Smirking Merchant Novels & Stories

If Reive was a robber, then he was a very charming one. The shop owner standing behind the counter was gulping for air with his mouth wide open like a fish that a whale had spat out on the shore. I was already expecting he would call security or just tell us to get out of there. Maybe he would also give us a swift kick in the rear end to say goodbye. Suddenly, the man turned pale, smoothed his moustache and... smiled broadly. Although his lips were quivering, the smile remained fixed on his face. “Of c-c-course, sir,” he said courteously, slightly lisping at the end of his words. “Please come into the hall. Lita, my sweet, close the shop, please. We have special guests today!”

He can struggle all he wants, but nothing is getting him out of my trap. The merchant stares at me like I'm the monster in his worst nightmare, and he's not wrong. Max stands behind him, rolling his shoulders, while Landen leans against a nearby trunk, boots half-buried in dead leaves, watching everything with that lazy look that fools people into thinking he's harmless. I squat before the merchant and peel the gag from his mouth. The first thing he does is scream at the top of his lungs until he starts coughing. Pathetic. He thrashes like a cornered animal, a rabbit, but even prey fights harder than this.

" He pauses, giving me a very taunting smile. The same smile when he has something planned for me. "Only if you punish the merchant for buying them at a cheaper cost, knowing who exactly those diamonds were designed for." I looked at his eyes and swallowed hard while he air swiped a command and a monitor appeared in front of me. I clicked on the video and I saw the sly, arrogant merchant standing with a woman holding a sleeping toddler in her arms tightly, clearly scared and shaking inside that grey room. He air-swiped a command and zoomed in on their necks, having the same illuminating bomb barcode.

She took the drink with a smile and takes a sip. He relaxed his hands in his pocket, and scoots closer to her, heaving a sigh. “Enjoying?” he asked. Her eyes follow his face. “I can’t say I am enjoying completely. But thanks for asking anyway.” “Why do you pretend to be fake when you aren’t? why smiling when you can’t smile from inside?”. “And who said I am not smiling from inside? You are wrong about it. I am not sad about anything. Not now anyway.” She drank the whole win in one sip.

The alpha shot him a small smirk before instantly wiping his face back to a neutral expression. The longer their negotiations went, the more desperate the merchant appeared. He was wildly gesturing and offering things that even Kari thought sounded far-fetched. Ryedir was just as cool and composed as he was at the beginning, giving even less now than at the start if Kari remembered correctly.

“You’re unbearable on sugar.” I gasped. “I am delightful.” “You are trouble.” “You like trouble,” I said. He didn’t answer. His mouth twitched like he agreed. The shop was dim and smelled like leather and lamp oil. Shelves crowded the walls. A bell jingled when we stepped inside. The merchant behind the counter looked up - thin, quick eyes, a smile that was too quick to be warm. “Welcome, friends,” he said. “What can I get you?” “Thread. Coarse salt. Small flask of oil,” Kael said. His tone was polite, forgettable. The kind that didn’t stick in minds.

The way she handled herself, and everyone around her. "How much?" I asked. "Three gold," the merchant said. He didn't even look at me. He started sharpening a knife on a stone. "One gold," I replied. I’d spent years haggling with human property developers in the human world; a one-eyed wolf was an easy mark. "And I won't tell the Master of the Market that you're selling Southern silver as Northern ore." The merchant stopped sharpening. He looked at me with his one good eye, his jaw tightening. "Two gold. And you keep your mouth shut."

Wealthy merchants, minor nobles from the outer territories, perhaps even a few faces he vaguely recognized from court functions. The kind of men who smiled in the palace and did business in the dark. "Gentlemen!" A voice boomed across the chamber—the man called Grayson, presumably. He was tall and well-dressed, his clothes marking him as someone who profited handsomely from his trade. His smile was wide and empty of anything resembling humanity. "Thank you for your patience. I know you're eager to see tonight's *special* offering, but first, we have several quality items to move."

Daisy who didn’t care if they had become a public spectacle, replied. “Hey Madame, do you have any proof that she took your money?” one of the other merchants replied. “Yes, that’s right, where is the proof that she deceived you! Do you have a purchase receipt? If you don’t have it better get out of here. Don’t make a fuss here!” another merchant shout, carrying a butcher knife.