467- Brother
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
"Don't overthink it, Thalyndra. For us, it's natural, because we've lived with our instincts since we were born, we grew up learning to deal with them. You're just starting to discover this part, and it takes some time, believe me. Eventually, it'll be so natural you won't even notice." She wiped her hands on her legs and looked at the lake. "I'm going to take a bath to cool off; the sun is so hot it feels like it's going to melt my skin."
"And I hope you change clothes afterwards, little sister," Myrion growled. "You don't want me to tear out the eyes of any male in this pack for looking at you too much, do you?"
She rolled her eyes, bored.
"As if anyone would risk it, not when I have two guard dogs on my heels like you and Anton."
"I think it's great that they're afraid of death," he retorted.
She opened her mouth to answer her brother when she was interrupted by a shout.
"Myriooon!" It sounded from afar. "Myriooon! Where are you, you lying dog?" The woman's voice grew closer and closer.
He pressed his eyes shut and leaned his head against the trunk.
"Shit!" he cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair. "Some gossip must have let the cat out of the bag."
I blinked, confused, understanding absolutely nothing of what was happening.
I spotted the girl walking with heavy steps in our direction. She seemed to be marching off to war. Her blonde hair swung back, her rosy lips were pursed in a grimace, and her light eyebrows were drawn together in a frown. She looked furious.
"Myrion, you dog!" she hissed, her hands clenched.
She stopped right in front of Myrion and stared at him, the muscles in her back rigid. He smiled at her, all charming.
"Olivia, my love," he crooned.
Olivia raised an accusing finger, choking with hatred.
"My love? You are the worst scoundrel I've ever had the displeasure of knowing."
The Eldorian blinked, offended.
"And may I know the reason for such offense being hurled at me?"
Lana, Aurelka, and I watched everything in silence, not interrupting the argument no one understood.
She crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot on the ground, impatient.
"I saw the picture Dakota took of you. Sleeping. At her house!" She emphasized the last words, stressing each one. "You lied to me, made me look like an idiot. You cheated on me!"
"I didn't cheat on you," he protested. "Dakota is the one lying to you."
"You shameless liar! I gave myself to you, I fell in love. I loved you, Myrion!" She let out a choked sob, her body shaking. She rubbed her eyes, wiping away the streaming tears. "I never want to look at your dog face again!" She spun on her heels and ran away from him.
Myrion jumped to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Aurelka inquired.
He pointed at the girl.
"I'm going to try to fix things with her, obviously. Or where am I supposed to spend my Thursday nights?"
I gasped, laughing.
"And who's Dakota?"
He ruffled his hair, huffing, irritated.
"She's Friday's," he explained, without a shred of shame. He started running after the girl. "Olivia, come back here, she's lying to you."
"With a photo?" she shouted back.
"It's... um... it's a really old photo; she's using it to manipulate you."
"But you were wearing the new shirt."
"That was Anton's, the one I used to borrow before I bought mine."
They fell silent for a few seconds. Olivia sighed.
"Really? Are you telling me the truth?"
"But of course, my love. Dakota is just jealous, trying to ruin our happiness."
Olivia ran and threw herself into his arms, laying her head on the wolf's chest.
"Oh, what a relief, my love. I thought... I thought..." she sobbed, lifting her head to look at him.
Myrion silenced her, placing his index finger on her lips.
"Don't overthink it; let's not ruin our happiness." He slid his arm over her shoulders, and they began to walk away, whispering and laughing, as if nothing had happened.
I turned to Lana and Aurelka, not knowing whether to laugh at the situation or just be shocked.
"They're so foolish," Lana commented. "They believe the lies, just to keep his affection and attention. But deep down, I'm sure they know the truth."
Aurelka laughed.
"An old photo with a shirt that was Anton's, and that Myrion liked so much he bought an identical one for himself? Come on, Olivia must be really in love," she scoffed. "My brother would never do that; he'd take Anton's without thinking twice, obviously."
"Myrion has a girl for each day?" I questioned, laughing at the situation.
Aurelka rolled her eyes.
"He has more." I opened my mouth in shock. "Sometimes he has his regulars, one per day, because he likes company at night. Then he gets bored of them and just ends it." She gestured dismissively. "But... there are some old ones, who aren't day-regulars, even though they're ongoing affairs."
"Wow, your brother is a true saint," I mocked.
"Truly," she agreed.
Lana let out a sigh.
"This must be an Eldorian curse; they're all equally scoundrels."
My fur bristled and my muscles tensed. Something about that comment bothered me. Deep down, I knew what it was, but I wanted to reject the idea in every way.
"What do you mean?"
She made a vague gesture with her hand.
"Anton, Myrion... they're alike."
My nails elongated involuntarily. I hid my hands behind my back so they wouldn't notice my lack of control on the subject.
I cleared my throat.
"Don't they... bother you?" I inquired, lifting my face to look at Aurelka. "I imagine they try to get close, you know."
Beth wasn't jealous of Jon; she seemed to get along very well with all his partners, including me. But... it was pretty clear that the sisters of popular and desired guys, back in high school, became the center of attention. After all, what better way to get to the heart of the boy you desire than friendship with his sister?
"Not at all." She let out a brief laugh. "Myrion would kill any of them who tried. He's always made it clear that no one should involve me in that. They're afraid; they don't want him to break off the relationship, so they stay far away from me."
"He protects you..." I commented.
She nodded with a shake of her head.