Chapter 22 - Nikos


    I hate being this far from my own territory and deep in someone else’s, but as I watch Giovanni’s


    massive mansione into view, I know this is something that needs to be done. A phone call won’t


    suffice when it’s something this important.


    Maxim is still at the pack house overseeing things while I tend to this matter; no way am I leaving the


    ce without a leader at its head. Especially not after what happened.


    Giovanni’s guards usher us in and when I get to his office, I can hear his boomingugh already. I grit


    my teeth; my respect for this man burnt to a crisp after finding out what he did to Mirabe all her life.


    Cecilia was his lifelong mistress; I don’t want to know how many of his children she got rid of before


    Mirabe was born. Did she think having his baby would keep him at her side? I suppose most


    mistresses would think this way.


    But her one decision led to her daughter having the worst life - abuse on top of abuse.


    I gnash my teeth and enter his office with a forced smile, noticing he’s on a call. He sees me and


    beckons me over while saying goodbye to the other person on the line.


    Huge, all muscle, graying beard, and long ck hair - Giovanni isn’t just an Alpha by name. This man


    is powerful, more powerful than me and my father in his prime. There’s an unmistakable cruelty behind


    those soft blue eyes, a cruelty I was always aware of but never knew how deep it went.


    I had respect for this man, I looked up to him - what godson wouldn’t?


    “Niko, my boy!” he exims while getting up to embrace me. “I haven’t seen you in years!”


    I swallow down my revulsion and force out a chuckle. “Months, uncle Gio. It’s good to see you.”


    “Ah, years, months; all the same when you haven’t seen your boy!” He says while pping my


    shoulder. “Come, let''s have some bourbon while we talk. Your message made me worried.”


    It should, you fucking asshole.


    He pours us each a ss and gestures for me to sit down opposite him on his leather couches. “So,


    what is this all about?”


    “Mirabe,”


    He nearly drops the ss; his jaw cks, eyes wide, and face pale at the mention of his biggest


    shame. The look on his face tells me he did not expect me to say, or even know this name, but I have


    so much more to add to this.


    “You know about her, then?” he scoffs, taking a sip of his drink. “To think my only heir left alive is a


    bastard daughter.”


    I clench my jaw. “I found her while she was running away from the fucker you gave her to, and she had


    quite a lot to say.”


    “She got away from Mikhail?!” he hollers, looking shocked to shit when I nod.


    “Before you call him to ask him about this, you might want to hear what he has been up to these past


    few months,” I say before I go into everything Mirabe has told me.


    How he nned the explosions and assassinations, how he’s going to kill Gio’s wife at her birthday


    banquet after announcing he’s marrying Mirabe. How he’ll take over thergest packnds in the


    country after killing Gio too.


    A myriad of emotions crosses his old, wizened eyes - sadness, surprise, disgust, and finally shock.


    There’s a constant tick under his right eye, and it makes me sit back before I be the object of his


    rage.


    He knows I’m telling the truth because Mirabe could not have known these intricate details unless


    Mikhail had told her himself, or rather boasted.


    The shock gets reced with fury, and he bares his teeth before he lets out a deafening roar that has


    me showing my nape in submission. A sick shiver runs up my spine as I drop to the floor, trying to get


    out from under the effect of his Alpha Roar.


    “HOW DARE THAT FUCKER!” he cries out, punching the wall next to the firece. Concrete and dust


    explode all over the office, shattering windows and expensive vases.


    After this, he balls his hands into fists and retracts his teeth and ws. With his back to me, he looks


    up and lets out a deep sigh. “Mirabe told you all this?”


    I get to my feet and sit down on the sofa. “She did; she escaped his abuse a few months back and


    literally ran into me in the alley behind one of my clubs. Mikhail’s men were chasing her, but I killed


    them before I thought to question them.” I say.


    He nods, then walks over to me while snatching the entire bottle of Jack from the bar. “He needs to pay


    for this - for killing all my children and nning to take out my Rosa.”


    It doesn’t surprise me that he doesn’t even care about getting revenge for Mirabe’s abuse, even


    though her truth can literally save his life. But I am in no position to tell him who to care about, so I


    simply clear my throat and sit forward in my chair.


    “Kill him at the banquet, or wage war on him-”


    He suddenly holds up his hand and frowns deeply. “Wait, is Mirabe still with you?”


