The living room had entered a new period of silence after Sean and Cassie's arguing came to a head. The two now sulked as I held Cassie to comfort her. Sean had taken his seat across from us and refused to look in our direction.

I mean, Sean had a point when he told Cassie that she can't trust me. Of course, Cassie didn't take that well. Though it was fun to watch him get roasted for his past relationships. I am curious what Cassie walked into with Sean and Rachel. Must have been something fun for him to freak out and remind her she swore to never speak of it.

A notification sound came from Sean's phone. He rose from the chair and moved towards the front door until he went out of view.

"Finally." He said, as he reached the intercom by the entrance to their place. A faint buzzing sound came from outside the condo. A door clicked open followed by faint footsteps making their way up the stairs.

Well, time to meet the acting leader of this pack. If Sean and cassie are anything to go off of, she might not be that much of a threat. For now, I just need to see if the pheromones will work on her. Then it's just running out the clock till she's like Cassie. Otherwise I win with my unstoppable speaking skills.

The door opened when Sean spoke. 

"Ok, something is wrong with Cassie and-" Sean went quiet. The sound of their footsteps approached when a woman appeared. Her long brown, sun kissed hair swayed gently. Amber eyes looked both me and Cassie over in our embrace. Her face gave away nothing. 

"Hey there!" I said, my tone cheery to match the energetic wave I gave Marissa. With no reaction to my greeting, she faced Sean. Before he could speak, she walked away and the sound of the front door caught my ears. A slam and footsteps fading away followed it.

Did I fail? Maybe this is her game? For now, stay calm and see what she does next.

Sean stood there trying to process the encounter that had just played out. He turned and made his way to the door when his phone ringtone played out.

"Why did you leave?" Sean went quiet as nodded to whatever Marissa told him. "Ok, I can do that." Sean turned back to us, clicked on his phone screen, and set the phone on the table between us. I looked at the screen and saw Marissa's name as the call time counted upwards. 

"Its clear being around you is a bad idea. That said, this is conversation will happen from a distance... for us all." The calm voice said. The lot of us stared at the phone when a sigh came from it. "Sean, take Cassie to the house. Once you have my all clear, you can come back." Marissa's words were like her demeanor in the short time I saw her. Calm and never giving away what she was feeling. 

Marissa figured out how I work pretty quick. She might know something about me, but I know some things about her thanks to Cassie.

"What? Why do I need to leave?" Cassie asked. Her grip on me tightened as Sean stepped towards us. "Why can't I just help Vincent with this?" She turned to me. "We can do this! I just know it!" Tears welled up in her eyes as I caressed the side of her face. Her head leaned towards my hand as it had before.

"Cassie," I said her name softly, her eyes glancing at me. "I think it's best you listen to her." Surprise made her smile vanish. "I can get this set, then we can figure out a few things after that." a nervous breath left me as my face flushed. "Like us." Her glassy eyes lit up, and she leaned in towards me.

Nope, not kissing her. I got a rule on it for a reason, and she is not one of my exceptions.

I blocked her lips with my hand, her eyes opened; she looked at me with disappointment. I turned to Sean and tilted my head towards Cassie to signal he needed to take her and go.

"Let's have that talk first. For now, you need to go." My words left her saddened when she gave a weak nod before rising from the couch. The two made their way out and as they left, I sat pressing my back against the couch, and tilted my head up. Taking in the ceiling, I took a deep breath in. When the door to the condo shut, I exhaled in relief that Cassie was finally away from me. 

Alright, you can do this. Just use what you got and win this. No idea if she can hear me lie through the phone, but let's assume she can.

"Why are you here?" Her first question was an easy one.

"Well, I bought a condo in the neighboring building. Not sure if Cassie ever mentioned it, but that place had a paranormal prick trapped in it." I set my arms on the back of the couch and kicked my feet up on the coffee table. "If Cassie hadn't run up on me, I probably wouldn't be here right now." My arms rose from backing to make a shrug she couldn't see. "We can't change the past, but moving on, the ghost is in hell and I was here to keep a promise to Cassie." I paused in anticipation of hearing Marissa's thoughts, only to get silence.

From what Cassie told me about all her siblings, it should be Marissa's twin brother that this pack wants. That'll be easy to exploit and get her talking. 

"Right, so that promise is about helping Cassie with your guys' family issues." I pulled myself off the back of the couch and sat upright. "After all, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your family, right?" I leaned over the phone. "Especially your twin brother, right?" My voice went low, and a smile formed on my face as I waited for her to answer. It was her turn to speak.

"That's none of your business." She said, as I gave a shrug she couldn't see.

