CHAPTER 452: ROSE WITH THORNS (13)

And then—

He pulled back slightly, lips brushing hers as he murmured, "Breathe, stupid."

Her eyes fluttered open, dazed. Her cheeks flushed a deep red as she exhaled shakily.

Loki smirked, but before he could move away, her hand slowly reached up—almost like instinct and gently brushed against his ear.

His ear.

The moment her fingers touched the soft velvet fur, Loki jerked.

His breath hitched. His eyes widened.

"Don’t—" he said quickly, grabbing her wrist, but his voice had already softened, like he was trying to hide how sensitive he really was.

Rose blinked. "It’s... soft," she whispered.

"Of course it is. I’m perfect," he muttered, flustered now, his cheeks just slightly tinted.

She giggled softly and reached again, brushing the tip of his ear with her pinky.

Loki’s body stiffened. His tail even curled behind him. "Seriously—stop touching them unless you want me to—"

"To what?" she asked, looking up at him, her voice breathless and teasing now.

He looked down at her for a long moment, eyes darkening slightly as he leaned closer again—this time slower, more dangerous.

"To do that kiss again... but longer," he whispered, "with no interruptions."

****

The dinner table was... quiet.

Too quiet.

Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat for the fourth time, her fork hovering awkwardly over her rice. She could feel her brother’s eyes boring into the side of her head like laser beams.

Sebastian hadn’t said a word since they sat down but his jaw was clenched, his expression unreadable, and his grip on the water glass looked like it could shatter it any second.

And of course, Loki wasn’t helping.

At all.

In fact, he was making it so much worse.

"Eat this," Loki said smoothly, leaning close and placing a perfectly sliced piece of grilled fish onto Rose’s plate with a little proud flourish.

She looked at him, blushing. "I can serve myself—"

"No," he interrupted firmly, golden eyes glinting. "You’re too soft. You need to be pampered."

She almost choked. "L-Loki—"

And then—he took her hand under the table. Right there. In front of her brother. Intertwining their fingers like he was marking his territory.

Rose felt her ears turn red. She was this close to crying out of secondhand embarrassment.

Sebastian’s fork paused mid-cut. His eye twitched.

Across the table, Lilith looked highly entertained, sipping her drink slowly like it was the best show she’d seen in centuries.

And then came the final straw.

Loki turned to the little girl seated beside Sebastian...Lyana.

"Lyana," he said smoothly, flashing his most charming smile, "don’t you think we should be best friends?"

Lyana, who had been very quietly staring at him the entire time like he was a prince from a cartoon, immediately nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Yes!! You’re so sparkly and pretty! Like my sticker book!"

Rose nearly choked on her rice.

Loki grinned, clearly proud of the compliment. "See? She has excellent taste."

Sebastian’s jaw clenched so tightly it looked like he was grinding diamonds between his teeth.

He glanced at his daughter, then at Rose, then at Loki, then back at his daughter.

What was happening?

His little Lyana had a weakness for pretty people—once, she saw a college student on campus with long hair and called her "pretty sister," tugged her skirt, and completely stole the poor girl’s heart.

Now she was saying this demon creature was sparkly?

Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

Loki turned back to Rose and gently wiped a grain of rice from the corner of her mouth with his thumb. "Messy again," he murmured, in a tone so soft it nearly gave Lilith goosebumps.

Sebastian’s spoon snapped.

"Excuse me," he said calmly, standing up, his voice deep and dangerous. "I need some air."

Loki didn’t even blink. "Bring back dessert."

"Loki," Rose whispered, hissing under her breath once Sebastian left the room. "Can you please behave?"

"I am behaving," Loki said innocently, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair. "This is the mild version of me. You should see what I do when your brother’s not around."

Rose covered her face with her hands.

Lilith laughed into her drink.

Lyana, meanwhile, was still staring at Loki with admiration. "Uncle Loki, can you braid my doll’s hair after dinner?"

"Of course," Loki said smoothly.

Sebastian walked back into the dining room with deadly calm.

His steps were measured. His eyes? Not so much. They burned with restrained rage behind a sharp, perfect smile.

Rose glanced up. "Brother? You okay?"

"I’m fine," he replied coolly, sitting back down in his chair like it didn’t take all his self-control not to throw one.

Loki, who was still sitting far too close to Rose, didn’t even flinch.

In fact, he gave Sebastian a bright smile—one that practically screamed I’m dating your sister and there’s nothing you can do about it.

"Welcome back, brother-in-law," Loki said smoothly, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head, casual as ever. "You were gone long enough. Missed me?"

Sebastian’s jaw clenched.

Rose blinked. "Brother-in—what?"

Loki leaned toward Rose with a smug glint in his golden eyes and whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear,

"Manifesting, darling."

Sebastian’s chair creaked.

He slowly turned to Loki, face calm, voice anything but.

"You can’t marry my sister," he said through clenched teeth. "You’re a damn cat."

Rose’s breath hitched.

"Brother—!"

Loki blinked innocently at first, like he didn’t understand what the big deal was.

Then, slowly, he tilted his head and said cheerfully, "Oh, don’t worry, brother-in-law! If a cat from my clan mates with a human, the human can awaken supernatural powers too! Sometimes, depending on their inner personality traits—" he paused dramatically and pointed to Rose, "they even develop cat-like forms! It’s very cute."

Rose’s eyes widened in horror. "WHAT?!"

Loki nodded proudly, placing a hand on his chest. "You might grow a tail, some ears, maybe really sharp reflexes. Imagine Rose chasing laser lights—adorable!"

"LOKI!" she screeched.

Sebastian’s expression turned to stone. A storm swirled behind his eyes as he glared at the demon-cat prince seated way too close to his baby sister.

After he regained memory of his past life, he also got know Loki was one who have him bad dream when he was in coma, and loki used to dislike him with Lilith!

Heh! Well, now—he’s not going to make things easy for this fat cat anymore.