Chapter 8

I stood there, barely able to breathe. My chest tightened. I couldn't believe my ears. Cian wanted to bargain with Derrick's messenger for my life.  I thought he said he would protect me. This wasn't even supposed to be a conversation!!!

But there he was, about to give me up for a prize. My heart bled because I thought there was something about him I could trust.

"Hey, are you okay?" He rushed towards me. The nerve! I couldn't speak. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I just squatted with my face on the ground, tears blurring my vision. I tried to pick up the broken pieces of glass.

"You're going to hurt yourself. Don't do it." He tried to stop me. Bullshit act.

I violently freed myself from his hold. Thanks to the medicine from the pack doctor, I wasn't in a lot of pain from the back wounds anymore. 

"Don't come near me," I said, as the tears I tried to control fell down my cheeks. 

After those reassuring words he gave, this wound of betrayal cut too deep. I wanted to run, but I knew it was impossible. There were guards at every entrance.

 I had been played. The shock I felt made my hands tremble.

The messenger, taken aback by Cian's willingness to give in easily to Derrick's demand wore an evil smile. He was pleased.

"I didn't know it was going to be this easy, but I like it. Makes things easy for all of us." He chuckled. "So if I may, what is it that you want in return? I'm sure Alpha Derrick would be more than willing to give." 

Cian leaned forward with a sudden anger in his eyes. 

"Derrick’s head on a silver platter, and the heads of all his pack members. Then, and only then, will I think about handing Layla over."

I froze.

I watched the messenger stare at him in disbelief, cursing silently before being thrown out of the room.

All the guards left, Cian wasn't going to hand me over, but my anger stayed.

My heart pounded heavily as I tried to storm out of the room. He held my hand, stopping me. 

"Why would you even pretend to bargain with them?" I yelled, my voice louder than I wanted it to be. "I trusted you!" I freed myself from his hold.

He went silent. Still holding my hand, he looked amused. He leaned against the old wooden desk with one arm crossed, watching me with a chuckle that only triggered me the more. 

"It was fun," he said nonchalantly. "Besides, it bought us a little time."

I clenched my fists. “Time for what? Making me look like a fool, reacting like that?”

He ran his hands through his hair as if my words had gotten to him. "To strategize. To plan. To think!!. Or would you have preferred it if we waited for Derrick unprepared?" He laughed slowly. The most beautiful laughter I had ever seen. I hated how his calmness easily got to me. I was no longer upset, but I couldn't show it yet. 

"That’s not the point. You........" I let out a frustrated breath, then shook my head. "You make it sound like I’m just some game to you." I didn't mean that.

He effortlessly pushed off the desk, closing the space between us. “Is that what you think?” His voice became lower and more unreadable.

This tension, not again. I thought.

I took a step back. Then another. But Cian moved towards me. Quickly. 

Once again, his warmth, his cologne, his fresh breath. Only this time, his gaze was more intense, studying me, as if he wanted to see through my soul, to own it. And maybe he did. I just didn't admit it.

I shifted away. Slightly. The tension was becoming too intense for my fragile body.

"I don’t care what you think," I snapped, lifting my chin. "But if you ever do something like that again, I’ll......."

"You’ll what?" He drew me close, closer than the way we were before I pulled away. Close enough to see the unsteady flash of something - probably love beneath his nonchalant behavior.

I hated that I noticed everything about him, even the ones I didn't want to notice. It made me weak. And I hated the way he looked at me when he was not too busy being nonchalant. So longingly, like he owned me.

He smiled slightly as if he could hear the battle waging on my insides. Maybe he could hear my intense heartbeat because I could have sworn I heard his too. 

"I like your fire," he murmured close to my ears, his body brushing against mine as he gently sniffed my neck. Then I shut my eyes and placed my fingers on the back of his neck, rubbing it gently.

"And I hate that I notice everything about you." I opened my eyes. I wanted to pull away. Badly. Because I would let my guard down if I didn't.

Then came a knock on the door. 

Thank goodness!

Cian hissed, a little annoyed. A smile curled up at the end of my lips. 

I tried to pull away. He was hesitant but he let me go. 

"Come in, he said, adjusting his pants."

A guard entered.

"A message for you, Alpha." He said and handed over a sealed envelope.

The spark in my eyes went away as I watched Cian’s expression shift. The excitement in his eyes - gone. 

His fingers tightened around the letter as he tore it open, scanning the contents, an uneasy feeling creeping in.

I had never seen his face so still. So unreadable. But the dangerous expression in his gaze couldn't stay hidden.

"What is that?" I asked in a worried tone.

He folded the letter, slipping it into his pocket. "Nothing to worry about." He responded coldly. Then I knew I needed to worry.

"You’re lying," I insisted.

"If you say so." He responded with a fake smile.

The unease in my chest grew. Whatever was in that letter, it was important. And Cian wasn’t telling me. I grew restless.

Moments later, he tossed the letter into the fireplace, right before my eyes. 

I stood there in shock as I watched the paper burn into ashes. What was he keeping from me?

Whatever it was, he wanted it gone.

But that didn’t mean I would forget. I had to find out what.

Later that night, sleep never came. 

I paced in my room, Cian’s unreadable expression replaying in my head, over and over again. What did the letter say? Why did he burn it so quickly?

I was still thinking about it when the door creaked open. My breath stopped. It was dark. A shadowed figure crept inside.

My mind screamed, but before my mouth could, a cold blade pressed against my throat.

"You should have never survived that night," a deep unrecognizable voice murmured against my ear.

My blood ran cold.

I barely had time to take a breath before the pressure on the blade increased. 

Was this going to be the end?......my end?