ã€ŠClaimedã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    I have seen enough loan sharks on my door looking for Rhett Kingston to know very well the men standing outside my door fall in the same caliber.

    Thest men who came looking for Rhett had been gracious to leave the minute I failed to answer the door. As my heart plucks against my ribcage harshly I can only hope that these new men are no different from the rest. Emphasis on the hope part.

    I peep through my door hole looking at the douchebags who are pretty well-dressed for loan sharks.

    The one on the front is stacking a ck signature brand shirt coupled with ck pants.

    The sleeves of his ck shirt are pulled back up his elbows to reveal veiny, muscr arms that would put even the holiest nun to her knees.

    Douchebag number two has Armani cks and a ck t-shirt too.

    He too is as handsome as the man in front of him, only difference is the one at the front carries more power that exudes past the door straight to my titties.

    And that in itself is a bad freaking omen.

    I pull away from the door making subtle steps back to the scrapheap I call my house.

    ¡°Rhett, we can hear you, man¡±, one of the men says.

    Humor in his voice but full-on threatced in between.

    I want to scream that the man they are looking for left me nine months ago, but screaming equals them knowing I¡¯m inside and I wouldn¡¯t want them to know I exist.

    These men¡­these loan sharks are as petty as theye. And they pretty much stick to that adage of ¡®if we can¡¯t find Rhett then his little woman will have to pay the debt¡¯.

    The little woman being referred to, being me. The woman who has no cent to her name or a hundred bucks in her purse let alone afford the rent to this ce.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    ¡°You really want us to do this? We are losing patience here, man¡±, the same guy tsks.

    I tiptoe to the wall separating my bedroom and the living room, scooting down to take the baseball bat that¡¯s my only source of security.

    ¡°Freak this.¡±

    The quiet baritone of another voice rings the air and I feel straight to my spine that I¡¯m freaked.

    It takes only seconds for my door to fling off its hinges, for the pieces of wood to fly in the air the way ash does after a fiery mbottomacre and when the dust and ramble settle down and my heart is beating like a metronome, two very angry figures stand in front of me.

    Their presence is like a ck hole sucking the warmth from my house and injecting their evil into it.

    Douchebag number two, the one with the chocte brown hair that¡¯s slicked back, hard masculine features and tattoos peeking from his neck, sizes me up.

    I gulp an invisible lump of saliva, holding my bat like it¡¯s a rifle loaded with bullets.

    ¡°Rhett¡¯s not here¡±, I say boldly. When on the contrary, I¡¯m one step away from buckling underneath their stares and admitting defeat.

    ¡°Check the room behind her¡±, douche number onemands, I hold my ground blocking the door.

    ¡°I said¡­Rhett¡¯s NOT HERE.¡±

    The jerk smiles, rubbing his jaw like I¡¯m the cutest thing he¡¯s seen in a while.

    The guy behind him¡­the boss, the one in charge looks around my home as if every minute in here is like subjecting himself to a dose of gonorrhea.

    I mean my house isn¡¯t much. The kitchen¡¯s connected to the living room, the cherry blossom wallpaper is barely sticking to the wall and the floors. Well, they¡¯ve seen better days.

    ¡°Look we don¡¯t want trouble, sweetheart. We are here for Rhett.¡±

    I eye the door that¡¯s falling apart behind them then I stare at him with the nastiest re I can summon.

    ¡°Says the guy who knocked down my door.¡±

    ¡°Rhett¡¯s door. You were not supposed to be here.¡±

    He tries to pacify me, failing disastrously at it.

    ¡°Not supposed to be here? Is that the excuse you are giving so that I won¡¯t call 911 on you guys?¡±

    Douchebag number two is about to fire some snarky statement when the boss, the one wearing a scowl bigger than the size of his head, pulls him back, steps all in my face and before I can whip my bat and hit him, has his huge tattooed right palm around my neck.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Rhett?¡±

    He thunders, squeezing the air out of me, lifting me off the ground like I¡¯m some dead fish being sold in a deli.

    My bat falls to the ground as air slowly and slowly escapes my body.

    I have to hang on for dear life because someone needs me. Right behind this door, someone¡ª

    My lungs constrict, my eyes strain to look at the furious man who¡¯s hellbent on killing me for Rhett.

    All for Rhett. Everything about Rhett! I hate Rhett Kingston with every fiber of my being. I hate that my death will have something to do with him, I hate that because of him our¡ª

    ¡°Volkov, she doesn¡¯t know shit¡±, douchebag number two says behind us but that somehow encourages this Volkov to sink his hands in my neck riding me of precious oxygen.

    I close my eyes feeling life ebb out of my body but just as I¡¯m about to give up, a sharp cry resonates in the air and everyone stills.

    I whimper, holding back my tears.

    No. No. Please no.

    The cries echo around the house again and the boss lets go of my neck.

    I fall to the ground, nothing short of a coughing mess.

    ¡°Is that..?¡± Boss asks. He moves towards the door; I hold his leg like a vise grip.

    ¡°She has nothing¡­to do with this¡±, I mutter.

    His eyes linger on me for a while before he shakes me off his foot opening the door and revealing a yellow room with a bbottom next to my bed.

    My baby girl¡¯s cries engulf the room.

    ¡°Rhett has a baby?¡± ites as a surprise to both of them.

    The boss saunters into the room, his darkness, his height, his anger, his tattoos tainting everything good.

    And when he reaches down where my daughter was sleeping taking her in his big arms, I snap.

    ¡°Let her go. Rhett owes you money, right? I¡¯ll pay you. I¡¯ll repay every cent just please¡­please don¡¯t hurt her.¡±

    My baby, Millie, has no clue who¡¯s holding her. She stops crying holding onto the man¡¯s thumb the way she does with mine.

    The Boss doesn¡¯t look at me when he says, ¡°A million dors¡±, he mutters, looking away from my daughter to me now, ¡°Are you in a position to repay me a million dors right now?¡±

    A million dors? I almostugh. Rhett freaking Kingstone owes these douchebags a million dors?

    ¡°No but I- ¡°

    ¡°Then you are in no position to negotiate Mrs. Kingston¡±

    My body tenses, his eyes are on me likesers tracing my features, his muscle pops like he¡¯s waiting for me to make a move or else¡­shit¡­ they¡¯ll hurt my baby, won¡¯t they?

    I mean they sort of look like the type who would do so. Hell, he was about to kill me seconds ago.

    And yet with all that information inside my head, I offer myself on a silver tter HAVING NO OTHER CHOICE.

    ¡°I¡¯ll work for you¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not in need of your¡­particr services Mrs. Kingston,¡± he says. I hate it every time his voice booms the words ¡®Mrs. Kingston¡¯. Because I¡¯ve never been that in my entire life.

    I hate the way he mocks me saying ¡®particr services¡¯ and I can read the unruly thoughts in his mind.

    ¡®I wouldn¡¯t freak a mother who delivered a few weeks ago.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m a nurse, I can maybe-¡°

    The sentence is barely out of me when he says, ¡°They are bothing with us.¡±

    Oh yeah, I¡¯m royally and elementally freaked.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2

    CHRISTIAN ¡®VICIOUS¡¯ VOLKOV.

    I hateplications.

    And thisplicationes in the form of feline blue eyes, sunshine blonde hair, delicately arched brows and a sinfully full bottom lip.

    I almostugh painfully at the thought of Rhett Kingston having a fine bottom like the woman seated across me looking like she wants to put my head in a noose once I fall asleep.

    She might be a fine bottom, hell finest bottom I have seen for a freaking while but I look at that face and I¡¯m reminded that her husband, her lover, the father of the child I¡¯m carrying in my arms right now raped my sister and killed her.

    I might have lied about the million dors but freak me for enjoying the fact that I¡¯m taking his woman and his child away just like he took something from me.

    An eye for an eye.

    Una vita per una vita.

    The weasel might leap out from the ce he¡¯s hiding once the news hit him that I have his little family with me.

    I can only wait.

    Patience. Control.

    Patience. Control.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to have my baby now.¡±

    Her voice pierces through the air. Raspy, grating, bedroom sexy and still aplication.

    I eye her for a second.

    Alexia Green.

    Then my eyes wander to the baby wrapped up in a white nket like a muffin.

    She¡¯s small. Way too small than anything I have ever held.

    I want to hate the kid because well¡­I freaking hate kids and this one belongs to Rhett all the more reason to hate her. But that¡¯s the thing¡­ I don¡¯t.

    Her eyes might be closed but her hands once in a while fight past the nkets trying to reach for my hands.

    ¡°No¡±, I growl.

    ¡°You think I¡¯d run away knowing your men might shoot me the very minute I do?¡±

    She asks me like I¡¯m a child who hasn¡¯t understood the dynamics surrounding us.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t stop your husband from doing so, Mrs. Kingston.¡±

    She¡¯s not Mrs. Kingston, I know that because I¡¯ve read her profile. I¡¯ve read everything about Rhett except this baby.

    ¡°Rhett has not been my anything for a long time. The name¡¯s Alexia Green and unless your boobs have milk in them, I suggest you hand me my baby.¡±

    Suggest?

    She¡¯s got a pair on her for sure. Bigger balls than I¡¯ve seen on a woman.

    ¡°Your baby seems fine to me, Mrs. Kingston. You on the other hand don¡¯t seem to be. What¡¯s bugging you right now? The fact that I¡¯m holding your baby or the fact that you know where Rhett is. Don¡¯t try to bullshit me right now, where¡¯s Rhett?¡±

    Sheughs.

    This woman, whom I¡¯d lost control of hours agoughs like I¡¯m not the man in charge of everything bad she reads in her little fairytale books.

    ¡°What¡¯s bugging me? Gee, what¡¯s bugging me? My ex left the minute I told him I was pregnant, I¡¯m all alone and Millie¡¯s all I have. I¡¯ve been fighting men off my doorstep every single day of the week and right now I¡¯ve been kidnapped by a man who was about to snap my neck had my daughter not cried. Yes, Mr. Bottomhole, I¡¯m bugged by the fact that you are holding my baby!¡±

    By the time she finishes, her tears are well underway.

    She sobs, tries to wipe the tears with the back of her palms only for her to sob again.

    I hold her baby.

    Damn straight I sit there watching her sob, basking in her pain because a few weeks ago, I was the same helpless man watching everything I had crumble to pieces.

    I¡¯m no saint.

    I¡¯m no hugger who¡¯ll freaking bottomure her that she and her baby will be alright because the truth of the matter is, I couldn¡¯t give two shits if she cried and filled the Missouri River.

    She belongs to Rhett and best believe she¡¯ll work herself to the bone till my wounds are healed and I find it in my stone-cold heart to forgive.

    ***

    ¡°From the start¡±, I bark, nursing back the Macan that dislodges in my throat when my buddy Tommy struggles to speak.

    Beaten ck and blue, he wiggles in his chair like the piece of worm he is, trying to peer at me with the one good eye that¡¯s working.

    The one good eye that won¡¯t earn him brownie points from me.Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Vic¡ªplease¡­I didn¡¯t know she was¡­one of yours. I didn¡¯t know she was your sister.¡±

    Tommy chants the same chorus he¡¯s been singing since I caught him and Rhett escaped.

    I tip my nose at Maximo.

    Maximo raises his fist about to punch him for the tenth time in the night when dear ole Tommy starts talking.

    ¡°Rhett said she needed to be taught a lesson. W-we cornered her just outside her college¡­she bit me trying to resist us, she would have caused amotion so I-I strangled her. S¡ªshe pbottomed out.

    When she¡­she came to, Rhett and I were already-¡°

    ¡°Taking what wasn¡¯t yours. Bottomaulting her like she was nothing but a whore?¡± I smirk but beneath my smirk is the pain impaling me to the ground, the pain chaining and tethering me to my own guilt.

    I drink thest of my liquor tipping my head at Maximo before I stand up and leave the gross warehouse.

    Tommy¡¯s screams follow my way out and his pain is like a soothing balm to my wounds because I know Maximo has cut away one of his fingers.

    Again.

    ¡°How long are we holding them hostage?¡±

    ¡°Until she repays me¡±, I quip, Maximo grunts at my bullshit.

    ¡°Rhett killed Catelina, not her. You are in a bad ce, Volkov. Freak, I am too but getting an innocent civilian won¡¯t erase your grief¡±

    He¡¯s the only one, out of my men who calls me Volkov. Who¡¯s close to me enough to call me out on my bullshit but right now, I want nothing more than to shut him up with a bullet between his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s sure as hell making me feel better that I have her and not him¡±, I grit looking into the night and wishing to get lost in the darkness.

    ¡°Then what? She and her kid work for you their entire lives?¡±

    No.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You are freaking sick, man¡±, he grunts, tired of trying to knock some sense into me.

    The irony isn¡¯t lost in me that he calls me sick when he¡¯s my enforcer. The one who finishes my dirty work when I spiral out of control.

    ¡°You know Juana says Alexia and her baby light up the house. I¡¯m guessing you haven¡¯t been there for a while so what¡¯s your excuse for visiting today?¡± he continues running his mouth.

    Only when the car stops in front of my mansion, the same mansion my parents left me and Catelina. Do I turn to him and say, ¡°I¡¯M KEEPING AN EYE ON MY BOTTOMET¡±?

    ***

    I saunter into the house alone; Maximo having had driven off to take care of some raucous brawl at one of my clubs downtown.

    My head throbs and my anger ignites at the new smell of vani and wildflowers that hog the foyer, the living room and I¡¯m not entirely surprised that I¡¯ll find the same scent in the kitchen too.

    Only when I enter the kitchen, the sight that greets me is one that would make even a man of the cloth sin without thinking twice.

    Her back to me, Alexia Green stands on her tippy toes trying to reach for something on the high shelves.

    Her legs are creamy, milky, the type that belong to one of those Vogue cover models. For a minute there, all the blood that¡¯s keeping me sane flows right down south and the urge to mar those legs of hers with my teeth grows.

    When my eyes rake north, past the back of her knees to her heart-shaped bottom, anything remotely connected to freaking her brains out flies out the window.

    The summer dress she¡¯s wearing, the one that I¡¯m too familiar with because I bought it myself stares right back at me, taunting me, pushing memories I thought were locked away to the surface.

    I have no damn clue what I¡¯m doing as I strut across the room angrily.

    I have no damn clue what gets to me the minute I grab her by the wrist scaring the wits out of her.

    All I see is my sister¡¯s smile wearing the same dress this woman is wearing and I lose it.

    ¡°Take it off¡±, I scowl.

    ¡°What?¡±

    I lean closer, right to her ear where she can hear me loud and clear.

    ¡°I said¡­ freaking strip!¡±

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3

    ALEXIA GREEN.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.

    Kidnappers aren¡¯t supposed to give you and your daughter a nice room.

    They aren¡¯t supposed to leave you in the middle of freaking Chicago with a nice maid, a big mansion and everything a woman like me can only see in movies.

    I¡¯ve spent two days roaming around the halls of the Volkov mansion and so far, I¡¯vee to two conclusions.

    The boss ¡®Christian Vitello Volkov¡¯ or as Juana likes to call him ¡®Vicious¡¯ is not an ordinary loan shark.

    Hell, I¡¯m a hundred percent sure he¡¯s not a loan shark but a very bad man who has guns and every rifle you can think of in the basement.

    Oh yeah, I checked and I would be kidding if I said I¡¯m not scared of the type of shit I got myself into.

    The second conclusion, the one that the maid, Juana avoids every time I bring it up is that; a woman lived here.

    A lover?

    The love of his life?

    A sibling?

    I can¡¯t tell.

    My baby, Millie, likes it here but I¡¯m on high alert trying to grab every chance I can get to escape.

    Which is why on a Friday night, thest thing I expect is to see is Vicious angry and about to incinerate little ole me.

    ¡°I said¡­freaking strip¡±, he snaps, his eyes like redsers cutting away every inch of my skin.

    I will myself to say anything, anything but then the rifles I saw downstairs hog my mind.

    I want to me my cowardice on the rifles if it weren¡¯t for the icy golden browns he has for eyes all up in my face about to drown me in a vat of his anger.

    ¡°Alexia¡±, he warns, my breath gets caught in the back of my throat as I struggle to speak up for myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of woman.¡±

    My voice sounds liquid as I hold my nose high with that bold statement.

    Vicious coolly ignores me and before my mindpletely registers what¡¯s happening, frissons run all the way down to my spine as adrenaline kicks up a notch in my blood.

    His touch is cold, like his eyes.

    His touch is lethal, suffusing all of me with unwanted heat.

    His calloused fingers casually takes one of the thin spaghetti straps of the dress Juana lent me and it only takes a minute for the sound of fabric tearing to fling across the darkness like a ping-pong ball.

    Another minute for him topletely annihte the dress as I scream the words, ¡°You bottomhole!¡±

    The dress falls past my shoulders, past my aching very uncovered chests, past my cotton undies and bottomumes the shape of a tiny heap around my ankles.

    Confusion, anger and a whole bucket of fear wash over me the minute I cover my heavy chests with my palms.

    Cold night air bottomaults my skin as the tears I didn¡¯t know I had, prickle my eyes burning my throat in the process.

    ¡°S¡ªsee anything you like? Should I bend over so you can get it over with?¡±

    I know what type of man he is. Believe me, I just didn¡¯t think he would¡­do it so soon.

    True to my thoughts, Vicious takes a step back, removes his coat and one by one unbuttons his shirt, his stormy eyes never leaving mine.

    Never missing to show me just what¡¯s in it for me as long as I live here.

    All I know right now is that if pushes to shove, I¡¯ll give him anything he wants because my baby is in his house, under his mercy, if something were to happen to me, they would kill¡­

    The six foot three bastard goes ahead and does something I hadn¡¯t expected.

    Something that would be considered a plot twist in one of those movies where the viin¡¯s been the hero all along.

    Every ridge of his muscleses into sight, his tanned skin all hard and gleaning with scars as he steps forward towards me covering my shoulders with his shirt.

    I stay still acutely aware that what I think he is doing is not what he¡¯s actually doing.

    When his shirt is all snag across my shoulders, draping my five feet height in his scent of sage and some sort of mulled wine, does he reach for the dress on the ground turn towards his heel and walk away as if he¡¯s done nothing bizarre.

    Freezing, creeped out to the point of my knees buckling, I whisper to no one, ¡°I have to get away from this freakshow¡±

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4

    CHRISTIAN ¡®VICIOUS¡¯ VOLKOV.

    One a.m.

    Blue eyes stare at me with fury robbing her pretty features.

    One fifteen a.m.

    Her nipples poke out at me taunting me to touch them.

    One sixteen a.m.

    Her sexy lips part and she utters something that disgusts me for the first time in my shitty life, ¡®Should I bend over so you can get it over with?¡¯

    One seventeen a.m.

    My phone rings, the sound loud enough to break the fake slumber I¡¯ve been trying to catch for four damn hours.

    Maximo¡¯s name hogs my screen and I release a sigh knowing full well I¡¯m not going to sleep tonight.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem¡±, he starts, I act daft.

    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡±

    ¡°That little brawl from earlier, wasn¡¯t so little as I thought. Dante raided the ce and you know Nico.¡±

    Of course, I knew freaking Nico.

    He was the loose cannon looking for fights, the twenty-year-old who was trigger-happy.

    And if Dante Keaton raided my bar, Nico might have lost his shit alright. Said something he shouldn¡¯t have, started said brawl.

    ¡°Tell me they killed the kid¡±

    That will be one less responsibility on my shoulders.

    Maximo releases a pained chuckle, ¡°Not exactly, he¡¯s still breathing¡­for now. We are headed your way right now.¡±

    He cuts the call before I can say any more shit.

    They are headed to my house. Headed for a little treatment from our new doctor.

    I saunter outside my room wishing I had booze to give me some liquid courage when I talk to the woman sleeping in the room across mine.

    My feet stop inches outside her room as I stare at the mahogany separating me and Alexia Green.

    Should I knock? It¡¯s my house!

    Should I apologize? Apologize for what exactly?

    I knock.

    A little light tap for her to hear and her baby not to wake up.

    I hear shuffling from the other side before she opens the door. Her blue eyes glint in the night, her blonde hair is a tangled mess and as for her outfit?

    She¡¯s wearing my shirt and I¡¯m forced to look at her face rather than her thighs.

    She¡¯s nothing special. I remind myself.

    She¡¯s aplication.

    ¡°We have a problem. One that needs your skills¡±, I whisper.

    It takes a minute for her to put two in two together before she hits me back with another whisper, ¡°Okay¡±

    ¡°Follow me¡±

    Alexia works like an oiled machine the minute I show her the room with all the medical supplies she might need.

    I lean against the door, watching her sort through syringes, cabs and a bunch of pills.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s here. I¡¯m bottomuming you had another nurse or doctor before you took me?¡±

    Yes. The one who failed to save my sister from death.

    ¡°Doctor¡±, I correct.

    ¡°And where is this doctor by any chance?¡±

    ¡°Dead.¡±

    Her cheeks pale, her eyes going an inch wider and I can tell everything running in her little head.

    That¡¯s right, I¡¯m no hero. I didn¡¯t take you and your child because I wanted to. I took you for revenge.

    I want to tell her all that but instead I look her in the eye and said, ¡°I killed him¡±

    She drops a syringe on the tiled floor with a gasp as the sound of my doorbell rings aloud.

    ¡°Stay here. I¡¯ll bring them to you¡±, I say disappearing down the hallway where I find Juana ushering two of my guys with Maximo holding onto a bleeding Nico.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Nico is mumbling something incoherent as Maximo tries to keep him walking.

    Juana is in her nightgown gazing at me with that frown she mmed me with when bleeding men or my enemies showed up at my doorstep.

    A look of disapproval for the life I was living and I didn¡¯t care, never really cared for the life I led on.

    ¡°He¡¯s lost a lot of blood, man¡±, Maximo starts.

    ¡°At this rate we might as well as say he¡¯s a goner.¡±

    ¡°Who is¡­gone? Who¡¯s¡­¡±, Nico is still talking when I tell Jagger and Jett to help Maximo out and bring Nico to the medical bay.

    Ten minutester, we are looking at an unconscious Nico with Alexis working her little hands as fast as she can to stitch him up.

    ¡°She¡¯s really good at this than thest doc, isn¡¯t she?¡± Jagger licks his lips and there¡¯s no missing the lust in his eyes as he says that statement.

    ¡°Nico is so freaking lucky¡±, Jett adds.

    My anger is simmering hot but I lock it in.

    If they want her, so what? She might be my prisoner but I¡¯m not restricting whoever she wants to freak.

    ¡°Hey you two, give the doc some room and wait outside.¡±

    ¡°But Maximo we are not even doing anything wro-¡°

    ¡°Out, Jett or should I tell the boss himself what you and Jagger did tonight?¡±

    Jagger and Jett are out before Maximo can add another word.

    I turn to Maximo, my eyes still on Alexia¡¯s hands that are glued on Nico¡¯s torso while she stitches his wound.

    ¡°What did they do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll fill you inter. Let¡¯s see if the kid makes it for the night first.¡±

    My men weren¡¯t exactly military-trained but they were honed and trained with skills that ensured survival for them.

    Nico might have had a knife graze wound but I¡¯m very sure he put up a good fight before going down.

    It¡¯s only when Alexia is done does Nico wake up from his slumber, screaming like a lunatic into the night.

    Before Maximo can move to shut him up, Alexia¡¯s already calming him down.

    ¡°Hey Nico. It¡¯s Nico, right?¡± she asks with a smile. A smile I haven¡¯t seen since I took her from her shitty apartment.

    ¡°What? W-what happened? Who the freak are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Alexia Green. My friends call me Lexy. Not trying to scare you or anything but you got stabbed and I patched you real nice but that doesn¡¯t mean this wound won¡¯t open up if you don¡¯t take it easy.¡±

    ¡°Lexy?¡± The freaker smiles while he samples her name like it¡¯s the best fruit he has ever tasted.

    I¡¯m about to lose my cool for the second time in the night when another piercing shriek splices the air and Millie¡¯s cries echo into the room.

    Alexia stands up, her calm demeanor gone and instead worry takes over her features.

    ¡°Is that a baby, boss?¡± Nico asks me.

    My eyes are on Alexia as I say, ¡°Take care of Nico, I¡¯ll take care of your baby.¡±

    I don¡¯t fail to miss the fear lodged in her eyes when I say ¡®take care¡¯ and ¡®baby¡¯ in the same statement or when I turn around and head straight for her room.

    I find Millie crying her out in her little crib.

    She¡¯s wrapped in the same nket from a few days ago and I feel like a dick for not buying them any new clothes or new baby stuff.

    Careful not to hurt her in any way, my hands wrap around the baby picking her up from her crib effortlessly.

    She cries for another five seconds as I pace the room with her.

    ¡°Hungry?¡±

    She cries. I take that as a no.

    ¡°You miss your mom?¡±

    She cries.

    ¡°Come on, Millie. What¡¯s wrong? Did Nico upset you?¡±

    She stops crying, her small eyes gazing at me like I¡¯m a mystery she can¡¯t quite figure out.

    ¡°If Nico is the problem, we¡¯ll eliminate him then, won¡¯t we? You like that? I like that too because Nico is irresponsible and a pain in the¡­head.¡±

    I¡¯m about to talk to this baby who can¡¯t understand me at all when her mother stands in the doorway.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about eliminating someone to my baby¡±, she barks.

    Her angry feet storm towards me and when she stops in front of me, she puts her hands out asking for her child back.

    ¡°Your shirt¡¯s covered with Nico¡¯s blood¡±, I point out the obvious, she stares at her shirt uttering a quiet ¡®shit¡¯.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any other clothes except this shirt and the dress you tore off my body¡±

    I¡¯m an bottom.

    ¡°My room¡¯s straight across yours, you can take any shirt from my closet while I arrange for new clothes for both of you tomorrow.¡±

    Defiance leaks from her and turns into a hurricane.

    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing any of your shirts.¡±

    ¡°But you want to touch your baby while you are covered in someone¡¯s blood? As a nurse, tell me is that hygienic?¡±

    ¡°Ugh fine. Don¡¯t go with Millie anywhere, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    Millie gradually sleeps in my arms and I watch in amazement as her pudgy cheeks fill up with air every time she snores.

    Alexiaes back ten minutester with a dark shirt that¡¯s shorter than the one before.

    I take a peek at those thighs again and I kiss Millie goodnight, handing her to her mother and retreating to my room knowing very well I¡¯ll sleep with a very hard boner because of ¡®Lexy¡¯.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    Don¡¯t touch my baby.

    Don¡¯t pretend to know what¡¯s right for my baby.

    Don¡¯t take dresses off of me like a caveman andter pretend you are a gentleman by handing me one of your shirts.

    Vicious¡­Christian¡­Grumpy pants¡­man with a scowl bigger than Thanos; left my room half an hour ago.

    Half an hourter, I¡¯m drenched in his scent because of the shirt I¡¯m wearing.

    What¡¯s even worse?

    My baby turned out to be a traitor.

    She hasn¡¯t stopped crying since Vicious handed her to me and left my room.

    I mean I¡¯m not ming my little cuteness at all for liking a man as humongous and as handsome as Christian Volkov but he is a big red sign with a NO.

    No to liking a man who apparently killed hisst doctor and if I¡¯m not careful, I could end up being dead too. Six feet under. Dead by the hands of a deranged man.

    How ironic would that be?

    From being a psycho¡¯s girlfriend to getting kidnapped by a man who makes America¡¯s serial killers like Ted Bundy look like frigging Sponge Bob.

    ¡°I know he has big hands, baby. Big hands that might feel warm but he is bad, you hear me, Mills?

    Handsome Man is bad. He is the enemy. We are going to escape the enemy and go back to being just as two. Shh, shh, sleep for mommy. Please, sleep for mommy¡±

    Her tiny fists reach out for me and when she cradles my hand hugging it closer to her pudgy cheeks, tears are at the brim of my eyes but I don¡¯t cry.

    I watch my baby fall asleep like everything is right in the world and I¡¯m not in some mobster¡¯s house.

    Once I put Millie back in her crib, the urge to remove Christian¡¯s shirt from my body is great but unless I want to die of hypothermia, I need his shirt on me.

    I need his nkets, the ones on the bed to warm me up and erase the fact that I saved one of his men ¡®Nico¡¯ (The cute one with the dimples) from bleeding to death from a knife wound.

    A knife wound from chopping apples? I think not.

