Step-siblings Bargain
1686 Words
Kaira
The cold air bit into my skin. My father had left me here without pity, indifferent to whether I lived or died. I was outside, tied to the old oak tree in the back courtyard, abandoned by everyone who claimed to care. The sun had risen hours ago, but it offered no warmth, only a harsh, blinding light that exposed my misery. My clothes were still stained with wine and dried blood from the night before. Hunger gnawed at my stomach, a hollow ache that matched the emptiness in my chest.
I was exhausted from crying. My eyes were swollen and raw, waiting for an end that refused to come.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel. Slow. Deliberate.
I didn’t lift my head. I knew who it was. Uncle Aaron. Victor’s personal guard. The man who had watched me grow up. Yet now, he couldn’t even spare me a glance.
He stopped in front of me, his expression stoic. He didn’t speak. He simply reached out, his knife slicing through the rough hemp ropes binding my hands. The tension snapped, and my arms fell limp to my sides, numb and tingling.
I rubbed my wrists, trying to ease the pain. The marks were deep, bruising the skin around the strange crescent moon mark on my inner wrist.
Aaron stepped back, turning to leave as if I were nothing more than trash.
“Thank you, Uncle,” the words left my lips before I could stop them. A brittle and broken whisper.
He froze. His shoulders stiffened, but he didn’t turn around. For a second, the air between us hung heavy with unspoken grief. Then, he kept walking.
“You should get inside,” he said, his voice low and devoid of emotion. “It’s dangerous to stay out here.”
He didn’t look back. He just walked away, leaving me alone with the silence.
My heart broke a little more with every step he took. What was the point of going inside? To face Victor’s rage? To fall into Emma’s traps? I had survived the night—the cold, the fear. Why should I seek shelter in a house that only brought me suffering?
I stayed seated, leaning against the rough bark of the oak tree, staring blankly at the sky. The blue was endless, indifferent to my pain.
“Seems you are punishing me too, Goddess,” I murmured. A dry, small laugh escaped my throat, sounding more like a cough. It was bitter. Empty.
Then, I heard it. The crunch of footsteps on the gravel. Different from Aaron’s. Heavier. Slower.
I didn’t let my guard down. My instincts screamed at me to run. Move, Kaira, I told myself. Leave.
But my body refused. Instead, I pushed myself up. My legs trembled under my weight. I folded my hands into fists, knuckles white, ready to attack if I had to. I walked slowly toward the source of the sound, my eyes scanning the shadows of the garden hedge.
“I swear, I’ll hurt—” My voice trailed off as I bumped into a solid wall of muscle.
The impact knocked the breath out of me. I stumbled back, looking up, ready to fight.
“What the… Who…” The voice was deep, familiar. Shocked. “Kaira?”
My eyes widened as I registered the figure I had just walked into. “Alpha King Eryx?” I blurted out, the name slipping out before I could check myself.
He stood there, steadying me with one hand on my arm. His other hand held a half-empty bottle of strong liquor. We both stood there, surprised. Alone in the desolate grounds.
I pulled away quickly, breaking the contact. “Sorry. Sorry,” I stammered, stepping back and wrapping my arms around myself to hide the tremors.
“It’s okay,” Eryx said. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. A tightness.
He looked at me. His golden eyes scanned my face, lingering on the tear tracks, the bruises, the dirt. He saw everything.
“Why are you out here?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I lied, my voice shaking. I turned and walked back to the tree, sinking down onto the lower roots. I didn’t want his pity. Neither did I want him prying with questions.
But he didn’t take the hint.
Eryx followed me. He didn’t hesitate. He sat down close to me, not caring about the mud or the dirt on his expensive trousers. He swung the bottle in his hand, the liquid sloshing inside.
“There’s no need to follow me,” I said, keeping my eyes on the ground.
“I wasn’t following you,” Eryx said smoothly. “I was already here. You just ran into me.”
I looked up at him, staring into his eyes. A King needing the solitude of the gardens? Perhaps. But why stay?
I needed to change the topic. “Why do you have an alcohol bottle in your hand?”
