just for a bloody contract | Roman Godfrey au

ch. 31 • waiting

The next two days were anxiety-ridden for everyone. Shelley caught on to the dreariness in the house. Roman got no sleep at all because on the treatment day, he looked completely drained. I got very little sleep too. I really really hoped what I did was worth it and would pay off. Roman's company depended on it. If this didn't work, Pryce would start blackmailing Roman again.

The day finally arrived. Roman went to work as normal. I had classes. In the afternoon. I picked up Peter to go to the White Tower.

"You afraid?" Peter asked on the way there.

"Sort of. I hope everything works fine. You were right. He does think he's a monster," I said as I drove.

"He cried, didn't he?" Peter said softly. "I told you he's fighting his demons. He's so hard to love, but he's also troubled. What a dichotomy."

"Yeah, I guess so. How have you been? We haven't really talked."

"Peter looked at me. "Ya know, living. Letha," he let out a laugh. "Letha wants to marry me." Peter put his hands on his face and circled it with his palms. "She doesn't have a fucking clue about me being a werewolf."

I slowed down my driving and looked at him quite shocked. "You mean all this time, she didn't know? How'd you hide it? Peter, what?"

"It's not as easy as you think. What do you tell your girlfriend? Hey, sweetheart, I'm a literal dog sometimes."

I shook my head. "You should tell her. There always needs to be transparency in a relationship."

"Yes, Ms. Hypocrite, of course. Because you've been telling your husband everything." Peter looked at me, smiling and raising a brow.

"Our relationship is not based on love. And neither is it permanent," I said. I tried not to show how much it hurt saying that. Everytime that realization hit me, it made my chest actually hurt.

"If you say so," Peter nudged it off. "Keep your eyes on the road. Not in the mood for sutures right now. And can't afford it either."

We got to the Tower after it closed. There was minimal staff, and they were all headed out anyway. A few of them greeted me, knowing I was much nicer than their angry boss. I smiled at all of them as best as I could, but as soon as we hit the elevator, my smile faded and was replaced by a look of tension.

Peter held my hand and squeezed it. "Relax, Liana. Breathe."

I nodded, and we went into Pryce's lab. Pryce looked at Peter then at me with a stoic expression. Very Pryce-like. We asked us to follow him into a surgical unit. Roman was in an ugly hospital gown, sitting on an operating table, waiting to be sedated.

"Would you like to stay or leave?" Pryce asked the both of us.

"Leave," Peter answered for the both of us.

I wanted to say no, but Peter squeezed my hand. I let go and went to Roman to assure him it was going to be okay, but quickly came back and left with Peter.

We sat on a couch in the lobby, waiting. "What on earth are you so nervous for? Pryce literally brought Shelley back to life, even though her facial features did get a little worphed. He helped Olivia live. He's got this," Peter said.

I sighed. "Peter, I don't really trust Pryce. He's sketchy."

"Do you think anybody at all does?" Peter took out a cigarette and lit it. "Want some?"

I looked at him annoyed. "No thank you. I don't understand why you're calm."

"Because upirs can't die unless they have their hearts ripped out. So your sweetie isn't going to die. That I know for certain."

"He's not my sweetie," I yelled. It echoed, and that made me madder. "It's not him dying I'm worried about! It's him killing others. If this doesn't work or backfires, who knows, he'll kill someone tomorrow. I know I know I'm talking to a werewolf, but he killed 7 people. Isn't that, I don't know, a little concerning?"

Peter blew a puff of smoke out. "What was he going to do? If I left you starving for many days in a row, out of hunger, you would've done things you've never even imagined."

"Yeah, but it's still freaky. You get a life sentence for killing even one person. He killed 7. I saw a corpse by his feet. How do you erase that?"

Peter scratched his beard and put the cigarette out. He turned his body towards me and held my hands again. "Liana, the past can't be changed. And Roman really can't control his hunger. But you need to know he did."

"Huh?" my brows furrowed. I was confused.

"Ever since your little contract marriage, he's controlled his hunger, practically starving himself of blood sometimes. After you freaked out and left for Letha's, he started believing he was a monster again. And I guess he is. Like I am. Normal people don't just turn into werewolves. So he limited how much blood he had. Drove him nuts, but he tried to be normal. He tried."

"Oh," was all I could say. "I guess it's just hard to put myself in his shoes. It's just so weird. But I did want to help him. I really did."

Our conversation fell quiet. Peter picked up a magazine and looked at it. I stared at the awfully white and bland walls surrounding the lobby and waited.

It took a while, and because I was so exhausted, I finally did fall asleep on Peter's shoulder, and thankfully he let me.

Peter nudged me awake. "Sorry I fell asleep on you," I said, shyly.

"No biggie. The lights turned off on the center," Peter pointed. "Pryce will come out soon."

And he did. He still had that stoic expression on his face, and his suit was replaced by a lab coat. Pryce cleared his voice and said, "A word with you," looking at me.