Chapter 19 - Nikos


    I sit down in my office chair with my hand over my mouth, shell-shocked to shit at what Mia has just told


    me. All this time I had a mafia princess as my surrogate, an abused illegitimate heir given to my biggest


    enemy and I was none the wiser.


    She’s a fucking Cotroni; the daughter of my father’s best friend and the reason Maxim’s father was


    considered a failed Alpha heir.


    I wasn’t even aware he had a different daughter from Rosalie, but as I looked at Mia better, I could see


    the resemnce. She’s not lying, I know she’s not fucking lying so why am I so hesitant to believe her?


    If she’s Giovanni’s daughter, that means my heir will be even more powerful than I am. If she’s


    Giovanni’s only blood heir…wouldn’t it be better to keep her as my Luna?


    “No. Fuck, no,” I say aloud, shaking my head even as the thought forms in my mind. Yes, it would


    benefit me greatly to have her as my Luna, but I do not want a Luna, right? No, I don’t…I don’t need…


    My office door opens and Maxim saunters in with a bored look on his face. He’s been trying to get me


    to talk with Mia to find out what she knows, but I’ve been putting it off every day. But now that I’ve found


    out what her secrets are…I don’t know what to do.


    “That look on your face can’t mean anything good,” he says, sitting down opposite me. “What


    happened?”


    I brace my elbows on the desk and steeple my fingers underneath my chin. “I spoke to her, and she


    had…a lot to say.”


    Maxim’s eyes grow wide. “Well, it can’t be anything good if you look as confused as shit,” he says.


    I scoff, still not believing what I have been told. “Mia’s father is Giovanni Cotroni; she’s Cecilia’s


    daughter.”


    “You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he exims. “Cecilia, his life long fucking mistress? Didn’t she die like


    ten years ago or something?”


    This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I nod. “Gio kept her and used her before giving her to Mikhail-”


    “Who ruined her even more,” he says, shaking his head. “Shit, Niko.”


    Something wraps its tendrils around my heart, but I push it down. “I know, and if everything she has just


    told me is true, then Mikhail is in a world of fucking trouble.”


    Maxim looks at me expectantly before I eventually dive into the shitstorm Mikhail has created for


    himself. The same expressions I tried to hide from Mia as she told me these things, now show on his


    face as clear as day.


    “What the f…”


    “I know,” is all I can respond with. I still haven’t wrapped my head around this, either; it’s just too much


    to take in.


    I get up and walk over to the crystal decanters, pour two sses of whiskey, and hand one over to


    Maxim. He downs it and shakes his head. “You know what this means for you, right?”


    “I have to meet with Giovanni and tell him what Mikhail has done and what he still has nned,


    ording to Mia,” I say with a nod.


    “Mirabe; you’re still calling her Mia,” he corrects. “As much as that was on my mind, too, it’s not what


    I meant, Niko.”


    I frown, sipping on my whiskey. “Please borate, then.”


    He sighs, then looks me straight in the eye. “Mirabe is pregnant with your heir; she also happens to


    be the only Cotroni blood left alive. What do you think Giovanni will say about that?”


    “I don’t think Giovanni will give a shit,” I answer truthfully. “After using his daughter as a hired out sex


    toy, I doubt he’d want anything else from her.”


    Maxim grunts. “Nikos, you’re not looking at the bigger picture here. Inform Gio of the plot, yes, he


    will be eternally fucking grateful. But mention Mirabe and that she’s pregnant with your child. He will


    want you to marry her since you’re his best friend’s son… he’ll want to make this something huge.”


    “Maxim,” I growl.


    “No, listen to me! If it’s made huge, if there’s a wedding, Mikhail will attack. During the fray, you will kill


    Mikhail, and Gio will probably get killed too…then who is left to rule over, not only this entire city but the


    West as well?”


    I knew he would mention something like this, but nothing as farfetched as marrying Mia - fuck,


    Mirabe. Would Gio really want me to marry his daughter and make things official? Would he want me


    to be married to a woman he’s ruined?


    I hang my head on my steepled hands. “You know I can’t do that-”


    “It’s not like the marriage will be real anyway!” he exims. “You can still grant Mirabe her freedom,


    you can still offer her safety away from Mikhail since he’ll be dead. Giovanni will be dead, too, so


    there’s no reason to keep up appearances for longer. It’s a win-win situation for you both.”


    /“After knowing nothing but abuse all my life from people who were supposed to love and protect me, I


    don’t trust anyone; especially not Alphas.”/ Her hurt and abuse echo mine…those words hit a nerve I


    wasn’t aware was left exposed.


    She knows how it feels to be used by someone who is supposed to love you.


    Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath while allowing Maxim’s words to swirl in my head and not make


    sense. Mirabe’s blood is the answer to her freedom. If we do this then I can allow her to be free.


    But that means I will have to make her my Luna; I would have to im her with my bite and let her


    im me, too. An icy shiver slips up my spine at the thought and my hand unconsciously touches my


    shoulder where the twin sets of bites remain.


    That’s not something I will ever allow anyone to do - to im me and make me theirs. I don’t belong to


    anyone anymore. I am my own person without the shackle of a Mating Bite.


    “I’ll have to think about it,” I say in a low voice, not believing that I am actually considering this


    madness.


    But Maxim is right; if I do this, my territory expands. I’ll be the most powerful Alpha in the country, but is


    all that worth taking Mirabe as my Luna?


    Not only that, but will she say yes to it after how I’ve treated her? I wouldn’t expect her to, since I have


    confined her to the bedroom for now. But if I knew this is what she was running from in the first ce…I


    wonder what my reaction would have been.


    “You do that; call Bastien if you need to,” Maxim says, then he gets to his feet. “Think it over clearly,


    Niko. This could be big for SilverCrest.”


    I watch as he walks out before I pick up my cell phone to contact Bastien for advice. He would know


    what to do; he would give me the advice I need.


    But just as I dial his number, I hear the unmistakable sound of a cell phone ringing outside my office


    door - only for the fucker to pop his head inside and smirk.


    “Guess I came at a great time,” he says with that cocky smile that makes me want to punch him.