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Chapter 3 - I’ll make you a deal

EMMA

I knew I would die at the hands of a werewolf. I knew that one day their claws would reach inside me and stop my heartbeat.

“Well, this is interesting.”

I open my eyes and see the princess looking down at me with furrowed brows. Her claws are retracted and her eyes roam over me like she is trying to decipher something.

“Of course, I had anticipated one of you peasants to bother me or my soldiers, but I didn’t expect it to be you.”

“Why not me?” I ask. The words come out clearer than I expected.

The princess turns back to face me and scoffs. “Because you’re weak of course. At least I would think you knew that, but maybe you’re just stupid.”

She starts to circle me. The only sound around us is that of boots stepping on the gravel. “Weak, stupid human.” She mutters.

She stops when she’s facing me again. “What exactly is it that you were trying to accomplish here?”

I look around and notice that a soldier behind me has Kiya in a tight grip around her arms. Her eyes are wide and brimming with tears. I swallow the lump in my throat.

“I see, you want to protect her.”

I turn back towards the princess. Her amber eyes are resolute and vicious. “Even your plan was weak. I could have just killed you both and be done with it.” She says with a flick of her wrist.

“Then why didn’t you?” My words are barely a whisper, but the princess has no problem hearing them.

A sinister smile spreads over her face. “Because I have a better use for you.” She points a perfectly polished nail at me. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll let your little friend live if you come with me.”

I furrow my brows. “Why?”

The princess rolls her eyes like I’m testing her patience. “My father is going to make my brother choose a mate in a couple of days and I need him to choose someone like you, someone weak.”

The princess leans back to analyze me again. “Besides, you're weak and that ensures me you'll do as I say. I’ll give you an hour to decide.”

She raises her hand and Lucas and Justin are released and fall to the ground. Their chests are heaving, but Lucas balls his fists into the ground, pushes himself up and charges straight my way. For a second I think he might attack the princess with the determined look in his eyes, but he doesn’t. He grips his hand around my upper arm and pulls me away from the princess.

When we finally stop, we are back at the lake and away from the view of the wolves. Lucas starts to take off his shoes. “They can’t follow our scent in the water. We can swim to the island.”

“I can’t leave. They’ll kill Kiya.”

Lucas’s shoulders tense as he turns to face me. “No, I don’t want to hear it. I know why you’re doing this. I know you think you owe your life to those girls, but I won’t let you.” He squares his shoulders and balls his fists as he pins my gaze with grieving dark blue eyes. “I can’t lose you too.”

The lump in my throat intensifies and Lucas pulls me toward the water until we get to the edge. I try to break free from his grip and I stumble into the sand.

That’s when I see that Justin has my brother in a headlock that squeezes his throat shut. Lucas is struggling to get free from Justin.

“Justin, stop! You’re killing him.” I push myself up and try to pull Justin away, but it’s useless. He is steady as a mountain and eventually, my brother's body falls limp in his grip. I start to hit him against his arms. He is supposed to be a friend.

Justin ignores me and he lays Lucas down in the sand, away from the water. I fall to my knees beside him.

“He’s not dead, just unconscious.”

I turn my head back to face Justin. “He trusted you, why would you do this?”

“He wouldn’t have let you go. He would've had himself killed before he’d let you leave with the princess.”

I watch Justin for a moment and try to figure him out, but there is nothing but seriousness written on his face. “You think I should go with the princes?”

He nods in agreement. “You need to get close to the prince and then kill him.”

My eyes widen even more and feel like they can pop out of their sockets at any moment. “Me? And how am I going to do that? Didn’t you hear the princess? I'm weak. I cannot kill a werewolf, especially the prince.”

According to rumors, he’s brutal, vicious and cold. Grown men bow down in fear to him. He’s the same kind of corruption as his father.

Justin scoffs. “The princess is not a man. Every man lowers his guard eventually when a beautiful girl seduces him.”

“Seduce him?”

Justin nods. “After you have sex with him, he’ll—

I freeze. “Hold up, I’m not going to do that.”

Justin puckers his lips and furrows his brows. “He’ll become your mate, it’s better to come to terms with it now.”

“This is about more than just you or even the town. This could impact the whole world and you could save a lot more girls.” Justin crosses his arms in a defensive pose. “So yes. You need to have sex with him. Probably more than once. Men lower their guard when they have sex. It makes us act out of instinct, rather than logic. You need to use that.”

