My Vampire Harem Will Dominate Everything

"Yes I was." Ezra answered, looking around the office. While the decor mostly stayed the same, the paintings had been taken down and there were a lot more… potted plants?

He frowned, looking at the closed window blinds. What was the point of having actual potted plants if they won\'t see a lick of sunshine?

Ivo led the way to the couches in the middle of the office. He sat, gesturing to the couch opposite him. "You\'ll want to be seated for this, Ezra Matten. This is important, okay?"

Ezra looked around for a final time before sitting tentatively at the edge of the couch, ready to spring up at a moment\'s notice.

"I know what you\'re wondering." Ivo spoke and Ezra fought the urge to raise a brow. "You\'re wondering why we\'re here at Ascendant Capital, aren\'t you?"

Ezra chuckled inwardly. He hadn\'t, in fact, been wondering about that. He didn\'t care why they were there. He only wanted to hear what Ivo had to say and go home.

"We\'re here because everything Yuri owns belongs to me. I can use this anytime I want, Ezra. But there is one thing I want more than anything else." Ivo paused dramatically. "Freedom. Simple, right?"

Ezra watched, confused, wondering what the bare chested man was yapping about.

"Freedom. I bet it\'s the same thing you want." Ivo leaned forward, closely watching the tension in Ezra\'s posture. "I can see it in your eyes even now. You want to be free. From Yuri, from this war, from me. I\'m not wrong, am I?"

Ezra blinked. He hadn\'t known Ivo was this… perceptive. He wanted to be as far from First City as he could be but with the Shield Wall, he had to stay, whether he wanted it or not.

"I do not take pleasure in telling you, Ezra Matten, that your freedom is about to be taken from your hand very soon. Permanently. That won\'t-"

"Wait, what?" Ezra asked, cutting off Ivo\'s verbal tic. The confusion in his voice was genuine. Now, he really wanted to know what the man was talking about.

Ivo leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on Ezra as if assessing every twitch, every subtle reaction to choose the perfect time to deliver his bombshell. He let the silence between them grow and thicken until it was almost an Aura of its own before he spoke bluntly, not a single trace of emotion in his voice.

"Yuri plans to hand you over to Vladimir to end the war."

Ezra\'s expression remained frozen for a beat too long, the gravity of the words hanging between them.

He knew what Ivo was talking about. Yuri had already told him about the offer and reassured him she wouldn\'t go through with it. It had also been an offer from Solomon, not Vladimir.

He already had a nonverbal understanding with Yuri and had hinted at Ivo and Armand\'s deception. But now, with Ivo delivering the news to him, he had to act. He couldn\'t afford to give away that he already knew and had to stay on their side.

Ivo was trying to avert Ezra\'s supposed fate. But it wouldn\'t be for free. In light of that, Ezra decided to play along and see.

He shot up from his seat, the heavy couch scraping loudly against the floor from the force of the action. "What?" His voice rose with indignation, and his eyes flashed with barely controlled rage. "She\'d sell me out? After everything? Just hand me over like a pawn?"

Inside, he was calm and calculating, but his outward fury was a convincing storm. He paced back and forth, his body language packed with disbelief. He needed to play this perfectly. Showing enough anger to be believable, but not so much that it appeared forced.

Ivo watched him carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly as he observed Ezra\'s outburst.

This was probably the reaction he had been looking for. If not this, then something very close. He stood and stepped forward, lowering his voice as if they were the only two people in the world who mattered at that moment.

"Yuri has lost her way, Ezra. She\'s no longer thinking about what\'s best for her people, or for those of us who have supported her all this time." Ivo paused, letting his words sink in. "It\'s time for new leadership. Someone who understands loyalty, who won\'t sacrifice those closest to them. Isn\'t that better?"

Ezra stopped his pacing, his fists clenched at his sides, pretending to process the betrayal. "What are you suggesting?" he asked, though the answer was already forming in his mind.

Ivo stepped closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "We\'re staging a coup. Armand and I have been planning it for some time now, but we need your help. Side with us, and when Yuri is out of the picture, we\'ll reshape everything. Wouldn\'t that be good?"

"What about the war?" Ezra asked, eyes wide. Those were valid concerns. "We\'ll be torn apart if we have a coup at this time."

"Don\'t worry about that, Ezra. We already have a deal with Solomon, sealed in a blood oath. Southside will be safe and the war will end peacefully." Ivo reassured Ezra. "So what do you say?"

Ezra turned to face him fully, narrowing his eyes as if considering the proposition. They had covered their bases, creating a foolproof plan. What had Yuri been doing to let this happen under her roof? As always, there was only one path forward. Play along.

"If I join this coup, what\'s in it for me?"

A grin spread across Ivo\'s face, like a predator sensing a kill. "You\'ll have complete control over the farmer\'s market. Full autonomy. You\'ll keep seventy percent of all profits, not the thirty percent agreement you have with Yuri. You\'ll be untouchable, won\'t you?"

Ezra frowned, pretending to think about it. The offer was tempting on the surface, but he knew better. With Yuri now aware of something amiss, it wouldn\'t be so easy to take her out anymore. Anything could happen.

He had to stall, buy himself some time to figure out his next move. "This is a major decision, Ivo. I need time to think it over. Something like this… it\'s not a choice I can make lightly."

Ivo\'s eyes darkened, sensing his hesitation. He took another step forward, his voice growing more intense.

"There\'s no time for that, Ezra. This is happening now. If Yuri catches wind of what we\'re planning, it\'s over. You\'ll be handed to Vladimir, and we\'ll all be finished. You can\'t afford to wait."

Ezra clenched his jaw, knowing he was being cornered. The pressure was mounting, and Ivo wasn\'t giving him any room to maneuver. There had to be a reason Ivo chose Ascendant. There had to be contingencies in here if he declined the offer.

His eyes flicked to the potted plants. What could they mean? He didn\'t want to find out.

With no other option, Ezra slowly nodded, wearing a mask of determination on his face. "Fine." He said, the words heavy on his tongue. "I\'m in."

Ivo\'s grin widened, savoring his victory. "Good. Then let\'s make this official." He placed a hand on Ezra\'s shoulder. "We\'ll seal this deal with a blood oath. No backing out, no betrayal. This will bind us together."

Ezra hesitated, his mind racing. With Ivo\'s hand on his shoulder, if he teleported away, Ivo would be dragged along. There was only one right answer.

"Okay."