The Contract
1527 Words
Silas didn't let me sleep.
At dawn, he pulled me out of bed and dragged me to a part of Lunaris City I hadn't seen before. The under-underworld. Basements beneath basements.
"Where are we going?"
"To meet someone who hates me."
"That's half the city."
"True. But this one is useful."
He stopped in front of a steel door. Knocked three times. Paused. Knocked twice.
The door opened.
A woman stood there. Old. Crooked back. One eye milky white.
"Silas," she said. "You brought a stray."
"Her name is Rhea Vennier. She needs a contract."
The woman's good eye fixed on me. "Vennier. Any relation to Marco?"
"Daughter."
"Poor girl." She stepped aside. "Come in."
The room was filled with papers. Stacks of them. Floor to ceiling.
"Sit," the woman said.
I sat.
She circled me like a vulture.
"You want a contract. What kind?"
"One that gives me leverage over Alpha Theron Blackthorn."
The woman laughed. A dry, wheezing sound.
"Everyone wants leverage over Theron. No one gets it."
"She can smell lies," Silas said.
The woman stopped.
"Hybrid?"
"Yes."
"How strong?"
"She detected partial truths within a week."
The woman looked at me differently now. Hungry.
"What's your price?" I asked.
"Let me test you first."
"Fine."
The woman—her name was Marta—sat across from me. She pulled out an old ledger.
"I'm going to read names. You tell me if the person is lying about their debt."
"Debt?"
"Every contract in this city passes through my hands. I know who owes what. But some people lie about their ability to pay. I need to know who."
She opened the ledger.
"Kael Blackthorn."
The name hit me like a slap.
"Kael," I repeated.
"He owes me three hundred thousand. He says he'll pay by the full moon. True or false?"
I closed my eyes. Smelled.
Rotten honey. But faint.
"False," I said. "He wants to pay. But he can't. The black veins are spreading. He's too weak to work."
Marta raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."
"Next."
She read twenty more names. I caught every lie. Every half-truth. Every desperate hope wrapped in false promise.
When she finished, Marta sat back.
"You're valuable."
"I know."
"Theron killed your mother, didn't he?"
I went cold. "How do you know that?"
"I know everything in this city. Including the fact that your mother came to me, twenty years ago, with the same gift. Smelling lies." Marta leaned forward. "She wanted a contract on Theron too."
"What happened?"
"Someone betrayed her. Sold her plans to the Moon Court. She was dead within the week."
"Who betrayed her?"
Marta looked at Silas.
He didn't flinch.
"It was me," Silas said.
I stood up. "You what?"
"I was younger. Dumber. The Moon Court offered me protection for my hybrids if I gave them information. I gave them your mother."
"Silas—"
"I've regretted it every day since." His voice was flat. "That's why I'm helping you. Not because I'm kind. Because I'm guilty."
I wanted to hit him. Wanted to scream.
Instead, I sat back down.
"Then you owe me," I said. "More than a contract. You owe me her justice."
"Yes."
"Then help me burn Theron to the ground."
Marta laughed again. "I like this one. She's got teeth."
She pushed a paper across the table.
"Sign this. It gives you access to my network. In exchange, you work for me one night a week. Smelling lies."
"What kind of lies?"
"Business lies. Marriage lies. Murder lies." She smiled. "Nothing you can't handle."
I signed.
Walking back to Silas's building, I didn't speak.
He didn't either.
Finally, at the door, I stopped.
"You should have told me."
"You would have left."
"Maybe. Maybe not." I turned to face him. "But you don't get to decide what I can handle."
"You're right."
"I know I'm right."
I walked inside.
That afternoon, Marta sent my first job.
A woman was waiting in a back room. Young. Pretty. Crying.
"She says her husband is faithful," Marta said. "He's not. She needs to know."
"You want me to smell his lies?"
"I want you to smell her lies. She's not telling me everything."
I sat across from the woman.
"I'm Rhea. I'm going to ask you some questions. Answer honestly."
"I always answer honestly."
Rotten honey. Thick.
"No, you don't," I said.
The woman's tears stopped.
"What?"
"Your husband is not the only one lying. You're hiding something too."
The woman's face went pale.
"I—"
"Tell me the truth, or I walk."
