Chapter2
1930 Words
Maya’s POV
My heart drops into my stomach. “What?!” I gasp.
We have a nice house. My father has a good job. He works with the pack’s money. He’s a Beta wolf, which means he’s important.
“He was arrested,” Mom explains. Her face is red from crying. “He made a bad choice with the pack’s money. He invested it wrong. Now it’s all gone. He owes so much money. Until he pays it back, he has to stay in jail.”
“They can’t just take him away like this!” I say, standing up. I’m so angry I can barely think. “Without any warning? That’s not right!”
“They can do whatever they want,” Mom says sadly. “The Alpha makes the rules. And the Lycans are above the Alpha. They said your father has to pay or stay in jail. The people he borrowed money from are dangerous. Nobody wants to deal with them. It’s easier to lock your father away.”
My phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket with a frustrated sigh. I see Derek’s name on the screen. My heart still jumps when I see his name and I hate that.
“I heard about your father,” Derek says. His voice is soft. Sweet. Like it used to be. “I might be able to help. But I want to talk to you face to face. Come, I’m outside.”
My feet move without my brain. I leave the kitchen and go outside despite all my instincts screaming for me to stay back.
Outside, Derek is leaning against his car. His arms are crossed and he just looks so good. He looks so good that it hurts.
I hate how my body still reacts to him. How my wolf still reacts to him. It’s because of the mate bond. Even though he rejected me, the bond isn’t completely broken. It won’t break until he marks someone else as his mate.
“Why are you here?” I ask.
“I wanted to talk to you,” he says.
“About what?”
He smiles a little. I almost melt when he looks at me like that. I look at the ground instead.
“Because I can help you,” he says. “Your father needs money to get out of jail. A lot of money. He doesn’t have it. His business is gone. But I do have money.”
I look up at him fast. “You’re saying you’d pay my father’s debt?”
He nods. “Yes.”
“What do we have to do for you?” I ask. I’m scared to know the answer.
He smirks. That smile makes my stomach hurt.
“There is one condition,” he says. I wait for him to keep talking. “After I marry Lisa, I want you to leave school. I want you to live in a special house. You’ll be my mistress.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I stare at him with my mouth open.
“What?” I can barely speak.
“Leave school and be my mistress,” he says again. “I already have a nice house picked out for you. You’ll have everything you need. I’ll pay your father’s debt. I’ll give you more money than you could ever use.”
“How could you ask me to do that?” I ask. Tears fill my eyes but I won’t let them fall. I won’t let him see me cry.
He steps closer. I can’t move. My wolf is crying inside me. She can’t believe our mate would ask this of us.
“Because we’re good together, Maya,” he says. He touches my arm. “We’ll always have this connection. Even after I mark Lisa. You and your family will be rich. All you have to do is say yes.”
His fingers move up and down my arm. I feel sick. I finally find the strength to step away from him. My body shakes.
“No,” I say, looking into his eyes. “I will never be your mistress.”
His eyes turn dark. Angry.
“I’m about to be Alpha, Maya. Everyone has mistresses. It’s normal. Being my mistress would be good for you. Don’t you want your father out of jail?”
“I’ll find another way,” I say through my teeth. “If that’s all you wanted to say, then leave.”
He looks at me for a long time. Like he thinks I’ll change my mind.
“You’ll change your mind,” he tells me. He walks to his car. “When you do, I’ll be waiting. But until then, your father stays in prison.”
“I’ll figure it out,” I say to his back. “We don’t need you, Derek!”
He laughs as he opens his car door. He turns to look at me one more time.
“You need five million dollars to get him out. When you realize there’s no other way, you’ll come back to me. I’m sure of it.”
He gets in his car and drives away. I watch until I can’t see him anymore. Only then do I let myself fall to the ground. Tears run down my face.
Five million dollars?
How am I going to get that much money?
-----
I have three classes today. First is warrior training. Second is shifting practice. I’m good at both. I’m in college to become a Gamma warrior. After I graduate, I can join the warrior force. Then I can make money and save my family.
“You look terrible,” my best friend Amy says. I sit down next to her under our favorite oak tree.
“It was a bad night,” I say. I take out my books to study.
“Where did you go last night? When I came back to the party, you were gone. Did you leave because of Derek and Lisa?”
