Chapter Eight

"What?" Jared asked.

"Get out," she repeated. "It's over between us. Get that through your head. It's. Over. I've finally realized that you were never good for me. I was an idiot all along. You knew it, she knew, hell, everyone knew!"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jared insisted. He looked at her up and then down and took all of her in. "You're not making any sense. I don't even recognize you!"

Kiera looked at Kane. He looked ready for just about anything. She contemplated what to do. She could ask Jared once again to leave or she could nod at Kane and let him do the dirty work. Kane was more than capable of escorting Jared out. She honestly still couldn't believe that he was in her kitchen saying such preposterous things to her. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she had told him to leave and that she meant what she said. She meant every word.

Wasn't it funny that he showed up just when she was prepared to move on? She hadn't expected to see him ever again, she thought he was gone for good. Perhaps it was a test from the universe. Yes, that was most probably what it was although she didn't believe in coincidences. She had to admit though that Jared couldn't have guessed that she was going out with Mikael. Nobody would have told him. She didn't have any friends and she was dead sure that neither Simone nor Kane called him.

It was silly to even contemplate it.

"Kiera," he said in disbelief. It was music to her ears. She never felt more powerful. The astounding part was that she hadn't even felt the change. Maybe that was what true change was, something imperceptible yet permanent. For she was certain that she would never allow Jared or anyone else to step all over her. It was a promise she made to herself, one she intended to keep.

She straightened her spine. "Haven't I made it obvious? Do you want me to spell it out for you? I'm seeing someone else. There's no chance of a reconciliation between us. We are not getting back together. Not in a year, not in a decade, not in a century. Hell, not even in our next lives! You had your chance and you discarded it each and every time. Leave. You're embarrassing yourself."

Jared searched her face. His dark brows were furrowed and she noticed that his bony fingers were trembling slightly. He was probably enraged by the fact that she was telling him to leave. He wasn't expecting that. "Who is he?" he finally asked. "Do I know him?"

"I doubt it," she replied with a careless shrug. And oh, she couldn't possibly care less about his feelings. "You wouldn't know a guy like him. If you did, you wouldn't be the person you are."

Rubbing it in felt good. She wanted him to know that she was doing well without him and maybe it was petty, but in her opinion, fighting fire with fire was the only way to ensure total defeat. If hers burned brighter than his, he'd eventually desist. He had to know that she no longer needed him and that there were other fish in the sea. Other men were perfectly capable of wanting her. She was pretty, she was stable, and she wasn't an altogether bad person. Why should she allow him to mistreat her?

Jared gritted his teeth. She stood her ground and prepared herself for anything. Jared had never been physically aggressive toward her. Frankly, if he were, he'd be the world's most awful person. It was all he needed. They stared at each other's faces for a few more beats before he stormed out of the kitchen. He walked past her and she got a whiff of his cologne. It was minty and peppery, superficial compared to Mikael's manly scent. He smelled like an exotic fruit or place that was yet to be discovered. It was a clean and refreshing scent, tantalizingly so.

She made the right decision and nothing made her happier.

Kane followed him but not before patting her shoulder. Simone came up behind her and hugged her warmly. She said, "I'm proud of you, Kiera. I'm so proud."

"Thank you, Simone," she said, tears stinging her eyes. "I am, too. I never thought I'd be capable of saying that to Jared. Jared."

"You're finally becoming the woman you were always meant to be," she remarked. She caressed her cheek and then pinched it. "You're a true Rogers."

Kiera nodded thankfully and exhaled sharply. When she heard the front door slam, she relaxed. Jared was gone. Hopefully, she would never see him again.

She grabbed Simone's hand and squeezed it gently. She said to her, "I'm off to bed. I have work in the morning. Thank Kane for me when he returns, will you?"

"I will," she smiled.

She ascended the stairs and when she reached her bedroom, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Her heart was beating a little fast but it wasn't because of any negative feelings. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. There was no more Jared for her to worry about. He was gone from her life forever. She meant what she said—she didn't plan on getting back together with him. And even if she and Mikael didn't last, even if he was only a flame that served to brighten her world a little, the changes within her were irreversible.

Kiera Rogers had changed for good.

She took her dress off and washed her face to get all the remnants of the night from her skin. She lay in bed for the longest time but she wasn't obsessing over her exchange with Jared. She was thinking about Mikael and everything they talked about during dinner. There was one thing he said that stuck with her, something she couldn't decipher. It was his response to her question about him being so well-bred. She remarked that she had never met someone like him. It felt to her like he came from a different time. Or better yet, a different world altogether.

He smiled at her over the rim of his wine glass and said, "Pain breeds the strangest of people, Kiera. You never know what to expect from people like me. I wouldn't necessarily call it a virtue."

