Chapter 81

And there he went again. All the butterflies in her belly died that very second. She turned to look at the man and said to him, "You are still an arsehole." noveldrama

"So my sister often says. Although it only happens when I get a bit overprotective of her and stop her from going out at night," replied Killian with a smile on his face.

"Are you close to Miss Selene?"

Pleased that she was willing to talk with him about his personal life, Killain said to him, "I am indeed pretty close to her. She is the only one who gets me, though Edira tries, but she has her own issues, which she has yet to get past." Going through some bad experiences made them bond together, but then again, it did leave some sour, traumatic experiences behind.

"So you have one close-knit family?" Inez asked, and she stiffened when she saw the man s smile drop. All traces of his usual playfulness were gone, and he said to her, "Now that s not a story you want to hear."

"When did I say that?"

"Because I know it," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "It s a twisted story, and you don t want to hear it."

Inez rolled her eyes when she heard his response. Alright, if he continued to ignore her questions, then it was going to get a bit annoying. But then again, did she really need to hear his answers and stories? Plus, it wasn t as if Killian himself had tried to poke his nose in her issues either. He never pushed her to confide in him about her, which could be painful for her.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, and neither of them spoke. But it wasn t awkward or tense. The presence of the male beside her seemed to smooth her edgy nerves. However, her nerves turned ragged the second they arrived at Remi s territory.

As they stopped at Remi s territory, which included a bunch of cabins that were scattered all over the place. They were escorted to the main cabin by two enforcers, and inside sat Remi, along with none other than Dominic. Inez s siren side stirred within her as she saw the man who had abandoned them. The very man who stomped on their pride and left them to lick their wounds when he should have cared and loved them.

Inez clenched her teeth tightly as she could feel them elongating, wanting to take a chunk of the man s heart. Her siren wanted to take a bite of the heart of their ex-mate and see if he was truly as dark as they thought he was.

"Alpha Sokolov!" Remi greeted Killian with a smile on his lips. He was a dark-skinned man with striking features and a rather handsome smile but when compared to Killian, the man still fell short to various degrees.

He got to his feet with a smile. As the two of them came to a stop in front of the sofa, Ines had to clench her fists. Hatred as thick as mamba venom was coursing in her veins, and yet she had to regulate her heartbeat and breathing. The last thing she wanted was for Dominic to recognise that there was something wrong with her.

"It is." Killian shook hands with Remi as he pointed to Inez and introduced her with a smile. "And this is Lyla." He said the first name that popped into his head, but Inez, who noticed that the name sounded way too similar to Lyra, couldn t help but turn to look at the man with a subtle glint in her eyes.

Remi nodded at the two of them. Though he was smiling, Inez could see that he was rather worried. He gestured to the woman beside him and introduced, "This is my mate Janet. And over there are my beta and my two enforcers. And of course you know Alpha Cherith, don t you?"

"Of course," Killian replied with a nod, which he exchanged with Dominic.

He could notice that Dominic was studying Inez with an interest that he quite didn t like. He arched a brow at the man and stated, "Eh, what s wrong, Alpha Cherith? What are you doing by checking out my female companion? As far as I know, you already have someone by your side. Don t you?"

"What was her name...? Ah, yes. Eve." He looked around and remarked, "Where is that woman? I was looking forward to seeing her. After all, I want to know what kind of beauty it is for you to abandon and hurt your mate in such an embarrassing manner?"

Dominic clenched and unclenched his fingers upon hearing his remark. However, he smiled at the man and replied, "I don t know what you are talking about, Alpha Sokolov. I never did such a thing. In fact, I am looking for my mate who ran away for no reason."

"No reason?" Inez couldn t help but raise her voice when she heard the shameless words of the man.

The three men turned to look at her, and Inez flushed slightly red. However, she still persisted as she said to Dominic, "I don t think that a woman would leave her mate for no reason. I believe that there must be a reason why she left you, Alpha Cherith. If you are going to look for her, at least show some honesty."

Dominic frowned, and so did Tao, as the two men couldn t understand why this woman was suddenly butting in on their conversation.

"Forgive her," however, before either of them could say anything, Killian spoke up. "She has a rather soft spot when it comes to women who are abandoned by their mates. She, too, was left behind by her mate, who slept with another woman and let her suffer through the agony of the entire affair. That s the only reason she is so protective of other female shifters."

He then turned to look at Dominic with his lips twisted in a mocking sneer. "I know that you will not blame her, Alpha Cherith. After all, you have to agree that shifters who degrade and disrespect the greatest gift given to them by the moon goddess in such a manner are nothing but worse than trash."