Silver's Arc

Chapter 2 of 10

Silver pulled on his clothes as the stranger stood waiting. The chest sat between them, coins gleaming in the moonlight. Three nights of protection for payment. Simple. But something about the way they'd touched his fur without fear made him want to believe this could mean more than a job. Maybe not a mate, but proof that someone could accept what he was. The stranger moved toward the coffin, but Silver stepped forward first. He needed to settle the deal properly, make sure the payment was real before he let hope dig in any deeper. He reached for the chest, but the stranger's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. "Wait," they said. Their grip was ice cold. Silver pulled back, and the stranger's face shifted—something wild flickered behind those mismatched eyes. Before Silver could speak, the stranger grabbed the chest and smashed it against the tavern steps behind them. Wood splintered. Coins scattered across the ground and disintegrated into ash on impact. Among the gray dust, a glass vial rolled free, still intact. Dark red liquid sloshed inside, hanging from a silver chain. Vampire blood. Not payment. Bait. The stranger snatched it up and backed toward the coffin. "I needed you to agree first," they said. "The protection is still required. But the cost is negotiable." Silver felt the door inside him close. Not anger. Just the familiar weight of someone lying to get what they wanted. He'd stayed through worse for people who claimed to care, and they'd still left. This stranger had touched his fur without flinching, but that touch had been part of the con. He looked at the pile of ash where the coins had been, then at the stranger clutching their vial. "No," Silver said. The word came out flat. He turned and walked into the trees, leaving the stranger and their coffin behind. The wolf in him howled, but he didn't look back. Some things weren't worth staying for.