Chapter 15.
A steely Resolve.
Lilian.
"Can I come with you guys?" I heard a nervous voice behind me, and we all turned.
"Hailey, hey." I gasped in a surprised tone.
Hailey looked exhausted and haggard. I saw her a few hours ago, what could have happened?
"No way!" Oliver was the first to retort. "We already have one liability, we don't need another one." She flipped her head to the side, giving us an angry look.
I ignored her and turned to face my friend. "Hailey, what happened?" I asked in a concerned manner.
"I'm so sorry, Lily." She bowed her head in shame, eyes unable to meet mine. "I'm so sorry for handing you over to Blackthorn like that. He promised to give my family back to me if I handed you over to him. He…"
"Hailey, I understand."
And I did understand. I wouldn't blame her for it. The first thing a wolf would never joke with is family, no matter how terrible the family is to them. Everyone is loyal to their family.
She nodded and wrung her hands together nervously, lifting the small bag she had in her hand. "They were already gone." She whispered softly.
"Your own family?"
She nodded slowly. "That's why I can't stay here, Lilian. Please — let me go with you guys. I can't stay here. It will suffocate me. I already hate everyone here. I would rather not do something that I will regret. I promise I won't be a burden or liability. I will…"
"You can join us, Hailey." I heard Daemon say calmly beside us and all eyes snapped to his expressionless figure.
"You must be kidding me!" It was Wilder's turn to get annoyed. "Seriously, Daemon? One of them is …"
"Shut up, and get the car." Daemon snapped and turned away from everyone, walking towards a sleek black SUV. "Are there any suitcases to be …" He paused and shook his head when he saw the little polythene bags that carried all our belongings.
"That's hilarious. Not already there, but showing signs of dependency already." Oliver's mocking tone filled my head. "To think Daemon will have to deal with your wardrobe issues is appalling."
"Get in the car, Oliver." Daemon's voice was deadly calm as the iris of his eyes started changing colors, he was getting angry.
She huffed and went into the car, waiting to see where Daemon would sit.
Maybe it was the jealousy brimming inside me, but I couldn't control it. Immediately Daemon got into the car, I pushed Oliver aside with the little strength in me and squeezed myself to sit beside my mate.
The heat that radiated between us made Daemon freeze instantly. He didn't say a word and turned towards the window, looking like he was in deep thought.
"You are sitting beside my boyfriend, Lilian." Oliver glowered at me in anger, her blonde hair softly falling to the sides.
"You mean, my mate?" I gave her a snarky reply, pulling myself even closer to Daemon. Putting a hand over his, I said with a little smile. "I still have a chance to change his mind about accepting the bond we have and mating…"
"No, you don't." His voice was hard behind my ears, and I shivered as his breath washed over my ear. "Get in the car, Oliver, and stop making a fuss. Or I swear, you would have to find your way home by yourself."
"But…" Wilder began to argue.
"Including you, Wilder!" Daemon commanded with a harsh tone, looking deep into Wilder's eyes.
And with that, everyone fell silent, as if scared to actually piss Daemon off.
We were two hours into the journey when something seemed to snap. It was Daemon's patience wearing thin. He had constantly asked if we had reached home, but Wilder kept giving him the number of hours until we had.
"Stop this car immediately!" He said in a growl, his irises changing colors again, this time it was pitch black.
Wilder wanted to snap back at Daemon, but when he saw what was going on, he sighed.
"I need air, Wilder. Stop this car and don't let me ask again!"
The car suddenly started dropping in temperature until it was almost freezing cold, as cold as the look that Daemon gave Wilder.
Immediately the car stopped, Daemon was out of the door in a millisecond.
"I guess you disgust him as much as you disgust us all." Oliver said offhandedly as she admired her perfectly manicured hands.
"And what's it about you, huh?" I snapped in fury. "I mean, with all the overwhelming beauty everyone thinks you have, you certainly have a low self-esteem to be throwing yourself at someone else's mate. What happened? Can't find yourself one?" I cooed back in a mocking tone.
I didn't know what gave me that confidence, but I felt so good when the features of her face contorted into an ugly and angry frown, and a smile of victory broke out on my face.
"What good is a mate that is not wanted?" She clapped back, this time it pinched the insides of my heart.
"You don't know that…" I replied with a hint of anger in my voice, but it was Wilder who cut me off this time.
"Shut up, Lilian." He said from the front of the car, his hands clenching on the steering wheel. He was trying to keep his anger at bay. "Stop being delusional into thinking that Daemon likes you even a little, you don't know how much you disgust him right now. I'm sure you know he's doing this out of some sense of pity or a mate pull something. He doesn't want any part in this. Take it from me, Lilian, as his best friend I know a lot that is going on. And I certainly know that you would be running off screaming within a few days."
I let out a shaky breath when he said that and leaned into the comfortable leather couch. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I turned to find Hailey giving me a comforting smile and pat on my back as she mouthed some words to me.
"You'll be fine. He'll definitely come around, okay? I'm sure he loves you."
I gave her a bitter smile and turned my head away. I knew I was still a long way from love with Daemon and I watched as he made his way back to the car. I was holding on to something, and I didn't even know what it was.
"You need to switch seats, Lilian. I would rather not sit next to you." He said simply and walked towards Oliver's side of the car. Daemon opened it and climbed in, letting Oliver sit over his laps.
She turned and gave me a hideous smirk, like she won the battle. And that was when something in me snapped. I knew what I was holding on to. I was holding on to a slight change in Daemon's nonchalant reaction towards me, so I won't resort to using the potion that Kieran gave to me.
I let myself feel the last pains of rejection in my heart, knowing that today would be the last day I ever felt such emotions. And I would make sure I carried out the mission meticulously until my
real memories were back, I would just have to make my act believable in front of everyone.