Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"The trick to negotiation was to hold all the cards going in and, even if you didn't, to try and look as if you did."

- Eoin Colfer

When he laughed, it wasn’t a quiet chuckle or some evil cackle, but a full, belly laugh with his head thrown back.

And it was beautiful.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when everything about this man turned out to be annoyingly beautiful, and yet when he let out a raspy, loud laugh that shook his shoulders and his dark curls, I could’ve sworn my heart stopped beating for a moment.

Trust me, it felt just as cheesy as it sounds.

My cheeks flushed red. “Why are you laughing? I was being serious.”

It took him another few moments to get his chuckling under control, but once he did, he looked at me, eyes full of mirth. “I have no doubt you were being serious, sweetheart…your argument just strikes me as quite ironic.”

Making sure I was completely covered in water from the neck down, I said, “What about my words seems ironic to you?”

I’d been expecting him to be angry or unwilling to listen, but laughing? I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with that.

For some reason, his laughter felt more insulting – like he didn’t even feel the need to take me seriously.

Alpha Enzo’s lips curled into a smirk. “It’s just, here you are, using all cunning and wiles to try and manipulate me into thinking you’re not my equal.” He cocked his head to the side, looking more amused by the second. “Did you ever think that your little speech might just prove the opposite? If you really were this unworthy weakling you keep trying to make yourself out to be, you wouldn’t have to prove it to me…and you certainly wouldn’t have been mated to me either.”

He must’ve seen my face drop because he let out another hearty laugh and said, with mock pity in his voice, “Don’t look so dejected, sweetheart. It was a good attempt. You took the big ego you know every Alpha has, and tried to use it against me. But I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He leaned forward by a few inches, resting more of his weight on his palms. “I didn’t get to where I am by letting my ego control me. Now, should we get back to the game?”

I swallowed down my frustration.

*Fuck, this is harder than I thought. I think I’m getting somewhere with this guy, and he sees right through me.*

*And now that I’ve already tried to pull one over on him, he’ll be even more suspicious about anything I say.*

*Maybe manipulation isn’t the way to go – maybe I just need to be straightforward.*

“What about a trade?” I offered.

He raised one thick, dark eyebrow at me. “A trade?”

“I have information that could save your life, and in exchange, I want mine back. I want you to let me go.”

His entire body stiffened, and I could tell I had his attention. He wasn’t laughing anymore.

Before he tried to refuse, I continued. “You already know I’m telling the truth about the information part. The entire reason you came down to that cell in the first place was because I told your men that I had information for you. I wasn’t lying. Even if what I know doesn’t come to pass, you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

His slate gray eyes narrowed to slits. “And how would you, a self-proclaimed human receptionist, know life-saving information about me? Our paths never crossed before today, sweetheart.”

I wanted to electrocute him everytime he used that stupid pet name – and definitely not because it sent a flurry of butterflies flapping away in my stomach – but I buried my annoyance and replied, “I know it probably doesn’t breed much confidence, but I can’t tell you how I know this. You just have to trust that I do.”

“You’re right. That doesn’t breed much confidence.”

I scrambled for an explanation in my head as to how I’d know one of Alpha Enzo’s Betas would betray him, but I couldn’t find one. At least, not one that didn’t end with me having to spill the beans about everything else.

*I could tell him I’m a witch or I can see the future…but that just might make him more interested in keeping me around.*

“Look, even if I can’t tell you how I know this, maybe you can trust that I wouldn’t risk my freedom on bad intel,” I said.

His eyes were still narrowed but he didn’t immediately argue, which I took to be a good sign.

“What if I told you that I had the name of someone in your pack willing to betray you? More than that, willing to kill you?” I asked.

Alpha Enzo’s eyes flashed with anger. “Who?” He growled.

It took everything in me not to smirk. He seemed interested, but I still needed to convince him that this information was worth my freedom.

“Agree to let me go on my merry way and live my little human life, free of you,” I said, “And I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“You want me to let go of my true mate in exchange for a name I could find out on my own?” He scoffed.

“But you haven’t,” I shot back, “And maybe you could try finding them now that I’ve tipped you off…but who knows how long that’ll take? I’m guessing you didn’t get to be where you are today by letting backstabbers run rampant in your pack.”

He was silent for a moment, mulling over my offer, and I didn’t even dare breathe. This was the moment of truth – could I buy my freedom with one of the few details I remembered from reading Ava’s book?

Finally, he said, “Alright. I’ll take your offer.”

“Wait, you will?” I stuttered, unsure if I’d heard him right.

He nodded, his face blank.

