3. Patience as Thin as a Tissue

"Let go of her!" Orion gripped Caspian's arm firmly. He stared intently, so deadly. His powerful aura was so dominating.

Caspian released his grip on Callista's arm. He returned Orion's gaze even more sharply; for a few moments, they stared at each other.

The people who were there began to conjecture, thinking that this was a love triangle. They were very jealous of Callista being fought over by two handsome and rich men.

"Long time no see, Casper." Orion said with such a sardonic tone and look.

Callista frowned. Casper's nickname for Caspian was only known to those closest to him. Even Callista herself did not dare to call him by that title because she felt that her relationship with Caspian was not that close.

"You know each other?" Callista looked at Orion with a questioning look.

"We more than know each other. Isn't that right, friend?"

Callista was quite surprised. In the three years she had been Caspian's step-sister, she had never heard Orion's name mentioned. Nor had she ever heard that he had friends. Caspian had a very introverted personality. Coupled with his cold demeanor, it made him very difficult to touch.

It was a miracle if Caspian had friends.

"Stop acting like we're that close." Caspian immediately denied it. They were friends at first. They had been best friends before that friendship turned into hostility when they liked the same girl in high school. Because she favored Orion, Caspian was furious and broke off their friendship.

Caspian was always outmatched by Orion. He was better looking, richer, and better at sports. The only thing that gave Caspian an edge was his academic intelligence.

"It's a coincidence that you're friends." Callista looked pleased, as she felt that this would make it a little easier for her to approach Caspian so that they could be good step-family.

"How do you know each other?" Orion was curious, as Caspian was not the type of man who was easily attracted to women.

"He's the stepbrother I told you about." Callista replied with a smile. She was very proud when she said that Caspian was her brother. Of course, the man was very handsome and had a good job; only his attitude was very annoying.

"Wow, I didn't think that I would meet an old friend in this kind of situation. You're going to be my brother-in-law, so please cooperate." Orion said with great emphasis; he squeezed Caspian's shoulders quite roughly.

Caspian removed Orion's hand from his shoulder. His face looked very annoyed; it seemed that his very thin patience could no longer be endured.

"Stay away from my sister; a bastard like you doesn't deserve her." Caspian said sharply and threateningly. This was the first time he recognized Callista as his sister. It made Callista very happy. She thought this was a good start to their relationship; at least Caspian had acknowledged her.

Caspian again grabbed Callista's arm roughly; he forced her towards his car.

"Get in!" Caspian said harshly; he opened the back door because he didn't want Callista sitting next to him in the front seat.

Callista smiled sweetly; she got in and sat down happily. Although Caspian showed no tenderness at all, Callista still felt happy.

Kairos and Lysandara looked happy when they saw Callista returning with Caspian. Although Caspian's expression seemed very upset, this was an improvement. Usually Caspian didn't want to do anything for Callista, but this time was different.

"You should reprimand her so that she focuses more on studying, not flirting with men." Caspian said sharply without looking at Lysandra at all.

Hearing that sentence, a smile appeared on Lysandra's and Kairos' lips. Even now Caspian was starting to pay attention.

"She's 19 years old; it's natural for her to be interested in men." Kairos defended Callista.

"But the guy she's dating is six years older!"

"Six years older is a pretty good gap."

"Her boyfriend is the same age as you? You can be friends with him." Lysandra chimed in.

Caspian was getting annoyed with his parents' response; he didn't understand why Callista was so spoiled. The man chuckled in annoyance, then headed for his room.

***

This afternoon Caspian's work was really hectic. He had forgotten to inject the vaccine into his body when he picked up Callista at her college. On the way home, the sun was setting. Caspian began to feel pain throughout his body; he pulled the car over and tried to find the vaccine that he always kept in the dashboard drawer.

Caspian really felt the pain every time he was about to turn into a werewolf. His body stiffened, his eyes reddened, and he groaned in pain.

Callista, who was in the passenger seat, looked confused. Moreover, she never knew that Caspian had such a serious illness.

"Are you okay?" Callista asked to make sure. She was panicking, but she didn't know what to do.

Caspian did not answer. His canine teeth began to grow, his nails began to lengthen, and fine hairs began to fill his body. Before his whole body completely changed, he managed to inject the vaccine into his body. Those small changes finally returned to normal.

Caspian's breathing sounded so labored, he squeezed the steering wheel roughly. Cold sweat began to attack.

Caspian looked at the rearview mirror hanging in front of him; he looked at Callista from the reflection of the mirror.

"Are you okay?" Callista asked again because Caspian did not answer her.

"What did you see?" Caspian asked to be sure. He really wanted to know if Callista would suspect him of being a werewolf or not.

"You're in pain. Do you have a serious illness that we don't know about?"

Caspian was silent again. He did not answer the question; at least he already knew that Callista did not know about his secret yet.

Caspian started the car again and continued their journey.

"If you really have a serious illness, you should have told us. You don't have to keep it a secret and endure all the pain alone. Even if you're a doctor, you still need help from others."

"Shut up and keep your mouth shut. Don't tell anyone about what you saw today." Caspian said harshly and with emphasis.

"You're very rude. I think you need a girlfriend so you can relax a little and enjoy life."