CHAPTER 145: SNAKE AND FRIENDS

Nyx tilted her head, the smile on her lips faltered, and she asked, "Don’t say that you are not coming. I would like it if you came to my mother’s birthday party."

The cogs in Inez’s mind turned rapidly. She came up with an excuse within seconds and said to Nyx, "It’s not that I don’t want to come, but I think it will be a bit problematic if I attend the party. Wouldn’t it be better if I stayed at the lodge? And I also have some work to do. I don’t think that I will have the time to come to the party."

She had all the time in the world, but Nyx didn’t need to know that, thought Inez.

"Oh. Did Kill ask you to start working already? Would you like me to ask him to give you a few days off so that you can attend the party? I don’t like the idea of you working hard when everyone is enjoying."

"Thank you, but there is no need," Inez refused. She had already had enough with Morrineth glaring at her at every turn. Just this morning, she was staring at Inez as if she wished to take a bite of her neck. She wondered how that woman would react if Inez were to turn up at her party. "I just think that we should avoid trouble when we can."

Nyx gave her a sympathetic look. She then said, "I understand. I am really sorry about my mom, though—she might be a bit rude at times, but she is only grieving the death of her daughter and my sister. Lyra died all of a sudden; because of this, my mother was never able to get the closure that she wanted."

While Inez understood Morrineth’s pain, she couldn’t accept that the woman was looking for validation by asking Killian to stay alone. Though there were shifters who stayed alone after the death of their mates, they did it willingly. Morrineth’s actions were selfish and couldn’t be explained in just a few words.

Just because she refused to accept that her daughter would never return, she wanted Killian to honour the bond that had already been broken.

When Inez didn’t say anything, Nyx sighed. She placed the card that she was holding in her hand on the small cabinet inside the room. She then turned to look at Inez before saying to her, "I hope that you will come to the party. I mean, with me being busy, Selene will be all alone. If you came to the party, then at least she will have someone to care for her." She shifted her gaze to Selene, who seemed a bit troubled.

"I will be fine," said Selene.

"You don’t have to lie," said Nyx with a look of indignation on her face. When she saw Inez looking at her in confusion, she said to her, "The last time we invited a few people to the pack, there were a few women who made fun of Selene."

Selene, always the peacemaker, said in a mollified voice, "That was nothing. They just made some little jokes."

"Calling you a little cripple is not a joke nor is asking whether you have chosen the casket in which you would like to be buried."

Nyx turned to look at Inez and huffed. "Back then I was too busy and couldn’t take care of those bitches, which is why I would like it if you came to the party and kept an eye on them. Anyway, now that you are with Kill, you should start taking care of Selene a bit more. What do you say?"

Inez wanted to refute that she had nothing to do with Killian but she didn’t because she knew that no one was going to listen to her. Instead, she turned and looked at Selene, who smiled at her sheepishly. Inez felt her heartache when she thought about how Selene was bullied because she was different from others.

Nyx then placed her hand on Inez’s shoulder. "I will not force you to attend the party if you are not willing, as I understand that my mother has never welcomed you. But if you change your mind, then I hope that you will attend the party. At least this time we will catch those women in the act instead of bitching about Selene behind her back."

"I will think about it," replied Inez with a smile.

Hearing her response, Nyx smiled. She then turned to look at Selene and said to her, "I have brought a few dresses of mine. You know, the last time you said that you liked the pastel yellow one?" As she spoke, she turned on her feet and then walked out of the balcony. However, she soon returned carrying three to four dresses that looked neither too old nor too new.

She placed them on the small coffee table that was placed in the overly large balcony. As the pile settled down, she picked up the yellow dress that she was talking about and showed it to Selene. "Isn’t it good? I only wore it a few times. It’s in a really good condition, don’t you think so?"

Inez had to admit that the dress indeed looked pretty. With beads and pearls sewn on the fabric, but at the same time, she wondered why Selene would wear clothes that Nyx had already worn.

"I don’t think that it will look good on me," Selene looked at the dress, which was prettier than the one she was wearing and shook her head. Though the dresses were beautiful, they would be of no use for someone like her who couldn’t even stand up on her feet.

With her dull skin and coarse hair, Selene knew that no matter how much she tried, she would never become the girl who would turn heads.

"But I want you to dress prettier," said Nyx with a pout. She lowered her eyes and said, "I know that you are suffering, Sel. But there is no need for you to stop living your life; at least try to add some colour to your world. Don’t you think that I am speaking the truth?"