Bloodbound: The Alliance
Chapter 24 - 28

Chapter 24: Chapter 28

Avara POV

My breaths are ever-light, the unbearable heft of my body moored to the open seat, yet I struggle to meet the eyes of the man standing in front of her—Botan, who looms over me like a predator. He takes his time, circling her like a lion stalking its prey, the soft thuds of his boots echoing against the concrete floors. His eyes, dark and intent, tracing every line of my face, studying the slight rise and fall of my chest. The tension crackling in the air, there is a simmering heat in his gaze, something that makes my pulse quicken against my will.

"You’re—you’re not going to hurt me."

His eyes flick up. "And why is that?" The silver from his rings glint with every idle shift of his hands.

"Because... because..."

He cocks his head to the side. "Because what?" A tint of ridicule, his voice low, edged with amusement. He finally stops in front of me, close enough for me to feel the warmth radiating off his body, a sharp contrast to the cold of the room. "Because of who you are? People in my organization couldn’t care less."

Dread twists my insides into innumerable knots. "My father is part of that organization." Renewed disgust bubbles up within me from just uttering those words. "I don’t think your boss would like it if he didn’t get what he wanted. The only way my dad gets the money he owes Haru Black is if I marry Vance Vacheron. I’m worth more to you alive than dead."

He gives me a long, appraising look.

"Bella, Bella," he says. Dark delight tugs his lips into a one-sided smirk. "You are not wrong. You are worth so much more,’ he says in a way that implies something profound. "You are invaluable... as you were. Not as you are now."

I can’t dare myself to ask what he means. Still struggling to hold eye contact, my jaw set in a tight line. The silence stretches between us, thick and oppressive.

He bends forward, just enough so that his breath brushes against my ear as he speaks. "All the billions in the world are not worth a compromised asset. It’s like a gut wound draining you of life, slowly. And that’s what you became the moment you decided to follow your father."

Tears spill from my eyes, and my head shakes too many times. "Please don’t kill him."

He shrugs carelessly. "He still serves a purpose."

"And me? What are you going to do to me?"

The question sets his eyes alight, burning with something too powerful to name. The subtle graze of his fingers against my cheek pulls my attention unwillingly. It’s light, almost imperceptible, but enough to slip a shiver down my spine. The rough pads of his fingers trailed down my jaw, slow and deliberate, as if he’s testing her resolve with each idle stroke. My skin prickles where he touches me, a sensation that is both unsettling and electric.

"Are you going to take care of me like you took care of Haru’s other problems?"

I garner the courage to look him straight in his eyes because I want to know if they’re the last pair I’ll ever see. My heart hammers in her chest, but I try to hold an unreadable expression, though the slight tremor in my fingers betrays me. He notices.

"Because that’s what you do, right? You’re his dog. His wolf."

He breaks into a grin, a flash of light. His lips curl into a knowing smirk as he straightens, fingers now trailing down my neck in a whisper of contact. He isn’t rough, not yet, but the way he toys with the boundary between threat and something else entirely is maddening. He’s playing with me, and I cannot deny the friction; the feeling of the push and pull of the game between us.

"Are you calling me Haru’s bitch?"

I shake my head quickly. "Worse. You’re a killer... and now I’m just another name on the list."

His smile turns void, a dark emotion steeling his features. He flashes to me, his veiny hands mounting onto the arms of the metal chair, gripping it so hard his muscles ripples through his forearms. His breath of fire licks over my lips, his face devastatingly close, causing my pulse to stutter.

He takes out the gun again. I stiffen. He uses it to motion me upwards, signaling for me to stand up. I rise cautiously with my trembling hands elevated to my shoulders. He swivels the gun around and hands it to me.

"Take it. Now."

More tears slip out. I use my jacket sleeve to wipe them away before I take it into my grasp, a bit heavier than I anticipated and just as terrifying to feel as I imagined.

"Aim it at me."

I gawk at him, my mouth rounding, lower lip quivering.

"Aim it at me. Or should I take it and show you how? Perhaps I’ll demonstrate on your father, because let me tell you now. He would never hesitate."

I break into smattering snorts, followed by a desperate sob. "Please."

"Last time. Aim it at me."

I shake my head brokenly, choked by a sob, a silent cry fleeing my mouth. He holds the pistol right and shoves me down into the chair before he presses the barrel of the gun against my forehead. The whole ordeal wrings out a tremulous cry from me, my eyes clamped shut, shaking in the cold metal seat.

"You hesitate; your enemies won’t. You show mercy; you won’t live to regret it. I was advised to keep you in the dark about who your real father is and the danger that he has put you in. He said we’re the danger because we’re the criminals. At least we’re not hiding it. Haru was never the threat to you."

My eyes peel open, tears turn my vision glassy. His eyes are filled with something predatory, but not entirely without fascination. There is a perilous power between them, something neither of us can ignore. There’s a dangerous heat between us, setting the fragile line aflame—what separates us burns away, yet in the fire, we are bound together, by everything we resist and the slow-burning yearning beneath the scant surface.

"You lie."