Pheromonal: One Night With the Alpha-Chapter 119: Or Else

I slide my hands from Vale’s grip, careful to keep the movement casual despite every cell in my body screaming to run. "You’re being awfully kind all of a sudden."

"Am I not allowed moments of compassion?" His lips curve, but the expression doesn’t reach his eyes. "After all, we share similar goals."

"And what goals would those be?"

"Your safety. Your education. Your... evolution." He leans back, crossing one leg over the other with fluid grace. "The Moons were likely crude in their methods, I’ll grant you that. But their basic premise isn’t entirely wrong."

My stomach lurches. "Kidnapping and torture seem pretty wrong to me." It’s also strange that he knows exactly who had me. Maybe it isn’t strange; maybe they knew all along. But it just makes everything even weirder and hard to stomach.

I take a deep breath and fold my hands in my lap to stop their trembling. It feels like the purple lines are writhing beneath my skin, even though I can’t see them.

But I need to know.

"Are you a dragon, too?"

"Yes." Vale’s voice carries no inflection, as if commenting on the weather. "Does that frighten you?"

"No." My hands betray me with a slight shake. "I’m not that easy to scare."

His lips quirk up at my obvious lie, and his nostrils flare. The gesture reminds me of Xavier’s predatory assessment, how he could smell my fear. Dragons and their heightened senses—I wonder what other tells I’m giving away.

Then he sighs and settles back in his chair, the leather creaking under his weight. "Let me be clear, Ms. d’Armand. I care very little about your well-being."

The blunt admission catches me off guard. I narrow my eyes, studying his face for any hint of deception. "Really?"

"Does that hurt your feelings?"

"No." A laugh bubbles up, surprising even me. "Actually, I’m relieved you’re finally being a little honest."

His deep laugh fills the room, rich and genuine—nothing like the calculated expressions from before. "I find myself appreciating your candor, Ms. d’Armand."

"Thank you."

His gaze rakes over me before he finally nods. "You will be enrolled at Thornheights Academy. This is non-negotiable."

Thornheights? "Don’t you mean Thornhaven?"

His lips tighten, and his words turn cold. "Does it matter?"

"I was just—I mean, it could be a different academy entirely." How do you forget the name of your own magical academy?

A frown creases his forehead before smoothing away, apparently deciding there’s no point in continuing that thread of conversation. "What matters is that I have no interest in your mental or physical well-being. My only concern is your magic."

The temperature in the room drops several degrees in an instant. Knowing he doesn’t care about me is one thing; hearing it from his own mouth is another.

"Let me be perfectly clear—if you cannot control yourself, you will be disposed of. You’re nothing but a liability if you continue killing people around you."

My hands shake in my lap. I don’t want to hurt anyone else either. Five people are more than enough. No one should ever have to die because of me.

"However, due to your connection with one of my best soldiers, I’m willing to put forth the effort to train you."

"What’s the catch?" There’s obviously a big one.

"You’ll need to voluntarily enter a contract. One that protects both us and you."

Ah. The mysterious contract. I’m guessing it’s the same kind Logan’s constrained by.

But part of his claim doesn’t ring true. "Does it really protect me?"

His lips twitch upward. "Well, you don’t seem fond of the alternative."

Oh.

Oh.

I get it. It’s not that the contract protects me; it’s that choosing the contract is the only way for me to live. It’s about becoming one of them instead of being erased from existence entirely.

Dirty games.

But even as I piece that together, another thing clicks.

Something’s strange about all of this. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Despite Logan’s inability to tell me anything, I know he wouldn’t voluntarily put me in danger. And throwing me into the lap of people who don’t care if I live or die—that doesn’t seem like the kind of thing he would do.

I’m pretty sure this guy isn’t lying when he says he’ll dispose of me if I can’t gain control, and that makes sense. I’d even say it doesn’t technically bother me. Of course, I don’t want to die... But if I was some sort of terrible living death sentence for innocent people around me, it makes sense. But there’s just something strange...

And Logan said he wouldn’t hurt me.

Maybe it’s stupid to push this man. He’s a dragon, and dragons don’t—apparently—have human morals. Maybe pissing him off is signing my death sentence.

But something deep inside me tells me that I should push. That I shouldn’t take things at face value. Straightening my shoulders, I meet his stare head-on, my fear melting away.

"If there’s a contract, my lawyer will look it over. I won’t sign anything that isn’t beneficial to me."

His brow quirks.

"And while I believe you don’t care about me..." My eyes narrow. "I don’t think that’s true of your superiors. Is it?"

Both brows wing up now, and he barks out another laugh. "I underestimated your spunk, Ms. d’Armand. Very well. Let me kindly request your cooperation with enrollment at Thornhaven," and he stresses the name with utmost politeness. "As for the contract, am I correct to assume that your lawyer would be Marcus Ashby?"

It doesn’t surprise me that this man knows about the lawyer’s visit to my room. It’s a complete bluff, but I nod with confidence. "Yes."

He sighs. "I’ll look into the contract before providing it to your..." His grimace of distaste leaves me curious. "Lawyer."

Sensing that I’ve won something, though I’m not sure what, I press a little harder. "This contract of yours isn’t strictly necessary. Is it, Chancellor Vale?"

Amusement flashes across his face. "No, Ms. d’Armand. It is, after all, completely voluntary."

"Am I to understand that I will be disposed of if I don’t sign it?"

"Of course not." Standing, he tucks his hands into his pockets. "We don’t do that kind of thing around here. After all, our contracts are purely voluntary."

His smooth-ass lie comes off his tongue like it’s nothing. This man has an agenda and doesn’t mind playing the bad guy to get it. Or a good guy. He’s a freaking chameleon-dragon.

But something in my gut tells me I have the upper hand here. It might not seem that way at first, but these people really want me to cooperate of my own free will. It seems to be important.

The not-panther comes to mind, breaking into Penelope’s place to tell me something strange. That the dragons wanted me at my lowest, with nowhere to go and nowhere to trust. There’s only one reason for that. They wanted to save me. They wanted my loyalty.

It wasn’t until their plans were foiled that they kidnapped me.

For some reason, my consent seems to be very important to these people.

I’m not stupid enough to think I’m safe from being eliminated if they think it’s necessary. But there’s definitely something here. Something I don’t quite have a grasp on yet.

Smiling brightly, I push one more time. "Do you think I could get a cell phone? My best friend’s been worried to death about me."

Vale’s face stiffens. His eyes squint just a little as he studies me. "Cell service around here is pretty spotty."

"Oh, I can just connect to your wi-fi then, I’m sure."

He hesitates. "We could always call her on your behalf. Tell her you’re doing okay."

"Or I can have my own phone. Show her I’m not being held somewhere against my will. That would be a fun news headline, don’t you think?" Dialing up the wattage of my smile, I even bat my eyes a little. "Please? As the Chancellor of, er, Security?"

A sigh. That’s definitely a sigh.

Victory.

"Of course, Ms. d’Armand. I’ll look into it."