Tasting 151

151–I Am A Liar

Nora:

“Cain drinks that much?” I asked cautiously, feeling uneasy about it. Do we even know each other

well enough?

“Um, he does. But not all the time. Usually, he does it when he’s super upset.” Silas parked the car

in front of a street.

“And does he tell anyone? I mean, confide in someone about his problems?” Since the brothers

didn’t really have friends, I wondered how they coped with daily life traumas or if they had someone

to share their worries with.

“Cain? No! None of us do. We like to keep it to ourselves,” Silas said before he walked out of the car

and over to my side, opening the door

for me.

“Don’t worry, nobody is going to bother you here. The only people who come to this bar are the rich

ones who don’t want to drink and get photographed,” he added as he led me down a narrow street.

At the end of the street stood a not–so–big bar. He was right. If he hadn’t told me about it, I would

have never guessed there was a bar here.

“Come on,” he held my hand and guided me inside.

Right off the bat, I could smell alcohol and cigarettes. It wasn’t large, and there was no music or

anything fancy going on. There were cubicles, and everyone was sitting alone with a bunch of

bottles on the table in front of them. It felt like the loneliest bar ever.

151 I Am A Lu

I could tell from the bar’s condition that Cain must have been very upset and sad to leave the

comfort of his studio.

“The last one,” the bartender glanced at Silas and immediately knew who he had come here looking

for.

We began to walk towards the end of the bar, and as Silas had said, it wasn’t too bad here. Nobody

was looking at me or making remarks. They were all lost in their own thoughts.

Once we reached the last cubicle, sure enough, we found Cain inside surrounded by a bunch of

empty bottles.

“Cain! How many of these did you–” Silas stopped himself as he started counting the bottles and

lost track.

“Dude!” Silas stepped in.

“It reeks in here,” I whispered as I entered second behind Silas so Cain couldn’t see me

Cain looked like a mess with his hair tousled and his eyes swollen.

“Why are you here, Silas?” he asked in a grumpy and unhappy tone.

“To fetch you, of course. The pack is angry, and you’re drowning yourself in alcohol. What happened

now?” Silas was stern, standing before his brother with hands on his hips, closely observing Cain’s

every move.

“There are three of you. Why do you need me?” His voice was raspy as he spoke with his brother.

“And yet we need you. If you don’t want to protect the pack, then let us know. We’ll… make Nora the

Luna Queen of the East,” Silas joked, but Cain’s response bothered me a little.

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1511 Am A Liar

His body flinched at my mention, and he instantly grabbed a bottle from the side, gulping it down his

throat. I tried to convince myself it was because I was his mate, and he might need me when he was

suffering from whatever pain led him to abandon everything and rely on alcohol.

“Come on, Cain! We need you,” Silas groaned, snatching the bottle from his hands. Cain resisted,

turning his body and giving me a double

take.

A smile spread across my lips to let him know I was there for him. He kept staring even as Silas

pulled back and studied us for a few seconds.

“She came here to look for you,” Silas broke the silence, but Cain only lowered his head without

returning the smile to me.

“Cain, let’s go home. There’s so much going on,” I stepped forward, hoping to break through to him.

There was indeed a lot that needed his attention and guidance, not just for the pack but for my own

troubles as

well.

“Silas, don’t you know you’re not supposed to bring her to places like. these?” Cain’s response was

harsh and quick, and he didn’t spare a glance at me.

“I insisted on coming,” I said stubbornly, hands on my hips. But Cain. still didn’t turn to look at me.

“There are too many drunk men here,” he hissed, shaking his head at his brother.

“Then come home because I couldn’t leave her alone, and she wanted to find you,” Silas explained.

“Take her and go home,” Cain grumbled.

151-4 Am A Lim

“I won’t go if you won’t,” I stubbornly pouted, but each time I spoke, Cain’s reactions seemed to

grow harsher.

He lowered his head and shook it, but the way his jaw clenched stunned me. I don’t know why, but

he was emitting a strange energy.

“Don’t be a child; your pack and people need you,” Silas hissed at him. Finally, Cain attempted to

get up but nearly stumbled, almost falling if Silas hadn’t caught him.

Once Silas had a firm hold on him, he guided Cain out of the bar and to his car, with me silently

following them. Silas settled Cain in the backseat, then straightened up to look at me.

“I’ll go pay the bill and be right back. Stay inside the car, okay?” His voice had grown even raspier

from all the convincing he had to do to bring his brother back home.

After nodding, I sat in the passenger seat and turned to speak to Cain.. This was the first time we

were alone since last night.

“Cain, are you okay?” I asked, concerned. He didn’t break eye contact. with me, leaning back and

staring at me in an awkward silence. His legs were spread wide, hands resting between them.

“Did I do something wrong?” I finally gathered the courage to ask him that question.

He continued staring and then let out a scoff. “You’re a liar,” his words. hit me straight in the heart. I

frowned, tilting my head, urging him to explain his comment.

But he closed his eyes as if signaling he needed rest, and Silas returned by then.