Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Sweet But Psycho

(Music: Sweet but Psycho by Ava Max)

"’Oh, she’s sweet but a psycho, a little bit psycho, at night, she’s screaming, "I’m-ma-ma-ma out of my mind,’" Kira belted out at full volume, singing and bouncing along to whatever was blasting through her headphones. Hair loose, and completely lost in her chaos.

Derek stood in the doorway, watching her in stunned disbelief while his mind reeled. She truly was a psycho, completely out of her mind, he thought. How could one person contain this much disorder?

Kira didn’t notice him until he was right beside the bed. He reached out, seized her wrist, and spun her around. Startled, she gasped, lost her balance, and tumbled straight into him. Her free hand latched onto his shoulder for balance. His arm came up instinctively to steady her, wrapping firmly around her waist. Suddenly, they were chest-to-chest, faces mere inches apart. Her eyes flew wide.

Too close.

Derek’s body locked rigid. For one suspended moment, they remained like that, breaths mingling, lips almost brushing. Her jasmine scent flooded him, sweet and dizzying, and his beast, Leo, stirred restlessly beneath his skin. Kira’s heart hammered so loudly it drowned out the music still pulsing in her ears, his citrus warmth teasing her senses until her head spun.

He recovered first. With a sharp shudder, he shoved her away as though she had scorched him. She landed on the mattress with a bounce, glaring up at him as she yanked off the headphones and flung them aside.

"I see your little chat with your father didn’t just leave you emotional," he said coldly. "It seems to have fried your brain as well."

Kira’s eyes narrowed into slits. "Why sneak up on me like that?"

"Do you always act like an escaped mental patient when left alone, or is this a special performance for my benefit?"

Kira scrambled back on the bed, her cheeks flaming bright red, partly from the dancing, mostly from how close they had just been. "It’s called de-stressing, Your Grace," she shot back. "Some people use music. You should try it sometime. Might help with that permanent stick you have up your ars—"

"Watch your tongue," he snapped, his voice dropping low and dangerous. "I’ve had a long day. The last thing I need is to come home to a woman howling like a stray dog in the royal wing."

"Well, you got what you deserve," she muttered.

He scowled. "Did you say something?"

Kira met his eyes. "I said you look stressed."

His scowl deepened, making it clear he had heard her the first time, and she exhaled sharply. "I mean, you took my phone away and banned me from going to school. It’s boring here."

"It is not boring," Derek ground out. "It is orderly."

"Orderly is boring, Your Grace." She pouted without even realising it.

His gaze lingered on her rosy lips for half a second too long before he blinked and looked away, sighing deeply. "I won’t tolerate any form of disorder in my space. Don’t provoke me."

Unwilling to back down, Kira shot back. "Well, I share this space now, and you have to put up with me."

He glared at her, nostrils flaring at her boldness, but she held his stare defiantly. She had a smart mouth and this bubbly energy that grated on his damn nerves like nothing else. She had given him more lip than most men ever dared, and it fascinated him most because she actually thought she could get away with it. He had executed men for far less.

Wasn’t she the same girl who had been crying her eyes out yesterday after talking to her father? How had she bounced back so fast to cause this kind of chaos? Soon enough, she would learn no one spoke to him like that. But right now, he needed to freshen up and get to work. As he turned to leave, Kira’s voice stopped him.

"Where are you going? When am I getting my phone back? And when am I going back to school?"

"When I decide," he replied curtly.

Kira jumped down from the bed. "What do you mean by ’when you decide’? The contract says you won’t restrict my education or my personal life."

’You get your life back when I’m sure you’re not a risk to this pack.’

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