She looked at Marta. Marta nodded.
"Fine," the woman whispered. "He's not my husband. He's my brother."
"Go on."
"We're not shifters. We're fae. Hiding in the city. The Moon Court wants us dead. I made up the marriage story to protect us."
"Why come to Marta?"
"Because my brother is dying. The same black veins as the Lycan prince. We thought Marta could help."
I looked at Marta.
"Fae and hybrids share blood," Marta said quietly. "The black veins are a curse from the Moon Court. It's spreading."
"To everyone?"
"To anyone with mixed blood. The Court is trying to cleanse the population."
My hand went to my scar.
"You're saying the Moon Court is poisoning people?"
"I'm saying you're not safe. None of us are."
I turned back to the fae woman.
"I'll help you. But you have to help me too."
"How?"
"Tell me everything you know about the Moon Court."
The woman—Elena—talked for an hour.
The Moon Court wasn't a court. It was a family. Five ancient wolves who had ruled for centuries. They controlled the mate bonds. The rejections. The laws.
And they hated hybrids.
"They see us as abominations," Elena said. "Mistakes to be erased."
"How do they spread the curse?"
"Through the mate bond. When a pure wolf rejects a hybrid, the bond turns black. It poisons both."
I touched my scar again. "Both?"
"The hybrid gets the scar. The pure wolf gets the veins. Eventually, both die."
"Unless?"
Elena hesitated. "Unless the hybrid completes the bond willingly. Not forced. Not begged. Willingly. That's the only cure."
I thought of Kael. His black veins. His desperate eyes.
"He's dying because of me."
"He's dying because he rejected you. That's his fault. Not yours."
"But I can save him."
"You can. But if you do, you'll be tied to him forever. The bond will be stronger than ever." Elena grabbed my hands. "Don't do it out of guilt. Do it out of love. Or not at all."
That night, I didn't reach for the bond.
But Kael reached for me.
I was brushing my teeth when the dream pulled me under.
I was in his bathroom. He was standing behind me. Watching me in the mirror.
"You look tired," he said.
"I'm fine."
"You're lying."
"So are you."
He stepped closer. His chest pressed against my back. The black veins on his arms were visible.
"Elena told you about the cure," he said.
"You're spying on me?"
"I'm protecting you. The fae woman is dangerous."
"She's dying, Kael. Just like you."
"She's using you."
"Everyone uses everyone. At least she's honest about it."
He turned me around. His hands on my shoulders.
"Complete the bond, Rhea."
"No."
"You're going to die too. The black mark on your palm—it's spreading."
I looked down. In the dream, my palm was darker.
"I know."
"Then why are you fighting?"
"Because I'm not going to save a man who threw me away like garbage."
His jaw tightened. "I was wrong."
"Wrong doesn't fix it."
"What does?"
I reached up. Touched his face.
"Make me trust you again."
"How?"
"I don't know. Figure it out."
The dream started to fade.
"Rhea—"
"Figure it out," I repeated. "Or die trying."
I woke up alone.
My palm was darker.
Silas was sitting in the corner.
"You're getting too close to him," he said.
"I'm not close at all."
"Your heart rate says otherwise."
"You're monitoring my heart?"
"I'm monitoring everything. Including the fact that you almost kissed him just now."
"I did not."
"You leaned in. He leaned in. The bond pulled."
I threw my pillow at him.
"Get out."
"Make me."
I stood up. Walked to him. Got right in his face.
"I said get out."
Silas didn't move. His mismatched eyes searched mine.
"You're scared," he said. "Not of him. Of yourself. You're scared you'll forgive him before he deserves it."
"You don't know me."
"I know everyone, little wolf. Especially the ones who remind me of myself."
He stood up. Walked to the door.
"One more thing. Marta found something. About your mother."
"What?"
"Your mother didn't just come to her for a contract. She came to her for a weapon."
"What kind of weapon?"
"The kind that kills Moon Court judges." Silas opened the door. "Tomorrow, we go find it."
He left.
I stood there, heart pounding.
A weapon that kills judges.
A dying mate who wanted me back.
A curse spreading through my veins.
I looked at my palm.
Tomorrow, I thought. Tomorrow, everything changes.
- Writer
