Giselle’s POV
The morning light filtered through the tall windows, casting a warm glow over the dining table. I sat alone, as I often did, quietly eating breakfast. Denderick had been ignoring me for days. His thoughts were elsewhere, and I didn’t need to be told where his attention was focused.
Aria. It was always Aria. The very thought made my blood boil, but I reminded myself that soon enough, she would be nothing more than a bad memory.
I stabbed at a piece of fruit on my plate, trying to suppress the wave of anger threatening to ruin my appetite. Just as I was about to take another bite, a sharp knock came at the door.
I sighed, setting down my fork. “Come in,” I called, wondering who dared to interrupt my meal.
The door opened, and one of the guards stepped in. “My Lady,” he began. “There is a man here to see you.”
I frowned, trying to cast my mind back. I didn’t remember expecting a visitor. “What man?” I asked. “I am in no mood for games, guard!”
“Not at All, my Lady. He looks like a mercenary,” the guard replied.
A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. So, he’s finally here, I thought to myself. Erinne’s mercenary.
The guard cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. I could sense his very obvious unease about the fact that a mercenary was in the pack house. But right there and then, I couldn’t care less about his concerns. All that mattered was that the slave mistress from Alpha Logan’s pack had fulfilled her end of the bargain.
Finally! This man would rid me of Aria once and for all.
“Bring him in,” I ordered. The guard hesitated, clearly unsure, and I felt a surge of irritation at his hesitation.
“Now!”
He nodded and turned to leave, but I stopped him with a cold command. “Wait. Listen to me very carefully.”
The guard paused, turning back to face me, his expression wary. “You will tell no one about this, especially not Alpha Denderick. Do you understand?”
He swallowed hard, the fear in his eyes now unmistakable. “Yes, my… my Lady,” he stammered.
I leaned forward slightly, narrowing my eyes at him. “If you speak a word of this to anyone, I will make sure you regret it.”
The guard nodded frantically and scurried out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I leaned back in my chair, a sense of satisfaction washing over me. Soon, everything would fall into place.
A few minutes later, the door opened again, and the mercenary walked in. He was exactly what I expected: Tall, broad-shouldered, with a burly frame that filled the doorway.
His clothes were simple, rugged, and stained with the dirt of many roads. A thick scar ran down the side of his face, disappearing into a tangle of unkempt hair. His eyes were cold and calculating, the eyes of a man who had seen and done things that would make most people shudder.
He showed a kind of raw, untamed power, and for a moment, I wondered if I had made the right choice in hiring someone like him.
The mercenary didn’t bother with formalities. He strode into the room, pulled out a chair, and sat down heavily in front of me, not waiting for an invitation. The blatant disregard for manners grated on my nerves, but I kept my thoughts to myself, knowing that I needed him more than he needed me.
“So,” he grunted, his voice rough, “you’re the one who needs someone taken care of.”
I eyed him warily, choosing my words carefully. “That’s right. There’s a woman who has become… an inconvenience to me. I need her dealt with.”
The mercenary leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t care who she is or why you want her dead. All I care about is the payment.”
I frowned. “But I have paid you. I gave Erinne your payment.”
“Well, you look like a second payment won’t hurt you,” he commented, looking me over from head to toe. “One bag of gold would not be enough for a job of this magnitude.”
His crudeness annoyed me, and I had to resist the urge to snap at him. “I assume you’ve been told that I am the wife of Alpha Denderick,” I said, hoping to remind him of who he was dealing with.
But to my surprise, the mercenary simply shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. You could be the daughter of the moon for all I care. As long as the coin’s good, I’ll get the job done.”
I sighed, gripping the edge of the table to hold back my anger. “You would do well to remember who you’re speaking to,” I hissed.
But he wasn’t fazed. He smirked as if finding my anger amusing. “Listen, lady, threats don’t move me. I’ve killed plenty of people, noble and common alike. It’s all the same to me. So if you’ve got something for me to do, tell me, and let’s get on with it.”
I bit back my anger, knowing that it would do no good to argue with him. He was a crude man, but he was also the only one who could help me get rid of Aria. “Fine,” I snapped, reaching for a piece of parchment. “I’ll make this simple for you.”
I scribbled Aria’s address on the parchment and handed it to him. “This is where she lives. You are to kill the woman who resides in that house. No mistakes, no loose ends.”
The mercenary took the parchment, his eyes scanning it briefly before he stuffed it into his pocket. “Consider it done,” he said, rising from his seat. He didn’t bother with a farewell, simply turned and walked toward the door.
I watched him go in silence. Something was unnerving about him, but I pushed the thought aside. What mattered was that Aria would soon be out of my life for good.
Just as he reached the door, the mercenary paused, turning back to look at me. “One more thing,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. “You better have my payment ready when I return. I don’t take kindly to people who try to cheat me.”
I glared at him, my lips curling in disdain. “You’ll get your payment when the job is done. Not a moment before.”
The mercenary stared at me for a moment longer, then nodded, satisfied. “Then consider the job done, Luna.”