Chapter - 71: Zed's lie

(Castor's POV).

My eyes remained pinned against Zed's. He probably knew I had been staring, or maybe glaring, at him all along, but chose to ignore me; his indifference caused an unsettling feeling within me.

Perhaps I had other things wrapped up in my head—the whole talk about being myself and having some other petty conversations with Faedra—I just could not handle myself; I could not shake off the image from my head—the manner in which he had smiled broadly at her—it really did worry me a lot.

She felt terribly at ease with him. I didn't like it; each feeling bothered me. I bet they had probably made plans; at least whatever it was that Zed had planned out in his head tonight would never happen. That alone made things easier for me.

But I didn't get it. What was so special about him?

I took one more glance at him, trailing my eyes up from his hair down to his feet. He was handsome, and so was I and Shade; maybe he had a pack; being an alpha also gave him lots of things to think about and talk about, yet I could not find a sensible answer to that myself. Faedra didn't seem to be head over heels for him because he had power; there was something else about him.

It still worried me every bit. I didn't care much about Zed, but I was more interested to know how he had done it, how intrigued Faedra was, and all. Through my lurking around in the shadows, she wasn't bothered by her problems or fears; the smile on her face looked ever so genuine. What was it that got me really worked up? It was just plain, innocent, and odd-looking Zed; there was nothing special about him. And just that made me sick to the knots of my belly.

“What's with the stares?” Zed asked, suddenly taking me by surprise. I scoffed within myself before coughing awkwardly.

“Wanna grab coffee?” I blurted out; the words had just eased off my lips on their own accord, and I didn't think much about it. Only after they slipped through my tongue could I hear how stupid they actually sounded.

“Coffee!” He asked just like he had not heard me, even when that was none other than a blatant lie. A scoff escaped my throat while I settled towards the main entrance.

“Suit yourself; it's just coffee, but I won't be giving you any once I'm done making it, okay?” I asked, and he nodded slowly before walking behind me.

“Fine, let's have coffee. I trust that you would not dare slip something into it. Faedra would not like it if you made an attempt on the life of someone who truly loved her,” he teased with a smile.

I rolled my eyes in my head, getting more agitated than I believed I could be, as he was being sus on purpose, going around calling Faedra like she belonged to him. He was just too much of a show-off to me, and it pained me that Faedra could not see through all the silliness that he had to offer.

The boiling of water over the teakettle broke off the awkward silence between us; our eyes both trailed over to it while it made its whistling sound, and I could barely understand him, but that was the most my calmness could travel; I just could no longer do it anymore.

“Stay away from Faedra!” I blurted out of the blue, and he stared at me for a bit before a sarcastic laughter eased through his lips, which then turned out to be a louder outburst of laughter. I did nothing but stare oddly at him in utter confusion and annoyance.

“What's that supposed to mean?” I asked again, keen on my words and actions, while he finally eased up on his laughter.

“I'm not sure what to say, but 'stay away from her,' what do you mean? Last I checked, it seemed like you and your brother had been here for her in a serious way." Zed teased; there was something funny about him—something off; he seemed way too arrogant than he had previously been.

“You don't know Faedra like we do, and I do not expect that you'll go on and add some other stories or talks, so how about you keep your lips sealed? And mind your damn business,” I threatened in a menacing tone, and he sighed aloud before rolling his eyes.

“Things would never work between you all; either I know it, and you both know it as well,” He responded with a gruff tone that immediately made me uneasy.

“What did you just say?” I asked again.

“Oh please, I know you all are cousins and you will never work out. Faedra explained everything to me, so enough making yourselves look like fools. She doesn't like you both, I think she made that clear, so how about you take a step, a break, get drunk on your Kool-Aid, or whatever, but she doesn't want to be with you. It's never going to be possible,” Zed retorted.

His words jabbed at my sides continuously and stung my heart. Why would Faedra actually say that to him? I knew she had made claims every day about things in regard to him, but not for once had I thought of a section as such thoughts.

I swallowed hard, my eyes fixed into those of Zed's, while fear washed over me.

“Did Faedra tell you this?” I asked again. This time my voice failed me, as it came out cranky.

However, the door pushed open right on cue just before I could get a response from Zed, and it was Faedra who walked into the room.

“What are you both going to do here?” she asked on cue while my eye darted over to Zed and back against that of Faedra while worry washed over me at intervals, taking me by surprise. I was conflicted at the spot, uncertain of what to say, think, or do.