MATED TO THE NIGHT WOLF (MTTNW)

[11.1] A TRUST TO BUILD

"Lying is not the best way to start a friendship master," she warned, her tone light and playful.

I frowned in confusion, and she seemed to note it.

"You are a master, you've had friends."

"I've had subjects," I corrected realizing her thoughts, eyes holding hers, speaking truthfully, "And followers."

My voice trailed off as I remembered my cousins, "I have competitors and enemies to be quaint. None of them are my friends. At least not what I thought friendship was."

Her smile dropped slowly, which made me purse my lips. I could hear her heartbeat slow, and a sad aura around her which I couldn't understand why.

It did not come from fear, if it were, her heart would be pounding.

Still, I was not too fond of the look, it felt like she could see through me, something no one did. Darkness wasn't transparent.

If you looked into the darkness, darkness stared right back at you.

She was looking at me nevertheless, the being behind the darkness. I had no idea how she opened those curtains and revealed what was behind them, perhaps it was I that did it myself.

She was easy to talk to I finally understood. That could be a blessing and a problem.

I turned away from her gaze studying the stacks of books around us.

"Are there rules to this friendship? How does it begin?"

A moment passed before she spoke, her tone was slow and steady as if she wanted me to understand it.

"True friendship is built on trust. I do not believe it has rules but perhaps the logical ones."

"What are those?"

"The holy trinity. Do not betray or lie to a friend, always protect a friend, keep their trust."

I turned slightly, eyes reaching hers, to which hers dropped, right below my chin again. "Simple enough-"

"Perhaps for safety, we could add that our friendship should remain within these walls," she rambled quickly, her gaze trailing the library. "As a slave I-I can't-"

"I understand," I countered.

I was quite aware of how the outside world would look at this friendship I was weaving with a Keffer slave against all conceivable logic. To lower my standards to the absolute bottom would be more than frowned upon. I was also aware of my deceit. As the Night Wolf she feared, it was best she knew only of me as the master and now friend. I reached for her gaze but it remained faltered below my chin.

"Friends always look each other in the eyes."

Her eyes snapped to me at that statement.

I studied her for a moment, wondering if this rule I designed would be for my benefit or my downfall. I could read her honesty in them, but she could see through the veil of darkness and see me in mine.

But she had not mastered her trade, nor did she know of the power she had over me, hence... this was to my benefit.

"That is the rule I wish to add. Whilst we are within these walls."

She blinked as if not expecting such a rule, but nodded, taking a deep breath in, recapturing my eyes. "5 rules for the foundations of our friendship."

I nodded at this, searching her face, "And trust? How do we build that?"

"I'll tell you my deepest secret and you tell me yours."

I paused at this, knowing my secret was not something I ever wished to reveal to her, not if I was to find out why Selene has placed her with my mate's scent,