A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Crossing his left leg over his right, he leaned his arms against his chest, and his eyes remained fixed on her (e/c) ones. She noted the black snow boots on his feet, and she furrowed her brows. "Helps me blend in better to lure in my prey." Her eyes switched back to his gaze, and she felt her body tense a bit. "It would be odd for me to be walking around bare foot. I could wear long pants, and, in the night, I doubt that anyone would notice too much, but it serves as a precaution too."

He rolled his shoulders, and his eyes glanced to the lantern; he didn't even squint at the light. "Like I had said; I've had to adjust. Still, I take them off when I don't have to go anywhere." An annoyed, yet calm sigh parted from his lips. "But, that's not important right now." The male's attention averted back to her optics. "We have a deal to discuss."

She couldn't help but gulp quietly. He raised a brow. "I take it that he's made deals with you before." Her silence gave him his answer. "Makes sense. It's probably why you're alive right now." Again, her lack of response told him all he needed to know. "Well, this deal you might actually find only beneficial."

Skeptical, she didn't move, and her eyes narrowed a bit in curiosity. "As I've said before, he's responsible for this whole mess too. I'm honestly surprised that none of my species has wiped him out already. Then again, they probably have their reasons. Distance, laziness, agreement with his methods, etc." He shrugged. "No idea."

Blood drained from her face. Her voice got caught in her throat, and she stuttered out, "Just how many of you are there?" His eyes diverted back to her fully, and his expression remained neutral even though she expected him to smirk sadistically in the process. The creature she knew would've done so.

"Not sure. Maybe, there are five." Her heart relaxed a little. "Or, there could be a hundred or more." Instantly, her stomach clenched awfully, and she thought that she might be sick. "Again, we're usually discreet, and we don't have too many interactions with another one of our species, which might also be a reason why no one's attacked him yet from our kind."

Clicking his nails against the left arm of the wooden chair, he continued, "And, it's surprising that you've now met two of us and are still alive. Most humans don't make it past one, either because they become food or a mate." Inwardly, she felt sick as her mind thought back to her deal with the creature. Even with his idea of how to save her, having his child still would be risky and incredibly painful, and she almost rested her hands over her midsection at the thought of it.

(F/n) didn't notice, however, that the creature before her noted her worry in her optics as soon as he said mate. "I'm curious." Her attention landed back on him completely. His head tilted to the left a little, and it somewhat reminded her of the creature she knew. "What was your deal with him?"

Not answering immediately, she glanced down to her hands. Slowly, she relaxed and let the sheet fall around her form until her hands rested on her lap. She remained close to the lantern, however, since she wouldn't let her guard down. Right now, she'd only make it seem that way, but from their interaction already, she could tell how perceptive he was, which made the situation worse.

"There's been more than one deal between him and me." She intertwined her fingers and wrung her hands together. Thankfully, her headache from when she first woke was less painful, but that might be because of the individual in front of her. There wasn't the luxury to have a headache and pay attention to it. Later, such behavior probably would come back to haunt her, but she had dealt with worse in the past.

"In that case, the one that made you freeze up." Again, she felt paralyzed, and she hesitantly met his stare, which was composed and inquisitive. "He obviously wants you to be his mate, right? I can't see him going through all of this trouble for a human otherwise." She didn't know whether she should tell him the truth or not, but she figured that he knew it; he just wanted more information out of what looked like pure curiosity.

Releasing a sigh, she nodded. "... Yes." Her optics looked to the boarded up windows, and she wondered how long she had been asleep. "This particular deal, though, dealt with a game." His silence motioned her to carry on. "I didn't want his child, so he was giving me time. Long story short, he formed a deal, a game ... Whatever you want to call it." She diverted her focus back onto him and continued, "If I managed to escape him for a whole year, he promised not to have a child with me, not to have ..." It was awkward explaining it to a stranger.