It’s the most I ever heard Justin say and I swallow at the information thrown at me. The time has come when there is nothing left to say. I hold my hand over my necklace and close my eyes for a second.

“You should go.”

I nod and I lean down to tell my brother how sorry I am for leaving and that I’ll come back to him. I bite back the tears that threaten to spill and square my shoulders as I make my way back to the town.

The princess watches me as I walk toward her.

“If I go with you, will you leave the town alone?”

The princess sends me a smirk and nods. “Any other requests?”

I ponder the question for a second. “They also need food and medicine.”

The princess waits for me to continue, but then raises an eyebrow when I don’t.

“Is that all? I expected something more interesting.” The princess turns away and I follow her.

The town disappears behind me and is replaced by tall oak trees as far as my eyes can reach. There are five people in the car. The Captain, two guards, the princess and me. The princess is poised and has not one wrinkle in her uniform. She’s the definition of perfection.

I turn my gaze back to the window and watch the trees blur as we ride past them at high speed. We drive for hours until the oak trees change into pine trees and the sun makes its descent.

There is a knock on the partition between the Captain and the princess.

“Excuse me, Princess Morana.”

The princess rolls her eyes and rolls down the shield between her and the driver in front. “What is it?” She says with venom.

In the rearview mirror, I can see the sweatbeat rolling down the temple of the Captain. “The hydraulic system is starting to overheat and—.”

“Are you saying you made a mistake, Captain? Otherwise, I don’t see why this is my problem.” Princess Morana cuts in.

The Captain swallows and his throat bobs up and down. “My apologies, your highness. If we make the repairs at the nearest unit, we can still reach the palace before midnight.”

A scowl deepens the flawless skin of the princess and the sight is frightening. “Which unit is the closest?”

“The south border, princess.”

The scowl slowly disappears and a mischievous glint shines in her eyes. “Very well, if we must. We’ll stop there for the night.” The princess says with a dramatic sigh.

For a second I expect the princess to order his execution right there on the spot, but her forgiving tone surprises me.

“Do you want us to inform General Hadrian of your arrival?”

“No, that’s not necessary. I’m sure General Hadrian will be happy to see us.” Her voice is level and a small sinister smile pulls at the corners of her lips as she closes the partition.

————

To say that the General is happy to see us, would definitely be a lie. We've arrived at some kind of small village. There are a dozen small brick cabins surrounding a bigger central building. Several soldiers are running around the perimeter toward us.

A thunderous growl roars around us and leaves chills down my spine. “What is the meaning of this?” The General barks at the Captain.

I swear the Captain is trembling just as badly as me. The General towers over the other men. His shoulders are broader than the other werewolves. The General stands out from the crowd in the opposite way as I do. His hair is raven black like it repels the light and his amber eyes burn like bright golden flames. He could probably squeeze the life out of the Captain with just his bare hands.

I tremble when the General turns his eyes my way and bares his teeth. I feel his growl shudder in my bloodstream and my stomach twists. For a second I think I’m going to throw up as he takes a step in my direction.

“Well, well General Hadrian, this is no way to welcome your fellow soldiers.” Princess Morana says as she steps out of the car towards the frightening General.

The General turns his attention to the princess. “Get out of my base.” The cold chill in his voice rivals that of the princess.

My eyes widen at the tone the General uses against a princess. The princess just gives him a sweet smile, that I didn’t think she’s capable of and doubt is real. “You know that’s not how this works, General.” She says and walks past him into the village-like base.

The General lets her go with a grind of his teeth. I think that the princess just enjoys tormenting others for her own pleasure. His eyes turn back to me and burn more viciously than before and I instinctively take a step backward, but I’m stopped by the guards.

“The human stays outside.”

The Captain bows down. “Of course, Prince Hadrian.”

The air thins around me and my chest starts to heave.

Prince? As in the Crown Prince?

I cannot believe Justin would think I can kill this mountain of a man. I doubt anything can injure him. The General must be over six foot five and at least twice my size.

They put me back into the car and the walls of the small space close in to me. I don’t remember why I’m here. Why I’m surrounded by werewolves? I can’t do this, I’m human. I’m not strong enough to defend myself.

They’ll kill me. I have to go. I need to go.

The primal need to survive screams at me to run. I remember the river we crossed a few miles back. They can’t track my scent in the water. I try to take a breath to calm down my racing heart.

There is only one guard outside the car. If I stay low, maybe I can run into the forest. I close my hand around my necklace and pray my mother is looking out for me. I open the door as slowly as I can. I'm careful to not make a sound.

Then I run.

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