    A knife wound from slicing people up? I absolutely think that.

    If I think his men are scary then Christian ¡®Vicious¡¯ Volkov is the motherfreaking devil.

    ***

    If there was anything an orphan, a single mother, a nurse out of practice never did, was to look a gift horse in the mouth.

    If life gives you muffins, then take a huge chunk of those muffins while you can, it might be thest time you taste sugar.

    My morning began with Millie fed, happy and giggling in Juana¡¯s arms.

    I¡¯m momentarily pretending that the boss isn¡¯t in the house and that at any moment he won¡¯t burst this little bubble of bliss I¡¯m in right now.

    Nothing makes me happier than sitting down without thinking about loan sharks knocking on my door or Millie going hungry because I haven¡¯t eaten in a day or two.

    Right now, my face is full of chocte croissants that taste like how I¡¯ve always imagined Paris to be.

    The sun¡¯s light flutters through the windows and for a moment, I close my eyes, my nose pierces the air and my smile stretches the corners of my mouth I almost feel guilty.

    But I don¡¯t.

    Again, don¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth. Enjoy the food while you can. Enjoy the bed at night. Get a little bit fat while I think of a n to get away from here.

    My happy parade is ruined the minute I choke on nothing but air.

    No¡­not air.

    I choke on his scent. I choke on the aura that hugs my back when I sense his presence.

    The sun itself recognizes him because the light that was once hugging my skin disappears and instead all I feel is cold.

    ¡°I warned you, dear. You eat too fast and you¡¯ll choke. Your mama doesn¡¯t like to listen, does she?¡±, Juana chastises, cooing to Millie.

    Embarrbottomment coats my face as I finish my croissant, pull the stool behind me and stand up to my feet which is the wrong thing to do in the first ce.

    Christian is standing next to me. No, scratch that.

    Christian Volkov is standing next to me, his hard jaw directed at me, his golden eyes grazing every inch of me like I¡¯m the worm from his nightmares that kept falling in his soup.

    ¡°Coffee? I can brew it for you¡±, Juana directs the question at Christian who dismisses her with,

    ¡°No. Leave¡±

    Wow, someone woke up from the wrong side of the bed this morning.

    Juana doesn¡¯t hesitate, she¡¯s about to take a turn and leave me to the beast when the said beast barks again, ¡°Leave the child with the mother¡±

    His words float in the air and they sear my skin raw.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Juana does as she¡¯s told, ever so dutiful. Never once acting pissed or anything.

    Once Juana is out of the vicinity and Millie is in my arms making babyish noises, I take a step back and say, ¡°Call me your little nurse, treat me like shit¡­sorry baby for cussing¡­but give my baby respect. She has nothing to do with Rhett or me or this stupid debt. Her name is Millie, not child but Millie. Get the name right.¡±

    His expression is nd.

    The scowl on his face says ¡®I shouldn¡¯t be yapping around like I own the ce¡¯.

    And his words cut my words into two.

    ¡°You are leaving with me today¡±

    ¡°Leaving where?¡±

    ¡°Does it matter?¡±

    Freaking bottomhole.

    ¡°You are telling me we are leaving today and you are not gonna tell me where? I need info if I¡¯m going to be treating one of your men today¡±

    That switches off something in him.

    One minute Shirtless Slightly pissed off Volkov is barking orders and the next minute his face, his body which has tattoos I hadn¡¯t seenst night, is so close to me that if he leans forward the only thing that will stop him from iming my lips is my baby girl who is in my arms.

    ¡°How do you think this works, Sunshine? I give you my house, my food and you spend the rest of the day here like a queen? Is that the shit Juana has been feeding you? You are here to work. You are here to follow orders. I say you jump, you ask how high. I say you walk, Lexy you freaking run. I tell you not to speak, you bite your goddamn tongue. Don¡¯t mistake our dynamic. And I know the child¡¯s name, I just couldn¡¯t care less.¡±

    His words are like an acid bath in the Himyas. Deadly, icy, poisonous.

    Gritting my teeth, forcing the bile rising in my throat, I sbottom, ¡°Should I go on my knees and lick your boots too?¡±

    A dark chuckle escapes him and it travels up my spine, seeps into my veins and makes everything go haywire.

    This son of a gun might be the only man who chuckles like he took the world, conquered it and tossed it back to us peasants.

    ¡°I¡¯ll never ask you to go down on your knees, sunshine. You¡¯ll beg for it yourself.¡±

    ***

    He doesn¡¯t take me to a ughterhouse.

    He doesn¡¯t take me to the dungeons where he kills his prisoners.

    No, the man with the dark Armani suit that is enough to buy me and Millie like ten times in an auction took me here.

    The floral dress feels like fluffy clouds against my body. It¡¯s off-shoulder and gives summer vibes.

    ¡°Turn around¡±, Christian barks.

    He is reclined against the plush upholstery, propping one leg over the other, finally gifting me a sliver of his attention.

    His cks ride up until the hem reveals his socks¡ªck.

    Just like his heart.

    Instead of how normal viins pet some evil cat in theirps while devising murder, Volkov has my daughter in his arms.

    And my daughter? Yap, Millie has forgotten all about this man being public enemy number one. She¡¯s holding his thumb.

    I twirl around.

    I obey.

    Why? Because it¡¯s been a while since a man bought me clothes.

    It¡¯s been a while since a man reserved an entire store for me and my baby. Make that, the only man.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it¡±, he says dryly.

    ¡°I like it¡±, I turn around huffing.

    ¡°You like it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±. I nod. Volkov smirks.

    ¡°Too bad because you are not going to show off that bottom in front of my men.¡±

    ¡°Excuse you?¡±

    I like the dress because it makes me feel less fat than I was a few months ago. Not because I want to seduce his men.

    ¡°You told Nico to call you ¡®Lexy¡¯. You know how he interpreted that? Like you are easy game. Like you and he could be a thing. You show up in a dress like this and that freaker will be tripping all over just to kiss your feet¡±

    Nico? I mean he was hot. But not hotter than¡­

    ¡°Maybe I want him to kiss my feet¡±, I lie through my teeth when in reality, it wouldn¡¯t hurt if Volkov was the one kissing my¡­no, no. Enemy. He is the enemy.

    ¡°I hired a doctor, sunshine not a slut who can¡¯t¡ª¡±

    I¡¯m half listening to Volkov, my eyes glued to the man entering the store.

    The man who has dresses in one of his arms and a smile on his face.

    The man I recognize from a past that¡¯s too raw and too sensitive.

    My breath hitches.

    My head spirals. I can¡¯t breathe. I can¡¯t¡­can¡¯t breathe.

    I need to run.

    Just like that night I need to run before he touches me.

    Tears well in my eyes, fear digs its sharp ws into my neck.

    I don¡¯t think. I run back to the dressing room like a scaredy cat.

    I leave my daughter with two monsters.

 Chapter 6

    It happened to me once. On that frightful night. And the men there called me disgusting, called me a whore, all little words aimed at decimating my self¨Cesteem.

    Their words worked though.

    Brad¡¯s words ¡®you are nothing but Rhett¡¯s bitch¡® ate me up for a whole two weeks.

    Right now, I¡¯m standing in front of a man who called me a slut a few minutes ago.

    It was unintentional sure but that doesn¡¯t mean itContent is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    didn¡¯t sting. Like how his words sting a little.

    sometimes.

    Except Vicious; cruel, dangerous, a million times scarier than Brad isn¡¯t looking at me like a whore. or a slut after I told him my story and maybe that¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m standing beneath a showerhead with him.

    te dark eyes size me up, take my five feet in and impatience leaks at his seams.

    I¡¯m not like the women he dates. Probably.

    Maybe Okay Fin not like a solid ten when ites to looks but my self¨Cesteem and my dignity are straight in the gutter.

    I peed myself

    poqqosl

    I hid

    I don¡¯t give a hoot right now if I look like a hobo from the street.

    ¡°Need help with the dress?¡± he asks, my knees.

    buckle harder.

    ¡°Yes, please.¡±

    ¡°Hold on.¡±

    And I hold on.

    I hold on to these broad shoulders of his and hug them tight because I¡¯m afraid if I let go, I¡¯ll fall.

    Fall to despair.

    Disappoint my baby.

    Let Brad, Rhett and those monsters win.

    ¡°Are you going to tear this one in half too?¡± I ask trying to release the tension that is as thick as his

    head.

    He leans down, his cheek, the one covered with at dark stubble grazes my cheek and I shiver.

    His fingertips, cold, terrific, definitely colder than

    Chapter 7

    the Arctic, find the zip to the dress.

    The one that is hidden by my hair and he is

    forced to swipe the hair from my back to ess it better.

    ¡°Do you want me to tear it in half?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t¡°, he promises and I bite that promise with big hungry teeth.

    With as much dexterity as a brute man like him. shouldn¡¯t have, he slides the zip slowly and torturously down my back revealing patches and patches of my definitely stinking skin.

    The dress pools around my ankles, it almost feels like d¨¦j¨¤ vu from the other night.

    Yet today he is not angry.

    He is understanding.

    He is gentle.

    He pities me.

    I raise my head.

    My eyes lunge at his dark ones.

    ¡°Take the bra off and the panties.¡±

    His voice is low,manding, dripping sexiness, oozing that ruggedness to it that would make the entire poption of women start a third world

    war.

    Being naked in front of him?

    Yeah, I¡¯m too ashamed, too cowardly to say no to

    He carried me when I

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    Urinary incontinence.

    Or as I like to call it, loss of dder control.

    It happened to me once. On that frightful night. And the men there called me disgusting, called me a whore, all little words aimed at decimating my self¨Cesteem.

    Their words worked though.

    Brad¡¯s words ¡®you are nothing but Rhett¡¯s bitch¡® ate me up for a whole two weeks.

    Right now, I¡¯m standing in front of a man who called me a slut a few minutes ago.

    It was unintentional sure but that doesn¡¯t mean it

    didn¡¯t sting. Like how his words sting a little.

    sometimes.

    Except Vicious; cruel, dangerous, a million times scarier than Brad isn¡¯t looking at me like a whore. or a slut after I told him my story and maybe that¡¯s the reason why I¡¯m standing beneath a showerhead with him.

    te dark eyes size me up, take my five feet in and impatience leaks at his seams.

    I¡¯m not like the women he dates. Probably.

    11/11

    Setting

    15/

    Chapter 7

    Maybe Okay Fin not like a solid ten when ites to looks but my self¨Cesteem and my dignity are straight in the gutter.

    I peed myself

    poqqosl

    I hid

    I don¡¯t give a hoot right now if I look like a hobo from the street.

    ¡°Need help with the dress?¡± he asks, my knees.

    buckle harder.

    ¡°Yes, please.¡±

    ¡°Hold on.¡±

    And I hold on.

    I hold on to these broad shoulders of his and hug them tight because I¡¯m afraid if I let go, I¡¯ll fall.

    Fall to despair.

    Disappoint my baby.

    Let Brad, Rhett and those monsters win.

    ¡°Are you going to tear this one in half too?¡± I ask trying to release the tension that is as thick as his

    head.

    He leans down, his cheek, the one covered with at dark stubble grazes my cheek and I shiver.

    His fingertips, cold, terrific, definitely colder than

    Chapter 7

    the Arctic, find the zip to the dress.

    The one that is hidden by my hair and he is

    forced to swipe the hair from my back to ess it better.

    ¡°Do you want me to tear it in half?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t¡°, he promises and I bite that promise with big hungry teeth.

    With as much dexterity as a brute man like him. shouldn¡¯t have, he slides the zip slowly and torturously down my back revealing patches and patches of my definitely stinking skin.

    The dress pools around my ankles, it almost feels like d¨¦j¨¤ vu from the other night.

    Yet today he is not angry.

    He is understanding.

    He is gentle.

    He pities me.

    I raise my head.

    My eyes lunge at his dark ones.

    ¡°Take the bra off and the panties.¡±

    His voice is low,manding, dripping sexiness, oozing that ruggedness to it that would make the entire poption of women start a third world

    war.

    Chapter 7

    Being naked in front of him?

    Yeah, I¡¯m too ashamed, too cowardly to say no to

    He carried me when I had pee on me. He¡¯s standing in the same shower cab I am.

    I take my bra off throwing it somewhere on the §±loor. My perky nipples reach out to him but <b>I </b>refuse to admit that¡¯s the case.

    Vicious never takes his eyes off of me.

    I can swear I see his jaw twitch but that¡¯s wishful thinking.

    My breasts are full, heavy with Millie¡¯s food, my body isn¡¯t what it used to be, any man who would be attracted to me is either blind or

    short¨Csighted.

    I wiggle out of my panties.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the pee and this. You can leave if you want to.¡±

    ¡°You wanted me here and here I shall stay. You

    ready?¡±

    I nod.

    He doesn¡¯t give me any warning before he turns

    the shower on.

    Water trickles down my body with vengeance.

    ¡°It¡¯s cold¡°, Iin.

    Chapter 7

    The gruff man who¡¯s getting wet and reaching for something behind me says, ¡°Cold water is better.¡±

    ¡°Not for me, it isn¡¯t. You are in your suit, I¡¯m naked and it¡¯s he freezing,¡°

    ¡°Stay still¡±

    Cool liquid drops on my head, his hands work inside my hair.

    ¡°Vicious-

    ¡°You wanted an anchor; I¡¯m being an anchor.¡±

    And that¡¯s his way of telling me not to speak as he shampoos my hair, as his handsther soap and scrub the skin on my back.

    He doesn¡¯t touch my boobs. Frankly to him, they

    don¡¯t exist.

    But every drop of water, every time his hands touch my skin, I feel like I¡¯m burning up with a

    fever.

    Rhett didn¡¯t feel like this.

    Rhett felt like how a man from the street touched

    you.

    Vicious? He felt like heaven wrapped in hellfire. Marshmallows wrapped in spicy hot Cheetos.

    ¡°Did you know Brad before you hired him?¡± I ask.

    I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m asking because I know for a fact this man hires the worst of the worst.

    Chapter 7

    Killers, drug traffickers, I don¡¯t think rapists would. miss his list of recruits.

    ¡°If you are asking if I knew he was one of Rhett¡¯s

    delinquent friends, then no I didn¡¯t know.¡±

    That half assures me.

    ¡°But now that you do, will you take Brad as my recement to pay the debt?¡±

    He rinses my butt with one of the shower heads. that spews cold water and not once does he touch

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    ¡°No¡±

    ¡°Why? Brad can pay the debt. I haven¡¯t spoken to Rhett in months.¡±Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Brad has a fancy job that can raise one million dors in the brink of an eye.

    ¡°I need your services and Brad won¡¯t get to live once I¡¯m done here.¡±

    I take a step back.

    Cold water streams between us without a care in

    the world.

    His dark hair is damp, rivulets of water streak down his forehead. His suit is practically clinging to him for dear life.

    And his muscles¡­

    Everything around us should be enough to

    Chapter 7

    distract me. The situation should distract me.

    But nothing is going to distract me from what he just said.

    ¡°You are not going to kill Brad.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t up for you to decide, Little Nurse.¡±

    ¡°No, I told you the story, you want to kill him because you pity me or satisfy whatever fetish. you have with blood and I won¡¯t allow it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want him dead? You want to cower in

    front of your enemies every single fucking day?¡±

    ¡°They are my enemies¡±

    ¡°You are my nurse¡°, his eyes re. His knuckles

    fist.

    Angry Vicious is staring at me now and all he sees is red. All I see is a monster I¡¯ve unleashed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t take lives. I hate that bastard; I hate Rhett and every single human who thinks puppies are monsters but I¡¯m not gonna let a man die because. of me. I¡¯ll let God take care of him.¡±

    ¡°Your God didn¡¯t save you. Your God brought you to a monster bigger than Rhett. He brought you to me and you want to know something? God doesn¡¯t kill evil; He lets it thrive. He let me

    thrive.¡±

    God brought Millie to me.

    Chapter 7

    He brought me to Vicious when I was on the verge of starving for another week.

    But I don¡¯t tell my boss that, I look him in the eye. and beg,

    ¡°Promise me, you are not going to kill him.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Promise me.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now, leave. I don¡¯t need an anchor

    anymore.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I just remembered you are my boss, Boss. Bosses don¡¯t get to see their employees.

    naked.¡±

    His scowl grows bigger. His eyes look like they¡¯ll spewsers and decimate me into ashes, but he respects my decision.

    He leaves.

    My sanity crawls its way back to my head.

    Enemy. He¡¯s the bloody enemy.

    I take a quick bath. Quickest bath I¡¯ve ever taken just to rush to my baby.

    When I slide open the shower ss wall, veiny muscr hands greet me and in them is the same design of the dress that¡¯s currently sitting on the

    Chapter 7

    floor of the washroom I was in

    Vicious looks me in the eyes and states ever so casually.

    ¡°There are panties beneath the dress and a bra too¡±

    I take the dress from his hands and beneath it is a matching bra and panties that have exquisitece at the edges.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need the bra though. The pic dress can do without-

    ¡°You are wearing everything I¡¯ve brought Little Nurse. This isn¡¯t a negotiation.¡±

    I take the dress. The bra. The panties

    He watches until all of them are hugged tight against my chest, the one that¡¯s hidden by a towel, then he leaves.

    Does he leave still wearing a wet suit? He does.

    Do I care: I shouldn¡¯t. But sweet Mother of Jesus a wet and soaking Volkov is like a peach drenched in chocte and wagged right in front of you. There¡¯s no way you wouldn¡¯t bite it. I. Dare. You

    Christian is gone by the time I get out of the shower in a brand¨Cnew dress and with newfound confidence I shouldn¡¯t have after what happened

    Setting

    Chapter 7

    today.

    The fear that was once grabbing every inch of

    energy my body offered has now been reduced to

    hate.

    Hate for Brad. Hate for Rhett and hate for the

    women who birthed those Two bastards and

    failed to teach them manners.

    I know I won¡¯t see Brad again because Vicious will either fire him or send him to a country too far away for me to ever be tormented again.

    The thought puts a smile on my face, as my Converse shoes meet the outside of the dressing

    room.

    Bones snapping sears my ears faster than my

    smile that can stay up.

    Muffled grunting clogs my throat.

    Blood, the blood I¡¯m seeing right now clogs my throat and makes me want to barf. Ironical since

    I¡¯ve seen worse..

    Though the irony? The irony that¡¯s pping my face like a bitch is the image in front of me.

    My baby girl is in the arms of the man who has a sleeveless vest. Those snazzy ones that make musicians like rock stars seem cool.

    Millie looks like she¡¯s sleeping unaware of the heavily tattooed man holding her. I¡¯m guessing

    Setting

    1526

    Choice?

    abe gesing the man smirking while he kasse Brad like a punching bag is

    Aust Vicious the docu¡¯t even see me as he divers knuckle breaking punches to an

    the broke his promise.

    You promised.¡±

    My voice itself makes me dizzy.

    Blood drips from Vicious¡¯s knuckles but he decent acknowledge me. He turns to Jett and strs ¡°Take her and the child home.¡±

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8

    Chapter 8

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    The thing about life? You know straight away whatplications it will shove your way as soon as you inhale that first gulp of polluted earth air.

    By the time I was five, I was selling my own piss to my enemies under the pretense it was

    lemonade.

    By the time I was ten, I was selling dirt from our own backyard under the pretense it was Jupiter dirt. Spoiler alert, I didn¡¯t even know Jupiter

    existed.

    By the time I was fifteen, I was stealing candies from babies for the heck of it.

    My mother called me Vitello, after her grandfather who was a saint of the sort.

    My father called me Vicious; he saw the real me.

    I¡¯m no saint, never went to the padre to confess my sins<i>.</i>

    I wear the coat of viiny from children¡¯s books with pride.

    Yet this part of me that likes being a viin grows. into something much more when small hands touch my shoulder.

    Chapter 8

    Brad¡¯s nose is already broken. My knuckles are red with his blood and my blood and it isn¡¯t enough to ensure men like him never see the light of day again.

    Five or six fists aren¡¯t enough for Fake Fred and before I go delivering the seventh one, her hand lingers on my back.

    I feel it through my wet clothes in an instant and I

    turn around.

    Remember about knowingplications and knowing when life will hit you with them?

    She¡¯s the firstplication I didn¡¯t seeing.

    The secondplication?

    Ites in the form of Alexia motherfucking Green pping me across the face while she yells,

    ¡°You asshole! I told you this was my fight; I¡¯d handle him on my own but nooo¡­you are Vicious and that¡¯s about the worst nickname I¡¯ve ever heard. Are you even listening to me? Tell yourpdog to let go of him¡±

    Every word thates out of her mouth needs to

    be scrubbed hard with soap and bleach.

    But that¡¯s not why I¡¯m not listening.

    The blood, the d¨¦j¨¤ vu, her.

    It zones me out.

    Chapter 8

    I fail dismally to control my rage, to distinguish who is who, my blood boils, my heart craves for blood.

    ¡°Vic, stop¡°, Maximo¡¯s voice sounds like a distant wail.

    My anger redirects like a missile back to the five¨Cfoot something woman who¡¯s just pped me and called me an asshole.

    I¡¯ve given her far more privileges but no one does that.

    No one touches me the way she did. No one hurts

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    No one gets to hurt Christian Vitello Volkov. No one got to be my father with the belt again.

    My hands trigger happy, I reach out to the kryptonite that¡¯s making me weaker, angrier, confused than I¡¯ve ever been in all thirty years of

    my <i>life</i>.

    I grip her neck. Hard.

    ¡°Kill me. Finish the job you failed to do back at my apartment. I¡¯m pretty sure hell is better than being stuck with a douchebag who thinks he is God because men with tiny balls follow him

    around. Do it.¡±

    Blue eyes pierce mine and behind those eyes? I see her hurt. I see that special moment we shared back in that damn shower gone with the wind.

    3/8

    Setting

    150

    Chapter 8

    And that¡¯s good.

    Hate me because I¡¯m no knight in shining armor.

    Hate me because I¡¯m no fucking prince who

    wipes your tears and promises you a better

    tomorrow.

    The more I state things in my head, the more my

    hands sink into her neck.

    She¡¯s gasping for air; I¡¯m having an episode that usually ends up with two or more dead bodies.

    ¡°Volkov, you go any further and that kid won¡¯t have a mother. Jett will have to raise her all by

    himself.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s cute and all but I don¡¯t think I can handle a

    kid, boss. I¡¯m barely twenty¨Cfive, man.¡±

    Millie senses the tense environment around us

    and she sobs.

    I hate it when she cries.

    Dazed, feeling shitty, I let go of the nurse and

    step as far away from her as I can.

    I pick Brad up from the ground and whisper, ¡°You are dead.¡±

    ¡°You could have killed her.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    The orange embers from my lit cigarette dance

    Chapter 8

    with the wind.

    This isn¡¯t my first episode or the first time I¡¯ve

    tried killing anyone that provokes me during said episodes.

    It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m feeling shitty though.

    Choking her after she told me her ordeal with

    shitty men? Yeah, I was a dick.

    And a dick is all I¡¯ve always been when ites to

    women.

    ¡°And you think buying her an entire store of women¡¯s clothes will earn you, her forgiveness?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for forgiveness.¡±

    I¡¯m not looking for anything from her except ving her around till her boyfriend shows up to

    take her.

    And then? That¡¯s when this madness ends and the

    real fun begins.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t seem like it. I¡¯m going to warn you now and notter when all this shit bursts in your face. You¡¯re a Volkov and a Vitello, that blonde nurse might not understand who she¡¯s working for but I

    <ol>

    <li>do.</li>

    </ol>

    Three months from now, you are going to im the title of heir <b>to </b>the Cosa Nostra. A monthter you¡¯ll be pressured into marrying an heir from the five families, failure to do <b>that</b>, you start a

    1526

    Chapter 8

    war.

    That woman doesn¡¯t fit into the equation. As a nurse yes but as something else? She and her kid. will be dead in your world faster than she can blink¡±

    As Maximo drones on and on, my mind trails back to that p that stung like a son of a bitch.

    Maximo is right of course but my mind loops. around the day¡¯s events over and over again.

    ¡°Any word from Demetri?¡±

    ¡°Yes and we have a problem.¡±

    Problem at work.

    Problem at home.

    Problem everywhere I point my gun.

    Two shots of whiskey and none are drowning out the Little Nurse¡¯s eyes as she begged me to choke her or the fact that her naked body would look

    sublime under mine.

    Two steps up the small stairs of my mansion and I pause ncing at the smoke that willows from my backyard.

    The air itself reeks of stic and garbage

    burning.

    I ditch the front door, walk around the house all

    6/8

    Setting

    1526

    Chapter 8

    the way to the pool I never use, to the garden that graces my backyard.

    The garden that has a very familiar woman trying

    to put out a fire.

    A small lump of whatever the fuck <b>that </b><b>is</b>

    continues burning, the mes getting excited by

    the wind.

    ¡°Juana?¡±

    I shouldn¡¯t ask about the fire, I couldn¡¯t care less if a pack of wild dogs invaded the house. <b>This </b>house has be void since Cat <b>died</b>.

    ¡°Vicious. I didn¡¯t know you wereing home. I¡¯m sorry about this, I tried to warn her not to do it¡­but the fire is slowly starting to dim down so

    no worries.¡±

    My ears prick up.

    ¡°The nurse did this?¡±

    Started a fire in my backyard?

    ¡°She was upset, it¡¯s only understandable that she burns her clothes. Frankly every woman hasContent is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    probably done something crazy when she¡¯s upset-¡±

    ¡°What clothes?¡±

    ¡°Vic-¡±

    ¡°Tell me everything.¡±

    Chapter 8

    <b>¡°</b><b>She </b>put Millie to bed. Then she spent the whole

    afternoon burning every piece of clothing that Jett brought to the house¡±

    Every bit of clothing I bought for her.

    ¡°Anything else?

    ¡°She said umm where shees from, a man

    who strangles her and buys an entire wardrobe of

    clothes for her is no man.¡±

    No man, my ass

    This chapter is unlocked. Enjoy reading!

    Chapter 9

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9

    ALENIA GREEN.

    I¡¯m going insane,

    pping men isn¡¯t on my usual go¨Cto list of things I want to do in life.

    Burning clothes expensive enough to buy an entire ind in the Caribbean isn¡¯t what a poor person like me does.

    In less than a week I¡¯ve done all that.

    The repercussions of that?

    I hear his presence in the sound of his car trampling pebbles in the driveway.

    I feel his anger when he calmly tells Juana to go. back to sleep and he¡¯ll put out the fire himself.

    The fire that I started in a fit of rage.

    My balcony window has a perfect view of hist backyard.

    I barely think before I act.

    My unsteady feet get out of bed, slowly and

    autiously trying not to wake Millie up, I tread. across my room straight to those closed balcony windows that show a perfect view of the night

    with a full moon gracing the skies.

    Chapter 9

    My eyes dart to the man slowly taking off his jacker

    The man who somewhat makes darkness look like and of rainbows and unicorns.

    Why? Because he is bigger than the darkness. He is built and imbued with darkness so much that

    the same darkness obeys him.

    I see it in the way his muscles seem toe to

    life as the moon casts a silver glint on him.

    I see it in the way he picks a shovel from God knows where, scoops up soil from the ground and starts throwing the soil to the fire.

    He does that once, twice and the third time, the

    fire goes out.

    He watches the fire dim down. Watches every piece of clothing he bought for me turn into a ck churned crisp.

    I should have burned his entire mansion and

    escaped,

    But today?

    I saw the real Vicious. The Vicious that stormed through my house and threatened to kill me.

    Every single ce he touched on my neck has his handprints. How do I know? I checked.

    I should feel scared. I should feel disgusted just like that night but I don¡¯t.

    ???

    Chapter 9

    Angry at him? Yeah. But scared? No.

    Tonight?

    Vicious turns around like I¡¯ve summoned him, his

    head angles up before I have the chance to hide and when our eyes lock, that¡¯s when the real fearPublished by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    ws at my neck.

    ***

    ¡°Pack any clothing you have; we are leaving for Moscow¡°, His words hit me like lightning in a freaking desert.

    He¡¯s in my room, barely looking at me or Millie who is in my arms right now.

    ¡°Moscow? As in Russia?¡±

    ¡°Stating what we already know dys us.¡±

    In a snag suit that makes Forbes billionaires look like burrs from NYC, my kidnapper is as unhappy as an unadopted kid.

