Chapter Two

~Mel~

“No.”

Every single head swiveled in my direction as the word left my mouth. I struggled to stand to my feet, taking in a deep breath while trying to steady the heavy pounding of my heart, I repeated, “No.”

“I do not care what he did to you or whatever the fuck this is. No one is dying.”

A look of surprise so faint crossed Carmine’s face that I would have missed it if I wasn’t staring dead straight into his eyes. He had gotten to his feet, turned his back on me and began to walk away after giving the death sentence.

Now, his eyes were back on me. We stared at each other for a moment. I didn’t know what I was doing or where the courage had come from but I was just done. With everything. With everyone.

“Melody,” Nathaniel’s faint voice filtered through the air, “Please stop.”

I found myself instinctively backing away when I noticed that Carmine was working back towards me. One of his eyebrows rose, “No? You do not care?”

His eyes went back to my father on the ground, then returned to me, filled with dark amusement. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

The air cackled between us or maybe it was just the powerful aura that seeped to be seeping from his skin. The sound of the heel of his shoe meeting the creaking wooden floor was the only sound  that echoed in the sudden silence.

“I know exactly who you are,” I whispered, my voice unswerving despite the terror clawing at my inside.

He tilted his head to the side as he watched me. He took a step forward and I took one back until my back hit the wall barely leaving any space between us.

His eyes bore into mine, “Then tell me.” 

“You are the Demon wolf.”

“And yet you dare to defy me?” His tone was almost playful, but there was an edge to it that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“Yes,” I swallowed hard. “I dare.”

The room seemed to hold its breath. The men who had come with Carmine looked at me as if I had grown a second head. No one defied Carmine Moreno and lived to tell the tale. But here I was, standing my ground, defying the Demon Wolf.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” Carmine said, stepping closer until there was only a breath of space between us. His eyes bore into mine, and I could feel the power radiating off him in waves. “But guts won’t save you or your father.”

“Then what will?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “What will it take for you to spare him?”

Spare him. Not me. In all honesty, I didn’t understand why I was standing up for Nathaniel. That nagging voice that had become my subconsciousness ever since Hannah died filtered through again.

“Shut up, Mel. Get on your knees and beg for forgiveness. You are no hero.”

“You are no hero.”

“You are no hero.”

The echo of her voice was so loud, so aggressive that it felt like a physical bang against my head. I wanted it gone. I needed everything to just stop. 

“Shut up!” I screamed, my hands flying to my head as if I could physically block out the noise. Without realizing it, I swung my arm out, striking Carmine right in the face.

The room went deathly silent. Carmine's eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, the air was thick with so much tension. My own eyes widened in horror as I realized what I had just done.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” I stammered, but the words were cut off as Carmine’s eyes turned black, a snarl curling his lips.

He moved with inhuman speed, his hand wrapping around my throat and lifting me off the ground. I clawed at his hand, my vision blurring as I struggled to breathe. This was it. He was going to kill me.

But then, just as suddenly, he seemed to regain control. His eyes returned to their normal color, and he let me go, dropping me to the floor. I gasped for air, my throat burning.

“What’s your name?” he asked, h t is voice deadly calm.

“Mel-Melody.”

“Melody,” he repeated, tasting the name on his lips as if it were something foreign. For a moment, he looked almost thoughtful. Then, as if remembering why he was here, his gaze flickered to my father then back to me, his eyes unreadable. 

“Tell me, Melody,” he drawled, “Do you know why I am here?”

I shook my head, my heart still pounding in my chest. “No, I don’t.”

Carmine’s smile widened. “Your father here stole from me. Normally I would not bother myself with someone so beneath me but he took a rare artifact, something that belonged to my pack for generations. A wolf’s fang, imbued with the power of our ancestors. It’s invaluable.”

My father stole a werewolf artifact? What did he want with it? And of all the things... I glanced at Nathaniel, who was trembling on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth.

“I have retrieved it back but he needs to pay for what he did. No one crosses me and lives to speak about it,” He growled, his voice like velvet over steel. “And so do you. Unless—“

“Unless what? What do you want?” I jumped on his words, my voice breaking.

His eyes gleamed with a predatory light. “You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You’ve intrigued me, Melody. No one has ever dared to stand up to me like this. It’s rather... refreshing.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my heart pounding.

“Become my pet for a year,” Carmine whispered, his voice low and dangerous. “Submit to me, and I’ll spare your father’s life. You and he will be free after a year.”

I stared at him, my mind reeling. “Your pet?”

He nodded, his smile turning wicked. “Yes, my pet. You’ll obey my every command, submit to my every whim. In exchange, I’ll spare your father and give you your freedom after the year is up.”

I looked at Nathaniel, his eyes filled with fear and regret. He had been a terrible father, but he was still my father. Could I do this? Could I really submit to Carmine Moreno, the Demon Wolf, for a year?

“What’s it going to be, Melody?” He whispered. His words floated around me almost seductively. 

“No.” The nagging voice whispered again, the same time Nathaniel’s shaky voice gasped out, “Melody, no.”

I took a deep breath, my decision made. “Yes. I’ll do it.”

Carmine’s smile widened, a dark, triumphant gleam in his eyes. “Good. Now, let’s seal the deal.”

Before I could react, he reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me close. His lips were on mine, a fierce, possessive kiss that took my breath away. I could feel his power, his dominance, radiating off him in waves. It was intoxicating and terrifying all at once.

When he finally pulled back, I was gasping for breath, my heart pounding. “Welcome to your new life, Melody,” he whispered, his eyes gleaming with dark promise. “You’re mine now.”