Karl's POV
I had negotiated with warlords, vampires, and rogue pack kings. I had dominated them, had them feel my strength and cower to my power, but she, she—Dr. Elara Virelle didn't even flinch.
And worse, she unsettled me in the way that no one ever did.
The jet's cabin was her turf. Still, I had never beaten at the game of power before, and I intend to never lose.
Though first, I had to man up to the first loss and sit. The seat was plush and terrifyingly comfy, yet all I felt was hardness, which grew by the minute the more I studied her.
Dr. Elara sat across from me inside her private jet like she owned the world itself—one leg crossed over the other, spine straight, chin lifted just enough to be insulting. Not arrogant. Worse. Unimpressed, and powerful.
She sat like she intended to own the conversation, as much as she owned the jet.
The scent in the cabin was neutral—too neutral. And strangely, beneath it, beneath the technology and the expensive perfume… Something pulled at my chest.
A deep, ancient tug I hadn't felt in five years.
I clenched my jaw. It was impossible. Elaris was dead.
"Are you sure!" my wolf growled inside me.
I ignored it. She was dead, and even if she by some miracle wasn't, we still can't be together. She was…
My jaw clenched tighter, until the whole of my face ached. Why was I even thinking about her? She was past tense, a fleeting memory of something I extremely desired but could never have.
I straightened on the seat. "Moonblood has prepared a contract," I began smoothly, sliding a digital tablet across the small table between us. "We are offering you full autonomy, triple your standard retainer, and unlimited access to our facilities. You will be the highest-ranked healer in any pack—"
"I know," she cut in without even glancing at the tablet. "Every pack in this hemisphere has already made that offer."
Torren shifted beside me. "But we are the powerful pack in the lycan world, and you want to side with power. We are the only ones that can really protect you." He said, interrupting. Too excited like always.
While I didn't understand Darius and believed he was a mystery I could never solve, no matter how hard I tried, I sometimes wished Torren could emulate him. That he could lean against his seat, quiet and watching, and keep the hell away from my negotiation.
I slanted Torren a rebuking stare. He was about to say something else when he caught my hint.
"Okay," he grunted aloud. He leaned back onto his seat, still grumbling irritably.
I ignored him, and I kept my voice even as I returned to the doctor. "I trust you know this is not just business, Dr. Elara. We are asking for your long-term loyalty." I said.
Her lips curved faintly, her eyes glowed with what could be mischief. "Then you should have come with a better opening, Alpha."
The title from her mouth felt like a slap. Aggravation consumed my chest. A low growl threatened to slip from my throat, and I held back as best as I could. I wouldn't lose my cool before her or anyone.
I leaned forward, folding my hands on the table, and from her view. "Might I remind you, doctor. You flew across the world to be here."
"I flew because your pack begged," she replied coolly. "There's a difference."
My wolf slammed against my ribs again.
Mate.
I inhaled slowly through my nose. Her scent… it felt almost like a particular jasmine scent from five years ago, but I knew it couldn't be the same.
For some reason, I couldn't comprehend, my eyes trailed lower down her face, to her body, and I found myself wondering what she looked like beneath her grey coat. Wondering if her curves would match the sublime beauty of her face. Wondering…
Hell! Why am I even thinking about all that? I pushed my mind back to the task at hand, lifting my eyes back to her studying gaze. Usually, I was the one doing the staring, waiting for the other person to break. Somehow, she'd completely flipped the table on me.
"Why Moonblood?" I asked, relaxing my back gently against the seat. I allow the tension in me cool off. "If you truly have better offers."
I caught her eyes flick to Darius for just a heartbeat, before returning to me.
"Because your pack bleeds the most."
Torren swore softly.
My lips thinned. "Care to explain?" I demanded.
"I specialize in broken things, medically," she said. "And from what I've heard, Moonblood is rotting from the inside."
Silence fell like a blade between the four of us. It was so loud, it almost deafened me, until Torren broke it.
"Watch your tongue, woman," he snapped.
She didn't even look at him.
I did.
"Enough, Torren."
He backed down, resuming his low, rebellious grunts again.
I turned back to her. "You are here because we requested your expertise for our wounded soldiers. That's all."
She tilted her head slightly. "That's what you told your deltas. But that isn't why you personally came to fetch me when I asked for you, Alpha Karl."
Her gaze bored into me. "You're looking for a miracle. A miracle only I am capable of." She said. Her level of confidence betrayed her petite frame. She was too confident for her own good. And I fucking hated it.
"Your pack is dying," she continued calmly. "Your soldiers are falling from a strange disease outbreak. Your pack's strength and power are declining by the day." Her eyes sharpened. "You're desperate, Alpha Karl."
My muscles flexed on the seat, fury sluiced up my veins with a force like a tsunami. The weight of her stare pressed heavily on me, as if waiting for me to break. I wouldn't give her that satisfaction.
I made my voice free from aggravation as I spoke. "We are dealing with the outbreak just fine—"
"If you were, then you wouldn't call for me," she interrupted softly.
I tried to counter, and I stopped. I am beat, and I know it. She'd done her research, and she was spot on. I shouldn't have underestimated her from the beginning.
She rose slowly to her feet, heels clicking against the jet floor as she faced me. She was smaller than me, but something about her presence made her feel quite untouchable.
And worse, something about her pulled me to her like a chain, one I couldn't break out of.
I have seen my fair share of beautiful women, dated some, but never had one rattle me like she was doing today, and never has one pumped me so full of desire that my fingers tingled from the want of grabbing her to my body.
My eyes eagerly followed every movement she made, like they were tethered to her.
"You don't want a healer, Alpha Karl," she said. "You want a savior. And saviors do not beg."
While I was still thinking of a perfect response for probably the first time in my life, Darius cleared his throat.
"Perhaps," he said smoothly, "we should remember why we're here, Dr. Virelle."
What the hell was he doing, butting in? I shot him a questioning look. He met it without flinching.
"Dr. Virelle," he continued, "you came because Moonblood can give you something no other pack can."
Her brow arched, curious. "And what is that?"
"A throne to stand beside."
Her gaze slid to him slowly, then me, and then back to him. Interest flickered in her blue eyes. Or perhaps not blue. Her lenses were too static to be real. She must be wearing contact lenses.
But why would she be hiding her eyes?
I turned to Darius before he said something that damns the pack. "Moonblood does not share power—" I started.
"She isn't asking for it," he cut in, rudely. "She's offering it."
I stared hard at my brother.
He had on that dangerous calm on his face. The one he wore when he was ten steps ahead of everyone else, scheming something. The bastard was always silent, always a mystery, and always scheming something behind everyone's back.
He turned to her. "Moonblood will grant you Alpha-level authority within our borders. And you will answer to no one but the Alpha line. Your facilities will be sovereign, and your staff untouchable," he promised her.
Torren's head snapped toward him. "You can't—"
"I can," Darius countered. "And you know it."
I ground my teeth. I could have stopped him. My decision was final, but the look on the doctor's face said he might be getting somewhere. Though I hated that he butted into my negotiation.
Dr. Virelle watched him with a calculating gaze. "And in return?" she asked.
Darius smiled faintly. "That you stay," he answered.
I felt something cold slide down my spine.
Her lips curved slowly, and then, finally, a real smile.
"That," she said, "is the first intelligent thing I've heard since I landed."
She turned back to me, downplaying her insult with a fake smile.
"Congratulations, Alpha Karl. You have yourself a deal," she leaned out her hand to me.
I should have felt victorious. Instead, I felt low, lower than I have ever felt. "Yes, a deal," I grunted, taking her hand.