Page 22 of Let Me Win You

“Oh, Invi,” Mother signed. “You’ve been around for thousands of years and still have no idea how to woo a woman.”

I thought I knew. I thought I had it all under control, but it all had exploded in the most spectacular and devastating fashion.

“Fuck.” I dropped my head into my hands.

“You don’t know shit about human women, do you?” Mother poked right into my open wound of shame and regret.

“Language, Mother,” I scolded, mechanically.

“Oh, don’t be a prude.” She waved me off. “You’re not your sisters.” She patted my hand again. “And there is no need to beat yourself up over a mistake. We all make them. Even the highest of the deities aren’t perfect. You obviously care about that girl, and I didn’t come here to gloat about your misery. I came to offer a solution.”

“A solution?”

That spiked my attention but raised some doubts too. Mother wasn’t exactly known for solving problems. She was, however, infamous for creating them.

“You see, some of your brothers have expressed an interest in acquiring a human, too, now.”

“Who?” I snarled. The thought of any of my brothers coming anywhere near Nicole made me sick to my stomach. At the same time, my fists itched to punch something.

“Does it matter who?” Mother shrugged nonchalantly. “The important thing is that you want to have her all to yourself, don’t you?”

“I thought I made it clear,” I gritted through my teeth. “Nicole is mine and only mine.”

“Why do you like her so much?”

I didn’t need to think long to answer that.

“She makes me happy. I like what I feel when I’m with her. If Avar can have a woman like that, then why can’t I have one too?”

“Oh, Invi. In so many ways, you’re still a little boy, always trying to one up your brothers. Well, you can have a chance to do so and claim your woman too.”

“What do you mean? How?”

It sounded tempting, so tempting. Anticipation ran down my body, making the rattle on the tip of my tail vibrate.

Mother smiled at the faint rattling sound.

“Why don’t we do a little race?” she murmured. “The winner will get the girl. Just think about it. You can win her fair and square. Then no one would question your right to be with her.”

“Winher? Like a prize in the race?”

A rush of thrill rippled through my entire being.

To win Nicole, in front of everyone.

To prove to the entire world that we belonged together.

To claim her as mine, fully and completely, so that no one could ever take her away from me.

It’d be fantastic, except that…

“Nicole would never agree to that,” I said.

“Why not? Throughout human history, women have often been won, bought, sold, and traded as one of humanity’s biggest treasures or…” Mother wagged her hand in the air, “not so bigones too. Anyway, wouldn’t she find it flattering that the mighty mortal sins want to compete for her?”

Unease crawled up my back. Would Nicole feel that way? Sadly, I didn’t know her well enough to adamantly deny the notion.

“But she is so much more than just a prize to be won,” I replied.

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