Chapter 6

Violet

My heart almost dropped out of my mouth and thrashed on the floor like a dying fish.

My knees turned wobbly, and I prayed harder than ever to the Moon Goddess that Elijah would not just ram a knife into me before I had even gotten a word out.

Slowly, I raised my hands all the way up in the air to indicate I meant no harm and was relieved to see him standing next to the captive, far away from me.

His eyes met mine and narrowed initially, but I saw the exact second when he realized who I was.

Relief blossomed inside me as I took it as a sign that things would go smoothly, but the next second, he turned his attention back to the captive, completely dismissing me.

Bracing for the worst, I slowly and cautiously approached him.

Elijah Lockwood was a wall of pure muscle, and I had appeared at the worst possible time.

Because he was not just holding someone captive, but he was torturing the person tied to the chair.

Up close, I could see the several cuts he had given to the man, and the stench of blood grew even more intense.

“Wh-why are you hurting him? Let him go!” I said and immediately realized how stupid I sounded.

Elijah threw me an amused look as he looked from me to the captive.

The next second he grabbed a fistful of the man’s hair and raised his face in my direction.

A shocked exclaim left my lips as I subconsciously stepped back from him, from the rogue attacker he had dragged out of the restaurant alive yesterday.

“Look at him carefully, girl. This is the man who could have killed you. Still want me to let him go?”

I looked at the black and blue face of the rogue, the scenes of the chaos and attack flashing past my eyes as fear crawled up my spine.

Words wouldn’t come out so I simply shook my head. 

“Thought so,” He quipped and let go of the rogue’s head.

Elijah was so tall and broad that he made me look like a kitten in front of the big, bad wolf.

And everything about him screamed bad right from his tattoos, the muscles bulging under his rolled up sleeves and the blood splattered on his hand.

I had been so focussed on finding him, I had not really thought of what to say to him once I did. My mind had gone utterly blank.

“Hi, I…I am Violet Hayes and I wanted to…thank you for saving me earlier today.”

I blurted out and he furrowed his brows in confusion for a second before turning back to the rogue.

“Who sent you?” He demanded, wiping the bloody knife on the rogue’s shirt.

“Please, let me go!” The rogue cried helplessly as Elijah grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked it hard while also letting the tip slice into one of the cuts, making him scream again.

I shuddered and took a step back as the rogue’s unconscious head lolled to the side.

Elijah then turned his attention to me and cocked an eyebrow as if to ask why I was still around and not running for my life.

“I need your help. My pack is in danger…” I said automatically, but he had already strutted past me and was walking towards the door.

“Hey, I am talking to you!” I shouted and ran to follow him.

“Go home,” he said dismissively and opened the door of his car and I could see the chance of my parents’ safety slipping by.

So I acted without thinking and placed a hand on his arm, yanking hard, that took him by surprise. He lost his balance for a second.

My foot slipped, and my back got plastered to the passenger window with Elijah’s face inches away from mine.

“What the hell are you doing?” He sounded mildly infuriated.

And up close, I could see the faint scars on his face, the old bruises disappearing under the fabric of his shirt.

I was also acutely aware of his chest pressed against mine, of the way his body caged mine.

Elijah sprang apart not even a second later and I quickly adjusted my clothes and hair.

“Sorry. I…want to marry you.” That totally came out wrong.

“Girls do ask for a night of sex but hiding it under the guise of marriage, that's new! Besides, you look sixteen.” He snorted and began to reach for the car’s door again.

“No, I am not asking for sex, and I am twenty-three,” I clarified, feeling my cheeks burn as those words left my mouth.

But that made him knit his brow.

“You want to marry me and have sex with others? Also, you are like a decade younger to me.”

“So what? We are both adults,” I croaked.

That response sounded way better in my head.

“Are you leading me on?”

I groaned.

“Stop saying sex. And no, I was talking about an alliance. Usually, packs secure that through some trade or marriage, and my pack doesn't have the money or resources for a huge trade right now.”

I vomited out words and hoped they were making sense to him.

But that only made him scowl in confusion.

“So, you want to pawn yourself off in a marriage with me, not even offer sex, and expect me to save your pack just because I didn’t let you die yesterday?”

I felt my cheeks flush again, and I pushed my hair behind, moving my hands in the air animatedly to explain everything without sounding like a blithering idiot.

“I said stop talking about sex. I am discussing an important matter….”

Elijah, however, didn’t feel the need to let me complete my sentence. Instead, he leaned closer, invading my personal space.

“Why? Didn’t your mate tell you that I am a cruel bastard or that a sweet girl like you shouldn’t be around a monster like me?”

My eyes widened realizing he had heard everything Nate said.

Elijah’s breath tickled my ear as he added in a low whisper. “Everything he told you about me is true so if you value your life, run, little girl.”

His voice was thick with promise yet I stayed rooted to my spot, trying to quiet my thundering heart.

“Nobody else will help my pack and the threat of war is looming over us. Please, everybody already thinks I was trying to lure you into some trap because of the video.”

“What video?”

“The restaurant footage where you saved me…it's too complicated to explain.”

He shrugged like it didn’t bother him in the slightest. He ignored it entirely, something I wish I had the strength to do.

His gaze hardened. “So that asshole left you?”

I looked him in the eye. “I left him. And now I need your help. I'll do anything…except sex. I mean, if we marry and then you want…” 

I hated to sound so desperate, to beg a random stranger who could just snap my neck like that captive rogue if I kept bothering him. But then I could see his strength and felt my pack would benefit from a valuable ally like him.

“Stop talking!”

A muscle in his jaw worked, and he rubbed his temple, clearly agitated.

I shut my mouth abruptly but was ready to fall to my knees and plead if that meant saving my family.

“Find something that will interest me enough to provide an alliance to your pack,” He said at last.

“What do you mean, find something? Just tell me!” I shouted, but he had opened the car’s door and slipped into the driver's seat before I could blink.

“You said it's either trade or marriage for an alliance, right? Marriage is not my thing, and sex isn't yours, clearly…so find something to trade off in the next twenty four hours or the next time I see you, I will tie you to a chair and make you scream like that rogue.”

I had definitely pissed him off.

I opened my mouth to apologize, but then he added the next words in a low whisper that sounded a lot like a promise.

“But unlike him, you will love every second of it.”

What?