Fated To The Lycan Brothers
Chapter 30

Suri Nightingale

As soon as I get back home-I mean, to the lair, because this is not home-I run to the elevator to get up to my room.

I wanted to get started on the stuff we had to take home for some of the classes, such as reading material for English Literature, memorizing three formulas for math, and familiarizing ourselves with environmental analysis.

But mostly, I just wanted to be left alone. Escape in my own mind and not have to worry about the fear of being cornered and intimidated by one of the brothers again.

"Suri."

s**t. I quickly realized my wishes weren't going to be fulfilled as easily as I thought it would be when I heard my name get called just as I was seconds from reaching the elevator.

Note to self: Find a different route that could possibly be less exposed and/or start training on how to run faster.

I began to think about which of the brothers it could likely be, wondering how they got home faster than I did, and brainstorming different ways of how to extract myself from whatever they were planning. When I turned around, relief washed over me when it turned out to be Keith instead.

He was looking at me with a warm smile, hands in his navy blue pants, and the first two buttons of his long white sleeve shirt loosened. He looked pretty casual for a Monday afternoon. I would have expected him to still be somewhere in his office, submerged in all the work.

"Oh, hey. I, uh, wasn't expecting you to be home so soon. I'm guessing you don't have a lot of work?" I asked as I walked closer to where he was.

He lets out a soft chuckle while shaking his head. "Oh, I wish. That certainly sounds nice, but no, it's not the case. I just felt quite guilty for not being there for you this morning on your first day at the academy, so I'm taking a short break from all the work to hang out with you a little. That is if you don't mind."

His sincere confession has me taken aback. I certainly wasn't expecting that to be his answer, but I guess a part of me was... touched.

After losing my mom, I felt as if no adult in my life had ever made me feel like I was cared for. Well, Red Mama cared in a way, but it was still different. It was her job to care, for the most part.

Now here was Keith. The man who spent God knows how much money just to track me down, flew all the way to where I was and brought me back to his expensive home, was spending even more money to make sure all I needed and more was given to me, and now was even skipping work just to talk to me and ask me about school - the most boring thing ever.

Wow.

I must have spaced out a little too long because I then heard Keith say, "Ah, I apologize. I guess you weren't expecting me to show up and you just wanted to get to your room and rest. Please, don't mind me. Go ahead."

He seemed so embarrassed, like he had just made a grave mistake thinking a teenager would want to talk to an adult after what could have been a strenuous day in teenage hell. His shoulders slumped a little and the expression on his face became self-conscious. Granted, I at first really didn't have plans on talking with anyone, but that was before I knew Keith would be here and, honestly, aside from Dev, he's the only other person I feel like I can trust in this unfamiliar house. "No," I said. "We can talk. I... I'd love to talk." I reassured him with a small smile.

Not a second later, his face lit up, thankful that I agreed. "Would you like some snacks? I can ask Lucy to bring some to my office."

My smile widened at the idea of food. "Snacks sound perfect."

It comes to no surprise to me that Keith's office oozes money and sophistication in every corner. As soon as you step inside, the first thing you notice is the hologram of a high-tech car smacked right in the middle, reminding me of the one back in the headmistress' office, except that one was of a globe.

Aside from that, everything else doesn't seem too futuristic, but you can still tell that things are expensive around the place. The floor is covered in gray carpet that looks imported from another country as I've never seen material like that around here. The tables and chairs are all black and gray, combined with gold tones that give off that elegant look. Behind his table is a bookshelf organized impeccably by color. Most of the titles are stuff I've never even heard of and are closely related to technology. I guess it makes sense because Keith's life pretty much revolves around it.

He ushers me towards the black leather chair with gold armrests and what seems like white fur on it. I hope that's not from a real animal.

"Take a seat, Suri. And don't worry, the fur isn't genuine." He says as if he has just read my mind.

I made myself comfortable, not that it's hard because everything is soft to touch, as I continued to look around. This office is magnificent. You can easily tell just how established a person is by the design and decorations. I'm sure this cost more or less a million dollars to make.

"So what do you feel like eating? Do you have any snacks in mind?" He asks as he settles on his chair, the same color and material as the one I'm sitting on, only much bigger.

