Page 3 of Bullied Wolf Mate

I stayed quiet. Inara’s expression darkened as she glowered at my silent figure.

“If you are, there’s an easy way to change all that,” Inara said. “All you have to do is help me, and you’ll live in the lap of luxury the rest of your life. I’d make sure of it.”

I didn’t answer, instead continuing to stare at a spot above her head.

“Why so silent today?” Inara asked.

When I continued to stay silent, Orin jabbed me hard in the back so hard that I took a half step forward. I turned to glare at him.

“Answer her,” he growled.

“You could say please,” I muttered. “More flies with honey and all that.”

“I’ve always found you get the most flies with rotting meat,” Inara said conversationally. “Though I don’t really want to resort to that anytime soon.”

I gave a wry smile. “Those threats are hollow,” I said. “I know you can’t kill me. You need me.”

Instead of wiping the smirk from her face, my words only seemed to make it grow. “Maybe not death, but I could make you wish for it. You know I could.”

I did know. Inara had been a terror for a century, the witch that made those in fairy tales look harmless by comparison. I knew the horror story my parents had told me. I knew what she could do to me, and I knew what she wanted. The problem was, I couldn’t give it to her.

I sighed, then opened my mouth to say the exact same thing I had the last two weeks, ever since Orin and a handful of other witches had broken into my house and dragged me here.

“I don’t know how.”

She tutted. “I think you need to have more faith in yourself.” She stood and walked around the desk and stopped in front of me. One finger reached out and raised my chin so I was forced to look at her. The too-sharp nail dug into the soft underside of my jaw. “I’m sure you could open it if you tried.And think about how much better your life here would be if you helped.”

“I was never taught how to do it,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ve told you. The knowledge was lost with my parents.”

“So you’ve said,” Inara said. “But that doesn’t mean we should give up. There are things we can try.”

“What is it you want in there, anyway?” I demanded. “Maybe if you told me, I’d be more willing to help you.”

She gave a sharp smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m not going to come out and tell you, dear. What fun would that be?”

“Probably more fun for you, since I might have a better idea of what you need from me.”

“I need you to open the entrance, and that’s all.”

“What is it?” I asked, stubbornly jutting out my chin. “I’m not going to help you unless you tell me.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re not in a position to negotiate, dear,” she said. “Let’s just say retrieving it would be my crowning glory. People have died for it.” She leveled a stare at me, her gaze piercing. “And I’m not afraid to continue the tradition if it gets me what I need.”

I forced myself to keep my expression neutral, but my heart began to pound as realization dawned on me. My throat went dry. I knew what she wanted. I couldn’t let her know I’d figured it out, if only because it was the one advantage I had over her.

Inara tapped her chin as she studied me. “Maybe you’re right. Perhaps you need a different type of incentive to help.”

“What type of incentive would that be?” I asked.

“I know you didn’t get the training you should have as a child,” she crooned. “I could train you, you know. I’ve been considering taking on an apprentice. If you help me, then I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t repay the favor.”

I sucked in a breath. I knew what she was offering: power, the chance to be at her right hand, to inherit her station whenever she died. I thought of all the things I could learn from her. All the suffering and bullying I’d gone through as a child. I’d be able to get revenge. I could have the world at my fingertips. I just had to give her whatever it was she wanted.

My parents’ warning echoed in my head, the sworn duty to protect what my family had guarded for decades, how even one of them in the wrong hands could wreak havoc on the world. I thought about all the damage Inara herself had done over the years, the chaos and devastation she always left in her wake. The deaths of humans, shifters, witches, whatever got in her way. Whatever she wanted, I was the last line of defense. If I gave her what she wanted, I’d be responsible for the deaths of who knew how many people. I couldn’t do that.

I looked into Inara’s eyes, and part of me desperately wanted to say yes. I hated that I had never gotten the right training, resented the fact that I had been born into a life I hadn’t asked for, and forced to guard something for the rest of my life. If I said yes, I could get everything I had ever wanted and be shed of the burden I was born with.

I just had to sell my soul.