Negotiation

Dead fiancée? is that what this was about?

He walked further into the light. He was tall and broad-shouldered. He had a black hair that was tousled, as if he had just run his fingers through it. A light stubble graced his sharp jawline.

My eyes dropped to his simple black long sleeved shirt that clung to his toned frame and dark jeans that hung low on his hips. The first two buttons of his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a hint of skin. His collar was still in place but his sleeves were pulled up to his elbows. Around his neck was a string with a single wolf’s fang that rested against his chest, reminding me who he truly was.

I wondered how I would get myself out of this.

My eyes moved back to his face. His eyes were similar to the boy’s portrait that hung in the hallway. It was a very dark brown, so dark you wouldn’t realize it was even brown and his forever resting creasing eyebrows didn’t help either.

“Empty,” I said in a whisper.

“What?” He questioned.

It was only now that he stood before me that I realized how tall he was.

“Nothing,” I replied.

“I hear you’re not from here,” he said.

I nodded. “I ran away”.

“And you expect me to just believe that?” He asked.

I nodded, having nothing else to say.

“What makes you think I wouldn’t assume you’re a spy?” He asked.

“That’s an assumption not a fact,” I replied.

His lips curled into a smile.

“Whether or not it’s an assumption or not, I have to be weary of people like you, they come in and destroy the pact and the fact that you look like a dead person would create even more chaos so I’ll have to either throw you in the dungeon or onto the streets,” he said.

“I have nowhere to go,” I informed as he began circling me. “I ran away from my pack that was barely a home in search of a better life, you can’t just throw me off to the streets”.

“I can and I will”.

That was it. “Dungeon,” he said, halting in front of me. He looked at me trying to gauge a reaction from me. “Till I figure out what to do with her, after all, she might be a spy, I don’t need a dirty spy on my streets”.

“Dirty?” I yelled. “I am not dirty and neither am I a spy, I wouldn’t be able to spy on someone even if my life depended on it,” I revealed.

He stared at me, blankly, waiting for what else I had to say.

“I was about to be sold without my permission, that wasn’t my home, I didn’t belong there, I’m an orphan, a rogue who was dropped in front of a hostage and ever since then my pack made it their mission to make me an outcast, they never wanted me, not even the guy I thought was in love it with me,” I blurted.

My mind went back to Tesson’s words and they felt a little too real.

Cohen didn’t care. instead, he leaned to a side. He called on Gabriel and looked back at me. “Take her”.

Steven walked towards me and I could suddenly feel the walls closing in in, my chest beating faster.  “I could be your dead wife,” I said.

“What?” A laugh escaped his lips. I couldn’t decipher his emotion. Was it amusement? anger? I had no idea.

I had no idea what were my words either but I continued. I had already begun so it was only fair that I went on. It was all Gerald’s fault. “Your fiancée is dead, isn’t she?”

 He didn’t reply. Instead, he leaned back, resting his waist on the table while he folded his arms across his chest.

“I can tell your family is trying to keep this information hidden but the rumors have spread like wildfire and everyone knows because she is avoiding public places which will obviously make people talk,” I said. “If she’s dead, that means someone was trying to kill her and they would only do that if they personally had problems with her and since she has an opposite personality to mine, I guess she would be a more reserved and quiet kind of person so she doesn’t have any enemies”.

I Paused.

He stared at me. He didn’t speak so I assumed he wanted me to go on so I did.

“If she didn’t have enemies, that means someone close to her did and who is closer to her than her soon to be husband-the Alpha and the alpha being the alpha has a lot of enemies so I assume whatever killed her was aimed at you but probably found its way to her mistakenly or-”.

“Or?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Or her death was a warning, they may or may not have meant to kill her,” I completed.

“And how do you know all this?” he questioned.

“I was raised in an orphanage that wasn’t cared for and toxic. No one cared about anyone and the only friend you have is yourself so you would be surprised the amount of kids died or went missing. i helped out by giving answers by what I observed but nothing major. Plus, I read a lot of books”.

“So what you’re saying is you came up with all that because of a novel?” He pulled away from the table, letting out a little amused laugh. I could tell he wasn’t full buying it.

“It did help that you have a very chatty guard,” I added.

“Chatty?” He glanced at Gabriel who looked away.

“I could help you find the killer, plus, I’ve always wanted to solve a real life serious case,” I chimed in.

Cohen looked back at me. “Help?”

I nodded.

“How am I sure you’re not the killer?” He asked.

