Chapter 183: 183-The offer (2)
"I said, shut up!" Her voice cracked bitterly through the trees, and for a moment, the man said nothing more before he smiled faintly. The smile was chilling, and it forced Freya to take a step back.
"Good. Keep that anger. You’ll need it for what’s to come."
Freya glared at him. "What do you want from me?" She asked, intending to shoo him off as soon as possible and get back to figuring out how to kill her undead heart.
"An agreement."
"With a stranger?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Are you insane?"
"No, not with a stranger but with someone offering you a choice that i know you need more than me," he rose to his feet. "Work for me, and I’ll teach you how to become the best hybrid that you can be."
Freya stared at him. The word meant nothing and everything at once because it was the identity she carried with her at present. The name used to call forth both her werewolf and vampire side at the same place.
"A hybrid?" She said, practising the word on her tongue. It was scratchy as it came out, and it made her soul recoil in resistance.
She had lived all her life as a werewolf. Just as she had grown to love herself for who she was, fate changed her making and added her mortal enemy as part of her gene.
"A creature capable of existing between bloodlines. You will no longer be confined to the limits of a werewolf, nor will you have to live as prey to vampires. You will learn to understand the changes taking place inside your body and control the power that comes with them."
Freya’s breathing quickened. She wanted to believe him. Gods, she wanted to believe him, but she had been betrayed too many times to accept an offer simply because it sounded like salvation.
"And what do you get in return?"
His smile widened. He stepped forward, bringing them closer to each other. "There she is. I was beginning to worry you’d lost your instincts along with your blood," he praised her rather than rush off to declare his desires.
He clasped his hands behind his back. "I have work that needs to be done. You have abilities that could be useful to me. Work for me, follow my instructions, and I’ll teach you everything I know."
"And if I refuse?" She weighed her options, but she had a feeling that the powerful vampire I front of her was the sort not to take no for an answer.
"Then you leave."
Freya blinked. He didn’t sound disappointed or sound angry at the idea of her walking away from his offer. He sounded as though he genuinely didn’t care whether she accepted or not, and that unsettled her more than a threat would have.
If the vampire didn’t need her, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to come to her and make her an offer. It disturbed her to see how calm her was, almost as though he had a secondary plan and a way to make her agree if she refused now.
"But understand this," he continued. "The world is changing. The blood moon has awakened forces that have remained dormant for generations. Your former pack will come looking for you, and the vampire who bit you may not be the last creature interested in what you’re becoming," he extended a hand. "Work for me, and I’ll give you something your pack never did."
Freya looked at his hand but didn’t take it. She remained cautious because she was dealing with a being more powerful and a vampire who had existed so long that the tricks up his sleeves were beyond anything her youth couldn’t comprehend.
"What is that?" She asked, hoping to get the gist of what she was getting herself into before she took that horrifying step.
"A place in this world where you write your own rules and do whatever you want without falling weak to either part of you."
The words struck deeper than she wanted to admit it did. A place she could exist, not a cage that would contain her and force her to his will and not a role assigned by an Alpha or a body whose blood everyone wanted to use.
A place where she could exist without begging others for permission. The freedom to right her own rules and exist in a place where she decides everything about her life. It sounded tempting. Her fingers trembled.
"What happens if I become something neither humans, vampires, nor werewolves accept?"
The man’s expression grew unreadable. "Then we’ll make a place for you where none of them can decide your worth," he continued with his offer. "Don’t worry about vampires. They’ll never cause trouble for you if you walk with me and as for the werewolves, they’ll regret it deeply if they ever come after one of my people and as for humans...hahaha...they’ll burn it they dared look at you wrong."
"Are you that powerful?"
Freya looked toward the moon. She thought about the pack and the true Alpha. The years she had spent trying to survive among people who saw her as a weakness until they discovered her blood might make them stronger, and then she looked back at the stranger.
"Who are you?"
This time, he answered. "Someone who knows what it means to be underestimated, and yes, i am very powerful... I happen to be older than the existence of the first werewolf, so believe me. They aren’t a threat to me or those who ally with me."
He lowered his hand. "You may call me the Master. Most of my allies do."
Freya stared at him for a long moment. She didn’t trust him, but she had nowhere to go, no strength left to fight another battle, and no desire to return to the life that had nearly killed her.
Slowly, she reached for his hand, and the Master helped her to her feet. "Good," he said. "Your training begins when your body can withstand it. And trust me, you’ve made the right decision. "
Freya swayed. He caught her before she fell. "One more thing," he added, and she looked up at him. "Never assume that because someone offers you a place in this world, they intend to let you leave it whenever you wish."
Freya’s eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat?"
"No," his gaze lifted toward the moon as his free hand moved to touch the braids in his hair. "It’s a warning."
Beneath Freya’s skin, her heart continued to beat with a strength that no ordinary werewolf should have possessed. "What’s your real name?" Freya asked.
"Even if I tell you, you won’t remember it."
"Try me."
He looked down at her and spoke, his eyes glowing silver bright. "My name is Vonvaki," he whispered.
"Vonvaki?" Freya repeated. Not knowing the vampire history, Freya didn’t recognize the name. She didn’t know what it meant. Then Vaki smiled, and his eyes settled back to normal.
Freya blinked and looked up at him. "Are you ever going to tell me your name?" She asked, lacking every memory of ever hearing it.
Vaki’s smile deepened. "One day when we’ve gotten close... I’ll tell you."