CHAPTER 3: Don't Take It To Heart

NARAYA

“Roger… where are you?” Melissa's voice drifted down the corridor. Her heels echoing closer.

The aggressive heat in Roger's eyes melted into a cold panic. He dropped his hand from my shirt, stepping back just enough to break the intimate space between us.

“Play along,” he whispered, his orbs boring into mine.

“Yes, Naraya,” he started, even before my brain caught on. “I know Melissa isn't from around here. But she's the one my heart has chosen. She's the one I love. And I know the people of Bloodmoon Pack would accept her as well.”

Roger's silver eyes softened for a second, flashing a desperate, pleading look into mine.

“There you are,” Melissa smiled, coming into view.

“Hey, darling.” Roger closed the distance between them, dragging me along. He tilted his body toward Melissa, and they shared a kiss. Again. “I just had a word with my sister. Hope I didn't keep you waiting?”

“Not at all,” she replied warmly. “The kids were asking for their daddy.”

Her green eyes moved toward me, slightly narrowing with sudden concern. “Naraya dear, everything alright? You don't look too well.”

I almost laughed.

Well, of course. I doubt she'd look too well herself if she were in my shoes.

“She's fine, darling,” Roger interrupted, planting a kiss on her head. “It's her time of the month.”

YOU SON OF A BITCH!

My jaw clamped hard. My hands balled into fists.

“Is that so?” Melissa's expression shifted into pure sympathy. “I have a specialized period care kit you can use, dear.”

I could only help but nod.

“I wish I had a brother who's as caring as yours, Naraya.” Her face lit up. “I mean, he even tracks your cycle.”

“Right?” I blurted, feeling the sting in my eyes and forcing a bitter smile onto my face.

Roger was caught off guard by my display, staring at me like I'd grown a second head.

“Yes.” Melissa added, breaking away from Roger to lock her arm into mine. “Join us for dinner. I brought some tasty delicacies from my home Pack. I'm certain you'd love them,” she said, already leading me toward the entrance.

“No, Melissa.” Roger snapped, sharp and commanding as usual.

I only noticed he intentionally lowered his voice when he was speaking to Melissa or when he wanted something from someone.

“Naraya was just leaving. It's getting late, and she needs to go home. Isn't that so, Naraya?”

I also wanted to leave.

Not because Roger was trying to send me away, but because their presence alone suffocated me.

“I... I...” I forced the words off my lips. “He is right. I should—”

“I insist.” The green-eyed woman beside me countered, tightening her hold around me before turning an expectant look toward Roger. “Besides, this is her brother's house. If she spends so much time keeping the mansion clean for you, she might as well sleep over in the guest wing, don't you think? By the way, nice work with the petals and candles, Naraya. You did a great job.”

She gave me a thumbs-up, and I smiled through her reminder of how stupid I had been earlier.

Roger also offered a tight, strained smile as he led the way.

“You know, Bloodmoon Pack shares a lot of similarities with my Pack,” Melissa said, tucking her arm into mine, smiling and blabbering words I didn't want to hear. “The sky is also orange-pink at night. It's summer, and it's still freezing cold...”

Roger picked up her suitcase the moment we got to the front.

The twins were already lying exhausted on the couch by the time we stepped in, their lips soiled with particles of food.

“They must have gotten tired of waiting and fallen asleep,” Melissa said.

“I'll take them to their room,” Roger volunteered.

He set her suitcase aside and knelt by the couch, wrapping his arms lovingly around the kids. One after the other, he gathered them into his arms before walking up the stairs.

“Isn't he lovely?” Melissa asked, her eyes melting as she watched the retreating back of the man I had adored all my life.

I let out a low sigh as I walked toward a chair to sit, dizzy spells claiming my head.

Roger returned in no time, and they both got together like a couple setting the dining table, so naturally that even a blind person could tell it wasn't their first time.

“I'm glad the kids are asleep, and that leaves us adults to catch up.” Melissa smiled, clapping her hands excitedly as though this were some sort of high school reunion. “Come, Naraya. Join us.”

For all it was worth, Roger walked over and pulled back a chair for me, but only after adjusting Melissa's. She smiled at him, entirely charmed by the big-brother persona he was projecting.

They sat side by side while I reclined opposite Melissa.

Despite her refined style, she definitely lacked table manners, as she wouldn't stop talking after swallowing a meal or two. Roger looked unsettled, but he didn't cease offering polite smiles at her words.

“Your plate is barely touched,” Melissa noticed. “Don't you like any of the food?”

“I actually ate before coming over.” The lie slid smoothly from my lips, my stomach twisting into knots of hunger.

“Is it the cramps?”

“I doubt it. I just don't have any appetite.”

“Don't push it, darling. Just eat your food,” Roger muttered, picking up and slicing a piece of meat on her plate.

“Aww, thank you.” She smiled, leaning in to meet his lips with a kiss.

At this point, I had lost count of how many times their public display of affection had cut through my soul.

The rest of the dinner passed in a suffocating blur. But Melissa refused to let me go as she continued to ask me questions while downing glass after glass of wine.

“What's Roger like when he was young?”

“Which of your parents does he look most like?” She gave a tipsy chuckle. “As you can see, I already lost with Brian and Jennie. Those two look nothing like me.”

“Roger's got a strong gene pull, don't you think?” she asked, smacking her hand against his exposed chest.

“Oh no.” Her hands flew over her lips. “I never even asked if both of your parents are still alive.”

Roger and I made no comment on that.

Melissa kept the questions coming, even though I hadn't provided an answer to a single one yet.

Then finally, she leaned in.

“Do you have a mate?”

“Enough questions for one night, darling,” Roger cut in, his lips forming a silent ‘sorry’ at me.

“Com'on. I wanna know.” She purred, breaking into a giggling chuckle.

“Alright. Time to get you to bed. You've had too much to drink.” Roger firmly took the glass from her.

“No. I'm not tip... tipsy.” She chuckled, almost falling from her chair, but Roger caught her. “I'm fit as a fiddle. I wanna spend some time with Naraya.”

But Roger was done listening. He simply slid his hands around her, carrying her bridal style up the stairs.

“Now don't you look particularly hot tonight,” Melissa giggled again, distracting him with a kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

I sat frozen by the table, my knuckles white against the fork I had held since the beginning of this dinner. I'd spent the entire night contemplating what to do with it until those two eventually left my presence, the metal biting deep into my palm.

Roger returned no more than three minutes later. He reached for her glass of wine and downed the contents in one gulp.

He looked like a man caught in his own trap.

“Naya.” He lowered himself into the seat beside me, brushing a stray lock behind my ear. “Please, trust me. I—”

“Roger...” Melissa slurred from upstairs, her voice laced with impatience. “I need you now. Or do I have to come down there to get you myself?”

Roger’s lids shut tight. He looked genuinely pissed. He let out a heavy sigh, brushing a hand through his hair.

For a brief moment, he stared into my eyes, his fingers tightening around mine. “No matter what you hear tonight, please don't take it to heart. It's not real. You're what's real.”

With that, he pulled his hand away, turned on his heel, and left.