    More than unhappy, his jaw ripples with

    impatience, his eyes are so nd I feel like Millie

    and I might just be walking into a tornado

    without thinking.

    Sweet Christian Volkov was an awkward man

    straight from one of those

    princess¨Cgets¨Cthe¨Ccharming¨Cprince types of

    books.

    Angry Christian Volkov liked choking people. Or

    Setting

    1526

    Chapter 9

    more like choking me.

    But this¡­this Christian Volkov looks at me like 1

    just murdered his favorite puppy and he couldn¡¯t

    care less.

    ¡°Well, I sort of didn¡¯t know we were going to

    Russia today. Why do we have to go? I have never traveled outside the States before, I don¡¯t even think Millie is qualified for travel,¡±

    ¡°The child stays here.¡±

    I take a step back.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what business you

    where I go, my child goes have in Russia but

    No one is separating me from my child. This man might keep us here as prisoners but no one is separating me from Millie.

    Not Rhett. Not my past. Not a scowling man who drips hotness every two to three seconds.

    Volkov isks.

    His hands in his dark suit, he takes precise and quick steps in my direction.

    My feet scurry back while Millie sucks on my left tit unaware of the tension in the room and my heart a close second to falling on the floor.

    ¡°Lucky for you, I¡¯m the boss, you are the employee as you boldly put it in that damn shower.¡±

    Getting

    Chapter 9

    I chuckle.

    ¡°You are forcing me to go to Russia because 1 kicked you out of the shower? What did you dunk would happen, Christian? That I¡¯d get too

    emotional and ask you to fuck me in your freaking store?¡±

    I¡¯m angry.

    The nonsense spewing from my mouth is just that. Nonsense. Emotional nonsense.

    ¡°Say it again¡°, he corners me.

    My throat goes dry.

    ¡°W¨Cwhat?¡±

    ¡°Say my name.¡±

    Christian.

    ¡°Vicious?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t y with me, little nurse. Say. My, Name.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to Russia without my kid. You¡¯d have to drug me to make me responsive and I know you are an asshole but drugging women is beneath you.¡±

    The bastard lifts both of his hands<b>.</b>

    One handnds on my cheek, the other handnds on Millie¡¯s pink beanie.

    I might have burned the clothes he bought me but I didn¡¯t have the guts to burn Millie¡¯s new

    Chapter 9

    baby clothes because she needed them.

    ¡°Who do you think I am, Alexia?¡±

    ¡°A bastard who thinks he owns the world and us mere mortals are chess pieces to him.¡±

    The small corner of his mouth tips up but it can hardly be called a smile.

    ¡°I own the world and you mere mortals are as uninteresting as the sd dressing on my te. Quit ying games. Say my fucking name.¡±

    I have always prided myself in followingws.

    Right now? I say to hell with following orders.

    ¡°No¡°, I retaliate.

    He smirks. The devilish grin makes shivers run down my spine faster than his words can,

    ¡°We leave in an hour.¡±

    ¡°Let me go. Let me go!¡±

    Jett doesn¡¯t let go in fact he drags me to the front

    door like I¡¯m nothing but a paperclip.

    ¡°Stop this. Vic, please¡°, Juana begs the man following behind us.

    The man who ordered hisckey to drag me to the door itself should I offer any ¡®resistance¡®.

    I can¡¯t me Jett for what he is doing but <b>that</b>

    1546

    Chapter 9

    doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t hate him at this point in

    time.

    ¡°Take the child back to her crib¡±

    ¡°She has a name. H¨CHer nathe¡¯s Millie¡°, my voice

    weakens.

    Please don¡¯t do this, Please don¡¯t separate us.

    ¡°Let her say goodbye, yes? Millic¡­she¡¯ll need

    milk, she¡¯ll need to be breastfed.¡±

    God bless Juana,

    Vicious says something to Jett because Jett lets go

    of me in an instant.

    When he does, I run to Juana, I take my baby and I pray to the gods that Christian Volkov, Rhett, Jett, every single man I¡¯ve met who¡¯s turned to be a bastard to drop dead.

    ¡°Shh¡­shh, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. Mommy¡¯s here, baby. Mommy¡¯s not going anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Little nurse.¡±

    ¡°Anything, ask me anything but don¡¯t separate me from my child. I¡¯ll go as far as Egypt to treat your men but don¡¯t take my child away from me.¡±

    ¡°Promise me.¡±

    He uses the same words I said to him in the shower yesterday to ckmail me. To teach me a lesson because that¡¯s what he does.

    Chapter 9

    He teaches his ves lessons about who he is and what he is capable of

    ¡°I promise to do everything you ask of me.¡±

    txige my soul and my services to the devil. Twice,

    <b>This </b>chapter is unlocked. Enjoy reading!

    Chapter 10

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    Demetri Sokolov is as unhinged as Oppenheimer

    with the atomic bombs.

    But more than unhinged? Demetri is an impatient son of a gun that craves power the way. the child on my damn ne craves her mother¡¯s

    milk.

    Going to Moscow isn¡¯t a choice I¡¯d rather partake. in. Russian soil has never been kind to the likes of

    us Sicilians.

    A, because Sicilians are way ahead in the mafia game than the Russian mafia aka the Bratva and B, Demetri¡¯s grandfather and my grandfather might have killed each other in a street battle before the truce was established.

    Demetri Sokolov took the reign of the Bratva from his pops months ago.

    I¡¯m yet to im the throne of the Costa Nostra and if there¡¯s anything <i>I </i>know about that buzz¨Ccut fucker is that he wants to tear down the truce and rule the whole world.

    The Chicago mafia. The London mafia. The Costa Nostra. Bratva, you name it.

    I tap on my tablet going over the guest list to

    Chapter 10

    Demetri¡¯s private party.

    A party that¡¯s more of a conve with every mafia leader in the world under one roof.

    Yeah, I sense a trap. But either he¡¯s too stupid to realize killing us would cause chaos or he just doesn¡¯t give a fuck. And for Demetri? He¡¯s big and dumb alright, add in reckless and I already know Russia is going to be one huge pain on my-

    ¡°Really? Oh my God, I was born and raised in

    Chestnut Springs too. Well, not the born part. You get the idea.¡±

    Too mouthy for a woman.

    Too cheerful for a woman who has no business speaking in this entire trip, the blondie pulls up a smile directing it at Jagger and Jett.

    Color me surprised, that she hasn¡¯t smiled at me since I put her and the baby on a ne to a suicide mission.

    She hasn¡¯t smiled at me, ever.

    Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t even know if her teeth. are white or ck.

    ¡°Does Mrs. H still work there?¡±

    ¡°Noo, don¡¯t tell me¡°, blondie¡¯s eyes grow too big on her face, as yet againdies and fucking gentlemen, she throws my men a smile wide enough to give the Grinch a run for his money.

    Chapter 10

    ¡°You knew Mrs. H? She practically raised me too¡°, she adds unnecessarily.

    I haven¡¯t seen Jagger and Jett smile like that in

    ages.

    And that¡¯s saying a lot because they are practically seated at the edge of the cabin in my private ne and I can still see those smug faces from

    where I am.

    I pour myself another ss of gin. The gin trickles down my throat with a sour taste as Sunshine¡¯sughter rocks the confines of my ne.

    She canugh too, apparently.

    Laugh with me? No.

    Laugh with my men who are ogling her like she¡¯s the next tantalizing meal to be presented in a trashy American TV food show? Yes.

    Who gives a shit aboutughter anyway?

    The next ss of gin doesn¡¯t make it down my throat because Jagger¡¯s voice ups my sour mood to a hundred.

    ¡°You are tough stuff, Lexy. Cute but tough.¡±

    Lexy. That¡¯s what her friends call her.

    I¡¯m no fucking friend.

    ¡°Alexia¡±

    Chapter 10

    Jagger and Jett lose the ridiculous smiles.

    Little nurse cradles Millie in her arms as her smile falls t and her azure eyes scream, she¡¯d rather sit with Jett than me.

    And I¡¯d rather sit on a cactus than fuck her so

    here we are.

    ¡°Come here.¡±

    She hesitates. I think for a moment she¡¯ll go back on her promise but she doesn¡¯t.

    The fine ass with a head, thick and full of blonde hair, stands up, hands Millie to Jett (against my better judgment) and struts to me with a cheap pic dress that hugs her curves and pushes her breasts up to reveal a very ample cleavage.

    No wonder Jett and Jagger were smiling every

    two seconds.

    ¡°What can I do for you, boss?¡± she asks with sass. barely giving the hint that she wants to at least si down and have a chat like we are two proper

    adults.

    Except she isn¡¯t an adult.

    Twenty¨Cthree years can¡¯t bepared to my thirty years and the fact that I¡¯mparing shows how hard that alcohol is hitting my brain.

    ¡®Sit next to me and remain quiet the whole trip¡®, I

    want to say.

    Chapter 10

    ¡®Don¡¯t smile. Don¡¯t do anything. Just sit and breathe for fuck¡¯s sake.

    I don¡¯t say all that.

    Instead, I say the one thing that rocked my mind when Maximo told me Demetri wants me in Russia.

    ¡°Seduce a man for me.

    I put my ve to good use.

    ¡°You in position?¡±

    ¡°Not yet. Demetri has his castle manned by

    guards at every corner I turn to. Thetvs are encrypted hard, hacking into them is like asking me to find an ant in a bag of sugar.¡±

    ¡°How many guards? How many can you and I take out if I provide a distraction?¡±

    Maximo stills, I know the next question he¡¯ll ask

    me before he can even ask it.

    ¡°What distraction? Jesus Christ, Volkov don¡¯t tell me what I think you are saying.¡±

    ¡°Demetri has a kink for blondes.¡±

    She¡¯s blonder than any woman I¡¯vee across.

    ¡°She¡¯s a civilian. She¡¯s a mother. You are selling your own doctor, nurse whatever to a psycho.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get her out alive. All we need is Demetri outContent is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    Chapter 10

    of the way and his n botched.¡±

    ¡°Demetri will eat her alive¡°, Maximo sighs.

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle Demetri,¡±

    ¡°You know you kill him and the Costa Nostra

    starts a war, right?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be there in ten.¡±

    I hang up.

    I have handled worse punks than Demetri and if anything, Sunshine is more than capable of standing on her own.

    That woman has bigger balls than I have seen in two of my menbined. She¡¯s tough as fuck.

    Speaking of women <b>and </b>toughness, the woman in question descends the stairs in a purple floor sweeping gown that shows at least half of her creamy right thigh.

    She covers her shoulders with some designer fur coat of the sort hiding those boobs that would make a man like Demetri fall to his knees and beg

    for a kiss.

    I extend my hand to hers.

    Sunshinepletely ignores it as she <b>stands </b>next to me in heels that elevate her five feet three height to like five foot five.

    ¡°How long do I have to distract this Darius guy?¡±

    Chapter 10

    ¡°Demetri. The name¡¯s Demetri. A few minutes.

    depending on what Demetri has in store for me.¡±

    A few guards to kill us.

    Bombs, snipers, the usual shebang.

    ¡°Why me though?¡±

    Because you are the kind of pretty that would have Demetri wagging his tail as he follows you

    all night.

    ¡°You are cheaper than a hooker. Your services might be required too.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°In case Demetri follows through with his n, I¡¯ll need a nurse to stitch me back together.¡±

    With the re she¡¯s throwing at me, I know for a fact she would leave me dead in some ditch and run the other way with her baby without thinking

    twice.

    ¡°Let¡¯s pray to the Good God that Demetrius doesn¡¯t follow through with his n then. It¡¯d be a shame if you died in Russia¡°, her red¨Csmeared. lips mumble sarcastically.

    I don¡¯t miss the Demetrius name either which is her version of trying to rile me up.

    ¡°And the child?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Jagger volunteered to babysit.¡±

    Chapter 10

    Of course, that little retard volunteered to babysit while Maximo and Jett are scouting for bombs.

    ¡°You trust him with her?¡±

    ¡°Do I trust the man who isn¡¯t dressing me up like

    a doll to seduce some Russian man to take care of

    my daughter? Yes. Yes, I trust Jagger. Come on, boss let¡¯s not keep Daniel waiting.¡±

    ¡®It¡¯s Demetri¡® but by the time I correct her, her ass is already sashaying out of the front door.

    This chapter is

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    We are in his car as he drives up to the haunted looking mansion that resembles an old pce that probably upied fifteenth century. vampires a while back.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Volkov doesn¡¯t look at me as he gets out of the

    car, walks around it andes to open the door

    for me.

    Then like the fake gentleman he¡¯s been

    pretending to be, he holds out his hand for me and Ipletely ignore it.

    As soon as my heels make contact with the ground which happens to be snow, I know deep in my bones that I hate Moscow and probably

    Russia too.

    Russia is cold and unpredictable.

    Russia has looming storm clouds that warn of something tragic happening.

    Russia has a man who I¡¯m supposed to seduce when I can¡¯t even seduce a ny¨Cyear¨Cold man. One, because that¡¯s too gross and two, I¡¯m not exactly the seducing type.

    Together with the man beside me whose height makes me feel smaller and miniscule, we walk

    Chapter II

    straight to the entrance of whatever the hell is going on in there.

    Tonight like every night, Volkov is wearing hist signature scowl. The one that says I have too much trauma to smile.

    Let¡¯s not forget the very expensive, dark as his

    heart suit that matches his dark hair and the shirt

    that¡¯s not buttoned to the cor.

    ¡°We get in there, you don¡¯t stare. You blend in, you find your target and you carry out the mission without drawing too much attention.¡±

    His handnds on my back as he takes the fur coat off of me handing it to the doorman who ushers as inside.

    The house is too grand to be described in words.

    The curtains look like they¡¯ve been imported from somece fancy like Taiwan or Persia. The chandelier might just be made of real diamonds. Real freaking diamonds.

    ¡°Demetri owns all of this?¡±

    Please say no. Please say no.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Volkov answers the question not in the least bit surprised by anything.

    ¡°What kind of business is he into if he owns all of

    this?¡±

    Clepter H

    ¡°His profession won¡¯t matter when youe face to face with him. All you need to do is distract him for a few minutes

    ¡°Distract him while you do what?¡±

    While I take care of business¡±

    I¡¯m panicking. The more I see everything <i>in </i>this house, the more I¡¯m scared of this Demetri guy,

    What if he is like a fat politician type of guy who gropes my butt now and then in the name of ¡®knowing each other better?

    I have worked in fancy restaurants as a waitress, ! know how these types of men think.

    The butler, the doorman, whoever this slender man is with the Romanesque nose that looked like it was sculpted by Picasso himself but in a bad way, stands outside the tall oak doors his eyes on

    Volkov.

    ¡°Mr. Vitello, we are honored to have you as our guest.¡±

    Volkov¡¯s hand caresses my back. The one that¡¯s naked and bare to him because this lc dress he got me showcases my entire back and covers the upper side of my butt.

    My nerves are a mess. But what drives me crazy? The feel of a hand that huge tracing the line of my back.

    Chapter 11

    It¡¯s gonna be a long, long night and all I can hope for is that Millie sleeps through it all safe and sound back at the new mansion.

    While the butler pushes the huge doors open and my breath is caught up in my throat, the man beside me leans closer to me,

    ¡°I¡¯d be a dick if I didn¡¯t tell you this but that

    fucking dress you are wearing looks so good on you, I¡¯m almost tempted to gorge out all the eyes. that will set their sights on you tonight.¡±

    That¡¯s his version of apliment.

    And in his world maybe that¡¯s his way of saying sorry for dragging you all the way to Russia to use you on a probably deranged man!

    I angle my face to the side only to really look at this man and realize that the Good Lord might have given him the face of <i>a </i>glorious mafia killer but the attitude and temper of a three¨Cyear¨Cold after being denied candy.

    ¡°You are still a dick anyway for making me do

    this.¡±

    Demetri isn¡¯t old or fat. He doesn¡¯t even look like

    a politician.

    He looks even scarier than when Volkov tries to

    choke me.

    Chapter 11

    Demetri looks and sounds like his name. Impably tall, hard facial features an example being the jaw that looks like it goes to a gym itself and a bigger muscle build than Volkov, he is the perfect example of what a soldier and a mercenary looks like.

    Ooh and he is sporting a buzz cut. A buzz cut that looks as terrifying as the non¨Cexistent smile on

    his face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s toote to back down. You are here, you are

    doing it.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I seduce a guy like him?¡°, I ask, my eyes lingering on the man who¡¯sughing with other strange men by the corner.

    I recognize his brown hair from television. He¡¯s running for senator in Chicago. His name is¡­

    ¡°Dante Keaton is off¡­

    I don¡¯t want you near

    him, I don¡¯t want you talking to him. You ready?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Good. Go.¡±

    Christian is gone by the time I turn around to stop this madness.

    In a throng of businesspeople who I know nothing of, the only right thing to do is obey.

    Seduce Demetri and call it a night.

    Chapter 11.

    Easy peasy right?

    ¡°Demetri?¡±

    That¡¯s the best I cane up with.

    My palms are sweaty, my throat feels parched as Demetri excuses himself from the man he is talking to and turns his focus on me.

    He sizes me up, he doesn¡¯t even blink as his eyes lock with mine.

    ¡°Nice party by the way. It¡¯s really umm¡­chic. I¡¯m Kimberly Ramos. You probably don¡¯t remember

    me but¡­¡±

    ¡°Whose whore, are you?¡±

    If I wasn¡¯t too pissed off at his statement. I¡¯d pay attention to his thick Russian ent but he just

    called me a whore.

    ¡°Excuse me? I think you have me mistaken with

    someone else.¡±

    ¡°No women are invited here. And if there are, they came because their men brought them out forpany. You do not know me otherwise you would not have talked to Demetri.

    So we remain with two choices, no? You are someone¡¯s arm candy for the night but you think you can also get Demetri in your bed tonight if you are lucky or two, you are here for something else, something that concerns me.¡±

    6/10

    Setting

    Chapter 11

    Busted.

    I¡¯m like a deer caught in headlights.

    Demetri and his terrible English have me

    nowhere left to run and the man who brought me

    here¡­I turn around, I look for Volkov but he is

    missing.

    Oh no. No. No.

    ¡°No one ising to save you, woman. Demetri has you cornered, any attempts to run will only quicken your death.¡±

    ¡°My name is not Kimberly Ramos. I lied. I was kinda forced into this. You are right I don¡¯t know who you are otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have spoken to you or entered your mansion for that matter and for that I apologize.

    I¡¯m not a serial killer, I¡¯m not here to kill you or anything. I¡¯ve never even touched a gun in my life so if you can please forget we met, forget this happened, I¡¯ll disappear and-¡°, my words die

    down my throat when Demetri throws a re my

    way.

    ¡°You areing with me.¡±

    ÖÐÉêÂÊ

    ¡°This isn¡¯t necessary. I have no weapon on me

    and I¡¯m not a hired assassin.¡±

    ¡°Move.¡°

    Chapter 11

    One of Demetri¡¯s guys pushes my back with the nozzle of a rifle.

    The other guy to my right clicks his tongue,

    Demetri walks in front of me as we all trek down the red carpeted hallway.

    I¡¯m sweating buckets trying to assure myself! won¡¯t die in Russia. My knees buckle but I try to remain positive.

    Christian Volkov is somewhere in this mansion.

    He¡¯ll notice I¡¯m gone. He¡¯ll look for me.

    But this is the same Christian who brought me here. To sell me to Russians? Oh God,

    My mini panic attack halts when at the end of the hallway, a gorgeous brte appears wearing only mini shorts and a long baggy shirt that barely looks like hers.

    Her hair is long and voluminous and so chestnut brown she looks like she jumped out of a fairytale.

    Her face is bare of makeup but she looks like a Victoria Secret¡¯s model.

    ¡°Dee. I was so worried.¡±

    Shit.

    Dee?

    This woman hugs Demetri and jumps in hisp

    Chapter II

    gging her legs around his torso like he is not some terrifying ruffian who¡¯s about to kill me for

    Trespassing.

    And Dee? I mean Demetri? Ue kisses her tenderly before he groans.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be out here, malyshka.¡±

    I¡¯m no Russian interpreter but I definitely feel like malyshka trantes to baby or somet

    endearment of the sort.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already established you are not going to boss me around anymore especially and most especially when they are both here. You invited them? They are going to kill you.¡±

    Invited who?

    ¡°They are not taking you, what¡¯s mine from me.¡±

    I cough out the pang of jealousy and confusion from my throat.

    Demetri¡¯s woman acknowledges my presence and something about her eyes looks familiar.

    Like I know her. But from where?

    I don¡¯t get to indulge my curiosity any longer because a few secondster, the sounds of gunshots loud like thunder ring from down the

    hall.

    I¡¯m already on the floor screaming as I watch Demetri take a gun from his waist, hold on to his

    Chapter 11

    girlfriend tight and scurry down the hall.

    His men follow him shouting stuff into their walkies.

    And I?

    Iy on the floor t, my hands above my head, my prayers going to God that He saves me and that my life doesn¡¯t end like this. Meaningless.

    God doesn¡¯t save me.

    He sends my savior in the form of the devil

    himself.

    ¡°I expected you to be dead by now, Little Nurse. Get up, our time¡¯s up.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS VOLKOV.

    ¡°Why am I not surprised to see you here?¡±

    I nurse a shot of vintage wine.

    Demetri offers the best of the best after all. The

    only thing that puts me at ease is that I know the bastard drank the wine too. I watched him do so

    making it safe to say the wine isn¡¯t poisoned.

    Sunshine seems to be managing the conversation with Demetri too well. I see her smile. The same smile that she gives every guy like it¡¯s free candy on Halloween.

    A minuteter, Demetri escorts the Little Nurse out of my vicinity and I would react if it isn¡¯t for the fact that Maximo hasn¡¯t given me the clear I need to take down any man I want in this room.

    The other reason happens to be the fact that I¡¯m upied.

    With him.

    ¡°It¡¯s a small world, Volkov. What? You think

    voll

    are the only one who wants to hear what Demetri wants to say?¡±

    Dante Keaton asks, showing his usual smug

    bunny teeth that make him think he looks smart.

    Chapter 12

    The truth of the matter is, Dante Keaton has never been smart. He might happen to be the biggest douchebag I¡¯ve met and trust me with my line of work, I¡¯ve met a lot of them.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know he was inviting low lives too is all.¡±

    Dante chuckles. I take a sip of the piss wine.

    What¡¯s taking Maximo too long damn it?

    ¡°Always arrogant, Volkov but then again what I can expect from a stuck¨Cup Sicilian heir. I was the head of the Chicago mafia before you invaded my turf, maybe our Russian friend recognizes.

    who I am and who the thief is.¡±

    I made the Chicago branch better than what Dante had and that¡¯s a fact.

    ¡°I should stick to politics if I were you. Business and greed don¡¯t work hand in hand Keaton. I might be stuck up but at least I¡¯m not the one botching business operations all in the name of crying over spilled milk.¡±

    His men shot Nico, raided my bar and all for what? Because I sell more load than the weasel in

    front of me ever will?

    ¡°I¡¯m taking back what¡¯s mine. You get the saying. In three months you¡¯ll be taking what¡¯s yours unless perhaps something were to happen to you and your seat miraculously became up for grabs.¡±

    ¡°Is that a threat Keaton?¡±

    Chapter 12

    ¡°A threat would be holding a gun to your head. and making sure I don¡¯t miss. That¡¯s a threat, <b>this</b><b>?</b>

    This is advice.¡±

    ¡°Volkov? Damn it,e in. You hearing me? They jammed the signals. Jett found Demetri¡¯s<b>. </b>men ughtered. You have to get out of there. It¡¯s a trap. Dante Keaton set a trap for all of you. Demetri isn¡¯t the one going to kill you all, Dante

    Keaton is. Dante¡­¡±

    The earpiece in my ear loses the signalpletely.

    I chuckle at the turn of events.

    So what? Demetri called us to a regr meeting

    and not a genocide and Dante Keaton wants to take advantage of all that by killing every mafia head in this room?

    Well yed, I didn¡¯t see thating.

    ¡°What is it you said about threats?¡±

    My Glock is already up and directed at the dead center of Dante¡¯s forehead.

    It takes me one bullet to fry his brains out. One bullet to end him and rid the world of an asshole nning to be a senator so he can embezzle public funds properly while shipping weapons into the country unseen.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you. You shoot me and you take the fall for every man that dies

    15.28

    Chapter 12

    tonight<b>.</b>¡±

    I underestimated you this time.¡±

    ¡°No. You became too cocky in this game. The secret to sess has always been patience. Wait

    for the right time, the right ce and moment and then poof!TM

    Jamie Keoghan, head of the Irish mafia drops like a bug on the floor. Dead, unconscious? I don¡¯t give a fuck as the next man that ends up on the floor happens to be the head of the Los Angeles

    mafia.

    I don¡¯t wait for the third man to fall.

    I rely on instinct. I point my gun away from Dante¡¯s face to the ceiling, shooting the lights

    out.

    Darkness hovers around the room, gunshots rain like sulfur from the depths of hell.

    Nothing worse than a group of panicked heavily armed men who sense death and are too cocky to

    ept it.

    My hand locked on my gun, I shoot whoever I have to as I make my way down the same path that Sunshine and Demetri went to.

    My mind ticks with rage, adrenaline pumps into. my blood like a fix and in a haze of confusion, fury and disorientation, my mind goes back to the child back in the damn mansion a few miles

    Chapter 19

    from here who is expecting to see her mother

    tomorrow.

    Little nurse dies and that child falls on me.

    I can¡¯t raise a child.

    Not with these conditions I can¡¯t.

    The dimly lit hallway crawls with dead men, I¡¯m almost on the verge of giving up and calling it a night when her screams punch the air louder

    than the gunshots.

    Up ahead, trembling against the ground, hands covering her head as if that would stop a sniper from blowing her brains out, Little Nurse screams and cowers in fear.

    ¡°I expected you to be dead by now, Little Nurse. Get up, our time¡¯s up.¡±

    Her pretty blue eyes turn to face me and I swear any man would be dead from her gaze.

    ¡°Vicious? Vic-?¡±

    alone.

    She doesn¡¯t give me a minute to breathe.

    Her shaking body wraps around my waist it hits. me like a gust of wind on an already shitty night.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to let me go if we have any chance of surviving the night Alexia.¡±

    Her sternum shakes against my chest. Her wet cheeks caress my neck. Her legs tremble as they

    Chapter 12

    hug my waist.

    And this stubborn little thing? She refuses to let

    <ol>

    <li>go.</li>

    </ol>

    ¡°Get me out of here, please.¡±

    She begs.

    She hugs me.

    I kill more than four men while she¡¯stched on my upper body like a baby monkey to its mother.

    The only difference is this wild monkey is scared as fuck.

    Every time I fire my gun, her body only captures mine further. The more she clutches my body, the more my sanity and my blood rush all the way to my dick.

    We make it out of Demetri¡¯s house with me

    covered in blood and Sunshine¡¯s hold around my

    neck enough to choke me.

    ¡°This is the part where you let go and run to the

    car.¡±

    ¡°No¡­I don¡¯t think I can. One wrong step and they¡¯ll kill me. I can¡¯t die like this. I can¡¯t die here. I can¡¯t leave Millie.¡±

    ¡°No one is dying. All I need is your little feet running to the car while I cover you. I¡¯m right. behind you, Sunshine. I promise.¡±

    Chapter 12

    Maybe it¡¯s the blue eyes.

    Maybe it¡¯s the adrenaline and the thrill of having had to shoot my way from Dante Keaton¡¯s men

    All I know is as I watch my thirse run to the car in five¨Cinch heels. I swell with pride.

    ¡®Run like the sh, sunshine<b>. </b>I¡¯m right behind

    you.¡±

    Ensuring no men follow us, getting rid of the earpiece that has proved ineffective in contacting Maximo, I get in the car.

    A few minutester, Sunshine and I are on the

    road.

    Except everything on the road looks too blurry. the steering wheel in my hands feel like Jello, Alexia shouting my name feels like a distant wail.

    Before my eyes shut down and I ck out. 1 realize two things.

    One, Dante Keaton spiked the vintage wine and knowing him, he probably did it with poison.

    Two, I¡¯m the one driving. Me cking out means. my Little Nurse follows me to hell too.

    This chapter is unlocked. Enjoy reading!Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    Chapter 13

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13

    ALEXIA BROWN.

    The first time I watched Fast and Furious on the

    piece of crap Tv I had back then, the movie

    franchise had thrilled me.

