Between Two Worlds

Chapter Nine

Logan

I was still very much confused.

I was eying Liora suspiciously, waiting for her to regain some breathing and start speaking, or I would lose my patience altogether, and only my Moon Goddess knows what will happen when I lose it.

She was still coughing when I breathed out loudly and pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes and stated:

"Start talking or else—" I began, but was interrupted before finishing my sentence.

"Yeah, yeah... or else you will kill me before I can apologize! But guess what, dear Alpha? I wasn't planning on doing it!"

My eyes snapped open when I heard the mockery in her tone.

THIS GIRL HAS A DEATH WISH! I thought to myself. If she is still alive by the end of this night, she can consider herself very lucky.

"Liora, I swear to the Moon Goddess..." I started talking once more, and again she interrupted me.

"Why don't you ask her, Alpha Logan?" she spat, fury laced in every word.

The nerve of this girl. She is really testing me here.

"I said I wanted to hear it from—" My words were cut off again.

"Why don't you ask her why she was sneaking into my room when the lights were off?" Liora kept going on with her rampant, interrupting me for the third time.

I was seething, but my attention was now on her words.

What was she talking about?

I didn't need to ask her to explain herself, because she kept going; her voice becoming louder and more ferocious as more words were being spoken.

"Why don't you ask her what she was planning when she entered my room uninvited?" as soon as she finished her sentence, I opened my mouth to speak, but she wasn't done yet. Now she was practically screaming. "WHY DON'T YOU ASK HER WHAT SHE HAD IN MIND WHEN SHE TIPTOED TO MY BEDSIDE, TRYING NOT TO MAKE A SOUND WHILE SHE THOUGHT I WAS ASLEEP?"

As her words were being shouted with what I believed was all the air left in her lungs, she was slowly walking towards us, her face a mask of pure wrath. But her eyes were what really called my attention. They were glowing a purplish color, so bright that I caught myself enthralled by them. It was, at the same time, beautiful and lethal.

She was indeed what they called her to be. And more. Liora was indeed more than just a monster. But what exactly, I wasn't sure yet.

"AND WHY, ALPHA, WHY DON'T YOU ASK HER WHAT WAS IN HER MIND WHEN I DISCOVERED HER IN MY CHAMBERS AND ASKED HER, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE TO LEAVE MY ROOM? AND NOT ONLY DID SHE IGNORE MY REQUEST, BUT SHOUTED AT ME, CALLING ME A FREAK WITHOUT FRIENDS TO MY FACE!"

She gasped, coughing a little, trying to breathe normally again. Her next words were said in a more subdued tone:

"And you say I was in the wrong?" It was a rhetorical question this time. Not that I was able to answer any of her previous questions.

I was now without words to say. I definitely wasn't expecting any of that. In my mind, Liora was solely in the wrong. She was the one attacking someone I cared about and trusted. It wasn't supposed to be the contrary.

But what made me even more surprised was that I felt the presence of other pack members outside the room. What the hell were they doing here? I don't recall calling anyone, and my pack was not one to be interested in gossip. Even if they could hear Liora's screams, they would not dare to come here to eavesdrop on our discussion.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" I demanded to know and when I looked in the direction of the door, I saw not only Lafayette, but at least three more wolves.

And I could feel five more on the other side of the wall. And I could hear a few more steps, signaling that more of them were coming this way.

What the actual f**k?!

"The call..." Lafayette was the first to answer, her voice only a whisper.

"I don't remember calling anyone" I responded dryly.

I have no patience for this type of behavior. They know I condone gossip.

"Not you, Alpha. Her. She was the one calling us". Lafayette stated, pointing with her head at Liora.

Her words stunned me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked once again, confused.

"It was the same as before... when you saw me in the corridor outside your office. We all felt the calling... but this time it was almost as if she was calling us for assistance. Her call propelled us forward. We couldn't help it".

Eyeing Liora sideways, I could see her head slightly turning to the side as if she was trying to comprehend the situation too. And like a little light bulb lighted up in her head, she breathed out slowly, closing her eyes. I could see she was trying to reign in her emotions and power.