"Uh..." I told him the first thing that came to mind. Or my stomach, technically. "Burger and fries?"

He looked at me amused. "Now that is a request I don't often get with people I meet in this room."

"What can I say? I am a very sophisticated guest." I joke and he lets out a soft chuckle, making me join in too.

After he tells Lucy my request, in which he also asks for the same thing, there's a few seconds of silence until he asks me, "So I know this is a very common question, but just bear with me. How was your first day?"

I smile and tell myself that he's trying.

"It was... fine. I met and I think also made a few friends."

"Oh?" Delightful curiosity beamed in his face. "Would I know them?" He asks subtly, but why do I have a feeling he wants to check who I plan on hanging with?

I tell him, anyway.

"You probably know Elleana De Luca as I met her at the fourth of July party. She introduced me to her friends, Polly Antoinette and Ariana Evans."

"Oh, the Princess of Ascotiá, yes. I've met her and her family a few times. A nice young lady." He says, but I don't miss the fact that he doesn't comment on the other girls. That means he really doesn't know who they are, but probably not for long. If he could track a nobody like me, I'm sure replaceing information about two rich girls is as easy as one, two, three to him.

"Yes, that's her." I confirmed.

"Well, I'm glad that you're already making friends. Really glad." There's something in his eyes that makes me wonder if he had expected me not to make friends. Something that tells me he knew there was a high chance that I wouldn't fit in, but not in a way that was belittling me. He just seemed... worried.

"No problems so far with the teachers? The classes?"

I shook my head. "Not really. They're all very professional. It's a bit of a shock coming from my kind of education, but I think it's nice. It'll make studying hard, but fruitful, I believe."

I noticed that Keith takes every word I say very seriously, like he's processing it, dissecting it, as if I say one thing he doesn't approve of and he'll stomp through the halls of the academy and make them fix it.

I can't help but smile at how serious he is about the whole thing, but also internally chuckle at the absurdity of it.

"There is this one lady..." I started to say and focus on Keith's body language. "Headmistress West."

The second her name is out of my lips, Keith looks even more attentive than earlier.

"Hm? What about her?" He asks coyly, but by the looks of it, he seems quite curious to know more.

"Aside from the fact that she was also very nice to me, it seems like she must really think highly of you as well. Are you close to her? She calls you by your first name, too."

Keith's jaw muscle twitches. I got him.

I know I said I wouldn't be nosy or poke into other people's business, but it was right in front of me. I'll ask a few questions and that's it. I'll let it go after.

"Does she now?" He feigns innocence, but I can see clearly in his eyes that he knows that already.

"Well, I have known her for quite some time. When you have two boys that cause more trouble than usual, then I can almost guarantee that the headmistress' office somehow becomes your second home." He confesses, but at the same time deflects the topic to his boys. Keith is good.

As well as hiding something. Specifically, some kind of relationship with the headmistress. I wonder if the brothers know.

Now that I think about it - has Keith never been in a relationship with any other woman? I know he must have been close with the mother of the boys, but he never once mentioned her as his past lover or some sort. Not that he mentioned her more than once, but during that, it didn't sound like they had more than a platonic relationship.

Could it be that he never loved another woman as much as he loved my mom?

My thoughts are interrupted when there is a knock on the door and my nose instantly catches the scent of burgers and fries. The food is here!

Lucy walks into the office with a tray and carefully places a plate each in front of Keith and I.

I blinked at the food, confused. These look more like the burgers in the advertisement for fast food rather than the ones they actually serve. They're big and juicy and definitely a bang for your buck.

"Don't be shy, Suri. Go ahead and eat," Keith instructed me as soon as Lucy stepped out.

"Oh it's not out of shyness that I'm not eating yet. It's because I can't wrap my head around the fact that this is the prettiest fast food burger I've ever seen in my life."

And it's true. I know I don't get to eat fast food a lot either, but I've had some before and they were not as meaty as these.

"The senior chef takes his job very seriously," Keith comments, and I gawk at him.

Wait... He got burgers and fries made, instead of just ordering them?!