    The car chases, the gun scenes, the totally

    impossible stunts that were out of this world but nheless made the world seem like it could be

    conquered.

    I¡¯m not denying I watched the movies because of Vin Diesel or The Rock but somehow those

    movies made me dream.

    Made me dream that maybe if I wasn¡¯t a nurse barely have finished my residence, in some alternate world I would have been a spy or some cool badass chick running from the cops in street cars and all that.

    Well right now?

    After having bullets fired on top of me and men dying faster than candles on a disastrous Tinder date around me, I realized that the Fast and Furious movies lied.

    Getting shot at wasn¡¯t fun.

    Negotiating with Russian men who looked more like the Russian mob wasn¡¯t in any way thrilling

    Setting

    Chapter 18

    or all of that spy espionage the movies preached about..

    Andstly whatever Vin Diesel or Dominic

    Toretto did with his cars didn¡¯t apply with cars of

    this century or of the real world.

    Not at all they didn¡¯t.

    I¡¯m not going to lie that the whole night had

    caught me by surprise.

    I¡¯m also not going to lie and say Christian Volkov

    didn¡¯t save me today.

    Because he did. He shot men without blinking without even telling me to get off of him because I was slowing him down.

    Granted this whole night was his fault but after some sh of bad luck, I thought said bad luck wouldn¡¯t catch up to us.

    But it did.

    One minute my hands were shaking against the car seats, my head leaning against the passenger window and the next minute¡­

    I don¡¯t know when I realized we were goners.

    Maybe it was when I asked,

    ¡°Do you see them? The ck SUV behind us? I¨CI think they are following us.¡±

    Volkov didn¡¯t answer which was strange.

    Chapter 13Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    He liked ignoring me but he should have said something. Anything

    The next time I called his name, Christian¡¯s eyes were already half closed. The hold he had on the steering wheel was already weak leaving me the totally confused driver with the out¨Cof¨Ccontrol

    vehicle.

    I didn¡¯t get to touch the steering wheel because the SUV following us picked up speed and in mere seconds, they were driving side to side with us against the slick tarmac covered by sleet.

    ¡°Volkov?¡±

    My attempts to wake Christian up only grew.

    futile.

    The next time my lips parted to scream Christian¡¯s name, the SUV rammed into us swerving us off the road, all the way to the snow, all the way until the car overturned, until my screams sounded like hollow wails and my eyes. shed before my eyes.

    And when life shed before my eyes all I could think of was of my baby girl.

    My baby girl.

    Jey liquid hits my cheek, the smell of oil burning. with something dastardly like metal flogs the air and assaults my lungs<b>.</b>

    Chapter 13

    My throat stings in pain and the urge to exhale the air chokes me.

    My eyelids flutter open in panic as I cough out liquid after liquid that looks red in the snow,

    Oh God.

    Pain bites every part of my body like termites. feasting on nearly dead flesh. Every vessel in my body feels like it¡¯s working overtime in trying to keep my heart alive and beating in the middle of all the freezing cold.

    I cough some more. More blood expels from my mouth tainting the white snow.

    As soon as the realization that I¡¯m coughing up blood hits me in the chest, my hands meet the snow underneath and I attempt to stand.

    ¡°Ah¨CAh.¡±

    ¡°Your leg was jammed up pretty badly, Little Nurse. Any attempt to walk on it risks you never

    walking again and I don¡¯t need to be a nurse to

    know that.¡±

    My eyes follow his voice.

    Volkov. Alive, definitely with torn clothes but

    alive.

    He stands before me, his back to me,

    ahead of what is in front of us.

    his eyes

    I look around too, memories of what happened

    TRAT

    Chapter 13

    assault every working cell in my brain.

    No. No. No.

    ¡°We had an ident. Those jerks they¡­ran us off the road. You were unconscious. I thought we were¡­how?¡±

    How am I sitting on snow?

    How am I alive?

    How is he standing?

    ¡°Thought I was dead too. Turns out Dante Keaton isn¡¯t a coward after all. Bastard spiked the wine with sedatives instead of poison.¡±

    I don¡¯t understand half of the things leaving his

    mouth.

    My heart is lurching all the way to my stomach as I examine everything around us. And everything

    around us?

    Yeah, it¡¯s snow alright..

    Miles and miles of snow and up ahead the only thing I see is trees that are too frozen with icicles to provide any warmth.

    We are in the middle of nowhere Russia.

    Millie. What¡¯ll happen to¡­

    ¡°Where¡¯s the car Vicious? What happened to the

    His hand stretches out and he points in the east

    Setting

    Chapter 13

    direction.

    What happened to the car? It exploded. Its smoke can be seen like a beacon from outer space itself.

    I start to panic. My nerves turn erratic.

    I never liked snow. I don¡¯t like Russia either. I don¡¯t like the man who¡¯s not facing me either.

    ¡°Y¨CYou did this! Your stupid n with Demetrius, Duncan whatever his name is, caused all of this!

    And now we are stranded in the middle of

    nowhere. Do you not understand how much trouble we are in right now? Right after I begged

    you not toe to Russia?

    You¡¯ve handled situations like this, maybe a

    million times but I haven¡¯t. You might want to die but I don¡¯t because I have someone waiting for

    <ol>

    <li>me. I should have never agreed to any of this.<b>¡±</b></li>

    </ol>

    The tears I¡¯ve held back since Demetri and his ¡®you areing with me¡® words hit mee flowing down my cheeks.

    I would have already been dead if someone didn¡¯t

    start the shootout.

    Demetri would have chopped me to pieces but it doesn¡¯t matter now, does it?

    I¡¯m already dead. Here in this ice desert with this ice¨Cstoned heart douchebag.

    My eyes are on the snow, on my leg that has a

    Setting

    1577

    Chapter 13

    gnashing cut that stings.

    A secondter the snow on the ground in front of me gets colored by drops and drops of blood as Vicious squats in front of me.

    His icy hand clutches my chin, leveling my eyes

    ath his fierce ones

    ¡°Calm your frozen titties down because no one is dying. Well except me if you don¡¯t remove this crappy metal off my shoulder. little Nurse.¡±

    Shrapnel a piece of the car itself is lodged inside his left shoulder. The blood surrounding it makes

    it worse.

    I gasp before I even ask what¡¯s obvious.

    ¡°You got injured

    Teah, no shit I need you to take it out.¡±

    Take it out Taking it out means him bleeding our and I don¡¯t even know how deep it¡¯s lodged in

    there

    You¡¯ll bleed a lot if I do.¡±

    ¡°A line blood never hurt anyone.

    ¡°Are you seriously quoting the worst line ever said by men when you have a piece of metal matured in your shoulder? A little blood will hurt you. You¡¯ll lose a lot of blood if I cake it out!

    Be sures at me like I spit in his Ervente cigar

    Chapter 13

    holder. Then he takes a few steps away from me gazing down at me like I¡¯m a pest.

    The man doesn¡¯t think for a second, doesn¡¯t even breathe in preparation for what he¡¯s doing; his right hand clutches the shrapnel and he pulls it out in one go smirking.

    Smirking at me? At the pain? At the situation?

    ¡°Can¡¯t carry you with a shrapnel on my shoulder. Let¡¯s hope for both our sakes I don¡¯t bleed to death before we reach the safe house.¡±

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14

    CHRISTIAN VON VON

    The wound wing like a ch

    stop the bleedin

    anther

    The semes

    Viva sug more than the most ama

    The dam. The tere text women who¡¯s authorby relived my help with her by xjwed gray Sadly

    New ween wetting for now two hours with

    kes meam ficking grating found.

    Red mocand running into wild animals that might just be hanging around the corner for the nex

    Reut meam getting hypothermia and with the drew, the Sundine Blonde is wearing I¡¯m wurpriced frostbite haut caught up with her yer

    had maybe I¡¯m being an ass but her catching

    <b>This </b><b>chapter </b>is <b>unlocked</b>. Enjoy <b>reading</b>!

    Chapter 14

    Chapter 14

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    The wound stings like a bitch.

    My hand is applying pressure to it as much as I can but we both know none of that is going to stop the bleeding.

    What stings worse than the wound? The snowing. The sleet. The five foot woman who¡¯s stubbornly refused my help with her leg injured pretty

    badly.

    I trudge through the ankle deep snow, stopping against a pine tree under the pretense of taking a breath when she and I know, I¡¯m waiting for her.

    It¡¯s almost sunrise<b>.</b>

    We¡¯ve been trekking for almost two hours with

    no rest.

    Rest means risking getting found.

    Rest means running into wild animals that might just be hanging around the corner for the next

    prey.

    Rest means getting hypothermia and with the dress, the Sunshine Blonde is wearing, I¡¯m surprised frostbite hasn¡¯t caught up with her yet.

    And maybe I¡¯m being an ass but her catching

    Chapter 14

    frostbite means less weight, less responsibility and karma serving her back for some of that ¡®I don¡¯t need your jacket or your help, I¡¯m fine.

    The fur coat is keeping her upper body warm but her lower body?

    She¡¯s definitely freezing. She¡¯s not fine.

    By the time she reaches up to me, her mop of sunshine blonde hair is a mess. Snow, branches,

    cobwebs. I didn¡¯t know cobwebs existed in this

    hell of a ce but apparently, she found them.

    Her small hand clutches the tree, her short

    breaths look like her panting from where I¡¯m standing, she winces when she lifts her injured foot from the snow to look at her wound.

    The wound on her ankle has advanced to swelling

    in her right leg.

    ¡°Need help?¡±

    ¡°You asked me that ten minutes ago and what did

    I say?¡±

    ¡°You were fine.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯m telling you ten minutester, precisely right now that I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look fine to me, Little Nurse.¡±

    ¡°A man who fails to take a nurse¡¯s advice on not bleeding himself to death shouldn¡¯t be the one pointing fingers at who¡¯s fine and who isn¡¯t. How

    2/6

    Setting

    1520

    Chapter 14

    far is your safe house?¡±

    Probably a mile. Can¡¯t trace it because Maximo¡¯s already gone away from it by now.

    She raises her brow,

    ¡°Is there even a safe house?¡±

    I almost chuckle. Other women, I would have left.

    them to die but this one? She straight up challenges me and that in itself is conflicting.

    ¡°You are wee to walk the other way if you think I¡¯m walking us around a damn ice forest for

    the fun of it.¡±

    ¡°You could be dying our deaths under the guise there¡¯s a mysterious safe house in the middle of nowhere.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no dying death. When ites, you know it, you feel it inside you.¡±

    I¡¯d felt it a couple of times. Only, it refused to take me along.

    ¡°How do you know there¡¯s a safe house? Just answer me this and I¡¯ll be quiet. I¡¯ll walk for another four hours if need be.¡±

    ¡°We are on Demetri¡¯s property, the ident. happened on his property. Maximo and Jett are supposed to be in the safe house, if they haven¡¯t left yet anyway.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you are telling me you have a safe house

    Setting

    1547

    Chapter 14

    on the property of the man who almost killed Us?¡±

    Demetri didn¡¯t try to kill us. Might want to though, but I entertain her all the same.

    ¡°Yes. <b>Don¡¯t </b>we all?¡±

    ¡°No. No, we <b>do </b>not all have safe houses in the

    middle of the property of some deranged Russian psycho with guns. That¡¯s like saying you have a house built near the white <b>house</b>.¡±

    The thing with this woman, she panics when she¡¯s

    troubled. Talks a lot too.

    ¡°You are tired.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going insane too in case you haven¡¯t noticed. You are driving me insane by acting like we are in Disneynd and not here where nature is against us, our bodies are against us and I think I heard a wolf howl a few minutes ago so ler¡¯s add animals ripping us apart to the list of the things killing us today while we are at it!¡±

    I tramp through the snow in her direction, the sound of snow getting crushed echoes in the air.

    I tower over her.

    Five feet of nothing and she¡¯s been dragging us down the whole trip.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Five feet of nothing and she¡¯s been throwing every thought that <bes </b>across her mind to me

    Chapter 14

    without thinking twice.

    Five feet of nothing and I¡¯m ensuring she makes it to the safe house whether or not I make it.

    She¡¯s just that. A five¨Cfoot woman ncing at me with blue bedroom eyes that want to decimate me into a churned burnt crisp.

    ¡°No one¡¯s dying.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s your choice to ma¡­¡±

    ¡°Say it with me, no one is dying when I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°No one is dying,¡± she repeats and punches me in the gut.

    My hand reaches out to her cheek. To caress her? To wipe tears that don¡¯t affect me in any way?

    No.

    I touch her tangled hair, feeling its texture and that texture would feel right fisted around my knuckles as I watched taking her from behind.

    I¡¯m losing it.

    I¡¯m losing too much blood that the majority of it is directing itself to my cock and leaving my brain with nothing but a few scruples.

    ¡°Hop on my back, Alexia. Now.¡±

    It¡¯s an order.

    Not this mellow back and forth chit¨Cchats we¡¯ve

    been having.

    15/77

    Chapter 14

    This time T serious.

    She¡¯s wasting time, I¡¯ve got no time to toxe

    She blinks twice, she licks her lips. Submisive and sexier than before she Breathes out.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    One word.

    A breathless okay and I cuss inwardly for having brought her to Russia.

    Because now?

    That safe house will be me and her.

    Sunshine and my darkness

    Her sassiness and my seriousness.

    Her unfiltered words and my impatience for

    them.

    Thatbination in itself is worse than Demetri figuring out I¡¯m on his property.

    Frankly speaking. I¡¯d much rather duel to the deaths with Demetri Sokolov than be shacked up in one room with Alexia Green for more than a

    day.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    <b>Russia </b>is unrelenting.

    The winds blow right at us carrying the sheer cold that makes my cheeks go numb. I can¡¯t feel my toes either and that might be a sign my body has stopped resisting the cold.

    The chances of hypothermia wing every cell in my body, I loop my arms around his lean neck

    the more.

    He doesn¡¯t speak.

    Doesn¡¯t even groan at the wound that throbs the more he walks and the more he carries me.

    Deep down, being afraid and all, a strange feeling settles in the pits of my stomach maybe because I¡¯m starting to understand this man more than I

    should.

    He doesn¡¯t feel anything because he¡¯s not allowing himself to.

    Almost as if the very thing supposed to make him feel is hollow. And I know his heart is made of stone metaphorically speaking but right now?

    His ugliness seeps into the air and I smell it and it almost makes me want to cry.

    15

    Chapter 15

    I¡¯ve hit rock bottom so many times and each of those times I allowed myself to feel. To cry, to

    vexa

    break something, to shout and call my ex a ¡®bloody pig¡® for everything he did.

    This man however?

    Vicious trudges on in the snow as if he¡¯s not about to die.

    His jaw is locked too tight like he¡¯s crushing his mrs inside his mouth but other than that? His face reveals nothing.

    No pain, no anger, nothing.

    Two steps in, my eyes are on his dark silky hair. The one that now falls to cover both sides of his

    forehead.

    Has anyone ever touched your hair, Christian? A woman, a friend? Just anyone?

    My eyes slowly fall to his cheeks, hardened by years of scowling, probably getting angry most of the time and you¡¯d think someone who was angry most of the time would have an ugly <b>face </b>but not

    him.

    No, he¡¯s as handsome and as intriguing as a ck cat and I¡¯m not even a fan of cats.

    Did your mother caress your cheeks when you were young? Did you allow her to do that in the first ce? Were you loved as a kid? How¡¯d you turn out to be like this?

    2/10

    Setting

    Chapter 15

    How¡¯d you turn out to be Vicious?

    ¡°You are not speaking. That makes me believe you are either dead or staring.¡±

    His voice startles me adding new hives to my already cold skin.

    ¡°I¡¯m not dead and pretty sure you wouldn¡¯t want your nurse dead either.¡±

    I hold on to his working shoulder. The one that feels like a ton of bricks lined up together and sculptured to mold a mountain of a man.

    ¡°There are many nurses out there, little Nurse.¡±

    The way he says Little Nurse every time frustrates me but there¡¯s still something about those two little words that feels fuzzy on the inside.

    ¡°Then you should have left me in the car to die it there are many nurses who¡¯d willingly work for you.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m not an easy man to work with?¡±

    ¡°You said it yourself, not me. I¡¯m here and not in

    Chicago because of you so yeah, I think you are

    not an easy man to work with.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m carrying you.¡±

    ¡°You are carrying me out of guilt.¡±

    After you¡¯ve countlessly scared me half to death

    Chapter 15.

    with threats.

    Vicious doesn¡¯t reply. Instead, I feel his back straighten and his eyes nce at something far off.

    Covered with snow and next to a huge willow tree, the small cabin blends with everything and if you didn¡¯t look close enough, you¡¯d almost miss.

    <ol>

    <li>it.</li>

    </ol>

    ¡°The safe house¡°, I exhale.

    Christian confirms my suspicions by taking a couple more steps to the small cabin. Thirteen stepster and he slowly drops me on the small stairs leading up to the cabin.

    I watch as he taps something by the side of the door and some sort of digital key card asks for a

    code.

    One shoulder bleeding, he uses his other hand to tap in the code and the sound of the door clicking roars louder than the wind.

    ¡°Come on.¡±

    The cabin might be ugly from the outside but on the inside, it looks like a modern apartment from Manhattan.

    Expensive leather couches, a kitchen blended. with the living room that has almost everything including marble counters, a sink, a kitchen. ind, two cookers and a two¨Csided fridge.

    Chapter 15

    Christian barely looks around as he storms inside the small house with his shoes on and a bigger scowl than when he ordered me to hop on his

    shoulder.

    ¡°Are Maximo and Jett here? You said they would

    be¡­¡±

    ¡°They are not. They left.¡±

    ¡°Okay and what does that mean for us?¡±

    ¡°We are stuck here unless I get a signal for this¡°, he waves a ck talkie in the air.

    Throwing it on one of the couches he disappears down the small hallway where I¡¯m assuming the

    bedrooms are.

    He shows up a few minutester with a duffel bag and a red first aid kit in one hand.

    Except this time, the man towers over me

    shirtless, a bleeding wound on one shoulder and his suit pants hanging lowly on his torso you can almost see the V lines escaping inside his pants.

    If he sees me ogling, hepletely ignores it because as soon as he throws the duffel bag in my direction mumbling, ¡®Clothes¡®, he moves right to the kitchen, dripping more blood as he moves.

    I take the bag; I open the zip and peek inside to see the clothes.

    My clothes feel almost wet, I should be removing

    D

    Chapter 15

    them from my body and wearing the veryrge sized t¨Cshirts from inside the bag.

    Instead, my feet scurry to the kitchen and the image I find there almost pains me.

    Vicious sits on a kitchen stool, the first aid kit

    opened, a needle in his other hand as he tries to

    reach his shoulder.

    My hands catch his before he can continue with

    the futile attempt of trying to patch himself up.

    ¡°Let me do it.¡±

    I¡¯m almost pleading.

    Did thest doctor do this for him or did he just patch himself up to avoid human touch altogether?

    ¡°No.¡±

    Ouch.

    ¡°I¡¯m the nurse. This is literally what you brought,

    me here to do.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would get hurt. You were here to treat Maximo and Jett if they got hurt.¡±

    ¡°You are not a superhero Vicious; you could have gotten hurt too. Actually, you did get hurt so why don¡¯t you quit being a <i>big </i>baby and let me look at your wound?¡±

    His gaze bores into mine and I almost feel his

    Chapter 15

    wrath.

    His legs, the ones that feel and look humongous trap me between him. I¡¯m standing between his thighs, he either epts my help or we stay in

    this ufortable situation for hours.

    ¡°I let you look at my wound and you¡¯ll end up getting hurt. Any time anyone inflicts pain on my body. I react. I won¡¯t think, I¡¯ll <b>react</b>.¡®

    It takes his brown eyes and the fury shing in his eyes to understand what he¡¯s telling me.

    I peruse through every moment I¡¯ve been with

    this man.

    Every time he¡¯s reacted and done something out of the usual norm for a man as evil as him.

    Like the time he choked me when we first met. When I told him I didn¡¯t know where Rhett was and he reacted by choking me like a madman.

    I didn¡¯t hurt him then. Or did Rhett hurt him and me not telling him about Rhett¡¯s whereabouts provoked his reaction?

    The second time he reacted was when he choked. me back at the store. After I had just pped him. after I had hurt him.

    Ooh.

    ¡°Who stitches you up when you are too wounded to do it yourself?¡±

    Chapter 15

    Why do you hurt people when you get hurt? Did someone hurt you? I want to ask all of that but I don¡¯t.

    ¡°Maximo.¡±

    ¡°Do you hurt him when he does it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He can take a punch or two and you can¡¯t.¡±

    If he punched me, I¡¯d probably die on the spot.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    ¡°We have to stop the bleeding and you need not to hurt me while I¡¯m doing so. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to rmend a distraction.¡±

    ¡°A distraction?¡± he asks surprised.

    ¡°Your body reacts that way because you are stuck reliving a memory. A memory of someone probably hurting you so any time a different person hurts you, you think it¡¯s the same person and you react. A distraction keeps your mind from reliving the past and focusing on the

    present.

    Focusing on me and realizing I¡¯m not gonna hurt you. At least not intentionally.¡±

    His eyes which have already gone wide ze over my eyes, over my nose and settle for my lips.

    The action itself makes the apple of my cheeks

    flush and burn with scorching red heat.

    ¡°What distractions do you propose

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16

    Chapter 16

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    Talking about the weather after she called me a big baby would have had me snapping her neck in two faster than she could stitch me up.

    Telling each other jokes was like pretending I gave a shit about the Arctic wolves in ska.

    The amount of blood I was losing was messing up with everything. My brain, my sight, my strength.

    The only thing that was keeping me sane for every five seconds was her voice, her scent, her

    sunshine blonde hair up too close to my face.

    So I asked what I wanted since I saw her.

    A piece of that ass.

    And Rhett?

    Yeah the scumbag didn¡¯t deserve this woman in

    the least bit. Not that I deserve her either but there¡¯s no denying there¡¯s something to her that prates through my skin.

    She smells likevender. She smells like what a woman sent to destroy you would smell like.

    All things good, all things seductive and definitely all things that would stray even the mightiest

    1/5

    Setting

    1541

    those tipe swell means

    I want to fuck her and be done with das

    There, <i>all </i>done. That should stop the bleeding

    Chapter 16

    from their thrones.

    ¡°Just one more, okay? You are doing fine.¡±

    She assures,

    A look of pity and pride lights her face.

    My sanity might be already in the gutter but my ticking brain, the one that calctes and expects things to happen in a certain way is so off its mark. I think I might have lost too much blood to think right.

    My hand just found what nirvana feels like.

    And it feels like soft, creamy skin,cy panties and

    enticing heat.

    Her ass, her thighs, the smell of her arousal isn¡¯t the only thing distracting me in this room.

    I want to haul her over the counter and rub that goodness between her legs all over my mouth.Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    I want to turn her over and take her from all the positions her little body can endure.

    I want to kiss her and smudge that red lipstick off of her till she understands what being kissed till those lips swell means.

    More than that?

    I want to fuck her and be done with this

    obsession I have with my nurse<b>.</b>

    ¡°There, all done. That should stop the bleeding

    Chapter 16

    until we can get a way out of here. Vicious? I think it¡¯s time to let go now.¡±

    Half aware, half thinking. I pull my hand away from her dress and her sceny fades away from me before I can assess whether she¡¯s done with the

    job or not.

    ¡°You should take the antibiotics for the pain but make sure they aren¡¯t expired.¡±

    Then she nces at me for a minute before she disappears to the living room.

    It takes about five minutes formon sense to

    knock into my brain and remind me that every minute spent with this woman risks the chances of me damning myself to hell and thinking with my dick.

    I can¡¯t touch her again.

    If her ass felt that good, her lips, both lips, might be strappingly better.

    I can¡¯t let her touch me either because she¡¯s the forbidden fruit. Rhett¡¯s ex, who also happens to have his baby.

    Let¡¯s not forget the minor detail that I¡¯m using her as <b>bait </b>for Rhett.

    Or the fact that she¡¯s a civilian who knows.

    nothing about the type of work I do. The type of work that contradicts what she does<b>.</b>

    Chapter 16

    She saves lives

    1 enjoy taking lives

    She¡¯s with me 24/7 because I need her ex. I¡¯ll have no use for her once I have Rhett Kingston.

    I¡¯ll have no use for the child either.

    The child who is with Jagger and damn we have to get out of here as soon as we can.

    She¡¯s changed into a shirt that barely reaches her thighs coupled <b>with </b>ankle¨Clength mismatched

    socks.

    Surprised to even say it but this woman could

    wear a scarf on her <b>head </b>and she would still look

    gorgeous.

    ¡°There¡¯s one gun under the armchair. The other one is strapped to the edge of the first cupboard in the kitchen. In case you fail to reach that,

    there¡¯s a rifle under the bed.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t know how to use a gun-.¡± Her voice quivers.

    I take the Glock in my hand and ce it on her hand.

    ¡°Remove safety, aim, fire.¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. I am not waiting here for men toe and find me when I barely know

    Chapter 16

    how to aim straight or use a freaking gun! I¡¯ming with you.¡±

    ¡°I have to get a signal to contact Maximo. Your foot is injured, youing with me risks us both ending up dead.¡±

    ¡°What if you end up dead? What do I do then?¡±

    ¡°You will not.¡±

    ¡°Take me with you. Just don¡¯t leave me alone.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. Stay put, wait for me, do not open the door for anyone. You hear me? No one goes. in through that door except me. I know the code.

    to get inside meaning I won¡¯t knock on the door

    or ask you to open it for me.

    Now, tell me where the guns are Little Nurse.¡±

    ¡°Christian, please- ¡±

    The first time she said my name. I am tempted to

    kiss her.

    I¡¯m also tempted to go back to the kitchen with her frame between my thighs and my hand.

    caressing her sweet ass.

    ¡°Alexia¡°, I warn.

    ¡°Under the armchair, strapped to the first cupboard in the kitchen and under the bed.¡±

    ¡°Good girl. Do not open this door no matter

    what.¡±

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    ¡°Good girl. Do not open this door no matter

    what.¡±

    I should stay. He¡¯s right.

    I¡¯m injured. Both of us traveling to wherever he¡¯s going to get a signal on his walkie¨Ctalkic is a big

    risk.

    I could slow him down or worse, we could both

    end up dead.

    With all that information in my head, my nerves still swallow me whole and spit me right out.

    I¡¯m not a ¡®good girl¡°.

    And not only am I scared to death but I¡¯m scared of Demetri and his men finding me here and shooting me long before I know how to remove safety, aim and fire.

    I don¡¯t stay.

    I don¡¯t follow his rules.

    I wait till he leaves.

    Twenty secondster, I walk as fast as my injured leg can to the bedroom. Once in the bedroom, I don¡¯t look at the room twice or anything for that

    Chapter 17

    matter because I kneel on the floorboards, peek under the bed and find a hunting rifle strapped to the bottom part of the bed with tape..

    1 take the rifle.

    Thirty secondster, I tie a wooden spoon against my injured leg. That should be able to help me walk in the snow without difficulty.

    Fifty¨Cfive secondster?

    My throat feels desert dry as the night greets me like an old friend.

    The gun in my hands feels heavier than the boots. adorning my legs or the snow that¡¯s falling harder than earlier.

    What¡¯s even harder?

    Following Christian Volkov in the middle of the night and trying to stay hidden.

    The man moves like a lumberjack ustomed to, the harsh weather of ska.

    Except this ce isn¡¯t ska but a ce so much

    worse.

    Eyes straight, never stopping to rest, his gun set on one hand, Christian Volkov moves like a

    machine.

    We¡¯ve been trudging against the snow and the harsh weather for what seems like an eternity and so far, I feel like the amount of sweat my body is

    Chapter 17

    perspiring is enough to drown an entire ind. my back hurts, my lips are chapped and my heart is beating erratically against my chest at the chance of being caught by Demetri, a wild animal or worse, the guy I¡¯m following.

    The guy who told me to stay put in his fancy safe house while he made sure we got out of here.

    ¡°DiMarco? Shit,e in¡­Coordinates: the safe house you left with no water and no food! Jagger? Ten¨Cfour,e in? Fuck.¡±

    Vicious¡® echoes shake a few birds from the trees.

    From where I¡¯m standing, hiding behind a tree with a rifle in my hand, I can taste his frustration.

    He stops walking.

    He taps his walkie¨Ctalkie twice then stops.

