Take on me

Michael 1988

"What's going on?" I growl, immediately feeling defensive. Luthando surfaced, carefully judging both creatures. I was sure Yusef wasn't human either.

"The famous Michael Branker," Yusef gets up, walking around the desk. His gaze traveled up and down. "Handsome boy, isn't he?"

"Famous?" I scoff, eyeing both of them. "I'm not famous."

Yusef raises an eyebrow, glancing at his associate. 

"Anna hasn't explained anything?" he asks coyly. "Darlin', that's just rude."

"Shut up," Anna huffs, waving her hand for him to continue. 

Yusef had a strong British accent, though it wasn't fancy like you might see on TV. Instead, it was the kind that made you think of rough streets and dark alleys.

Luthando stared at him suspiciously. Feeling he was more dangerous than Anna was odd since she was a dragon. But, on the other hand, Yusef didn't smell like one, and I can't tell what sort of supernatural he was.

"Don't take her at face value," Yusef chuckles. "She's very nice once she gets to know you."

"Yusef," Anna warns, and there's a hint of a growl in her throat. "Stop wasting time."

"Anna, the boy has no idea what's going on, and it doesn't seem like he's slept. Why don't you give me twenty minutes with him? Eh? Go get yourself a coffee, my treat."

"I'm in charge," Anna purses her lips.

"I know, love," Yusef rolls his eyes. "But your human skills are rusty. Go on. You'll still be in charge when you come back. I won't be planning a coup."

To be honest, I was expecting Anna to rip his head off, but she only glanced at me and nodded at her companion before walking out of the room.

"Well, that's better, ain't it?" Yusef chuckles. "Sorry about her, she just got promoted, and I don't think she's used to the power yet. She really is a champion once you get to know her."

"That's fine, I guess," I shrug, unsure what to say. "So, why am I here?"

"To the point, I like that," Yusef points to a seat. "Why don't you take a seat? No need to stand while we chat."

Doing as he suggests, I watch as Yusef pulls a chair from the other side of the room and sets it in front of me. He leans back in it casually as if we were sitting at a bar or something.

"Well, Mike, do you mind if I call you that?" I shrug, not caring, and he nods. "Good. Well, I suppose you're here because you're still alive."

"What?" My confusion isn't any less than it was at the start.

"I mean that quite literally," Yusef cocks his head at me. "You were supposed to be dead."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I narrow my eyes. "Because someone had my ID?"

"No," Yusef sighs. "That poor bastard had the misfortune to be using your identity. You were the one the hunters were searching for."

"Hunters?" The term makes me scoff. "What would a hunter want with me? I'm a rogue, my pack has nothing to offer, and I haven't done anything."

"Hunters is the term we're using for them," Yusef shrugs at me. "In truth, they are an underground faction we're dealing with, and we don't know what they want with you or any of their other victims. We just know that no one was attacked by accident."

"Gracie," I mumble, thinking of how ill she was. "So, someone got my baby sister sick because of me?"

"I don't have the answer to that," he holds his hands up. "Maybe, but more than likely, they were after her as well."

"What makes you say that?" I growl.

"If they were trying to flush you out, why attack her alone?" Yusef challenges cooly. "Besides, they assumed you were dead."

"But...," I look to the ceiling. "Gracie's innocent. She's a kid!"

"You're asking for logic from terrorists?" Yusef asks with a mirthless laugh. "Might as well ask the currants to change course."

"What do you want from me?" I glare at the man, my mind swimming with possibilities. 

No one should be after Grace or me. We were no one. Yes, our father's pack had been something once, but that was before, and even then, we weren't from a bloodline that anyone would care about.

"Ever heard of the term the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Yusef leans forward.

"Yes," what did that have to do with anything?

"I've been looking into you," he declares. "You're an interesting young man."

"Me?" I shake my head. "You've got the wrong guy, so unless you're here to tell me you have a cure for my sister, I'm done."

"Not a cure," Yusef stops me before I can get up. "But there is treatment. Experimental and incredibly costly."

"How costly?" 

"Definitely more than a fisherman can make," Yusef points out. 

"But it could save her?" I insist, moving forward in my seat. "It could help?"

"Like I said, it's experimental, but we've seen promising results. It doesn't cure the disease, but yes, it can help."

Whatever he wanted from me, I'd give it. But, if he had the answer I needed to help Grace, what wasn't I willing to pay for that treatment?

It wasn't a cure, but if we waited here, all we'd be doing was holding out until my little sister died. 

I didn't want to be the one to make sure her favorite song and flowers were at her funeral. I didn't want to stand there and mourn her. Especially when there was the slightest chance that I could change her fate.

"What will it cost me?" I get right to the point.

"A man of principle," Yusef smiles. "I knew that'd get you. Anna wanted to go down the route of appealing to patriotism."

"You want me to die?" I frown. It wasn't that I wouldn't do it. On the contrary, if ending my life meant Gracie lived, I'd do it.

"Gods, no!" Yusef laughs. "What good would you be to us if you were dead? No, no. I'm here to assess if you can handle the job."

"Doing what?" I demand, not worried about what it is.

"Working for the royal courts," Yusef smirks. 

"What?" That takes me by surprise. Those who worked for the royals came from prestige and had private education, which most supernaturals deplored. Private school didn't teach you how the real world worked. 

I was a high school dropout, never did my three years of service, and I was an exile. I had nothing the royals would desire.

"You're wondering why you?" Yusef raises his eyebrows. "Or you're check listing everything that works against you?"

"How did you guess?" 

"Because I did the same thing," he snickers. "Believe it or not, Mike, the royal courts aren't' full of pompous, stuck-up noble-born dragons who walk around with goblets of gold and toast to their own glory... Of course, there are a few of those, but you must remember the court is responsible for every Entit'a in the world. Do you believe there are enough nobles to make that work?"

"I never thought about it."

"No one does," Yusef chuckles. "It's easy to assume we're not working for our people. There aren't enough of us to make things run as smoothly as everyone would like."

"And some races get better treatment," I murmur, not caring if he hears.

"I'd like to argue with you there, but sadly I can't," he huffs. "It's true, some races take priority, but they have necessities that we can't overlook."

"And my kind doesn't?" I growl, feeling my wolf's irritation grow. "We're wild animals, so we can fend for ourselves as long as we pay our taxes?"

"That isn't the case at all," Yusef gets up and grabs something from the desk before handing it to me. "It's why we'd like you to take the job. You'll see for yourself why things are the way they are."

"Why me?" I take the folder, staring at my name in the top corner. "I haven't even done service for the royals."

"The courts will waive that for all members of your pack and any children you might have in the future."

"What?" I stare at him dumbfounded.

"That's just an opening perk," he grins at me. "And I told you, I've looked into you. For a boy of twenty, you've done well for yourself. Your references speak highly of you; you've survived exile without losing your marbles and have a rare talent for your race. A rogue with diplomacy."

"Not getting yourself killed when you trespass isn't diplomacy," I counter, but that makes Yusef laugh.

"How many packs territory did you cross in the past three years?" 

"I don't know, a few," I shrug.

"And you're still alive," Yusef brings up his original point. "Like I said, you have a talent, and the court isn't foolish enough to pass up the chance."

Honestly, I don't know what to say to him. But what else could I do? This could save my sister and even my pack. I'd run from a sacrifice for them once. Could I do it a second time?

"Read the contract and think it over," Yusef suggests with a purr. "If you have any questions, Anna and I can answer them, and then you can decide if you're willing to follow us into the forest."

He didn't understand. I'd already made up my mind.

I was in.