"Sex?" His expression remained neutral, and he almost looked bored by her reluctance to say the word. She parted her lips, but he cut her off before she could speak. "And, no. I haven't had sex with a human before." Nearly, she thought that she saw disgust in his eyes. "Nor do I ever want to." Despite the situation, she felt a little relieved by that. Then again, he could be lying.

"... Right ..." She didn't know how else to respond to that. "But, that was our deal. And if he won, he would get to have a child with me whenever he wanted. If I refused him, he'd essentially make my life even more miserable until I finally agreed."

No response came from him. He stayed quiet and seemed to be thinking over her words. For a slight second, she thought that she saw rage enter his optics, but it vanished shortly after as if it never was there. "I see. That does sound quite terrible for you." Leaning forward, he rested his chin on the palm of his right hand. "But, has he won?"

Instantly, she shook her head lightly. "No. He's ..."

A sigh parted from him, and she stopped short. His optics glanced to the boards. "You really have him wrapped around your finger, don't you?" Words escaped her, and her lips parted, but nothing came out. "And, I don't think that you've realized it." Before she could speak, he held up his left hand, and she didn't speak a word. Lowering his hand, he continued, "Our species is incredibly patient since we live in the shadows and strike when we know we can control the situation."

Very pale blue optics met her (e/c) ones. "He's still controlling your entire game. I'm sure that you've noticed that." Steadily, she nodded her head. "But, here's the thing." He pointed to her with his left index nail. "You're who he wants as a mate, and what has it been now?" His nails clicked against the wood again. "Almost a year? Maybe more since the tunnels. And, he still hasn't impregnated you." Sitting up straight, he remarked, "That's surprising."

Listening to his words, she didn't know what to think, but a pit in her stomach was forming. Maybe, it just was how he had said it, and the thought of impregnation didn't sit well with her at all. Before she could speak, he again beat her to it. "What I mean to say is that if he truly wanted a child with you, he would've won the game already and begun the process, especially given his methods of killing humans in the past. One would think him to have no consideration for his desired mate, yet here you are." He crossed his arms. "And, you still could win your game with him."

"T-Then ..." She furrowed her brows as if her mind didn't want to admit it, but she knew that he loved her. (F/n) comprehended his feelings for her; she understood that he was frightened to lose her to someone else. He didn't want competition for her; he desired her all to himself, yet he was ... stalling. The creature could've won the game so many times, yet he never did; he held back. But ... Confidence rose in her voice. "He's only doing all of that to mess with me more, torment me more. He wants to have control."

"Perhaps." A bored expression crossed the new creature's countenance, and he stared back to the windows. "But, he also has grown soft no matter how you frame the situation." Something in her mind clicked, but she pushed it back before it could surface. "Regardless, we have a deal to discuss." Admittedly, he was right, and she didn't want to think any more about the creature's motives. She knew them, and she wouldn't question the game anymore. It was his sick, twisted idea to attain what he wanted with her; it was nothing more. Besides, she would kill him; that was her role, and she accepted that.

Meeting her optics once more, he mentioned, "It's simple. Help me teach him a lesson." His eyes gleamed dangerously for the first time, and her hands instinctively gripped the sheets a bit despite the slight pain she felt travel through her sore body. "A permanent one. I've had enough of his fooling around and causing trouble, and he's addicted to you, which makes for the perfect situation."

Shifting a bit on the bed carefully, she didn't speak as her mind processed what he might be suggesting. "And, I have a feeling that he'll cause more issues down the road. He's become too much of a liability to my kind, and I think that we might have the same goal in mind." Her heartbeat picked up a little. "And despite my dislike for you, you're the only one who probably has his entire trust or most of it at the very least."

Again, he leaned forward; though, this time, he rested his elbows on his knees. "My deal with you is to help me kill him." Her heart froze, but her mind suspected something along those lines; she just couldn't believe it. "And, you walk free. You can go home and live your life." Pieces were clicking in her head, and she thought that she heard a clock ringing constantly. "You probably know how hard it is to kill one of us, so you having my help will raise your chances of success significantly." Jumbled sounds parted from her. "So, will you agree?"