The clanking sound of the window filled his ears and the man asleep on the bed moved before he was even fully conscious. He snatched the pistol from under his pillow and pulled the trigger, noting the sudden presence in the room.
Malakai Basti heard a yelp, then rapid ragged breathing. He opened his eyes, golden like flames, to see a woman, precisely Eve hunched with her hands pulled up in the air defensively. She looked to the window with a hole in it and turned back to stare at Malakai with bulging hazel eyes. "Y-y-you almost shot me!"
She was an omega.
Malakia sniffed.
"Who the fuck are you?" He left the bed in a single movement and appeared right in front of her.
Eve jolted falling back to hurry away from him, but he grabbed her wrist, spinning her around and slamming her back into his solid frame. The head of the pistol pressed against her temple, as if he would kill her if she didn't spill her identity and how she got into his bedroom.
"Who are you?" He bit out, his hold on her arm tightening as he twisted it behind her back. "You have five seconds to answer me."
Eve winced in pain and tried turning her head to see his face.
"Okay, okay, please just let me go."
"Answer my question."
She breathed out, swallowing. Malakai could hear her heart beating, two hearts at that.
Pregnant… He noted.
Eve stared at him, wide eyed with hands in the air. "Would you…mind putting the gun down? I had a bad encounter with that thing today…"
Malakai didn't. She wasn't someone he knew, not an unfamiliar brunette like her, slender and average in height. Young as well, at least probably twenty two or four.
Her eyes held his and worrisome creases formed in the corners of them, a bright clear hazel, possibly even orange, depending on the lightning.
What would a pregnant omega be doing in his bed—
He flinched back, so suddenly away from her before his brain could even comprehend it. It had been like an elctric shock, stealing the breaths out of his lung for a second.
Malakai breathed sharply, his intent stare stuck on her.
Eve appeared confused at the look he was giving her. Had she not felt it? What he felt just now? Like a spark.
"I don't mean any harm." She quickly shook her head at him. "I'm not some kind of assassin and I'm not here to kill you—"
"That would be very stupid of you."
"Yes, yes, it would, so please…put the gun down, Mr. Basti."
Malakai ran his eyes over her from head to toe, then back up, his gaze pining her in place. What had been that spark just now?
"How did you get into my bedroom?" he asked.
Eve turned her head towards the window, only for him to now notice the climbing rope with a hook on it, lodged into the wall of his room.
"You…you threw a hook into my room?"
"Sorry…" she apologized with a crooked smile. "My name is Eve. Eve Irvine."
"And what do you want from me?"
He began to walk towards her, each step intimidating. There was something familiar about her, like he'd seen her somewhere before.
Eve's throat bopped as she swallowed and she began backing up, until her body met the wall, trapped between him and it.
She said, "I would have made an appointment with you, but I doubt a billionaire Alpha like you would want to see a nobody, an omega you don't even know. Your guards wouldn't even listen to me."
"So you broke into my house?" Malakai asked, annoyed.
Eve cleared her throat and pulled up a shaky smile. "Listen, I'm sorry about everything. But can we talk? You actually won't be disappointed if you know why I'm here."
He stared at her, eyes narrowed. "You came here for something?"
"Yes." She nodded frantically and adjusted the glasses that rested on the edge of her nose. "To make a deal with you, actually. It's very important."
Sudden amusement broke inside of Malakai, though not evident on his blank face. He tilted his head, watching her much very shorter figure. Her neck was craned, just so she could look into his eyes.
He asked, "What kind of deal would an omega like you want to make with me? You said you're a nobody."
"Right," Eve managed, her tone sounding a bit offended, but it didn't last long enough for him to dwell on it. "I have this." She plucked out a device. The USB.
Malakai raised a questioning brow.
She said, "My mate was Patro Zolotov and—"
The name, as if a switch had been flipped, snapped something inside of him and Malakai's hand came around her throat. He grounded out through clenched teeth, "Talk, or I'll snap your neck into two."
"Was! W-was! He was." Eve's expression turned pained. "He was my husband!"
Malakai narrowed his eyes, but did step back, letting go. She breathed out and swallowed before exhaling again, this time with confidence. "Please, I beg you, just let me speak first, before you decide if I am your enemy or not."
He stepped further away from her.
The pieces had all suddenly fallen into place. She was the wife of his enemy, Patro Zolotov—the man he hated the most. It all suddenly made sense why she seemed familiar to him. But why would the wife of his enemy break into his house? What did she want from him?
Was this some sort of set up?
"He's not my husband anymore." Eve looked up at him, fixing her glasses with her index finger. "I know you two are in a big fight, either one of you is going to take each other down and I want to help you."
"Huh?" He frowned.
She took a deep breath and fisted her hands by her side. The uncertainty in her eyes were suddenly replaced by hardness. "I can help you—No, I will help you. But I want something in return."
"Which is?"
"You," Eve said. "I want you."