I was the only reason he was here?
I chuckled, then stopped short when I saw the myriad of emotions in his eyes, the story in them, the seemingly want in them for me.
He generally looked like a puppy panting after his master for a tap on the head. He looked at me like I was a drop of water needed by a traveler in the dry sandy desert.
But I knew Adam. I knew what he had done.
As I stared at him, my mind reeled off his deeds again-not that I ever forgot his inhumane acts- and my hands clenched into tight fists, as I struggled to hold back the urge to slap him.
The anger bubbling inside me threatened to overflow, but I forced myself to remain composed, to keep my emotions in check.
What was Adam’s plan? How could he look so serene, so calm, while talking to me as if nothing had happened? It was infuriating.
If I didn’t know what he had done, if I hadn’t discovered the truth about his betrayal, I might have fallen for his facade once again. I might have been drawn back into his web of deceit and manipulation.
But I knew better now. I knew the darkness that lurked beneath his charming exterior. I knew the pain and suffering he had caused me, both physically and emotionally.
He had slept with me out of spite, seeking to hurt me in the cruelest way possible. And when I had tried to leave, he had turned violent, nearly killing me in his rage, in the company of his brothers.
Yet despite the pain he had inflicted upon me, he stood before me with that same calm expression, as if he had done nothing wrong. It was maddening. It was sickening. But it was also a reminder of the power I held in my hands.
If it hadn’t been for the mask I was wearing, the physical mask, and then of course the mask of indifference and strength that I had learned to don in the face of adversity, I might have crumbled before him. I might have let him manipulate me once again.
But not this time. This time, I had a plan of my own. Life had given me a second chance, a chance for revenge. And I intended to seize it with both hands.
As I maintained his gaze, I felt a fire burning inside me, a fire fueled by anger and determination. I would not let him break me again. I would not let him win.
With a steely resolve, I squared my shoulders and let my fists uncurl. There was no need letting him know that he irritated me this much.
Adam may think he had the upper hand with his fine face and smooth words, but little did he know, I was already plotting my next move. And this time, he wouldn’t see me coming.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You don’t believe me?”
I gave Adam a last glance, walked around him, then sat in the place he had been sitting before. He joined me there the next second.
I knew why I had let him, and why I sat there, thinking, instead of just walking away from him.
“Are you that desperate to bed a girl?” I finally asked, looking straight at him, so that I could absorb his entire emotion and know what to do with him.
He was shocked, a knowing shock, like he knew that’s what I thought of him, but didn’t know I would be so outspoken of it, that I would be so outspoken of a lie about him. But how was it a lie?
He was a notable womanizer, before and after me.
“Dora, I will be honest with you. I like girls. I like sleeping around, although that has reduced drastically since…”
There was a pause, and I piqued my eyebrows at him.
“You mentioned honesty. So, I think you should stick with that if you want me to stay here.”
He inhaled deeply, and laid down on the thick hay, then beckoned on me with his eyes.
I obliged him. I was looking for something. I was looking for the truth, and he seemed the most vulnerable, like he had been in the cave.
Could be another ploy. I knew. But I was curious about the cards he would play.
“I don’t think I have slept with another girl apart from Claire since the event with Maya.”
Okay, we were getting there.
“Who is Maya?”
There was empty silence, and for a minute I thought he wouldn’t be answering my question.
“Maya was the girl my heart first beat for. She was sunshine to my darkness, and it is still weird that I had bullied her at first.”
I shifted uncomfortably, hearing him talking about me in such a soft tone.
I readjusted the mask on my face too, slightly, such that he didn’t notice the hand movement. His entire focus was on the stars-stained sky.
“We bullied her because she had no wolf gene. Not my proudest moment, I have to say. As a matter of fact, I have regretted my actions everyday. I don’t think I will ever stop. I keep thinking that was the reason why she had absconded from the pack, from the holding cell. She had thought that perhaps we would… I don’t know, leave her there. But I had actually convinced my father to let her go, and had shown my father evidence that there was no way Maya had been behind the theft. The elders had agreed too, including Naomi’s father…”
“Okay, backtrack a bit. You just switched from Maya being the sunshine to Maya being in prison. Could you explain the in-between events, and how it all started, so I won’t be confused?” I interrupted him.
Just perhaps this mask would be useful for collecting information. Just perhaps, it might be worth the sweat beading on my nose, the little scratches on my face, and not breathing properly.