Chapter 6

Kamari's Point of View

I could see him following me on the sides of the road. See his wolf weave in and out of the tree line. It was tragic to watch but gave me a small sense of comfort. Safety. Zayan refused to take no for an answer and I was starting to get that into my head.

Gripping my steering wheel, I settled on rather going to the park than to my house. It was in the town not too far from us, meaning only humans. No one would know about the exiled heir. Or even care that two people were there. But I needed to talk to Zayan again. If we were to do this, there had to be boundaries.

I slipped my car into a parking not far from a few benches. At this time of the night, no one was around to see the wolf slide out of the woods on the other side. Or see that very same wolf turn into a human. At least Zayan had brought some clothes along. 

"You know harassing me won't get me to sign up for your cause any faster," I said and leaned against the bonnet of my car. By the time he got halfway through the park, he was already dressed. Which spared me a whole lot of embarrassment. 

"I know but I love keeping you on your toes, little one," Zayan replied with a purr. I rolled my eyes at him as he finally stood in front of me.

His hair was plastered to his scalp from sweat. The trek was a decent distance and even the fittest werewolves would have suffered a bit. But other than his sweat-drenched hair, nothing seemed off about him. 

"I thought about what you said. Would you honestly buy me out just to get me on board with your plans? I mean, Arik will most likely hike up his usual asking price for me." Not that I thought the Alpha cared enough about his rejected mate to do so but he seemed to like being in control. He also seemed to enjoy torturing me with Eris from time to time. 

Zayan flashed that brilliant smile of his and approached me. Inched his way forward until he was looming over me. It took every ounce of restraint to keep myself from shying back. To rather match him in his stance. I could see his amusement glow in his eyes. 

"He has to name his price. It is criminal to keep such a beautiful woman like yourself hostage." There it was again, his effortless charm. Butterflies ate the insides of my stomach.

Placing a hand on his chest, I noticed his eyes darkening. Becoming primal. Instead of flirting some more, I lightly pushed him. The darkness in his eyes vanished and was replaced by a cruel smile. "If we are going to be working together on this, you have to stop with the compliments and invading my space. We keep this professional." There was a slight tremble in my voice. A bit of my tone betrayed my frayed nerves. 

He had an air around him that both intrigued and scared the living hell out of me.

"But where is the fun in that?" He whispered and leaned forward. I was forced to look straight up at him now. Clasped my hands on the bonnet to keep myself upright. He was close. Too close. I was sure he could hear my heart screaming at me to run. "I need to teach you how to seduce him, after all. Call it practical learning. Doing with your hands." He placed a hand on my hip and the other on the car. I swallowed. 

"There- There is no- There is no need to do that." I stammered out the sentence. Zayan smirked when he noticed my flustered words. Dragged his index finger across my cheek, never breaking eye contact. It was more than intense. It was almost invasive. Sexual to the core.

"But there is. You see, I would hate for Arik to spoil your first experience. You need someone with better capabilities to make you melt for the first time." 

Words lodged and dissolved in my throat. Became leaden in my stomach. The most primal part of my being screamed to take him up on the offer. To bed him here and now. But I couldn't. It was already asking a lot of myself to sleep with Arik just to get revenge.

"I- I- Who says that it would be my first time?" Lying was the only way I could get out of this.

Zayan chuckled and luckily shrank back into his own bubble. I could breathe again.

There was a spark in his eyes when he looked at me. One that I wanted to answer with a chuckle of my own. "It is written all over you. The way your hips clench. Your eyes become doe-like. Even your breath goes ragged. Admit it, sunshine, you are a virgin." He said it so casually. 

"If you knew, then why ask me to sleep with him? Why do you think I have it in me to give my virginity to someone who has rejected me? Cast me aside like some old dinged-up toy?" 

"Because I can see something else inside of you that, clearly, no one else can. You aren't some lamb to the slaughter, Kamari. You are something much more. I know you can handle this." 

Doubt filled my chest. Alongside a feeling I hadn't felt in a long while. Acceptance. Someone who refused to change me into something I wasn't but appreciated me for who I was. Zayan was going to prove difficult to forget once all of this was done.

"Sugar coating and plying me with compliments isn't going to get you anywhere..." I paused and smiled up at the exiled heir. Noted the slight crookedness of his lips. Maybe they were stuck in a permanent smirk. Who knew? "I will help you with this. In short, I am in." 

Zayan's smile grew wider. His teeth sparkled in the overhead street lamp. Without my permission, he moved in and crushed me to his chest. Breathed into my hair. There was something extremely vulnerable about him at that moment. Fragile. Small. But when he pulled away, he was back to being himself.

"Then it is settled. Have your father go to Arik and ask how much it will cost to relieve you of your station. Only your dad can do it, seeing as an omega has no right to an audience with an Alpha. Let me know and I will send Nolan with the payment." He was rambling a mile a minute. Started pacing and pouting whilst in thought. 

"No. I never agreed to that part of the deal. I can't allow you to buy me out. That only makes me indebted to you!" I said, panic taking over my voice. It would simply then be a change of ownership and not becoming a person, as it should be.

Zayan stopped pacing and looked at me. His eyebrows scrunched together. "I thought that's what you wanted in return for helping me."

"No. I want to help you because I can. Because you need someone to help you and I am the only one in the right position to do so. Not because I want you to free me." 

"So you would rather take a cut of the money then?" It was an honest question. Almost an offer on his part. I shook my head in return and smiled softly. "Then why help me?" His eyebrows were still knitted together.

"Because I feel like I can finally make a difference in someone else's life. As well as ruin someone who had hurt me deeply."

"That is a shitty reason but I will take it. Along with paying to get you free. If you are cleaning houses and babysitting all the time, when will you have time to plot? To scheme and connive with me? Besides, no man wants to sleep with someone covered in dirt." 

I knew he meant it as a joke but it stung a bit. Raising my hand to my face, I sniffed it once. Dust and cleaning products. Those were the only smells I got. Not the jasmine and magnolia perfume I put on this morning or even the coffee I had spilled on myself this afternoon. 

Maybe Zayan was right.

"And how will I tell my dad where the money came from?"

Zayan only replied with a smile.