~YULIA
I was really enjoying the knowledge Albus was imparting me with before Issa showed up.
I had never seen him as angry as this before. I hastily said goodbye to the chancellor of my school before I followed Issa outside.
“The unexpected has happened,” Albus said to me with a wink as he walked away.
His response gave me an odd feeling that he knew something was about to go down. Something I was not going to like.
I almost began to run after Issa because he was stomping the ground as he walked.
“Could you please slow down and tell me what is going on?” I asked him.
Issa stopped walking and sighed. He ran a frustrated hand through his rough curly long hair.
“Talk to me, what is the matter?” I asked in a soft tone.
“I am guessing daddy proposed to him,” Andrea said as she appeared from wherever she came from with a long thin black cigarette in between her fingers.
Confusion hit me as I looked at Issa. “What is she talking about?”
“Let us leave here,” Issa said. “I will tell you everything when we get home.”
“There is nothing to be ashamed of, Issa,” Andrea said with a smile that showed that she was enjoying my discomfort.
I really wanted to know what the hell was going on.
“Deucalion wants me to mate with Iris,” Issa said.
And I went quiet for a few motionless seconds before my brain finally comprehended what he said.
“What?”
“He said that daddy wants his cock in my elder sister,” Andrea said in a mocking tone.
“Could you shut the hell up?” I snapped at Andrea who shrugged and raised her hand in mock surrender.
“Why are you so angry?” I asked him. “You clearly refused right?”
“There is something that I want from him and he has been holding it hostage for years,” Issa said. “I have to marry his daughter before I can get it from him.”
“What is he keeping from you?” I asked.
“An ancient key,” he replied.
“He wants you to mate with Iris all because of a key?” I asked in utter disbelief.
“It is a very important key,” He said looking deep into my eyes and I realized that the key he was talking about had something to do with me.
“Let us go home,” I said and held him by the hand.
Andrea got in our way and I rolled my eyes.
“You know I hate just how close you two are becoming,” She said, looking at us with pure envy. “Maybe I should tell everyone at the party about your dirty little secret,” She threatened with a cold smile.
My heart began to beat fast. I dreaded what everyone would say at school or how it would affect Issa and his work or his reputation. I would be a social outcast!
I looked worriedly at Issa who had a calm expression on his face.
“And then what happens after that?” He asked Andrea who was a bit confused by his calmness.
“You are calling my bluff,” Andrea said as soon as she realized it. “You don’t think I have the guts to it?” She asked.
“I know you have the guts, Andrea, what I am asking is what you think will happen after you do it,” Issa replied.
He left my side and moved closer to Andrea.
“Let me tell you what happens after you…expose me,” he began. “Nothing. A few talks and whispers and outrage but nothing of no real consequence. Then your father hates you more than ever…so much that he banishes you from his life and then no matter what you do or who you fuck, it will not matter because you longer mean anything to him,” Issa said with so much calmness and calculated coldness that Andrea gasped in shock and pain.
“And that is what you fear the most, Andrea, meaning nothing to your dear old father, not being able to get his attention, not being able to spite him, not being able to get a reaction from him. Because deep down, you know that you have lost him if he no longer cares.” Issa said with such finality there was no denying that what he said was true. “So go ahead, do your worst.”
He turned away from her, leaving her rooted there in pain. I saw the tears run down her face as Issa held my hand and together, we headed for the exit.
As we walked, I turned my head to look at Andrea. I should not have done so. I saw the promise of revenge in her tear filled icy blue eyes as they were trained on me.
I quickly looked away. I knew that Andrea was never going to give up on tearing Issa and I apart. I had seen it in her eyes.
We arrived at the car and got in. “That was the harshest thing I have ever heard you say to anyone,” I said as I fastened my seat belt.
“She needed to hear it,” Issa said as he started the car. “Maybe this time, she will stop hoping for what will never happen.”
“I don’t think she will give up on you, Issa, I saw the look in her eyes,” I said with doubt in my voice.
“The Cravens have always been a stubborn bunch,” Issa said as he pulled out of the driveway and drove into the thick forest of trees that lead to the gates.
The car was silent for a while as Issa drove with a grim expression on his face.
“Why does Deucalion want you to mate with his daughter? I asked.
“He has always wanted me to pick one of them as my mate, I just ignored him until he got bolder and more desperate,” Issa replied as he drove.
“Just like the Rasputin family,” I mused.
“There are lots of families who have the same interests, not just the Rasputins and the Cravens,” he revealed to me.
This was what a Lycan’s life was about. Being offered women from left to right so his pure Lycan blood can be passed down.
“And this is why I want to keep our bond a secret,” he said. “You can be a target when they find out that you are more than just my niece.”
Great. First, I was being hunted by witches of the dark and now I was a potential target for rivals aiming for Issa’s seed. I was beginning to get tired of my existence.
I could not even Mate in peace.