Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Interrupted Conversations Cassie.

Blaring music, drinks, and wild dancing were what awaited me when Sansa, Trixie, and I finished getting ready and made our way towards where this party was supposed to be located. I was still trying to wrap my mind around how this place worked, but for the most part, it wasn’t too much different from the home I had left.

Feeling confident in my outfit, I walked into the school with my head held high. The last thing I was going to do was let my little stunt from earlier prevent me from enjoying myself. Perhaps I had made a spectacle of myself, and maybe I did make out with Lucas.

‘But that wasn’t too bad, and now I’d be prepared. Right?

“Oh, wow!” a tall lavender-haired girl said with sparkling blue eyes. “Trixie, you guys look amazing.”

I didn’t have the slightest clue who this girl was, but as Trixie leaned in, giving her a hug, I figured they knew each other well so didn’t bother to say anything. “Hey Prim, I didn’t think Mom was going to let you come.”

Prim shrugged her shoulders with a smile. “She changed her mind.”

“You mean you snuck out?” Trixie replied with laughter before both girl’s gazes turned towards me.

“This is my friend Cassie.”

Prim’s eyes gazed over my body, taking in what I was wearing. She looked quite young, much younger than I and Trixie. “Hey.”

After a few more moments and a quiet smile, she quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd, her head bobbing up and down as she moved to the beat of the music, following in with all of the dancing taking place. When Trixie looked back at me from where her sister had once just disappeared, she seemed amused by the entire situation.

“My sister is so dead. Mom’s going to freak,” Trixie mumbled with laughter before taking my hand. The three of us made our way toward the bar, where I noticed top- shelf booze. I won’t lie. I was impressed.

Somewhere through the night, I lost track of Sansa and Trixie, both of my friends venturing off to dance with men I didn’t know. I, however, was currently happy doing exactly what I was doing. Which was absolutely nothing as I reclined back in the massive hammock that hung between two enormous trees out in the garden.

Multiple empty bottles of beer scattered the ground below me while a half-empty one relaxed within my grip. I had met a couple of interesting people tonight, but for the most part, I kept to myself. Heads did turn and people did make comments about how gorgeous I looked, but it didn’t matter.

The last thing I wanted to do was entertain those people, and the only reason why I came was because my friends made me.

Stretching my arms out over my head, I let my gaze fall to the sky, where the two beautiful, large iridescent moons circled one another, taking my breath every time I saw them. One thing I loved about this place was how beautiful the nature was. It was so intoxicating and so different from what I had been used to back home.

With my eyes captivated by the celestial orb above me, I didn’t take notice of the slow movements coming up from the left side of me. “What’s a gorgeous girl like you doing out here all alone?”

Startled by the deep, intoxicating voice, I quickly sat up in the hammock and turned to face a man I had never seen before in my life. He was incredibly sexy, with dark chocolate brown hair, penetrating bluish green eyes and a white smile that literally felt like it had its own spotlight. Even his body was toned to perfection, his chest on display with the four top buttons of his shirt completely open. I was ogling him, of course, and the dark patterns of tattoos that crossed over his left pec made me bite my bottom lip with wonder.

“Gorgeous?” I chuckle to myself. “Why is it that someone like you is out here worrying about someone like me?”

Yes, I was being vague, but I wanted to know who he was.

After all, he could be someone to have fun with. I know I wouldn’t mind having fun with him.

“Changing the subject, I see,” he replied with a smirk as he stepped closer. His eyes gazing down at me, making my heart race with every single step he made in my direction. “I came out here to get some fresh air. The girls inside tend to be overwhelming.”

“They want to fuck you and you are not interested. I find that hard to believe.”

My blunt response caused him to laugh even more as he nodded his head. “I don’t want a girl who’s going to be easy. I want a girl who’s going to challenge me. And there’s not a single woman in that room in there who can do that.”

I see. So you just decided to come out here and find one instead?”

Again, I was being forward and, honestly, I didn’t care what he thought about me. I found this whole interaction amusing. Climbing out of the hammock, I moved toward the sidewalk with my beer in hand, leaving behind the complete mess I had made. I noticed he followed close behind me.

“Where are you going? It’s not safe for someone like you to be out here all alone.”·

Stopping in my tracks, I turned to look over my shoulder at him. Was he being serious right now? Me, of all people, wasn’t safe walking alone at night. “You’re joking, right?”

“No, I’m being serious. There’s all kinds of weirdos out here,” he chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

“I hate to break it to you, Mr, but I am a weirdo.” I had heard the line so many times while sitting there watching movies and going through social media, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to be able to use it.

He blanked for a moment, obviously not expecting what I had said. It seemed to have dawned on him, and he broke out into a fit of laughter. “Touché. You said that with a straight face.”

There was something about this guy I just couldn’t get over. He was mysterious and yet sarcastic, and I enjoyed every moment of it, quite different from how Lucas was, or even my brother, for that matter.

“What’s your name?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at me, his smile growing just a little bit wider. “My name is Silas, and you’re Cassie.”

“Oh, so you have heard me?” I replied with a small smile as I watched him nod.

“After your little stunt today, everybody in school knows who you are. You really did put your brother to shame out there. Not cool. But I mean, I could understand being your brother. He probably pissed you off and deserved it.”