"Sorry, when you said earlier that you wanted burgers and fries, did you mean you wanted to actually buy them from a store? Oh goodness, I just realized that now. My apologies, we can order from whatever restaurant you want. Shack Shake? Out-N-In?" He started to name various fast foods while looking embarrassed about making that mistake.

"No, no, it's fine. Well, it's more than fine. This is... this is awesome. I will happily enjoy this chef-made fast food. Thank you, Keith." I tell him and he eases up.

The food was amazing. It was so good that I don't think I could ever eat any other fast food the same ever again and I feel guilty admitting that because, back then, I would have given up my left arm to be able to do so.

Not even a week in this place and I'm starting to have thoughts like a spoiled rich kid. I need to get a grip.

"So, about the boys..." Keith subtly starts a topic after wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"How are they treating you?"

Oh, you know, exactly how a loving brother would treat their sister that they supposedly love so much.

They threaten me. They make me feel inferior. They corner me on a wall. They told me I should leave. They suggest s****l stuff around me and about me. Oh, and did I mention I caught your son jerking off?

"They're alright," I lied.

There's no point in being a tattle tale. What's he going to do? Give the boys more punishments and in turn make them even more pissed at me? Yeah, no. I'll just have to suck it up. I have one year of Atlas and Wes' bull s hit then I'm out of here. Dev, though... Him I admittedly kind of would miss.

It's obvious Keith doesn't buy it, but he doesn't push about it either, thank god.

We ended up talking about me getting hired for a trial run at the flower shop earlier and at first he was confused as to why I would get a job, but he didn't take long to warm up to that idea when I told him I wanted it. Then he starts to talk about how the boys' mother also loved flowers and she took care of their garden in their old place before they moved here.

"She is the reason why we ended up here. We only found out about Los Altos because she was asked by Maria, the owner of the flower shop, to design the place. I'm sure she would be going there every single day if she was still here." He shared, the excitement in his eyes and voice obvious.

"She sounds like a lovely person. I wish I had a chance to meet her." I confessed, and Keith's eyes turned soft.

"I wish you did, too. Eve-"

Eve. The name of the boys' mother was Eve. It was a beautiful name.

Keith lets out a sigh, his eyes looking down on his table as if memories are flashing in his head - good and bad.

"She passed away so suddenly. We were all heartbroken, but Atlas... Atlas had the worst of it because-"

Keith doesn't get to finish what he was saying because speak of the devil, Atlas literally comes barging in through the door, smoke almost coming out of his ears.

"I need my car back," he says without even a greeting.

"Yes, good afternoon to you too, son. How are you?" Keith riddles him.

Atlas doesn't like it. His eyes narrowed on Keith, then on me and, for a brief second, my heart jumped, but he looked away, leaving nothing but an icy feeling.

"I'm serious, Keith. Coach just informed us that practice is at six and Wes won't drive me. And I sure as s**t ain't riding with anyone else." He puts emphasis on 'anyone' that even if he doesn't glance towards me, I know who he means.

The tension in the air is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Silence filled the four corners of Keith's office before he breaks it as he says, "Six o' clock, you say?"

I raised a brow. What is he thinking?

Unfortunately, it occurred to me too late what it was until the bomb had already been set in place.

"Yeah," Atlas responded monotone.

I noticed that even while I'm sitting down and looking at him from below, he still looks annoyingly handsome from this angle. His adam's apple is bigger and his jaw is a sight to behold. His lips are so full and well-defined that I can't help but imagine what it would feel like against mine and-

Oh damn it, Suri! Cut it out!

I came back to the present as soon as Keith said, "Well, isn't that just a wonderful coincidence? Suri starts working at the flower shop next week and her shift is at five thirty. If she drives you, you can both be on time for where the two of you need to be." "Suri?" Keith turned to me. "What do you say we go car shopping soon so that you and Atlas can ride together for school? It's because I also might need Benjamin back soon."

"I... uh..."

What the f**k? Is he serious?! Riding in the same car with Atlas while Benjamin is there is one thing, but driving a car with just Atlas and I, is another thing. Doesn't Keith know he's setting me up for my own death?!

Atlas' face contorted in an ugly grimace of rage, and his eyes pierced into mine with unspeakable anger.

I knew then that if looks could kill, I would have turned into a heap of ash as his glare set me on fire.