Page 37 of The Tracker's Secret
Damien cleared his throat and pushed me forward. I staggered to within inches of the desk and froze. The chair swiveled slowly. I held my breath and pinched my arm, struggling to keep my cool.
When Eric Cross faced me, the first thing I noticed about him was his intense blue eyes. They held me in place and seemed to speak a thousand silent words.
You are nothing. You are weak. You don’t belong here.
My shoulders caved in, but I stood my ground even though I wanted to run. Was feeling like this what it meant to be an omega?
He stood up slowly and rested a hand on top of the desk as he assessed me. A large silver ring in the shape of a wolf’s head covered half of his index finger. I stared at the tiny wolf’s jeweled blue eyes, avoiding Eric Cross’s own sapphire gaze. After a short moment, he huffed as if he found me lacking in every respect.
Anger flared in my gut. I met his eyes, defiantly. Who did he think he was? He wasn’t so impressive himself. He was at most 5’10” and slender, almost wiry. He had a crooked nose with wide nostrils that kept twitching like mine often did. He wasn’t exactly ugly, but he wasn’t handsome either. The resting bitch face certainly didn’t help.
“You owe me, Eric,” Damien said as the werewolf made a face.
“And this will clear our score? Forever?” Eric asked between clenched teeth.
“Forever,” the mage answered.
Eric heaved a huge sigh and rubbed his jaw, considering, looking as if someone was asking him to sit his bare ass on a bed of hot coals.
At last, he threw a hand up in the air and said, “Okay, I’ll do it.” He looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Be here Thursday morning at 4 AM. We’ll train for three hours. If I don’t see progress in three days, I’ll stop.”
4 AM?! What kind of torture was this?I opened my mouth to protest, but he went on.
“If she gives me lip, I’ll stop. If she’s late, I’ll stop. If she doesn’t try hard enough, I’ll stop. It could take a lifetime to teach her what it is to be a werewolf, but I’ll only give her five days.”
“Five days?!” Damien said incredulously. “That’s hardly enough. It doesn’t seem a fair exchange considering what you owe me.”
“Take it or leave it.”
Damien sighed. “We’ll take it.”
“Good. Now, go.” Eric made a dismissive gesture toward the door.
I stood motionless, feeling like a cheap trinket everyone kept passing up at the flea market. I wanted to spit in his face as I stared at him, hatred building inside me at record speed. Honestly, I’d never gone from zero to I-hate-your-guts so quickly in my life.
My claws sprang out, and I took a step toward the lone wolf. Before I knew it, he had me by the throat, his own claws digging into my skin. He snarled, baring sharp fangs and releasing his hot breath straight into my face. His blue eyes glowed with iridescent light and bore into mine, digging deep into some animal instinct I didn’t know I possessed.
Fear and submission unfurled inside of me. I felt the need to curl into a tight ball on the floor and whimper. My shoulders shook slightly, but I fought the urge to cower, and instead, let out a baby growl.
Eric’s eyes widened in something like surprise, then he dug his claws deeper into my throat and snarled again, louder this time.
My claws slipped back of their own accord. Gone in a jiffy. I curled inwardly and wrapped my arms around my stomach. He let me go, and I staggered backward into Rosalina’s arms, who held me protectively against her body and smoothed my hair as I trembled.
“Leave,” Eric repeated.
Damien and Rosalina helped me out of the room.
I didn’t straighten from my submissive position until ten minutes later. All that time, Rosalina soothed me, and Damien paced up and down the hall with impatience, muttering to himself. At last, we left the party, though the time between my short meeting with Eric Cross and Rosalina helping me to bed was a blur.
I felt weak and ragged as if I’d just come out of a tracking trance and went to sleep shivering, despite the many blankets Rosalina draped over me. All night, I dreamed of snarling faces and shook in fear to my very soul.
