Welcome

"Having more migraines?" Eros asks all of a sudden, returning his suspicions eyes to me, saving me from the gross future memories. I blink and pay attention to his stupid face, "Because you look like you want to throw up."

"Yeah," I murmur, "I'll take a pill in a minute."

“Take it now,” he says, eyes narrowing even more, “Show us your medication. Let me see the n—“

"Are you ready to move in, Saint?" Elio asks, interrupting and absolutely ignoring his son again. I can’t hide my smile at that, "You'll share the house with the rest of our main security guys, but it’s big enough for all of you. And you’ll have your own bedroom.”

"That sounds good," I nod and shrug, "Everything I own is in my suitcase, so I'm ready to go anywhere, anytime.”

"Perfect, I like that. I travel a lot and you'll be coming with me, as my HS… but only after you’ve finished your probationary period with my guys. I’ll give you two weeks to show me everything you’re promising," Elio says. I nod without showing him any hesitation, which he appreciates. Then he looks at Eros briefly, "Whenever I'm not traveling, you'll stay with my son and his bodyguards. If you could train him a little in the meantime, that would be great."

"What?" Eros asks, "Train me how? And why?”

"Because you want to be a part of this, Birdie. So I need you to learn how to shoot a gun. And it wouldn't hurt if you learned some combat," he answers in a strong voice and a pointed look to shut him up when Eros opens his mouth to complain, then he returns his eyes to me, "I want him to know how to kill a man. That is non-negotiable, Birdie. This is what you wanted, right?”

"Kind of, but I'm not a killer," he whines, giving me a side eye, "I'm a good person."

"I’m a good person too I and I've killed multiple people. Too many to count," Elio shrugs and Eros makes a grimace. Oh, he really has no clue of the dark stuff his daddy is capable of, "If you want this, you do exactly what I tell you to do. Last chance.”

Eros crosses his arms and my brain starts over-flowing. This time I do have to close my eyes and take a deep breath to control the slight nausea. I've never had this happen before, not like this.

My mind is showing me thousands of different alternatives because Eros is the one in control right now. Whatever he chooses will affect me too.

"Fine, I'll take it," he finally decides. I knew we would end up in this conclusion, but he could've taken a hundred different routes to it, "I guess I'll go home and pack up my life."

"It's too late to drive around," Elio says, but I know for a fact Eros will make it to his apartment safe and sound tonight. And in just four days, he'll move in to The Cage.

"He'll be okay," I say out loud because I don’t want to deal with him any longer, "Nothing suspicious has transpired for a few days, which means the roads are free and safe for the moment. It could change, but right now it's safe."

Looking for excuses to explain how I know what I know it’s the hardest part of my ability. That and making people actually believe me. Right now, my new boss narrows his eyes as he looks at me.

"When it comes to my son's life," he starts, his eyes so damn cold all of a sudden. No more Mr Nice Guy, I guess, "That is my most precious treasure, Bernard St Claude. If you ever mess up and he ends up hurt or dead because of it, I will make sure you pay for it. I don't play when it comes to him, got it?"

"Got it, Sir," I nod. And my wolf instantly approves of this man and my new job. Protecting my mate. There's no one better for this job than me, "I value my life as well. So give me some credit, yeah? You'll see in time, I don't usually make mistakes."

"We'll see," he nods, then he motions to Eros and gets up to give him a hug as goodbye. I stay seated while Eros hugs his dad tightly. They say ‘I love you’ to each other as if they're never seeing each other again.

And this is a thing, by the way. A forever thing. Because they're both extremely traumatized about death.

Dear mother, I really need to lay down and have a proper fucking crash out about this situation, but when Eros leaves the room and Elio turns to me again, I force a smile.

"This situation with my son could be momentary," he comments as he sits back down, “Birdie is fickle and unreliable, he moves with the wind and takes decisions from the heart in the moment. I want him out of this twisted world but he’s stubborn as a mule so I'll entertain it while it lasts and you will make sure he's okay. That is priority number one from now on.”

"I understand," I nod, “I’ll take care of your Birdie.”

There is really nothing special about this man in front of me. No real power, no Alpha presence whatsoever. And yet, his energy is very strong, stronger than even other Alphas I’ve come across. He knows he holds as much power as humanly possible and he's not afraid to abuse it.

"Thank you. Family is the most important thing we have, isn’t it?" He asks, his fake nice smile returning to his face. I nod even though I couldn’t give any less of a shit about my family, “Where’s yours?”

"My parents are still in Canada," I respond. And Canada is a code-word for my pack, Akino, "We’re not close. And I have no siblings… and no wife, either."

"Hm. That makes it harder for me to keep you on your toes," he says with another deceivingly nice smile, "I usually go for the family first when I want to make a statement, but I can still turn you into fresh meat for my animals if you give me a reason to… you’re aware of the repercussions if you ever think about betraying me, don’t you?”

"Of course I know, Gideon was very graphic. But I’m not worried in the slightest. Loyalty is everything to me," I lie, making Elio nod in complete approval, “Can we talk money now?"

Elio nods and gives me a real smile.

"We can," he says and I finally get some happiness back when he tells me the initial weekly payment. That huge sum he mentions is for me being in the probationary period, not even the Head of Security yet. And is a lot more that I would make as Alpha in a whole month, "But that’s not all, I love to give bonuses and rewards to my guys when I feel like they deserve it. And if you do a good enough job, I'm always open to discussing a raise. When it comes to security I’m always extremely generous so I will expect you to give me your best. All the time. Trust me, I’ll make it worth it.”

"You got it," I respond, trying not to jump in joy. That’s all I fucking wanted, "I promise you'll be very happy with my performance, Sir. Give me time to show you what I can do."

"I will," he nods and then offers his hand, "Welcome to the inner circle, Saint. I have a good feeling about you.”