Veronica's Fallacy

5.

-HER-

It turned out I wasn't as familiar with the place as I had thought. As soon as we entered the casino, one of the casino managers led Gunner and me to the end of the casino to a lift.

From there, we went two floors underground. I was sweating hard the whole time, and Gunner stood beside me, his hand still at the small of my back, ensuring I didn't run away. He looked robust, his face emotionless most of the time except for a scowl now and then.

I studied his face to distract myself. He seemed the same age as me and quite attractive, but he maintained a cold expression all the time. Oddly, he was wearing a formal suit, but I caught dark curls of tattoos under his collar. His hands were gloved, and there was a piercing on his left earlobe.

I looked away immediately when he found me studying him in the lift mirror. Fortunately, the lift doors dinged open soon, saving me from any more awkward moments. But as soon as the lift opened, the sudden exposure to loud music knocked me back.

As soon as we stepped inside that loud, packed underground club, I felt fidgety. I felt Gunner's hand move from my waist to my arm, and he held it tightly as he led me through the crowd towards the bar.

I noticed him looking around, searching. That meant his Lord wasn't there yet.

"Don't move from here," he told me stiffly before disappearing into the crowd, but not before exchanging a look with the bartender— a man completely covered in tattoos, except for his lips, nose and eyelids. The bartender gave me a curious look and offered me a devilish smile. A knowing look on his face made me shudder for all the wrong reasons.

"Would you like something?" He asked, leaning in so I could hear him over the loud music.

"No," I answered, and he gave me a gruff laugh.

"I know what you'd like," He told me, but before I could say no, he added, "It's on him," He winked and got to work immediately. I watched him like a hawk as he made me a drink.

"There you go," He said, setting the drink before me. I wasn't that stupid, though. I eyed the drink but made no effort to reach for it.

"Thank you," I told him, and he laughed again. Before he could comment on my passivity, a new customer summoned him, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I eyed the drink and decided not to take my chances.

I glanced around me to see the drunk and wasted people, wondering where Gunner went and where his Lord was. Was I supposed to meet him here? In this noisy place? Not that I was complaining about it. It was a much better place than anywhere remote.

There were too many witnesses, but then again, most people here were not in their senses, and those in their complete senses worked here. And they'd definitely keep their mouths shut if something were to happen to me — that much I deduced from the look exchanged between Gunner and the bartender before the former had left. I realized how naive I was to come here, but then again, I didn't have a choice.

I had to do this, or else I would face worse consequences. These thoughts instantly made my mouth dry, and my gaze went to the drink. I swallowed hard. No, I wasn't going to make that foolish choice. Even if that drink was clean, I didn't want to be drunk while meeting an Underlord.

I glanced around again for Gunner, but he was still nowhere to be seen. Even if the place was swarming with people, Gunner was easily distinguishable due to his formal wear. I glanced at the lift and wondered if anyone would notice me if I dashed for it. Once I was back upstairs in the casino, I could sneak out and take myself home.

But then what? Gunner knew where I lived, and he had my phone, too. I was gloriously fvcked, but if I pulled that stupid stunt, all this would be in vain. So I stayed put, sitting heavily on that barstool, glaring at the drink, reminding myself how much I hated my life.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, my wolf stirred awake. I felt her pace inside me as if she was anticipating something important. I glanced around me again, but still, I didn't see Gunner. The bartender was busy with the other clients, but I knew he was watching me.

Then I felt someone slide against me and sit beside me. I turned towards him, feeling restless. The first thing I noticed was the side of his face, which made my heart stutter.

"Is this for me, Jeremy?" his deep, melodic voice asked before he reached for my untouched drink and downed it all in one go. Jeremy, the heavily tattooed bartender, glanced my way and smiled wickedly, but he said nothing and returned to his customers. This should've alerted me in some way, but it didn't.

Instead, I was left staring at the man beside me. I didn't miss anything about him. My eyes and senses zeroed in on him until the loud music and the lights faded away.

I watched him, taking in all of his features— how his Adam's apple bobbed as he drank my drink, how he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and turned to face me until his intense, stormy, dark eyes locked with my grey ones.

He had a well-carved angular face framed with dark curls that looked so perfectly placed. I watched his intense eyes, which stared at me intently while his nostrils flared and his kissable lips parted.

He froze and examined me, his eyes slightly widening as they wandered all over my face, mainly lingering on my lips, and oddly, this pleased me. I wanted him to stare at them more, to never take his eyes off me, to lean in and unite his lips to mine.

It took me at least a few seconds to snap out of the daze. I wondered what made me have such a strong reaction towards this man I had just met. It felt like I had been punched in the guts, and my consciousness had been knocked out of me in an entirely different dimension.

However, I didn't have to wonder about it for too long. The answer came in a split second.

"Mine," He growled.

~

Finally, they met!

Read the next 20+ chapters on Patreon. The link is in my bio.

Thanks for reading <3