Between Two Worlds

Chapter Twelve

Liora

An uncomfortable silence settled after Rariel left the room.

What an incredible situation I have put myself in. Now I not only have to dribble and expunge all of Logan’s unfriendly feelings towards me — in order to achieve my mission here —, thus now I have also just got a new nemesis to fight against. As if I didn’t have enough already.

I rested my body back on the stiff cot mattress and laughed out loud at my misery. It was a heartfelt laughter. Like the ones you can’t hold within and it’s contagious, making other people laugh with you.

Why I was laughing wholeheartedly when things didn’t look good for me it’s a mystery. I am weird this way. The best reaction that suits my current situation would be to cry.

For a moment, I forgot I wasn’t alone in the room, and when my eyes met Logan’s a few seconds later, he had a smirk on his face and Garren had a funny expression too.

"What?" I asked no one specific. I could feel the heat in my cheeks. Was I really laughing like a silly girl in front of them?

Oh Moon Goddess, kill me now.

"It’s the first time I have seen you laughing like this" replied Logan. I could see he was trying to keep a stoic face and his smirk was the result of him trying to hold on.

"I've laughed with Dominic before".

"Not like this…" he countered.

I saw the sparkle of mischief in his eyes. He was waiting for me to say something sassy so we could start our hate game. If I am being honest, it’s more like a love-and-hate game now.

But I had something better coming. What if, instead of some smart-ass Liora-style reply, I just answer with the truth?

How would he react?

"You know what’s truly funny? I wasn’t thinking about something humorous or good. I was thinking about how things are shitty right now. And yet I was laughing… that’s how much of a screwed up I am" I said honestly and nonchalantly, all the while looking straight into his beautiful emerald-green eyes.

I wanted to see every tiny reaction that he would have after hearing my words.

But what I wasn’t expecting was to see pity in his eyes.

I don’t like that at all.

I am not some defenseless and weak girl that needs pity from others. I am a powerful badass supernatural who would love nothing more than kick his Alpha-ass right now.

How dare he feel sorry for me?

Damn! I would rather listen to his annoying remarks than this!

"I don’t need you to feel pity, Alpha. I can guarantee you I am perfectly fine. Maybe a little wrong in the head, but fine!" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Logan opened his mouth to answer, but one look at my face made him change his mind. I guess whatever he was thinking was something to show even more pity, and he knew I was going to get mad.

I just shrugged, as if my latest words didn't mean anything or as if they weren't deep stuff, and smiled, having a new set of thoughts going through my head.

"When is Dominic coming back?" I asked the Alpha, changing the subject as quickly as it started.

"He is supposed to be back today".

I smiled again. This time it was genuine. Knowing I was so close to seeing Dominic again made my heart beat faster and my mood improved with just a couple of words from Logan. The right words.

I was finally going to see my best friend again.

"Seeing you smiling like that, one would think you are really very happy about the fact you are going to encounter an old friend. A friend who you just left behind without a word".

And here we are again. The asshole Alpha is back. Good. That's how I like him.

I closed my eyes and sighed.

Slowly, I opened them again, looking straight at his face this time.

"Did you ever receive a command to do something you didn't want to do, but that you didn't have a choice? Because it wasn't up to you to decide what to do?" my words were calm, but inside my heart was beating like a drum and my voice was filled with a sadness that surprised even me.

I waited for his answer, but it never came. Logan just kept staring at me, like he was trying to understand where I wanted to get with those words. I noticed he's doing that a lot. Instead of asking me or answering me, maybe he thinks that if he stares long enough, he will find all the answers he seeks.

Noticing I would not get anything from him, I just kept going: "I never had many people in my life who cared about me, Alpha Logan. Dominic was one of three people whom I ever loved and who loved me back. Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, the reason I had to leave was important enough to keep me away for so long?"

For a moment I felt my throat burn and my eyes sting, signs that I was going to start crying.

