Lyra is practically glued to my back as she tightens her arms around me. I can feel her nails digging into my sides. She'll probably freak out if she notices it.
'Don't tell her just yet. Let me enjoy the proximity for a bit.' Seth mumbles in a drunken way.
'That sounds creepy.' I tell him, and he immediately huffs, ignoring me.
It's not like I'm wrong. His fixation on her is a bit creepy, at least to me. But Seth isn't the one to act like this—desperate, obsessed, attached.He never acted that way around any other woman.
In fact, he gets disgusted when I get closer to other women and shuts out immediately, not wanting to be involved.
'What's it about her that has you acting like this?' I ask him directly.
'You'llknow when the time comes.' He replies vaguely.
What's that supposed to mean? But I don't ask him that; he'll just ignore me.
I increase the speed as I see the divergence ahead. Yes, the divergence with Ravenswood that no human can see but Lyra did. I feel her tense behind me as she realises. She probably thinks we'll be entering Ravenswood, but I take the straight path. Her body relaxes, and I hear her let out a little sigh.
My pack is hidden from the human eye but not quite like Ravenswood. We are just an isolated pack deep in the woods residing where humans won't dare to go. And since Midnights pack and we are rivals, we don't enter their territory unless it's to attack, and they never enter ours.
"Hold on tight." I warn Lyra before making a turn at the dirt road by the side.
"What—?" She is cut off by her own loud gasp as I ride further into the woods on a narrow dirt road.
She throws one of her legs over mine to hold on to me better, her head pressed against my back.
'You better not let her fall.' Seth warns me in a worried tone. He's a bit dramatic.
'Oh! Good thing you reminded me; I was planning on pushing her off.' I snicker.
This guy seriously needs to chill. Why does he think everyone is out to hurt her and only he can save her? Such a knight-in-shining-armour syndrome. Tsk.
"Are we there yet?" Lyra yells, freaked out.
"Yes." Her head rises from my back as I stop the bike in front of a massive cave.
I see her eyes narrowing with confusion as she looks around. Nothing out of the ordinary. Large trees and rocks, like every other woods.
"Here?"
"Yes."
"I thought you were bringing me to your house. But this is just a cave. Why would you bring me to a cave so deep in the woods?" One second she's asking me questions, and another she's trying to get down from the bike.
I immediately reach my hand behind and hold her against my back by her waist. She pushes on my shoulders, thrashing, trying to get away, but I don't let her move, not even an inch.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" I ask her with a calm I don't possess, simply because I don't want to scare her off more than she already seems.
"I didn't escape my gaslighting werewolf of an ex-boyfriend to fall into a psychopath werewolf of a man's trap." Her sharp words come out a little breathless, probably because of all the struggle.
Did she just call me a psychopath?
"A psychopath?" I ask slowly. Maybe I heard it wrong. She didn't say I think she did, did she?
"Yes. A damn psychopath. And I am a stupid, foolish girl. I mean, who even follows a man into a damn woods that she barely knows who, by the way, happens to be a werewolf? You probably took me here to kill me and hide my dead body so no one will find me. God, what's wrong with me?" she rambles nonstop while cursing me out in between.
I pivot her using my hold on her waist and her leg that is still on my things and sit her in front, facing me, in one swift motion.
She goes quiet, her eyes flickering between mine as she swallows hard. There is an undeniable fear in her eyes. She didn't even have those when she figured out I was a werewolf. And it sort of irritates me.
"I didn't bring you here to kill you. I'm not a psychopath either, and yes, you shouldn't have followed me here, but you didn't have a choice. Between me and your brother, I'm certainly a better choice to follow. Now breathe, will you?" She watches me cautiously, and when she doesn't find what she was looking for, she exhales loudly.
I remove the helmet from her head as her chest heaves and she murmurs a quiet 'thank you'.
After a moment, she hesitantly asks.
"Then why did you bring me here? I thought you were bringing me to your house. ".
"Why did you think I was going to take you home?" I asked, though I knew the answer very well. It's because of what I said last time.
"Be…cause, because of—" She stutters, trying to find the right word. Her cheeks redden as she does her best to avoid my gaze.
I grasp her chin and stroke it, making her look at me.
"Because of what?"
She draws in a sharp breath, and her lips catch my attention. They are trembling under my gaze, but not with fear, with something far more dangerous.
I lick my lips, and I see her eyes widen before she snaps out of it and blurts.
"Because of what you said last time. You basically threatened to kidnap me if you saw me again. So I thought you might take me to your house, but I should have known that's not the only place to keep the hostages. ".
I can't help but smile at her insistence on being in danger. This girl.
She stares at me in awe before quickly looking away.
"This cave is a hidden door to Moonstone Haven. Once we enter it, you'll see. Now brace yourselves. ".
I pull her closer by her hips so she can hold me, and she doesn't waste a second clinging to me. I rev my bike before riding right into the dark cave. Lyra turns her head back to look in front, and she immediately starts panicking.
"Wait! It's a dead end. There is no door. That's a wall. Stop, Cyrus, stop!!! " I ride right through it with Lyra screaming my ear off.
I stop my bike in front of the huge gate. Lyra has stopped screaming by now, but she has her eyes closed tightly.
"You can open your eyes now." She blinks slowly before her gaze lands on the huge gate with lamps on either side.
"Wait, it's your house, right?" She turns to look at me, and I nod once.
"But I don't remember seeing this cave or driving through the dirt road last time." I help her get down before I do.
"Because I didn't drive you through this way last time. I drove you from another road." She does the little 'oh' as if understanding it.
"And who is this?" Rowan saunters, followed by a few other pack members, as they all eye Lyra like she is a ghost.
Lyra opens her mouth, but I beat her to it.
"My mate."