He blinked. "Help me?" The contact of her touch to his flesh made him tremble with need. "You mean with your dad?"
She nodded. There was no going back at this point. She had already decided, and now there was no turning back. "I will help you get revenge."
It was unusual to see him in such a state, his face contorted with the misery he was feeling. His whimpers had been what roused her from her sleep. Initially, she believed they were all a part of his dream. The whimpers developed into sobbing emotions that were all too familiar. She could not help it and reached out to calm him by touching his arm.
She was conscious of the proximity between them. They were lying in bed, half-naked. If she needed to strike a deal first, she would need to get her head together and clear her mind of lusty ideas to do it successfully. She gradually took her hand away and then sat up. The shifted her position slightly to the side and rested back against the backrest.
He cautiously sat up and said, "So let me get this right," trying to make sure that he wasn't misinterpreting the situation. "Even though you know I intend to kill your father and break up your family, you still want to help me in exacting retribution. Why?"
"I couldn't care less if he died. He never cared much for me or any of his daughters. If he had been concerned, he never would have sold me to be used as a breeder."
His green eyes swept over her features as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"What he did to you was not fair, and you did not deserve it. You were innocent. He punished you for his rivalry. That's not right. And he punished you when you were a little boy, for doing absolutely nothing. That should have been enough to make you want to kill him."
"I've always wanted to kill him." He mumbled.
"If that's the case, you should probably get to it right away." Then she shrugged.
"I'm furious, and it's not just about getting my revenge. I want him to go through pain. I want him to have second thoughts about the day he killed my father. You don't care what I would do to him, do you?"
"Will you kill my pack?" She inquired in a hushed tone.
"I'm a good guy, Selena. I only kill those people who... have to be killed."
As ridiculous as it may sound, he was perhaps her only ally to get what she wanted. She had thought hard about what Max told her in the morning. She was also aware of her body's reaction to Cayden.
He questioned again, "Why do you want to help me?"
She mumbled under her breath, "They don't care about me. After everything that has taken place, who would want someone like me? In our society, I am considered an outcast."
"I want to help you because I want something in return."
She could sense the gears in his head turning as he grimaced. Analysing, calculating, pondering.
"What are you looking for?"
"Freedom." She responded while fixing her gaze firmly on his face. "Let me go. I'm tired of all of this, and I want to get away from it."
He smirked, "it's a tempting offer Selena, but it's not possible. You and I..... we are mates. You know what it means?"
"Yes, I have heard a lot about it. We are supposed to be soulmates. Ironic, isn't it?" She chuckled.
"You can't leave." He said simply.
"Because you're my mate." Was there an ounce of anguish in his voice? It was even more challenging to decipher the intricacies of his feelings because of his incessant growling.
She pressed her lips together.
"Your mate?" She asked curiously. "You make it sound like we're a couple when you hate me."
He nodded. "Yes, I do. But if you go away, neither of us will survive. We are bound, only death can separate us. "
She became upset at his apparent lack of comprehension and retorted, "That's not true." Did he seriously believe that she was content living there? Even while she had made the most of my circumstances, that does not mean that she would have chosen them herself.
"But we haven't mated yet!'
She retracted her statement in response to his raised eyebrow.
"I mean, we have not marked each other. So how can we be bound?"
"It doesn't work like that. The relationship between the mates will continue even if one of them marries another person or passes away. Our bond was set off when your collar was removed, since Gerald never marked. Even if we both reject each other, it won't work."
She gave him an icy stare. "I don't want to have any more involvement with this crazy world."
"You don't have a choice, Selena. I am the one to decide."
"So, you will keep me around as what? Luna? Sex slave? Booty call? What will I do here when your pack hates me? I need something in return for helping you. Why don't you mate with Natasha and mark her that will break the bond between us?" She gave an exasperated reply.
He was taken aback. He had not thought this over.
"Natasha will never be my mate." He gave a curt reply. Which made Selena curious as well as her wolf elated. "I know you are having a hard time here, but that is because no one trusts you, including me. I might accept your deal if you gain my trust."
"And how am I supposed to do that while being locked inside? You fuck me the instant you see me with anyone else."
"I can't deny that I like it when you submit to my will, sweetheart... but you don't."
She stared at him blankly. "What? I certainly don't enjoy it."
"But it's not true, is it Selena? And as I remember...you were very willing."
"I wasn't!" she denied hotly.
He smiled sensuously, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
She let out a sigh of exasperation. "All I want to do is get out of here."
"Well, there is another method," he inserted into the conversation. "If all you want to do is leave this place, you'll have to win my trust first. Demonstrate to me you can help me. You are free to move about as you choose, and I will see that the other members of the pack do not bother you."
"And what about our mate bond?"
"Once everything is over and we survive it, I will need a Luna. Once I choose a mate, our bond will break, and you would be free."
Even though it broke her heart and angered her wolf, she nodded her head in accord despite both reactions.
"So, we have a deal?" She asked.
"I guess, though, you have not honoured the first deal. You kept running away. How do I know this is not one of your traps?"
She gulped. He was right.
"I will gain your trust. Give me a chance."