Chapter 9 - Mira


    The ck cotton dress hugs my body tightly, and I admire how it gives the illusion of curves when I


    have clearly been starved all my life. It has been a week since my positive pregnancy result and Josef


    has informed me that Alpha Nikos would like to see me this evening.


    My closet has been filled with clothing in all shapes and sizes ording to my body type and how it will


    grow. From evening wear tofort clothing and fuzzy slippers. The lush robes are a favorite of mine!


    So, I decided to wear this dress to my meeting with the Alpha…not that I am much to look at, anyway.


    Dull brown curls, dark brown eyes, and a body showing years of neglect. There’s nothing overly special


    about me, just the fact that I am carrying his child.


    I am nervous, though, since he wants to speak with me. We haven’t seen each other since the night of


    my first heat and that mortification still burns hot in my chest. Thank Goddess that won’t be recurring,


    though.


    As soon as I leave here, I’ll be on heat suppressants again. Being a ve to your body is an awful


    feeling and it’s even worse on a full moon. But I haven’t shifted in years; Mikhail never allowed me to


    and Star has been quiet.


    I’m basically a human with supernatural healing now.


    Evening swiftly approaches and I am a nervous wreck by the time Josefes to collect me. There’s


    no indication as to what this meeting is about, and the thought alone makes me even more nauseous.


    “Where are you taking me, Josef?”


    He chuckles at the hitch in my voice and shakes his head. “Don’t worry, Miss Mia, the Alpha won’t do


    anything to harm you,” he says withplete faith. “He’s asked me to take you to his private dining


    quarters.”


    I freeze up. “P-private dining quarters? Why?”


    Josef shrugs. “That’s where he usually has his important meetings,” he says, and that serves to shut


    me up immediately.


    Important meetings. I suppose that seeing his surrogate would count as a meeting as well, wouldn’t it?


    Not that I amining since I have no idea what to expect from this. My terms and conditions were


    clear in the contract, so what will meeting with me aplish?


    I realize then that this is my first time walking this side of the pack house and taking in the sleek look of


    the entire ce. cks, whites, and gunmetal - the ce feels sterile. This Alpha definitely spent a lot


    of money on this ce.


    Wee to a stop outside tworge dark wood doors and Josef knocks three times before opening the


    door. The same color scheme is visible here, but my eyes immediately fall on Alpha Nikos seated at


    the head of a dinner table.


    He’s sitting back in his chair, elbow braced on the arm and his chin resting on his fingers. Wearing


    ck once again, the top two buttons of his dress shirt are open, showing off where the tattoos on his


    neck lead to.


    Those green eyes of his have clouded, as if he’s not in a very pleasant mood, his dark hair slicked back


    - looking every inch of the mafia boss that he is.


    “Thank you, Josef. I’ll call you when you need to collect her,” his low voice booms through the room


    and a shiver runs up my spine. Goosebumps are puckering all over my skin already, and that anxiety


    gets even worse when Josef leaves.


    I’m still standing and uncertain of what to do next. In the presence of this Alpha, I feelpletely small,


    dwarfed by the immense intimidation he’s exuding. No wonder so many others are terrified of him, he


    doesn’t even need to lift a finger to make them feel that way.


    Is this what it means to be a True Alpha?


    “Are you going to join me, Mia?” his voice cuts through my self-panic and I immediately take a few


    strides toward him. As much as his aura repels, it also attracts.


    I see a space made up for me to his left, so I sit down and ce my hands on myp. The uncertainty


    is eating away at me slowly, and since I am not one to really talk, the silence is killing me.


    “Is there a reason you wanted to see me, Alpha?” I finally squeak out when I can’t take the silence


    anymore. “As far as the contract goes, we don’t even need to see one another.”


    The silence persists for another few seconds, then I hear his deep chuckle and turn my head toward


    him. He’s wearing an amused smile on his face as he picks up his ss filled with an amber liquid.


    “True, we don’t need to see each other at all, but both Josef and Lh have both informed me of your


    anxiety and stress. I figured that to set you at ease, I shoulde to speak with you in person.”


    This makes my heart beat even faster and he frowns. “Calm down, kouneláki, there’s no reason for you


    to be anxious like this,” he says, then a predatory grin splits his face. “I won’t eat you.”


    I actually chuckle at this. “You won’t eat me? Dare I say you’re the most dangerous predator in the


    country, Alpha; devouring me should be quite easy for someone like you.”


    That grin slips from his face and his green eyes now glow Alpha crimson, then he tilts his head to the


    side and looks at me questioningly.


    “Hmm, indeed it would be. And if I remember correctly, you taste divine,”


    That shut me up immediately and I feel my face zing with embarrassment. He tasted me on the


    night of my heat, I remember vividly the way he growled when he ced his fingers into his mouth.


