Lykos ✓

Chapter Twenty | Lock

The slight clicks of the lock mechanism alerted Micah of his situation before the key had been fully turned. He could easily push the door open to stop Aiko from locking the library door, however, he decided against it when he saw Sandra seated by the fireplace. He could only admire her from the back as she had glanced in his directions before pointed looking away. Since she returned to his life, their relationship had been rocky. There weren't many moments they had alone.

There was so much to say.

There was so much to ask.

Micah walked to the same area as Sandra sat. In the middle of the green sofas, there was a dark oak coffee table with refreshments and an envelope addressed to him. He looked as Sandra to see if she knew anything about the current rouse, but she was eyeing the whole layout with the same amount of suspicion. Micah picked up the envelope and sat across from Sandra. He opened the envelope and read the note.

This is your chance to change your course for the wrongs of the past.

-Aiko

The note didn't explicitly state the chance that Micah had been given. The golden opportunity to talk to Sandra was something he didn't want to let slip through his fingers. After seeing her again, he was once again addicted to her presence. There was something that always drew her to him. He did his best to hold off the smile that threatened to show.

"It's from Aiko, she wants us to talk. Do you want to talk?" Micah explained.

"I-" Sandra paused, "I don't know."

"Well we can sit here until you figure it out because Aiko has locked us in." Micah could easily break down the door, yet he didn't know if he would every get a chance to be so close to Sandra again. To bask in her light once again. It was his turn to ignore her and help himself to the tiny little sandwiches that would not fill him up. Aiko had done her best and he appreciated it.

"The day you called; I didn't know why I agreed. I shouldn't have agreed," Sandra said, bring Micah's attention back to her. Not that his attention was ever far from her whenever she was in the room with him.

"I shouldn't have called. You were the only one I could turn to in my moment of desperation," Micah confessed. he hated that he had to have Sandra as a last resort, but Rafael had threatened to end her life if she didn't comply to his wishes. It was the only way to keep her safe.

"You shouldn't. It's dangerous." Sandra avoided eye contact as she poured a cup of tea. It was warm, as she took a sip, but she forced herself to swallow.

"Yet it was a risk we both took, together." Micah caught her eye as he said together. The moments they had spent together lingered like lost ghosts. Haunting them of everything they had both lost that faithful night; each other.

"Micah, you don't understand. You chose my life, but I live with life on an unknown deadline," Sandra clarified. It was only a matter of days that Rafael would kill her. With each day she visited the Estate, she knew the end of her life progressed closer. The day she was no longer deemed useful, was the day she would day.

"Sandra, I understand we don't age the same way, but you already knew that. It didn't bother you before-"

"Thánatos," Sandra cut Micah off. The word had plagued her dreams so often that she had perfected the pronunciation overtime.

"what-what did you say?" Micah didn't want to believe his ears. The mark of death was one that the Lykos used when a person was living on spare time, curtesy of them. Every moment was in debt to the Lykos after the issue and the cause of death was always Lykos.

"You heard me. Thánatos," Sandra repeated.

"Unbelievable. That bastard," Micah started cursing, his words switching between a multitude of language. His anger quickly burning through his veins. Sandra was supposed to live a long and happy life when he left. Rafael had played him the fool. He no longer wanted to play this game with his brother.

"You didn't know?" Sandra had expected the brothers to share a lot of things. After the conversation, Micah had dropped everything to leave with Rafael and there wasn't any noticeable animosity between them when they had been in the same room.

"Of course not," Micah replied, but he was already marching to the door. The anger within had reached boiling point and he was out for blood, specifically Rafael's blood.

"RAFAEL!" Micah shouted, pushing open the locked door. Sandra stood up, unsure whether she should follow or let it play out between brothers. The last time she had done so, she had lost everything. Right now, she had nothing to lose.

"RAFAEL YOU WON. ARE YOU HAPPY?" Micah had partially shifted, his claws making an appearance and teeth elongated.

Rafael showed up, and one look at Sandra, who wasn't far behind, he knew what had happened. Micah wasn't one to lose his temper easily, so Rafael was already prepared from a fight from the moment his name had been shouted.

Rafael's misdeeds had been brought to light and his broken promises were naked for all to see.

Micah launched himself as Rafael, shifting midway into his wolf. Rafael allowed himself to be pushed down by Micah. He would allow Micah to get a few shots in before ending the fight. While Rafael send way more time fighting, Micah was a healer and would always hesitate when ending the life of another.

Sandra watched as the two wolves circled each other. Micah had black fur while Rafael had dark grey. She was unable to fully watch the fight as they were far too quick for her to see and kept moving further and further away from her. It wasn't hard to follow the broken furniture and blood splattered across the floor. Nothing seemed to faze the Lykos brothers as the clashed.

Until a blood-curdling scream caught everyone's attention.

~*~

What is it with people screaming around the Estate today?