4

The wall is white and there's a clock ticking away in the empty room. He'd insisted we relocate. It echoes with emptiness. And the ticking off that clock. There's a ringing in my ears. I pull my left lobe and blink.

"It's your pheromones," Clark proclaims, setting the proclamation down as if it were a heavy burden, clearing his throat. That's his name. Clark. The one who brought me here.

"Pheromones?" I echo. My voice sounds distorted in the room, but I note that it's hoarse. Barely there.

"Your pheromones are very compatible with the Alpha of this pack," his tented fingers shake, "And he needs you."

I look away from the wall, finally letting my eyes fall on Clark. “Needs me for…?” my fave twitches, “I know this isn’t just charity work. What do you want me to do? It must be big.” Anger rises in me. Of course, they want something in return. No good deed is free in this world it seems.

He purses his lips letting his tented fingers fall to the table. He taps them and sighs. "To be his omega...his partner."

"Sexually?"

Clark glances away, pushes his glasses up his nose and sighs once more. "Yes. It would just be until his pheromones leveled up. You can say no..."

"But?"

"But you'll have to leave. Go back...out there. If you choose to stay, we'll have someone come to teach you how to live in this world. Get acquainted with it. We'll give you a place to stay after, your own house,"

I zone out and focus on the ticking of the clock, tap my fingers on the thin, metal arm of the chair I'm into the rhythm of it.

"Or...if you'd prefer to travel, we could arrange for a ticket."

My eyes snap to his once more. So it’s not particularly malicious, just convenient. The realization is something akin to relief. They need something from me—I need something for them.

“So it’s a cooperation then. You need me for my pheromones and I need you for protection and a place to stay. Is that pretty much the long and short of it?”

It’s the most important thing—safety. I can’t take another incident. This place is strange and alien. I want to find a hole and stay in it, away from the odd inhabits of this desolate planet.

"That’s the gist, yes. We’ll take you anywhere you want to go if there is...family you want to find. It seems you have an aunt out there. We'd we help you find her—"

"I'll do it." It's weak and soft, a barely there whisper. Family. He said that with surety. Does he know my family? Maybe he even knows where to find them. It’s something I note, but I can’t focus on that now. First and foremost I have to survive: and it seems like going with them is my best chance. I’ll figure my past out there, especially since it seems I may find answers here.

"You'll—hm—what? You'll do it?"

I nod. There's no real option. Go back to the hellscape or don't. Even without all the extra perks, just not being out there...I shudder at the thought. Death. The emptiness of being a corpse, the loss of my soul—I want to survive and I don’t want to die knowing nothing about myself.

"Then...I'll take you to see him."

• • •

The corridor we walk down is long and winding, with intricately painted doors along the path. My heart pounds with every step I take. My fingers tremble, making me tuck them into my thumb, rolling my hand into a fist.

The side of the mouth twitches. What am I in for? Did I just jump out of the frying pan and into the fire?

The sounds of Clark's cane against the floors come to a halt.

"We're here."

The door is open. Clark walks in, pushing it open with his cane. I walk behind him.

The room is dark, with one window illuminates a large figure in the back of the room. He's dressed in an all-black uniform, his face shrouded in shadow, but somehow his eyes break from the darkness. They're grey and volatile.

He has a strong sense of presence like a beast, solemn and awe-inspiring. His body is chiseled, every muscle defined, and sturdy. Kane looks carved out of marble, stunning to behold. He leans on his haunches like a predator.

He’s formidable, his shoulders broad, the veins in his arms twitching as he flexes his arm

"Leave, Clark."

Clark opens his mouth but nods and hobbles away.

And then there were two. It's a study it seems, this room, lined with shelves, books, maps, and paperwork. I tremble in place.

As my eyes adjust to the darkness I finally find his silhouette. He sits at a desk, his head bent, a pair of glasses far down in his nose, a book in his hand.

"Come here," he commands, not looking up, patting his knee. I stare at it; then at him and take a shuddering breath. But I don't move.

A moment passes.

He raises his head, cocks it, and narrows his eyes. The silent demand is not lost on me. The air around me is thick and oppressive with his impatience.

I shuffle toward him.

"Take that off," he murmurs, tapping the back of his neck.

I pull it off lightly, mere steps from him now, and hold it in my hands. I stand next to his seat and shift in my place.

Maybe he was joking—

He snatches me, hand palming my ass the drag me to him, then pulling my waist to sit me down on his lap. His body against mine is warm and strong just like I’d imagined but it does little to ease my discomfort.

Even still, despite my wariness despite the fact he’s a stranger, my fingers tremble to touch him, to rest on his shoulders, and curl into his warmth.

The wolf inside me whines but it seems distant, and indecipherable, like a language I’ve forgotten to speaks it makes sense. I don’t remember anything else, why would I remember how to control and communicate with my wolf?

"Don't move." his voice thourdered.