Devious Claws

Chapter Ten

There was a small open space in between the machines. It was grey and cold, but the small fire provided more warmth than I'd expected. I sat huddled right by it, avoiding looking at the other men around the fire. We were all staring into the flames, haunted looks playing on our faces. I suspected they'd seen their own share of death.

"Do you feel better?"

It wasn't Eros that had spoken. It was Frill, the man with the braids. He'd rubbed some sorts of balm on my cuts. It was chilled and soft and had granted instant relief from the pain. I looked at my exposed arm. The paste had thickened and dried, like clay.

"Thank you," I said, hearing how grateful - and pathetic - I sounded. Truth was they didn't care much about me, but if I died before Eros could repay me then he'd have to die as well.

I had a feeling Eros was all the hope they had left.

Luke touched the dried balm, then sniffed his fingers. He was sitting beside me, also struggling with what he'd seen. "This is amazing. What is it?"

Frill opened his mouth to speak but the man with the scar interrupted with a paranoid, "What does it matter to you?"

Luke rubbed his hands together, undeterred. "Well, it can be useful when you retake the kingdom."

Unsettled murmurs echoed between the small crowd. The men glanced to Luke, then to each other - and then to Eros. He sat opposite me, the fire casting a red glow on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed, his gaze somewhere far off.

"Is this true?" The man with the scar asked, his fried voice laced with emotion. "Are we going for the throne?"

"It would be nice," someone else piped up. A younger man, with a somewhat deflated afro, shrank back a bit as everyone looked to him. "Residing in this building is shameful for a prince and his men. Besides, it would be nice to get vengeance on Creed and his pack."

"My mother, a chamber maid, was killed when they raided the castle," Frill added on, his face darkening. "I dream of avenging her."

I felt my eyes welling up, quickly wiping my face with the sleeve of the hoodie. But it was too late. Eros had already noticed. He eyed my arm when saying, "It would be dangerous. Almost hopeless. We would need to make it to Alpha Alheera and pray he's remained allied to the throne."

"They've been close to the king for centuries," a man with blonde hair and fair skin said. The tip of his nose and his cheeks were rosy. His eyes were bright and alert. "They can definitely be trusted!"

"So you've hatched a plan with the humans?" The man with the scar didn't sound as much disgusted as he did surprised.

"No, Rafe." Eros looked to the man with the scar. His intense gaze could've split his face in half all over again. "I have made a vow, I cannot just leave. My life is not just mine anymore."

Seven eyes.

All on me.

I quickly put my arm into the sleeve of the hoodie, cringing a bit at how the dried blood had made the inside crunchy. I straightened my back, but I wasn't sure why.

"What if I try to kill her and you wrestle me down? Then you've technically saved her life. Would that count?"

Eros' menacing growl made Luke shrink back into himself.

I realized I was expected to make a decision.

Fuck.

"Do you think my mom is safe if I return home?" I asked, trying to not look too bothered by the way the large men watched me.

Eros' lowered his gaze. "I do not."

"Do you think I can travel back to college and..." I didn't even finish my sentence. The look on Eros' face told me everything I needed to know.

Eros had a target on his back.

Meaning I did as well.

"So I have to choose between staying here and dying or going with you on this... quest and dying there instead?"

Luke put a hand to my shoulder. "Cindy..."

"No." I shook his hand off. "I don't have a choice. And you pulled me into this."

"Well, that's not fair. I was just handing out my flyers--"

"Fuck your flyers."

Luke resigned, looking quite hurt. But I didn't care. I locked my gaze into Eros'. "Is there any way for me to walk away from this right now, unscathed?"

Eros only shook his head.

I took a few breaths, trying and failing to will away the tears. "Alright. Then it's settled. We're going to war."

"You'll be fine," Luke tried. "I'll look after your mom."

"Oh, you're coming too."

"W-What?"

"You dragged me into this." I put a hand around his upper arm, as if he'd suddenly run away. He looked like he just might. "You're coming with me."

"He's not," Eros declared.

"He is," I shot back.

Silence fell over the heads of his minions. The fire suddenly seemed a hundred times louder. Eros' eyes seemed so much brighter than before as he stared me down.

"Alright," he concurred after what felt like a decade. His voice was anything but agreeable. "He's coming."

I could tell what had just transpired was a big deal by how the men looked around at each other. In my heart, I felt only a tad bit relieved. Luke looked anything but. I could barely believe I was the one speaking as I asked, "So how are we going to do it?"

It soon became clear that Luke and I weren't a part of the planning. Despite me at first trying to understand what the men were talking about, the different names and terms were too many and complicated to track. I had been given a stick working as a skewer. In the middle of it was a small animal, a bunny or something, penetrated and grilled. Despite its gross appearance, I was starving and happily ate it while watching the men speak.

"So, the packs are like tribes," Luke whispered to me, chewing on his own bunny. "And each tribe has a leader, an alpha, but they all operate underneath the king. I think. God, I wish I had my notebook."

"This Creed seems like the one who started the whole thing," I murmured back. My mind was becoming a bit woozy from the smell coming off the cream. Or maybe it was the pain relief. Or the fact that I'd just sealed my fate. "So, I guess it's as if a senator killed the president."

"They're pretty ruled by cultural traditions. You know, having to get Eros' head to overtake the throne - not to mention the whole ordeal with his royal vow."

I couldn't get my eyes off Eros. He was discussing with his men, all voices hushed. He looked like a normal man - human. I wondered what else I'd gotten wrong in this world.

"I'm so tired," I said, putting my stick down.

"Rest. I'll keep watch."

"Keep watch?"

Luke's eyes darkened a bit as he threw a conspicuous glance across the fire. He lowered his voice. "I don't trust them. Not quite. I want to hear what they're talking about."

A part of me wanted to question him, but the other understood his sentiment entirely. I settled on just nodding, putting my head against his shoulder.

I thought it'd be difficult to fall asleep after the events of today.

I was wrong.

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A/N
Seeya soon!