The Bargain

Showing teeth

MYKA

There are multiple doors upstairs but only one of them is standing slightly ajar, letting out a slim beam of light in the dark hallway. I peek inside.

A tall figure is standing in front of the window with his back to me. Characoal black hair, white dress shirt, tidy black shoes. It must be him.

"Are you gonna stand there forever?" His voice addresses me before I have the time to push the door open.

He already knows I'm here. Might as well make an entrance.

I shove the door open so hard it bounces against the wall, probably leaving a mark on the wallpaper. But I don't care. The anger rushing through my veins makes me feel like I'm on fire, and, quite frankly, I don't give a fuck about his wall.

Slowly he turns around to face me. I can see his jacket thrown over the chair next to him and a glass of whiskey on his desk. The tie around his neck is gone, his hair is slightly tousled, and two buttons of his dress shirt are undone.

"Well well, look who we got here. I'm just going through papers the Handler sent me about you," he says as he waves the papers in his hand. "What a pathetic little creature you are, Myka."

My name in his mouth nearly makes see red, I want to punch him in the face. The way he talks about me like I'm some cheap product is just pouring gasoline over my fire. "I'm not a slave, Lucien. I hope you fucking know that."

He laughs, short and hard, as he walks over to the wooden desk and slams the papers down on the surface. If I wasn't so damn angry the sound would make me flinch.

"Trust me, I don't even want you," he says coldly. "If it was up to me I'd ditch you on a road somewhere and let the East swallow you. A person like you is beneath me."

This fucking asshole.

I clench my fists together tighter, nails digging into my palms. "And why don't you?"

He's puts both palms against the desk as he leans forward, looking me straight in the eye.

"Because I have to fight my Lycan if I do. I'm trying-" He stops himself and slides a hand through his raven hair, looking frustrated. "I'll get weaker if I let you go, but I'm trying to find a solution to that. There's gotta be a loop hole."

I cross my arms over my chest and walk to the center of the room, standing tall with my chin held high. Showing him that I'm not afraid to invade his space. "Listen Lucien, I honestly don't care if you get shorter, taller, fatter, or whatever. But if you promise to drop us off at the border I'll do my best to help you find a solution."

"No." He answers sternly. "Even if I could drop you off I would never touch your sister, that's Milo's mate."

Mates. Ceremonies. Offspring. These dumbass rules are starting to get on my nerves.

"What does that word even mean, Lucien? Because to me it sounds like mate is just another word for slave."

I feel the rage blazing up inside me, consuming every other emotion in its destructiveness.

"You're so fucking weak, you know that?" I continue and step forward until the only thing dividing us is the desk. "I might not know much about the Lycan world, but this... this is pathetic. You're pathetic."