Stranger? I mused sardonically. Strangers indeed.
I huffed and looked away from him as he leaned against the same wall where I sought solace, a perplexing silence settling between us, punctuated only by the faint whispers of the night breeze. The air crackled with unspoken words, the weight of the recent events lingering palpably.
His unexpected presence ignited a tumult of conflicting thoughts within me. What was he doing here, standing beside me, when he should have been immersed in the realm of his chosen mate or comforting his grieving girlfriend?
The intricacies of his life, entangled in relationships I didn’t fully comprehend, stirred a simmering curiosity within me, even though I had no intention of voicing them out. It was best we remained in no speaking terms.
As I stole a glance at him, his profile bathed in the soft glow of moonlight, a myriad of questions swirled within my mind. The enigma of Adam’s presence beside me in this moment of turmoil and vulnerability tugged at the fringes of my consciousness.
Was it duty that brought him here, a sense of obligation to safeguard those under his charge? Or was it a deeper connection, an unspoken understanding that transcended the constraints of his defined roles?
Don’t kid yourself, Maya. Dude is wacko. Unspoken understanding my foot! He only wanted to show off to the girl whom his brothers had lusted after and failed to grasp at the party. I was only a competition to them.
The silence stretched on, filled with the weight of unspoken inquiries. Adam’s inscrutable demeanor offered no answers, his gaze fixated on the star-speckled canvas of the night sky. His stoic expression betrayed nothing, leaving me adrift in a sea of unanswered questions.
Despite the lingering uncertainties, a subtle sense of comfort pervaded the space between us. The absence of words became a language in itself, a silent dialogue of unspoken emotions and uncharted territories.
I hated the comfort. I wanted out.
And perhaps, that’s why I coughed, intentionally of course, bringing an end to the weird comfort that had come to permeate the atmosphere. I wanted no comfort with Adam.
Tension was better. It kept me on my toes, and made me unable to dwell in murky memories of passion, or the ooze of manliness bamboozling my nostrils.
The night air now hung heavy with unspoken tension as Adam, standing beside me, broke the silence with a tentative inquiry about the events that transpired in the hall. His voice, laced with concern, sought answers to the turmoil that had unfolded earlier, but I remained resolute in my silence.
“You aren’t going to talk to me too? Why? What is your beef with I and siblings? What have we done?” He asked, breaking his contact with the wall, and striding in one step to stand in front of me.
I inhaled deeply, counting numbers. I couldn’t risk a panic attack. Good I had swallowed the pills. I felt cool as a cucumber, aware of the simmering anger beneath the cool surface. A slight tug, and it will all pour forth.
I decided to peek a look at him from underneath my lashes. Up close, he was damn handsome, and the moon was doing a great job highlighting his features. Too bad, he was on my revenge list.
“I don’t owe you an explanation, stranger. Thanks for rescuing me, but if you’re expecting a bow, or a chatty scenario because you saved me, you got it wrong.” I answered coolly, meeting his gaze dead on. It was best to give off the chill girl vibe, it was best he didn’t know that I had a vendetta against him and his brothers.
“She talks. Finally.” Adam breathed out, returning back to his previous spot on the wall. “I apologize for the guys over there. You can be rest assured that my brothers aren’t behind that. Probably the result of a misguided sense of loyalty.”
I scoffed. His brothers weren’t capable of that? Give me a break!
“You don’t believe me? We could ask them if you want. They are in the dungeons.” He muttered, his voice laden with a mixture of concern and an eagerness to prove a point.
If only he knew.
“Not interested. Now if that’s all, I …”
“That’s not all. I would like to know you, more than the cold exterior. I have never seen you before. Your community members mentioned that you haven’t been around for a while, but I feel they are hiding something about you, something they don’t want my pack to know about. Who are you?”
“I am nobody, stranger. Stop beating around for information that doesn’t in any way concern you.” I answered, inhaling deeply when he laughed-the full laughter that had been reserved for me and his brothers, or so I had thought then.
He laughed it now, and it made me angry in a way, because I felt stupid for falling for the trick that I was among the few opportuned to hear him laugh so freely. However, here he was, laughing with a total stranger.
“Oh my…stranger you are hilarious. You remind me of an old friend of mine. She…” He stopped there, just when I was getting roped into whatever he wanted to say. He had mentioned an old friend.
I turned and spared him a glance. His face, which had been relaxed earlier after the laugh, was now contorted in pain, or was it anger? I was not sure. I only knew that his humor was gone.
“Well, that’s by the way. Tell me about you. Where have you been? You intrigue me so much.”
He was attempting to steer the conversation towards other subjects, and I found myself unable to utter a single word. A tempest of emotions churned within me, rendering me mute, unable to articulate the anger raging within my mind.
I intrigued him? Like Maya had done? For a second I was tempted to call out my name, and ask him about it, but I shook my head, thinking better of it. This was not a time and place for this discussion. I needed to get out of here.
Sensing my reticence, I made a not so subtle attempt to withdraw, to escape the looming talks. However, before I could take a step away, Adam’s firm grip on my arm halted my retreat.
His voice, edged with a hint of frustration and urgency with humour, urged me not to dismiss him as I had done with his brothers.
“I will kiss you if you refuse to answer my questions or try to walk away,”