The Darkest Temptation ✔️

FORTY SEVEN

Word Count: 1967

~Tove

I settle into my seat, resting my trembling hands on the table.

My mother sits opposite me, enjoying some bread and olive oil like this is a casual meeting with her daughter that occurs all the time.

Problem is, this is the furthest thing from normal.

"So, what is this meeting about?"

She doesn't look at me as she tears a piece of bread apart, scooping it through the oil before popping it into her mouth. This is just an opportunity to take a break from work for her.

I stare at her, dumbfounded. "Are you not even going to try the small talk? Ask me how I've been?"

She sighs, finally raising her gaze to me. I hate that we have the same eyes. I hate that I used to want her to love me like a normal daughter.

"You've never cared for my approval before. What has changed?"

"I went through something traumatic. I almost died," I tell her.

I don't expect that to mean anything to her, but it's key to the story I'm building. This time, though, I'm not going to be hurt when she wants nothing to do with me.

My life is going to be good without her. I'll have Keo, Mary and a new sense of purpose.

"How unfortunate," she drawls.

I raise my brows. This was an expected response so it doesn't hurt.

"What happened?" She eventually asks.

"I was out with Mary and she ended up going home earlier so I was left walking home in the dark by myself. I was grabbed by a man in the shadows who dragged me into a random building," I explain, recalling the carefully crafted story Keo and I conjured up earlier.

Her bored expression doesn't shift. "And?"

"There was a man in there. A Demon, apparently," I say lowly, glancing at neighbouring tables. "They tried to kill me but I escaped."

This garners some interest. She sits up a little straighter, abandoning her feast of bread and red wine to finally give me some attention.

"Where?"

"Not far from here." I don't want her getting distracted by trying to find this Demon, when I'm trying to get her to believe I want to do it myself.

"I need the exact location."

"This isn't what this is about," I growl.

A few heads turn from the table next to us. I give them a tight smile and look back at my mother. As long as they think this is just some petty argument between mother and daughter, not two Angel-blood's talking about Demon's, we are safe.

She folds her napkin in her hand. "You want me to feel sorry for you?"

"I want you to feel something," I grit out, before realising that is my own biases peeking through. "Never mind. What matters is that I want to become a hunter."

She raises her brows. "Really?"

"Yes...Or at least I want to know how to defend myself against Demons." I rub the back of my neck, hoping my unease isn't obvious.

I hate even saying it. Being a hunter is despicable, especially when I have a mate who is a Demon. It's all a ruse, but it unsettles a deep part of me.

"It would be convenient to have someone in Territory One to liaison with the Noble's." She taps on her chin, contemplating my offer.