Tasting

414–Hypnotizing Me?

Nora:

“Come on, this is for you,” he had a strange smile on his face as he insisted I accept the drink. However, I was keenly observing his mannerisms. Something about his body language told me he was not being honest with me.

“Sure,” I finally replied, extending my arm to take the glass from him. He took a sip from his drink and placed it on the desk, but it seemed like he was going to finish it.

“You know what? Can I get more ice, please?” I requested, tightly gripping the glass in my hands.

“Okay! Give me that; I will add in ice,” he extended his hand, but I pushed the drink almost to the side, as if preventing him from touching my glass.

“Just get me the ice tray. By the time you come back, I will have taken a few sips from it,” I said. As he silently watched my face, I took a sip from the drink right before his eyes.

Feeling suspicious, he awkwardly nodded and left the library. I sensed he only left because he saw me take a sip.

The moment he was out of sight, I spat the drink behind the shelf where I had kept it in my mouth, just to deceive him. I had a feeling the drink was part of something sinister. But I didn’t want to assume the worst about Silas.

He wouldn’t drug me to assault me. He was a heartless jerk who had abandoned his mate after sleeping with her, but he wasn’t a monster. That much I could say about all these brothers.

Before he returned, I picked up his glass and wiped my lipstick from the rim of my own glass, replacing the two. I quickly drank some from the new glass just as he walked in. He almost stopped in his tracks when he saw how much I had consumed so far.

“Oh, sorry! I couldn’t control myself. It tastes so good,” I smiled, gesturing toward the drink. Silas nodded his head and put the ice cubes down.

At that point, I was the only one drinking, and once I finished the mocktail, I put the glass down and wiped my mouth.

“Aren’t you going to drink that?” I asked, watching him shake his head slightly. I had a feeling about what was going on, but I needed to remain calm to find out.

“Nora! Can we please sit to talk?” I watched him take off his glasses and place two chairs facing each other.

Without hesitation, I sat down. I wanted to know where he was going with all this odd behavior.

He sat down as well, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“What’s going on? Are you okay? Or perhaps tired? If so, you can rest; we can continue the work in the morning,” I shrugged, pretending I wasn’t noticing the agitation in his body.

“No! I’m alright. I want to talk about it,” he said, raising his head and watching me frown. He was noticing my body language as well,

“Okay, so I was thinking–” I tried to get up to grab the books I found on Weeping Guardians when he silenced me.

“Please, keep sitting,” he insisted, and I sat back down, furrowing my brows at his demands.

“This is not what I want to talk about,” he groaned inwardly, causing me to pout.

“Then what is it? Are you going to talk about the same topic where you tell me your brothers had a reason–” My chatter stopped abruptly when, out of the blue, he cupped my face in his hands.

I could easily escape his grip, but in that moment, I began to understand his motives.

“Look into my eyes,” he demanded, and I complied.

“You will respond to me with all your honesty,” his voice was deep and husky, his gaze penetrating mine.

“No lies,” he added.

“Tell me, are you going to answer me truthfully, without lying or hiding anything?” he questioned, taking shallow breaths.

I didn’t blink my eyes, nor did he, and then I uttered, “I will.”

He took a deep breath and even let a gulp pass through his throat before narrowing his eyes into mine, as if he were digging for something.

He was searching for answers.

“Tell me, Nora, what is it that Brody has on you that you are unable to leave his pack? What did he do to you while you stayed there?”

I watched his face in silence, not because I was going to answer him but because I realized he was hypnotizing me.

However, I hadn’t consumed the medicine from the glass. But he didn’t know that, and he asked me yet another question, “Why do you have the anklet? Why are you fighting the mutants?”