215–In My Bedroom
Nora:
Galinda broke down, dropping to her knees and wailing hysterically. She didn’t believe a word that came out of Lord Atwood’s mouth. Even I was stunned by the turn of events. My mind had lost all sense of coherence. I stood among them, shivering at the intensity of her screams and cries.
I recalled how Mia desperately wanted to be a part of this family and attend this ball with Silas. Little did she or anyone know that she wouldn’t even survive the ball night.
“Hey,” Nash quickly got down on his knees to comfort her, while Ryker grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the scene. He escorted me upstairs to my bedroom, locked the door behind us, and stood with his arms folded across his chest.
“Are you okay?” he asked, keeping watch at the door. Firstly, I was surprised that I silently followed him without showing any resistance.
I wasn’t sure why he was blocking my path, but I had no intention of leaving the room myself. Hearing Galinda cry like that was unnerving.
“Is it really Mia?” I asked, and Ryker nodded.
“But Ryker, why was she in the woods anyway?” It didn’t make sense. that she would leave or wander around the woods at night, especially the same night the Whistler escaped.
“The one who knew the answer to that question is gone now,” Ryker uttered. “You should change and rest.”
13.100
215 My Bedroom
He said, but I shook my head. Despite the gown feeling heavy on my body, I didn’t feel like changing or doing anything. I kept recalling my last interaction with Mia. It had not been pleasant. She seemed so determined to make her dreams come true.
I buried my face in my hands and only uncovered it when a knock on the door revealed the brothers arriving at my room, one by one, except for Nash. He had to stay behind with his father. And I can only imagine how guilty he must be feeling since his father called him out for being the reason behind the whistler escaping.
“What the heck is happening?” Silas scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief at how the night had ended.
“We need to tighten the pack’s security and ensure no one is roaming around the woods for now,” Ryker ordered, his fists clenched. It was odd that they had decided to have this conversation in my room.
“Start with her!” Cain suddenly gestured towards me, using his head and eyes to point in my direction.
Silas and Ryker turned to me, their gaze fixed on Cain, waiting for
answers.
“I caught her lurking around the woods the other night. She claimed to have heard some screams and decided to go into the woods to rescue the victim,” he didn’t even bother to pull his hands out of his pockets as
he informed them.
The way they looked back at me showed their extreme displeasure. Given the recent murder in our mansion and the loss of one of our
own, I understood their heightened vigilance for everyone’s security.
But Ryker’s reaction seemed excessive to me.
13:10
215 My Bedroom
“Really? We would appreciate it if you stopped getting yourself into trouble. Why the hell did you even go into the woods? What could you have possibly done?” he hissed, fists clenched and veins bulging.
When Silas stepped forward, I expected him to calm Ryker down, but instead, his response was even more intimidating.
“If you find her wandering outside again, let me know and I’ll chain her to her bed,” Silas gritted through clenched teeth.
I didn’t argue with them as they stood before me, hands on their waists, their expressions grim.
“Okay.” I muttered in agreement. It was only after I nodded that they sighed and turned to each other.
“You stay guard in her room for the night. The monsters have their whistler back and he’ll definitely try to ruin the peace of the pack. They will attack again, so Dad wants someone to stay in her room while the others go in search of the whistler,” Cain patted Ryker’s back. Ryker nodded, but sneaked a glance in my direction.
I wanted to tell him I didn’t want him in my room, but I realized they were already angry, and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.
“I will go start investigating everyone at the prison,” Silas said wearily as he left the room.
I didn’t know why all of this had to happen tonight. Poor Mia! My heart went out to her mother; it must be such a difficult night for her.
“I will go patrol the woods,” Cain added as he walked out of the room. Now it was just Ryker and me.
Ryker locked the door and then went to check if the windows were
1310
215 In My Bedroom
secured.
“You’re going to stand there all night?” I asked, my tone annoyed.
“Why? You want me to dance for you?” He reverted to his old, rude, and arrogant self, the way he used to be when we first met.
“Fuck you!” I hissed, getting up and walking towards the bathroom, but his interruption stopped me.
“Brody left you at the ball tonight, didn’t he?” Ryker’s tone was mocking. I turned around and glared at him.
“Because a certain someone’s girlfriend told him that I ruined my own dress just so I could wear this one,” I muttered, hoping to silence him, but nope! He knew how to provoke an argument.
“Oh, is that so? Now that I think about it, what if you’re the one who really did ruin the dress?” His head tilted, and I felt a surge of anger, almost wanting to punch him in the face.
“I’m not all bad, you know!” Tears welled up in my eyes, and his expression softened.
“I was just joking,” he groaned, before walking away to stand by the door in the dark. I didn’t care if he was joking or not. The truth was their trust in me had been shaken. They all now saw me as someone capable of lying for attention or revenge.
I changed into my nightdress and went straight to bed while he stayed awake, guarding me the entire night.
78031