Chapter 5 Wrong, Firecracker

• ARYA
• Several minutes ago,
• I was just putting on my clothes after a long shower when I heard a knock on the door of the room. Flinching, I slipped on my dress before heading to the door. A woman stood there. I recognized her to be one of the women who'd prepared me for my first night in the house.
• She eyed me with disdain.
• “Aunt Sally asked for you. She's in the kitchen," she said, and I nodded. Just before I could walk past her, she grabbed my forearm, her nails digging into my flesh.
• “Be careful, newbie. You don't want to end up like his first mate. You're no different from the rest of us. You merely exist for his satisfaction," she stated with a flat voice.
• My stomach churned at her words. The air seemed to press in around me, suffocating me, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe.
• Rest of us?
• Did it mean that there were other girls who served to satisfy his sexual needs and offer him their blood?"
• “What happened to his first mate?" I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper.
• The woman's gaze hardened, her fingers tightening around my arm.
• “He killed her," she droned, pivoting on her heels to walk away from me.
• …Back to the present...
• I had hit a nerve. It was obvious from the look on his face. His eyes glowed menacingly as his fingers tightened around my throat. I instantly regretted the words I'd just spoken, but it was too late now. I used to pride myself on being able to read the room and lie low to protect myself. But for some reason, I'd grown much more reckless than I'd ever been.
• “Where did you hear that from?" He asked in an icy voice, and I painfully swallowed hard, clawing at his hand.
• I was gasping for air now, my eyes bulging in their sockets. All of a sudden, he released me, and I crumpled to the floor, coughing and sputtering as my lungs strained for air.
• When I could breathe again, I looked up and found that he was long gone. I wondered what he was going to do if he discovered the person who'd told me about his dead mate.
• Picking myself up from the floor, I slipped out of his study and started to head towards my room when I noticed that he was at the bottom of the stairs with a stranger I hadn't seen before. The stranger's green eyes met mine for a second before refocusing on my master. Quickly, I pressed myself against the wall to hide.
• “Your control is slipping, Daxton," I heard the stranger say. The tribrid alpha stayed silent, and his companion let out a sigh.
• “I heard you went to see the keeper of the Moonstone last night. There are rumours that you killed her to steal the stone," he continued, and my chest tightened, tears welling up in my eyes when I realized that he was talking about my mother.
• “Have you been stalking me?" Alpha Daxton demanded.
• “Definitely not," the stranger quickly replied.
• “I just need to know if you really did what you've been accused of."
• “There's a mouse listening in on us," Alpha Daxton suddenly said, and I moved away from the passage way immediately.
• I did not stop moving until I got to my assigned room.
• Leaning against the door, I closed my eyes. Tears slipped down my cheeks because I knew the truth. That monster must've killed my mother to steal a stone. But why?
• Was that all my mother's life was worth?
• A choked sob escaped my lips, a frown creasing my brows when I noticed the envelope on the small mattress in the room.
• Confused, I approached it with a mixture of dread and curiosity. I picked it up, my fingers trembling as I pulled out the paper inside. The handwritten message was simple, but it held the weight of a crushing blow:
• ‘Change of plans. You have two missions. The first is to find the Moonstone. The second is to kill the Tribrid alpha. Failure to complete these missions in six months guarantees your sister's death.'
• Sinking down to my bed, I buried my face in my trembling hands. Now that I knew that the alpha was linked to the moonstone, there was no backing out. Especially since my sister's life depended on it.
• …
• Later at night.
• Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door and waited for a response. I didn't know what was waiting for me on the other side, and I had a feeling that no matter how hard I prepared, I would never be ready for it. "Come in," he finally said, and I pushed the door open.
• Unlike the first night I'd come here, the lights were on. His pleasant scent greeted me when I came in, and if he weren't such a terrible person, hugging him would've been quite the experience.
• Shaking my head to ward off the disgusting thought, I walked further into the room. Alpha Daxton was seated on a fancy chair; he had his attention fixed on the phone in his hand. For a few seconds, I stood in his room, awkwardly awaiting his next statement.
• After a couple of minutes, he looked up at me and rose to his feet, shoving his phone into the pocket of his black pants. Keeping my head down, I clenched my fists, willing my racing heart to calm down.
• “You really came," he pointed out, and I clenched my jaw in annoyance.
• “Yes, master," I replied, and he moved closer to me until he was standing right before me.
• “Did you have a nice time eavesdropping?" He drawled, and I stiffened, keeping my head low.
• “It was an accident," I mumbled, and he hooked a finger under my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes.
• My breath caught in my throat, my breathing quickening.
• “I don't think so," he droned, and I panicked, worried that he'd somehow figured out my intentions.
• “W-what do you mean?" I croaked, and he blinked, his face devoid of any expression.
• “You hate me so badly, you would take the risk to poison me. Not to mention the fact that you easily recognized me. I believe this hatred of yours stems from something personal," he continued.
• Swallowing hard, I defiantly held his gaze.
• “What are you going to do about it? Get rid of me because you're afraid I might really kill you?"
• The words had barely left my lips when he leaned in and kissed me, stealing the air from my lungs. My knees went weak, a wave of dizziness washing over me.
• I should've pulled away. But the moment his lips touched mine, every rational thought vaporized into nothing. And all that was left was the dangerous spark of attraction that fuelled my unnatural desire for him.
• When he pulled away to look at me, his eyes glinted with amusement and mischief.
• “Wrong, firecracker. I won't get rid of you," he stated, the sound of his deep voice sending goosebumps spreading across my skin.
• “I, Daxton Kylan Eastwood, accept you, Arya Nightshade, as my fated mate," he uttered, and a gasp slipped out of my lips. Without giving me any more time to process his shocking statement, he crashed his lips against mine for the second time.
• I knew right then that I was in for a dangerous game.