Playing with Fire #1 ✔

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨

Lis interrupted my silent brooding with a knock on my door.

"Yeah?"

"There's a representative of the Agency here to see you," she told me, dragging a hand through her hair anxiously.

Shock filled my stomach as I sat bolt upright. I calmed myself enough to walk downstairs slowly, following Lis in silence.

A representative of the Agency. Lis's words hammered around my head to the beat of my heart.

The representative sat at the kitchen table with Neal. A formal business suit, neatly combed hair, and bright, piercing green eyes glaring at me.

"I'm sure you have some questions." His plain voice was accentuated by his posh southern British accent — the type that I expected every British person to have, until I moved to the north of England, of course.

"Damn right I have some questions!" I exclaimed — angered at his calm demeanour. "What the hell is going on with my pack?"

The man narrowed his neon eyes at me, yet his words were devoid of emotion. "You are no longer part of the Coloma pack, Omega."

"What's going on with my ex-pack, then?"

"We..." He cleared his throat. "We're not entirely sure—"

"Not entirely sure?" I repeated his words in disbelief then exclaimed, "How can this omniscient agency be 'not entirely sure' about one pack?"

"Theo..." Neal warned.

"How the hell do you not know what's going on? Do you even know if they're alive or not?"

"You're an Omega," he sighed, massaging his temples with one hand. "Frankly, you don't get access to that sort of information about your old pack."

"Then, please." I took a breath. "Tell me: what are you doing here?"

"Representing the Agency," he stated the obvious.

This guy seriously starting to piss me off.

"Ah, yes. The Agency that does... What exactly?" Aggression began to seep into my words. "Because as far as I know, you do nothing except help supernatural minors — is that all you do?"

"Theo!" Neal said harshly, "Mr Evanson is here to represent the agency that protects you — you could at least show a little respect."

Lis fidgeted beside me. She didn't deal with confrontation well, which was a bit of a problem considering I had a bad habit of getting into arguments.

I put on a fake, wan smile. "So, what are you doing here representing the agency?"

"Due to your being an Omega—"

"Let me guess," I cut him off, that plastic smile firmly in place. "You can't tell me."

He nodded like it was a fact. Like it was something that couldn't be denied. Like it would define me for the rest of my life.

"So. What can you tell me?" I tried; I wasn't going to give up easily. Any news was better than no news.

"You must not leave Lake Oldoy, otherwise we can no longer protect you. Without our protection, the hunters will most definitely locate and slaughter you—" he paused after his brief moment of grotesque imagery, before continuing in the same tone, "The way they did to your pack's precious little Beta, Luke."

Springing out of my seat rapidly at the mention of his name, I growled, "Keep his name out of your mouth."

As my heartbeat started climbing, my fingernails began to lengthen and sharpen. In the way I taught myself to react, I balled my palms into fists. That way the pain would bring me back — it was a weak anchor to tie me to my humanity, but the only one I had.