Unforgivable Mate of Mine

Chapter I

Based on the name she'd gifted me, I just knew my mom had a completely different life planned for me.

Soleil.

This was the name of a girl who grew up to a life filled with sunshine and happiness.

One who had a loving, nuclear family and future that shone brightly.

Very brightly.

Perhaps not a life with much excitement or any real magic, but one that that held consistency and light, like the morning sun. Like those first rays that so gently warmed your skin, and gleamed and promised goodness anew each day. A life that was complete and content and enough.

Instead, fate wasted no time in breaking the news that that was definitely not my life.

Somehow all the conscious little choices and immutable twists of chance had landed me exactly where I was now and exactly where I never thought I would be.

Which was; working for, if by working you mean indebted to, a low level criminal and taking care of any dirty little jobs he shoved my way.

I'd moved to this not quite small enough to be a town but not quite big enough to be a citynamed Gideon due to a PA job opening at the city office.

It looked good enough for someone who had never completed any university and I needed the money for me and my mom.

Even if it meant leaving behind my entire life.

Even if it meant leaving my mombehind.

It wasn't forever I'd reasoned, I'd be back after not too long and we'd figure something else out. This was only meant to be temporary.

Until it wasn't.

I quickly came to realise that my boss, one of the town councilmen, was embroiled in some undoubtedly illegal dealings.

And that led to me, by extension, becoming embroiled in some illegal dealings.

When a particular scheme went south and my boss in turn went to Zodiac for a bail out, my ass was left on the line.

This resulted in him no longer being my boss, instead, Zodiac was.

Leaving wasn't an option either, my mom would pay if I didn't square up the debt that had unfairly landed on my shoulders.

So now the next year of my life was paid for and held in this odious man's hands. Splendid.

Fate had pulled enough strings to land me in over my head and unwittingly working for monsters who shouldn't exist.

Oh silly me, forgetting to mention the most important bit...

These weren't just any low-level criminals, oh no, to boot these were the supernatural kind. Frikken werewolves.

Looking back, I often chastised myself at not recognising the obvious darkness that lingered in Gideon.

Now, I saw it daily.

Flickering on and off on each street corner.

Or just behind each building I walked past. If I squinted just right, I was almost certain I could just make it out - furling and unfurling, beckoning or threatening?

I did not know. I quickly forced myself to find a way to live in it, ignore it even, and simply survive for these next few months.

Until I was far far away again.

I hurriedly left my dingy apartment, venturing out into my daily grey and reporting for duty to Zodiac. An asinine name I know, but he thought it to be ingenious and fitting.

Fitting for an idiot yes.

I mentally prepared myself to deal with him, the definitively low point of my day.

Oh man I couldn't wait for the day when I'd never have to see his repulsive face again.

Zodiac was a relatively small guy and if it weren't for the disturbing fact of him being a werewolf, the power he currently exerted (which is, let's be clear, laughable) would be virtually zilch.

With neither the brains nor brawn reach any real heights of power, it was actually surprising how far he'd managed reach.

He was a shiny weasel of a man, but his lack of strength didn't mean he couldn't manage to make my life fairly unbearable.

The occasional beatings I took were proof enough of that.

It was better for me to keep my head down and stay on his good side – scratch that, bearable side.

"You're late," Zodiac snarled as I entered his club.

I mentally rolled my eyes, no I wasn't. This was the exact time he ordered me to be here. But I wasn't about to start the day off on his bad side.

I bit my tongue, giving him what he wanted, "Sorry, won't happen again."

"Best make sure it doesn't. I know you're a stickler for a beating but even you're not worth my time at the moment."

Oh, something had slimy Zodiac on edge? Good for it.

The beatings were of little threat to me, it was almost painful to realise how accustomed I'd become to whatever punishments he threw my way.

They were all bearable. Much like his underwhelming extent of power in the underworld, so were his limits of pain infliction.

He didn't quite have the stomach to truly hurt someone.

All the times I'd seen him do away with someone, a gun had been used.

This was good news for me but probably not for a someone trying to rise in the ranks of the criminal underworld.

All that had nothing to do with me though as I cared very little about his path to dark glory.