    I think he¡¯s given up.

    I should rush back to the safe house before he knows I followed him all the way here.

    My feet barely touch the snow before new noises.

    fill the air.

    It¡¯s not me. It¡¯s not Volkov.

    How do I know? Because I don¡¯t speak Russia and the men speaking into the night are definitely. Russian and they are headed this way.

    Volkov angles his head in the direction of the

    Chapter 17

    men¡¯s voices.

    Like a predator, he waits with his gun barely lifted and his talkie on the other hand

    Like a prey, I¡¯m shaking at my hiding spot.

    Run, Christian. Hide, Just hideN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    The idiot doesn¡¯t hide.

    The noises only get closer and the weather grows angrier. The fear wing my neck has paralyzed me on the spot.

    A few trees get snapped out of the way, the sound of snow getting crushed by heavy army boots resonates in the small space between Volkov and me before everything turns to hell.

    Two men appear in front of Volkov,

    Big like Demetri. Ferocious like your typical Russian mobsters. They are Demetri¡¯s men and they are heavily armed with more guns.

    I should have carried the other two guns from the kitchen and the living room.

    They are going to kill him.

    They are going to kill me.

    Buzz cut number one, the one whose hair is blonde and has a gnashing scar on his chin says something to Volkov,

    Volkov chuckles and my head swims, all my

    Chapter 17

    thoughts swirling in one direction. Hisugh is as burning as his touch.

    Then as if my boss couldn¡¯t get any sexier enough, he opens his mouth and speaks Russian.

    The first dude, Buzz cut number one, chuckles but his smile is a condescending one.

    The telltale pulse of dread travels up my neck.

    What happens next happens so fast, I barely have enough time to take my rifle, hold it well and aim it at the two Russians.

    One of the men has his gun locked and loaded on

    Volkov¡¯s forehead.

    The other guy tells Volkov something between the lines of ¡®say yourst words¡® and ¡®time to meet your maker¡® in Russian.

    My hand flies to my mouth.

    This is it. This is how he dies and how I¡¯ll die. This

    is how-

    Time slows in reverse.

    One minute Christian is about to be blown his

    brains out and the next, he yanks the gun from

    Buzz cut number one.

    Before Buzz cut number two has a chance to

    react, my boss doesn¡¯t blink, doesn¡¯t even think as he fires his gun shooting the man between his

    eyes with his other gun.

    Chapter 17

    Like he¡¯s ying Russian roulette, he aims the second gun at the man who was about to kill him shooting him in the head.

    Both bodies fall to the ground like logs. Their blood taints the snow with dark red.

    The scream I¡¯m trying to unleash dies down my throat. They are dead. He just¨Cjust killed them.

    In my moment of getting shaken to the bones by the blood and gore, I stare at Christian who is wiping blood off his talkie like he just killed a bug.

    Except right beyond Christian, I see the men. hiding behind the trees, the men who are loading their guns to spray him with bullets.

    Oh no, No.

    He killed two men but there are like six men

    about to kill him.

    Vicious might have killed two men in less than a

    minute but he can¡¯t handle six men alone.

    I can¡¯t watch him die.

    ¡°Remove safety, aim and fire.¡±

    His words rack my brain.

    I steady the rifle in my hands.

    God, I can¡¯t do this. I can¡¯t kill anyone. I can¡¯t

    protect him.

    Chapter 17

    I point the rifle with shaking hands in Christian¡¯s direction.

    <b>All </b>I have to do is to aim at the target.

    I see three men already holding their guns up at a clueless Volkov. Yeah, I can shoot them.

    I remove the safety, at least that¡¯s what I think it is, I ce my index finger on the trigger, I aim at the target and then?

    I fire the gun.

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18

    <ol>

    <li>ed. Enjoy reading!</li>

    </ol>

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS VOLKOV

    ¡°Boss wants you alive but Dante Keaton? He pays us better and he wants you dead, friend.¡±

    ¡°The great Costa Nostra heir has been reduced to this. Weak because of grief. Tell you what? We¡¯ll put you out of your misery and grant you the wish of seeing your whore of a sister back in hell.¡±

    The two men were going to die by my hands as soon as I sensed them.

    I was meant to torture them, use them as examples for the other six men hiding by the bushes of some sort.

    These two men crossed the line. I reacted and the

    meny near my feet in pools of their own blood for mentioning my sister.

    Demetri sent eight men to capture me. Two traitors. Six cowards.

    A total of eight men.

    That¡¯s the math going on in my head, there are supposed to be eight men out here in the night. with me.

    My mind didn¡¯t predict one possibility though.

    <b>And </b>that one possibility presents itself in a spray

    Chapter 18

    of bullets heading in my direction and feminine screams piercing the air.

    She fires bullet after bullet like a madwoman.

    I duck out of the way, but the six men? The six men supposed to deliver a message to Demetri? They all meet the snow one after the other as their shooter reveals herself from behind a tree.

    With a grey hat on her head, her hair getting swayed by the wind at the edges, an oversized peacoat eating her up and big boots covering her legs¡­.wait is that a spoon tapped to her boot?

    The little minx never lets go of the trigger.

    Her screams never stop.

    Her terror of shooting without looking at where she¡¯s firing onlyes to an end when she runs. out of bullets.

    ¡°Did I get them?¡±

    You got them alright; you killed them all damn it.

    I¡¯m already up on my feet and whatever calmness I had established a few minutes ago dissipates into the air like vapor.

    Snow stretches between us, wind hollers between

    our distance, my anger fills to the brim.

    ¡°You were supposed to stay back in the house.¡±

    Instead, she followed me and I couldn¡¯t get a

    Chapter 18

    whiff of her scent, her stubbornness or the lies

    flowing through the teeth she¡¯s showing me right

    HOW.

    ¡°You left me all alone. What if they made it to the house and shot me?¡±

    ¡°You shot them. You killed them.¡±

    You killed Demetri¡¯s men. Any chances of negotiating with that fucker after killing eight of his men are close to none.

    Her blue eyes filter past me, her rifle ¨C she had to Take a rifle out of all the guns in the house ¨C drops to the ground as she takes two unsure steps toward me.

    ¡°No, I¨CI didn¡¯t. I meant to scare them not-.¡±

    ¡°You shot at them with the intent to kill. Not twice and certainly not thrice.¡±

    Your bullets might have already killed any non¨Cexistent wolves that exist within a mile.

    radius.

    ¡°I¡¯m not you¡°, her voice quivers. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to

    do that.¡±

    I should be less of a dick.

    Yet right now she has me seeing red at her stupidity, her stubbornness and her defiance,

    I know she¡¯s not me.

    SettingN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Chapter 18

    I¡¯ve touched her ass, I¡¯ve smelled her innocence,

    I¡¯ve seen the child this woman has brought to the world.

    And everything about her is pure,

    Her hands are the hands of a healer, not a taker. Not like mine.

    She couldn¡¯t hurt a fly If she wanted to but I don¡¯t make her feel that way.

    Making her feel better is the least of my concerns right now.

    ¡°This is what happens when you think you know fucking better. The rule was simple Alexia, stay, wait for me but that¡¯s too hard for you to¡­¡±

    Warm liquid trickles down my neck, touches my shoulder and wets my shirt.

    I touch my neck, my fingerse out red.

    ¡°Christian-¡± her pretty voice calls me but the world spins.

    Every damn time she calls me ¡®Christian<b>¡®</b>

    something shitty happens.

    Her hands are already on my coat, covering my chest as the whole world spins.

    Her breath hits my chin, I gaze down at her and utter the most ironical statement I have ever

    spoken.

    Chapter 18

    ¡°You shot me in the neck.¡±

    ¡°Your stray bullets¡­hit me on the neck.¡±

    <b>This </b>chapter is unlo

 Chapter 19

    Chapter <b>19</b>

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    ¡°I need the code, Christian. Please just give me the code okay?¡±

    His body lies limp against the wall of the cabin.

    The hand that¡¯s covering his neck has turned red, his face is already pale matching the color of the atmosphere, the color of my face; matching the stato beating of my heart.

    ¡°Y¨CYou shot me¡°, he slurs like he can¡¯t believe it.

    I can hardly believe it either because this was not what I intended to do.

    There are six men, he was one man.

    They are going to kill him.

    I have a gun, I thought I could¡­

    I killed the men.

    I almost killed him.

    My attempts to try to open the door dash into the ground like my hopes, I move away from the

    door.

    I kneel where the six foot man is trying to hang on to dear life and I sob.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so so sorry. You should have neverExclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Chapter 19

    to fix you, please let me let me fix my mistake.¡±

    ¡°Cat?¡±

    He hallucinates.

    My hand touches his cold cheek.

    ¡°Alexia. It¡¯s me, Alexia. Your little nurse? Work with me, Volkov. Just this once please, work with

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    It¡¯s hard to even admit it but I miss him calling

    me Little Nurse¡®.

    Right now in this situation, the nickname doesn¡¯t

    sound too bad.

    ¡°Cat. Catelina¡¯s¡­birthday.¡±

    ¡°Catelina¡¯s birthday is that the code?¡±

    He nods. He looks like he¡¯s fading into nothingness and I don¡¯t want him to.

    He is my kidnapper but the thought of him dying makes me want to chop my heart out with at

    serrated de.

    42.99,¡±

    I¡¯m on my feet, my fingers working fast to input.

    the code.

    Chapter 19.

    Once I input the code, the door lock clicks and I smile with relief,

    ¡°Thank you. Thank you!¡±

    Dragging him into the house is almost as difficult

    as dragging him across the snow while he was half alive, half conscious.

    Christian mutters a couple of things in his

    delirium, by the time I drop him on the couch, I¡¯m already panicking trying to salvage as much equipment as I need to patch him <b>up </b>and look at the wound.

    Is the bullet still lodged in his neck? No, he should have been dead if it did.

    Did the bullet slightly graze him? Even if it did he¡¯s lost a lot of blood and for a man his size I¡¯m pretty relieved that his strength is keeping him from joining the eternal pits of hell.

    The antiseptics I used earlier to stitch him up are finished

    The only close antiseptic I could use right now is the bottle of Martell in my hands. The only thing that was in the fridge.

    Maybe while I¡¯m at it, I could drink myself out of this disaster that has my hands shaking and my throat quivering with a fresh bout of tears.

    ¡°Okay. We are okay. We can do this. We made it here, getting you better is nothing difficult. Oh

    3/12

    Chapter 19

    God, please save him. Help me. Help him-.¡±

    My shaky hand lie on his hand as I try to pry it out from where he is applying pressure to his bullet wound.

    His veiny hand doesn¡¯t let me touch him.

    His body¡¯s reaction is to fight me even when he¡¯s.

    half conscious.

    I¡¯m about to beg when the sound of static and a groggy voice filters between us.

    ¡°Volkov¡­Vol¡­kov. Come¡­in. Volkov, can you read

    me?¡±

    Is that the walkie¨Ctalkie?

    My eyes zero in on the device in Christian¡¯s other

    hand.

    Oh God. He didn¡¯t leave the talkie after I shot

    him?

    He didn¡¯t lose it?

    I grab the talkie.

    ¡°Anyone? Anyone there? Can you hear me? Maximo? Jagger? Jett?¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Volkov, Nurse?¡±

    The <b>voice </b>smoothes in like nd music on the

    radio.

    It doesn¡¯t matter though because whether or not Maximo is disappointed that I¡¯m the one.

    L

    Chapter 19

    answering and not his boss is the <b>least </b>of my

    concerns.

    ¡°He umm¡­he¡¯s upied. We are in Demetri¡¯s property. Some kind of safe, house in the middle of nowhere. Come get us!¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Volkov?¡±

    Dying in front of me.

    ¡°Injured.¡±

    ¡°Shot?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Do you not hear me right now? We are in Demetri¡¯s property! His men found us, they can find us again. Retrieve us from here, please.¡±

    ¡°Who shot him?¡±

    ¡°Why does it matter? Your boss is injured!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dealt with men far worse than Demetri¡¯s

    men. No one could have shot him. Riddle me this, Ms Green why are you the one talking to me and my boss is shot? What really happened?¡±

    ¡°I¨CI shot him. identally. I was trying to protect him and things got out of hand.¡±

    I wait for the line to go dead or for Maximo to tell me he¡¯ll eliminate me and the child that¡¯s with

    him at the moment.

    The man chuckles.

    A two minute chuckle that would be funny if I

    5/13

    Setting

    1543

    Chapter 19

    wasn¡¯t scared.

    ¡°Is he dead?¡±

    What?

    ¡°No. What sort of question i

    ¡°Can you fix him?¡±

    Yes, No. I think.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to.¡±

    ¡°Fix him. Demetri will be there by tomorrow to get you both out.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. Thanks so much for¡­wait did you say Demetri? Demetri¡¯s men attacked your boss, why would hee to rescue us?¡±

    ¡°You are in his property. There¡¯s no way I can take you out of there without him seeing me. The boss understands this.¡±

    ¡°The <b>boss </b>is shot! God, the boss is¡­¡±

    ¡°I understand this is hard for you, Ms Green but every minute we waste here is another minute

    Volkov nears his death. Get to work.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Do you need me to stay on the line?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Please.¡±

    I need someone to make sure this is real <b>and </b>that

    I¡¯m not in some type of crazy dream with men

    Setting

    Chapter 19

    with guns and a Russian psycho out to end us.

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    Volkov is practically shaking by the time I get his hand away from his neck.

    The wound that meets my eyes is gnashing but not a bullet wound.

    The bullet grazed him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t shoot his neck.¡±

    ¡°You aimed for his neck? My day keeps getting

    better and better.¡±

    Maximoughs like the whole scene isedic and not brutally cathartic..

    ¡°It¡¯s a graze wound. I can stitch him up.¡±

    ¡°I have to warn you, Nurse. He gets grouchy when he gets hurt.¡±

    ¡°I know. He¡¯s told me. Right now he¡¯s too hurt to get grouchy, I think I can do this.¡±

    I start cleaning around the flesh. The minute the cotton soaked alcohol touches his flesh, Volkov

    flinches.

    Then a secondter, he continues mumbling,

    ¡°Catelina. Cat. Cat.¡±

    ¡°Do you wanna hear the child?¡±

    I¡¯ve already started stitching and my hands still.

    Chapter 19

    ¡°Millie? You are with Millie?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had the child with me since I started this call.¡±

    I thought she was with Jagger.

    Maximo is a hell lot worse because he gives off

    broody mercenary vibes.

    ¡°Where¡¯s um Jagger?¡±

    ¡°Handling business.¡±

    ¡°And Jett?¡±

    ¡°Handling business too.¡±

    What business?

    ¡°How¡¯s Millie doing?¡±

    I¡¯ve missed her terribly. We¡¯ve never been away from each other for this long.

    ¡°She¡¯s asleep. She senses you are not here because she has been crying.

    ¡°Did you feed her? I pumped some milk for her before I left. It¡¯s not enough but it should have gotten her this far.¡±

    ¡°Fed and changed her diaper. The child¡¯s fine.

    How¡¯s Volkov?¡±

    Maximo changed her diaper? And fed her?

    I have to get to my baby. And fast.

    ¡°I¡¯m down to thest stitch.¡±

    Chapter 19

    ¡°Good. Keep him alive. See youter.¡±

    ¡°Wait let me say goodbye to my daughter.

    Maximo? Maximo?¡±

    The line goes dead.

    I huff in annoyance.

    With blood stained cotton wools around me, a

    half bottle of alcohol near my knees and bandages all over, I contemte the thoughts of drowning in alcohol or sleeping on the ground and calling it a night but the man on the couch

    doesn¡¯t give me a chance.

    Volkov starts shaking again, his hands grab the fabric of the couch in his fists almost tearing it

    away.

    When the back of my palm sweeps his dark hair

    from his forehead, feeling his temperature, it¡¯s

    almost high enough to burn my skin.

    ¡°A fever? You battled your way here, there¡¯s no way a fever is taking you, you hear me? I won¡¯t let

    I hate you but I won¡¯t let you die. I won¡¯t let you do this to me.¡±

    you.

    I take off his coat, leaving him with his dark shirt. that¡¯s straining to hold his body together.

    My hands work on his feet, taking off his army. boots and leaving him with his socks.

    I head to the one bedroom in this hell of a ce

    A

    Chapter 19

    to get a few nkets to cover him and when Ie back to check up on him not only is the man shaking but he¡¯s sweating so much so that his t¨Cshirt is soaked and drenched in sweat.

    ¡°I have no choice¡°, I whisper to no one.

    As fast as I can to get him better, I peel his clothes. away from his body.

    Taking off his shirt is the most difficult thing at the moment, lifting his head up is like trying to lift a boulder but I manage it.

    I take his pants off too. And his briefs and socks.

    I¡¯m not going to lie and say I don¡¯t take a look at his body because I do..

    His body is a meshwork of perfection and

    imperfections.

    Tattoos peak from his ribs stopping near his

    chest.

    Every time he shakes and inhales, sweat coats his body and his scars be as visible as the lump in my throat.

    This man has gone through a lot, hasn¡¯t he?

    What¡¯s the meaning of his tattoos? Or the skull tattoo that¡¯s inverted on the back of his palm?

    I want to touch him. Why? Because I think I can erase his scars?

    Chapter 19

    Christian Volkov looks like the type of man who doesn¡¯t need a woman to wipe away his scars.

    I¡¯m not the woman to wipe away his scars too because I¡¯m broken and unworthy.

    Taking the nkets, I cover him up.

    He stirs on the couch, muttering incoherently,

    ¡°You promised! No, find your way to me! Cat? Catelina! No! You are not¡­.not following him. Y¨CYou are my constant. The only good thing. Cat? Cat please.¡±

    He calls this ¡®Cat¡® person with emotion, my heart tugs at his pain.

    Who¡¯s Cat?

    Why is she not here?

    He loved her. You can feel it in the way he calls her out, the way he says ¡®please¡®.

    He¡¯s never said the word ¡®please¡®.

    Never even thought a man like him could beg.

    I sympathize with the man who brought me here to Russia, my hands brush his stubble and his

    check.

    ¡°<b>You </b>are having a nightmare, Christian. You have to fight the fever.¡±

    ¡°Catelina?¡± His voice softens.

    My heart falls to my stomach at the affection he

    D

    <b>Chapter </b>19

    has for this Catelina.

    ¡°No. Not Catelina. Little Nurse.¡±

    ¡°Little Nurse?¡± His voice turns raspy.

    ¡°Yes, yes I¡¯m here. It¡¯s me and I¡¯m telling you we are going to make it.¡±

    Come here.¡±

    I shouldn¡¯t move to him.

    I should clean up, watch his fever and pray he makes it out alive.

    Instead the part of me that feels a tad bit guilty

    for his situation wins.

    He¡¯s still cold.

    He¡¯ll need a warm body to keep him warm.

    He¡¯ll need me.

    I take off my coat and boots.

    I pull the long ck shirt above my head, getting

    rid of it.

    My panties and bra are off of me too and down to

    the carpet.

    Biting my bottom lip apprehensively, I pull away

    the nket.

    I join the naked man on the couch.

    I let his hands pull my waist closer to his body.

    Chapter 19

    Together in a country I don¡¯t want to be in, with a

    naked man I loathe, I sleep knowing tomorrow might be worse.

    This chapter is unlocke

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lived in an orphanage my whole life. I¡¯m just one of those people who didn¡¯t have parents that could love her enough to keep her.

    Our warden used to say my parents were rich folks because I was left on the orphanage¡¯s door all dressed and pretty in fancy clothes.

    I was four years old I think. Funny enough I can¡¯t even remember my life before I got to the

    orphanage.

    I can¡¯t remember my mom. Can¡¯t remember if I had a dad or siblings.

    Did you have a family too, Volkov?

    Of course you did. You look like you do. A

    brother? Parents?

    Anyway when I turned eighteen I was kicked out of the orphanage. I was too old to live there I

    guess.

    And you want to know what they gave me? Fifty

    bucks.

    Fifty bucks to get myself a job and take myself to college. I thought I was done for but then I met this woman, Lisa Collins.

    1/10

    Setting

    Chapter 20

    I¡¯ll never forget her. She helped me get a schrship to med school and I thought my life would be okay from then on.

    Except it wasn¡¯t the same because I met Rhett. 1 fell in love with him because he was the first guy to show me love.

    I betrayed Lisa, got out of med school, ruined my schrship because Rhett told me he¡¯d provide me with everything I needed.

    And now I¡¯m here. Paying Rhett¡¯s debt and giving my baby a life she doesn¡¯t deserve because my whole life has always been jinxed.

    If you keep me around. I¡¯ll ruin everything you¡¯ve

    worked for.

    I¡¯ve already shot you. I probably ruined your deal

    with Demetri too. Let me go. Please.¡±

    His nose bumps my forehead, his shaky breath hovers over my lips.

    His hands, the ones that feel like steel around my back, bring me closer to his chest the more.

    Almost as if he¡¯s scared I¡¯ll disappear if he doesn¡¯t hold me closer to him.

    My boobs are smashed against his chest.

    I can feel all of him everywhere on my skin.

    His legs are tangled with mine, his stubble is tickling my cheek, his hands have me caged, I can

    2

    Chapter 20

    feel his length tickle my thighs but I ignore it because he¡¯s sick.

    I might be sick in the head too for jumping on this couch but I don¡¯t regret it because he sounds. calmer than he did before.

    ¡°Stay. You promised. Stay. You¡¯ll never leave. I¡¯ll not allow it.¡±

    He¡¯s talking to Cat again, isn¡¯t he?

    ¡°You don¡¯t mean that, do you? As soon as you get better, I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll choke me for hurting you and lock me up in your dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Stay. You are never leaving, Little Nurse¡°, he

    murmurs.

    But I hear him.

    He is delirious with a fever and Itch on his

    words the way a kid does with candy for the first

    time.

    I trust him.

    I believe he wants me to stay.

    And the feeling thates with his words, travels. down my spine in a shiver going all the way to my curling toes.

    I hug him. I kiss his neck.

    I pray for Christian Vicious Volkov to get better

    and get us back home to Millie.

    Chapter 20

    xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

    He¡¯s gone.

    The minute I open my eyes, I feel his presence away from me.

    Sunlight flitters inside the cabin, the freezing cold bites my cheeks as my eyes wander to the empty

    space next to me.

    The empty space that has me feeling a bit more pained than I like to admit.

    The mess I left yesterday on the floor is gone and so are his clothes.

    Looking around the cabin, I push the nkets away from me and grab every piece of clothing I own from the carpet.

    ¡°Volkov?¡±

    He¡¯s not in the kitchen.

    What¡¯s in the kitchen however is a te of eggs

    and bacon left on the counter for me with a note

    inscribed on it.

    ¡®Eat.¡±

    There was no foodst night. Where did he get

    the food?

    He¡¯s not in the bedroom either.

    ¡°Volkov?¡±

    Oh God, did he leave me alone?

    Chapter 20

    I scurry to the door and the voices on the other side stop me.

    Russian

    They are speaking in Russiah and both voices are

    so familiar it fills me with dread.

    One of them is Volkov.

    And the other? Demetri

    Demetri¡¯s here.

    <b>I </b>push the door open, wind ps my thighs and I shiver inwardly.

    Brown eyes spear mine.

    Blue¨Cdark eyes take my outfit in.

    I¡¯m dressed in a t¨Cshirt above my knees and socks. Nothing fancy but the look that Volkov gives me is enough for me to wish the ground broke and swallowed me whole.

    Demetri looks at me and smiles a full on

    demented <b>smile</b>.

    The woman is awake.¡±

    Demetri is alone. No men. No guards. Just him

    alone.

    I see two jeeps in front of the cabin. Each of them. heavily barracaded with armor designed to stop

    bullets.

    ¡°Go inside¡°, Volkov orders.

    Setting

    151

    Chapter 20

    He¡¯s back to his usual grumpy hot self.

    Looking like he doesn¡¯t have a stitch on his neck. or another stitch on his shoulder beneath those clothes.

    But more than that?

    He acts cold. So cold, my heart grieves.

    ¡°You are okay¡°, I mumble.

    ¡°You are supposed to be inside.¡±

    ¡°Give the woman a break Volkov. Yebat, you are as dense than usual, friend.¡±

    Demetri¡¯s Russian ascent sounds less scary than his face. Or than the day he wanted me dead.

    ¡°We are not friends¡°, Volkov quips.

    Demetri¡¯s eyes are back on me. Menacing and unyielding.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting you and her out of here, that makes us friends, no? She will want to be my friend after

    we talk.¡±

    ¡°No¡°, Volkov answers for me..

    Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t want to talk to Demetri

    either.

    He scares the beejesus out of me.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you are on my property then, isn¡¯t it Volkov? This is not Chicago or Sicily, I am not yourckey, I am not Dante Keaton. I call the

    Chapter 20

    shots here.

    Miss Green, can we have that talk now? Meet you at the car right there.¡±

    Demetri doesn¡¯t give me a chance to speak back, he trudges out to the snow, all the way to his Jeep. Then the man leans against his Jeep, his eyes on me, daring me to do what he has just asked or else it¡¯s over for me.

    ¡°Get your coat.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to him. He¡¯s the reason we

    are in this mess in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°You fail to do what he says and he kills you. I won¡¯t stop him.¡±

    Because we are in Russia because he couldn¡¯t care

    less?

    ¡°What does he want?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Alexia. What did you tell him when you saw himst?¡±

    ¡°Are you insinuating something? You told me to seduce him, he didn¡¯t give me a chance to seduce him because he wanted to kill me. I didn¡¯t tell him anything. How could you think I¡­I flirted

    with him?¡±

    ¡°Get your coat and boots.¡±

    I get my boots and coat.

    Chapter 20

    Not because I like it but because speaking to Demetri somehow seems to piss Christian off.

    And since I¡¯m pissed off by his attitude it¡¯s only fair that he¡¯s pissed off too.

    x X x X x Xx X x X x X x X x X x

    ¡°You saw something you shouldn¡¯t have. That means I either kill you or let you off with a warning¡°, Demetri starts, my eyes go wide.

    I didn¡¯t see anything. Except men firing at us.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t-¡±

    ¡°You killed my men too.¡±

    ¡°They were going to kill us if I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t kill you. I can¡¯t retaliate because your boss<b>. </b>over there will start another pointless war. So

    what do I do with you, woman?¡±

    ¡°Let me go? I didn¡¯t see anything that¡¯s worth mentioning.¡±

    ¡°But you saw her.¡®¡±

    Demetri¡¯s eyes gaze dead cold into the snow

    ahead of us.

    ¡°The woman? You called her ¡®malyshka.¡±

    ¡°Beautiful, baby whatever you Americans call your partners. She is my partner. She is my better half. She is my what do you people say?

    Soulmate. She dies and Demetri will wreak havoc

    Chapter 20

    on the world, on you and your measly life.¡±

    ¡®I don¡¯t understand. I don¡¯t even know who she is.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Alexia Green. And I want you to keep it that way, forget you saw her, don¡¯t mention her to anyone. Especially and most especially, him.¡±

    We both nce at the man standing outside the cabin, looking at us like he wants to tear us to pieces.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want me to tell Volkov about this woman? Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of his business. Do we have a deal or

    don¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Only if you get me out of your country and promise to leave me and my boss alone.¡±

    He chuckles, ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alone but your boss and I have business together. The kind of business that won¡¯t end because you don¡¯t want him in danger.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    When Demetri leaves in one of his jeeps and leaves the other one for us, I walk up to the porch.

    Back to the man angrily scowling at me.

    ¡°What did he want?¡±

    Chapter 20

    ¡°He wanted me to work for <b>him</b>¡°. I lie.

    I won¡¯t tell anyone about malyshka. Not that anyone would be interested anyway.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said no.¡±

    ¡°Good because you are not leaving until you repay every damn cent your ex owes me.¡±

    Yesterday he told me to stay with a different tone. A tone that had my delusional heart pounding hard against my chest.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Today he is telling me I won¡¯t leave but with apletely dead tone that has my insides swirling bitterly.

    Did I do something wrong?

    Except sleep naked with him all night.

    Did I do something else wrong?

    7

 Chapter 21

    CHRISTIAN ¡®VICIOUS¡¯ VOLKOV.

    ¡®I was four years old, I think.¡¯

    ¡®I fell in love with him because he was the first guy to show me love.¡¯

    Her words were so distant I thought I was having a nightmare and she was trying to keep me awake.