*Well…that was easier than I thought.*

*These wolves wax and wane about the undying love of a mate bond, but my supposed “true love” is willing to give me up for some intel.*

*So much for all that stuff about soulmates.*

There was a sudden pang in my chest, and I massaged my sternum with the flat of my palm under the water.

*Here’s to hoping that all the ridiculousness of the last forty-eight hours isn't leading to a heart attack.*

*Maybe I should get out of this bath water…it’s starting to get cold anyway.*

“I’ll tell you,” I said, “But is there, uh, something I can wear out of the water?” I glanced down at my soiled clothes.

Alpha Enzo didn’t miss a beat, jumping up from the floor to open a cabinet under the large sink, and pull out an expensive-looking, dark blue robe. To my surprise, he turned around without me having to say anything, holding out the robe with one hand.

I emerged from the now luke-warm water with only minor splashing, stepped onto the fluffy bath mat, and dressed in the robe. It felt even more expensive than it looked with a silk exterior and a soft, smooth interior that brushed gently across my skin.

*I’m definitely stealing one of these robes on my way out.*

Once I’d securely tied the sash around my waist and stepped off the mat, Alpha Enzo finally turned to look at me. Standing before him, I was once again reminded of just how large of a man he was. I wasn’t even short, and his height dwarfed me.

*Don’t get sidetracked here, Elsie. Stay on mission.*

I cleared my throat. “The deal still stands? My freedom for the name? And you won’t ask how I know?”

He nodded. I felt that weird pang in my chest again, but brushed it off.

“It’s Beta Cain,” I told him, “I can’t say exactly why he’s so gung-ho about betraying you, just that he is. If given the opportunity, he’d stab you in the back. Literally. Like with a syringe full of wolfsbane.”

There was a beat of silence as he processed my words, and then his eyes narrowed again. “Cain,” he growled the name barely loud enough for me to hear…and the growl was totally un-sexy.

There was rage all over his face, so visceral that it made my breath hitch – and then it was gone.

He composed himself and looked down at me with a small smirk. “Thank you for the name, sweetheart.” He reached down to gently grab my hand, and press a kiss to the back of my palm. It took everything in me not to blush at the gesture or react to the tingling left by his soft, full lips.

At least I’d done my part. Granted, that Cain guy would probably die now (and for something he hadn’t even done yet), but I could hardly bring myself to feel guilty. I’d met Cain, and not only was he an asshole, but he was pretty willing to let me and Scarlett die.

I doubt he would’ve been losing sleep at night while we rotted away, forgotten, in the dungeon.

*And he was going to hurt my mate*, some quiet part of me piped up.

*No, not my mate – at least not for long*, I reminded myself.

With that thought, I craned my neck to look up at Alpha Enzo. “So, I kept my end of this bargain,” I said, “You think you can point me in the direction of the closest human town? I’ll need to grab my friend, Scarlett, before I leave too. She’s supposed to come with me.”

His smirk widened by just a hair, and he cocked his head to the side, his eyes fixed on mine. He didn’t say anything, but his reaction was nothing like the anger he’d displayed in the dungeon. He didn’t even seem heartbroken or upset that I was leaving, just…

Victorious.

Like a man who’d just won a chess game.

My stomach began to sink. “Well, I’ve told you everything I know, so I’ll just be going now, all right? You can tell your guards or patrols or whatever you have manning the border to just let us through.” I tried to sound confident, but the satisfied smirk on his face was giving me nothing but doubts.

I turned to leave, but his hand shot out to grab my wrist, and the action caused sparks to tingle all the way up my arm.

“Actually,” he said, his voice smooth like honey, “I’m not going to do that.”

There was a pit in my stomach the size of a boulder. “What do you mean you’re not going to do that?” I shot back, narrowing my eyes. “What are you not going to do?” I tried to shake out of his grip, but he wouldn’t budge. His hand might as well have been an iron shackle wrapped around my wrist.

“I’m not going to let you go,” he shrugged as if I’d asked him the weather.

“We had a deal,” I hissed, “You agreed to let me go in exchange for my information. I held up my end, now you have to hold up yours. You can’t just back out now!”

“And why not?” He shot back, his eyes sparkling with amusement at my anger. “Just as I don’t let backstabbers run free, I also didn’t get to where I am today by playing by the rules.”

*You've got to be kidding me.*

I wanted to slap him. To smack him so hard that it wiped that pretty little smirk off his face permanently. But I couldn’t. Even in the heat of my anger, I knew I couldn’t strike him.

I couldn’t even hide the fact that I was seething – not that the bastard seemed to mind. If anything, his victorious smile only grew larger as he said, “Now, why don’t I show you to our room?”