When she opened her eyes, they weren't bright purple anymore but had a dull color, a purple so deep that in the dimly lit room, it looked almost black.

"I am sorry, Lafayette. I had no idea I was using my abilities to that extent. It wasn't willingly that I called you onwards. I want you to know that at any moment I've tried to use the Siren Calling on any of you" she explained calmly. Her heartbeat and the way she expressed herself were everything that I needed to know to be sure that she spoke the truth.

I heard a scoff behind me. Rariel was eyeing Liora with eyes full of hatred. I had never once seen her like this before.

If only eyes could kill, Liora would sure be dead flat on this floor right now.

"Care to express to the class why you disagree, Rariel?" I asked her in irony. I wanted to know what was on her head right now.

Why so much hatred towards someone she barely knows? Without any obvious reason, Liora never once even interacted with her before.

I was met with silence once more. I saw Liora coming closer to the door, and with a sheepish smile, she apologized once more to the other wolves. My eyes were focused on hers.

How could a person make me so mesmerized and at the same time make me so angry? I truly am losing my mind here.

With a nod of my head, I dismissed the curious wolves that were hovering in the corridor outside the room. I wanted to end this exchange as soon as possible. I have too many more important matters that need my attention, to keep wasting my time resolving these types of issues.

Seeing they were taking their sweet time to get their asses out of there, I let out a loud growl, stating to everyone I wasn't in the mood to be played. I wasn't going to ask them to leave twice.

"Alpha... I-I can explain everything!" Stuttered Rariel behind me, finally speaking for the first since I got in the room. It took me a few seconds to acknowledge her presence once more.

I guess she could sense the angry energy leaking out of me in waves and decided to finally talk.

For a second, I forgot she was there too. Sometimes, when I was around Liora, it was like we were the only two people in our world. That's why our bickering always got so intense... I usually ended up forgetting about life outside our little bubble whenever we are fighting with each other like two raging little kids.

"Oh f**k no! You are not gonna give a lame excuse to get yourself out of this situation!" Liora said angrily.

Whenever I could actually agree with her, even when our minds thought the same way, I was always fighting the urge to go against her every word. And I was always losing the battle with this stubborn side of mine.

"It is not up to you to decide if a member of my pack can speak, Siren!" I replied, the last word full of contempt.

Liora scoffed.

"Oh! And here I thought you were a fair Alpha. Silly me to think you would want to know the real truth, not something said from a mouth that only wants to clean her dirty ass!" she spat in response to my words.

She is a little firecracker this one. I guess she hasn't changed much in the past seven years after all. She still has the same feline mouth as I got to know very well.

"Liora, I am not in the mood for your smart-ass mouth right now. You were attacking a member of my pack inside my packhouse. What do you expect me to do?" I genuinely asked her.

"I don't know, Alpha Logan. Maybe ask the answers you seek utilizing your words before using your hands" She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at me while caressing the place where I held her neck. I could see the bruise my grip left on her skin.

It would be an ugly one. I knew her neck would be ten times worse tomorrow since, after only a few minutes, her skin was already changing colors. She would bear a f*****g bruise in the morning.

"Alpha, let me explain. I swear—" Rariel tried again. But I held my hand up, shutting her too.

"I will ask the questions, Rariel. And you will answer them honestly" I stated calmly. After a few seconds without a reply from her, I repeated my words, using my Alpha tone to be sure I would get an answer this time. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, my Alpha" she finally replied, bowing her head low in a submissive and respectful manner.

"Did you, or did you not invade Liora's room?" was my first question.

"Yes, Alpha! But—" and I interrupted her before she could give me some sloppy excuse as Liora had said. I wasn't done with my questioning.

"Did she ask you to leave?"

Rariel only shook her head yes this time. And her lack of a verbal answer pissed me off. I was already on edge right now. More so than when I first came in and saw her being attacked. I was protective of her until a few minutes ago, but knowing she was the one who provoked the situation made me furious. I misread the room and acted on instinct.

But I was wrong.

