9. Kathleen

"Are you willing to do anything to save your grandmother?" the dark elf asks.

Am I willing to do anything? I am more than willing to do anything I can to save my grandmother"s life. She lays wounded and unconscious, and every moment spent pondering my next move is keeping me from being able to help her.

And dark elves don't do good deeds for free.

So, am I willing to do anything? Yes.

"Yes," I say cautiously. I watch him with wide eyes as shivers of uncertainty wrack my entire body. I am putting everything on the line and gambling my nonexistent cards to the hands of a dark elf stranger.

"And you are sure about this?" he asks cautiously.

"Yes, I am the surest I"ve ever been," I say, and while the words are true, there is a part of me that is understandably hesitant to accept this stranger"s offer.

I"m not sure if it is my body he"ll want or my time. Whatever it is, I'll give it tenfold if he can help my grandma. I just hope he won't ask for too much. I can"t say that to him though for fear of him changing his mind because I truly don"t have much to offer.

He eyes me warily; his face is determined and roams over my tattered appearance. He pauses to meet my frantic eyes with an all-consuming stare. The intensity of his dark eyes sends a ripple of intriguing fear surging through my body.

"Are you willing to sign your life away to me in exchange for a healing potion?" He poses the question directly, never breaking eye contact. He waits stoically for me to answer.

I nod eagerly, barely giving myself a moment to consider what he is asking of me. My life to save my grandmother is an easy trade. My heart races knowing that luck is finally on my side today. There isn"t much I wouldn"t do for my grandma, she"s all I have.

"Then be my slave and pretend to be my mate," he says with an authoritative air of suggestion.

My brows raise in surprise. I"m not sure if I heard him correctly.

His mate? Is that what he just said? I don"t even know his name.

His offer hits me like a punch to the gut, I feel the blood drain from my face. I can"t fathom what that even means, or how that would be possible. My nerves are chaotically buzzing, the lump in my throat accompanies the lightheadedness that overcomes me.

"So will you? Be my slave and help me? I am willing to help you in return," he reiterates his stance.

I pause and turn away, giving myself a moment to process what he"s asking. I know I don"t have much time to gamble with his promise of help for grandmother, but the finality of what he"s proposing isn"t at all lost on me.

My breath hitches slightly as he says the word, and I feel myself growing cold all over. A dark elf"s slave. It sounds so... final. So... permanent. But if it means saving my grandma"s life, then I"ll agree. "I-I"ll do it," I stammer, wondering what this dark elf has in store for me.

"Very good," he says slowly. He appears to be pleased with my answer, and it scares me. What could he possibly need a pretend mate for? And a lowly human girl at that?

I watch him as he appears lost in thought, clearly mulling over whatever this situation of his is before he nods with a satisfied expression. He meets my eyes, and I see something lurking beneath the surface.

There"s trouble laying there, something is weighing on him. I look away before I can offend him, but I can feel the truth. He too is in trouble.

He shifts, breaking my stare and reaches forward, his fingers brushing against my wrist gently as he pulls out a small parchment and ink from his pocket. The parchment is cold and rough against my skin as he presses it into my hand.

A chill runs through me at his unexpected touch, but I resist the urge to pull away. I take a deep breath and begin to read the contract; it"s written in the dark elf language that I don"t understand.

"What does it say?" I ask tentatively, my voice wavering.

"It binds you to me as my slave and prevents you from being able to betray me," he says simply, his voice husky and low. "You are mine now."

I nod slowly, swallowing hard as I dip the quill in the inkpot and scrawl my name on the bottom of the page without a second thought. My grandmother"s life is worth more than anything else to me. Although, I"d be lying if I said signing my life to a contract I can"t understand doesn"t fill me with a nervous fear.

He can do whatever he wants to me now.

As soon as the ink dries on the parchment, he takes it back from me and places it away. His eyes look me over, roaming from top to bottom before he lets out a disappointed sigh.

"It is done, but you aren"t passable," his mouth turns down in a frown that oozes with annoyance.

I ought to be relieved. I usually am, when both human and elf men find me undesirable. But coming from him, for some reason, it stings.

It is as if my appearance is an inconvenience. Which, I suppose it could be, but it doesn"t mean I"m unaffected. I am still a person with valid feelings, or at least I was, now I have put myself at his mercy.

I look myself over, taking in the dirty state of my skin and clothes, a feeling of inadequacy rolls through me.

"Passable for what?" I struggle to ask.

"I need you to look decent before I bring you to face that insufferable butler." I try to keep up but his words become mumbles as he turns away from me, folding his hand under his chin in thought.

A butler?

He paces, talking out loud. I am unsure if he is talking to me, but I watch as he speaks, his demeanor unsettling, making me feel shakier than before. He's clearly working through an obstacle, and I've landed myself right in the middle of it.

"If I show up with a mate, he won"t be able to do anything, and that young master will have to marry the dark elf girl."

Frowning, I watch as the dark elf turns his back on me. He seems so sure of himself, so in control. It"s unsettling and yet... exhilarating at the same time. The air around him crackles with power, making my skin prickle as if charged with electricity.

I don"t know what he wants from me, but I"ll do anything to ensure my grandmother gets that potion. I"ve learned that the dark elves have their own ways of doing things - harsh but effective.

As he begins to pace the light catches on a beautiful gleaming necklace he wears, his boots pad softly against the grass, and I can"t help but notice how tall and broad he is. He towers over me, a powerful figure of danger and mystery. He exudes power and confidence and is almost eloquent in his speech.

A sudden thought occurs to me: what does he mean by "mate"? Is it truly just for show? Or will I be expected to uphold duties pertaining to mates? I can't rationalize the kind of expectations I might be held to. My heart beats faster at the thought of being claimed by this strange creature who could snap me in two if he wanted to.

"What is your name?" I impulsively blurt out, interrupting his muttering.

He stops speaking and turns to me, closing the distance and looking me in the eye in an unnerving stare.

"Draknir," he says plainly. "And you are?"

"Kathleen."

"Okay," he says, clearly unimpressed.

"Look Draknir, I don"t understand what you were saying just now, or what you need from me, but I promise I will do whatever I you require...but do you think we could give my grandmother the potion first?" My heart pounds against my ribs in hope that he"ll say yes. I can feel my face frozen in fear, my eyes wide as he ponders my question.

Draknir looks at me with a raised eyebrow, his dark eyes glittering in the light of the setting sun. He seems to weigh my request for a moment. Then, he sighs deeply and nods his head once. "Very well, I have a potion with me that may work. We're required to keep basic healing potions with us on base."

I swallow my anger. Every elf on that base has a healing potion, not to mention whatever they have in storage, and humans are just meant to fend for themselves.

At least he's helping Grandma now. For a price.

We start back towards my house. Draknir"s strides are long and purposeful. The breeze carries with it a spicy scent that reminds me of warm bread cooling on the windowsill after being pulled fresh out of the oven, intermingled with the earthy musk of forest dirt and fallen leaves.

I try to keep up with his pace but find myself stumbling over exposed roots and rocks hidden in the underbrush. My heart is pounding in my chest as I struggle to keep up, my breath coming out in quick gasps. I don"t know what to expect when we get back to my house, but I trust Draknir - for now. Maybe it"s because he holds the key to saving my grandmother"s life, or maybe it"s something else entirely.

As we approach my house, my stomach does a nervous flop. The closer we get, the quicker my heart beats hoping that Draknir"s healing potion will help.

I hadn"t expected him to agree to help my grandma before I"d had a chance to prove my loyalty to him. I am still in disbelief that he was actually willing to help me seeing as he was my last and only hope.