Luna For Hire

Chapter 8 I enjoyed your company

　　Ava could not believe she was actively kicking against a one -night stand with this man. She had craved temporaries and now she could hardly admit to herself that she wanted more with this man.

　　Adrian c****d his head to the side. "I don't know," he said. "I enjoyed your company." His gaze slid over Ava .

　　Ava bit her lip as she watched his gaze on her.

　　"Would you like to visit the Silver Moon pack house?" Adrian asked her then.

　　"Why?"

　　"I have a private apartment there," Adrian said. "...And a very big bed…"

　　"f**k you," Ava swore under her breath. "That was a one-night, dear alpha. I'm sure you must have a lot of she-wolves throwing themselves at you."

　　"True," Adrian answered. "But none of them wear leather on an evening dress. I like you, Ava. I want your company. We could always arrange something with no strings or emotional attachments."

　　An extended one-night stand, Ava thought drily. No, thank you.

　　"People do one-night stands for a lot of reasons. Some reasonable, others not so...Are you married, alpha?" Ava asked." Is that why you had left so early? Guilt, perhaps?"

　　"No," Adrian said. "I am unmarried...and hardly considering it soon. Now that you have that guilt off your mind, will I see you again?"

　　"No," Ava said. "I don't do supernaturals."

　　"That night-"

　　"Was a mistake on my part," Ava said. "I shouldn't have encouraged it. "

　　Silence passed between them.

　　Nathan Elmsworth came then, beaming at Adrian. He knew Adrian apparently. It seemed everyone knew Adrian, Ava thought drily.

　　She watched Adrian and Nathan talk quietly. Adrian was leaving soon. He turned to Ava and slipped a small card in her palm, his thumb sliding over the card and the valley of her palm.

　　"You can call me on these lines," Adrian said, flashing Ava a smile. "I hope we can be friends despite being so different."

　　Ava thinned her gaze at him. Friends, she thought. She knew she could never handle being just friends with him. Neither could he. He wanted a s****l relationship between them, that was for sure; something with no strings or attachments.

　　At this point, Ava did not know if she wanted that or not. She definitely wanted to see him again, but it was beyond just that. There was a reason she avoided unnecessary contact and friendships with supernaturals and it was beyond just her job at the RCA.

　　Ava watched Adrian's towering form leave. He was joined by another man with a slightly stocky build and dark brown hair.

　　Ava watched their backs as they made their way to a reserved area for Council officials.

　　"Is my little girl in love now?" Nathan asked Ava and she broke into serious laughter.

　　"Love? No," she said.

　　It wasn't love. After just one night together, it could hardly be love. Attraction definitely: One that she was not going to act on.

　　"You are not a child Ava, even though I call you my little girl all the time," Nathan said. " You can always choose to settle down with some nice chap-"

　　This was just much.

　　"-Dad, Adrian is not a 'nice chap'- he is as bad as they come-"

　　"-He's what?"

　　Imagine her father's reaction if he knew what Adrian had proposed; and if he knew that a part of her was seriously considering it, if only for the high of it.

　　"-Bad mannered," Ava corrected." Very arrogant. Are all alphas like him?"

　　"I find him quite humble," Nathan said thoughtfully.

　　"We must be seeing different sides to him then," Ava said. "Also, I hope we are aware that if I have relations with a supernatural, I would have to quit my job?"

　　Only humans could work for the Rogue Containment Agency to reduce the incidence of bias towards certain supernaturals. A human would not feel bad for capturing a rogue vampire for example- they would not empathize with such feelings of sentimentality and be derailed in the performance of their duty...Unlike a werewolf sent to capture another werewolf could be- or other supernaturals sent after their kind.

　　The agency was under a lot of watchful eyes and had a level of responsibility to step up to. It had to prove it was transparent and effective and non-partisan. Hence, only humans could bring in supernaturals.

　　And to even the playing field? These humans were supplied with up-to-date weapons with capacity to deal with every type of supernatural. Hence, the weaknesses of each faction of supernatural were carefully documented and weapons created to suit those specifications were developed: Wolfsbane tranquilizers; silver weapons; garlic fumes and solutions; lasers with the intensity of sunlight; Aspen stakes; decapitation instrument; normal sedative tranquilizers; and a host of other conventional weapons capable of slowing a supernatural down even though not entirely causing them too much harm.

　　Yes, the Council wasn't what it used to be a long time ago. It had recreated itself to be a force to be reckoned with, empowering its agencies such as the RCA, for the serious task of peace between factions.

　　"If you decide to settle down with a supernatural, you can always quit your job," Nathan said finally.

　　"I love my job," Ava said.

　　It was one of the few times she did not feel powerless and weak; like the rest of the world wasn't crushing on her. That was what it had been ever since she left home years ago and nearly died out in the woods.

　　"I know you do," Nathan said sympathetically. "Sacrifices."

　　Ava was not going to sacrifice her job at the RCA for a temporary with some arrogant alpha.

　　"You will be twenty two this year," Nathan said. "Your training at the RCA will cease and you will become a contracted agent. You have to think about what you would want your life to look like after now. You have to be serious Ava. I admire your easy lifestyle- it has helped you through your darkest days- but you need to take important decisions about your life.You are an adult and should be able to choose what is right for you."

　　Ava ruminated on that as the director of the RCA climbed up the podium to give his address.

　　"You'll always be there, won't you, dad?" Ava said quietly then. "Dad, you know it's only you I have. My real parents- they're gone-"

　　She always feared he would go, just like her birth parents. She avoided considering the possibility, but every once in a while, she felt powerless and weak and these emotions crawled up on her.

　　" I am your father. I'll be here, my dear," Nathan said, "to help you make those decisions every step of the way."

　　"Thank you dad," Ava whispered.