Veronica's Fallacy

14.

-HER-

The rest of the dinner was silent and tense. I pushed the food around on the plate more than I ate it. Swallowing the food felt like an immense task. It wasn't helping that his eyes were constantly on me, watching, studying, and analysing me. I felt exposed before him, but it excited my wolf because, of course.

"You don't like the food?" He asked curiously, switching back to one of his friendlier expressions from the scrutinising ones. Abruptly, the air around him changed as well because I could swear something dark and shadowy surrounded him a few seconds ago. It was as if he had flipped a switch somewhere.

"It's great," I lied blandly, reaching for the drink. It was the first time I touched it because I couldn't bear the night anymore. It was too tense to think of a way out, and I needed to distract myself from the constant thoughts of his mouth on my skin and the effect it had on me. The aftermath of that effect still lingered between my legs, but I ignored it for now... or tried to.

I took a huge gulp of the drink and sighed. It tasted like nothing I had had before. It had a savoury sweetness to it at first before the strong taste of alcohol hit me like a wall of bricks, but in a good way. I reached for the glass again absentmindedly to gulp it all down. The drink had a strange effect on me, not precisely because it was alcoholic but because there was something else to it that I couldn't name; it felt special.

Grim smiled at me warmly from across the table, "It's pomegranate wine, one of my sister's brews,"

"You have a sister?" I asked, intrigued. He nodded, and something unrecognisable flickered in his eyes. "I have two, actually," He sighed deeply and drank the wine.

"Are they into this business too?" I couldn't help but ask. The cat was out of the bag already, and the bag had caught fire. There was nothing left to pretend about. The deal was made, and there was no going back from here.

However, I hadn't accepted it mentally yet. I was going to fight it as long as I could. Not every couple was lovey-dovey, after all. I was going to give him trouble, that I had decided. Until then, I needed to know what I was getting into and learning about his family was a good start.

"Er..." He looked away, reluctant. I narrowed my eyes at him, eating the steak. For some reason, it tasted better than before. "They dabble here and there, but mostly, they have their own things going on,"

"So you're three siblings?" I asked.

"Five, actually," He said, his voice firm and his eyes curious as he looked at me as if anticipating something.

"And you're the eldest?" I guessed blindly.

"I'm the middle child," He grinned mischievously. That suited him well.

"So, is this a family business?" I asked cautiously, trying to sound casual, but he didn't care. He answered freely, and that made me want to ask more questions. I wanted to know more about him... because, of course.

"Yes, I was born into it," he nodded, his eyes slightly unfocused as he twirled his wine.

"And so were your parents?" I pushed even though I knew I was playing a dangerous game. It didn't matter. I wanted the barest truth. I wanted everything.

"My father started it," He nodded absentmindedly but said nothing else. I waited for him to elaborate, but nothing more came. Instead, he asked me back, "What about you?"

"I don't have any siblings," I lied with a straight face. I had siblings, but I never associated with them. I never got a chance. To me, they were just strangers... just like my parents. He tilted his head to the side, studying me.

"You must've gotten all the attention as a single child?" He asked. I laughed bitterly.

"You have no idea," I almost had to chew my words out but kept my face unreadable. Grim gave me a profound look, thinking.

"Was it not the case?" He asked. I shrugged, not wanting to delve deeper into the subject. I didn't want him to know about such things yet... or ever. He gave me a lingering look. He wasn't satisfied with my response and would ask me more about it later.

"How long have you been working for the council?" He asked, changing the topic after sensing my unwillingness to answer.

"For eight years now," I replied curtly, reaching for the bottle to pour myself more wine mindlessly. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"You joined them when you were eighteen?" He asked, surprised.

"Sixteen," I hiccupped, "But I've been an official member since eighteen,"

"That's a long time," He noted. "What made you join them? I've heard they have the largest turnover rate,"

"It's competitive," I nodded, "And demanding. Not surprising," I muttered, thinking about Fiona and her threat. Either way, I had ended up with an Underlord, having dinner and promised to be his mate. I wasn't going to follow through on the latter, though.

"That makes it more impressive," He commented, a hint of pride in his eyes. It made me blink several times to ensure I was seeing right and that the pomegranate wine hadn't gotten to my head too much. I couldn't suppress my giggle.

"Are you proud that your mate works hard at an organisation that hates you?" I couldn't help but ask. He gave me a genuine grin.

"It's the skills that count," He replied, "I could always coax some info out of you," We winked, and I choked on my food. I should've known, but he gave a disbanding laugh. "I'm kidding. I couldn't care less about the council. They've been around for a long time and will stick around for a while. Personally, I don't mind them as long as they keep out of my business,"

"And what about me?" My stupid mouth had to ask, "Does it bother you that I work for the Council?" The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. It shouldn't have mattered. I didn't care what he thought about my work. I didn't need any validation from him, but a small part of me needed to know.

"Not a bit," He grinned. "I love it, actually,"

~

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