“I want him alive,” Rio ordered. “Throw him in the pit and I will deal with him tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir!” Larry replied, holding his struggling victim down. Rio slowly walked towards Pearl, her beautiful eyes wide as she stared at him in shock. He gazed deep into her eyes, the bear in him fidgeting and withering for some reason. As he looked into her eyes, he felt something deep in his heart. Something that was hard to describe.
Her lips trembled as she gazed at him, her face pale with confusion and shock. Rio opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the girl before him fainted.
Chapter 9
Pearl ran through the darkness as the footsteps behind her got louder and louder. She ran as fast as she could, fear and panic coursing through her blood. He was slowly getting closer and closer to her, and she knew that she couldn’t outrun him. She turned around and saw him standing behind her, a malicious smile on his face. His fangs flinted and his red eyes sparkled in the dim light, sending a shiver down Pearl’s spine.
She screamed, her voice echoing throughout the room, and then she felt his cold, icy hands on her arms. She screamed and screamed, watching in horror as his scarred face came closer and closer to her.
“You think you can run away from me, girl?” He snarled. “I already killed your father. Now, it’s your turn!”
Pearl tried to move but she was frozen in place, unable to move or struggle against his brutal hands. She shouted for help, her high-pitched voice resonating. She heard a low growl behind him, and she turned around to see a magnificent bear standing in front of her. His coat was silver, and his black eyes glowed in the darkness. He was huge, his strong muscular body emitting the aura of raw power and strength. Then suddenly, the expression the bear’s face changed, and it growled in her direction before jumping towards her.
Pearl suddenly woke up, gasping and withering in bed as she screamed endlessly.
“It’s okay!” she heard a deep voice say. She looked up to see the familiar pair of eyes looking at her, filled with concern. “It was just a bad dream. It’s alright, you are safe.”
She laid there, panting, as she gazed at the handsome man who peered down at her. She realized that he was holding onto her hand and softly running his thumb across it. It felt warm and comforting, and at the same time, exciting and thrilling. Electrical waves slid down her body as she gazed into his eyes as he continued to trace the smooth skin of her hand. A sudden flash of memory ran through her head and she sat up.
“You!” she gasped. “You turned into a bear! I saw it! I saw you shifting-”
“It’s alright, calm down,” Rio said, his low, deep voice sending shivers down her spine.
“I saw you-” she stammered. “A bear- You were standing there and then your body- then you were a bear,”
“It was all a dream. You were panicked and started hallucinating,” Rio said, still squeezing her hand. “It’s okay. It’s all over, now.”
Pearl swallowed, not sure what to believe. She was certain of what she saw, but it was such an improbable thing that she was starting to doubt herself. She had heard legends of being shifters living among humans, but she had never believed them. She looked around the luxurious bedroom and the huge bed she was in, and it slowly dawned on her that she wasn’t at her house.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“In my bedroom,” Rio replied, letting go of her hand. She felt a pang in her heart as she felt the absence of his warm hand around hers. “I brought you here after I rescued you from that man who was attacking you. You have quite a few injuries, but I have had one of my personal doctors take a look at you, and he has bandaged you up.”
Pearl had been so shocked by the turn of events that she hadn’t even realized that a bandage was wrapped around her arm and that there was a dull ache throughout her body.
“Pearl, listen to me,” Rio said. “Do you know who that man was? The one that attacked you? Do you know why he was coming after you?”
“No-” Pearl said, her mind in overdrive as she tried to figure it out. She thought that the man she was running from had finally found her, but now that she thought back on it, this was a different person all together. She suspected that he may have been hired by her chaser to hunt her down, but she couldn’t be sure. “I don’t know. I have never seen him before-”
Pearl was interrupted by a terrifying scream that seemed to be coming from Laura’s room. For a second both of them froze, looking at each other with horror-struck expressions, and then they both got up, running as fast as they could toward her room. Rio was much faster than her, and by the time she reached the room, he already had Laura in his arms.
“Shush,” he whispered, hugging her. “It will be alright.”
“Mommy,” Laura whispered, still asleep and clearly having a nightmare. “Mommy! Daddy! No, don’t do it! Fire! No!”
“Laura!” Rio shouted, shaking her awake. “Laura, wake up.”
The little girl woke up, her eyes filled with tears.
“Uncle Rio, Mommy,” Laura said, shivering. “I saw Mommy.”
“It’s alright,” Rio said, hugging her. “It was just a dream. How about you get some sleep like a good little girl?”
It took some time to finally calm down Laura and get her to sleep, but by now, Pearl’s mind was burning with questions.
“What happened to her mother?” Pearl whispered once the child was asleep. “How did she die?”
On receiving no reply, she looked up and saw Rio staring at her with a hard expression on his face. He stared at her intently, his eyes burning through her. She shivered under his gaze, a tingling sensation running throughout her body.
“She was killed,” Rio said, his voice deep and stern. He gave her one last look before walking away to his study and closing the door behind him.
Chapter 10
Rio stared at the man crouching in front of him, bleeding profusely from his nose.
“Who are you?” Rio asked, sitting back in his chair. “What clan are you a part of?”
“Me?” the man asked, smirking. “I am not of any clan. I am a rogue, who goes from one boss to another.”
“Why were you after the girl?” Rio asked, his voice calm and cool. “Who hired you and for what reason?”
“You think a man in my side of the business knows such information? All I can tell you that it was a man with a scar on his face who just paid me very good money to find the girl,” the man said.
“Did you tell him where the girl is?” Rio asked, already making a plan on how to handle the situation.
“No, I didn’t get a chance to. I saw her, and I decided to take her back to him and see if I could get a bonus,” the man said. “Now, that’s all I know. I think you should let me go; I am not the man you want.”
“Of course,” Rio said, getting up. “Set him free.”
His guards looked confused at his orders, but not a single one of them dared to question their boss. They released the man, who got up, looking just as surprised as the guards.
“You really are merciful,” the man said. “I had heard such horror stories about you, but you are kind and generous.”