Tasting 148

148–My Brother For My Rescue

Nora:

My eyes were swollen as I rushed out of the school, with no idea of the kind of danger waiting for

me outside. The weather had turned eerily foggy by then. Shielding my eyes from the dust particles

with my arm, I made my way back home.

“Akira, we’re doomed,” I urged, hoping she would say something to comfort me.

“I don’t know what to say. Why did Natalie do that? And April just went along with it?” she hissed,

her broken voice hinting that she was also hurting.

“I am so annoyed. And scared,” I added, my voice breaking.

The narrow street I took almost stopped me in my tracks when I saw some people standing in the

fog. It was like they were standing still, looking in my direction.

The white fog covered the upper halves of their bodies to the point that I couldn’t even tell if they

were men or women. But I knew they were looking my way. They stood eerily still as well.

“Hey! Can you please move? I need to get past you,” I uttered, still tearing up but trying to look

confident.

With my hand on my bag strap and my eyes fixated on them, I waited and waited, but they didn’t

move a muscle.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” I called out again. This time, I turned my

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148 My Brother For My Rescue

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attention away, just to look around and spot someone who I could ask about what was going on.

I had only looked away from them briefly, but when I looked back, they had moved. Not just any

movement, but they all seemed a little closer this time. It made me frown and take a step back.

All of them moved in the same pattern at once. Who were they, and why were they standing there

like statues?

“Um! I am the Alpha King’s stepsister,” I called out, hoping the title I had been using—and was

probably going to be snatched away from me—would work in my favor. But as before, they didn’t

respond.

Just to test, I purposely looked away for only a second, and when I returned my gaze, they had

stepped one step closer again.

“Ah!” I gasped as goosebumps covered my body. Not only were they stepping closer, but the fog

moved with them. Part of me wanted to walk past them and maybe see who they were, but the other

part, which wasn’t connected to Akira, forbade me. She was the one who wasn’t afraid of things like

that when she should be.

Now, I just stood before them, my eyes glued to them. My breathing was all over the place as I

figured the minute I looked away, they would get closer. My knees were shaking, and my eyes filled

with tears from the unannounced danger. That’s when a hand on my shoulder jolted me into jumping

and looking away from them.

“What are you doing here?” Silas asked, standing behind me in a black oversized hoodie.

“Those people–” I turned to point at the people in a hurry because I felt like every time I looked

away, they walked closer, but this time, they Were on

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“There were some people–” I turned to face Silas, who was keen on listening to what I had to say.

“Come, let me drop you home,” he uttered, holding my arm and

dragging me back to his car until I recalled I wasn’t supposed to talk to him.

I had promised that he would be invisible to me from now on. So instead of sliding into the car, I

slammed the door shut and stepped away from it.

He was in the process of getting in on the driver’s side when he saw me step away from his vehicle.

“Seriously? Now is that the time, Nora? Let’s go home,” he rolled his eyes, insisting in a much nicer

tone.

I stayed silent, giving him the silent treatment. Then I turned to walk away when I recalled I would

have to pass that same narrow road. With a big sigh, I spun around and got inside his car in a bitter

mood. He joined me, and after hitting the road, I stopped thinking about those people and recalled

the terrifying events from school.

I was asked to bring my stepfather to school. How would I do that? What would I tell him? Or should

I just skip school altogether? I mean, nothing good comes from studying. I shrugged to myself, but

then my mind recalled all the taunting words and slurs.

“You don’t seem okay,” Silas‘ heavy voice brought my attention back from school.

“Did something happen at school? Why aren’t you attending the combat class?” he continued to

ask, driving casually and effortlessly.

“You can give me the silent treatment all you want, but let me tell you,

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that’s childish. What happened that night was really disturbing for me. I was in the middle of some

important stuff when all that happened–” now that he was talking in a calmer tone, I turned to him.

“And what your friends and your chick did to me, was that not. disturbing for me?” I complained.

“Nora! She is not my chick. I have never laid a finger on her. I don’t do those one–night things. I

don’t have time for it. As for those assholes, I took care of them, okay? They won’t be on their feet

ever again,” he hissed, hitting the steering wheel before calming himself down.

“Why? Why did you take care of them?” The pathetic me wanted to hear he was improving. And

surprise, surprise! He showed a different side of himself.

“Because they put their hands on you,” he murmured almost shyly.

“But don’t you think I’ve accepted you as my stepsister. I am still pretty annoyed with you, and I hate

you,” he hissed instantly, trying to come back from acting all cute.

“I know,” I sighed.

That’s when I noticed he had turned his head to me as he added, “Of course, the playful hate.”

I bit my tongue but didn’t turn to look at him again. Sadly, I wasn’t going to stay at the mansion for

too long after those kinds of rumors had been spread about me and my stepbrothers.