Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
Wren
Ishake my head in denial as Malakai throws down a stack of torn posters.
Wanted posters.
All bearing the face of Lyra. There’s no missing her silver hair, her bright violet eyes, and her sweet, sweet freckles.
Freckles that were glowing as brightly as her violet eyes before. But I must have gotten them confused with the purple paint that speckled her cheeks.
Yet, I could have sworn that her cheeks were glittering like real stars for a split second. Just before my brother slammed the gate and shattered the illusion.
I was just about to kiss her, too. And I know my brother saw me. I know that’s why he is furious with me right now.
He didn’t even look her way. It was as if she didn’t even exist in that moment, and now my hackles rise as my Alpha prepares to fight.
“N-no. There... there has to be a mistake...” I whisper.
Malakai scoffs. “Are you calling me a liar, brother? I know what I heard.”
Please. The townsfolk are not the most reliable source, but the posters... They’re quite worrying. Quite incriminating.
Still, it doesn’t make sense.
Now I reach a hand up, running my fingers over my face with a groan. “Ten guards? Come on, Malakai. There is no way she took on ten. No, I won’t believe it. Lyra is innocent. She has to be. When I found her, she was hurt. They… they pierced her with arrows!”
I don’t care what he, the townsfolk, or the posters say. Lyra is not a murderer. She is kind, sweet, and innocent.
And I think I’m…
No. I can’t go there. Lyra is just our guest. Her stay at the cabin is only temporary. Still, I want this place to feel as much like her home as it is ours.
Fidget already loves her, I can tell. He’s normally wary of strangers. He certainly doesn’t like Malakai, that’s for sure.
So, if my fox trusts her, then I sure as heck can trust her too. Animals don’t just gravitate to anyone, after all.
Gage is tense and quiet beside us, keeping his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes burn a hole through the wanted posters.
Meanwhile, I’m still adjusting to the news. “No. We… we have to at least give her a chance.”
Malakai raises his brow. “A chance to what? Stab one of us in our sleep? Wake up, Wren.”
A growl escapes me, and then I hover closer to my brother, pulling up my sleeves. “You take that back.”
But Malakai is relentless. He just wants to dig the knife in deeper now, and pardon the pun, but Lyra would never stab one of us.
Even Malakai. Even though he’d probably deserve it.
Malakai rolls his eyes at me, shaking his own head in disappointment. “Admit it, Wren. Your little stray is hiding something. You have to be at least a little suspicious.”
My teeth snap as I show him my fangs, but my brother just snorts at my reaction. “Take it back. Take back all the cruel things you just said about her.”
My brother sighs, folding his arms. “Or what? She’s already so far into your head. She’s going to tear this pack apart.”
My vision blurs red as I can’t take my incensed gaze off Malakai. “No. You’re tearing us apart.”
Malakai is on a roll, though, as he chuckles this time. “Ah, fuck. Please don’t tell me you’re falling for a murderer, brother? I saw you with her just now. You were about to kiss her.”
Gage finally comes back to us, staring at me in shock. “Is that true?”
But I only have eyes for Malakai.
He’s snickering at my expense now. “More like a kiss of death. I bet she’s already planning ten different ways to kill you in your sleep. You really are an idiot!”
“Malakai!” Gage barks, but I’m too livid to hear him now.
In one move, I have Malakai up against the wall, red staining my vision as I wrap my fingers around his throat.
Malakai laughs harder, even though I’m about to strangle him. He’s loving every moment. “Go on, do it! Rip my fucking face off! Prove my point, brother.”
Oh, I plan to. If he insinuates that she is a killer one more time, then I’ll do more than rip his face off.
Gage pushes us apart, using his Alpha bark now, and we have no choice but to relent. He is pack lead here, after all, and we do as he bids.
“Enough. Both of you. Mom and Dad would be turning in their graves!”
I back off, but not before giving my shitty brother another warning growl. “You stay away from her, Malakai. I won’t let you scare her off again.”
My brother just glares at me through thick strands of black hair, gripping his throat. His skin is red from where I’d wrapped my fingers around his neck.
That’s when Gage’s voice cuts through the tension. “Hold on... Where is the Omega right now?”
It takes me a few moments to think straight. I left her out in the yard, painting...
Alone.
Without supervision.
An awful sensation washes through me next, and I don’t think; I break into a run, rushing outside into the pouring rain.
But when I reach the chicken coop, a groan escapes me.
Lyra...
She’s gone.