I hated being wrong.

It was true I didn't like Liora very much. I also didn't want her here. But I let her in any way. I invited her inside my Packhouse and gave her a room. She became a guest inside these walls as soon as she stepped her feet in. And I owed her the protection I would give to any other of my guests. It was a matter involving my honor and pride. My honor as an Alpha and my pride as the protector of these lands and people.

And thinking back to what happened a few minutes ago, I not only failed in protecting them both (I guess from each other), but I also attacked my guest, when, in truth, she was the one being attacked and in need of some sort of rescue. From one of my pack members, nonetheless.

That totally pissed me off in a way I didn't like one bit.

I heaved a loud breath and looked deep into her eyes. She could see I was royally pissed. Good.

"USE. YOUR. DAMN. WORDS!" I boomed.

She shrieked and shaking her head, she said in a weak voice:

"Yes, Alpha. She did!"

"How many times?"

"I-I don't k-know!" She stuttered and I knew she was lying.

Was she really testing my limits right now?

Why did these dammed chicks like to test my patience this much? First Liora and now my own pack member? Were these women for real right now?

"Don't you dare lie to me, Rariel. Don't you dare!" I vented trying to calm my wolf down.

My animalistic side hated to be disrespected. And a pack member lying to my face was the utmost form of it. I was her f*****g Alpha, and she dared lie to my face?

"I-I guess she asked twice, Alpha... but I swear—" She couldn't continue because it was Liora's turn to interrupt her.

"You swear what? What is going to be your excuse? Do you wish to say you meant no harm?"

She shook her head, feeling relieved that Liora was saying those words. Words she wanted to express herself.

But Liora wasn't having it. She scoffed and a sinister smirk formed on her plush pinky lips.

"Oh really?" Her voice was dripping sarcasm. " Why were you sneaking inside MY room in the dark then? Why didn't you knock before you entered or announce yourself once you were in? Why all the trouble to be sure you wouldn't make even a sound?" She practically spat in Rariel's face this time. "You are a liar, Rariel. Your actions and words are more despicable than all the things you accused me of. Things I am not guilty of, by the way".

She spoke the truth. We call her a monster, a killer... but as long as I've known her, Liora never hurt or killed anyone or did anything to deserve the title. Well, not until now. She was a monster only because she was a Siren. But in reality, were we all not monsters at heart too?

"I only wanted to make sure you would leave our pack alone. You don't belong here. You never did. You being back here will only disrupt our pack and hurt our beta!" Rariel screamed, losing her self-control. I never saw her reacting this uncontrollably before.

She was such a fierce warrior and, even being very young, she already had an important role in the pack training. I had nothing but admiration for her. But I don't recognize this wolf in front of me now.

"As I stated before, you have no business discussing my right to be here, girl. Get this in this thick good-for-nothing brain of yours, and go find an ant-hole to poke and leave me be!" Was Liora's reply.

Looking at her appreciatively, without even realizing that my emotions were fluctuating between admiration and abhorrence, I noticed how pale she was. And how fragile she looked. Once more she was holding the necklace around her neck for dear life, as if trying to get strength from it. My curiosity was getting even more spiked to know what that necklace looked like and why it was so important to her.

As I was formulating random plans in my head, on how I would get a look at that piece of jewelry, almost lost in my idiotic thoughts, I noticed her knees trembling and seconds later, they buckled beneath her. But before she hit the ground, I was by her side, supporting her body with my hands on the small of her back and stopping her body from falling.

I opened my mouth to ask her if she was okay, but she beat me to it:

"Mmmm... Logan... I am not feeling very well..."

And those were her last words before she went limp in my arms, blacking out without giving me time to react, as I held her immobile body for dear life. I didn't even have time to say my usual ''It's Alpha Logan to you'' answer.

Oh dear Moon Goddess, help me. If I freak out now, it won't look good for me at all! I said my prayer as I looked eyes wide at Rariel, silently asking her for help.

What the hell was happening to me? Why was I in need of being helped?

Why was I freaking out just because Liora passed out in my arms?