I let out a big hearty laugh but Cohen stared back and when he didn’t join in, I cleared my throat. I stepped forward. “I am not a spy,” I said.

“What can I do to prove that to you?” I asked.

His fingers drifted to his stubble, his thumb grazing his jawline as he mulled over my words.

“I will be putting my life at risk to help you find who wants to kill you, that’s enough proof,” I said.

Silence 

I sighed and added. “If it’s information about my old pack you want to know, I’m glad to give up a few, I just need a place to stay”.

“And what if you’re just making up this theory and then there’s no theory?” He asked.

I bit my lip. “I believe there is and I’m almost never wrong,” I answered. “I just need a place to stay, I promise I would fade into the background and not get in your way. I can’t lose this, I have nowhere to stay”.

He stepped closer to me, his hands in his pocket. He searched my eyes. He pulled an arm from his pocket and cupped my face in his hand. He leaned closer, parting his lips. “You want to catch a killer, huh?” He questioned.

I nodded, my face still in his grasp.

“Then you’ll be bait, my bait, the Alpha’s bait,” he told me before pulling away.

He turned away from me. “Gabriel, Take her to Giulia’s room, brief the servants who are aware of Giulia’s death about this new situation then encourage them to spread a rumor about a sickness that Giulia just recovered from a gruesome sickness that almost took her life. She needed some rest,. that’s why she was avoiding public appearances”.

“Okay, sir,” Gabriel answered.

“Steven,” he called. “You stay here,” he instructed.

“I’m Melanie,” I introduced myself as Gabriel reached for my arm, grabbing it tightly.

“There’s no need for your actual name, you’re Giulia River, now,” he replied and Gabriel escorted me out.

The empty haunting eyes of the little boy’s portrait trailed me as I walked down the hallway, at least that’s how I felt. That same emptiness had grown larger, feasting in him.

it took a few minutes before we arrived at Giulia’s room. Its walls were panted lavender.  A photo hung over the headboard and I walked towards it. She was a blondie and she had a slender body. She had a perfect smile, dress, everything. She was everything I was not, the only thing was that we looked alive.

Why would anyone want to kill someone as perfect as her?

“This is where you would be staying, don’t be freaked out that this room belonged to someone else and try to get comfortable,” he advised. “But not too comfortable, you still have to act sick, you just recovered from a grievous disease.                                                                                                 

I nodded.

“Giulia didn’t have much friends or any friends so you’ll fit right in,” he informed me and I nodded again, not taking my eyes away from the portrait. I wanted to find any visible feature that made us different so I could mimic it in some way. if I didn’t want anyone to suspect anything, I had to be her in every single way even though I didn’t know her. “I will leave you to it then,” Gabriel said before exiting.

I walked around the room. Beside me was a table, I reached for it and rubbed my finger against the surface. No dust was present. They had kept it clean for Giulia. Her vanity mirror was placed against the mirror and in it was a reflection of me.

This was the life I was going to be living.

It would be more enjoyable if I didn’t have someone trying to kill who I was meant to be. Who is trying to kill Cohen and why? I had to solve this mystery but I knew no one.

My fingers traced the vanity until it landed on one of the drawers. I pulled it open to find a small book with a key on top of it. I stared at it for a few minutes, my mind going back and forth on whether I should pick it up or leave it alone.

It looked like a dairy. It had the words ‘my diary’ written in cursive on the front page so of course it was.

I wasn’t here to invade her personal space. I was here to find a killer, plus, I wouldn’t stay here forever. He would probably kick me out once our deal is off so I had to find a way to plan ahead as well. I didn’t have time to go through other people’s feelings. ‘It might help’ I told myself as curiosity gnawed at me.

I bit my lip as I reached for it. I set the key aside, placing it carefully in the drawer before reaching for the book and picking it up. I held it, still staring at the cover.

I turned to the first page. It had few information written about her. I already knew her age and now I knew she was the same age as me and that we shared the same birthday. We were more alike than we thought.

The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

I flipped to another page and at the first line, the words, ‘I can’t wait to leave here with him but unfortunately she knows all about it. Should we trust her?’ were written.

I gasped.

That was our first clue.

Did she want to run away?

Who did she want to run away with?

What relationship did Giulia have with ‘him’?

Who found out?

And what relationship did Giulia have with the person who found out?

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I gasped and slammed the book shut, shoving it back into the drawer. My heart hammered in my chest quickly.

The knock came again, louder this time.

i parted my lips to speak but no words came out.

“Giulia!”