The Silence

Chapter 12

Adriel

The silence that had settled over the room was wrapped in tension. Lysander seemed frozen for a few moments.

And that was when the unthinkable happened. Lysander stepped back, shaking his head frantically, and tears flooded his eyes with shocking suddenness. Tears. Lysander, the cruelest werewolf, the unbreakable killing machine, was crying.

"Please, don't make me. Please, I can't, I can't—"

We were all stunned. If Quinn had any facial expressions whatsoever, she probably would've been stunned as well.

Gathering my wits together, I dropped to my knees and started flipping over the canvases, working as fast as I could. Monique immediately came to help, pausing to aim a furious hiss at Lucas and Brody. "Start helping, you fools!"

They hastened to obey this order, but by the time we were finished, Lysander was gone.  The door next to ours slammed so hard that it must have rattled on its hinges.

"Why?" I demanded of Quinn. "You broke him all over, you—" I paused. Lysander had been a terrible mate during Gray's last weeks, and though I knew it was because of stress, his actions weren't justified. Gray had been a sweet, sensitive werewolf, so unlike Lysander, and he had spent the last weeks of his life mostly crying. I knew, because I had done my best to make him feel better, like things were okay.

It had been a horrifying shock when we found Gray, dead. Lysander was destroyed with grief, and even greater feelings of guilt. It was this guilt, I think, that drove him to become the monster he is now.

A knock sounded on the door. All of us jumped like frightened rabbits before Monique stood up and jogged to answer it. Of course, it had to be someone none of us wanted to see right now.

"Zane Cortez," Monique chirped brightly. "What a displeasure to see you."

Zane frowned briefly at her before peering into the room. "I heard the commotion two floors down. I'm sure many others were rather concerned."

"It's none of your business or anyone else's," I said firmly, "and you can inform  them that everything is fine. Kindly get out of our room now."

But Zane had caught sight of Quinn and was studying her intently. Her face was blank, her eyes unseeing, and did not seem to hear Zane calling her name.

What bothered me was Zane's lack of reaction to her current state. He knew her from before so it would make sense, but it was still weird.

With a polite dip of his head, directed at me, Zane sauntered into my bedroom like he owned it and approached Quinn. She didn't bat an eye, but I tensed in preparation to defend someone, though I didn't know who that would be at the moment.

The Alpha werewolf that I was starting to dislike more and more then proceeded to take one of Quinn's pale-skinned hands in his own before engaging her in a staring contest. Minutes later, the fog over her eyes cleared and she blinked.

"Welcome back," Zane murmured, still holding onto her hand. "Now, what did I tell you about staying there too long? It's not good for you."

It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that Zane's voice was seductive rather than soothing, and he was positioned really close to her, his mouth drawing steadily nearer to hers.

"Alpha Cortez, I think you should leave," I practically snarled, and he froze. A slow smile drifted across his face, and he stepped away from Quinn.

"It appears I have overstayed my welcome,"  Zane said pleasantly. "Good evening, all of you."