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“No,” Alek interrupted. He set his fork down on the table with a clatter.
His father raised a brow. The entire room stilled, including me. “Excuse me?”
“She’s not coming to that.”
His father shrugged, clearly unbothered by Alek’s interruption. “It’s a family event. I don’t see why not.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Alek hissed. He leaned toward his father across the table as if I couldn’t hear every word they were saying. Suddenly, I felt like an intruder in their home. “She’s not ready.”
“Ready for what?” I asked. They both ignored me, aside from Alek’s jaw that tightened in response of its own.
“You’re the one throwing her into danger,” his father hissed back, finally losing an ounce of his composure. “If she can handle an interception, she can handle this.”
My mind spun. What the hell were they talking about?
“Father,” Alek’s voice boomed through the room, louder than it had been all evening. “Trust me, she’snotready.”
His father turned to stare at me. “You heard her, son,” he said. I almost wanted to look away from those neon-green eyes. “She’s looking for adventure.”
* * *
Alek was particularlyquiet when we got back into the car. “Are we going to talk about what happened back there?” I asked.
“Nothing happened. Nothing to talk about.”
He drove with one hand on the steering wheel. I would have paid anything to see what he was thinking, why he was so mad.
“Well, I think that went okay, don’t you?” I pushed.
“It was fine, Lyra,” he muttered.
I tried not to show the hurt in my face at the venom in his words.
“I’m sorry,” he admitted after a while. “It was a stupid idea for my father to even bring it up. It’s not safe for you.”
“Why not? Your father seemed to really want me there.”
“Well, my father doesn’t think clearly sometimes.”
I didn’t ask what he meant. Instead, I turned my attention toward the road.
Why was Alek being so cryptic? And why was he so upset that his father mentioned the lake house?
I wiped away the sweat from my palms and tried not to think about how many questions I received about my mother. That was normal, right? He was only attempting to make conversation, to get to know me. He didn’t know anything. He didn’t know my true identity.
Alek and I didn’t speak the rest of the ride back to my apartment. I spent the time sifting through my thoughts, deciphering what had just happened. Alek didn’t say anything else as I got out and walked inside, but the hair on the back of my neck stood up at the thought of what I was about to get myself into.
ChapterFifteen
Acouple of days later, Alek didn’t seem as nervous about the lake house. In fact, he didn't seem nervous at all as he picked me up from my apartment and began driving us there.
I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. I hadn’t stayed a night away from home since Natalie and I were kids. It had been years, and the looming paranoia of my mother finding out was growing stronger and stronger.
But she was still out of town. I knew that. I had no reason to worry, even though my paranoia had been at an all-time high since the interrogation about my family at dinner.
“How can I be sure you won’t trick me into a weird ritual again?” I asked. I pushed away the rush of emotions that came with Alek’s bite. My body had an odd way of reacting to that memory without my permission. “You won’t be biting me again, will you?”
Alek laughed. “Don’t worry,” he muttered. “I won’t bite you again until you ask me nicely.”