Staring at Silas, I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s complicated.”

‘It wasn’t actually as complicated as I led on, but that wasn’t something he needed to know. Instead, I’d rather have Silas be curious about what the issues were. Keeping them living in suspense was always so much more interesting.

The way his eyes watched me while I moved was as if he was the hunter and I was his prey. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to determine his next move with me or if perhaps he was simply trying to figure me out.

Regardless, I was slightly drunk and perhaps a little in need of something much more sustainable.

Something physical I had been lacking for quite some time.

“What’s running through your mind right now, Cassie?” The chuckled murmur of his question made me smile as I reached out, wrapping my hand around a nearby light post, swinging my body around it slowly as I watched him.

“There is a lot on my mind, but the one thing that stands out is why you’re out here wasting your time with me.”

Shifting from foot to foot, he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just came out for fresh air—”

Laughter escaped me as I shook my head, cutting him off mid-sentence. “See, I don’t think that’s true.

In fact, I think you came out here for something more.”

With raised eyebrows, a smirk crossed his face as he took two steps closer towards me.

“Is that right?”

“Mhmm-” I nodded, glancing up at his towering figure. The smoothness of the alcohol ran through my veins, calming my nerves that would usually be present. “What is it that you want, Silas?”

1 The moment his name rolled off my tongue, I could have sworn I heard a low growl of satisfaction leave the belly of his throat. Only a foot of space laid between us as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. “Perhaps I want you.”

Perhaps he wanted me? The internal amusement of his comment made me warm, and as I contemplated the idea of telling him no, the lust driven desires coursing through me wanted so much more. “Perhaps then you should prove it?”

Using his freehand to brush back a piece of hair from my face, he bent down to kiss me. Yet, before his lips could even brush mine, his body was ripped away and a thundering roar echoed about the air.

Shaken up and unsure of what the hell had just happened, I looked up at the figure of a man standing between Silas and I.

It was Lucas, and with heaving shoulders moving up and down, I could tell he was pissed. “Lucas-”

“Shut up, Cassie,” he growled without even looking in my direction. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

Silas stood to his feet quickly and spun to face Lucas with brilliant fiery red eyes and a snarl on his lips that spoke of nothing but the anger that must have been coursing through him. “Who the fuck do you think you are touching me?”

“The man who will fucking rip you apart if you touch what belongs to me again.”

Lucas’ warning was not to be toyed with, and as much as he got on my nerves, I prayed Silas would just walk away. The last thing I wanted was something else to draw negative attention to us being here.

But honestly, what was I to do?

It wasn’t like I knew Silas well enough to save his ass, even though he was absolutely sexy. “Oh, come on… can we not do this tonight?” I asked them with a sigh as I brushed myself off.

Lucas glared at me from over his shoulder with a look of disgust. “You’re my mate.”

“Wait, what?” Silas replied, his demeanor calming down as he looked between Lucas’ and I with confusion. “That’s not possible—”

“Are you calling me a liar, dragon?” Lucas snapped as his fangs protruded from beneath his top lip. He was slowly losing control, and moving to stand in front of him, I placed my hands upon his chest to calm his quickly rising temper.

“Lucas, enough,” I muttered softly before turning to face Silas. “Silas, I think you should go.”

He scoffed, running his hand through his hair before shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, sure. I’ll catch you later.”

Lucas moved to charge after him, but I quickly stopped him in his tracks, watching as Silas disappeared from sight before I let him go. “That was uncalled for, Lucas.”

“Uncalled for?” he snapped at me as I rolled my eyes and moved to walk away. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Snatching my arm, he pulled me back to him, spinning me so my eyes stared into his. The touch of him set my body alive, and as I looked up into those angry, deep, swirling masses, I found my breath hitch.

“Let me go.”

“No!” he yelled, “I’m your mate. How could you entertain that fucking dragon?”

I hadn’t meant for him to get upset like he was, and part of me felt guilty. But the fact of the matter was he had entertained and flirted with girls at the arena, so why shouldn’t I have fun?

“Mate? Last time I checked, we weren’t bonded, Lucas.”

Gripping me tighter, he pulled me flush against his chest. “That’s because you keep denying what we should be, Cassie.”

He wasn’t wrong, but at the same time, I wasn’t going to give in to him so easily. I wouldn’t just allow him to claim me because he thought it was his right. That wasn’t the kind of relationship I wanted. “You have to earn my trust, Lucas. I won’t just give it away because the gods deemed us compatible.”

“See, it’s comments like that Cassie… that make me think you’re simply scared of me.”

Tight against him, his breath fanned across the side of my face. I couldn’t let myself fall into the desires he created within me. However, the longer I remained wrapped in his scent, the harder it became to resist the urges brewing inside me.

I had thought I would be able to resist the urge to let him take me, but no matter how hard I tried to deny the inevitable, it kept pulling me in.

“Let me go, Lucas,” I whispered as I turned my gaze to his once more. “Now…”

A chuckle of amusement glinted from the corner of his eyes as he smiled. “Never.”

The moment his lips brushed against mine in a savage and passionate kiss, I moaned in satisfaction, wanting more.

God, I wanted so much fucking more.