Episode 8: Guard Dog

•••Eric•••

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing was for certain:

Genevieve definitely knew how to get under my skin.

I wasn't a man of many words. Usually, a grunt, a glare, or a well timed flex of the jaw did the trick for me.

But with her? With her, I found myself talking more than I did my entire life.

"You're stupid if you think you can kill Vergil or escape this place," I said, taking a slow step closer to her.

I tried to make my voice sound deep, dangerous, and commanding. The kind of voice that makes people tremble. "Don't think you're special just because you survived a night with him. Vergil plays with his food before he eats it."

Genevieve let out a loud, dramatic gasp, putting a delicate hand over her heart like a theater queen.

"Oh, stop it, you’re making me blush," she chuckled, her blue eyes dancing with pure mischief. "And please, don't tell me this is your twisted way of showing concern for me. Careful now, Eric. If you keep caring this much, that witch girlfriend of yours might storm in here and rip my head off."

I felt a muscle twitch in my jaw. "She is not my girlfriend."

"Right, right and I’m the moon goddess," she shot back smoothly. "You two just happen to share a mutual love for brooding in dark corners and being annoying creatures?"

I shook my head, sighing frustratedly.

She was certainly a handful.

"Why won't you look at me?" she asked out of the blue.

The sudden shift from sarcastic teasing to blunt honesty took me completely by surprise as my voice caught in my throat.

"I am looking at you," I lied, staring intently at a very interesting piece of dust on the wall right above her left ear.

"Don't act dumb," she scoffed, crossing her arms. "You stare at me when you think I’m not paying attention but the moment I look up, your gaze darts away like you just got caught stealing by the villagers and It doesn't last anything longer than a few seconds. What's the matter Beta? Am I too dazzling for your eyes?"

She was right, and I knew it.

But it wasn't because she was dazzling even though, infuriatingly so she was.

Ever since we first met in Aries, I couldn't bring myself to look her in the eye. It was bad then, but it was a hundred times worse now.

When we first met, I couldn't look at her because I was terrified. I was afraid that if I looked too closely, if I let myself see the humanity in her and surrender to my feelings I might change my mind about giving her to Vergil.

I needed to keep her as an object in my mind, a delivery, a mission. Nothing more.

However, after she surprisingly survived Vergil's touch and his lethal bite, the reason changed. Now, I couldn't look at her because deep down...

I was drowning in guilt.

I hated myself. I hated my weakness. I hated the fact that I had stood by and done nothing to protect her.

She was my mate. I felt it the exact moment our eyes met. The cosmic, undeniable pull of the universe, the spark in the blood I had felt it all.

I had never been so certain about anything else in my life than this.

Yet, I had handed her over to a monster on a silver platter. I just couldn't bring myself to betray Vergil.

"Fine," I muttered under my breath.

Mustering up every ounce of courage I possessed, I finally lifted my gaze to really look at her.

Truly look at her.

First, I noticed her beautiful blonde hair. It was a chaotic mess, let loose with a few damp strands sticking to her sweaty cheek, yet it looked like a halo.

Then, my eyes locked into her beautiful, piercing blue eyes clear as a winter sky, yet burning with fire.

Finally, my gaze drifted down to her red lips. Subconsciously, I found myself staring a little too long at them, wondering how something so soft could survive in a place so brutal.

I was totally lost in her. I was practically composing poetry in my head, until Genevieve....Genevieve, what a lovely name abruptly broke my trance.

"Shut down that thought," I heard her say, her voice dropping its playful edge.

I blinked, snapping out of it. "What?"

"Well, you're looking at me like you would like to kiss me, or eat me, or maybe both," she replied, her lips twisting into a bitter line. "So I'm telling you to shut down that thought right now. Won't happen. It will never happen. You rejected our bond the second you handed me over to that Demon, there is nothing left between us."

She turned her face away quickly, but she wasn't fast enough. I saw the flash of vulnerability in her eyes and I could tell her own words hurt her.

No matter how brave, strong, or sarcastic a person tried to be, in our world, to be rejected by your mate was the worst pain a wolf could ever endure.

It wasn't just a bruised ego, it was a physical tearing of the soul and even though she tried to mask it with a heavy shield of humor and attitude, I could tell she was in agonizing pain.

I was too. Every breath felt like inhaling broken glass.

Perhaps I should have done more. I had been so judgmental the moment I laid eyes on her.

Genevieve, the cold blooded assassin of Aries. I had despised her for her violent past, pointing fingers and playing the righteous judge, when the truth was... I wasn't a saint myself.

I had done things.

Terrible, unspeakable things in the name of loyalty.

Things that had forever condemned my soul to hell.

Who was I to judge her?

"How are you feeling now?" I asked her, my voice softer this time. "Physically, I mean. No one has survived his bite before."

She remained completely quiet, refusing to answer. She just stared at the iron bars of her window, her jaw set in a stubborn line.

"I'm trying to be a gentleman. it's the least I can do for you," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I can get you whatever you need to make you a bit more comfortable in this castle."

She finally turned her head back to me.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked.

Hesitantly, sensing the trap but unable to walk away, I replied, "Yes."

"Why are you so loyal to Vergil?" She leaned forward, her blue eyes boring into mine, stripping away all my defenses. "How can a man like you, a wolf who clearly still has a shred of a conscience hidden under all that brooding, how can you serve that monster? He treats people like cattle. He treats you like a guard dog."

I stared into her beautiful blue eyes and I knew she wouldn't let it go until she knew the answer.

There was no dodging this. Taking a deep, frustrated sigh that felt like it dragged up years of exhaustion, I walked over and sat on the bedside, staring down at my calloused hands.

"He rescued me when I was a child," I said quietly. "And in my world, you don't bite the hand that gave you a life, even if that hand is covered in blood."