Chapter 159

LYRIC

We derived joy and I found myself loving the way his hand moved around the steering. Like it was the first time I was seeing him.

We drove in silence, buildings and people passing us by.

We reached a quiet place in Darkspire and that was when he stopped, by the side of the road.

I looked around and was confused. We weren't close to the Park. So, why did he stop?

Before I could throw the question at him, he spoke up.

"I've never had a real girlfriend."

My brain hit a brief pause. The world outside was suddenly blurred as I focused on him.

"Etta and I...we were never in a relationship; we only had an understanding. My brother and I were simply playing games with her at first. She didn't care and let us do what we wanted to her."

And by playing with her, he meant sleeping with her.

"Until one day, Caden became more attracted to her and wanted to keep her for himself. I backed off and he believed she was his girlfriend. But unknown to him, Etta had always had eyes for me. The reason she agreed to be with my brother and I was because it was the only way she could be near me. She told Caden she couldn't be with him and always came to be with me. But I stll didn't want her. Never been the type to want something serious with girls."

"Why?" The question slipped from my lips.

He shrugged and chuckled. "A lot of people wanted my brother and I because of our status. Our Pack has always been the highest ranking. Most of them wanted me more because they knew I was better "Etta choosing me, it caused a rift between Caden and I. She was quite beautiful, and maybe, overtime, I became attracted to her. Yes, red was her favorite. But I don't like red lipstick because of her." He turned on his seat to lock eyes with me.

"Etta was the first girl I did pay attention to. I always saw her on red lipstick and realized I enjoyed seeing it on the ladies | like.I realized it was a beautiful color for the lips. But that's as far as it goes, Lyric. It's just like someone introducing you to a new meal which is their favorite. You taste the meal, fall in love with it, and it also becomes your favorite. That doesn't mean each time you eat it, you're thinking of that person.It just simply became your favorite."

It was hard holding a grudge against him after all these. He spoke to me like a teacher would a child.It amused me that he cared this much about my feelings and really wanted to clear things up.

My chest swelled with pride. If the circumstances were different, I'd have given him a hug right now.

"I understand." I nodded. "Thank you."

I let a brief moment pass before I added. "He... also said you killed her."

He readjusted himself to face forward, his hand tightening around the steering.

"It was an accident," his voice had turned frosty. "I'd never intentionally hurt Etta on my own."

"B-But what happened?"

"It was an accident, Lyric. Leave it be." His voice was a little rough it startled me.

He took a deep breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I just hate talking about it. But if you could trust me, then you must know it was an accident."

I nodded, already scared of insisting on it. Besides, if it was something he could talk about, I was sure he would have already.

"We should go homeadded with a small smile. "I could really use a warm bath right now."

That brought a small smile from him. He started the car, but before we could get back to the road, he got a call. The phone was beside him, so l could see it was Kael.

He picked the call and put it on speaker.

Kael's voice didn't sound pleasant when he spoke."Alpha, you'll want to get down here. Millow street. It's important."

Millow Street was just within Darkspire.

Jaris and I headed there and arrived in less than twenty minutes.

Kael and some of the guards were gathered there, making me more worried. Was one of our people dead again? For three weeks, there's been no more deaths. I was hoping it was over.

I followed Jaris out of the car, and just like I feared, there was a body on the ground.

The person's wrist had been slit, and his face was pale which was something that only happened when a Feeder drained you of your blood.

"How did a Feeder get in when you've been keeping an eye out for them?" Jaris questioned the guards.

"We apologize, Alpha. We were very careful and have no idea how this one must've found his or her way in,"one of the guards said.

"This one seems a bit strange, though," Kael pointed out. "Normally, the Feeders use their fangs to pierce the neck and drink immediately. But there were no bite marks on this person's neck. The only mark is the one on his wrist, and it seems that was where his blood was drained from. The wrist was slit by a claw,which doesn't seem like the Feeders way."

"So, are you saying this might not have been a Feeder?" Jaris asked.

"We can't say for sure. Since their blood was drained, it's possible it was them. Perhaps, they're trying out a new method or something." Jaris remained silent for some time, as did everyone.

"Identify the body and let his family know." He turned to the guards."1need you to be more useful around here.You only have one job at night-stop those monsters from getting into my Pack."②

They bowed their heads. "We'll try our very best, Alpha."

I felt colder as we walked back to the car. Jarisalso looked worried. It was more noticeable when he was away from his men.

"I'm sure this will come to an end soon," I said to him, trying to help with the situation.

He brushed his hands through his hair as he shook his head, but he didn't say a word.

His hand reached for the key to turn on the ignition, but before he could touch it, something strange happened.

He suddenly groaned and fell backward,hitting his head on the seat rest.

"Alpha Jaris!" I took off my seatbelt and held him. "What is wrong?"

His hand gripped his forehead, like it was aching. My anxiety shot to a whole new level when I noticed he was bleeding from the nose.

No. No. No. What was happening?