Eryx took a sip, wincing slightly as the burn hit his throat. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Medication.”
I glanced at him. “Do your brothers know you’re out here drinking?”
A faint, humorless smile touched his lips. “That’s why it’ll be our little secret.”
He turned to me, his expression hardening. “Now. Tell me why you look like you’ve been dragged through hell.”
“I’m fine,” I repeated stubbornly.
Eryx leaned closer. The air around him shifted, growing heavy. His Alpha pressure rolled off him in waves—not aggressive, but commanding. It pressed against my chest, demanding submission.
“Don’t lie to me, Kaira. I can use my aura to force the truth out. And you won’t like how that feels.”
I clenched my jaw. I knew he wasn’t bluffing. The threat hung in the air, real and terrifying. But worse than the pain was the humiliation. If I spoke, I exposed myself. If I stayed silent, I defied an Alpha King.
I thought of Victor’s slap. Emma’s sneers. Being tied up here for two days.
“Your attention is dangerous,” I said quietly, my voice trembling. “You shouldn’t even be talking to me. It makes me look like I’m using you. Like I’m trying to climb higher by using my body.”
Eryx’s eyes narrowed. Annoyance flashed across his face. “Is that what you think? That I’m helping you because I want something from you?”
“I don’t know what you want!” I snapped, frustration boiling over. “But I’m turning down your scholarship offer. I won’t be your charity project. I won’t be another toy for your amusement.”
Eryx stared at me, silence stretching between us. Then, he laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh. It was dark. Cold.
“You think you have a choice?” he asked softly. “What gives you the liberty to think you can reject an Alpha King?”
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Tell me the truth, Kaira. Who are you? Really.”
I hesitated. The secret burned in my throat. “I’m just a servant.”
“Liar,” he said. “Your scent… it’s muted. Suppressed. Why can’t I smell your true nature? You’re hiding something. Tell me.”
My heart pounded. He knew. Or he suspected.
“I-I can’t,” I whispered, shaking.
“Why can’t you?”
I let out a sigh, defeated. “Because he’ll kill me.”
Eryx's eyes widened for a split second. Then his expression became unreadable. “Talk to me, Kaira. I want to help you.”
I shook my head. I couldn't. I couldn't.
“Kaira, I am going to—”
“Rogue King Victor is my father,” I blurted the words out.
Eryx went still. His eyes widened, not with confusion, but with sudden, sharp realization. “He is… wait. Victor? The Rogue King?”
I looked down, unable to face him.
“If you're his daughter… that makes you my stepsister,” Eryx murmured, the pieces clicking together. “Who else knows about this?”
“Everyone in the household,” I said.
“So why are you referred to as a wolfless Omega?”
“I can't tell you. And you can't tell anyone. Not even your brothers.” Tears pricked my eyes again. “Victor will kill me. He already hates me. If he knows I’m talking to you…”
“Then give me a reason not to tell my brothers,” Eryx said, his tone merciless. “Unless you accept my offer, I will spill your secret. I will tell Aven and Cassian exactly who you are. And they will not be as… forgiving… as I am.”
It was a trap. A cruel, calculated trap. He was forcing my hand.
“Why?” I asked, my voice breaking. “Why help me? What do you get out of this? Because you are a…”
Eryx finished the words with a grin. “A savage?”
He tilted his head, his golden eyes gleaming with a predatory light. “Look at me when I am talking to you, Kaira.”
I forced my gaze up, meeting his. There was no kindness in his eyes. Only calculation. And something else. A flicker of pain, quickly masked by arrogance.
“I see you as a challenge,” he said simply. “A wolfless girl with fire. You’ll be good for my academy. You’ll make things interesting. And besides…” He leaned in closer. “If you are Victor’s daughter, you have royal blood. Wasted on a servant’s life. I intend to claim that potential before my brothers realise what they've lost.”
He stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants. He looked down at me, his shadow covering me completely.
“Think about it, Kaira. Or should I say, stepsister? Know this now. No one rejects me. Accept the offer. Or get ready to lose everything.”
- Writer
