6 A Deal between Partners

Ezlynn looked at his pleased eyes that pierced through her soul. He gracefully smiled an entertained grin,

"Well, then." he stood up, overshadowing Ezlynn's trembling, glaring eyes with his tall height, "Since I am fully loyal to you, please allow me to start tomorrow."

He put his hand over his chest and bowed, walking away and giving Ezlynn one last charming stare.

Ezlynn's trembling gradually stopped as he left the room and she stood up with quite a hardship, her slim legs trembling. What had she done? She was not in a hurry to find a partner since she wanted to devote her life to Werewolves' proliferation, and she had just claimed her future apprentice as her partner. She looked at Collins, who stared back at her with massive confusion and fury. He had loved her all his life, and she had just marked a stranger as her partner. Angered, he aggressively approached her and whispered against her ear,

"What have you done, Ezlynn?"

She remained quiet, then answered with bewilderment,

"I-I don't know, Collins. It was an impulse that I couldn't control, like when there's a full moon and you can't control yourself from becoming a Werewolf."

Collins winced at her, his golden eyes shattered and painful. At last, he finally opened his mouth,

"Tell me with all due honesty, Ezlynn," his tone trembled, "Do you love him?"

"I just met him," Ezlynn responded. "Of course I don't."

"Then WHY?" Collins questioned, his eyes watery.

"I-I couldn't control myself, alright?" the tenderness had returned in her voice, "I didn't want to, either, but I couldn't control it."

Collins paused for a few seconds, looking at her shaking eyes and decided to console her rather than a chastisement,

"Okay, Ezlynn. Whatever makes you happy." he embraced her.

"No, Collins. It was unintentional." Ezlynn said, hugging him back. The anxiety in her voice lead to cessation with his brawny arms wrapping her. Her body stopped trembling as she became comfortable in his embrace. Suddenly, he released her, hearing Embry's footsteps approach the door.

"Boss, what happened?" Embry burst through the door, her eyes filled with confusion and worry, "Did you actually partner with Kieran? He smells like it."

Ever since Ezlynn had become their leader, they had been a matriarchy, females claiming on males. Partnering involved biting the male's wrist with the female's canine teeth, which resulted in the male to smell like the female who had marked him.

Ezlynn's eyes trembled as Embry frowned.

"Boss?" Embry opened her mouth, widely, "Did you actually-"

"Get to work, Embry." Ezlynn shot a fierce glare at Embry, who was immediately shrunken by such vicious glare and exited out the door. Ezlynn sighed, covering her forehead with her hand and sighed.

She tried to shake the shock off, and not allow her sentimentality to perturb her work. Ezlynn let out a sigh, and tried to speak with composition in her voice,

"Collins, let's talk about this later," she calmed herself down now that she regained control over her tremors, "We need to get to work before some rumor spreads around."

Collins and Ezlynn stormed out the door to the main lobby, where a considerable amount of Werewolves were there than before. Suddenly, the males came out into Ezlynn's way and implored her,

"Boss! Is it true that you marked the new member?"

She flinched at such abruptness but was well aware of the fact that all the males in her gang had developed some kind of love towards her. However, she did not want to shatter their hearts by saying that she had a future with Collins or accidentally marked a stranger. She calmed herself, and acted like she was equally bewildered as well,

"No, it isn't. Did he say so?"

They shook their heads, relief on their faces that Ezlynn didn't mark another male. She nodded and stormed off to the main entrance, Collins tagging behind her. It was now dark outside, the moon almost full. Ezlynn took a deep breath and released all the shock she had experienced in the last 15 minutes.

"Who's on our killing list?" She asked, admiring the moon.

"The co-leader and some other Venandis. He's near us right now." Collins replied. Ezlynn took one last glance at the glowing moon, relieving herself and quickly walked towards the dark alleys her Clairvoyance indicated. It was a Werewolf's prime skill, and she made sure to use it to the best of it.

However, the presence of the co-leader of the Venandis was undetected as soon as Ezlynn positioned herself in the dark alley. She had transformed her slim, long fingers into a Werewolf paw, and glanced around. It was strange; her senses never failed to her demands, but she now could no longer feel the living presence of the co-leader which she felt seconds ago.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, dearie," a seductive voice crept up her ear, its cool breath on her neck.

Ezlynn flinched hard and spun around instinctively. She drove her claws into the location of the voice, closing her eyes and expecting blood spray all over her.

However, the person had dodged and grabbed Ezlynn's paw. She looked at the stranger's hand with an intimidating look as Collins also tried to dive his claws into the stranger, but the stranger had petrified him with Werewolf sorcery. Collins seemed dazzled at the stranger's speed; in no time, he had captured the two most-feared gang leaders in the history.