I bite my lip. Should I tell her? Amy can always tell when I’m lying. She knows me too well.
“I ripped my shirt,” I say. My face feels hot. “Someone took me to his room to give me a new one.”
Her eyes go wide. She grabs my arm.
“You went to someone’s room?” she asks. “Whose?”
I’m quiet. She pulls on my arm harder.
“Maya, who was it?” She sounds worried now.
I know I have to tell her. I bite my lip and look up at her.
“Marcus Kane,” I squeak.
“Shut up!” she gasps. “Are you serious? You went to Marcus Kane’s room? THE Marcus Kane?”
I almost tackle her. She’s being so loud!
“Keep your voice down!” I say. I try to cover her mouth but she’s too fast.
“How can I be quiet when my best friend went to Marcus Kane’s hotel room and didn’t tell me until now?” she yells.
Amy works as a waitress at the hotel restaurant. The hotel is in the human part of town. It’s called Carter Resorts. A rich werewolf named Patrick Carter owns it. He’s in the same pack as Marcus Kane.
I’m not surprised Marcus was there last night. His daughter Lisa was getting engaged. Of course he’d be there. And of course he’d have a fancy room at the hotel.
I sigh. “It happened so fast. I drank too much. Then I forgot about it when I got home because other stuff happened.”
I hug myself. I look at Amy’s worried eyes.
“What other stuff?” she asks quietly.
I take a deep breath. I tell Amy everything. About Marcus. About coming home. About my dad. About Derek asking me to be his mistress. By the time I finish, Amy’s mouth is hanging open.
“That jerk!” she hisses. “How dare he! He rejected you and now he wants you to be his secret girlfriend? He has no shame!”
“I don’t know what to do, Amy,” I whisper. “I can’t get five million dollars.”
We both stop talking. We think in silence. Then Amy’s face lights up. I know that look. She has an idea. And I know I won’t like it.
“You said Marcus gave you his shirt to wear?” she asks.
I nod.
She gasps and grabs my arm again.
“Don’t you see, Maya? Marcus likes you! That’s why he gave you his shirt. He wanted his scent on you! He’s super picky about women. I’ve worked at that hotel for two years. You’re the first woman I’ve ever seen him offer his shirt to.”
I stare at her. She’s crazy.
“Marcus doesn’t like me,” I say, shaking my head. “He gave me his shirt because mine was ripped. That’s all.”
“Why would he care?” Amy asks. She crosses her arms. “He’s Marcus Kane. He doesn’t need to care about stuff like that. Plus, you said he kissed you. Really kissed you. You were ready to have s*x with him. That’s huge! You were waiting until marriage. There must have been a connection.”
I look at my hands. “Maybe I was just hurt. Maybe I wanted to hurt Derek back. Plus, I was drinking.”
“Drunk words are sober thoughts,” she says. She waves her hand at me. “Or something like that.” Then she smirks. “You could use this. Remember that sexy underwear you bought for your wedding night? You should visit Marcus. Make him an offer he can’t say no to.”
I know it’s a bad idea right away. But her words stay in my head all day. All night. When I wake up the next morning, I’ve made my decision.
I go to my closet. I grab my red underwear set. I tried it on once. I felt weird wearing it. But I thought on my wedding night with Derek, it wouldn’t matter. He’d love it anyway.
My heart hurts thinking about that. I push the thoughts away before I cry.
I put on the underwear. Then I grab a long coat and wrap it around me. I leave my hair down. I put on a little makeup.
For the past day, Mom has been on the phone with lawyers. Or visiting Dad in jail. Or in her room. I’ve barely seen her. I know she’s disappointed in me for turning Derek down. But hopefully this will fix everything.
Everyone knows where Marcus’s office is. The Marcus Kane Corporation building is famous. When I walk in, a woman sits at the front desk. She’s typing on her computer.
She barely looks at me when I walk up.
“Good morning. I’m here to see Marcus Kane,” I say as nicely as I can.
The woman looks up at me. She blinks. She doesn’t look happy.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but—”
“Look, I don’t have time for this. So many women come here wanting to see Marcus. I’m going to tell you what I tell all of them. Mr. Kane is very busy. He doesn’t have time for another fan girl,” she says rudely.
“And who gave you permission to turn away my visitors?” a deep voice booms through the lobby.
- Writer
