Tasting 169

169–She Is His Mate?

Nora:

After getting home, I asked around and discovered that Natalya had gone to the hostel. Apparently,

one of the drivers had dropped her off.

I couldn’t understand why Cain would do that to me until Silas brought up a valid point. Now, I

wanted the truth straight from Cain himself.

“Dad and everyone are waiting at the dinner table,” Nash appeared from the living room to inform

Silas and me.

We both nodded, but before we could pass him, Silas stepped in Nash’s way. So, I halted too.

“Where did you take her?” Silas asked with concern in his voice.

“Don’t worry, she’s fine,” Silas reassured, placing his hand gently on his brother’s shoulder and

guiding him aside.

“Are you fine though? You seemed to have swollen eyes. Have you been crying?” Nash inquired of

me in a little whisper.

“Yeah I am fine now. Silas helped lift up my mood,” I had to say that sop that he doesn’t think I had

been crying because of Silas.

“Are you sure you are fine though?” he scanned me worriedly. At least these two were concerned

for me. I don’t know what happened to my own mates and why they were acting so oddly with me. It

was the fact that Cain never even told me what changed his attitude towards me. As if he didn’t

even care if I had an excuse for it or not. He just got rid of

1. me.

To my surprise, Cain was seated between Lord Atwood and Ryker, feasting shamelessly.

The moment our eyes met, my body tingled.

But our eye contact was brief. Soon, he looked away, barely acknowledging me.

Now, we all sat down to enjoy the feast, appearing like a happy family. A family that had never

betrayed each other.

“So, Dad, do you know what happened today?” Silas suddenly began speaking, and my heart

skipped a beat. His tone suggested he might do something reckless.

“What happened?” Lord Atwood immediately focused his attention on his son’s words.

“I was at home and found out that Cain had invited his girlfriend over for a date,” he said with a

sarcastic smile towards Cain, causing everyone to turn in surprise.

“My son, you’re dating?” His father’s happiness made me feel guilty. He must have hoped his sons

would find someone to spend their lives with, only to discover his stepdaughter wasn’t comfortable

with his girlfriend.

“Yes,” Cain obediently replied, though his gritted teeth drew most of the attention.

“And you’re not going to tell everyone who she is?” Silas continued.

I noticed Cain’s gaze turn towards me, almost angrily, holding me accountable for his brother’s

reaction.

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“There will be a perfect time for it,” Cain uttered.

“Oh, come on. It’s a perfect time. We’re all sitting together as a family– or if you’re too ashamed of

yourself, I’ll do the honors,” at this point, Silas‘ taunting tone had become too obvious for anyone to

ignore.

Ryker leaned back in his chair with his arm stretched out, barely touching his food. He seemed

uninterested in the conversation.

Nash frowned, hunching over his salad bowl. Dad watched everyone’s faces intently.

Silas wore an angry smirk, while Cain countered with a threatening stare.

“What’s going on? Why would he be ashamed of dating someone?” Lord Atwood caught on but still

didn’t know what Cain had done.

“Ask him.” Silas folded his arms, leaving it to his father.

Lord Atwood turned to Cain and cleared his throat, “Who is this lady you’re dating?”

Cain sighed, dabbing his mouth with a tissue. He seemed ready to leave after making her

introduction.

young

“Natalya!” he uttered, prompting his father to shake his head, as if to confirm he’d heard correctly.

My heart raced again. Hearing him say her name wasn’t going to be easy for me.

“As in the snake Natalya?” Nash asked, and Cain immediately shot him. a disapproving glance.

His overprotectiveness of her didn’t sit well with me. It made me

anxious and upset.

“She’s my girlfriend now. I won’t tolerate any disrespect towards her,” Cain hissed at Nash, who

straightened up and visibly frowned. He exchanged glances with his father and brothers to ensure

they heard Cain’s rebuke for defending Natalya.

Throughout this, Lord Atwood observed my face. Ryker, who had his head down, was now looking

at me through his eyebrows.

“Dad, you’re not going to say anything?” Nash finally broke his father’s silence with a direct

question.

Lord Atwood uncomfortably shifted in his seat, avoiding eye contact with me. At that moment, I

sensed something was amiss. If he were truly on my side, he wouldn’t have hesitated.

“I know what Natalya did was wrong. But I think she genuinely misunderstood the relationship

between Nora and her stepbrothers,” he began, causing my heart to skip a beat.

He noticed my expression and quickly added, “I’m not siding with her. That girl has lied before. But

when it comes to dating and mates–”

He paused abruptly, and I frowned at his insinuation.

“What are you trying to say?” Nash asked in an authoritative tone.

“Isn’t Nora also dating our enemy?” Cain interjected softly.

Now that all eyes were on me, I straightened up defensively. “To clear our names,” I asserted.

My words came out almost hissing at Cain. In response, he let out a taunting chuckle and shook his

head.

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“Even before that, when your brother wasn’t happy about your

friendship with Brody, did it stop you from inviting him over to the mansion?” Cain mentioned Ryker,

whose grip on his fork tightened, but he remained silent.

I felt disbelief and guilt. I was being accused of hypocrisy.

“And I’m not just dating her for no reason. I have an even stronger reason to be with her,” Cain

added, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“She’s my fated mate,” Cain declared, making my heart stop. His eyes bore into mine as he made

that claim, almost as if mocking me.

There was no way he was telling the truth.