucking snap out of it…”