Page 26 of The Biting Bargain

ChapterTen

Vincent

Never in mylife have I been blindsided like this. And never in my life, which after all spans across two and a half centuries, have I ever been treated in such a manner. The situation is unacceptable, spiraling further out of control any second.

No human being, no woman, has ever dared to deny me.

A fascinating but annoying novelty.

Probably the only reason I can only stare as Polly squares her shoulders, throws Aidan and me another devastating glare and turns to march out of the room.

"But… you can’t leave." Aidan nearly drops his tablet, his good humor collapsing like a soufflé. "That ruins our entire plan."

"Where's my coat?" she mutters, marching towards the door and Aidan looks like someone stripped him of his lollipop. And it actually takes another second for me to shake off the paralysis and act like I should. In two, three long strides I get in her way. She bounces back with a gasp. Humans are always so surprised on how fast vampires can move, keep forgetting that we are actual apex predators.

Aww, shucks.

"Sit down," I growl. She stares back, green eyes flashing with defiance, but also with the drop of fear I need to see to know I’m still running the show here.

Aidan is right. No one must ever know about my furry little secret. And not only does she already know far too much — I do need her, as much as I hate the very thought. Aidan is a brilliant scientist, and if he says that this infuriating woman is the key to keeping my curse in check, I need her to stay. There's no way I can let her walk out of here.

Keep her for myself.

I shake off the irritating thought.

She holds my gaze, chin thrust forward when she sinks down back on the sofa. I'm almost impressed. I can barely remember the last time a human dared to challenge me.

Kudos, little dove. But your defiance will do you no good here.

"How long will it take you to restore the counter-curse?" I ask Aidan, not taking my eyes off her.

"Hard to say, sir." Aidan appears next to me, typing and swiping away on his tablet. "I'd have to contact the witch Yli-Pekkala to see if she can reinstate it."

"Then get a hold of her."

"Very well, sir." Aidan sounds outright euphoric. He rushes off to the desk and starts typing frantically on his laptop.

Polly still glares back at me, unblinking. My mind calculates my next moves, extrapolating every possible outcome I can think of. The problem I’m facing is grave indeed. My initial visit to theSocieta Vergiliihas to happen tomorrow night, or my plan to restore the family honor is going up in smoke. But without her I can't go anywhere without my blasted curse kicking into gear and my wolf shifting to the surface.

And if that were to happen, the work of at least five decades of networking and schmoozing up the right people would be undone in one fell swoop. No telling what would happen if I were to turn into a werewolf in front of the crème de la crème of vampire society, all the lords and ladies, the highborn and nouveau riche upstarts.

The name Renard would be forever tarnished.

What a joke that this scrap of a girl — no, this cunning little witch without a drop of magic in her — is supposed to be the only thing standing between my good reputation and me turning into a slavering, snarling monster.

But then it clicks, the solution to this mess morphing into a sinister and brilliant whole, as it always does when the obvious has been sitting right in front of your eyes the entire time.

The corner of my mouth curls upward.

"She’s going to be my companion," I say, more to myself than to anyone.

Polly's expression goes from defiantly angry to uncomprehending.

"Excuse me??"

"A brilliant idea, sir!" Aidan beams from his desk, pushing his glasses up his long nose. "That will solve all our problems!"

"I'm going to be your what now?"

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