Chapter 2Escaping His Lethal Obsession

Rhys is four years older than me.

He is a genius. I am an idiot.

From the age of four, I became his shadow. I clung to him when we ate. I clung to him when we slept. When he went to school, I would shift into a rabbit, hide at the bottom of his backpack, and sleep inside his desk.

But I am still an evolved Therian. Spending too much time in my shifted form triggered a permanent physical side effect.

I lost the ability to retract my ears and tail.

Even now, as an adult, I walk around with two soft rabbit ears resting against my hair. Thankfully, I’m a lop-ear. They naturally droop down.

When I’m terrified, the fur on them just puffs up a little.

"You don't need your brother anymore?"

Under the harsh glare of the bedroom's incandescent light, Rhys repeated my words, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous drawl.

His true form is a blue-ringed oceanic hybrid—a cephalopod. By nature, he is cold. Everything he does is calculated, quiet, and chillingly precise. In all the years we've lived together, I can count the number of times I've seen him smile on one hand.

But right now, his calmness was terrifying.

Every single hair on my ears stood on end. Still, I braced myself and forced the words out.

"Y-yes. I've been too much trouble for you all these years. I'm an adult now. I need to take responsibility for my own future. I can't keep depending on you like this."

"Right." Rhys gave a slow, measured nod. He unclasped his heavy silver watch and tossed it onto the nightstand. The metal clinked sharply against the glass. "My little sister is all grown up. She doesn't need me. Perfectly normal."

He stepped closer. "Nothing to be angry about. I'm thrilled for you."

With a careless flick of his fingers, he popped the top buttons of his black dress shirt.

I snapped my head up, my eyes widening. Before my brain could even process the movement, his hand clamped around both of my wrists. With a sudden, overwhelming force, he pinned me backward into the soft mattress.