5. A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

~WILLOW

“Have you completely lost your mind?” I exploded as I shot to my feet.

River never moved. He only watched me and I hated his cold calmness.

“Do I look like a joke to you?” I went on anyway as my heart suddenly began to ache again. “I probably look very pathetic to you.”

"It's a temporary arrangement," He finally said. "Let's fake date."

There, he managed to make it crazier than the first time he said it.

"How desperate for a relationship do you think I am that you sincerely believe I would agree to this insanity?"

Just when I thought I had seen it all and faced every possible insult, another one got slapped in my face.

‘Hear him out. Might have a point,’ my wolf whispered.

And I shivered in irritation. Just whose side was she on?

Mine or his?

"It's not any of what you think it is. Will you hear me out first before you explode further?" He demanded, never once getting irritated.

He just kept a straight face the whole time.

How could he manage to keep a straight face?

I gritted my teeth at him. "Fine, I'm listening."

"Then sit." He patted the spot next to him on the rock and I almost puked in disgust.

My wolf stirred within me again, forcing me to listen. So I gave in and sank back onto the rock.

"How do you think Axel will react if he believes we are screwing each other?" He demanded.

And against my wish, I was forced to see the vision.

I saw Axel screaming at me on his knees while plucking the hair from his head. He didn't forget to make another narcissistic comment though.

But the entire scenery was satisfying. The entire world saw him humiliated and I found myself smiling too hard at the thought.

"Not only will he be pissed but forcing you to become his heir's surrogate mother will become troublesome if the entire pack thinks we are screwing each other."

Once again, I saw the logic behind it as I nodded slowly. If all things went well, then it would help me get Axel off my back.

But I frowned. Something didn't add up. "How did you know he tried to make me Violet's surrogate?"

He gave me an expressionless face. "I am Head of Security, what type of lousy Commander would I be if I can't even get information within my own pack?"

"Right," I answered as I realised he probably had spies everywhere.

I thought of the proposal again and suspicion shot up my mind once again.

“Why are you doing this?” I demanded as I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’ve bullied me since we were kids. You hate me.”

He scoffed. "Hate is a strong word. If you were on the list of the people I hated, then I would have killed you a long time ago. You are quite an easy target."

His eyes seemed to glow into a sinister blue as he bored them into mine. For a moment, I saw the monster— the evil predator behind that face.

I could almost swear the temperature around us had dropped and I shivered inwardly.

But I was not going to let this Hale demon intimidate me.

“Either way, I know you are not just being a good Samaritan by presenting this to me. What’s in it for you?”

The key was to act strong and not desperate.

He sighed heavily and looked away. "My stepmother has arranged a marriage between me and the beta's daughter of a faraway pack." He paused before continuing. "The conditions are that I stay there and inherit the beta position of their pack."

I raised my brows in amusement. "That sounds like a very juicy offer given your current situation."

If he stayed here, he'd remain a commander all his life. A beta was a very generous offer for an illegitimate child like him.

"Yes, that's what everyone believes but I know this is just an excuse for Delilah to send me very far away. She fears that I will threaten her son's future."

"Oh?" I said in disbelief.

I always believed Luna Delilah was selflessly raising her husband's bastard son.

I guess the truth wasn't always what we saw.

"Delilah is not so kind as to give me a good future. I know she's sending me to a prison. I value my freedom and the last thing I want is ending up with someone who isn't my mate."

It was at this point it dawned on me that River Hale also had a heart beneath all that coldness. I always thought he had a simple life which was why he had the guts to be so cold.

Turns out everyone was secretly fighting their demons.

River looked at me again and I realised this was the longest he had spoken to me since I had known him.

"So?" He asked. "Do we have a deal?"

I swallowed hard. Two days ago, I would have probably launched a stone at him for proposing this.

But many things had changed in two days.

I was humiliated beyond repair. Rejected, kicked out of my house and forced to work at the lowest place in our pack.

This was a crazy plan alright, but I no longer had anything to lose.

And I was ready to give what was left of me to watch Axel burn.

"Yes," I stated firmly. "You are now my fake boyfriend."

He smiled and rose to his feet before offering me his hand. "Let's go home."

I frowned. "Home? Do you think I'll follow you to your house?"

Once again, he gave me that expressionless face, almost as if he was already getting bored.

"You always like to make me do it the hard way. Don't you, Little Mist?" His voice came out in a low whisper.

I narrowed my eyes on him. "You heard me."

"Let's not start with the fact that if you came to the Pack House in the first place looking for a job, then it means you got kicked out of your house," he dropped the bomb.

I could only gasp at him.

Just how many spies did this man have?

‘I like him,’ my wolf muttered as she stirred within him and I almost puked on the spot.

"Then, there is also the fact that the maid housing is very cramped, unhygienic and will expose you as an easy target for constant ridicule," he continued.

My heart sank. I didn't think of that.

"Lastly, if we want to make people believe we are truly a couple, don't you think they should be able to smell me on you and you on me?"

I widened my eyes as I almost forgot that part. Now that I had a wolf who seemed to smell everything, then it meant everyone else could too.

River finally sighed heavily. "So, let's try this again, Willow. Will you come home with me?"

The moment I agreed to his crazy plan of fake dating him, I should have mentally prepared myself for the worse.

This was insane. This was bad.

I felt as if I was walking on thin ice and I didn't know when it would break—

When I would drown.

I was about to move in with the boy I'd hated for years. The boy who made my childhood miserable.

But, he was right. I had nowhere else to go.

So I swallowed my last pride and brought a shaky hand to his.

"Yes, I will.”

This was either the smartest decision of my life…

Or the biggest mistake I’d ever make.