The Syndicate’s Bride

Chapter 14

Ryan

Did she figure me out already?

Gone was the soft and gentle Vanessa and in her place stood someone with a seriousness I didn’t think she could possess.

My first instinct was to play it off as a figment of her imagination or as a silly conclusion but the depth in her eyes told me she wouldn’t buy it one bit.

I could feel it coming. There was only so much a human could stomach when a werewolf’s identity was discovered, and Vanessa wouldn’t be any different. She was going to leave, severe her ties with me and this not so simple relationship we had built.

I didn’t like it one bit.

“I’m going to find your switch no matter what.” She said, her face scrunched in determination.

Huh? “What?”

“You heard me right,” she snapped. “I know you’re a robot, Ryan, I just have to find proof.”

I blinked at her, allowing her words settle meaningfully in my head, then, I exhaled a breathless chuckle.

She doesn’t know, I chuckled internally. Of course that was the conclusion she had settled for.

Given its logical basis, especially with the way my eyes glowed when I was about to transform, it did make sense. It was like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

So that’s why she was feeling me up the hospital, I thought. At first, I thought she was secretly a p*****t, but when I watched her close, examining her movements and concentration, I realized there was an air of curiosity to her action. I just couldn’t figure out what it was. But now, I realized she must have been looking for her so called switch.

I haven’t been this entertained in years.

Only she could think this way, I mused. Vanessa had a very soft personality, that was something I had realized the more time we spent together. She had an air of fragility and innocence, qualities I once utterly despised, thinking they had no place in a Mafia heiress and that they were hindrances to survival in the underworld.

Yet, she stood tall and proud with those qualities, vibrantly brave and clearly well protected by her father, although I was no longer sure about the last one after her reaction to the word ‘daddy’ only a few minutes ago.

After all this time, I had concluded her to be the shallow Logan heiress under the continuous protection of her fatherwho treated her as this soft and fragile being. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I actually knew nothing about her family.

I guess it was time to investigate.

Now, what do I do with you? I thought as I focused my attention back on Vanessa. She looked at me still, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, and it took all the will power I had to not burst out laughing.

Suddenly feeling in a playful mode, I decided teasing her was the only option.

In a cold tone, I looked her dead in the eyes as I said, “Yes, I’m not human, but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Her eyes widened as she quickly moved in front of me, kneeling in between my opened legs and placing her hand at the back of my neck.

“Every robot usually has a switch here,” she muttered, rubbing the skin. My eyes unintentionally fluttered at the touch but thankfully, she was too busy searching for my chip to notice. “Why don’t you have one?”

Hiding a smile at her cuteness, I took her free hand and placed it on my chest. “The built-in switch is in my heart,” I pressed her hand further and she softly gasped. It made me wonder if she could feel my heavy heart beat caused by her touch. “Wanna open and see? But if you do, I’ll die too.”

As though startled, she pulled her hand back, looking intensely at my chest like it would rip open by itself. “Then I won’t do it,” her eyes dropped on mine. “You have to stay alive.”

You have to stay alive. My chest warmed and my heart beat even faster. I had no idea why it felt so reassuring to hear her say it. Like it was something I valued to hear from her and her alone.

She didn’t even know what she did to me.

I tilted my head. “You won’t discriminate against me? Even though I’m not human?”

She shrugged. “Every specie is equal and every life has it’s own meaning.”

“So you believe in equality?”

She blinked at me. “Don’t you?”

I shrugged. “It depends.” I’d only be a hypocrite if I agreed with her knowing I was the Alpha of a whole people. No one was equal to an Alpha.

“On what?” She asked incredulously.

“Well,” I started. “Some people are more powerful than others.”

“True,” she nodded, “but that’s not enough to allow discrimination. We’re all people after all, right?”

I looked at her thoughtfully. If only she understood the fallacy of her concluding question. “Right.”

“Great–ah” she suddenly gasped, rubbing her hands together aschilly breeze suddenly blew past us. “Next time you try to kill us, make sure you tell me on time so I’ll dress right for the occasion.”

Pulling my jacket off, I smirked at the sharpness of her tongue as I draped the cloth over her shoulders. She immediately relaxed so I took her hand, switching between blowing warm air into them and rubbing them before softly pulling her towards me.

“Your knees must be tired, rest on me.”

She hesitated for a second, her guard up and eyes brimming with unshared thoughts before finally giving in, leaning against my chest as I held her close enough to shield her from the cold with my body.

“I’ll find the person who tried to kill you,” I said after a few quiet minutes. “I promise.”

She was quiet and for a second I thought she had fallen asleep until she answered me in a low soft voice.

“I know you will.”

About a few minutes later, we decided it was time to return to the Manor. Vanessa walked ahead of me, heading straight for the passenger’s seat. I watched curiously as she fumbled around the area for a while before pulling out a wrench and headed to the back of the car.

How did that even get there?

I stilled as a thought came to mind. Does that mean she wasn’t joking when she made that wrench threat earlier? I raised a brow at her as she removed the spare tyre before shutting the boot close. Maybe I should take her threats more seriously.

She rolled the tire past me, looking out of place in her long red dress and heels. As she stooped low, I stooped after her, halting her movements.

“Let me do it.”

She looked at me like I had insulted her. “You do know I work on car parts, right?”

“Yes, but you’ll only injure yourself in your outfit.”

She chuckled. “Step aside, Ryan, or I’ll actually hit you with my wrench.”

Immediately deciding to take her threat seriously this time, I stood and stepped to the side, allowing her to do her work.

No one ever dared to speak to me the way Vanessa did. A part of me believed it was because she didn’t know the authority I possessed, but another part of me suspected that even if she did know, she wouldn’t give a damn and would keep on getting away with it.

I couldn’t lie to myself. I was fond of her.

After a few minutes of screwing and fixing, despite the little bits of grease on her dress Vanessa stood with a satisfied smile on her face and looked at me.

“Shall we?”

As we entered the car and drove to the Manor, I made a mental note to replace her dress.

“*” “*” “*”

By the time we got to the Manor, the sun was already in the sky,looming over the building, and the early morning birds chirped happily.

Exhausted, Vanessa exited the car with an exhale, her eyes barely fighting her fatigue to stay open.

I quickly held on to her in fear of her falling, and thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind as I guided her into the house.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with servants moving around, putting things in order and preparing for the start of a new day.

My eyes peered around the house, consciously looking for anything that might seem amiss, when, through the garden’s entrance, my eyes locked in on a blonde man in a black mercenary outfit standing in the middle of the garden as helooked around seemingly admiring the space.

I immediately went alert. Who the f**k is in my house?

But just before I could demand answers from the stranger, Vanessa removed her hand from mine and to my surprise ran towards the man and jumped in his arms.

“Owen?!” She screamed with joy. I had never seen her that happy.

Owen laughed, catching her mid air and twirling her around.

I didn’t know who this guy was, but I was sure of one thing.

I didn’t f*****g like him.