Chained to Me

6: The Job Offer

"What were you thinking? How could you let her see me!?! Do you know how much trouble we're in because of you?"

I woke up to a guy I hadn't seen before. His arms folded in front of his chest as he paced the room. He seemed taller than Luke, but I couldn't tell as Luke was at the table drinking something from a straw.

"Why DID you bring her here?" Rory pushed the chair he was in near them.

"She thinks something's wrong with her. I had to do something." Luke pouted, looking down at his drink. Meanwhile, I was trying to pretend I was still asleep to listen in on their conversation, sometimes I would slowly open my eyes just a bit, and close them immediately to not get caught. But within a few seconds, I could hear someone walking towards me.

"It's no use pretending around us. We noticed you waking up a while ago." It was Brody's voice. I could feel his breathing on the hairs of my head, he was too close.

I perched my eyes open, "How did you know?"

"We saw you open your eyes." He replied. Right. I wasn't being careful enough. I sat up looking at the two other men in the room. Brody sat at the opposite end of the couch, resting one of his tanned arms on the cushion. "So, what did you think of the wolf?" He said, immediately flashing his eyes from dark brown to yellow.

I was startled, moving away from his, pressing my back onto the side cushion. He's... He's that wolf. Luke did tell me that wolf was a werewolf, but I never thought of what it would look like in his human form. Just like that deep voiced guy from school, he looked like he just came out of a magazine cover. His features were almost perfect, having big brown eyes, perfectly angled eyebrows, and sharp jaws. Not to mention the bronze tan and his long her done in a small bun. If I could compare him to the guy from school, Brody would easily win.

"Candle?" Luke interrupted my train of thought, finding him on a chair he had carried right next to me.

"Candle? Is that her name?" Brody chuckled revealing only one dimple on the right. "Don't laugh! That really is my name." I pouted. It wasn't the first time someone laughed at my name, or made jokes. Someone had once told me if I needed to light up. Not funny.

"She's Beka's daughter." Rory interrupted. Right, I forgot about her. They all turned around to face me. "No way. Didn't she have only one daughter." Brody sat back, confused. What did he mean one daughter? I sat up abruptly. I knew I was adopted by my aunt after my biological parents died, but what did they mean only daughter? Did they mean someone else? Do I have a sister?

I turned to Brody, my hands in a ball of fist, my knuckles turning white and my face turning red. "What do you mean?" The boys looked at each other, then at me.

"What is she doing down here!?!" A woman yelled at the top of her lungs. She was still at the higher floor, clicking her heels as fast as she could down the stairs. "How dare you bring her here?" She barged again. I didn't realise it at first, due to her casual appearance, but she was Nina Quinn, the president's assistant. Her blonde her was straightened and fell till her hips, she wore long lashes and a soft tan lipstick that had hints of pink. And her outfit was like the ones you see on a mannequin at a very prestigious shop.

"It was my idea." Luke held his hand up as if he was during a lecture. She turned to him, her eyes narrowed, barely able to see the green colour of her eyes. She stomped her feet to him, grabbed his shirt from the collar and with one swift move she was able to pull him up onto his feet then throw him on the ground.

"What the hell!" He yelled as he rubbed his head.

"That should teach you not to go behind my back." Nina came in front of me. "Are you alright?" She asked and I nodded, not letting a second pass.

"What is this place?" I uttered, barely being audible. She pressed her lips forming a line than crouched to come to my level. "We protect the supernatural world and keep both worlds in order." She said slowly, trying to make it as simple as possible. "We're like the police."

"But our job is much more interesting." Luke laughed, still sitting on the floor.

"So now that you have seen this place... why don't you join us?" She said with a smile. They all turned to her, shocked.

"You can't be serious?" Rory barked. "This job is too dangerous!" Luke backed him up. Brody stayed silent, glaring at Nina as she smiled back at him. "This job was always reserved for her. I only wanted her to ease into it."

"Not like this." She glared at Luke. "So, what do you say?"

"I'll think about it." I said.

***

They said I could learn to control my sight and my body. They said they would teach me, but I doubt if they would be able to do so. I don't think it is something that is able to be taught, but rather something it is to be learned through experience.

"That would be sixteen dollars." The cashier said. I had gone to buy some groceries for Jenny so we could make a nice little cake with some decorations for when my parents would visit us next week. I handed her the money and walked out the door carrying a bag full of different types of chocolates and food colouring.

I walked under the street lights, crossed the road to have as much distance as I could from the abandoned house and then back under the street lights. I had to pass from there every day, and every day I found it easier to walk passed. It wasn't a path I could change as it was a main street that led to the centre of town. And there were no other routes I could take.

"I'm sure I saw her!" I heard a girl's voice from just around the corner.

"That can't be true. Where did you see her?" I immediately recognised his voice. It was that same deep voiced guy from school. I crept closer, trying to not make a noise. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I was just thinking of a way how to walk passed them.

"In the woods." The girl said before turning her head in my direction. They noticed me. I sighed, I hate being the centre of attention. I kept walking with the same pace, slowly passing them, but someone had grabbed my arm.

"You know it's rude to eavesdrop on someone." The girl said, pressing her nails in my arm.

"I was just passing through." I said with a low voice.

"Kim, let the new kid go." He said grabbing her arm and being a wall that separated me from her. She slowly let go, glaring at him. She was a tiny girl, having similar features to him. Siblings maybe?

"Mike, we don't know how much she has heard." She whispered, ignoring my presence. Instead he ignored her turning to me.

"Sorry about her. She doesn't like people in general." He scratched his head.

"Hey!" She nudged.

"Anyway, I'm Michael and this is Roxy. And you must be Candle." He held his arm out and at that exact moment, his eyes flashed again. Just like last time. I stepped back, startled.

"Right... I have to go." I turned on my heels and quickly walking away as Roxy began to laugh at him.

"You scared her off!" I heard her say as the distance between us grew wider.

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Thank you for reading Chained to Me.

I wonder if I would've said yes right away if I was the one being offered that job...

Neh, I would've probably just ran away.

What would you have done?

(Btw, the image of the guy is what I imagine Michael to look like. ;) )

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This was an updated version of my comic going by the same name, which has now been unfortunately discontinued, but you can still check it out in the link below:

tapas.io/series/Chained-to-Me

other links: linktr.ee/erica_mallia