THE PRICE OF THE TRUTH

Elena’s POV

​The penthouse was silent, but my head was screaming.

​Alaric knew who I was. The secret I had carried for ten years—my real name, my real family—was gone in a single second. I felt naked, even though I was still wearing my blue silk dress. I looked into his amber eyes. They weren't cold anymore. They were burning.

​"Why?" I whispered. My voice shook. "If you knew I was a Sterling, why did you bring me up here? Why didn't you call the police?"

​Alaric stepped closer. He was so tall that I had to tilt my head back to see him. Without his shirt, he looked like a giant. The muscles in his chest were hard, and his skin was warm. He smelled like wood and expensive soap.

​"The police are for boring criminals," Alaric said. His voice was deep and smooth, like honey. "You are not boring, Elena. You are the daughter of the man I hated the most. And yet, when you touched me in the ballroom, the pain in my head stopped. For the first time in months, I didn't feel like a monster."

​He reached out and touched my cheek. His hand was large, covering half of my face. His thumb was rough against my skin.

​"I don't believe you," I said. But I didn't move away. My body felt heavy. I hated him for what he did to my father, but my heart was beating so fast it hurt. "You are 'The Beast.' You don't feel anything but greed."

​Alaric laughed. It was a dark, sad sound. "You think you know me because you read the newspapers? You know nothing about the weight I carry."

​He turned around. The moonlight from the big glass windows hit his back.

​I gasped. I dropped my small evening bag on the floor.

​His back was covered in silver scars. They looked like deep scratches from a huge animal. But as I watched, the skin near the scars began to move. It looked like something was crawling underneath his muscles. His veins turned a dark, glowing purple.

​"What... what is that?" I asked. I forgot to be angry. I was terrified.

​"This is the Thorne Curse," Alaric said. He sounded like he was in pain. He gripped the edge of a marble table so hard the stone began to crack. "Every man in my family has it. It makes us strong. It makes us rich. But it also makes us lose our minds. The 'Beast' is real, Elena. And tonight, it wants to come out."

​He turned back to me. His eyes were no longer amber. They were glowing bright gold. His breathing was loud and heavy.

​"Run," he growled. "Go to the elevator. If you stay here, I cannot promise you will be safe."

​I looked at the elevator. I looked at the silver key-card on the floor. If I ran now, I would be safe. I could go back to my small apartment and forget this ever happened.

​But I looked at Alaric. He was shaking. He looked like he was fighting a war inside his own body. He looked lonely.

​My father always told me that the Sterlings never leave someone in pain, even an enemy.

​"No," I said. I took a step toward him.

​"Elena, I am warning you," he hissed. His fingernails were growing longer, sharper.

​"I'm not afraid of you," I lied. I reached out and put my hands on his shaking shoulders.

​The moment my skin touched his, something incredible happened. The purple glow in his veins faded. The gold in his eyes dimmed back to amber. His heavy breathing slowed down. The "Beast" inside him seemed to go back to sleep.

​Alaric let out a long, shaky breath. He leaned his forehead against my shoulder. He was heavy, but I held him up.

​"How?" he whispered into my neck. "How are you doing that?"

​"I don't know," I said. And I didn't. I just knew that he needed me.

​We stood there for a long time. The city lights twinkled below us. The world felt very far away. My hatred for him was still there, deep inside me, but it was getting mixed up with something else. I felt a strange heat in my chest. I felt a pull toward him that I couldn't explain.

​Alaric pulled back and looked at me. He looked at my lace mask. He reached up and slowly untied the ribbon at the back of my head.

​The mask fell to the floor.

​"You are even more beautiful than I remembered," he said.

​He leaned down and kissed the corner of my mouth. It was a soft kiss, not like the hungry one in the elevator. It was a question.

​I had two choices. I could push him away and demand my revenge. Or I could let go of the past for just one night.

​I closed my eyes and pulled him closer.

​

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The Midnight Contract

​Alaric’s POV

​My blood was usually like boiling oil. It burned my veins. It made my thoughts loud and violent. But Elena Sterling was like ice. Not the kind of ice that hurts, but the kind of ice that heals a burn.

​When she touched me, the Beast went quiet. It didn't want to kill. It wanted to stay in the coolness of her shadow.

​I knew she hated me. I knew she had a small knife hidden in her garter and a hacking tool in her bag. I knew she wanted to see me lose everything.

​"Why are you staying?" I asked her. We were sitting on the edge of the large black bed. I was holding her small hand in mine. Her fingers were so delicate compared to my scarred ones.

​Elena looked at the floor. "Because I need that key-card. And because... I want to know why you look at me like I'm the only person in the world."

​I leaned in and smelled her hair. It smelled like the rain that falls before a storm. "You are the only person in the world right now, Elena. Everyone else wants something from me. They want my money or my power. You just want to see me fall."

​"And you like that?" she asked, looking up at me.

​"It’s honest," I said.

​I moved my hand to her waist. I could feel her heart beating through the silk of her dress. It was fast, like a drum. I knew she was scared, but she wasn't leaving. She was a Sterling, alright. They were always too brave for their own good.

​"If you stay tonight," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper, "the deal stands. I will give you the card. I will give you the files that can destroy my company. You can have your revenge."

​Elena looked at me for a long time. "And what do you get, Alaric?"

​"I get one night of peace," I said. "One night where I don't feel like a monster."

​I kissed her neck, and she let out a small, soft sound. It wasn't a sound of hate. It was a sound of surrender.

​I picked her up and laid her back on the silk pillows. The moonlight made her skin look like silver. She was the most dangerous thing in my life, and I was about to let her in.

​"Don't regret this tomorrow, Elena," I warned her.

​"I already regret it," she whispered. "But don't stop."