    “Yes,” I say, swallowing deeply.


    Perplexed, he asks, “Why?”


    “She’s pregnant with my child,” I say.


    Giovanni looks at a loss for words; his mouth is hanging open and the Alpha crimson in his eyes


    shimmers back to blue. There’s no anger in his scent, no fury, no disgust…just utter shock.


    “My only blood heir…is pregnant with an Ioannides Alpha’s child,” he says, shaking his head. He runs a


    meaty hand over his face, then he bursts out intoughter, surprising the hell out of me.


    “I offered you Rosalie, I offered you Mariya but you choose my bastard?! What is this, Niko? Are you


    out to insult me?!” he exims, a tint of fury to his tone.


    I shake my head. “She fell pregnant before I knew who she truly was, Gio, there was no reason for me


    to insult you like this. I needed an heir and she was willing to do it after I offered to help her flee the


    country.”


    Giovanni’s eyes narrow. “She wanted to escape Mikhail? Why?”


    “You gave her to Mikhail without knowing what type of fucker he was?” I ask incredulously. What the


    fuck did he think I was talking about all this time when I mentioned she escaped from Mikhail?!


    “Gio…he abused her to the point where she can barely walk properly, her bones have been repeatedly


    broken and healed slowly…the sexual assault she suffered doesn’t evenpare to that. You gave her


    to a fucking monster, and that’s saying a loting from someone like me.”


    As I am saying this, it’s not lost on me that I had someone so broken forced to bear my child. Did I truly


    not care at all back then, even though I knew what her body had suffered?


    The old Alpha sits back and heaves out a sigh. “I admit I knew what Mikhail was capable of, but I didn’t


    think he’d harm Mirabe like that.”


    Liar. Mikhail is a fucking serial predator; he knew what he was doing when he gave her away.


    “Be that as it may, she’s pregnant now. We cannot let her leave the country when she’s carrying both


    our legacies in her belly,” he says, and I nearly smirk at how I guessed the way he would think.


    I shake my head and frown. “She signed a contract to leave-”


    “Tear it up. You’re to marry Mirabe and fortify our alliances. We will arrange this to happen after


    Rosa’s banquet - I want you toe with Mirabe and I’ll invite Mikhail to dere our alliance


    severed.”


    My mouth drops open and I look at him as if he''s lost his fucking mind. “Gio, insulting Mikhail at such a


    “He needs to be insulted for what he did to Mirabe!” He says and I almost burst outughing at the


    sudden care in his tone. “She’s my only link to Cecilia, and you know how much I loved Cecilia.”


    I clench my jaw so hard that my teeth nearly shatter. This fucker… there are no fucking words for how


    much he disgusts me right now. Insulting Mikhail will be a bad idea; this will cause a ripple effect and


    destroy the peace we have now.


    “I beg you, please think about this more-”


    “No,” he cuts me short and gets to his feet. “This is what I have decided. Bring Mirabe to this banquet


    next week and we’ll announce your engagement from there. Then I will arrange a wedding to unite our


    packs under our powerful banners!”


    There’s no stopping this fucker. He’s going to put us all at risk just to prove a fucking point and there’s


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    nothing I can do. He controls most of the country and if he so much as breathes a bad word about me,


    there go all my alliances.


    I nod tersely and walk over to him with a hand outstretched. “If that is what you wish, but I will bring my


    own men to make sure Mirabe is protected by people she knows.”


    “Of course! I would expect nothing else out of you. I’ll have my hall checked hourly for any nted


    bombs, then announce the new venue a few hours before the banquet. This should make the fucker


    worry a bit.” He says, then pulls me in for another embrace and smacks my back.


    I nearly fucking vomited.


    “Ah, my godson and daughter! What a splendid asion, indeed!” he says with a grin. “Leave the


    wedding nning to me while you get everything else sorted. The bride’s family pays for everything,


    after all!”


    “That I’ll do. Thank you, uncle Gio,” I say with a tight smile and we say our goodbyes.


    The drive home leaves me breaking out in a cold sweat. Giovanni’s n is madness, this will not bode


    well for any of us, especially knowing how Mikhail fucking thinks. His insult will leave a lot of people


    dead.


    Now I just need to speak to Mirabe abouting to this banquet. She won’t be safe there, especially


    after the announcement, but I’ll have to get my private jet ready to leave right after.


    I don’t want her anywhere near the fallout.