The Proposal

RHEA
Numb, I knocked on the door to Jaden's bedroom. It creaked open and I strode into his room. Jaden was lying on the bed, his eyes half open. Without saying a word, I laid down on his bed, curling up into his side. I could feel Jaden's gaze on me, the whole time. He placed an arm around me, still watching me with concern in his eyes.
'Rhea, what's wrong? Did you have another vision?' he asked telepathically, placing a hand on my shoulder. The old woman's words wouldn't leave my head. Jaden brought a hand to the side of my face, his brows puckered into a frown.
"I... I... I saw another seer. She was really old..." My voice trailed off, my gaze locking with Jaden's.
"What did she say?" He asked, the words leaving his lips in a hesitant manner.
"She said... I have to make sure our string remains unbroken.... she said..our child...no... our...first son is going to be a bringer of darkness.... she said he's going to be evil...and I would have to..."
Jaden placed a finger on my lips, silencing me.
"Rhea," he breathed, still gazing into my eyes. "Slow down. You're rambling."
I swallowed hard, pushing myself into a sitting position. He sat up as well.
I took a deep breath and told him everything the seer had said to me.

When I was done, he silently stared at me with an unreadable look in his eyes. Then, he kissed me on the lips, on my forehead, nose, and cheeks. I stared at him, a little flustered.

"What was that for?" I rasped, my voice weak.
"It's to thank you for saving my life. Now, to keep the string unbroken....it means we don't have to let anyone come in between us. We have to be glued together, do you understand?" He said and I cracked a smile. I knew what he was trying to do. He knew that I was more worried about the prophecy concerning our unborn child and he wanted to take my mind off it.
"I get it, Jaden. I'll ask Darryl to get us some glue first thing tomorrow morning" I said, deciding to playing along. He gave me a roguish smile.
"You should do just that" he said and I grinned. Jaden didn't know about the dreadful dream I'd had earlier today. It suddenly made some sense to me. The dream was probably a warning. I wondered what the repercussion would be if our strings got broken. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of it. Would I eventually become a monster?
...
I fell asleep in Jaden's arms and when I awoke the next morning, he was gone. I found him in his office. He seemed to be lost in thoughts.
"Have you had breakfast yet?" I asked and he shook his head slowly.
"I'll get you..."
He grabbed my hand just as I was about to leave.
"Sit down, Rhea" he said, a very serious expression on his face.
"What?" I breathed.
He took a deep breath, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Please" he said.
I sat down, bewildered.
"We need to talk" he said and my stomach churned, my heart pounding faster against my rib cage.
"What's wrong?" I asked, swallowing hard. My throat felt like sand paper.
"When Jacobi left my office yesterday, he made a proposal" he said and I felt like I'd just jumped into a pool of cool water during summer.
"He spoke to you after we'd left? I didn't know that" I said and he sighed, pushing his fingers through his hair. A habit of his that showed how nervous he was. I reached out and took his hand away from his hair. I held his hand in mine and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. He stared at me like I was the sun to his universe. His own galaxy. It made my heart skip a beat.
"I'm here, Jaden. Talk to me" I said, gazing into his eyes.
"Like he said, he knows about Zaden's obsession with getting power. He wants to make a pact with us" he said and my eyes widened.
"For real? He's a dragon shape shifter. I mean.... it's not bad" I said and he sighed.
"That's what I thought too. But, he's also proposing something else" he said and I raised a brow.
"What else did he say?" I asked.
"Well, he wants us to attack Zaden's pack. He wants us to destroy them all" he said and my eyes went wide.
Zaden hated us. He despised our pack. He wanted us gone. But, would it be okay for us to attack his pack? Wouldn't that be a low blow?
On second thought, Zaden would attack us at any chance he can get. He would do everything and anything to get rid of us. Would it be bad for us to attack him before he attacks us?
Jaden stared at me with a quizzical expression on his face.
"You have no either idea, do you?"
"Actually, I do have an idea" I said, giving him a small smile.
...
ZADEN
The door to my study was pushed open. I smelt my visitor's sweet scent before I saw her. She was looking as flawless as always. Her black and purple hair was in a neat high ponytail. Her velvet skin glowed, her red lips luscious. The shape of her body was pure sin.
"Thalia...such a pleasant surprise" I said, leaning back on my seat. The corner of her lips tilted upwards as she approached my desk, a gleam in her grey eyes. My wolf growled, wanting to claim her, to mark her. These days the need for some release was overwhelming. Jacking off was not helping, neither was sleeping with a random woman. Nothing was helping.
I was barely holding myself together and Thalia was playing hard to get. I was glad she hadn't rejected me yet. It wasn't much, but it was something. At least, she didn't hate me to the point of rejection.
She sat down on the chair in front of me and I gripped the arm rest of my chair, digging my claws into them. Thalia looked satisfied, she seemed to be teasing me.
"You failed," she said, not taking her eyes off me. "Again."
"You don't need to remind me about that. I know quite well what happened"
"Let's face it. Jaden is far beyond your league. It's useless trying to take him down. I mean, look at your pack members. They have barely recovered from the damage Jaden did to them. Do you want to try again and fail again?"
I gritted my teeth, my temper flaring.
"What? You don't like it? It's the truth. The painful truth. You. Are. A. Weakling"
That was the last straw.
"Thalia!" I growled, rising to my feet. She didn't move. She was sitting on the chair, legs crossed at the knees with her arms folded across her chest. She had a challenging look in her eyes that was driving me insane.
"I suggest you take your leave right now" I said through gritted teeth.
She rose to her feet and walked to the back of my chair, her movements graceful. She brought her lips to my ear. Her scent was so strong because she was so close.
"What if I have a solution to offer? What if I can help you end him?" She whispered and I stiffened.
"What if I can help you? What if there is a way?" She asked and moved away from me.
"Tell me" I said through gritted teeth.
She remained silent for a while and moved away from me. So, I urged her again, my patience wearing thin.
"Tell me."
She made her way back to her seat. She sat down and after a few seconds, she gave me her answer.
"No."
"Why the hell not?!" I demanded. This woman was definitely testing me.
"I'll only help you...if you agree to comply with my terms and conditions" Thalia said, taking out a file. She began to work on her fingernails. The screech- scratch sound emanating from the file made me twitch. There was no doubt that she was doing it on purpose. She wanted to rile me up and yes, it was working.
Unable to take it any longer, I slammed my hands on the top of my desk.
"Alright! Damnit!" I growled and she stopped working on her fingernails, an expression of counterfeit interest on her face.
"What are your so called terms and conditions?" I asked. A smile curved her lips, the gleam in her eyes, growing.
"I'll tell you" she said, rising to her feet.
"You see, it's quite simple" she drawled and I clenched my fists hard.
"Go straight to the point, Thalia!" I thundered.
Her eyes went cold in a split second. "All you have to do is surrender your pack to me"
"What?!"