"Valid, but are you really in a position to turn away help?" I hummed for a moment, "I mean, you're up against the pack that rules the area. That means no one else is gonna step in and risk their lives for you. Sure, your parents are off talking to that other pack, but I think we both know that's in jeopardy." A laugh escaped me. "We both know what happens if that other pack drops you guys." I turned to side, brought my legs up onto the couch, and fell backwards. Once I laid flat, I set the phone to the side of me, put my arms behind my head, and kicked a leg up to cross it over the other. 

"How much do you know?" Her voice remained stoic. I laid there and waited to give her a taste of her own tactic. As I turned my head, I saw my silver book I had set on the table when a smile formed on my face. With a quick reach, I had the book in my hands, then turned myself over and laid on my stomach as I flipped through the pages.

Werewolves... Let's see what my book has to say about them.

I reached the page that documented the creature I was speaking with. My eyes looked over the page.

Werewolf

Soul Value: 3 or 5 (varies by type)

A creature that has both a human and beast form. Created by the angels above during the great war. The original virus lead to creating a singular type of werewolf with a short lifespan. Since its inception, the virus has mutated and evolved to form a more symbiotic relationship with its host. At present, there are five types of werewolves that a human can become when exposed to the virus via a bite from an alpha of the species, should they survive and retain their humanity.

The werewolf is a creature that posses incredible strength. They are pack creatures that typically work as a collective to crush any perceived threats. To kill one is to declare war against an entire pack. The creatures also posses heightened senses; hearing, eyesight, and smell, though for beings of desire, the last works to your advantage!

Below effectiveness of a being of lust's pheromones on the five types:

Alpha: 1.30

Beta: 1.45

Delta: 2.70

Gamma: 1.15

Zeta: 1.75

Note: 1.0 equates to the effectiveness of a human subjected to pheromones.

Cassie has to be a Delta. She started simping for me way too quick. Also, these fuckers are worth three to five souls a piece? That would be so much quicker than hoping I find a random ghost or killing damned humans. Time to win this conversation and get some souls!

"Answer the question or I end this call." Marissa's tone remained the same as before, yet her demand elicited a laugh from me.

"Oh sorry, just wanted to show you how annoying it was to have you sit there being all quiet on me." I said, as I looked over the rest of the page. "Tell you what, if you agree to stop that, we can get through this a lot quicker and maybe we both get what we want." With my piece said, a response came quickly. 

"Very well. What do you want?" Her question made me grin.

"Slow down now. I still have that other question to answer first." The silence on the other end was my cue to continue. "So I was alone with cassie for a while before I sent her back home and mind you she lost all ability to lie to me." I paused, "Oh that reminds me, thanks for the assist. You told her to not tell anyone about it. The dread was eating her up, and she had no one to talk to about it, at least till I came around. Then she was an open book." I sat back, satisfied with the seeds I planted in her mind.

"That wasn't... there are... did Sean hear any of this?" She asked, desperate for anything to work with despite keeping that same almost bored tinge to her voice.

"Well, Sean wasn't too bright, leaving me alone with Cassie, poor little Delta. She told me all kinds of things, no idea what Sean heard. I know he came back mad about Cassie talking about your current situation with that pack that's primed to kill you all." I thought back on Cassie's words and added a tidbit she threw at me earlier. "But hey at least Cassie is the fastest runner in the family. Maybe she'll get away. Maybe..." I went silent to let the dread of her death set in.

All right, time to bring it home.

"So, we've established you're royally fucked. The only protection you currently have is probably gonna ditch you. When that happens, the monsters you live in fear of will come, and all the other packs will just let it happen." A hum drifted from me. "So what if you had a wild card to help? Maybe that could spare you all! If we formed an agree-" Before I could finish, Marissa spoke.

"An agreement? I'm sure that would end well for me and my family." Sarcasm filled her words as I chuckled at her warranted concern.

"See, I knew you were smart. You'd have to be some kind of love sick puppy to think you can just take me at my word." I heard a faint huff over the phone. My dig at Cassie had made her mask slip for just a moment.

I've gotten under her skin and in her head, sweet. Now we make a deal.

"So, about the deals, you could make one with me, but it's not binding. I do, however, know a lovely woman who could guarantee I won't betray you." I stared at the phone and watched the call time on the screen count upwards.

"Continue." Marissa said while I pulled out my phone and switched it to silent. I then pulled up my conversation with Sammy.

