Chapter 5: The Devil’s Bargain

Thank God for Christmas—Lucas went home to his rich dad and stepmom, leaving the lab almost peaceful. The break room radio played tinny carols, and someone had stuck a crooked felt Santa to the coffee maker. A half-deflated snowman balloon drooped in the corner, and someone had scribbled 'Merry X-mas' on the whiteboard in red Expo marker. For a few days, it felt safe. Silas and I could finally breathe.

I let Silas recover—no experiments, just food and clean water. But he was nothing like Theo. Fierce as hell. When a coworker tried to feed him, Silas bared his teeth, scaring the guy so bad he broke his leg. Silas just laughed, circling, tail thrashing like an angry cat.

Nasty piece of work.

So I took over feeding. He always gave me the cold shoulder, but at least he didn’t scare me on purpose.

One sleepless morning, I got to work early and saw Silas sleeping on the bare glass bottom, no privacy at all. Guilt gnawed at me, so I gave him some big stones—hoping he’d build a nest.

At first, he looked pleased. The hostility faded as he started arranging the stones. Theo watched curiously for a while. When Silas finally finished, Theo gave Silas a look like a kid showing off his science fair trophy. Silas just glared, tail lashing like an angry cat.

Theo, all smug, showed off his own nest—gems, shells, seaweed streaming like colored ribbons.

Silas lost it. He destroyed his own nest, stones flying, then sulked at the bottom.

I knocked on Theo’s glass, rolling my eyes: "Are you a kid or what?"

Theo just pressed his face to my palm, grinning.

...

Three days after Christmas, Lucas was back.

I swiped in, only to find him leaning against Silas’s tank, giving me that predatory grin.

To be fair, Lucas was good-looking—6’4”, built, emerald-green eyes. But he had that Jersey frat-boy swagger—big, cocky, always smirking like he owned the place.

Half the women in the lab had dated him, or tried to. But when he looked down at you, it was like a wolf sizing up a rabbit.

"Dr. Morgan, you’ve taken good care of him," Lucas said, all mock-politeness. "He’s looking healthy enough to dissect, so I’ll take him off your hands today."

He leaned down, smile sharp. "I’ll send you the data."

Silas glared, tail flicking, his red scales almost too bright to look at.

I couldn’t let him die. Instinctively, I stepped between Lucas and the tank.

"Wait."

Lucas raised a brow. "You want to keep him?"

I clenched my fists, trying to sound steady. "Yes. Name your price."

Lucas’s smile turned feral. He stepped closer, crowding my space.

He reached out, brushed my hair aside, pulled out my hair tie so it fell loose. I could smell my own rose shampoo, suddenly nauseating.

He breathed in, eyes half-lidded. "Anyone ever tell you how good you smell?"

Alarm bells went off. Lucas had hit on me before, but I’d always shut him down.

Behind me, Theo pounded on the glass, frantic and furious.

Lucas twisted my hair in his fingers, eyes dark. "One night with me, Morgan. That’s the deal. You want your pet fish? Earn it."

"Kindness isn’t free, Dr. Morgan."

I was trapped—his hand in my hair, my back pressed to the tank, nowhere to run. My whole body went cold as I tried to figure out how to get out of this. Lucas’s grip tightened. Behind the glass, Theo’s fists pounded, desperate. I had seconds to decide—before someone, or something, broke.