CHAPTER 71: MORE CLUES

☆☆LILA ☆☆The moment we got home, Rowan looked at my ankle and said,"Sit down."I immediately shook my head."I'm fine.""You are limping.""It's just a sprain.""Lila."I rolled my eyes."It will work itself out.""Sit."The annoying thing I noticed about Rowan was that when he decided something, he became impossible to argue with.I muttered something insulting under my breath and dropped onto the couch.A few minutes later, he came back carrying a first aid kit. I watched him kneel in front of me and carefully lift my injured leg."Do you know what you're doing?"He glanced up briefly."My sister is a nurse," he said matter-of-factly."Right."I already knew that.Still, watching him work was strange because when I first met Rowan, I thought he was the type of person who would tell someone to walk off a broken leg. Maybe even cruel.Yet here he was kneeling in front of me, treating my leg.For a moment, I simply watched him work.The concentration on his face.The way he focused c

CHAPTER 72: The Start of something crazy

The room felt quiet immediately after Rowan dismissed everyone. I stared at the floor. Someone was still hiding something, even months after the incident. What were they scared we would find out? I didn't even realize Rowan had stood up until I heard the first cabinet open. I looked over at him, and he was already moving around the kitchen, pulling ingredients from the fridge, then reaching for a pan, doing whatever mysterious cooking he intended to do. For some reason, I found myself watching him, maybe because it was better than thinking, because if I thought too hard, I'd start imagining every possible reason someone would still be cleaning up evidence. A few moments later, Rowan looked up. I looked away immediately, feeling flushed that he had caught me staring. "You can sit here if you want." I blinked. "What?" He nodded toward the kitchen island. I stared at him suspiciously. "What happened to me being banned from your kitchen?" "I changed my mind." "You changed you

CHAPTER 73:The Special Training

☆☆LILA☆☆I woke up already dreading my morning.Which was impressive because I'd only been awake for about ten seconds.Nyx.That was why.Every morning, like some kind of terrifying ritual, she appeared and found new ways to remind me how painfully human I was.By the time I dragged myself out of bed and made my way outside, I had already prepared for the worst.What I wasn't prepared for was Rowan standing in the living room.I stopped walking and looked around before looking at him again."Where's Nyx?""She is busy."I narrowed my eyes immediately."Busy?""Yes. She has important duties to fulfill for the pack."I stared at him suspiciously."Since when?"Rowan shrugged.I pointed at him."You did something.""I have no idea what you're talking about.""Of course you don't.""I don't.""You absolutely do."His expression remained perfectly innocent.I started walking toward the gym room, and he followed me.A few seconds later, he said,"You wanted help."I glanced at him.A few d

Chapter 74: More private lessons

☆☆LILA☆☆ My stomach tightened as the phone kept ringing. Theo. For a moment, I just stared at the screen, then I declined the call. The phone immediately went silent. I slipped it back into my pocket before I could change my mind. Across the kitchen, Rowan had already gone back to whatever he was doing. Surprisingly, he didn't ask who called. He didn't even look curious. I found myself watching him again. A few seconds passed, then he spoke. "Spaghetti and meatballs." I blinked. "Huh?" "Spaghetti and meatballs." I stared at him. "What are you talking about?" "You asked what I was doing." Oh. I had. "Nice." And somehow that was the entire conversation. I hated that it was awkward. Eventually, I stood up. "I think I'm going to shower." Rowan glanced over his shoulder. "Okay." That was it. I headed upstairs before my brain could decide to overthink that too. ............................ The next morning, the first thing I noticed was that my ankle didn't hurt

CHAPTER 75: Cooking Disaster

☆☆LILA ☆☆ The kitchen smelled amazing. At this point, I was convinced Rowan could probably make gourmet food out of cardboard if he tried hard enough. I dropped onto my usual stool. Rowan glanced over his shoulder. "Can you help?" I blinked. "Me?" "Yes." I looked around the kitchen. "Is there someone else here?" "No." I laughed. "You want my help?" "Yes." "Have you met me?" "You can cut vegetables, right?" I just nodded in response. I stared at the knife, then at him, then back at the knife. "If I cut my finger off, I'm suing you." "You can't sue me." "I'll find a way." "You won't." "You don't know my dedication." A few minutes later, I was aggressively attacking vegetables. My slices were uneven. Some were tiny, some were enormous. One somehow launched itself off the counter completely. I watched it hit the floor. Rowan watched it hit the floor. Neither of us said anything. "I think that one escaped." "Clearly." "It wante

CHAPTER 76: Late-night Conversations

☆☆LILA☆☆I couldn't sleep.Which was annoying because I was exhausted. I'd trained with Nyx, nearly died, recovered, ate, showered, and yet somehow my brain had decided now was the perfect time to be awake.I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. My phone sat on the nightstand, silent.After another twenty minutes of staring at the ceiling, I gave up. Maybe water would help. Or food. Or unconsciousness. I'd take any of the three.The house was quiet as I headed to the kitchen, at least until I saw light coming from the corner of the living room. I stopped, checked the time. It was two in the morning.Then I walked closer to him.Rowan was sitting on the couch with a laptop open. Several files were spread across the table. He looked up. I looked at him, then at the files, then back at him."It's two in the morning.""Yes.""Do you ever sleep?""Sometimes.""That's not an answer.""It is.""It isn't.""It is."I narrowed my eyes."You definitely sleep standing up like a horse."