Tasting

404–Breaking My Heart

Cain:

I had been out the whole day, at least since Nora said all that to me. I was shocked every time I looked into her eyes and saw no guilt or even any emotion directed towards me. If she couldn’t feel guilty about cheating on me, she could at least be angry. But no! It was as if she had more feelings for others than she had for me.

‘Maybe it’s because she likes Ryker,‘ my wolf chimed in, causing me to scratch my tattoo on my ribs. Nic had been struggling with the news just as much as I was.

‘Do you really think my brother and my mate betrayed me?‘ I just didn’t understand why they would do that.

But lately, hearing Ryker talk about her made me question if they did cheat on me. She had been with him on the days we were flirting too. When Natalya was staying over, things were escalating quickly between me and Nora. We had felt the mate bond as well. But then I found out that Natalya had taken a picture of them kissing. That shattered my heart into countless pieces.

Ryker knew she was my mate, so it felt like both of them were playing me while I was slowly pursuing Nora.

“Where did I put it?” I entered my study, searching frantically for her painting. I had heard that Daphne had arrived home to stay with us. Nora brought her back, making me wonder if she cared about anything at all. She had become so unpredictable.

‘Something happened in Brody’s pack. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the change in her body,‘ Nic commented, and I hushed him. I didn’t want to point it out, but something seemed very different about her, as if she had been given a new life, a rebirth of some sort.

“There’s no way I moved it-” I grew impatient, trying to avoid thinking about what Nic was saying. Just thinking about Brody caused me stress. The day I got my hands on him for whatever he did to Nora, the entire world would witness my torture of Brody.

“What the heck! Where did it go?” I muttered loudly, throwing a fist in the air as I stormed into my room but couldn’t find her painting anywhere.

“Did someone touch my belongings?” That was it. I wasn’t going to find it in my room or studio. I had checked all the paintings, and hers was the one that was missing. Besides, hers was always in the middle of my collection, right in my line of sight.

I needed answers. I had seen Nash sitting in the living room when I arrived home, so I rushed downstairs to ask him some questions.

“Nash!” I reached the living room, watching him quickly press his palms together to hush me.

“Don’t wake her up; I don’t want to deal with her,” Nash whispered, looking distraught. Nora put him in that position? Did she not realize that Daphne was his ex and was obsessed with him?

“Did anyone go into my studio?” I ignored his plea and focused on my own concerns. He looked lost, so I immediately knew I was asking the wrong person.

“No! I didn’t. You can go ask the others. They are being very messy tonight,” Nash shrugged, speaking in hushed tones so that she wouldn’t wake up and throw herself at him again like all the other times.

“What do you mean by messy? No one is allowed in my studio-” I hissed, stomping my foot before turning around to sprint upstairs. To my surprise, Silas was already on his way down.

“Ugh! Silas!” Even when I caught him on the staircase, I yelled, making him step back and quickly examine my body language.

“Yo! What are you screaming about?” Silas asked cautiously.

“Did you go into my studio? Did you move my stuff around?” I was growing angrier with each passing minute.

“Huh? No! Why would I go into your studio?” Silas seemed honest enough. It made zero sense. Now the only one left was Ryker, who I knew didn’t usually mess with anyone’s things–until I remembered how he had changed. He surely had his eyes on my mate. What if he took her painting out of my room because he didn’t like me having it? My heart broke again at the thought of Ryker and Nora.

“Where is Ryker?” I questioned Silas in a heavy tone. Confronting him might bring out many complaints I had kept bottled inside.

“He is with me. We’ve been talking about the recent issues. By the way, you should join us if you have time. Ryker noticed something about Nora today-” The moment he said her name, I began to form a clear picture of who might have tampered with my things.

“There is no way-” I uttered, watching Silas narrow his eyes at my expression. I then sprinted upstairs to confront her.