Matchmaker

Money

It felt really weird to get dragged back into the club I was in just yesterday. It felt absolutely bitter to discover that this was one of the many clubs owned by Adrian. 

I sighed and swallowed the bile that threatened make my mood even more bitter. 

The party and noise in the dance floor, which sounded so exciting last night, now just seemed nerve wrecking. I glanced around at the hoard of guards surrounding Dan and I then glared at Adrian leading the crew through the crowd of dancers. 

I nudged Dan's elbow to check if he was fine. Dan nodded ever so slightly but I could see that his lips were slightly apart because his canines were still extended. 

We got all the way to the top floor where the entire floor was a luxurious office. Adrian invited us to sit on one of the couches in the middle of the office then instructed the guards to return back to their usual duty.

As soon as Dan and I got into our seats Adrian reached for a glass and liquor on the wooden table placed in front of us. He wasted no time in needless chitchat when he took his seat facing us.

"How does 50 million sound?" He spoke and poured himself a glass. "Up front payment, of course."

I heard Dan's breathing waver almost soundlessly. I wasn't sure why I didn't even flinch at the fast balls Adrian was hurtling at me. His empty eyes contrasting with his light and courteous tone was forcing to keep myself calm. I had to remain business-like; after all, I am just an agent from his point of view.

"The Matchmaker will be making the final decisions regarding cost. What we need from you right now is a confidentiality agreement. Did you tell any other pack wolves about the existence of the Matchmaker?"

"Of course not. As I told you before I am Matchmaker's customer not its enemy. I have a goal that can only be accomplished with the Matchmaker's help. If you can't trust me I can let you wait for another month or two to make sure. If I really did leak information about the organization then surely some other packs will start to look for other agents. For the sake of power, it is every pack's desire to have more wolves with mates."

Every word he said was correct only if Matchmaker was actually an existing organization. As of now there was no way Dan or I could spy on other packs to make sure Adrian was speaking the truth. "The Matchmaker won't be satisfied with just that." I returned sternly. 

"Then how would you like me to prove my innocence?"

"There is no way to prove that completely. From now on Matchmaker will be working under the assumption that all packs in the world are aware of its existence."

"How overly cautious." Adrian smirked. "What would you suggest then?"

"The Matchmaker will be taking a hostage."

"... Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Dan's eyes actually widened a bit while Adrian looked mildly surprised. "A hostage, that actually means a lot to you, is what we need."

Silence dominated the room for a minute before Adrian's empty eyes swirled with fury and realization. "You dare-"

"Indeed." I interrupted. "As you already know the Matchmaker is fully aware of your mate's demise. BuBut it is also aware of the existence of your child. We demand the child as the hostage."

"HOW!" Adrian roared and lunged at me with his claw-like hand which stopped a few inches before my throat. Dan, always the savior, intercepted and tightened his death grip around Adrian's wrist while holding him back with his other hand. Adrian, however, seemed to not care about the physical pain.