I was on the edge of zoning out for the rest of Zodiac's briefing – the new job he had on the books for me. The plan was simple enough, nothing too different from what we usually did.

Petty thievery this time.

There was an exchange of documents due to take place and I was dealt the job of intercepting said documents. That was all the information I got, but a quick nab and go was definitely a welcome change from the usual house breaking and entering.

I hung around for the rest of the day, mostly just killing time until evening had fallen and the time to complete the job had arrived.

I wasn't too concerned or even worried that I could get the new job done. Even though it weighed on my conscious purporting to be good at these petty crimes, let alone take part in them, I couldn't help that this was life. And I was good at what I did. I could push down my plaguing conscious.

This was simply another Monday, another job to get done, and then forget about. One more day to be ticked off until I escaped from this mess.

At least that's what I flippantly figured.

Just goes to show how mistaken a girl can turn out to be.

I awoke disorientated and sore.

The tell tale signs of awakening after the effect of drugs.

I sighed, hating that I knew exactly how that felt.

Trying to keep calm, I took in my surroundings as the fog slightly cleared from my head and my memories came rushing back.

The job...the restaurant...the man.

Ugh, my head pounded in response as I shuffled through the carousel of my thoughts, trying to make sense of them.

Things had not gone according to plan...

Last I remember, I'd been keeping an eye on the man, Arien, whom I had to steal the documents from.

But I'd annoyingly missed my opportunity to steal the documents from his car as I originally planned while he headed into the restaurant.

Cops, who were usually invisible and missing in this godforsaken town, had all of a sudden decided to take their jobs seriously, and patrolled the area this night.

So I held off breaking into his car. When they finally left, too much time had passed and Arien was making his way back to the car.

I tried not to let my thoughts linger on how out of place he looked in this greying and decaying town.

Not only was this man tall and well dressed, too well dressed honestly, he stood out like a sore thumb – but every single feature of his was arresting.

He was disconcerting. Even I could admit that the mark was tall, sculpted and handsome. ..disconcertingly so.

Thinking of a new plan of action, I fingered the syringe in my pocket. It was definitely not meant to be used this night, really just a last resort.

I stalled for a moment longer from my hiding spot in the alley, trying to make a quick decision.

There was no other way.

And there was no point in any feelings of guilt. I didn't know him and would never see him again. This would not matter.

My mind made up, I crept up behind the too good looking man as he reached inside the car to grab the documents.

And with only a mere second of indecision, I quickly pressed the needle edge of the syringe into him, emptying it of its contents.

The result was instantaneous. A quick tense of his body before immediately slumping over the seat of his car.

It was a powerful but not long lasting sedative, so I hurried to steal the folder that had fallen out of his hand.

And resisting the urge to steal one more look at his face, I turned to leave.

And that was the last of my hazy memory to return. I don't think I made it far, because all else that I could piece together was me making my way down the street and someone grabbing me, probably knocking me out somehow.

And now I'm here.

Wherever here was.

It seemed to be a small, no larger than some 4 meters square, brick room with a metal door and a tiny window high up - completely out of my reach. It was almost too dark to see anything else, but then again, I didn't think that there was much else to be seen in this room.

I felt a rising panic but forced myself to quash it down. There was no use jumping to any conclusions yet. I had to keep calm and think my way out of this, I always managed to. Also, I needed a clear head to deal with whatever was coming next.

Because I could just feel something was coming.

After what felt like hours the door creaked with the sound of a lock turning. Never had the simply sound of a mechanism wrenching filled me with such fear.

I held bated breathe.

The door swung open to reveal a tall and foreboding presence. Little moonlight spilled in from behind but not enough to make out any real features.

I instantly kicked my body into gear upon seeing my opening and lunged at him, trying to land a hit for a chance to escape.

My action was evidently for naught as the man simply caught me by the neck, much like a dog or some other small creature, and effortlessly threw me back against the wall.

My air supply was immediately constricted and I couldn't feel my feet on the floor anymore.

"You will answer all my questions and it's in your best interest to do so quickly and honestly." An emotionless voice grunted out.

I tried to squeeze out an answer to no avail and ended up simply shaking out a small nod instead. The man continued holding me there for a moment longer. Now black spots started to swimmingly appear in my vision as I desperately tried to claw at the arm which held my neck in a vice grip.