    I am not having a nightmare though.

    I am notpletely sure how we ended up in this situation but here we are.

    Here we are after she disobeyed orders, walked out of this ce, followed me and shot me in the neck.

    Being alive doesn¡¯t surprise me at the moment.

    Like I said, I¡¯ve given in when ites to death only for it to leave me behind in this wretched world.

    What surprises me this morning?

    Her.

    All of her on me. Too close for my liking. Too in my face to push her off.

    Pain stings my body from all the joints. What pains me more?

    Her hand wrapped around my length without a clue in the world.

    I¡¯m hard. Not morning wood but harder than I¡¯ve been in my life.

    Her blonde hair sys all over my chest, the top of her head touches my chin and the rest of everything is worse.

    Our legs are tangled in a meshwork of a lookalike web.

    Her tiny hands. Jesus Christ, her tiny hands are wrapped around my torso in a firm grip.

    What has me stop breathing for a minute?

    Her pussy.

    Soft, lush, hugging my leg, gripping me in between her legs with innocence and not a care that a man like me could do the unthinkable in this situation.

    Her scent fills my nostrils.

    All I breathe is her.

    All I see is her.

    All I want? All I want is my little nurse with me like this on a freaking bed teaching her a few manners with my¡ª.

    ¡°Damn it¡±, I groan.

    She shot me and all I can think about is her in bed with me.

    The bullet might have short-circuited my brain but I¡¯m not sticking around long enough to let her get inside of my head.

    I need to keep away.

    Keep away from her mess, her beauty, her sassiness, that dirty mouth and everything that epasses Alexia Green.

    I give myself a few minutes to let her scent wash off of me but the few minutes are eaten by the sound of the knocking from the door.

    ¡°Demetri¡±, I mutter.

    It was only a matter of time before he showed up. After all, we killed his men.

    Taking her tiny hands from my waist, I try to pull them away from me but the brat not only squeezes my dick but my waist too.

    ¡°Alexia.¡±

    Wake the fuck up.

    She snores.

    Her lipsnd on my chin.

    Gently, the one thing I¡¯ve never been, I take her small frame from me.

    It takes a whole five minutes to get myself together.

    Another five minutes not to want to jump back on that couch and have the best sleep I¡¯ve had in my shitty life.

    ***

    ¡°You owe me eight men, Volkov.¡±

    Demetri speaks to me in Russian.

    ¡°Two of them worked for Keaton¡±, I close the door behind me, the Russian fucker smirks at me like we are not rivals.

    ¡°You owe me six men then.¡±

    ¡°You here to get payback for the mess at the party?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to know why you have a goddamn cabin on my property and I¡¯m learning about it now and why you sent your woman to distract me.¡±

    She¡¯s not my woman.

    I chuckle, ¡°You¡¯re not as stupid as I thought, Sokolov.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m stupid with a gun, trust me. And right now my gun¡¯s itching to be let out and finish you where you stand. Let¡¯s try this again, shall we?¡±

    ¡°You arranged a conve. Sent for every leader in the States and Europe to meet you. Why would the Bratva do that?¡±

    ¡°You thought I wanted to leave everyone dead? I¡¯m unhinged but that sounds cowardly. I deal with enemies the way I deal with women, fast and direct.

    If I wanted you dead, you would know. But it seems Dante Keaton wanted all of us dead huh? He mes the massacre at my house at you. The bastard¡¯s already yapping that the Costa Nostra heir wanted every mafia head dead.¡±

    Of course he is.

    ¡°Killing you would make me sleep like a baby at night but I wouldn¡¯t need to resort to cheap antics to do that.¡±

    ¡°I thought so too. Everyone thinks so too which is why Dante remains a problem.¡±

    ¡°Why did you want all of us in Russia?¡±

    ¡°To strike a deal.¡±

    ¡°What type of deal?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. With what Dante Keaton pulled, everything is as good as dead. Which is why we want you taking over Chicago.¡±

    I¡¯m already in charge of Chicago, Dante Keaton has only ever been a loser thinking he runs the city when the truth of the matter is; I do.

    I don¡¯t give my answer.

    The door creaks open.

    Five feet of sunshine blonde haires into sight.

    Her pretty blue eyesnd on both of us.

    My eyes are on that pretty face of hers that¡¯s too damn distracting and at the creamy thighs peaking from her shirt.

    I get to see that.

    I get to see those thighs.

    You slept on my arms naked for God¡¯s sake, those thighs are mine.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Mine. Mine. Mine.

    Demetri snickers. I can see his eyes peruse her like she is his next meal and I want to rip said eyes out of his skull myself.

    She¡¯s not mine.

    Get your act together. She. Is. Not. Yours.

    ¡°The woman is awake¡±, the bastard next to me says with the worst English I¡¯ve heard in a while.

    I don¡¯t return eye contact, I barely want to acknowledge her.

    ¡°Go back inside.¡±

    Demetri is not going to look at those thighs while I stand here whether she¡¯s mine or not.

    But this woman?

    This woman has a knack of surprising me every damn time.

    Why?

    Demetri demands to speak to her.

    And they speak alright. Like they are lost lovers reuniting in the snow and discovering the moon is not made of cheese but rocks.

    I¡¯m seeing bright red stars by the time Demetri leaves and she returns to me.

    ¡°What did he want?¡±

    ¡°He wanted me to work for him.¡±

    She lies.

    That¡¯s the thing about being close to people all your life. You see through their bullshit straight away.

    And this one is just like any other average person I¡¯ve encountered.

    A bad liar.

    Untrustworthy.

    Not worth my time if she¡¯s working for Demetri hard enough to lie to me.

    Does she find him good looking? Is that the reason why she is lying?

    Is he better than me? What did he promise her? Money?

    Does money get your loyalty, Alexia?

    I don¡¯t ask that. I y daft.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said no.¡±

    ¡°Good because you are not leaving until you repay every damn cent your ex owes me.¡±

    I don¡¯t speak or look her way when we get to the jeep.

    I only stare intensely at her when we get back to my mansion in Moscow and she practically flees the car to get to her daughter.

    ¡°Mommy¡¯s home. I missed you too, baby. So much. Has Millie been a good girl for me while I was gone?¡±

    ¡°She cried for a few hours but our buddy Max here had her calm. Isn¡¯t it Maxie?¡± Jagger wiggles his brows.

    ¡°Call me Maxie one more time and your balls will be grilled in a skillet.¡±

    Alexia bites her bottom lip holding back fromshing at thenguage being tossed around near her child.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cuss¡±, I warn Maximo.

    ¡°You got shot. By her¡±, he mutters loud enough for me to hear but not loud enough for the rest to listen in.

    ¡°Wipe that smirk off your face because it was a cheap shot. Didn¡¯t see iting.¡±

    Didn¡¯t catch her scent or hear hering either.

    ¡°The Volkov I know sees cheap shotsing. The Volkov I know doesn¡¯t get shot.¡±

    ¡°I was as surprised as you are too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised she¡¯s breathing and Demetri let her live in the first ce.¡±

    Demetri didn¡¯t kill her because she¡¯s secretly working for him.

    Why? How? I¡¯ll find out.

    Soon enough.

    ¡°Thank you, Jett, Jagger, for taking care of her¡±, she turns to us, her eyes at Maximo,¡±I know it wasn¡¯t easy taking care of her but thank you too.¡±

    Maximo pulls up a grin, ¡°It was my pleasure, Nurse. Always my pleasure.¡±

    What?

    He doesn¡¯t even like kids.

    He hates them almost as much as I hate Jett¡¯s stupid hair.

    Little Nurse doesn¡¯t look my way and I know I¡¯m ignoring her but her ignoring my presence chews me raw.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me gentlemen, my baby and I¡ª.¡±

    ¡°Alexia¡±, I cut her off.

    She stills.

    She looks at the smiling baby but not at me.

    ¡°Take a shower, pack your clothes, I¡¯ll stay with the baby.¡±

    Millie is her kryptonite because Little Nurse¡¯s worried blue eyesnd on me.

    ¡°I have to feed her, she¡¯s probably hungry.¡±

    ¡°You are in need of a shower, the baby will wait. In my arms.¡±

    ¡°Vicious I¡ª.¡±

    ¡°Take the damn shower. Your child will be waiting for you when you are done. We¡¯ll be heading home.¡±

    She hesitates.

    But she walks up to me, handing me her baby.

    Then her feet stomp upstairs and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s worse?

    The fact that I don¡¯t want her to take my scent off of her body in that shower.

    The fact that I want to join her in that shower.

    Or the fact that I know all her features by heart.

    Those boobs, heavy, full, supple.

    That back. Ramrod straight. Could easily fit in my hands.

    That hair; silky and long and fragrant.

    Those legs. Creamy, toned, pretty.

    ¡°I want surveince on the clubs, Dante might try something to ruin us because I¡¯m not dead.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m taking that¡¯s your way of telling us to leave?¡± Maximo asks.

    Millie holds my thumb, smiling.

    ¡°Yes. Now.¡±

    My men leave without a word but I don¡¯t miss the look on Maximo¡¯s face.

    ¡®Go easy on the Nurse.¡¯

    I¡¯m nning on nothing but easy after this Russia fiasco.

    Everyone¡¯s gone.

    I¡¯m standing in my living room with a kid so fucking cute it¡¯s almost impossible to want to give her up.

    ¡°Believe it or not, I kept her safe for you kid. You need a mother to breastfeed you till you are big enough to feed yourself.

    Your mother and father are cut from the same cloth, Millie. One is a coward who¡¯s a dead man when I catch him and the other one? Your madre is a traitor, kid.

    I show her kindness and she switches her loyalty to Demetri. I couldn¡¯t me her though I¡¯ve been bad at being good since I was old enough to hold a knife.

    The masks are off, Millie. I wouldn¡¯t be a Vitello if I showed your mother mercy.¡±

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22

    Chapter 22

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    Russia feels like a distant nightmare by now<i>.</i>

    Why?

    Christian Volkov hasn¡¯t stepped into the house

    since I saw himst at the airport.

    Since he kissed Millie on the forehead, smiled,

    ordered his men to get me home and hopped in a ck vehicle, disappearing.

    The only signs I have that he is alive and well is¡­

    ¡°You can¡¯t keep doing this. I know it¡¯s your job but this is getting out of hand. You¡¯ve barely had time to rest for weeks¡°, Juanains feeding Millie her bottle of milk.

    I wipe the hair from my daughter¡¯s forehead.

    As long <b>as </b>my baby is safe, everything else isContent is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    okay.

    ¡°I¡¯ll restter. I¡¯m fine, Juana. Really, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Being pale and stitching men twenty four seven does not look fine to me. You are pale and thin and the idiot doesn¡¯t seem to care while he runs

    his businesses God knows where.¡±

    ¡°Juana-¡± I start to warn her.

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    Caught between headlights, not sure whether to run or stay still, my throat runs dry.

    The woman bent over the desk wiggles trying to make out who Christian is referring to as ¡®Little Nurse¡®

    Like an enigma, a force to reckon with, a man who couldn¡¯t care less if anyone walked in and saw the whole situation, Christian stands up from

    his seat

    He takes his little precious time buttoning his jacker

    But when he turns around?Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    I¡¯m almost whooshed out of breath.

    Fiery golden eyes graze me inch by inch.

    His entire body towers over me even though the distance between us is too big of a chasm to make me affected.

    Run Alexia.

    Run.

    Run.

    Run

    Chapter 23

    ¡°You try to run and I¡¯ll hunt you down, Little Nurse. Do you understand the concept of hunting?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡°, I breathe with a swallow not sure if he hears

    me at all.

    ¡°Not the kind of hunting I do, Sunshine. I¡¯ll chase, I¡¯ll shoot down<b>, </b>I¡¯ll take so think long and hard about what you want to do.¡±

    The naked girl.

    The alcohol.

    My new talent at pissing this man off

    I look him in the eye, I take in that Daredevil face that dares me to defy him.

    I¡¯ve only known one thing when ites to

    Christian Volkov.

    I live to defy him..

    I¡¯ll live to disobey each and every order of his because he uprooted me and my baby from our normal lives and brought us here.

    To this chaos,

    My feet start leading me backward.

    ¡°Alexia.¡±

    That¡¯s the only warning he gives me..

    That¡¯s the only word I need to hear from him to

    Fun.

    278

    Setting

    1547

    Chapter 23

    I turn around. false energy flowing to the sinews of my legs, convincing me that I can run down

    the stairs out of the party, into a cab and straight

    home

    I only make it down two steps before he stops

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    My lungs burnt with wasted energy.

    My breathse out quipped.

    His cold hand slips up my neck serial killer¨Cstyle.

    His fingers dig into my skin, cool enough to give me a cold. hard enough to scar.

    The darkness that is his aura and his six foot body engulf me from the back cutting off my oxygen supply, cutting off the willpower left in my legs to

    hoist me up.

    ¡°What is it with you and rules, Sunshine? Just why the fuck do you have to be so you?¡±

    I don¡¯t understand.

    Please let me go

    He sweeps hair from the side of my shoulder

    exposing my neck as the cool air¨Chis breath ps

    me and makes me shiver.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter really. You and the woman

    waiting for my cock inside her have no

    difference.

    Chapter 23

    You crave attention, seek it and pretend you don¡¯t

    like it. Don¡¯t you. Alexia?¡±

    Why can¡¯t I speak?

    He has me in a chokehold.

    His scent. His disgusting words.

    ¡°Why are you here, Sunshine?¡±

    ¡°Y¨CYou called for me.¡±

    ¡°I called you about an hour ago and you showed up ten minutes ago so don¡¯t give me that crap. Someone must have told you I wasn¡¯t entertaining visitors.¡±

    ¡°The woman inside is a visitor.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s an easy fuck. Pleasure, not a visitor. Not

    you. What. Are. You. Doing. Here?¡±

    His teeth grit, they hover near my ear, my will shatters and I melt against his chest.

    ¡°I was worried.¡±

    I spill the truth.

    You weren¡¯ting home, you were punishing me and I still wanted to see if you were doing

    alright.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t your job to worry, Sunshine. Your job is to sight tight like Rhett¡¯s little bitch and pay back everything he owes me.¡±

    His words sting, alcohol might be hogging my

    4/8

    Setting

    157

    Chapter 28

    brain and making me not act right bar Fm not sticking around to be treated like dirt.

    I try to pull away from his grasp, the hold he ha on my neck tightens.

    He¡¯s going to choke me, isn¡¯t he?

    Going to exercise whatever demons he has inside on little ole me.

    ¡°Let me go.<i>¡±</i>

    ¡°I hunted you. I caught you¡±

    ¡°Let me go, Vicious!¡±

    ¡°No can do. Little Nurse. The fun¡¯s only begun.¡±

    His hands grip my waist, a secondter he hauls

    me over his shoulder as I scream and hit his back

    for him to let me go.

    He hauls me back into his creepy VII room or

    office.

    The woman bent over the desk stands up straight taking her blindfold off.

    Her eyes almost well with tears, her mouth

    forming a small unttering smile.

    ¡°Boss?¡±

    ¡°Get out.¡±

    Vicious orders.

    ¡°No. No. Don¡¯t get out, please stay. Stay.¡±

    Chapter 23

    It takes seconds for the woman to pick up her bra and g¨Cstring from the ground scurrying out of the office.

    Vicious carries me right where the woman was, setting me down and cornering me with his arms on both sides of my hips.

    ¡°Put me down.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not smiling.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    His te eyes skim over the column of my neck,

    to my boobs, to my tummy and then back to my lips.

    ¡°For your debt to be paid and you and your child can get the hell away from me.¡±

    ¡°Millie never did anything to you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? Your fucking child holds my thumb like I¡¯m her fucking hero. Did she hold Rhett like that? Say yes and I¡¯ll make sure that bastard dies without fingers. The child gets to hold me like that. Me only.¡±

    My brows furrow at him. At his words that are one contradiction after the other.

    ¡°Then let me go. Let me and Millie go.¡±

    Chapter 23

    ¡°Can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Think of it as the eighth wonder of the world. I can¡¯t figure you out. I can¡¯t make a damn

    prediction about you. I can¡¯t let that bastard win again.¡±

    ¡°Again?¡±

    I thought this was all about a stupid debt Rhett

    had made.

    What did he mean again?

    And why did it look like it pained him a lot to say

    that?

    ¡°You¡¯re a goddamn apple you know that? Sinful, forbidden and tooplicated.¡±

    ¡°Volkov? Put me down!¡±

    ¡°Why? Notfortable enough?¡±

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to sit in the same ce you

    wanted to fuck some woman.¡±

    His righthandnds on my thigh, a myriad of goosebumps pepper my skin like raindrops.

    His thumb strokes my skin traveling higher.

    Higher. My throat constricts.

    Higher. My breasts feel heavy and needy.

    Higher. My hands reach out to his hand to stop

    Chapter 23

    him.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯d take, Sunshine. You want me to

    bend you over a different desk, I¡¯ll make that

    rad

    happen but the reality of this night is I want to see that soaking pussy up close.

    I want to see it quivering and whimpering for attention as it begs its hunter to get rid of the

    agony.

    I want to watch you and be reminded you are nothing special.¡±

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS VOLKOV.

    The thing about wolves is they fight back when provoked.

    The thing about wolves is they take too when they are unprovoked.

    The thing about bunnies? They act all cute and fluffy on the outside but deep inside they are vile little creatures who eat their young.

    The woman in front of me might be a bunny in the cute retrospect but you look a little closer and you see her sins on her face.

    A liar.

    A coward.

    But most of all?

    A submissive and a dirty one at that.

    Her eyes say no every time I breathe her way but her body?

    It screams in the loudest way possible that she wants to be dominated, used and treated like a

    little slut.

    I would do that for her. Any time of the day if I wasn¡¯t pissed about the Demetri situation.

    Chapter <b>24</b>

    ¡°Vol¡­.Volkov-¡°, her voice whimpers <b>as </b>she squirms against the marble surface of my private office.

    An office different from the VIP one.

    An office where no one would hear her because the rooms are all soundproof.

    An office where it¡¯s my darkness snuffing her mes of defiance out.

    Her hands are tied behind her back and her ankles are tied against the chairs next to her..

    She moves if she answers every damn question correctly.

    She moves if I let her.

    ¡°Why did you burn your dresses, Sunshine?¡±

    ¡°Volkov.please-,¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not an answer. No answer means we stay

    like this all night.¡±

    We stay like this all night till the alcohol in her body disappears from her bloodstream.

    I¡¯m not letting her drunk horny ass out there to a bunch of assholes who would pounce on her without hesitation.

    I¡¯m no saint but I¡¯m no giver either when ites to her.

    ¡°1-1 was mad okay? I said I would handle¡­Brad and you ignored me and handled him in the

    He¡¯s dead

    Innished him off

    I chuch the dress that! tists smuting it, while

    anure of hers lying on my deak

    And that pussy.

    Pretty

    Pink

    Cleaning with juices.

    ¡°P¨Cplease¡°, she begs.

    Nothing like a little mouse in hear who has no clue about how to end the torture and ndestine want streaming her body like a fix

    ¡°Why do you work for Demetri?¡±

    The change in the atmosphere does everything to confirm my suspicions.

    ¡°I work¡­fo..for you.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. Legs wider. Don¡¯t hide what¡¯s mine

    from me.¡±

    Breathless, dripping, she whimpers.

    ¡°Okay,¡±

    Chapter 21

    worst way possible.¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±

    I finished him off.

    I clutch the dress that I ripped off her body in my

    fists sniffing it, while my eyes go over every naked. feature of hers lying on my desk..

    And that pussy.

    Pretty.

    Pink.

    Fat.

    Gleaning with juices.

    ¡°P¨Cplease¡°, she begs.

    Nothing like a little mouse in heat who has not

    clue about how to end the torture and ndestine

    want streaming her body like a fix.

    ¡°Why do you work for Demetri?¡±

    The change in the atmosphere does everything to

    confirm my suspicions.

    ¡°I work¡­fo..for you.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit. Legs wider. Don¡¯t hide what¡¯s mine<b>.</b>

    from me.¡±

    Breathless, dripping, she whimpers,

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    3/6

    Setting

    1545

    Chapter 24

    ¡°What do you want Alexia?¡±

    Because I sure as hell want to get behind you and take you six ways to Sunday,

    ¡°My own cl¡­clinic. A few normal friends. To pick up coffee from a cafe while I head to work¡­to be normal.¡±

    Unpredictable.

    I scoff.

    ¡°What do you want right now, Little Nurse?¡±

    ¡°R¨CRight now? You¡­to fuck me.¡±

    ¡°Tough luck. I don¡¯t fuck my servants. Stand up straight, we are getting you home.¡±

    She stands up.

    Her baby blues look at me and well with tears.

    ¡°You destroyed my dress<b>.</b><b>¡±</b>

    ¡°We¡¯ll get new ones. I¡¯ll fireproof them myself.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want dresses.¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°I want you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the alcohol talking. One cup of coffee to sober you up and you¡¯ll wish you never asked me to fuck you.¡±

    ¡°No I won¡¯t.¡±

    4/6

    Chapter 24

    ¡°Agree to disagree. Come here, little Nurse.¡±

    She wobbles in her heels walking straight to me like a kid learning how to walk for the first time.

    When she reaches where I¡¯m standing, the minx interlocks her hands around my torso, her face, her body, everything of hers too close.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too drunk. I had one ss. Uno. Just one. I want you.¡±

    No you don¡¯t.

    Can¡¯t tell her that because my dick is too hard to

    want to believe the statement.

    ¡°Did the nurse arrive home safe? I saw you taking

    her out back.¡±

    ¡°I need you to get her a clinic near a coffee shop. Big enough to go under the radar with cops, legal enough to let our men get fixed over there without raising questions. Buy her new friends to work with her at the clinic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?<i>¡±</i>

    Maximo¡¯s surprised voice resonates from the other end of the line.

    I cut the call.

    I¡¯ll exinter.

    A clinic away from my house and in the city is the

    t

    Chapter 24

    perfect bait for Rhett.

    The fucker wouldn¡¯t step anywhere near my

    mansion whether his woman and child are in said

    mansion or not.

    But if they were in a clinic. Far from my mansion, in the city, Rhett would show up.

    Simply killing two birds with one stone.

    Give the little Nurse her wishes.

    And smoke out a rat from its hiding spot.

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS VOLKOV,

    Lying on my desk, bare, pure, too fucking good for my likes, trouble looked at me like I was dinner and all I wanted to do was offer myself on a tter for feasting.

    My eyes zone back to the piece of shit in front of

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    But my mind is miles away, on the sunshine blonde¨Chaired woman who asked me to fuck her

    rawst night and I declined.

    If I wanted to, I would have.Content is ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.

    Normal me didn¡¯t decline a quick fuck but it was

    her.

    Full of trauma, tempting, my ve. Her.

    With a five feet height of smooth curves, pretty tits and a sassy mouth to back her attitude up, Alexia Green probably liked her sex vani.

    I¡¯m not like Rhett. Taking what he doesn¡¯t deserve. but I wouldn¡¯t kneel and beg for a taste of her

    pussy.

    I¡¯d fuck her. Hard, She¡¯d hate me, much more. than she did now and the thought of her hate right now doesn¡¯t do a thing to jab at my

    1/10

    Setting

    Chapter 25

    conscience,

    I need to keep her out and away.

    Yet¡­here I am, mind skipping away to her and not the task at hand.

    The sound of hushed voices drifts from the closet

    at the other far side of the room.

    I know they are hiding in there but dying the

    inevitable makes this more fun.

    ¡°I could do this all day, man, but unfortunately, keep this up and you won¡¯t make it for the night¡°, Maximo adds another punch to the sack of a man kneeling in front of us.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Dante Keaton? Where¡¯s the piece of shit hiding at? Gambling den downtown? Mayor¡¯s house a couple blocks from here? Here? No, he wouldn¡¯t be too stupid to hide here, not when he wants his family alive. Where¡¯s Keaton, Mchi?¡±

    Missing two teeth up front, a banged¨Cup eye, a slightly broken nose and a busted lip, Mchi, Dante Keaton¡¯s second inmand should be happy I¡¯m not the one beating him up.

    Maximo likes to torture. Slowly, painfully, whatever fancies his non¨Cexistent heart.

    Me? I¡¯m in it for the fast and quick. Beat him up to death and be done with it. Matter of fact, the gun poking my back burns hot.

    2/10

    1545

    Setting

    Chapter 25

    Mchi spits his blood somewhere on the fancy carpet, his eyes drawn to me,

    ¡°Go fuck yourself, Volkov.¡±

    1 tip my nose at Maximo.

    He grins before his knuckles meet with Mchi¡¯s

    face.

    Tightening my cufflinks, standing from the fancy leather couch that inhabits Dante Keaton¡¯s

    Victorian mansion or in this case his bedroom.

    I stroll over to that one closet that houses Dante¡¯s mice. The mice hiding in the closet for an hour

    since we arrived.

    Mchi writhes on the floor like a worm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t you dare! Your issue is with me, Volkov! Come at me you Sicilian psycho-.¡±

    ¡°I would but where¡¯s the fun in that?¡±

    I reach for the closet doors.

    They mechanically open to reveal what we knew all along once we caught Mchi guarding the grounds.

    A brte, terrified, shaking with tears in her eyes nces back at me. Near her feet, two kids. hug her legs, my grin grows a little bit more suicidal.

    ¡°What do we have here?¡±

    Chapter 24

    Dante Keaton¡¯s family

    Shocked would be an understatement.

    Dante has always been a coward and when thing got tough, the first thing he hid was nim off to the edge of the world leaving his little family here with the monsters.

    ¡°P please don¡¯t hurt us¡°, Dante¡¯s wife whimpers, ¡°We¡¯ll give you anything. We we have money¡±

    I crouch to the floor, my hand reaching out to the little girl who hugs her mother tighter at the sight

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    She blinks. She looks up to her mommy, her mommy nods her head vigorously at her.

    Give the man anything he wants. Talk to the man,

    Save us.

    ¡°Anissa.¡±

    ¡°Anissa? Such a lovely name for a sweet little girl. I¡¯ve got a daughter too. Her name¡¯s Millie, I bet you¡¯d get along pretty well. Matter of fact, I think she might like you, Anissa. When she isn¡¯t crying

    that is.¡±

    ¡°Crying?¡± Anissa asks.

    Mchi groans something behind me but Maximo shuts him up.

    Chapter 25

    Whether he knocked him out or gagged him, I have no idea. But it¡¯s quiet. I like quiet.

    ¡°She¡¯s a cranky little thing when her dad¡¯s not nearby. I¡¯d give her ice cream or chocte, kids like that right? But Millie¡¯s not old enough to eat.

    ¡°I get cranky too when daddy¡¯s not home¡°, Anissa

    mutters.

    ¡°Yeah? How about we call daddy then?¡±

    *±¾*

    ¡°You are not going to get away with this!¡±

    ¡°I already have, Keaton.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t hurt them. You are unhinged but you wouldn¡¯t hurt my kids.¡±

    ¡°You give me too much credit for a man you drugged and wanted to torture to death, Keaton.¡±

    ¡°That was between us! You think I would have gone after your sister if you tried to kill me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing, she¡¯s dead then.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do this.¡±

    ¡°You know where to find me, Dante. In the meantime, I¡¯ll hold onto them. Call it insurance.¡±

    I hang up the phone.

    I should have done something worse to threaten the weasel but like I said, I had a baby in my home and a holier¨Cthan¨Cthou woman who

    Chapter 25

    wouldn¡¯t like it if I took a life when her whole existence was about patching things up and maintaining lives.

    ¡°How would you like to move to a new house, Anissa?¡±

    ¡°With Millie? Can I y with her now?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    God, no. Millie and her mother aren¡¯t going to be part of this world, not if I can help it. Not even when the woman in my house is siding with some Russian Bratva heir.

    X X

    Maximo took the Keaton family somewhere safe

    here in Chicago.

    Somewhere where Dante wouldn¡¯t track them and they would go on with their normal lives.

    The cicadas chirp outside, the eeriness of the night has me discarding my coat after a long

    night.

    I¡¯m only stopped by the humminging from

    the kitchen.

    I don¡¯t have to know it¡¯s her though.

    You can hear and feel it in the air.

    Alexia Green in my kitchen again.

    Blonde hair running past her shoulders, silky,

    Chapter 25

    <b>voluminous</b><b>, </b>unlike any blonde I¡¯ve seen.