"Yeah, so you'd just need to work with her, but if you can come to an agreement, I'd be able to protect you! Do you think being backed by me would make that pack think twice about attacking you?" I asked as I keyed a message and sent it.

|Vincent:

-Dude, may have a job that can pay us some decent souls you want in?

I then swapped to my chat with Samara when Marissa gave a reply.

"How is this contact of yours going to keep you in line and ensure our safety around you?" I finished typing my message to Samara as she finished her question.

|Vincent:

-So I know you're watching, and you're probably already putting together a plan. I can't wait to see what you come up with. It's why I ALWAYS give you as a referral.

Her response came almost instantly

|Samara:

-Listen, you're still getting a lecture for this, but I may not fight you now for sending me some business.

"Well, that's easy. A greed demon can link the souls of the signers to the contract. If someone breaks the deal, then the contract deals out the penalty. It could be minor or it could cause death. It all comes down to the terms set." I said, as I looked back to my phone to see another message from Samara had appeared.

-Tell you what, I'll waive the fee this time. Assuming she agrees to this. Consider it my housewarming gift for you.

Damn, she's definitely gonna lecture me, well nothing I can do about it now.

 "Right, so this deal would bind your human counterpart too, right?" I froze at what she asked, it was a question that I couldn't dance around with technicalities or omission.

Well, fuck. If I lie and get caught, she's never gonna want to work with me and then I'll lose out on the souls. Guess I have to be honest.

"So I don't have one of those." For once in this conversation, it seemed appropriate for silence to follow one of my responses.

"What? You don't have one? Why is that?" Marissa asked, as I took a breath to stay calm.

Remember, you're confident, in control, and running this conversation. Do not lose control of it now.

"So, Marissa, do you know how angels and demons came to be? If you don't, I'll give you the cliffsnotes version of it." I said, my confidence unwavering. There was no room for a slip up now.

"No, tell me." Her response brought me relief. Her lack of knowledge gave me some room to breathe as I formed a new plan.

"When a human dies, sometimes they get really damn lucky and get a second chance. Said chance comes as a soul contract. It depends on who approaches you. In my case, it was a greed demon. I had the option of eternal damnation or the contract." Putting my phone to the side, I picked up Sean's and turned on the camera. My eyes went silver. "So yeah, pretty obvious what I did." My eyes went back to brown. "When I finish the contract, I'll be an actual demon of desire... or lust demon if you want to be basic about it." With that said, I switched off the camera.

"Alright, if you become a demon, then what exactly are you currently?" Despite the lack of FaceTime, I could feel her staring at the screen of her phone as she waited for my answer.

"A revenant, basically I'm a resurrected corpse. The demon magic just makes me look like my normal, cute self." With a dash of cheer added to my words, I waited for Marissa to speak again.

"So you're not actually a demon? How strong are you? Could you even handle a regular werewolf, let alone a pair of alphas with dozens under their command?" Her venom laced statement left me thinking of how to turn this around.

Ok, I need to show her I'm not weak... I have a neighbor to murder, let's use that.

"A resurrected corpse sounds weaker than-" I cut her off.

"It's not killing him that's the challenge. It's making him vanish without a trace." Marissa remained silent. 

Perhaps she agreed with me? 

Not wasting the opportunity, I continued. "If this pack comes here and you miraculously kill them, you'll just have to deal with whoever you pissed off in creating a power vacuum. Oh, and all the other chaos that would emerge within said vacuum."

"So tell me then, how would you cover this up and keep the death of the Gaudin family from being discovered?" Silence took hold of the room again.

There's no way to keep such a high-profile target hidden, but I can still work with that.

"Marissa, we both know that's impossible, but we can work with their deaths and control when the other packs find out they're already dead." Another sigh escaped me as I again looked to the ceiling when an idea hit me. "So, when do your parents return?" I asked then saw my phone light up to see a message from Sammy.

|Sammy:

-Sure.

"They'll be back Sunday afternoon. Why?" she asked when I grinned at the screen.

"Oh, that's more than enough time for me to prove myself then." I opened his contacts when I wrote one in. "So I just put Samara's number into this phone. She'll know what's going on, so it'll be easy for you to make an agreement. I want you to set the deadline for when your parents' return." I set the phone down on the coffee table and stood up.

Let's finish this.

"Here's my offer. Have someone in your family I can't seduce come observe me as I go about my job. If you like what they report back, we can make another agreement. If I fail, then get it in writing that I can't come after your family." I bent down towards the phone. "Make the call or don't. You're the one who decides what happens to your family. I'll give you till dawn." With my offer made, I ended the call before she could respond.

Okay, now it's on her to decide. Tomorrow, I figure out how Harold dies and vanishes from the world.