Not in hell will I ever show any sign of weakness in front of these wolves. I took a deep breath and studied my expressions, hardening them. You have no reason to cry, Liora. It's just an unimportant conversation between you and the stuck-up ass-Alpha. I chanted to myself over and over, I was so focused on not showing my true emotions that I almost didn't realize he was speaking.

"... but you have to understand you never explained these so-called very important reasons".

I didn't get the first part of his words, but it was easy to piece his speech together. It was the same old ''you need to explain yourself'' thing.

"You are the one who told me more than once you didn't want to hear my reasons. You said no one wanted to hear it" I backfired on him.

"By all means... tell me now!" he spilled, the tone of his voice showed me he was losing his cool.

"Not now. When the time is right, everything will be revealed. All things will make sense".

"Keep going with this shitty mysterious thing you are doing and I will kick your sweet ass out of here in a blink of an eye!"

I blinked several times at his answer. For many reasons.

Firstly, did he really say my ass is sweet? Secondly, he was the one who genuinely didn't want to hear me out before, so why is he mad at me now?

I had to hold on to my laughter this time. I can't keep pissing him off that much. "I promise you I am not doing all of this to get under your skin, Alpha. But even if I wanted to tell you everything now, I can't".

"Yes, you can. You are just always full of lame excuses!" he roared the answer.

"No, I really meant it. I physically can't. My words are bonded".

If he wasn't already looking at me, I am sure he would do a double-take. "You... What?"

Well... I guess that revelation will be enough to keep his curiosity and anger at bay, since he knows what it meant to have a secret bounded. At least for now.

Even if I truly wanted to tell the whole truth to him, I couldn't because all the secrets about the reasons I left and everything that had to do with me and him were bound by a vow. This meant that if I tried to reveal anything, I would feel excruciating pain and I wouldn't be able to talk. And insisting on breaking a bond could cause one's death.

"Is it that important you would risk your life to make a bond?" asked Garren. I almost forgot he was still in the room.

He was right. Almost nobody would bind their secrets with a promise, because it was too risky. If an individual is weak, death would come easily if the secret had to be told to someone. And sometimes, the bond can be so strong that, even without being told out loud, if another found out about said secret, the holder of the unbreakable promise could die. Being their fault or otherwise.

"As I said more than once... I had my reasons to leave and it's nothing lame, Logan. There is more to it than you can imagine".

"And I don't know if I want to imagine. Or if I want to know..."

"It's not like you have a choice either..." I answered in a whisper. My voice was so low that it was just like I was voicing a thought.

"What did you say?" asked Logan, looking at me suspiciously.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything".

"Is that why you are wearing a protection amulet made by elves?" Logan asked nonchalantly, but his question made my jaw drop.

How the hell does Logan know about the necklace?

Stuttering, I managed to ask him "H-how?".

He just shrugged his shoulders, as if it wasn't an important subject.

"How what? How do I know about it? I guess you don't know how to hide your secrets that well..."

I turned my face to the other side, avoiding his burning gaze. "You have no idea what you are talking about".

"I don't?" he asked in an unnerving way. "Let me guess a little bit then... Does your secret have anything to do with Dominic?"

I just rolled my eyes and kept silent.

"Maybe not him... perhaps your secrets had to do with me?" said Logan, trying his fishing expedition again to unravel my secrets.

I knew this second part was a joke. But I couldn't hold the goosebumps I felt taking over my skin. And he saw that. I pursued my lips without giving him any answer.

He was trying to explore dangerous waters and he knew that, but he didn't seem to care.

"Me?" he repeated, pointing to his chest; his voice was full of incredulity now. "What do I have to do with you and elves?" he kept pushing for an answer I could not give him for now.

"Stop it!" I all but screamed at him when I felt a sharp pain in my chest. It was like a warning. I contort my face because of the unexpected pain. "This is not a joke, Logan. Or do you really wish to see me dead?"

He didn't answer anything this time.

And his silence to my question hurt more than any punishment I would receive from the magic bond if I was to break it.