Chapter 260: An unfair competition
"Trying to avoid me already? It cuts deep to hear those words from you, Silas,"
Arabella always thought that his amused and playful demeanor did not match his overall appearance or voice for that matter.
Silas didn’t move a muscle and kept Arabella in his arms. Her eyes flickered between the four figures that had made their entrance into the cavern, thus blocking the already meek light that brightened the cave.
Sunlight hit them from behind, casting shadows that darkened their gazes. Well, besides Cynric that was since that perpetual smirk latched onto his features and refused to let go.
"Coming to check the caverns before us?" Cynric took his first steps forward, prompting Silas to settle Arabella back on her feet and stand in front of her.
That action stopped the wolfman in his tracks, "You really have no faith in me, do you?" he feigned offense.
Still, Silas kept quiet which seemed to entertain Cynric even more. The chuckle he let out glided along the air and reverberated throughout the entirety of the cavities making that place.
His attention then fell on Arabella who peeked from behind Silas’ back, "You look radiant and... Alive," he presses on the last word of that sentence, "It’s-"
The wolfman’s lips hang still as his expression hardened, "That’s new," his eyes remained on the brooch pinned to her chest, "It reminds me of your folk’s token. It’s not the same one, isn’t it?" he turned to Silas, "Who would want to start things off with such a bad omen?" the side smirk returned.
The vampire clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, but Cynric wasn’t done just yet.
"Have you even thought this through?" he pointed between Arabella and Silas, "The union between a human and a vampire, now that can’t be a walk in one of them fancy gardens," he paused before adding, "I am just saying that humans and wolf folk go better together. Better compatibility, that is all," his grin grew wider.
Arabella had her hands on Silas’ back, rendering the tension solidifying his body palpable.
One of her hands slipped from the other and wrapped around his, causing it to soften.
"Such a shame you’d choose to waste the short years you have with someone that can never give you everything you want and need, but perhaps there is a way to change your mind," Cynric strolled dangerously close to them.
Silas pulled his hand out of Arabella’s grasp and braced himself, his diamonds darting between the Alpha and his pack members.
"There is no changing my mind," the young woman stepped to the side, further concealing her figure behind the vampire.
"Are you sure? That bodily function of yours won’t last for as long as you live, you know,"
At first, his words perplexed Arabella, but a few more seconds were enough for her to understand what he meant.
Her eyes darted towards her own lower part as she’d once again forgotten that wolf folk’s sense of scent rivaled that of vampires and blood was what they caught best.
The suggestion that she wouldn’t be able to have children with Silas alone tugged at her heart and tried to sink it.
"Yes...," Cynric’s voice blared again, "That is what makes you and I more compatible,"
Instead of answering to his taunting and before Silas could say a thing, Arabella’s vocal cords decided to put an end to that conversation by throwing another thread in their midst.
"Why are you exploring the caverns during the day?" she asked, her voice clear but a bit shaky, "The writings are only visible when the moon shines,"
"No, that is true," he said, "I happened to smell a familiar odor from a distance and thought I’d come say hello,"
Instinctively, her fingers curled around Silas’ vest, taking fists full of the fabric.
"Coming from you, stalking does not really surprise me,"
That statement from Arabella surprised even her. The only person it didn’t seem to amuse was Ayyura who, as per her usual, stood behind Cynric all that time.
Remus told no lies about her; she truly followed Cynric everywhere he went.
"How dare you?" the wolf woman growled, dashing forward.
However, Cynric shut it down before Silas lifted a finger. He gripped Ayyura by the jaw and clamped down on it until she winced and visibly squirmed in pain.
"Did I or did I not tell you to never do this again?" he grunted through gritted teeth.
His fingers dug deeper into the woman’s face, showing no signs of relenting even when her groans turned to whimpers.
"You’ll break her jaws!"
It was Arabella’s voice that echoed across every tract.
"It’ll heal," Cynric hissed, eyes boring into Ayyura’s twisted face, "But the memory of the pain will stay,"
"Her jaws break every time she shifts, calling this a punishment is ridiculous!" once again it was Arabella that spoke.
"This is different," he enunciated every word and dragged the syllables while glaring at nothing but Ayyura.
"This is why we’re not compatible,"
It was a mere mutter, one only meant for her own ears, but of course, every present soul in that cavern heard it.
That seemed to soften the Alpha as he simply released Ayyura who fell to the ground, hands wrapped around her mouth and jaws as her muffled cries filled the air.
Neither of the two remaining wolf people intervened or even said a word.
In the manner of instants, Cynric’s demeanor reverted back to the cheeky, playful air he had on before that incident.
"You’re kidding yourself if you think he’s any different," with his chin he pointed towards Silas, "Wasn’t he about to kill a child before your own two eyes? The competition was never fair to begin with, I guess,"
He pushed a comical pout on his features.
"Come," Silas took Arabella’s hand, "We are leaving,"
She stepped around, the furthest possible from Cynric. The wolfman ushered to his people to step aside.
But right as the two of them reached the mouth of the cavern, Arabella halted in place and turned around, a fierce look in her eyes, "May we come visit the great caverns?"
Cynric’s features gradually shifted, relinquishing the smirk, "By we, you mean him as well," he half asked.
She nodded, "May we come tomorrow with the moon rising?