    “I’m…that was a mistake. I shouldn’t have asked you to…help me. I apologize-”


    “Do I look like I need an apology?” he interjects, leaning forward again. “My little Omega needed my


    help, who was I to turn her away?”


    All my life I’ve been made to feel small by being called Omega, all my life I hated the term. But there’s


    something different in the way Alpha Nikos calls me Omega…it feels filthy, and I absolutely love it.


    “Th-thank you,” is all I can think of responding with, but all the while I don’t break eye contact.


    His eyes are still Alpha crimson as he stares at me and somehow I feel like I’m being held under a


    microscope. If he looks closer, he might start to see all the cracks on my surface.


    “That tattoo on your inner thigh, was it Mikhail’s work?”


    Those words feel like a p in the face and a shiver runs up my spine; he’s seen it. He’s seen the one


    thing that made me feel even more worthless than before.


    Held down by his men, Mikhail decided to tattoo those vile words on my inner thigh so I could never


    escape. And even if I did escape, no man could ever want me with that brand on me.


    “I-”


    “You don’t have to answer me,” he cuts me off and takes a sip of his ss. After this, servers walk out


    with dinner tes and our conversation stops.


    Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    Even though I do not feel hungry, I force myself to eat and enjoy the delicious food. I’m sure he doesn’t


    want to see his surrogate full of worry and stress, so I need to calm down for the sake of the baby.


    But something has been bothering me since this entire thing started; so, feeling brave after dinner, I


    decided to ask him.


    “Alpha Nikos, can you please tell me one thing,” I ask as I ce my hands in myp. He raises an


    eyebrow and gestures with his hand.


    “I''ll try my best to answer,” he says.


    I swallow deeply. “You mentioned that you chose me as a surrogate because it’s easier, but you could


    have chosen another woman; one who is more beautiful and has power behind her name,” I start. “So,


    why didn’t you?”


    “Hmm,” he says, leaning in his chair the same way as before. The servers bring out dessert, but I don’t


    see them ce anything in front of him. “Do you see that dish in front of you?”


    I look down at the te, the thin, delicate strips look like threads woven onto a piece of cake, with a


    dollop of vani ice cream next to it.


    “It is called Kataifi; a popr dessert back in my home country. Its thinly cut dough exterior holds a


    delicious filling of chopped almonds, sugar, and plenty of cinnamon. People all over love it.” He says,


    drinking from his ss again.


    “What does this have to do with my question, Alpha?” I ask with narrowed eyes. Is he purposefully


    ignoring my question?


    He chuckles, a low thrum that has my heart skipping a beat. “I don’t like Kataifi, in fact, I hate desserts.


    Women with powerfulst names are born to believe they’re better than your average, but I see them in


    the same light as I see desserts - pretty butcking in substance.”


    I don’t know what to say to this exnation, so I keep quiet in case he isn''t done.


    “Mafia women, women with powerful fathers, they don’t like being told ‘no,’ and since I am not looking


    for a Luna, getting an heir out of them would have been impossible. I don’t wantmitment, I don’t


    want a woman thinking they can get more out of this than what we agreed to.”


    It all clicks into ce then. “Oh.”


    “I can sense Alpha blood in you as well, so I think you''d be perfect for this,” he says with finality, then


    he smiles. “And I never once said you’re not beautiful.”


    My face heats up and I immediately look down at my hands. There’s no way he could think I’m


    beautiful; that makes no sense! I have always been called worthless, in, average, and a whore. Not


    pretty, and never beautiful.


    “Look at me, Mia,” my head snaps up at the authority in his voice. His eyes have gone crimson again.


    “Yes, sir,” I say, ignoring the low growl I can so clearly hear in his chest.


    “For the next few months, you’ll be the most important person to me in this pack house. But I need you


    to look after yourself better, do you understand that?”


    “Yes, sir,” I say again, not believing my ears. The most important person to him?


    Then he growls loudly and I see his ck ws extending - wait, ck ws? Is he -?


    “You might be here because of a contract, but I never want you looking down like that again. You’re


    carrying my only heir, I want you to act like it. Never avert your eyes, not even in front of an Alpha like


    me. You’re giving the impression that you’repliant in the face of abuse, you’re showing that you’re


    submissive - Don’t. If you want to survive the world out there, never show them weakness, Mia, even if


    you are an Omega.”


    His words silence any response I could have had; no one has ever given me advice like this before,


    and everyone preferred me being a submissivemb. But this Alpha wants me to be stronger mentally?


    Why?


    The sound of his chair scraping against the floor makes me blink back to the present and I see him


    getting to his feet. “Josef will be here to collect you momentarily,” he says and with that, he leaves the


    room, taking all my questions with him.