Under the vampire Lord's protection
Chapter 225: The bargain

Chapter 225: The bargain

For a good chunk of time, Cynric merely glared at her steady figure with nothing to say in return.

Arabella maintained eye contact like Silas had never seen her do before. Part of him stung as she never stared him in the eyes for that long, but another part wished to never be on the receiving end of such a heavy scowl.

"Can you read them?" the wolfman finally spoke.

"Not yet," she shook her head while never looking away for a second, "But I know where to start in order to decipher this writing,"

"But only if I promise not to hurt my own son, you said," a chuckle escaped him.

"I’ve seen enough of you to know you are capable of bringing harm to him,"

The teeth grinding came not from Cynric but from Ayyura who always seemed to be more offended than others.

"Children need discipline," he stated firmly.

"What worries me isn’t the what but the how of your methods," her eyes narrowed momentarily before softening when they fell on the blissful face of Remus. He never completely closed his mouth when sleeping, "I’ve tried carrying him on my own back, you know, but he turned out to be a lot heavier than I thought. I suppose the bone density of a wolf child far exceeds that of a human child his age," the smile at the corner of her lips that was once shy, grew brighter.

"You say you can decipher this writing, I say fine," Cynric crossed his arms over his chest, "But how do we do it then? Do you volunteer yourself to follow me tonight?"

"I won’t be going anywhere with you,"

Once again, Silas’ features reflected nothing, but her words, uttered in such a direct and sharp manner were as soothing as balm applied with care right on his aching heart.

But she did not stop there, "This isn’t my property and therefore I cannot invite you but, perhaps I can get permission for Remus to travel back and forth between us," at those words, her eyes flickered onto Silas.

The vampire kept quiet and waited for the rest to come.

"What makes you think I’d willingly send my own son onto a vampire’s territory?" even then, he kept a nonchalant air, but the tapping of his finger over his own arm gave away some of his frustration.

"Well, then you may do as you wish with your son, and you may as well keep fighting the entirety of the population in the surrounding areas for a cave that was never yours to begin with as I am sure that will do wonder for your clan in the years to come and-"

She’d launched into that rant with no prospects of stopping, her voice rising with every syllable until Cynric cut her off, "I never said I declined your offer,"

Arabella finally took a deep breath in order to recover after the feat her vocal cords displayed.

The vampire could’ve sworn the corners of her lips had curled upwards, only fleetingly.

Cynric turned towards Silas, "So what then? Can my brat come and go across your fancy land or what?"

"I suppose we can figure that out in due time," since the beginning of their exchange and after ten minutes of silence on his part that felt like an eternity, Silas had spoken.

"Well, don’t take too long to decide or the deal will expire," Cynric then turned to the vampire carrying Remus, "Let me take my son now,"

However, the instant the wolfman stepped forward, Arabella stood in his way.

"I give you my word for now that I won’t rip his claws out as punishment,"

Her entire face twisted, "Was that your initial punishment?"

In response, Cynric shrugged, "Have you ever tried ripping your nails out? They grow back,"

Unlike Silas, Arabella was not good at concealing her emotions. Upon hearing Cynric’s response, her entire body was overtaken by a wave of shivers, visibly rising from her feet up the highest hair on her head.

"He’ll tell me all about it if you do," the young woman relented, stepping aside to allow him access to his son.

"Do you honestly believe my own son would sell me for that cheap?" he chuckled while taking the boy in his arms.

"Well, if he is as good at keeping secrets as you are then yes. He’d sell everything in a heartbeat,"

Cynric did not seem ticked by her words in the slightest. On the contrary, he looked amused and even feigned surprise.

The way the two of them stared at each other earned yet another pang at Silas’ core, prompting him to clear his throat.

Arabella stepped away from Cynric without any urgency.

As the wolfman inspected his son, his eyebrows furrowed when his eyes landed on his lower back, null doubt at the lack of tail.

"He faced his fears," Arabella volunteered the answer before he could ask.

"He did, didn’t he?" although, Cynric’s question at that moment sounded more rhetorical than plainly spoken. His next words, however, weren’t so much so, "The invitation still stands if you do change your mind, but be quick, age isn’t just a number for your kind," he winked.

"I am afraid I’ll be long dead before that happens,"

With that, Silas and Arabella watched as Cynric retreated back into the forest, that time around without shifting.

His pack members followed closely after him. They too kept their humanoid shape in his image.

"Tonight isn’t as cold as the previous,"

That statement brought Silas’ attention back onto her.

"Indeed," was all that he said at first, "Still, we should head back inside the manor,"

In reply, she simply nodded and followed him only throwing glances at the closing gates behind them from time to time.

"He will keep his word, won’t he?" she muttered.

"I can’t say. He did not keep it last time,"

"But the two of you didn’t fight," she half asked.

"Exactly," Silas paused before continuing, "We were supposed to, but we never did because he broke his word regardless,"