Mate Hater

Chapter Twenty-Six

(Since it took me forever to get the next chapter up I decided to go ahead and post two! You guys deserve it for how long you've been waiting! I promise to post the next chapter within a week as well :D -Leina) 

Nina's POV

I stood there with all emotions wiped clean from my face. His beady eyes were shining with amusement as I stood in front of him. My composure was well kept, although a tiny part of me was terrified of what might happen. That was the part I tried to keep him from seeing, I couldn't give him anymore pleasure from this situation. The way he was circling me with that creepy smile on his face was enough for me to want to throw up, or beat the shit out of him.

The large group of men that stood in front of me all had the same expression on their faces, an expression that could only be described as disbelief. I felt like a phenomenon in many ways; something that people only heard about but have never seen. Their eyes traced over my body trying to take in all the details they could. I could feel their stares running over me, and I suppressed the urge to glare at them.

"I've been waiting for this moment Nina." The sound of my name coming out of his mouth disgusted me. He had no right to say my name, he had no right to even be in the same vicinity as me. He was dirt that has been trampled over by thousands of people.

I tried to focus on something else before I lost all control. The longer I stood in his presence the more I could feel myself losing the hold I hand on my emotions. Instead of thinking about what I was doing, I took in my surroundings. The cool wind rushed past me and blew the leaves that scattered the ground twirling them into tiny tornados. I followed the tornados with my eyes and watched as the leaves once again fell to the ground. Another gust of wind came by and I held in my shiver. The wind was colder than what I originally thought it would be. As Winter quickly approached us, the temperature has made dramatic drops throughout the country. Here was no different, although it was slightly warmer than what I was use too.

He took a step closer to me, I could feel him standing right next to me. His body was too close to my own and on instinct I felt the hair on my arms rise. His breath was hot on my neck. His musty dirty scent filled my nose and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from gagging. "You don't have anything to say to me, Nina?"

There are a few choice words I'd like to say...I thought to myself. I knew it was better to say nothing at all. The fact of the matter was simple, I was outnumbered and not stupid. Saying anything disrespectful to Declan would only cause more damage to an already catastrophic situation. He knew how hard it was for me to keep my mouth shut. The smirk on his face was telling of that, he wanted me to say something; he wanted me to cause trouble so he could hurt me. That was a game I would not allow him to win.

When he realized I wasn't going to say anything the amusement in his eyes left, leaving in their place a look so full of hatred it almost had me flinch. Within seconds however, the amusement was back. "Well, since you don't have anything to say to me, maybe you'll have something to say to him." His deep brown soulless eyes moved from my face to something behind me. Without hesitation I turned around and saw what he was looking at. But what I found wasn't a what, but a who. Kane.

My first reaction to seeing my brother after years of thinking he was dead was to run up to him and hug him. I probably would have, if it wasn't for the fact that he wants me dead. The way his blank honey eyes stared at me clearly showed me how he felt; or how he didn't feel.

Is he aware that it's me standing here? His sister? I asked myself.

He's...different...Lyra whispered to me.

I was about to ask her what she meant, but Kane was now right in front of me. His presence was demanding, and I'd be damned if I didn't give in to giving him my attention.