Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 95

Chapter 95: BFF

Derek’s gaze kept drifting between the road and the woman in the passenger seat as he drove. She had strong-armed him into a normal human outfit: black tee, black jeans, a leather jacket, and a cap pulled low to stop anyone recognising their king out in the wild.

"What do you do when you’re not being a king?" she had asked, eyeing his wardrobe with visible scepticism. "Today, we’re not going out as a King and Queen. We’re going out as normal people, to have normal fun. Try not to look like you’re about to sentence someone."

So, here he was in simple clothings. He had assumed the idea of an outing with her would be at some quiet, upscale restaurant in Dravengard. Instead, she chosen The Central, a place far too loud and public for his liking.

As they drove, the silence in the car began to weigh on him. Usually, Kira chattered enough for three people. Her sudden stillness was loud and unsettling.

Specifically, it made him wonder if she was sitting there wishing it was Kai behind the wheel instead of him?

He cleared his throat and glanced at her.

"You were howling with laughter not twenty minutes ago," he muttered. "Now you’re sitting there as quiet as a mouse."

Kira glanced over at him. "Well, you’re not exactly giving me anything to laugh about."

He kept his eyes on the road. "You don’t usually need a reason."

"I’m just following orders, Dear hubby," she said. "I recall you saying, not very long ago, that laughing too much would hurt my cheeks." She folded her hands neatly in her lap. "I’m preserving my health."

He opened his mouth to retort and closed it, having nothing else to say.

"Are you cross with me?" he finally asked.

Kira glanced across at him, brows lifting slightly. "Why would I be cross?"

She was playing innocent. He could feel the subtle coolness beneath it, a quiet restraint that sat just under the surface of her usual warmth, and he did not like how much it unsettled him.

"Because if you weren’t, you’d be chattering like a magpie right now," he said, eyes still on the road.

"My chattering gets on your nerves," she replied calmly. "I was taking the hint."

He glanced at her. "When did I say that?"

"You didn’t have to say it. Actions speak louder than words."

He scowled, genuinely lost. The logic of women was a puzzle he wasn’t equipped to solve. Desperate to change the subject to something he could actually grasp, he blurted out, "What does the scoreboard thing mean, anyway?"

Kira turned to look out of the passenger window. "So you did see the note."

He had found one of her usual notes that morning in his jacket pocket when he was getting ready to leave. It had been folded neatly, covered in her handwriting and those ridiculous little doodles she liked to add, and it had been, an attempt to brighten his morning.

"I found it," he admitted.

She lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. "I didn’t even know you’d seen it. You never said anything. No acknowledgement, no thank you, nothing. I assumed you’d used it as a coaster and thrown it in the bin."

Derek scoffed as though the idea was ridiculous. "Am I supposed to be grateful for scraps of paper left in my pockets?"

"Of course!" she shot back, her voice rising with a flash of her usual fire. "The point is the effort, Derek. Do they make you smile or not?"

He stayed silent for a long stretch, his knuckles tightening against the steering wheel. Grudgingly, he muttered, "Are you baiting me or something? Who could possibly smile at such boring jokes?"

Kira’s head whipped towards him so fast he was surprised she didn’t break her neck.

"Boring?" She let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. "You’re the boring one! All you do is brood, and scowl, and then brood some more. I’ll tell you something for free, Derek. If you keep that up, you’ll have so many wrinkles before you hit forty."

He turned to look at her, one brow arched, trying to work out how the conversation had arrived here this quickly.

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