Chapter 4 004
~~ Zia ~~
I squeeze my palms tightly when I see Caleb.
He declined my calls, and yet here he is, standing like a brother who still cares.
And he doesn’t even look at me at all.
His eyes are fixed on Flint, and there is something in them that I can’t quite name.
Is it malice?
Or anger?
I have a hard time figuring that out.
“Yes, there is a problem,” Flint answers Caleb, his voice coming out stiffer than it should. “Your sister needs a sanitary pad.”
Caleb’s eyes finally land on me.
But it is an empty look, one he has never given me before.
“I’m sorry my sister caused you problems,” he apologizes to Flint. And Ava.
As though I am in the wrong and Ava is the victim.
“Caused me problems, you say?” Flint says coldly. “That one week I gave you? It’s now two.”
The temperature in the atmosphere drops by several degrees with the icy stare Flint gives him before he walks away.
Shit.
I gave an excuse for Caleb earlier, but Flint’s words make me remember that he relieved Caleb of his duties for one week.
I look toward the roadside and see him get into his car and drive away after giving me one last glance.
Since I saw Flint at his engagement party, I have become confused, constantly pondering his actions.
I don’t even know what to call the way he reacts whenever I see him.
Sometimes it seems like he is helping me.
Other times, it feels like he is drawing a line between us.
Ava walks back into the store after glaring at me.
Caleb walks into the store too and comes back with a sanitary pad before handing it to me.
“Meet me at our family’s house when you… freshen up. There is somewhere we have to go,” he says with a blank expression.
He doesn’t even wait for me to respond before turning away and heading toward his sports car.
Leaving me standing there like a homeless person.
He doesn’t even offer to drive me home.
As unfair as his attitude is, he is the only family I have.
The only one I talk to.
I can’t lose him.
So I chase after him and catch up just as he reaches his car door.
“Cal, about yesterday—”
“Forget it, Zia. Yesterday never happened.” He doesn’t look at me as he gets into his car.
I stand there watching his car zoom away.
He claims everything is fine now, but his behavior still shows that he isn’t happy with me.
Are we ever going to have that sibling connection again?
Will he ever be comfortable with me after I refuse him?
I sigh, my shoulders slouching without meaning to.
What have I done wrong to deserve all this?
I put my mask back on but leave my hoodie down.
Then I hail a cab.
Thankfully, no one asks me to identify myself.
Otherwise, I would have ended up walking home.
On my way home, Alec’s words come back to me, and I begin overthinking again.
Honestly, it is frustrating.
That is when I realize that maybe after all these years, all I really need is closure.
I draw in a breath and slowly exhale.
Then I make a decision.
After hearing the real reason Flint rejected me and called off our engagement, I will leave for the human world.
At least no one knows me there.
No one will treat me like I am some contagious disease.
Even though I already know that a werewolf who leaves for the human world is considered a traitor and can never return, I am still willing to go.
Caleb is the only reason I stay here anyway.
And now that he is acting this way toward me, I don’t think I can survive here much longer.
So I decide that after seeing Alec tomorrow, I will leave.
I exhale sharply and nod.
⸻
When I get home, I freshen up and change my clothes.
I look around the house, feeling nostalgic but also longing for something more.
My decision to disappear into the human world feels like the best thing I can do right now.
I want to feel normal again.
I want to remember what it feels like to be treated kindly by someone who isn’t family.
I check my kitchen and discover that all I have left is one packet of noodles.
I sigh, my shoulders slumping.
Still, I force a smile onto my face even though my heart aches.
I am going to do better when I reach the human world.
Hopefully, I won’t have to live from hand to mouth.
So I cook the noodles and eat them, grateful that I have something at all.
I don’t want to go see Caleb even though he told me to meet him because we have somewhere to be.
But I need to pick a few of my parents’ belongings as keepsakes before I leave.
Even so, I hesitate.
He made it very clear that he doesn’t want to talk to me.
But I can’t leave without something that reminds me of my parents.
Of home.
And because I am ostracized, I won’t be able to enter our family house without Caleb knowing.
I need to use this opportunity wisely.
So I leave my house and head toward my family home.
Hoping we won’t end up arguing again.
⸻
When I arrive at our family home, I inhale deeply.
It smells like home.
I miss it.
I haven’t been here in years until yesterday for Flint’s engagement.
Anything I ever needed, Caleb always made available for me.
As I walk toward the front porch of my parents’ mansion, the workers stare at me with widened eyes.
But none of them approach me.
That is okay.
I am used to it.
I swallow and keep moving forward.
I am almost at the front door when Caleb suddenly appears from the back of the house.
“No need to go in,” he says plainly. “We are already late.”
I furrow my brows.
“Late for what?”
“Alpha Edgar is expecting us. His wife passed away two weeks ago.”
I frown, not understanding.
“When did we become close enough to Edgar Grimwood to visit him? That old man used to make things difficult for Mom and Dad.”
He sighs.
“Get in the car, Zia. This is politics and networking. None of that matters now.”
Then he slips into the driver’s seat.
I glance longingly at the front door.
I don’t know if I will ever get another opportunity like this.
But Caleb wouldn’t refuse me if I asked to take some of my parents’ things.
He knows how much their deaths affected me.
I decide to collect them when we return.
So I get into the car instead, and he drives off.
The silence inside the car is deafening.
And uncomfortable.
Caleb doesn’t spare me a single glance.
His eyes remain fixed on the road.
At a red light, his phone buzzes on the dashboard.
He glances at it.
For just a second, something flickers across his face.
Not annoyance.
Not the cold blankness he has been wearing all day.
Relief.
Maybe even satisfaction.
He immediately flips the phone face down before I can see the screen.
Then he goes back to staring at the road, his jaw tight once more.
I assume it has something to do with his suspension being lifted early.
Or maybe Alec checking on him.
Anything else never crosses my mind.
But I know him well enough to understand that he is hurting.
So I decide to talk to him.
“Cal, we need to talk about the feelings you said you have for me. It’s—”
“Those feelings were a mistake, Zia. My feelings aren’t meant for people who don’t appreciate them,” he interrupts, keeping his eyes on the road.
I scoff in disbelief.
“Are you saying I’m ungrateful? Me?”
I can’t believe what I am hearing.
His words feel like a slap to the face.
“Look, Zia, I don’t want to quarrel with you, okay? I’ll just let you be and watch from the sidelines while you realize that you made a huge mistake turning me down.”
His hands tighten around the steering wheel.
I stare at him in disbelief.
This is ridiculous.
Talking about romantic feelings with him makes me cringe.
He was adopted by my parents years before I was born because they couldn’t have children.
Then a few years after adopting him, my mother became pregnant with me.
I grew up knowing Caleb as my brother.
But wait…
My mind catches on his final words.
Huge mistake?
What does he mean by that?
I turn toward him.
“What do you mean by ‘huge mistake,’ Caleb?”
By then, we are already pulling into Alpha Edgar’s mansion.
Caleb doesn’t answer until he parks and switches off the engine.
Then he finally looks at me.
For the first time in my life, I can’t find my brother in those eyes.
Then he says the words that make my entire world come crashing down.
“Because, dear sister, you are getting married to Alpha Edgar tomorrow.”
