A Shade of Kiev (A Shade of Vampire #8)(20)
Author: Bella Forrest

I raised a brow at her.

“Yes,” she said, “we do have the same system as The Tavern. If you stay with us in our community, then you must contribute.”

“Continue,” I muttered.

“The time of most vampires and werewolves is spent on guard duty around the walls of this island. They keep watch and alert the rest of us if any pirates are spotted within a five-mile radius.”

“And how many hours—”

“You, on the other hand,” she interrupted, “will have a different duty from the rest of us.” She stopped walking and looked up at me. “But before I reveal it to you, you must promise me that you won’t tell anybody about this. Not a soul. Not even Matteo. Do you promise?”

I frowned at her. “What are you—”

“And you must understand that if you break this promise, I’ll have you thrown off of this island.”

I didn’t know what to make of this wolf. The mild demeanor she’d assumed around me up until now completely contradicted the words that came out of her mouth.

“Excuse me? Who are you to issue commands to me, anyway? You’re not even the captain of this—”

“Oh, yes. Everyone calls Matteo the captain,” the wolf chuckled. “But Matteo and I rule over this place jointly. In fact, I have more influence than him over who gets what task on this island.”

She watched me for my reaction. I stared down at her, furious at how helpless I was. She had me in a corner, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I nodded reluctantly.

“What’s that?” she asked as though she were speaking to a child. “Is that you agreeing, son? You need to spell it out for old Saira, dear, so I’m sure I’m not just imagining things. Do you promise not to tell a soul?”

“Yes,” I muttered.

“Yes, what?”

“I promise.”

“Ah, good.” Her mouth split into a grin. “So, your task is to become Mona’s friend.”

My jaw dropped.

“What?”

“Oh, your hearing is quite adequate.” She smiled up at me. “I’m sure you heard.”

“Are you insane?”

She laughed. “Well, that’s really beside the point, isn’t it?”

I struggled to find words to express my disbelief.

“I have no idea what you’re asking of me,” I concluded.

“What don’t you understand about it? I’m sure I worded it quite—”

The wolf’s way of answering questions while providing no answers at all exasperated me. “Why the hell do you want me to become Mona’s friend?” I asked, my voice growing louder with each word I spoke.

“You don’t need to know that. You just need to obey. And hush,” she whispered, knocking her paw against my leg. “You promised to keep quiet about this.”

I inhaled deeply, calling on the crisp night air to calm my flaring temper.

“So is this why you rescued me?” I asked.

“Not necessarily,” she replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I spat.

“I’m not saying becoming Mona’s friend will always be the only task you’re assigned while you’re on this island. Once you become her friend, it’s more than likely that I’ll assign you a new task.”

I grabbed a branch and ripped it from its trunk, snapping it over my leg in frustration.

Calm down. You can’t afford to lose it with this wolf.

“What does becoming her friend even mean?”

“Well, right now she insists that you are not her friend,” Saira said. “So we need to have the opposite situation.”

“Which means?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Spend time with her. Make her want to spend time with you. Make her happy. Make her like you. And look out for her.”

Her last words almost sent me over the edge. I had to pause for a few moments in an attempt to rein myself in.

“Look at me,” I said, my voice murderously low. “Is this the face of a babysitter?”

Saira smiled again. That placid, patronizing smile. “I didn’t say I wanted you to babysit her,” she said. “Looking after her is just part of your friendship.”

“But she hates me!” I hissed. “What makes you think she’d ever want me to befriend her?”

“Ah,” Saira said, winking at me. “That’s where your magic comes in. You need to win her over with your charms.”

“I have no charms,” I seethed.

“All men have charms. Some just choose to ignore them.”

“And what if I fail?”

“You’ll have to leave. Sorry, dear. There has to be something at stake here or you may not put in your full effort.”

“And if by some miracle I succeed?” I scowled.

“Next time I ask Mona if you are her friend, she will say yes. After that, I promise you can have some other duty, like guarding the wall at night.”

Seeing me still pacing up and down, she sighed and said, “Look, you’re a good-looking fellow. You’ll manage. Relax. Just be yourself.”

Be yourself.

I smiled bitterly at the notion.

“And just remember: if Mona, Matteo, or anyone else finds out that you are becoming her friend because of an order, you’ll be off this island before you can say Saira.”

Chapter 21: Kiev

Saira led me deeper into the woods until we reached the banks of a lake. She indicated a small lake house in the center and informed me that this was Mona’s home. And after that, she refused to say another word to me. She turned away and sprinted back toward the tunnels, forcing me to chase after her. I asked further questions of her as we ran, but she ignored them all.

On arriving outside the dirt hole that was now to be my home, I followed her inside. She led me along a passageway and stopped outside a door. She pushed it open and gestured for me to enter.

This room was no different to any of the other rooms I had seen earlier in this place. As I sat down on the mattress, Saira pushed the door closed and scampered away.

I still had not even the faintest clue why the wolf had given me this senseless task. Why did Mona even need my friendship? Surely there were plenty of other creatures on this island she’d known longer than me, who would be better candidates if Saira really was insistent on her having company.

Mona had already admitted to me that she liked being alone. Why would Saira want to make her miserable by forcing her to be around people?