Chapter 89 Marked Defiance
Chapter 89
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Lyra's POV
Ryder's green eyes jumped from me to Freya, then back again. I felt the room grow warmer. My palms started to sweat.
He squinted at us. His head tilted slightly to one side, like a dog hearing a strange sound.
Freya stood between us, her back to Ryder. She stared straight at me. Her hands trembled as she gripped the silver tray. I watched her knuckles turn white. She squeezed so hard I thought the metal might bend.
Her brown eyes searched my face. They darted from my eyes to my nose to my mouth and back again. She was looking for something. An answer, maybe. Or permission.
She sucked in a breath and spun around to face Ryder.
"My lord, meet my sister…"
Her arm stretched toward me. Her mouth hung open. The word she needed wouldn't come out.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
"L...Lyra," I said quickly. The name tasted strange on my tongue.
"Lyra?" Ryder stepped closer. His boots made soft thuds on the wooden floor.
"Yes, your honor." I lowered my eyes, trying to look humble. But inside, my stomach twisted into knots.
"I never knew you had such a beautiful sister." His voice dropped lower. Smoother. Like honey poured over gravel.
Those green eyes crawled over me. They moved from my hair down to my feet and back up again. Slowly. Too slowly. I felt like a piece of meat hanging in a butcher's window.
My hands tightened around the glass of fruit juice. The cold wetness helped me focus on something other than his stare.
I could feel Freya watching us. Her excitement buzzed in the air like a mosquito I couldn't swat away. She thought this was working. She thought she was helping.
My chest ached. Freya didn't know she was being used. She didn't understand that everything she saw here would pour out of her mouth the moment she saw Rosa again. Every word. Every look. Every second of this nightmare.
I needed to tell Rosa first. Before Freya could spin this into something worse.
"I didn't know you had such a beautiful she-wolf in your bloodline." Ryder's words dripped like thick syrup.
My throat tightened. I wanted to spit.
"You can leave us now." Ryder raised one finger and pointed at Freya. His eyes never left me.
Freya's shoulders slumped. "Okay, your honor."
She bowed, her body folding in half. When she straightened, she turned toward the door. Her shoes scraped against the floor. Each step dragged like she was walking through mud. She looked back once. Then twice. Her neck craned around as she moved farther away, until finally she disappeared into the shadows of the house.
The moment she left, the air changed.
I glanced at the empty doorway where Freya had been.
Ryder's boots struck the floor. Each step brought him closer. The space between us shrank. The air pressed down on my shoulders, heavy and thick.
His alluring fragrance found its way into my nose. It filled it up and made my head spin. My fingers dug into the glass. I held it like a weapon.
Another step.
My heart punched against my chest so hard I heard it in my ears. The floor beneath my feet seemed to shake. Or maybe that was just me trembling.
"I won't waste your time." His voice came from right beside my ear now. "And no words will go beyond these walls."
His hot breath touched my neck. A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead. It stung when it reached my eye.
His finger brushed my cheek. He caught a piece of my hair that had fallen forward and tucked it behind my ear. His touch burned like fire.
"I know you're loyal to Rosa." He paused. His eyes locked onto mine. They sparkled with something dark and hungry. "That's why she sent you here."
I said nothing. My jaw clenched so tight my teeth hurt.
"Point to any house you want. North province. South. East or west. I don't care ..." His smile spread wide. "I'll give it to you gladly."
His hand moved to my chin. His thumb pressed against my skin.
"I will claim you. You'll be my plaything, and it starts right now."
My blood turned to ice. That's awful. Plaything?
"You have no option to reject my offer."
The glass in my hand shook.
You don't have to worry about Rosa. I will take care of that myself.” He raised my chin, forcing eye contact with those awful greenish eye-balls. " All you have to do is just to keep your mouth shut."
I blinked severally, terror rooting me to the spot. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
Before I could think, before I could breathe, he leaned forward.
His lips crushed against mine. The rough scratch of his lower lip dragged across my mouth.
My body moved on its own.
CRACK!
I hit him hard with my palm across his face. The sound erupted across the room like a fire cracker.
Ryder's head snapped to the right. His cheek blazed red where my hand had hit. The shape of my fingers appeared on his skin like a brand.
He lurched back. One hand flew up clutching his cheek as heat burnt beneath the skin. His lips parted, eyes widened apart as realization hit him.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
"I am not Rosa!" The words ripped out of my throat. "That you wolves manipulated to kill her bloodline!"
His face twisted. It was sudden. Strange. Unexpectedly.
The shock melted into something uglier. Dangerous.
"What did you just say, you bloody omega?" Each word pushed through his gritted teeth. His jaw muscles bulged. The red mark on his cheek seemed to pulse.
I turned to leave. My feet moved toward the door.
His hand clamped around my wrist. He yanked me backward. Pain shot up my arm.
"Repeat what you just said." His voice came out like a growl. "You bloody…"
"I don't need to repeat myself, Ryder." I ripped my arm free and stepped back.
His face went pale. I'd dropped "your honor." I'd called him by his name like we were equal. Or maybe even less.
I watched the shock paint itself across his features. His eyebrows shot up. His mouth opened and closed like a fish.
"But if you want me to..." I let the words hang in the air between us.
One breath. Two breaths.
"How about I repeat everything in front of Rosa when I get back to the Stormfang pack?”