Chapter 84 Not the end
~ Kael's POV ~
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the familiar ceiling of my room, and almost immediately a single thought registered sharply in my mind. How did I get back to my room last night?
I remembered leaving the hall at some point after a strange dizziness had taken over me. The discomfort had been strong enough that I decided to return to my room to get some water, or at least that was what I intended to do. That memory ended there. Everything else that should have followed remained completely blank, as though someone had wiped that part of the night clean.
While I was still trying to piece that together, I became aware of another presence beside me. I sensed another heartbeat, and almost at the same time a scent filled my nostrils. It was the scent of someone who was not Lyra.
I turned my head sharply to the side, and what I saw nearly stopped my heart. Brenda was not only in my room, she was in my bed. From the way the sheets clung to her body, it was painfully obvious that she was naked beneath them.
But that was not the worst part. I realized with a jolt of horror that I was naked as well. For a brief moment I wondered if I was dreaming, if my mind was playing some cruel trick on me. How the hell did Brenda end up in my room.
My brows pulled together tightly as I hurriedly climbed out of the bed. I racked my brain, forcing myself to remember what had happened the night before, desperate to understand how I ended up in this situation. No matter how hard I tried, nothing surfaced. The harder I searched my memory, the more fractured it felt, and none of it made any sense.
As soon as I stood, she stirred and slowly woke, turning toward me with an easy smile on her face.
“Hey, darling. You are up already,” she said, and my irritation flared even hotter than my confusion.
“Who are you calling darling, and what are you doing here?” I demanded.
She looked confused for a moment, genuine surprise flickering across her features, but she quickly covered it with a laugh.
“Are you being serious right now?” she asked, then laughed harder before I could even respond. “Okay, maybe I shouldn't have called you darling, at least not yet. But why are you asking me how I got in here. Is something wrong with your memory?” she asked as she pulled the sheets higher to cover herself properly and slowly sat up.
“There is nothing wrong with my memory,” I lied, even though everything felt wrong with my memory.
“Good, because you can't tell me you don't remember all of our adventures last night and how you flipped me in every corner,” she said, licking her lips deliberately. Her gaze traveled slowly from my face downward until it settled on my flaccid cock, making me painfully aware that I was still completely naked in front of her.
“You are sick in the head,” I said sharply before turning away. It was not shame that made me move, but the overwhelming confusion mixed with a deep sense of disgust and irritation. “I don't want to see you here when I return,” I added just before stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind me.
“Hady,” I called through mindlink to the chief guard of my quarters.
“Yes, Alpha,” he responded immediately.
“How did Brenda get into my quarters?” I asked, my tone carefully controlled to conceal my confusion and project only anger.
“You told me to let her in, Alpha. You said the two of you were together,” he replied, and my confusion deepened into something darker.
When and why would I ever say something like that. I cut the link abruptly and turned my attention to the shower, trying to wash away the filth that seemed to cling to my skin. I let the cold water pour over me, even though all I wanted in that moment was warmth.
I tried again to remember. Still, the only clear memory I had was leaving the hall of the annual feast because of the discomfort that had settled over me. I could not remember coming back to my room at all. Something was very wrong, and I was determined to find out exactly what it was.
By the time I stepped out of the bathroom and returned to the bedroom, Brenda was still there, lying comfortably on my bed with the sheets draped over her body as though she belonged there.
“Are you deaf, or did you somehow miss it when I asked you to leave before I returned?” I asked her sharply, genuinely confused about what could possibly be going on inside her head for her to still be here.
“Wait, you were serious about that?” she asked, her eyes widening as shock crept over her face.
“Did I look like I was joking when I said it?” I shot back, my patience thinning by the second.
“Yes, you did,” she replied, and her answer left me staring at her in disbelief.
“Get the fuck out of my room, Brenda,” I said again, deliberately stressing every single word so there could be no room for misunderstanding.
Her expression shifted instantly, surprise hardening into anger. “You must be kidding me, Kael. You really think I am going to let you do that to me?” she snapped, sitting up so abruptly that the sheets slid down her chest and exposed part of her breasts before she noticed.
“Do what to you?” I asked as she sluggishly pulled the sheets back up, clearly offended by my question.
“Treat me like a cheap prostitute,” she fired back bitterly. “You think you can sweet talk me into sleeping with you and then discard me the next morning like some unwanted property? That is not going to work, Kael.”
I laughed, the sound hollow even to my own ears. “You have a very wild imagination, Brenda. Who exactly sweet talked you into doing anything? If you wanted to sleep with me that badly, you should have asked nicely instead of resorting to whatever cheap scheme this is,” I said, refusing to believe her words when I could not remember doing anything she described.
“Cheap scheme of mine?” she repeated, and this time the pain on her face looked real, deep enough to make my chest tighten. “That is what you have to say after stopping me from going to my room, after pleading with me to spend the night with you, and after turning me every angle just to satisfy yourself?” she said, her voice trembling as though it might break at any moment.
Her words planted doubt in my mind. Did I really do everything she claimed I did? The idea felt impossible. I would have remembered something like that.
Then another thought struck me with brutal force. I had promised Lyra that I would return to her last night. I had asked her not to change, to wait for me. She must have waited in vain. The realization burned through me with sharp guilt. I needed to see her immediately, but first I needed this distraction out of my space.
When I did not move or soften even after everything she had said, she finally gave up. She climbed out of the bed and began to dress in stiff, angry movements.
Once she was fully dressed, she turned to face me and looked me directly in the eyes. “This is not the end of this, Kael. I promise you that I will not forgive you for what you just did to me. Prepare to hear from my father,” she threatened before finally turning and walking out of my room.
I ran a hand through my hair and let out a long sigh, the weight of the situation pressing down on me as I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Lyra’s face and thoughts resurfaced in my mind, and without wasting another second, I dressed up quickly and headed straight for her room.