Chapter 21: Making a deal

Clark was still tied to a chair with his head down. The room was hot, but at least he had the opportunity to see his mom.

‘Sage, I won’t be able to forgive myself if anything were to happen to you too,” Clark murmured. Beside him lay his dead father, the pain and guilt weighing heavily on him. He had to give up one person to save another, but in the end, he couldn’t save either. He sat there numb from any kind of emotion, just staring at the sweat on his thighs that had dropped from his head.

Clark had zoned out for a bit, lost in his guilt. He remembered that he still had one more person he could save.

Clark’s mom had cried until she had a headache and breathing became difficult for her. Now she lay on the cold floor, sobbing with heavy exhale through her mouth.

“Mom, it’s okay. Everything is going to be alright,” Clark tried to comfort her.

“No, Clark, don’t say that,” his mother replied, her voice deeper from all the crying. Venzy had loosened the gag from her mouth, telling the mother and child to have a chat before she arrived. However, none of them had spoken until now. “It’s not going to be alright. She’ll do the same thing she did to your dad to us,” Clark’s mother said tearfully. “Didn’t she promise you she would spare him?”

Clark fell silent, looking at his father’s corpse beside him, trying to hold back his tears. ‘Mom's right. That psychopath is going to kill us both. There’s no escape.’

“Hey there! Missed me?” Venzy asked as she pushed the door open and walked in.

“Where’s Sage?” Clark asked, his voice tense.

“You know you gave me her address, but not her description. When I went over there, I saw two girls. I could not tell which she was,” Venzy said, wearing a creepy smile.

Venzy could only see two girls due to the angle she was at, but up the window, there were two identical girls. If she had seen the twins, she would have easily figured out Sage, the girl with black hair was the hybrid.

“So is it the blond girl or the black-haired girl?”

Clark didn’t respond to Venzy immediately because he was thinking. ‘She couldn’t tell who Sage was. I could use this to my advantage,’ Clark thought.

“Why are you quiet? Say something,” Venzy snapped.

“I’ll show you who she is at school tomorrow.

“Really?” Venzy said, narrowing her eyes. She could easily force the information out of Clark now and go back to get the hybrid, but it would be too dangerous for her to go into the woods with those demons roaming around.

“Yes, but on one condition. You let my mom go, and after I show you who Sage is, you let me go.”

“Okay,” Venzy replied shortly.

“Just okay?” Clark questioned. There was something suspicious about the way she simply agreed to his conditions. “How do I know you won’t go back on your words like you did before and kill us?”

“I could kill your mom now, and you’ll still do what I want. Then I’ll kill you after, how about that for a deal?” Venzy laughed.

Clark swallowed hard as he realized he didn’t really have a way out.

“No matter what deal we made, she was still going to kill us anyway,” Clark's mother spoke behind Venzy.

“I think my conditions are preferable,” Clark suggested, looking at his mum behind Venzy.

“Okay, see now I will cut your mom loose,” Venzy said as she took out her blade and walked towards his mother.

‘Is she really letting us go like that, so foolish of her?’ Clark smirked inwardly.

“But…if I let your mom go, there’s a high probability she'll call the cops and all my hard work will be wasted. Who am I kidding? She definitely would call the cops, I mean I killed her husband,” Venzy chuckled hard.

‘What!’ Clark widened his eyes as he saw things wouldn’t go the way he thought they would.

“Shocked? Clark, I might be a bit stupid, but I’m not dumb. And did you really think I’d let something I could feed on out of my grasp,” Venzy said, licking her lips quickly.

Taking the hint at what Venzy was implying with her last statement, fear gripped Clark.

“No, mom, run,” Clark screamed, knowing telling his weak mother to run was useless.

Clark watched everything play out in slow motion as his mom took to her heels, running towards the door Venzy had walked through.

Tears broke through Clark’s eyes as he struggled to break free from his restraints. ‘If only I could…if I could just get out of this chair right now...’

“Mommm!”

****

Ian was left all by himself in the house after Xavier left; he had sent a few people out to search for his mother while he stayed back in case she came home.

Mitchell had met with the group her son Ian sent in search of her. They took the body she carried over her shoulder and walked her back home.

“Take the girl up to my room,” Mitchell said to the man who held Sage in his hands as soon as they got to her house. “And make sure to watch over her.”

Ian heard his mother's voice outside while she gave instructions and ran out to meet her.

“I’m so glad you're back, Mom,” Ian breathed a sigh of relief as he held his mother’s hands. “You made us worried.

“I’m so sorry about that dear. Where’s Xia? I’m sure I startled him today.”

“He’s not in, but I’ll send for him. Who’s this?” Ian questioned as he walked up to the man carrying a body in his hands. Ian was shocked as he saw whose face it was. ‘This was the girl who threatened me with a twig in the woods.’ Ian chuckled upon remembering who she was.

Ian was the first werewolf Sage had encountered in the woods. He, just like his mother, had run into the woods after the death of his father and had come across Sage. In a way, his encounter with her had lifted his spirits that night.

“I found her in the woods; I think the demon that was with her roughed her up badly.”

“Demon, is she possessed?” Ian questioned worried about her.

“I don’t think she is. It probably just tried to make her really weak. I think it realized she was wearing a crucifix, so it couldn’t possess her. In the meantime, I want you to pass the news that no one should go wandering in the woods beyond our territory. I don’t know who summoned those demons, but they are everywhere.”

“Get someone to change her clothes also,” Ian said, patting the man to go.

Sage’s clothes had been ruined by blood and had a few tears in them. Ian didn’t want her resting in those.

****

Xavier and his friends had all decided to stay at Valarie’s house. The only person who could give useful information to them as of now was Valarie, and they didn’t want to leave her side.

“I can’t believe Valarie made Drake sleep with his eyes open,” Red said as she walked past Xavier, who had been quiet for a while now. He had a lot on his mind, problems that he had to solve, and he still hadn't found solutions to any of them yet.

“Yeah, serves him right. He just wouldn’t keep quiet,” Edward said with a bit of a British accent as he looked at Drake. Drake was sleeping on his feet with his eyes open. No one bothered to plead with Valarie this time as Drake had been a headache to them all.

“Can you stop doing that, please?” Xavier told Red, who had walked past him several times. She was doing that because she had something on her mind she wanted to ask Xavier, and she just didn’t know how to bring it up at a time like this. And she was anxious because if she waited longer before she asked it, it would just be stupid of her.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to ask, who is she?” Red questioned as she took a seat close to Xavier.

“Who?” Xavier questioned.

“Your mate, you found her right?” Red said, putting on a tight smile.

“Oh yeah, I did.” ‘Big mouth Valarie; you just had to call me Romeo, didn’t you?’

“When were you going to tell me?” Red had instantly become jealous when Xavier confirmed her question. She and Xavier were both a couple, and she had so wanted to become his mate. Knowing that she wasn’t had broken her heart. She couldn’t stand to see Xavier with someone else other than herself.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but now’s not the right time to be bothered about mates or relationships. We have something bigger at hand.”

“Do I know her?”

“I don’t think you will because she isn’t a werewolf—“

“Xia, your mom’s back,” Leo said as he came into Valarie’s room and took a seat.

Xavier immediately got up. He had been waiting for her, and he was thankful that Leo had come in at the time he did. Red was asking him so many questions that he didn’t want to answer. He also didn’t want to let her know about his mate.

“See you later.” He turned to look at Red before walking out. Red would surely know who Xavier’s mate was if he had given a description. Red was someone who paid close attention to her surroundings, and she would surely remember him talking to Sage. However, he saw it best she didn’t know. Giving room for distractions would make his team slack, and he didn't want that now.