Chapter 35

Chapter 35:

LYRIC

Jaris started the car and sped off down the road. Initially, I thought I was lucky, but it wasn’t until that moment that I considered the possibility that Jaris might be trying to kill me for everything that had just happened. Why else was he driving so fast!? The world around us blurred as we zoomed past buildings and people at an incredible speed.

I thought he was angry, but when I looked at him, I saw amusement dancing in his metallic eyes. That’s when it hit me—he wasn’t mad, he was enjoying this. It wasn’t about punishing me at all.

At some point, I laughed, sharing in the thrill. But soon, concern crept in, realizing just how dangerous this was.

“I-I think you might want to slow down,” I stammered as we narrowly avoided hitting a truck.

He glanced at me, smirking. “Are you afraid of dying, Lyric Harper p>

Goodness, he was really enjoying this! But now, I wasn’t so sure about it anymore.

He pressed the gas pedal harder, pushing us even faster. He weaved through trucks and cars, horn blaring angrily all around us.

“The people aren’t finding this funny!” My voice had risen in pitch.

“Oh, Lyric Harper. Sometimes, you need to embrace the thrill and just live p>

The thrill.

I swallowed hard, staring out the window.

I wouldn’t deny it; there was a part of me that found it exhilarating, despite how terrifying it was. Living my life without fear…

A small smile tugged at my lips as I closed my eyes, allowing the wind to hit my face and tousle my hair. It was a rush.

Suddenly, Jaris slammed on the brakes, making us bounce in our seats. My excitement evaporated.

What in Hades?

ｍ𝚘𝚛ｅ ｕ𝚙ｄ𝚊ｔｅｓ 𝚒ｎ

I heard a low chuckle and glanced over at him, only to discover he had done that on purpose!

“That was scary,” I said, frowning.

LYRIC

“I know. Thought I’d bring a little scare to the fun.” I shook my head and ended up laughing.

Then, it hit me. Jaris and I were acting normal for the first time in weeks. How had that happened?

Tonight, I saw a glimpse of the man I met at the bar five years ago—the fun man. A glimpse of the loving man who had taken me to bed.

“No. He abandoned you in the morning, Lyric, and had you kicked out p>

I shut out that voice. Tonight, I wasn’t going to dwell on the past. I was going to embrace the present.

“Thank you,” I said, offering him a light smile.

He glanced at me, his eyes studying mine.

“For helping with Roderick… and not judging me,” I clarified.

He said nothing, merely shrugged, and pressed harder on the pedal.

MARTA

Marta hated being here, but she had no choice. Her grandmother had summoned her, and she had to obey.

Keeping her head low, she entered her family’s mansion. Thankfully, none of them were in the living room, only servants cleaning up the place. She took the stairs and headed toward her grandmother’s room.

Once, this mansion had been filled with so much life. Now, it felt empty, sad, and suffocating.

The smell of burning incense wafted toward her as she neared the door. She knocked twice before stepping inside and found her grandmother sitting on the floor, surrounded by burning candles.

Books were piled high in front of her, along with a cluster of herbs. The woman’s eyes were closed as she muttered something under her breath.

Marta stood back, head bowed. Her grandmother hated being interrupted when she was praying.

“Do you have any idea how much of a disgrace you are?” the woman asked after a while, her eyes still closed. “For six years, you had one task: get Alpha Jaris to make you his Luna p>

The woman opened her eyes and slowly turned to meet Marta’s gaze. “How disappointing you are, Marta. What exactly have you been doing p>

“I’ve been trying, Grandma. I even gave him kids. I thought that would be enough to make him choose me, but p>

“Well, it’s obvious you haven’t done enough!” The woman snapped. “How can you be here while he’s planning on making someone else his Luna? How useless can you be, Marta p>

Marta lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes. If it had been anyone else, she would have spoken back, but not to her grandmother. Doing so would be signing her own death sentence.

“This family is falling apart!” Her grandmother continued, turning away from her. “We put all our hopes in you, thinking you could help us. But what did you do, Marta? You’ve been enjoying the privilege of being Jaris’ baby mama, while leaving us here to rot p>

Marta frowned. “I’m sorry, Grandma. Believe me, I’ve been trying p>

“Then try harder! Make sure the mating ceremony doesn’t happen this Friday. If it does, we’ve lost, Marta! And you’ll be useless to me p>

JARIS

After an exhilarating drive, Lyric and I arrived at Darkspire. I could see the relief on her face, grateful we made it in one piece. She had been scared during the whole ride, but I could also tell a small part of her enjoyed the thrill.

I couldn’t pinpoint why I needed to drive like that with her. I loved driving fast, but it was usually something I did alone. Yet tonight, I had been tempted to share the experience with her.

I was shocked when I learned she was still bonded to Roderick. But it didn’t take a genius to see he was manipulating things to his advantage. When she told me he had treated her like a slave, I didn’t have a hard time believing it. It explained the fear I saw in her eyes—like someone who had grown accustomed to being hurt by others. Roderick was lucky it was against the rules to kill an Alpha unless they posed a real threat.

She told me she wanted to check on the kids to make sure Xylon wasn’t having another epistle. I followed her.

We found one of the nannies at the door, and she confirmed that Xylon had been fine throughout the day. Lyric still went into the room, so I waited at the doorframe.

The blue lights were on in the room, casting a soft glow over the kids as they slept peacefully. I glanced at Lyric standing beside me and noticed she was staring intently at them. It was almost as if she was lost in thought for a moment.

Then I heard a faint sniffle, and my brows furrowed. Was she… crying?

No, that couldn’t be possible.

Her hand went up to her face before she turned away. “They’re fine. I’ll check on him again in the morning,” she said, her voice a little hoarse. Her eyes… they were glossy.

Did my kids remind her of something?

Without saying another word, we left the room together.