The Devils Bargain

Chapter 42

"Sleepers, an unconscious state in which the subject transforms into the form of a creature not of this world..." Gregor mumbles beside me, as he reads from my mom's journal.

"I had no idea... all this time..." He rubs his forehead with his eyes tightly shut. "If only I had known, I could've done something, and all this mess would have been avoided."

I couldn't say anything to him, and even if I wanted to, whatever I said would only make the situation more uncomfortable and awkward for either one of us.

There was no way he could have done anything, after all, he didn't know.

Even if he did, what could he know... without my mom's antidote?

Keial and Gregor thought Zeri was cursed, but it's just like being a werewolf, and if controlled, she can shift just like any other creature.

She's special.

If my mother was right about her research, then not only could Zeri control that monstrous side of her form, but she could help others too who have not only hurt someone they loved but have hidden in fear of being killed.

"How are you feeling?" Gregor suddenly asks me, as I stare at the contents of the remedy I just finished making for Zeri.

"I've been better." I looked at him and then shrugged with a smile, making Gregor's face turn serious.

What was this?

I was so used to Gregor insulting me, and making fun of me, it felt strange to have this man being so nice to me suddenly, it's like his personality shifted overnight.

Then again, if my mate had tried to kill him, I would no doubt feel the same as he did, like he owed me something.

"There's something I want to know about Keial." I change the subject, as I think back to how this all began.

"Shouldn't you be asking Keial? He is your mate."

I looked at him and then to the door behind us with a sigh.

"It's a simple question." I look at him, making him sit back and sigh, with a nod.

"Ask me then."

I wait, to think of how to say it, something that has been bugging me since I found out about Zeri, from the very first moment I met her, in the woods, near the Valley.

"How come Keial let Zeri stay here, knowing that she could change at any moment, and even try to kill you, or anyone around her?" I ask him, as his eyes bore into mine.

"I..." I paused and then looked at the vial in my hands.

"I witnessed my mom murder her mate, and then my little brother, back then I had no idea of what she was, or that she was trying to help others like her, but when I saw her that day... if I had known, I don't think I could feel safe around her."

I barely remembered my mom's face, or my dad's, I had blocked that memory for so long that I couldn't even remember what they sounded like, or what they wore that day.

I had been so scared in that single moment, that every single happy memory I had up until then was shattered until nothing was left but that fear.

"She's tried, many times." Gregor's deep voice fills the silence.

I snap my eyes to his and find him smiling, with a happy smile, despite the reality of what he just said.

"Each time she shifted, Keial wanted to lock her away, not for my sake, I can handle myself against her, I have done since the first day I witnessed her... difference."