"I apologize for that," the stranger's face glowed in the moonlight, it shining upon him and outlining his charming facial and physical features.

"Y-you..." She whispered under her breath, snatching her hand away from Kieran's grip.

Kieran was dragging something in his other hand, which was the corpse of a Venandi.

Ezlynn stared up to him as he released Collins out of his petrification.

"W-why are you here?" She questioned.

"Well..."

Kieran didn't bother to finish his sentence and approached her so closely that their lips were about to touch. Collins had to stay in his spot, though he desperately wanted to help her but was told never to interrupt her during her activities unless told to do so. Ezlynn also wanted to demand Collins to help her, but no words escaped out of her mouth. She was shackled in Kieran's chains of allurement, her delicate feet rooted on the ground.

"Coincidence, perhaps?" he grinned, revealing his perfect teeth.

There wasn't even the slightest spray of blood on his face, which was nearly touching hers. His gray suit was still perfectly-ironed and didn't have the slightest spray of red on it, which astonished Ezlynn.

Kieran gently drew back the second his lips were about to meet hers. He placed the body on the wall on the alley, bowed to Ezlynn, and was about to leave. She was completely petrified, but shook to her soul in the last minute,

"...What do you want?"

"Hmm?"

"Something's off about you. You even took complete control of us and we didn't even have a chance to react. You're not normal." she confessed.

A vicious but highly intoxicating smile rose on Kieran's face, dragging Ezlynn back into wonder. She quickly snapped out of it though and motioned Collins to come close to her. There was something about the smile that was quite foreboding, and she received a feeling that she needed some auspices from Collins this time.

"You really are astute." Kieran walked closer to Ezlynn, with complete grace, "I am quite abnormal."

"What are you here for, then?"

"I'm here for you, dear."

Ezlynn blushed and pulled away, touching Collins's hand.

"W-what?"

"I want to make a deal," his seductive face approached hers like a magnet, "for the Godfather position and your loyalty and service included."

Ezlynn's eyes shook. 'My loyalty and service included?' she questioned herself. It was also absolute absurdity that he was challenging the Godmother on his first day. Claiming leader positions involved fighting to death until one of them died, or capitulated. She was well aware that he wasn't an easy enemy, singlehandedly defending himself from the two most influential Werewolves, but his arrogance deeply affronted her.

"Your identity's just too unusual." she said flatly, "I don't know what you will do to the Werewolves when you become Godfather."

Kieran pondered for a moment, and declared,

"I will give you the choice whether to appoint me as Godfather or not after the fight, does that seem fair?"

Ezlynn clenched her teeth, offended by his haughtiness. She had trained daily from the age of 6 to claim the Godmother position, and Kieran was letting his award slip.

However, she paused, then answered,

"...Fine."

"What are you doing, Boss?!" Collins whispered at her but was instantly made quiet by her glare.

"What do you offer, then?"

"I'll tell you, but without your loyal assistant listening,"

Kieran eyed Collins, who glared his golden eyes at Kieran's platinum eyes which emitted a strange shade of red. Both were very tall, so their height matched, Collins's glare intensifying.

Ezlynn hesitated, stuck between their glares. She wondered what such intentions might be, forcing Collins to deaf himself,

"Do as he says, Collins--deaf your auditory senses for as long as this conversation proceeds," Ezlynn painfully said.

"Boss!" he exclaimed.

"Do as I say. You signed an oath," she repeated with more firmness.

Collins had no choice, for he had signed an oath for her when she became Godmother--that he will obey any orders from her and protect her as long as they were alive. If he failed under any circumstances, the oath had stated that he would be decapitated in place.

He glared at Kieran one last time and walked away, temporarily deafening his auditory senses. Kieran waited for Collins to be fully out of sight.

"Okay, then." Kieran looked at her, "If I lose, I will tell you a secret and let you cancel the partnership if you want to."

Ezlynn almost laughed out loud,

"Is that why you told me to bite you? And what kind of secret is so important that you are willing to fight to the death for it?"

"Oh, it'll change your life, dear."

Kieran lifted one of his eyebrows mysteriously, which fascinated Ezlynn. She stared at him back, wondering what kind of secret he would make Collins leave for.

"So it's the Godfather position, which I get to decide whether you deserve it or not along with my service, and a life-changing secret if you lose," she repeated.

Kieran gently lifted her delicate face with his fingers, grinning. Ezlynn didn't rebel, and stayed still, hesitating,

"...Okay," she finally sighed, "Deal."