A Favor

**Valerie**
This might be a wrong decision. The escape. But I didn’t have any other choice. Did I? The reason why I came here was simple. That’s the only place I could possibly get away from the wolf guards. They were afraid of getting close to this garden, the wolves. Just like they were afraid of Lucas Lang or any other bloodsuckers. Wolves had extraordinary olfaction. I supposed they had already found my trace, but didn’t dare to break in, especially on a night like this, with no blessing from the moon.
The garden was nicely cultivated, remaining almost the same as last time. A fresh smell of rose and meadow hang in the air, trying to calm my nerves. It was romantic, I had to say. Lucas must be in deep love with a girl named Chelsea. Just thought about how he treated me, the one who he thought was Chelsea’s reincarnation.
It wasn’t hard to find the pave to that beautiful statuary. Reaching out my arm, I brushed over the sleek surface of Chelsea. She looked at me with determined eyes. There’s no chance that I would ever look like her. Would she be so timid and sly like me? I doubted so. I recalled the face when Lucas was reminiscing about her, describing how she protected him from the silver bullet. That soft smile I had never seen on a monster’s face. I understood perfectly that he spared some kindness to me solely because I reminded him of her, like the fact that Xavier favored me. After all, I was his “mate”. And it wasn’t important whether I did or did not resemble her indeed, but it was important that he believed so.
That was my chance.
That was the reason why I must come here.
Xavier was trustworthy, I supposed. That’s the trait of werewolves, loyal to their belief. But after all, he was the Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, the rival to humankind. Would he choose me over his family and pride? I wasn’t sure. So, I needed a backup plan, an alliance that I could appeal to if anything went wrong. You might think I was playing dirty. I was manipulating not only their emotions but also my feelings. And this would be dangerous. You were right, but I wasn’t ashamed.
If you’d ever gone through what I had been through, you would understand me. I would do anything to find the truth and save myself.
The night was getting colder as the wind blew over my bare skin. I anticipated the possibility that Lucas might not come tonight. I didn’t see him after the celebration, and he was probably still mad at me. Maybe, tomorrow morning, I would be caught by an audacious guard who placed pride over fear.
There was no way back.
I squatted down beside the statuary to ease the tension on my shin. Dizziness hit me all of a sudden. I didn’t eat much, did I? Hypoglycemia. I nearly forgot how often this happened when I was in the cell.
Cringing, I closed my eyes and expected to hit the ground.
But I didn’t.
Something firm and stable held me. Before I could even think about what happened, strong arms wrapped around my waist. My heart skipped a beat from the fear of the unknown. But soon I realized it was Lucas.
“What wind blew you here?” He asked as I managed to stand straight and turned to face him.
His voice was emotionless and his face was hidden under the hooded robe.
I found it hard to say anything because my body was shaking. I stammered, nails digging into my hand before being able to make a decent greeting.
Hearing my voice, Lucas removed the hood and then scanned me from head to toe, before commenting, “You lose some weight.”
He didn’t speak as if he was concerned about me but in a rather plain tone, like stating a fact. He might be true. I didn’t eat well for days.
“I was just wondering if you might come here.” I smiled, switching the topic of our conversation.
His eyes narrowed with a trail of confusion. Maybe he was confused by my attitude, or by the fact that I managed to escape from such a heavily guarded castle.
Anyway, he didn’t raise any questions. He remained silent, waiting for me to continue.
“I’m afraid I have a favor to ask of you, Mr. Lang.” I contemplated before uttering my request politely, “I wonder if you’d be kind to enlighten me. Is there anything wrong with the celebration? I haven’t seen any masters for a couple of days.”
I looked into Luca’s eyes as he stared into mine. At one moment, I thought he would just ignore what I said and walk away. But after a long silence, he raised his brows and said with a slight snort.
“That’s all you want to ask, Valerie?”
He saw through me. I knew that because what I said was completely shit.
I stayed in Xavier’s room after the celebration. How was it possible for me to meet any of them?
“Be honest,” he stepped forward and leaned closer toward me, “what do you want to know?” He said as if that’s something simple and straightforward.
I grew silent.
I wanted to know what happened to Xavier. Why was he delayed? Why didn’t stick to his promise? What happened to the Red Moon Pack? What happened five years ago? Where did that quirky birthmark on my belly come from? Why the hell were they after me? Why did they kill humans?
If he would be willing to answer, I could list hundreds of questions. But he wouldn’t. And I wouldn’t dare to exasperate him.
“That’s what I want to ask,” I answered.
He shook his head sarcastically before giving me a bitter smile.
“Stubborn. Guarded. Never willing to tell the truth. You don’t believe me, do you?” He asked.
It’s tough for me to answer this question, but luckily, he didn’t expect it. Instead, he asked another question which was completely out of my surprise.
“You slept with Xavier?”
It was hardly a question, though. He was so affirmative that I was almost startled. I blinked my eyes, trying to act normally. But my heaving chest confide my feelings as I panted out of tenseness.
“Didn’t you notice?” He smirked while his stare trailed down to my neck, “the mark.”
My hand instinctively reached my neck before I realized he was lying.
Xavier didn’t leave anything, not even any redness. He was cautious about this. I was easily fooled by him, and that truly annoyed me. So, before I was able to calm down and think about what I should do, the annoyance had transferred into fearless audacity.
“Yes, I did.” I looked at him and said harshly, “But it’s not your business, Mr. Lang.”
It was a stupid move to irritate Lucas, because the moment I finished my retort, he gripped my wrist with a gloomy face. His eyes were flaring with anger while his hands were extremely icy.
He was a bloodsucker, you dumbass.
“Well, Valerie.” He cupped my chin firmly, pulling my face close to his. His breath dropped on my lips, heavy but cold, sending a shiver down my spine. “If you remember…We didn’t end up happily last time, did we?”
I pursed.
“You have to understand,” he smirked as his fingers climbed up along my arm, passing my shoulder and resting on my neck. Then he gently stroked and brushed my skin, like a butcher grinding his knife in preparation for the kill. “There’s one thing I can do to make you belong to me. Do you know?”
His words made me freeze. I gulped and shook my head.
“You are clever, Valerie, very clever,” He inhaled deeply and whispered near my ear, But you seemed to forget one thing. If I want, I can turn you into an ‘immortal’. Just like me.”
“I told you. I was never a patient creature. Don’t expect me to be like Xavier.” He grinned before pressing his teeth against my skin.
“No…” I mumbled. I could feel his canines digging deeper and deeper into my flesh, though it was not painful, not at all.
This was ridiculous. How could I neglect this? I had seen it once, when I was very young, with my parents. We witnessed how the vampire bit his dying human friend and turned him “alive” again.
Lucas had the very reason to do this. He wanted Chelsea to be immortal. He wanted death to be away from her for good.
My mind started swirling and the whole world darkened. The fragrance of rose was replaced by a heavy smell of blood.
“No…” I might have cried before I screamed, “I don’t like this, Lucas!”
I felt a power come from somewhere inside my body and a shrieking burst out in my mind. I saw a pair of crimson eyes glared at me. Those eyes belonged to a strong wolf body with purely white furs. The wolf was about to leap and attack me, wanting to devour my flash.
“No!---”
Quickly, they all disappeared.
“Valerie! Valerie!”
When I retrieved my sanity, I found myself lying in Lucas’ arms. He looked at me with a worried face. I reached my hands to touch my neck. There was no bite at all.
“What happened?” He asked.