Georgina was stunned by what he had just said. What was wrong with him? She couldn't understand why he was always so mean and angry at her. It was evident to her that she could be too direct, and that irked many people, but nobody had ever spoken to her this way.
"Beast, you say?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall, surprisingly gentle, so she didn't hurt herself, and then whispered. "You don't know the first thing about my inner beast Georgina."
She stood there paralyzed and wide-eyed. Mixed emotions came down on her - confusion about what he meant, anger about his rough treatment, fear of his fast movements and towering solid body, and thrill about his warm touch. It all was too much for her, and tears started to fill her eyes, making her sight blurry, but no tears fell down her cheek.
Seeing her scared and bewildered face, Simon instantly regretted what he had done. He moved two steps away to give her some space and was about to apologize when she slapped his face hard. This time it was he who stood rooted to his spot, baffled by her courageous reaction. "You may never touch me again; do you hear me? I am not some toy you can push around, and I am not scared of you. Unfortunately, your brother was gracious enough to let us stay in your home because otherwise, I would have demanded never to see your face again!"
She couldn't keep her tears back anymore and went to look for Eliana, leaving Simon alone. When Georgina finally found the trio sitting and chatting in the courtyard, she didn't wait to ask Eliana to go home. "I want to leave Eli." Her tearful eyes and wet cheeks alarmed Eliana, who immediately hugged her friend. "Gio, what happened? Why are you crying?"
"Please, I just want to go home, okay?"
"Sure, let's go home, dear." Eliana threw an apologetic look in Damien's direction and left, not allowing anyone to say anything further.
Damien was furious. Who on earth dared to hurt his guest this way? And he searched for the culprit only to find his brother in one of the rooms, staring at the wall.
Raya followed Damien through the temple and was happy to have the brothers to herself again. She didn't realize that Damien was angry and searching for the person responsible for Georgina's state. Instead, she thought he was looking for his brother to tell him they would leave too. "Simon, there you are. The girls just left. Maybe the three of us can hang out at mine in this case?" Raya said excitedly.
Both brothers snapped their heads toward her and couldn't believe her ignorance. Damien tried very hard to contain his anger. "Raya, I need a moment alone with Simon. Why don't you go ahead? We will join you once we are done with our conversation." He wasn't planning to go to her house but knew she wouldn't leave otherwise.
"Oh, I see. Sure, I will be waiting then." She gave him a dashing smile and left.
The minute she was out of their sight, Damien turned to look at Simon, "Simon, what happened?" Damien waited a few minutes for an answer, but Simon only stared back at him.
His mind was a mess. He didn't know what to do and if he should tell his brother the truth. But that would mean acceptance for him, and he wasn't ready for that. He never really liked the idea of having a mate, someone, who would be chosen for him by fate. Bound for life, yet it wasn't his own will. What an awful way to live. Watching his brother suffer under the bond to a weak human also didn't help with his resolution to never succumb to that sort of fate.
Yet here he was, raging because a man spoke to Georgina. Everything about her aggravated him. She was stubborn, outspoken, unpolished, and didn't act like a lady. Nonetheless, whenever her long brown, wavy hair blew beautifully in the wind, his fingers tickled, prompting him to feel her soft hair. And each time her innocent clear brown eyes challenged him, he felt as though he would fight the whole world to replace that look with recognition and undying love.
"I asked, what happened?" Damien's voice became more demanding and sterner.
"What happened is that your future bride's friend is troublesome. I pity you, brother, to have found such a weak human as your mate and that you couldn't withstand the pull! Frankly, you lost my respect when you brought her back with you." Instead of lying or telling the truth, Simon chose to let out his frustration with his brother. Damien was shocked by Simon's words and didn't know how to retort. As he kept quiet, Simon continued.
"You know what happens when a Beta loses their respect toward their Alpha? The gravity of an Alpha's order lessens. Meaning, your demands do not impact me as much as before." That was a lie, but Simon needed his brother to react, maybe fight him even, so that he could discharge some steam.
Damien's eyes started to glow as he made slow and strong steps toward his brother, ready to fight him. Challenging an Alpha meant a fight to the death because otherwise, the Alpha could lose their status, so they always had to win. "Don't do this, Simon. I don't know what has been happening with you the past months but challenging me is not the solution." Simon stood his ground and lifted his chin, showing his defiance.
"I just told you what the problem is, but I guess you are not as smart as I thought you were. So let me spell it out for you. Those. Two. Humans. Do. NOT. Belong. Here. Whatever you told yourself to ease your conscious is bullshit."
After looking at his brother for a long while, Damien laughed out loud, confusing Simon. "If I didn't know you better, I would have thought you were serious right now, but luckily, I am sure that something is going on, and you do not want to tell me yet. I will let this slide, but you must apologize to Georgina and be on good terms with her. Unless you are planning to kill me of frustration because we both know if there is drama between the two of you, I cannot get closer to Eliana…"
Padding Simon on his shoulder and shaking his head in laughter, he turned around and left to go home while Simon stood there, utterly surprised that his brother could see through his charade. How he wished things were different for him.
--
On their way back to the palace, Georgina told Eliana what happened in the temple. Eliana was furious about how Simon treated her and determined to make him apologize. This was also Damien's fault. As his older brother, he should have taught Simon how to interact with women.
"I wish we didn't have to live under the same roof as them." Georgina was wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
"There must be an explanation for why he acted this way, and I am sure he will apologize. Once we both have our occupations, earn money, and are settled, we will find a lovely house in town and live in peace." She smiled at her friend and held her with one arm over her shoulder while walking.
They stayed like that walking down a dark alley until suddenly three men stood in their way, not letting them pass by. Ever since the girls had arrived in Lothaire, they always had the brothers or maids from the palace with them and had forgotten that they were currently alone a city full of supernatural beings.
"Hello, ladies. May we accompany you for a while? We feel a little lonely and would love to walk you home."
"No, thank you, we are fine alone." But the men didn't step aside, so Georgina screamed at them. "Hey, let us pass through!"
"Oh, you two are feisty, exactly our type." His indecent smile made both girls shiver. They were in trouble.