Kiera planned on asking him to explain himself but the waitress walked toward their table carrying the food. He then changed the subject and she forgot about what he said until now. Now that she was thinking hard about it, nothing about what he said was cryptic. It was simply an odd thing to say, especially because she commented on his politeness and not anything else.

She twisted and turned in bed. She suddenly felt suffocated. It was all bearing down on her, the newness of their relationship, the kiss on the cheek, Jared being in her kitchen. Yes, she had changed, but the change was merely a seedling and it had to be watered and properly cared for if she wanted it to flourish. She sat up and rolled her neck.

"I can't sleep," she muttered to herself.

She could switch her computer on and resume her work but that didn't sound appealing to her. She didn't want to have to read countless sentences and try to make them sound right and flow like a river. She wanted to occupy her mind and body with something else.

Kiera got out of bed and decided to go downstairs. It would be better than remaining in her bedroom and losing herself in her thoughts for hours. Besides, if she got lucky, Simone or Kane would still be awake. It was only eleven, after all.

As soon as she stepped foot in the living room, she heard noises coming from down the hall. There were only two rooms down that hall; one was her father's old bedroom and the other was his office, the one she never dared to enter. But the noise was coming from that direction and so she knew that either Simone or Kane would be there. And since she didn't want to be alone, she had no choice but to investigate.

She took small steps. Wrapping her robe tighter around her body, she walked past the bookshelf and then stopped in front of the door. As soon as she neared the door, the noise stopped abruptly. She lifted her hand and knocked. "Can I come in?" she asked.

Kane cleared his throat. "Sure, Kiera."

The memories that assaulted her mind when she stepped in caught her momentarily off-guard. For a fraction of a second, she saw her father seated behind his desk and reading one of his ancient books. His spectacles were resting almost on the tip of his nose and he looked up when he saw her approaching.

She blinked and the vivid image was gone.

Kane was knelt beside the wooden chest that contained her father's most treasured belongings. She knew because Simone had told her one day, months after he died. She was dusting the place with tears in her eyes. Kiera meant to say goodbye to her because she would be spending the weekend with Jared. She said, "Apart from you, everything your father was is lying in that box right there." She pointed at the box. They never spoke of it again.

"Kiera," he said, interrupting her train of thought. "I wasn't expecting to see you in here. You never come in here."

She shrugged. "Too many memories."

"Yeah," he said, looking around. Happiness shone in his eyes and not sadness. "Your father taught me everything I know right here in this room. It's crazy how much time has passed since I last saw him. It feels like he's always here. Don't you feel the same?"

She nodded. She agreed with him there. "Yeah. It's the reason why I never come here. Just now as I entered, I had the feeling that I saw him. That he was sitting on his chair. It's uncanny. I don't know."

He nodded and stood up. He clapped his hands to rid them of dust. "I know what you mean."

They were silent for a while. She had the feeling that she had interrupted something. He had been busy with something but he quickly put it away when he heard her approach. She said, "I didn't mean to disturb you. I just couldn't sleep. I figured I'd come downstairs to check if anyone was awake."

"Kiera," he said, "this is your house. You're not disturbing anything. You're free to go wherever you wish."

"I wish you'd stop saying that," she said. She didn't know where it was coming from. She had never heard them utter such words before. "This is your house, too. You and Simone are my family. You were also important to my father."

He shifted uncomfortably and she truly felt like leaving. She glanced at the door and was about to announce her departure when Kane spoke. "I want to show you something."

She swallowed her words and nodded. She approached him and he knelt beside the chest. He popped it open and retrieved a metallic artifact that was covered in a clean white cloth. It was silver, she realized. He handed it to her and she examined it. It was the strangest thing she ever set her eyes upon. The first half of it was a man. His hair was long and his upper body was strong. The lower half resembled that of an animal. Like a wolf. It had a tail and everything.

Kiera had never seen it before and it shamed her to think that it belonged to her father and she didn't know anything about it. She asked, "What's this?"

"It's the symbol of the werewolf," he said.

"I see that," she said turning it to check the back. "But why's it significant is what I mean. Who cares about some mythical creature? Is there one of a vampire somewhere in there?"

A smile curved his lips. "Your father had strange interests. I wish he had told you more about them."

She gulped. The words in her mouth were bitter. She had to say them. "Like he obviously told you." She realized only after she said them that she should have kept her opinion to herself. Kane wasn't to blame for her father's aloofness. "Sorry, that was childish."

"It's alright," he said.

The conversation died on the spot and she was fully to blame for it. She excused herself and returned to her bedroom, where she soon fell asleep.