As abruptly as the hold had started, it loosened and I collapsed to the ground, gasping and coughing as I greedily inhaled once more.

Who knew air could taste so good. The brute simply stood there as I recovered from my coughing fit, or should I more accurately say, recovered from my near strangulation.

Who was this man?

He spoke once more, "Who instructed you to drug Arien?"

My brow furrowed as I opened my burning throat.

"No one."

He stood still for a moment as if listening to something.

"Wrong answer. I will give you one last chance, who are you working for?"

I scrambled through my thoughts, trying to find a suitable answer, trying to figure out what he wanted of me.

I knew Arien to be the guy I'd hastily drugged, the one I was supposed to steal the documents from.

But Zodiac hadn't actually instructed me to do so, the main job was to simply get the documents –

"You better start speaking or there will be consequences," the rough voice cut my thoughts off.

I quickly tried to string some words together.

"No, I mean that wasn't really part of the plan – I really just improvised even though what I was actually supposed to do was-"

"Shut up, I thought I had made myself clear when I told you that lies will not be tolerated."

He snapped back, cutting me short again.

Well maybe if you would let me finish a thought...

I looked up pleadingly despite my rising frustration, "I am telling the truth. I swear."

The man simply gave me one more searching look before exiting the room.

I slumped against the wall. Worry started to creep in as I let my current situation sink in.

This man wasn't like Zodiac or any of the other low-level thugs I had come to deal with on a daily basis.

This man exuded power and danger.

And he had to be one of the largest guys I'd ever seen. He could and would really hurt me.

Man, I was truly deep in it now.

The door reopened as he returned once more but this time with a box in his arms. He headed to one of the corners of the room, while I kept myself completely frozen to my spot.

Careful not to let any of my movements set him off or cause me any harm.

I had learnt long ago to know when I was overpowered or outnumbered, and the best course of action in these types of situations was to not make any further actions that could antagonize the threat.

He fiddled with a few items from the box out of my line of vision before turning back towards me. Held in his hand was a...hose? Dread filled my entire body as my stomach instantly dropped.

Fuck.

I scurried back as he steadily approached me once more, and held out my hands as a useless shield, "Wait – wait, please don't. I'm being completely honest with you. I'll tell you anything you want to know. I swear!"

He paused for a second. "Who wants Arien?"

Oh god, no one wants him dammit. How could I make him understand!? I quickly blurted out the first answer that came to mind, "Zodiac, I work for Zodiac."

He simply stared as he waited again. A second passed before he shook his head and continued his approach.

Before I could react, he was once again grabbing me by my neck.

Asshole, it still stung.

Now he had me up against the wall again – but this time it was different. The nozzle of the hose pointed at my face as my eyes widened in fear.

I watched almost uncomprehendingly as the the switch flicked.

Cold water blasted my face, burning my eyes and nose and throat as the pressured water hit me. I wildly closed my eyes and my mouth to alleviate some of the burning but the hand on my throat simply reached up to grab my lower jaw and pry it open.

Within seconds I was drowning.

There was no way to stop the water from invading my throat and breathing didn't even feel possible at this point.

All I could focus on was the intense feeling of no oxygen reaching my lungs, as they seemingly filled with water.

I couldn't remember experiencing anything worse in my life.

I couldn't even cry, I just blindly tried to wrestle his hand, or the hose, away but all my attempts were futile.

The next few seconds that ticked by instead felt like hours, as I struggled and suffocated and drowned, unable to think of anything else.

Abruptly, the water supply cut off and I once against crumbled to the ground.

More extreme coughing and spluttering ensued this time as I clenched at my chest and drew in desperate breathes, this almost felt worse than drowning – for now I had to force myself to breathe, all the while still feeling like I was underwater.

My head spun, my throat was raw and lungs felt like they were pulsing and ready to explode.

My body didn't feel like it could survive this.

A voice distracted me from my shaky recovery for a moment, "This is what happens when you choose to lie. And afterwards, things get worse."

In response, I simply kept lying there, trying not to die, as the man who inflicted this upon me left the room.

Pain, helplessness and fear were all that lingered in that dark room with me.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?