Conquering His Cold Heart

“You saw the red eyes leaving?” Slayer went and stood a few feet away from the boy. And he asked, “Tell me more about it.”

The boy looked at Slayer straight in the eyes. He was brimming with confidence when instead of giving straight answers, he proposed a deal to the infamous Slayer. “If I tell you everything I saw here, will you take me along with you? I want you to take me in as your apprentice.”

Slayer scoffed and then suddenly burst into laughter when he heard the boy’s absurd demand. He looked over his shoulder and then asked the men behind him, “Hey, look how brave this kid is! He is braver than all of you combined.”

The men behind him pretended not to be hurt by Slayer’s words and laughed alongside him as if they just heard the most hilarious joke of the decade.

The boy folded his arms and then shrugged. “Well, if you don’t want to make a deal with the only person in this whole village who actually saw the incident, then I have nothing to say.” He even turned around and said while pretending to walk away, “Goodbye, gentlemen! Have a nice trip back to the capital.”

He suddenly stopped on his track when he heard Slayer speaking in a threatening tone from behind him.

“You are mistaken if you are thinking that you can walk away from here without revealing everything you saw. I know a lot of tactics that can make you talk, boy.”

The boy looked over his shoulders and asked in a mocking tone, “What kind of tactics, Sir? You will torture my family to make me talk? Ooh! I know. You will break my limbs and try to squeeze the information out of me. And what’s the worst that you can do? Kill me, right?”

.....

He looked ahead and then said while walking away, “I am sorry, Sir. But none of those tactics is going to work on me. You can’t make me open my mouth against my will.”

Slayer clenched his fists in anger and roared, “Don’t you dare underestimate me, you big mouth. I know the likes of you. Big talk on the outside but hollow on the inside.”

“Respectfully, Sir, I’m not underestimating you!” The boy shouted back.

He swiftly turned on his heels and glared back at Slayer. The hidden pain in his heart was now spilling out of him as he further spoke, “If I had underestimated you then I wouldn’t have demanded to be your apprentice, Sir Slayer.”

Slayer narrowed his eyes at that boy and asked in a somewhat softer voice than before, “If you know who I am, then why would you even want to follow me?”

The boy walked towards the burly man and spoke with vigor, “Because you are one of the strongest warriors I know. I have survived these 17 years all on my own. And I can keep on struggling on my own for the rest of my life.”

“Then why?” Slayer asked while giving a piercing gaze to the boy who didn’t look 17 at all. He looked way younger than that.

The boy stopped a foot away from Slayer and answered, “Why? Because I know what is about to happen to me soon. And when that happens, I don’t want to be a lone wolf. I want to belong somewhere. And if that somewhere is by your side, then I am even willing to put my life at stake.”

“You are willing to put your life on stake, huh?” Slayer raised his brows.

The boy puffed his chest a little and then agreed, “Yes, sir. I have nobody who you can use against me. I have nothing to lose. So, if I can get recognized by you by enduring some pain, or even a near-death experience, then I am willing to bet my life in the hope of a little better future than what I see right now.”

“Who told you that I won’t kill you right away?” Slayer snarled at the boy and displayed his clawed fingers.

And in the next second, he swiped his hand across that boy’s neck.

Slayer smirked at that boy when he didn’t even flinch or blink his eyes. What he found more impressive was that his claws had slightly grazed that boy’s neck. And the boy was brave enough to stand unaffected, without showing a hint of fear in his eyes.

Slayer smiled and asked that boy, “What’s your name?”

The boy gave a slight bow to the tall man in front of him. A few rays of the morning sun fell on his hair, highlighting his chestnut brown hair color. “My name is Cillian.”

“So, you haven’t had your first transformation yet?” Slayer asked again.

“No, Sir,” Cillian looked back at Slayer’s brown eyes and answered.

“Hmm…” Slayer took a deep breath and said, “What if you run to find other alphas once you transform? All the efforts I put in you will go in vain.”

Cillian confidently looked at Slayer and replied, “I will devote myself to the alpha you follow. I have never known my true clan. So, if I believe that I am from your clan, then maybe I won’t go and find some other alphas.”

“That’s not how it works, boy,” Slayer grumbled. However, the boy had successfully garnered his attention. So, he was willing to give the boy a chance. “But let’s see how well you can keep your word. Who knows? You might originally be from our clan. Even if you aren’t from my clan, I hope you won’t forget your master once you find out the true clan that you belong to.”

Cillian’s light brown eyes brightened with joy. “Does that mean I am your apprentice now?” he asked in an excited voice.

“Only if you give some crucial information about the battle,” Slayer replied without mincing his words.

Cillian smiled ear to ear and then nodded his head. “I will tell you everything that I saw. Where shall I begin? I saw a lot of things.”