    Curves hidden by fabric, smooth toned legs staring back at me and I¡¯ve seen those legs.

    They are even prettier up north.

    ¡°Thanks for the little checkup. I thought it was something serious for a second¡°, the other male voice thates from the male seated in one of the kitchen stools in my own damn kitchen has my nose ring with suppressed rage.

    I didn¡¯t walk away because I spotted Nico¡¯s smug face in my kitchen.

    Otherwise, I would have pretended those legs aren¡¯t a damn temptation.

    She smiles. That smile she gives everyone.

    ¡°It was a cold, Nico and I¡¯m d you came to me while you could, otherwise you¡¯d be running a fever right about now.¡±

    The kid hops from his stool, walking around the kitchen ind to where Alexa is organizing Millie¡¯s bottles of milk she must have pumped

    earlier in the day.

    How long has Nico been in my house today?

    He could have pneumonia for all I care and I would still want him out of here.

    ¡°What would I do without you, Lex¡°, the fucker flirts, rage burns through my veins like I¡¯ve been

    Chapter 25

    doused in a vat of gasoline.

    It doesn¡¯t get any better when he ces his hand on hers and visible fear leaps from her eyes.

    I¡¯m already striding across the kitchen faster than the next words fly out of my mouth,

    ¡°Keep your hands off her!¡±

    Nico raises his head, gazing at <b>me </b>with a <b>light </b>smirk, ¡°Boss?¡±

    Her blue eyes gaze at me too with worry and fear lodged in them.

    ¡°I said. Keep. Your. Fucking. Hands. Off<b><i>. </i></b>Her.¡±

    Nico¡¯s face pales as looks at me with confusion. Instant realization that he¡¯s made a mistake hits him because he steps away from the little Nurse.

    ¡°Get out¡±

    He doesn¡¯t ask anything. Doesn¡¯t apologize. He¡¯s crossed a line. He¡¯s dug his grave. He¡¯s getting punished for what he did today.

    ¡°Thank you¡°, Alexia whispers <b>as </b>I strut towards her taking in whatever shirt she¡¯s wearing.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you¡°, I lie through my teeth because I¡¯m not one to settle for being the prince in shining armor she reads in her little fairytale

    books.

    ¡°He¡¯s harmless though. Nico, he just flirts but he¡¯s

    Chapter 25

    harmless.¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t flirt if you didn¡¯t walk around naked giving him ideas that you are an easy target¡±

    1 sound like a prick.

    And I have no clue why but everything is pushing me towards the edge as I stare at that shirt.

    Her words get stuck in her throat.

    Irritation creeps on her face before she says, ¡°I¡¯m not naked! I was hungry and I needed to pump milk for Millie, I didn¡¯t know anyone would be

    here at this time of night.¡±

    ¡°Did he see you?¡±

    ¡°See me what?¡±

    There <b>she </b>is. My little wildcat. My little obstinate

    nurse.

    ¡°Pump.¡±

    ¡°No. Why would it matter if he did? It¡¯s a free country,ctating mothers should feel free to pump-.¡±

    My hand is on her mouth, shutting her up.

    Our noses are almost colliding. Whatever raspberry shampoo she¡¯s using clogs my nostrils and weakens my defenses.

    ¡°Whose shirt is that?¡±

    She blinks.

    Chapter 25

    I feel her lips moving against my palm.

    I give her space to speak knowing I won¡¯t like her

    answers.

    ¡°I found it while going through the things I

    packed for Millie when you uprooted us from our old apartment.¡±

    ¡°Is it Rhett¡¯s?¡±

    It is.

    ¡°It¡¯sfortable to sleep in, the fact that it¡¯s on me doesn¡¯t mean it has anything to do with him.¡±

    Her soft skin is wrapped by that shirt. The fact that she¡¯s sleeping with it¡­no about to sleep with it on her¡­

    ¡°Take it off.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? You are doing this to me again? No. You want to hear it in Spanish? Germany? French?

    No!¡±

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26

    Chapter 26

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    I woke up in my bed naked and tucked into bed like I hadn¡¯t spread my legs for a man who called me Rhett¡¯s little bitch the other night.

    I woke up in my bed, untouched, unsatisfied and appalled by my actions.

    I begged him to fuck me.

    God Lex, this is why we never drink. Because a few hourster, my core yearned to see him.

    When his men showed up at my house, that is, Nico, Jude and <i>a </i>few other guys I didn¡¯t know, I felt disappointed Volkov wasn¡¯t with them.

    Nico came with the news that starting tomorrow I was going to have a new clinic courtesy of the

    boss.

    Was he trying to get rid of me?

    Trying not to see me around the house because my body disgusted him?

    ¡°Take it off.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? You are doing this to me again? No. You want to hear it in Spanish? Germany? French?

    No!¡±

    Chapter 261

    Right now, here he is.

    I¡¯m mad and I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m mad

    about.

    His absence?

    His rejection?

    His rules that I¡¯m definitely not going to follow?

    ¡°Take it off¡°, hemands again, one fist. clenching, the other fist clenching around the

    coat in his other hand.

    His dark shirt that¡¯s pulled up his forearms reveals. more tattoos on his arms and how the veins are about to pop because of two mere words.

    Two words I¡¯m not going to follow.

    ¡°It¡¯s my shirt¡°, I growl back.

    The low timbre of his voice breaks through my

    own cloud of rage as he corners me against the small space we are in.

    ¡°Take it off or I do it for you.¡±

    I think I¡¯m feeling out of breath.

    Maybe it¡¯s his eyes. Or the rage from him

    dripping into my system and rendering me weak.

    I give in.

    ¡°You want to risk me walking naked back to my

    room?¡±

    Chapter 26

    ¡°I¡¯ll carry your ass from here naked if you don¡¯t

    stop with the sass and do as I say.¡±

    He¡¯s not ying.

    I don¡¯t think I can win this round.

    ¡°Can you at least turn around?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    I huff at his macho tone.

    ¡°You¡¯re an asshole¡°, I say peeling the shirt off, knowing very well what I have underneath is ck cotton panties and no bra.

    Bras hurt my boobs when I¡¯m asleep so I just freestyle. I¡¯m beginning to wish I didn¡¯t freestyle

    today.

    The second his eyesnd on my chest, I cover myself up with my hands.

    He chuckles. He ces his coat on the counter.

    His hands reach for the third button on his shirt.

    He starts unbuttoning his shirt.

    If it was day one in this mansion, I would have asked what he was doing.

    I would have called him a shameless pig.

    Right now<i>, </i>my throat parches for a taste of his skin, of his <b>abs</b><b>, </b>of his muscles, of everything that makes this man a machine.

    Chapter 26

    Oh. Sweet Jesus, I think I¡¯m gonna melt.

    When his shirt is off him, he hands it to me and takes the one that belongs to Rhett tossing it in the trash can by the fridge.

    <b>I </b>take his shirt. I put it on me and every second 1 button the shirt. I feel his eyes rake every expanse of my skin and liquid heat shimmers from my spine all the way down¡­down¡­down.

    ¡°There. Are you happy now? If you are, I¡¯m going to go back to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Not quite yet.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t block my way but he¡¯s not entirely letting me go either.

    ¡°What do you want? I¡¯ve already done everything

    you want or is there more?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that, Sunshine.¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡±

    ¡°Pretend like you hate it here.¡±

    ¡°I hate it here¡°, I scoff.

    I hate you.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen you with Juana, I¡¯ve seen you mark your way around here and the report I got from

    my men after you treated them was you liked doing what you do.¡±

    Maybe I do.

    Chapter 26

    Maybe this ce isn¡¯t aplete mess like the homes I¡¯ve lived in.

    Maybe here I get to be something, I get to be used like I¡¯m something more important that an orphan riffraff from the streets.

    Maybe here Millic and I get the basic necessities like food and water.

    ¡°I like helping people¡°, I give him the <b>truth</b><b>.</b>

    That encourages him because this <b>man¡¯s </b>heated gazends on me, he licks his lower lip and fleeting thoughts of what I¡¯d like him to do with that mouth wander into that part of my brain that¡¯s locked with a key thrown in the bottom of the ocean.

    Logic dictates that I shouldn¡¯t feel a thing. That I should run.

    My body? It reacts in all the worst ways and this time I can¡¯t hide behind the fact that I¡¯m drunk

    and alcohol is <b>to </b>me for everything¡°.

    <b>My </b>heart pounds so loud I can hear it in my ears. My breathinges out ragged, I rub my thighs together beneath his shirt to hide and shame away the throb building and ticking between my legs like an atomic bomb about to detonate.

    He hasn¡¯t touched me yet but I feel him.

    My body remembers his warmth on that couch in

    Russia<b>.</b>

    Chapter 26

    Just like that night, he is the fire and he¡¯s burning me to the point of I can feel my own skin il like

    butter on a skillet.

    I have to take control.

    He rejected me. Well technically he did the right thing because I was drunk but still? Aren¡¯t one¨Cnight stands done when two individuals are drunk and reckless enough to bone each other?

    ¡°So you don¡¯t hate it here, do you, Sunshine?¡±

    I look him in the eyes. Anything to get <b>him to</b>

    back away.

    ¡°No, but I hate you.¡±

    Christian Volkov is equivalent to the robots big techpanies are trying to build.

    He can be a robot when he wants to.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    He can be a psycho when circumstances deem

    him to.

    Right now, I think he¡¯s a bit of both.

    My words don¡¯t do a thing to break his shell of an armor. No in fact he smirks, he gets closer, he bends his head so that his mouth is near the shell of my ear and close enough for his breath to skate across my already flushed skin.

    ¡°You might hate me, sunshine but I bet if I slid my hand in your panties, you¡¯d be wet <i>and </i>ready

    for me.

    <i>Chapter </i>26

    My pulse howls in my brain<b>.</b>

    Any semnce of calmness am trying to showcase hangs by a thread.

    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t¡±

    ¡°No?¡±

    I¡¯m panting when I say my next words.

    ¡°After yesterday, I guess you¡¯ll never know.¡±

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t touch you?¡±

    ¡°Because the only way I¡¯d be wet for you was if I had alcohol in my system<b>.</b><b>¡±</b>

    I¡¯m poking a bear and the <b>funny </b>thing is. I think I¡¯m winning.

    Even after I breathe in a gasp of air and liesing out from <b>my </b>mouth, I think I¡¯ve won

    My victory doesn¡¯tst a mere two seconds.

    Christian¡¯s big hand slips into my panties. Muscle memory has me arching my back against his hand

    chest.

    Before I can pull away, turn around and maybe p him, his thick finger slides between my folds exploring me like a pirate finding his bounty.

    ¡°What¡­what are you doing?¡± I moan, my wordse out like a weak string of jumbled words.

    ¡®Such a fucking liar. You are not just wet. Little Nurse, you are soaking¡°, he strokes my slit again.

    7/9

    Setting

    Chapter 26

    hovering an inch away from my entrance, ¡°and all this for me. All for me¡±

    ¡°F¨Cfuck <b>you</b>¡°, I stammer, his thumb pad finds my clit and he matches the throbbing emiting from my little mound with no problem.

    My legs are unsteady.

    My toes feel like they are on fire.

    Whatever he¡¯s doing to my clir has me gasping for air, I think I might be done for the night.

    ¡°Soon, sunshine. Soon,¡±

    My heart plucks, I hold onto his arms as he sets me off with two of his fingers that are too thick to fit my folds, massaging that line between my

    core.

    I whimper.

    My body writhes for more.

    My clit throbs harder.

    My wetness feels slick against my thighs.

    The sound of Volkov¡¯s back hirring the fridge feels like something I could care less about as he holds me tight, mouth near my neck, his breath a fresh cool of mint that¡¯s holding me captive.

    ¡°Hate me all you want, baby¡°, he pauses

    Without warning his thick finger plunges inside me as a reckless moan slip from my mouth with

    Chapter 26

    reckless abandon.

    The sound of my arousal coating as his fingers slide in and out of me flogs the night and makes me hornier, makes the air hotter, makes me more

    needy

    ¡°But this cunt? You hear how she weeps for me?¡±

    Just when I think he¡¯s going deeper, Volkov pulls his finger out of me leaving me an empty

    miserable mess.

    His hand disappears from my panties.

    His warmth disappears from my back.

    My back t to the fridge. Volkov turns to me.

    His eyes dart over me, a wicked grin on his face. To scathe me more than his absence inside me. he ces two of his fingers inside his mouth sucking.

    ¡°Such a sweet little thing¡°, he says releasing his fingers from his mouth with a pop that has me almost begging for them back inside me.

    I don¡¯t know what upsets me more, his arrogance

    or what he says next.

    ¡°Go back to bed, Alexia.¡±

 Chapter 27

    Chapter 27

    Chapter 27

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS VOLKOV.

    Shouldn¡¯t have touched her.

    Shouldn¡¯t have tasted her.

    Shouldn¡¯t have coated my fingers with her damn juices.

    Sinking into her tight wet heat might be the best. thing my fingers have done for a while.

    Tasting her, savoring her taste like a bottle of the finest wine from my mothend has my dick. hard as steel and my mind an inch deep into that silky wet heat that¡¯s bound to be even better squeezing my dick.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know¡­Boss. I thought-.¡±

    ¡°Thought what?¡±

    It¡¯s been two days out of the house.

    Two days I haven¡¯t confronted Nico.

    Two days under the shower nursing a boner brought by my little nurse, my mind recalling over and over how slick she was, how good it¡¯d feel to bury myself inside her forever and take and take till I left nothing in its wake.

    Till we became one and the obsession and the

    Chapter 27

    torture shredded itself away from me.

    ¡°That she was single.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in <b>my </b>house, kid. What gave you the assumption that she¡¯s fair game to just anyone?¡±

    ¡°What did he do?¡± Maximo is on the verge of chuckling as he nurses himself to a bottle of Macan 18.

    ¡°Wait did you touch her, Nico? I mean you are reckless sure but touching her? Ouch¡°, Maximo adds.

    My hand on my chin, I can still smell the nurse on my fingers ¨C reason number one why I don¡¯t want to coat myself with Nico¡¯s blood.

    That would ruin everything even if he deserves it.

    ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t. You are getting reassigned today.¡±

    ¡°Boss, it was one mistake. A mistake I won¡¯t be

    repeating. My mom is in the city, I can¡¯t¡­can¡¯t get reassigned.¡±

    I care about Nico¡¯s mom like I care about the

    kangaroos in Australia.

    ¡°Should have thought about that before you thought of taking what¡¯s mine. Get the fuck out of my sight, Nico. I catch you staring at her, touching her, thinking you could nail a chance. with her and your mom being in the city will be

    Chapter 27

    the least of your worries, you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Yes Boss. Thank you.¡±

    Nico scurries out of my sight.

    Maximo¡¯s ass is already off my couch as he throws me an amused suspicious look.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been acting off for the past few days. My guess is you already fucked the nurse and you know how messy that will be or you tried to fuck her and she rejected you. Which is it, Volkov?¡±

    I almost want tough.

    She offered herself on a silver tter and I was the one to walk away.

    She wanted me to fuck her no matter the dirty

    little lies she cheated herself with.

    Truth was, that night, in that kitchen, we wanted.

    to do it but I¡¯d never beg for it because I wanted. Alexia Green to beg for it, to be desperate enough. to want me filling her inch by inch and still hating

    herself for it.

    I don¡¯t dignify Maximo with an answer. The unsubtle ringing of his phone cuts our little

    chit¨Cchat short.

    He picks up the call; I take the ss of whiskey. from his hands and chug the rest down.

    Chapter 27

    I¡¯m off my game.

    I¡¯m twitchy.

    The woman in my house is driving me crazy and I think I¡¯m well on my way to joining the nearest madhouse.

    ¡°Xavier who? Don¡¯t know any Xaviers. Wait, what did you just say?¡±

    I¡¯m pulled out of my reverie by Maximo¡¯s straight

    stance.

    His teeth ground in his mouth, the next time hist jaw ripples, my attention is slowly diverted to

    him.

    Last thing I need today is for things to go wrong when I already have a lot on my te.

    Judging by his stance, his pissed off look, the way his eyes revert back to me, I know for a fact things have gone to shit and I¡¯m one bullet away from blowing my brains out.

    Maximo hangs up.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Xavier?¡±

    I don¡¯t know any bloody Xavier either.

    ¡°The nurse was supposed to see her clinic today. Jagger and Jett took her to see it and meet her acquaintances. Xavier is one of the people who

    work in that clinic.¡±

    Chapter 27

    ¡°Christ, Maximo. You hired a guy to work there and be her friend? When I told you to look for friends, I meant women or fuck anyone else but men.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the least of our concerns right now. Jagger and Jett were ambushed. Couple men took the nurse and her kid.¡±

    My body is already up from my chair.

    My blood runs cold. My lungs fill with choking air.

    ¡°What do you mean men took the nurse and the

    child? Dante?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not Dante.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Demetri is in Chicago. The men were Bratva.¡±

    Fucking hell.

    In a dress I recently bought her after she burned her old ones, wearing shoes I bought her, her

    sunshine hair is a mess.

    And not just a mess, my chest rumbles with painedughter.

    The way they are seated?

    In a restaurant, her eating and Demetri holding onto Millie as he wiggles a new toy in Millie¡¯s

    Chapter 27

    face, one would call this the irony of the century.

    A kidnapped woman having the time of her life with a Russian psycho.

    A Russian psycho looking at what¡¯s mine and thinking he owns it.

    She smiles. That smile that escapes her heart shaped lips now and then and makes her light the world like she goddamn owns it.

    That smile she has on the enemy.

    But beyond that smile, her lipstick is smudged.

    Add in that hair that¡¯s all over the ce and everyone would call me Einstein for knowing they had straight sex off the bat.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±

    Maximo asks.

    ¡°Watch.¡±

    Let the betrayal sink in.

    Figure out why the hell she¡¯s too rhapsodic for a captive.

    ¡°Do you see her smiling or is it just me?¡±

    ¡°Volkov-.¡±

    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s a fucking smile alright.¡±

    Demetri gs <b>a </b>pale waiter and with a nod, he

    gives Alexia the go¨Cahead to order more on their

    Chapter 27

    table apart from the desert that¡¯s already lining

    the corner of her lips.

    Chocte muffins.

    I didn¡¯t even know she likes chocte but apparently Demetri does.

    The little nurse is about to bite into the chocte smeared pastry in her hands when she cocks her head to the side and our eyes meet.

    Her blue eyes go an inch wider, like a kid caught stealing ice cream from the fridge.

    Those pretty lips of hers part as she drops the pastry back to the te, pushes her chair back. and straightens her dress before she walks to us with unsteady feet.

    Demetri, the bulky man who looks like a stain of ck in this white pristine restaurant spots me, his grin is enough to make my hands twitch, the hands he has on Millie are enough to want me to chop them off.

    I should be questioning why he is here..

    As far as I know, I was going to take care of Dante Keaton and Demetri was supposed to stay in his

    Not near Chicago and damn right, not near my

    nurse again.

    ¡°Volkov¡°, She breathes, her eyes dting with

    Chapter 27

    sheer fear, her throat throbbing with a nervous swallow.

    ¡°Care to exin what¡¯s going on here or should 1 skip dessert and finish the fucker where he sits?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t, please.¡±

    My fury skedaddles inside my body like an IED about to detonate,

    I look at her and my anger rises by a thousand

    watts.

    Is she begging for Demetri?

    ¡°Don¡¯t what, Mrs. Kingston? Don¡¯t hurt your boss? Don¡¯t hurt your lover? Just what are you begging for right now, Alexia?¡±

    She flinches at my tone, the only thing keeping me from running blind with rage is those glossy blue eyes that scream traitor.

    ¡°Mercy,¡±

    I¡¯ve heard that word so many times and every time someone says it, I¡¯m taken back to the past. No one gives you mercy in this life. Absolutely not one, the sooner she learns that the clearer the

    world will be for her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t do mercy. You should know that. I don¡¯t open my doors to traitors. I don¡¯t protect those who double¨Ccross me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t start a fight here, this is not what it looks

    Chapter 27

    like. Dee and I were¡±

    Dee? Did she just call him. Des?

    I unholster my gun from my back a few waiters mutter under whispered votes telling theN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    customers to evacuate as soon as they can

    I could care less about firing my Glock in a public

    Girinoy a restaurant or my name appearing in the papers.

    Or that cop Jefferson Miller finding a reason to finally put me behind bars

    The little minx holds my hand her little fingers curling around my gun, trying to stop me from doing the inevitable

    ¡°Stop<b>, </b>please.¡±

    ¡°Why are you with Demetre What business do you have with Demetri? Why are you sleeping around with that Russian bastard?¡±

    Those blue eyes gaze at me like a kaleidoscope. like a <b>ss </b>broken into pieces and I couldn¡¯t care

    less.

    I look at her <b>and </b>I see her with Demetri kissing which exins the smudged lipstick, fucking him which exins the bedroom hair she¡¯s sporting right now and I lose it

    ¡°Stop this. Just¡­just stop<b>.</b>¡±

    ¡°Then make a choice, sweetheart. Nothing¡¯s for free in this world if your loyalty can be bought by

    Chapter 27

    like. Dee and I were-.¡±

    Dee? Did she just call him¡­Dee?

    I unholster my gun from my back, a few waiters mutter under whispered voltes telling the customers to evacuate as soon as they can.

    I could care less about firing my Glock in a public restaurant or my name appearing in the papers.

    Or that cop Jefferson Miller finding a reason to finally put me behind bars.

    The little minx holds my hand, her little fingers curling around my gun, trying to stop me from doing the inevitable.

    ¡°Stop, please.¡±

    ¡°Why are you with Demetri? What business do you have with Demetri? Why are you sleeping around with that Russian bastard?¡±

    Those blue eyes gaze at me like a kaleidoscope, like a ss broken into pieces and I couldn¡¯t care

    less.

    I look at her and I see her with Demetri kissing which exins the smudged lipstick, fucking him. which exins the bedroom hair she¡¯s sporting right now and I lose it.

    ¡°Stop this. Just¡­just stop.¡±

    ¡°Then make a choice, sweetheart. Nothing¡¯s for free in this world if your loyalty can be bought by

    Chapter 27

    quick sex.

    Walk back to Demetri, crawl back to his sheets ore to me where your life will be a living hell after this. No rainbows, no privileges, no unicorns just me and my demands. And you want to hear one of the demands I¡¯ll dish out to you when you

    crawl back to me?

    I want you to scrub that man off you and afterward, I expect you on my bed, naked, prim and proper for me to take.

    Make a choice, nurse.¡±

    Her hand tightens around my trigger¨Chappy

    hand.

    Then with tears welling in her eyes, she whispers, ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­home.¡±

    ¡°Get the child from Demetri. Take her home to

    her crib¡°, I order Maximo.

    I hold my nurse¡¯s hand and the gun in one palm

    and walk out of Seven Seas restaurant like a

    scorned man.

    And this scorned man?

    He¡¯s going to punish her alright.

 Chapter 28

    Chapter 28

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    ¡°You hired people to work with me?¡±

    A cheery Millie in my arms, I almost want to sink

    between the men beside me as we all stare at the

    four individuals conversing in my new clinic.

    ¡°Technically the boss did but you need people to help you, Lexy. It¡¯s a huge clinic you¡¯ll be bringing Millie along to work, that¡¯s a lot of work

    for one woman.¡±

    I swallow nervously.

    The clinic is huge just as Jagger says.

    Metallic fancy sinks everywhere I look, a few wards separated by spick blue curtains, white tiled. floors and an impable lighting system, to think that I own this feels a little bit overwhelming and

    exciting.

    ¡°I guess.¡±

    Did Volkov do all this for me?

    Even the air in here feels fancy.

    I bet the air conditioners in here cost about a

    thousand dors each.

    ¡°You ready to meet your new servants?¡±

    This chapter is unlocked<b>. </b><b>Enjoy </b><b>reading</b><b>!</b>

    Chapter 28

    ¡°Don¡¯t call them servants, Jett. They are associates, calling them servants makes me look like I¡¯m some big boss. A disrespectful mean big boss.¡±

    ¡°You are their boss¡°, Jagger affirms.

    I swaddle Millie, a vast pit of nervousness growing in my stomach.

    Of the four individuals, there¡¯s one man and three women.

    One woman with a simple dress matched together with a cream cardigan. She seems<b>. </b>likable.

    The other woman is dressed in ck clothes and goes for like an ¡®emo¡® vibe with those boots that look like the ones on Vogue cover models.

    And thest woman, well apart from her healthy head of brown hair, there¡¯s nothing wrong with her.

    Neither is anything wrong with the man sending me a small smile my way.

    ¡°Ok fine, let¡¯s meet my associates.¡±

    ¡°Fucking finally,¡± Jett cusses.

    My hand is already pping his hard stomach

    before we take the first step,

    ¡°Don¡¯t cuss at my baby.¡±

    Chapter 28

    ¡°Sorry, ma¡¯am. Ducking finally.¡±

    Two steps in and the fresh air that dusts the squeaky¨Cclean floor turns ugly.

    Heavy boots sound behind is, tension flocks the air like a bad omen.

    Jett and Jagger turn around and I watch as they each take out their guns from behind their jeans.

    I don¡¯t want to turn around, simply because I¡¯m afraid whatever monsters standing behind me won¡¯t only attack me but my baby.

    The <b>baby </b>sucking that¡¯s sucking off her bottle of milk like a greedy cute monkey you want to hold forever and never let go.

    No.

    This can¡¯t be happening.

    ¡°Give us the woman and the baby and everything will go smoothly. No one gets hurt, no one dies.¡±

    The Russian ent is heavy in the man¡¯s tone and

    my ears perk up.

    They want me and Millie?

    Why do Russian men want me and Millie?

    Are they with Demetri? No, he promised to leave me alone. He wouldn¡¯t go back on his promise

    but how much do I know about the man?

    ¡°Yeah? I would say the same to you, man. Walk

    Chapter 28

    away, don¡¯t start anything you can¡¯t finish¡°, Jagger threatens and from my periphery I see him. already raising his gun to aim.

    My associates are already terrified as they look at

    the mess ensuing right now.

    I nce at my baby.

    I do the math.

    If they decide to shoot, Millie and I are as good as dead.

    I turn around.

    The two men are Russian alright and their guns are already out too.

    ¡°What do you want with me?¡±

    ¡°Our boss wants a word with you.¡±

    ¡°Who is your boss? Did he authorize you to shoot.

    at <i>a </i>bunch of people who¡¯ve done absolutely nothing to you?¡±

    ¡°We are not going to shoot if you cooperate.¡±

    ¡°Who is your boss?¡±

    ¡°Demetri. Demetri Sokolov.¡±

    That good for nothing liar!

    ¡°Jett?¡±

    ¡°Get behind me, Lexy. No one¡¯s leaving, no one¡¯s

    going anywhere with Demetri¡¯s men.¡±

    Chapter 28

    ¡°Tent Look at me Please, just look at ther

    The gun in his hand, jett side eyes me

    ¡°Tm carrying Millie night now. There are from innocent people behind me if you engage someone is going to get hurt. I can¡¯t lone my baby¡±

    ¡°You are not going with them.<i>¡±</i>

    ¡°He¡¯s not going to hurt me. I have something on Demetri and I know he¡¯s not going to hurt me.¡±

    ¡°Jet, drop your gun¡°, Jagger¡¯s resigned tome filters through the air.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    ¡°Are you insane? Boss is gonna kill in if we give her to them without putting up a fight.¡±

    ¡°We are going to die either way if we pull the trigger while trying to protect everyone here from getting shot. Drop your weapon.¡±

    Jett lowers his gun.

    Millie kicks her feet, pping her bottle.

    Demetri¡¯s men usher me out of my clinic.

    All I can think of?

    Will Volkov find me in time before Demetri does whatever horrendous thing he¡¯s <b>nning</b>?

    ¡°Can I hold her?¡±

    Chapter 28

    ¡°Jett? Look at me. Please, jou kok a met

    The gun in his hand, Jett side eyes me.

    ¡°I¡¯m carrying Millie right now. There are four innocent people behind me <b>if </b>you enque someone is going to get hurt. I can¡¯t lose my baby.¡±

    ¡°You are not going with them.*

    ¡°He¡¯s not going to hurt me. I have something on Demetri and I know he¡¯s not going to hurt me.¡±

    ¡°Jett, drop your gun<b>¡°</b>, Jagger¡¯s resigned tone filters through the air.

