The Bargain

Strike a bargain

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This story may contain foul language, violence and sensitive content.
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DINAH

Breathe in, breathe out.

Clasping my hands in front of me, shoulders tense, focusing on the task of providing my lungs with air. Not letting my thoughts wander, not lifting my gaze off the floor, not glancing at my pursuer who's staring at me intensely from across the room.

Not panicking.

"The father's dead?" I hear one of them ask, directing their question to the Handler who's sitting behind his desk. He's reading through my file, flipping through papers that summarize everything about my short life. Scanning them as if it's a car deal he's looking over, not an actual human being with a heart thumping out of her chest.

I'm on display and I'm being bargained for. Standing in the middle of the Handler's office with my body covered in a loose fitting dress, just as the custom says. I can feel the eyes of the one who wants me lingering on me, burning and etching onto my skin. Never wavering, never looking away. I don't dare to look at him. I've never seen a Lycan up-close before and now I'm stuck with two of them in a room.

"He's deceased. He traveled across the sea to trade but stayed after meeting me," my mother says before the Handler can flip through the right papers to answer his question.

I glance at her and she meets my gaze, misty-eyed, smiling sadly. She's sitting in the corner with my sleeping little brother in her lap. He's not yet old enough to understand the gravity of the situation, not yet old enough to understand that his older sister is about to be taken away from him for the rest of his life.

I can hardly grasp it myself. This is all going so fast.

The tears start to burn at the corners of my eyes and I have to avert my eyes from my her. I look down to the floor again, desperately trying to keep it together.

I want to run out from this office, I want to scream in their faces, I want to fight. But I can't. I know this is a battle I've already lost.

"Overseas? Interesting, I've never been there." It's the voice of the Lycan who wants me. I can hear him getting up from the chair, his heavy steps across the floor, my eyes now resting on his black shoes. I don't need to look at him to feel him, my body is hyper aware of his presence. Every fiber in my being is screaming that this is a predator.

He puts his index finger under my chin and tilts my head up so that I have no choice but to look at him. I take a shaky breath as my eyes lock with his, golden green eyes darkening slightly as he takes me in. It's something with the intense eyes of these beings, something unsettling screaming that they aren't human. There's a dark edge to them, something harsh and unwavering.

They're the eyes of a wolf.

"When I smelled you yesterday I almost lost it, I nearly shifted but Lucien stopped me," he says and gestures vaguely to the Lycan in the back. The other predator is casually leaning against a bookshelf with arms crossed over his chest, looking bored. "But thankfully he reminded me of the rules, how shifting on human land could jeopardize the chance of a Bargain."

He now starts to circle me as he talks. He moves slowly, sometimes touching my hair, sometimes leaning forward to breathe me in, sometimes letting his fingers trail down my arms. When he lets his silky tongue touch the back of my neck I can't help but to jump and tense up, taking a step away from him. He flashes me a wolfish grin but retreats slightly, allowing me space.

"Dinah." He tastes my name in his mouth. It was probably the first thing he learned about me. "I've caught your scent and I claim you as my mate, I've demanded a Bargain. I'm going take you with me and in return protect and provide for your family for the rest of their lives, as the tradition says."

He shifts his gaze to the Handler sitting behind the desk, organizing the papers that soon will be signed and given a stamp of approval. "Is there anything else?"

"Well.." The Handler adjusts his glasses and clears his throat. "Since you're a son of the Alpha our province will naturally ask for a little more. We'd like one year of service from your clan and be allowed access to your resources."

My pursuer narrows his eyes a little in annoyance but agrees. "Fine."

After hearing him agree the Handler starts to stamp the bundle of papers, the loud sound sealing my fate.

"She's old enough to be be taken to our territory as soon as you've signed, Milo." The Lycan in the background speaks. He still looks bored.

My mom is not able to keep it in any longer. She starts sobbing in her corner, quietly so she doesn't wake my brother, shoulders shaking and tears streaming down her face. She looks so fragile and small, the sight of her is breaking my heart.

"You." My pursuer nods at me. "Tell me what you want. Are you willing to leave with me now?"

I stare at him, unable to find my voice for a second. My throat feels like sandpaper, the lump of sadness threatening to suffocate me.

The Handler walks up to my tall pursuer and hands him a paper. He skims it over before morphing his index finger into a claw, pricking himself and signing the paper with the bloody tip.

He then turns his attention back to me and raises an eyebrow, waiting. I swallow hard.

"I... I would like some time to say goodbye," I finally croak out.

The bored looking Lycan in the background sighs impatiently, but my pursuer just nods at my request. "Three days. I'll give you three days before I come get you. Be ready by then."

I clasp my hands together tighter and nod before I bow forward slightly, a sign of submission and acceptance.

The Lycans turn around to leave, but before slipping through the door my pursuer stops, his golden eyes meeting mine over his shoulder. "Remember Dinah, you can't run from me. I'll always find you."

Then he disappears. I feel so numb that I don't notice the tear sliding down my face.