    ¡°Are you insane? Boss is gonna kill us if we give her to them without putting up a <b>fight</b><b>.</b>¡±

    ¡°We are going to die either way if we <b>pull </b>the trigger while trying to protect everyone here from getting shot. Drop your weapon.¡±

    Jett lowers his gun.

    Millie kicks her feet, pping her bottle.

    Demetri¡¯s men usher me out of my clinic.

    All I can think of?

    Will Volkov find me in time before Demetri does

    whatever horrendous thing he¡¯s nning?

    ¡°Can I hold her?¡±

    Chapter 28

    ¡°Jett? Look at me. Please, just look at me?¡±

    The gun in his hand, Jett side¨Ceyes me.

    ¡°I¡¯m carrying Millic right now. There are four innocent people behind me, if you engage someone is going to get hurt. I can¡¯t lose my baby.¡±

    ¡°You are not going with them.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not going to hurt me. I have something on Demetri and I know he¡¯s not going to hurt me.¡±

    ¡°Jett, drop your gun¡°, Jagger¡¯s resigned tone filters through the air.

    ¡°Are you insane? Boss is gonna kill us if we give her to them without putting up a fight.¡±

    ¡°We are going to die either <i>way </i>if we pull the trigger while trying to protect everyone here from getting shot. Drop your weapon.¡±

    Jett lowers his gun.

    Millie kicks her feet, pping her bottle.

    Demetri¡¯s men usher me out of my clinic.

    All I can think of?

    Will Volkov find me in time before Demetri does

    whatever horrendous thing he¡¯s nning?

    ¡°Can I hold her<b>?</b><b>¡±</b>

    Chapter 28

    No, you cannot hold Millie.

    I resign back to the chair with my baby who¡¯s almost done with the milk inside her bottle.

    Confusion mars every inch of my body <b>as </b>I blink at the sight in front of me.

    ¡°Why are you in Chicago? Why are you

    summoning me with a bunch of men who have guns? We had a deal!¡±

    Demetri looms in the dark corners of the study leaning against the wall, legs crossed at the

    ankles.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want this either, Mrs. Green. Frankly speaking, America as a country rattles my body in the wrong way.¡±

    ¡°How old is she?¡±

    My eyespse back to the woman in front of me.

    The woman who hasn¡¯t stopped asking whether

    she can hold Millie.

    ¡°Why did you bring your boyfriend to Chicago,

    malyshka?¡±

    She chuckles lightly. My left brow lifts.

    ¡°So sorry for everything but malyshka is something Dee calls me. That¡¯s not my name and I think we got on, on the wrong foot.¡±

    ¡°The wrong foot? I¡¯m in a creepy study room

    Chapter 28

    where my daughter and I are captives, I think we are way past the wrong foot, miss.¡±

    Demetri snickers, ¡°Told you, you would like this

    American woman.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call her American woman, Dee. It¡¯s disrespectful.¡±

    ¡°Sorry¡°, Demetri apologizes and I feel like I¡¯m in

    an alternate universe. /

    Demetri Sokolov apologizing?

    Who is this woman?

    ¡°Can I tell you a story?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    I breathe out but the saliva I swallow tells me this story is going to be anything but a fairy tale.

    ¡°There were two siblings. A boy born to continue. a legacy and a girl born to take the family to great heights by marrying into another powerful family that would solidify the power the family

    had.

    ¡°The father of the family didn¡¯t like the girl very much. He had always been an ambitious man who wanted boys to strengthen the family.

    One day the girl, out of curiosity like all kids are at the age of five, went into her father¡¯s study and by ident broke her father¡¯s watch.

    Chapter 28

    A watch that had been in the family for decades. Angry, the father seized this as an opportunity to take out his anger on the girl.

    ¡°Their mother could only stand and watch because their society was a patriarchal one. Women had no say, men controlled everything.

    Before the father could hit her daughter, his only son begged for mercy. Only by begging for mercy, he looked weak in his father¡¯s eyes¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait, why are you telling me all this?¡± I ask.

    She smiles sadly. ¡°Because you have to understand everything from the beginning. The girl in the story is me, Alexia and this is the story of my life. Can I go on?¡±

    I nod.

    I don¡¯t know what to say to her.

    ¡°My brother, he offered himself for punishment. instead of me. He begged for mercy on my behalf and my father gave him the opposite.

    So for every little mistake I made, my father locked my brother in our basement for weeks. And every Wednesday of that week, my father. would go in there with his belt in hand, with his anger on his sleeve and beat my brother till he

    bled.

    ¡°And every Wednesday I would cry myself to sleep as I listened to my brother¡¯s shrieks. My

    L

    Chapter 28

    father said that was the only way of teaching my brother that women made him weak, that women would only lead to his death, that he had to give up his love for me because nothing was as useless as that.

    ¡°When we reached eighteen, my brother got the courage to do what our mother failed to do. He got us out of that hellhole. With no money, no connections but two ne tickets to here, <i>he </i>raised me, Alezia. My brother raised me and sent me to college to have <i>a </i>better life than he ever had. College was college. And it wouldn¡¯t have been more fun especially and most especially when I met my sister, Carissa.¡±

    ¡°Your sister? You didn¡¯t mention you had a sister.¡±

    And I¡¯m a hundred percent sure I listened to her story keenly.

    Malyshka¡¯s eyes go wide like she¡¯s trying not to let the tears fall. Demetri is already off the walling to sit next to her and rubbing his callous hand on her thigh to calm her down.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m okay. I didn¡¯t know I had a sister too. It was a huge campus<b>; </b>it was a huge city but what were the chances of meeting my twin sister? It was fate. Carissa thought so too. Her parents adopted her and when we did a little digging. I found out my mother gave her away during birth to protect her from my father¡¯s wrath. My father

    Chapter 28

    father said that was the only way of teaching my brother that women made him weak, that women would only lead to his death, that he had to give up his love for me because nothing was as useless as that.

    ¡°When we reached eighteen, my brother got the courage to do what our mother failed to do. He got us out of that hellhole. With no money, no connections but two ne tickets to here, he raised me, Alexia. My brother raised me and sent me to college to have a better life than he ever had. College was college. And it wouldn¡¯t have been more fun especially and most especially when I met my sister, Carissa,¡±

    ¡°Your sister? You didn¡¯t mention you had a sister.¡±

    And I¡¯m a hundred percent sure I listened to her story keenly.

    Malyshka¡¯s eyes go wide like she¡¯s trying not to let the tears fall. Demetri is already off the walling to sit next to her and rubbing his callous hand on her thigh to calm her down.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, I¡¯m okay. I didn¡¯t know I had a sister too. It was a huge campus; it was a huge city but what were the chances of meeting my twin sister? It was fate, Carissa thought so too. Her parents. adopted her and when we did a little digging, I found out my mother gave her away during birth to protect her from my father¡¯s wrath. My father

    Chapter 28

    hated me. If he had twin girls, not me or Carisa would survive. My brother didn¡¯t know he had a sister too and I nned on telling him.

    ¡°No, Carissa and I nned op telling <b>him </b>but on the day, we were supposed to meet just outside our college, her¡­.her boyfriend sent <b>his </b>friends to take her. I would have looked for her, I loved <b>my </b>sister. I was going to tell my brother everything so that he would start looking for her but¡­<b>but</b>¡­¡±

    ¡°I kidnapped her¡°, Demetri adds in, like it pains

    him to even admit it.

    I¡¯m near tears but I try to act like this story <b>isn¡¯t </b>affecting me at all.

    ¡°Why? Why would you do that?¡± I ask.

    Malyshka entwines her hand with Demetri before

    she looks up to me, ¡°He wanted to start a war with my brother.¡±

    ¡°Of course he did¡°, I scoff.

    Demetri liked starting wars with everyone. Including my boss, Volkov.

    ¡°He took me to Russia that night. A monthter,

    he told me about Carissa¡¯s death. But the

    surprising thing of all? My brother thought I was

    dead. I was alive, Carissa was the one who was

    dead but he didn¡¯t know that. And I didn¡¯t want

    him to find out I was alive because I fell in love <b>a</b>

    second time with Dee. With Demetri. If my

    Chapter 28

    brother found out I was alive and I was kidnapped by Demetri, he would go on a murder rampage and I wouldn¡¯t want that. I love my brother but I also love this man with all my life.¡±

    My throat bobs with emotions as I struggle to speak up.

    ¡°H¨Chow do I fit into the story? I don¡¯t know you, I don¡¯t know your brother and I don¡¯t know Carissa, sorry for her death by the way.¡±

    ¡°Because¡­.Rhett Kingston and his friends killed my sister. Your ex took my sister away from me.¡±

    The bomb she drops has me flinching back as I tighten my grip on my baby.

    Rhett was Carissa¡¯s boyfriend?

    I knew he was a psycho, a rapist but killing an

    innocent woman?

    ¡°I¨CI didn¡¯t know. I had nothing to do

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t. He was seeing you and Carissa at the same time and I don¡¯t me you but Rhett for everything.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°But I am still going to ask for two favors from you, Alexia.¡±

    What the hell is going on today?

    I don¡¯t think I can keep up with everything.

    Chapter 28

    My fear has elevated by a hundred, my hate for Rhett churns my skin and worry upies every pore in my body.

    ¡°I love Demetri so much but I also love a man who has been my shoulder to cry on for years while I was growing up. I can only hope he

    forgives me and wants to talk. As for my brother, he hasn¡¯t let any woman near him since my ¡®fake¡® death apart from our nanny. You are the only one he seems to listen to so I beg you of this, help him recover. Thaw that cold heart of his and

    teach him love is not weak. Teach him that violence is not the only thing he can have in his life. That is all I beg of you.¡±

    I might be crazy for asking her this.

    My mind tries to wrap around her words and I feel a headacheing in.

    ¡°These men who are they?¡±

    ¡°I need your help getting to my first love, Maximo DiMarco. And I need you to help my brother, Christian Volkov move on with his life.

    <b>My </b>name is Catelina Sofia Volkov, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. Demetri has told me a lot about

    you.¡±

 Chapter 29

    Chapter 29

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    ¡°Then make a choice, sweetheart. Nothing¡¯s for free in this world if your loyalty can be bought by quick sex. Walk back to Demetri, crawl back to his

    sheets ore to me where your life will be a living hell after this. No rainbows, no privileges, no unicorns just me and my demands. And you

    want to hear one of the demands I¡¯ll dish out to

    you when you crawl back to me? I want you to

    scrub that man off you and afterward? I expect you on my bed, naked, prim and proper for me. to take. Make a choice, nurse.¡±

    I did not sleep with Demetri.

    My hair is a tangled mess because I have spent almost an hour trying to wrap my mind around your sister¡¯s confessions. My hair¡¯s a mess because I have been running my fingers over my scalp trying to decipher what¡¯s what.

    I can not leave you because your sister begged me to stick around in exchange for paying whatever Rhett owes you back.

    But Rhett didn¡¯t just take money from you, did

    he?

    He took your sister. The only thing that mattered.

    Chapter 29

    to you and you want to know something?

    Catelina is alive.

    You don¡¯t have to live like this because your sister

    is alive.

    I should say all that but I promised Kat I wasn¡¯t going to ruin whatever rtionship she had with

    Demetri.

    I¡¯m to the point of exhaustion and tears when I interlink my hands with a steaming furious.

    Volkov.

    na

    I try to swallow my emotions and put on a brave

    face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go¡­.home.¡±

    I give myself up like a pig stuffed with an apple to the mouth on a silver tter to this man.

    From the coolness of the gun in his hand, and the tight hold his fingers grip mine, I know that tonight is going to end up badly.

    As he puts his gun back to where it was behind his pants, orders Maximo to bring Millie home and yanks my left wrist so painfully, a few burning questions gue my mind.

    Why am I tolerating this?

    Why am I allowing this to happen to me?

    Because of Rhett? Because he murdered an

    Chapter 29

    innocent girl that I feel guilty of? Because I think 1 can do what Catelina asked me of and heal this man?

    I heal wounds.

    This man isn¡¯t wounded, no he is scarred and the difference between wounds and scars is wounds. heal, scars linger and fester and mess with your body in all sorts of ways.

    Scars can¡¯t be healed.

    His dark vehicle is already awaiting us by the time. we exit the restaurant.

    Volkov doesn¡¯t even tip the valet as he yanks his car keys, walks me to the side of the passenger door, opens the door for me and I hop in,

    A secondter he gets into the car, hands on the wheel, eyes on the road, he starts driving.

    All the while I look at my left wrist which has already turned red.

    I try not to sob.

    Don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t cry.

    Oh God.

    A tear falls down my cheek and I wipe it away. only for another bout of fresh tears to attack me out of nowhere.

    He doesn¡¯t even look my way.

    Chapter 29

    He doesn¡¯t hand me a tissue.

    He just sits there, drives, jaw locked, eyes. emotionless.

    While I, pathetically crying, wanting to say so much but being restrained by my promise to his

    sister.

    ¡®I don¡¯t open my doors for traitors. I don¡¯t protect those who double¨Ccross me.¡®

    I remember his words and they sound like getting

    a shot of acid to my ears.

    If he thinks I¡¯m a traitor for hanging out with Demetri that means he trusted me in the first

    ce.

    This man who has been brooding, seeking revenge after his sister¡¯s death, let me into his life and trusted me and now that trust is broken?

    ¡°Christian-.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±

    His voice cuts mine down before I can even go

    further.

    So, for the next fifteen minutes, I look out the window and hide my tears.

    I swallow down the bitterness and ept my fate.

    My fatees in the form of a grand hotel with gleaning windows, a height that of a skyscraper

    Chapter 29

    and a luxurious logo that says ¡®Davenport¡® and screams expensive hotel.

    This isn¡¯t home.

    I don¡¯t get to voice out my discovery because Volkov unbuckles his seat belt and hops out of the

    car.

    The next time I see him, he¡¯s standing just outside my car window illustrating with his finger for me

    to hop out.

    I open the door.

    His cologne, damp air, the smell of rain hits me

    face first.

    We don¡¯t exchange words.

    He ms the door behind me shut, once more. taking my wrist and dragging me around to wherever he sees fit.

    ¡°Mr. Volkov, wee to Davenport. It¡¯s been quite some time; can I interest you in-.¡±

    ¡°No¡°, Vicious dismisses the receptionist so fast, I almost flinch at the word ¡®no¡® on her behalf.

    Her eyes fall on me and she gives me a look of pity and awe.

    Couple minutester, Vicious and I are standing in an elevator as he presses ¡®P¡® on one of the

    buttons.

    B

    Chapter 29

    The tension inside is enough to drown a fish. The rattling in my chest is enough to drown out the sound of a moving freight train.

    The look in his eyes is enough to incinerate everything around us and leave ash in its wake.

    And yet?

    I obey.

    For the first time since I met this man, I obey because I get to see the man who calls himself my

    boss, my debt collector, my master.

    And this master has the very intent to do

    everything bad his twisted mind thinks of and the silly thing going on in my mind is?

    If he does this, will he not be angry with me anymore? If he does this, will he revert back to being the Christian that held me in that shower, the Christian that held me on the couch in Russia,

    the Christian that¡­.

    The elevator doors part, Christian walks in with

    me and the room inside is so breathtaking I would have had time to gawk if it wasn¡¯t his own version of a ughterhouse.

    Low hanging lights that look like they are made of cedar, a built¨Cin kitchen by the side that doesn¡¯t take too much space to make everything look like it¡¯s squeezed in, the living room which is farther inside and looks like a lunge room with

    Chapter 29

    the light from ss¨Cfloor windows dazzling it with a modern country feel.

    And the windows? I have a feeling if there weren¡¯t stormy grey nimbus clouds, they¡¯d give a spectacr view of the sunrise and sunset.

    The spiral stairs leading to whatever it¡¯s upstairs are also made with wood and attached to the

    red¨Cbricked wall that houses a few ornaments.

    Christian steps into the room.

    My wrist in his hand, I walk behind him matching his lengthy strides.

    He only lets go when he sits on the couch, eyes. zeroing in on me and turning nd like there¡¯s nothing interesting he sees about me.

    An action that stings but I suck it up. Suck it up

    like a buttercup, Lexy.

    ¡°Strip.¡±

    The word is delivered coolly.

    But the impact it has on me?

    It shatters andpletely rearranges my insides.

    Hands reaching out to my back for the zip to my dress. I drag it down.

    The dress gets stuck around my waist where my hips start to bulge and I pull it downpletely letting it fall to the ground and pool around my

    L

    feet.

    ¡°The bra and panties go too, Mrs. Kingston. You¡¯ve already done it with Demetri, I shouldn¡¯t have to tell you what to do,¡±

    The words keep oning anding-

    Each word stronger than thest.

    Every bit of venom spitting from his mouth, punches my inside one punch after the other.

    I take my bra off.

    Thunder growls behind me and I almost jump.

    I shimmer my way out of my panties. Every piece of my clothing falls to the ground. Every piece of me spiraling down with it.

    I¡¯m naked and bare to him.

    Standing like a prized good and nothing more.

    ¡°Remember what I said if you made the choice toe work for me for reasons<b>, </b>I have no clue about? Bathroom¡¯s upstairs in the master bedroom, the one with the big bed, you can¡¯t miss it. Scrub every ce he touched off of you, scrub that man¡¯s filth from what¡¯s mine. When you are done, I want you in the middle of that bed, waiting for me like how a good little ve does for his master. Do you hear me, Mrs.

    Kingston?¡±

    Crystal fucking clear.

    Chapter 29

    ¡°Y¨Cyes.¡± My betraying voice cracks.

    Christian dismisses me like a dog.

    My unsteady feet lead me upstairs.

    I find the master bedroom alright.

    I also find the bathroom equipped with every type of body wash there is.

    I step into the shower cab; I scrub myself clean of his touch.

    But instead of Demetri¡¯s touch?

    I wipe myself of Christian¡¯s touch knocking myself over and over for feeling like this.

    For feeling like his indifference bothers me.

    When I¡¯m clean everywhere, I pick the towel. from one of the racks and I dry myself.

    I hang the towel back to the little hooks once I¡¯m

    done.

    Like I wasmanded, my shaking hand finds.

    the doorknob and the sound of heavy rain echoes.

    from outside.

    Opening the door feels like I¡¯m hammering myself down to the ground.

    Time to sit on the bed and wait for him, I guess.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Expecting to find the bed empty, Christian ist already seated at the edge of the mattress, his eyes graze every inch of me and instead of the

    Chapter 29

    fire I saw the other night in them, I see nothing.

    Absolutely nothing.

    He doesn¡¯t call me to where he is seated.

    My feet take a mind of their own and walk to

    him.

    I don¡¯t even question what I¡¯m doing when I sit on hisp and I feel his cold hands; the very edge of his fingertips sinking into the line on my back.

    You wanted me like this?

    Here I am, do your worst.

    Chapter 30

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30

    Chapter 30

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    He doesn¡¯t kiss me.

    Yet he holds me like fragile ss.

    He doesn¡¯t look me in the eye.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Yet his hands do the talking and the seeing.

    He pushes my hair away from my neck, capturing it in his fist till it hurts but not enough to yank my hair from my scalp.

    I don¡¯t yelp from the pain.

    I moan.

    Like a wanton mess, my head lolls back and I give him a view of my chest offering it for his

    devouring.

    I don¡¯t feel his mouth on my skin.

    No.

    He uses his teeth to taste me.

    He uses his teeth to bite me. To bite every inch of

    skin he can find.

    When I feel pain, the cool lick of his tongue

    everything away.

    Chapter 30

    He tortuously builds a trail of marks from my neck till my stomach burns hot, and my head dissolves in a mixture of heat and needy passion.

    One fist in my hair to steady me, his other hand explores my body like an engineer learning the schematics of a building. I feel him on my stomach, patting my navel and doing the opposite of what I want.

    I want him to go south.

    I want him to end this torture.

    To be done with his cruelty and we can move on.

    Can I call this torture though?

    If this was torture, he wouldn¡¯t go through the formalities of touching me, he would do it and be

    done with it.

    If this was torture, I would be screaming, I would be running out of my mind trying to get him off

    of me.

    Just like that night with Brad and Rhett and everyone who was present that day, I would scream for this to be over.

    I¡¯m two seconds away from convulsing in

    pleasure when his big hand takes my left breast in

    his grasp.

    His handpletely eats my breast till he is full with it and that¡¯s not enough for him.

    1

    Chapter 30

    He squeezes, he kneads, his teethnd on my right nipple and he bites. Hard.

    My body arches off hisp, doses of pleasure coursing through my body like adrenaline, like a rush that mounts the throbbing in my pussy to a whole new level I never thought I would feel.

    Painfully full and pearled, he does the same to my left breast.

    Biting, licking, leaving room to want more and

    more.

    My thighs already feel slick against his crotch.

    The same crotch that is covered with suit pants

    and is as hard as iron beneath me.

    The same crotch that is poking my pussy and wanting to be free.

    The same crotch my pussy is hauntingly begging

    for.

    I¡¯m too distracted with him licking the underside of my boobs to notice his hand disappear

    between us.

    The next time I feel Christian Volkov, two of his thick fingers pump inside my eager pussy embedding themselves all the way to the hilt till my knees shake and my hands reach out to hold his shoulders.

    He doesn¡¯t move.

    Chapter 30

    Two seconds with two of his fingers inside me

    and I lose it.

    My hips start bucking, my eyes fall down to his.

    I don¡¯t speak. He doesn¡¯t either.

    What he sees is his ve bouncing up and down his fingers like a greedy person who¡¯s never felt anything remotely good as this.

    I don¡¯t correct his thoughts. Because it¡¯s the truth.

    One finger the other night felt good..

    Two fingers? They stretch me out, they hit my g¨Cspot. They cross me to the promisednd.

    <b>A </b>spot only this bastard discovered.

    Rhett never made me feel like this. Rhett never had sex with me till my insides started tingling. Rhett never found that spot that Vicious has found with his fingers only and not the real thing.

    My insides shouldn¡¯t be tingling in the first ce.

    But I would be lying if I said listening to my pussy take his fingers in and out didn¡¯t make me weep

    for more.

    My toes curl, I feel like peeing, my eyes hold his ring ones and I ride out my orgasm with a staring contest going on between us.

    What I don¡¯t expect next?

    I don¡¯t expect this man to stand with me naked in

    Setting

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    Chapter 30

    his arms.

    I don¡¯t expect this man to smack my body against a wall slightly,

    I don¡¯t expect this man to gp my hips<b>, </b>ce my thighs on each of his shoulders and bury his head between my legs.

    My back arches off the wall when <b>his </b>mouthtches on my clit sucking it into his warm mouth and teasing it with a tongue that could go to a war of dueling and win thatpetition with a gold

    prize.

    Rhett never went down on me. He said he would

    never kneel for a

    woman,

    Christian isn¡¯t exactly kneeling and he isn¡¯t. exactly going down on me in the literal sense but the way he eats me out has my lungs gasping for

    air.

    His teeth grasp my little mound tugging slightly and letting it go before his tongue licks everything his fingers did for me.

    Licking me clean.

    He doesn¡¯t give me time toe down from a

    high.

    His tongue is everywhere, between my folds, back to my clit, hovering outside my hole before he dives in like he could care less about me having a

    heart attack.

    Chapter 30

    This is him seeking his own pleasure, I realize. This is him feeding off his favorite meal and leaving no crumbs.

    As soon as another wave of orgasm hits me and warm liquid trickles down my legs to Christian¡¯s shoulders, spraying everywhere, Christian

    murmurs with excitement in his voice.

    ¡°A squirter.¡±

    I realize then and then, I might have challenged a maniac and this angry maniac might make sure I never make it to see the light of day again.

 Chapter 31

    Chapter 31

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS VOLKOV.

    The look on her face as I let her thighs off my shoulders steadying her trembling feet on the carpet tells me she¡¯s never done this before.

    She¡¯s never squirted.

    Which leads to the next question hounding my brain.

    Did he not make you squirt? If you didn¡¯t have sex with him then what happened between you and Demetri, Sunshine.

    Her juices soak my suit, soak every bit of clothing on me but my eyes are on her.

    Looking, searching for the truth, pounding her walls in so she can exin everything better and I

    would stop this madness.

    Her eyes meet mine, glossy, greedy, lustful.

    I hold eye contact, my height intimidates her, the whole situation should scream I¡¯m not stopping till she spills her guts out and tells me the bloody <b>truth</b>¡® but this woman bites her bottom lip putting up a front that looks pathetic and ugly inN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    my eyes.

    She¡¯s willing to do this for Demetri.

 Chapter 32

    Chapter <b>32</b>

    CHRISTIAN ¡®VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    ¡°Pull up the security cameras, every square mile of the hotel, the front, the back, the street they took. I want everything, Kai.¡±

    ¡°Volkov, I¡¯m doing everything I can since I got informed of everything that went down.¡±

    Her blood is still on my hands.

    Past memories of Catelina in my hands, losing

    that much blood on me haunts and gues me.

    Can¡¯t sit and do nothing.

    Can¡¯t stand and watch her die.

    I brought her here and no one has said a word.

    No nurse. No surgeon.

    No update on how long the surgery will take.

    Nothing.

    ¡°Well work harder, damn it! Get me results! Give

    me a name!¡±

    ¡°You are not in the right state of mind right now, Volkov. You have a bullet still lodged in your

    shoulder.¡±

    ¡°It went straight through.¡±

    And the other one hit her.

    Chapter 32

    On the back of her neck, on her shoulder, on her spine, on the back of her head?

    No. She was still gripping my hand when we got here.

    She was still breathing.

    She is still breathing.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean you are doing fine.¡±

    ¡°I got shot at like some pig in hunting season. My nurse is fighting for her life in there, doing fine is the least of my concerns. Give me a fucking name or escort your pompous ass out of here.¡±

    She¡¯s not Catelina.

    She¡¯s not following my sister to thend of no

    return.

    I should have stayed.

    Fuck, I should have stayed on that bed.

    Pacing around a minute longer and my men

    appear out of nowhere, the worry etched on their

    faces confirming what hasn¡¯t hit me quite yet.

    She got shot.

    She put her body right in front of mine.

    The little minx gambled her life for me.

    I¡¯ve been shot a couple times, I have tasted death and escaped it but she hasn¡¯t.

    Setting

    15.0

    }

    This chapter is unlocked. <b>Enjoy </b>reading!

    Chapter 32

    Chapter 32

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    ¡°Pull up the security cameras, every square mile of the hotel, the front, the back, the street they

    took. I want everything, Kai.¡±

    ¡°Volkov, I¡¯m doing everything I can since I got

    informed of everything that went down.¡±

    Her blood is still on my hands.

    Past memories of Catelina in my hands, losing that much blood on me haunts and gues me.

    Can¡¯t sit and do nothing.

    Can¡¯t stand and watch her die.

    I brought her here and no one has said a word.

    No nurse. No surgeon.

    No update on how long the surgery will take.

    Nothing.

    ¡°Well work harder, damn it! Get me results! Give

    me a name!¡±

    ¡°You are not in the right state of mind right now, Volkov. You have a bullet still lodged in your

    shoulder.¡±

    ¡°It went straight through.¡±

    And the other one hit her.

    7/6

    Setting

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    Chapter 32

    On the back of her neck, on her shoulder, on her

    spine, on the back of her head?

    No. She was still gripping my hand when we got here.

    She was still breathing.

    She is still breathing.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean you are doing fine.¡±

    ¡°I got shot at like some pig in hunting season. My nurse is fighting for her life in there, doing fine is the least of my concerns. Give me a fucking name.

    or escort your pompous ass out of here.¡±

    She¡¯s not Catelina.

    She¡¯s not following my sister to thend of not

    return.

    I should have stayed.

    Fuck, I should have stayed on that bed.

    Pacing around a minute longer and my men

    appear out of nowhere, the worry etched on their faces confirming what hasn¡¯t hit me quite yet.

    She got shot.

    She put her body right in front of mine.

    The little minx gambled her life for me.

    I¡¯ve been shot a couple times, I have tasted death. and escaped it but she hasn¡¯t.

    2/6

    Setting

    15.807

    Chapter 39

    And the irony of death?

    It took the ones who didn¡¯t deserve to die and left

    the people who didn¡¯t deserve to live in the first. ce.

    ¡°Boss? How is she doing?¡±

    ¡°Doctor won¡¯t say shit¡°, I cuss.

    Jett and Jagger have that forlorn look on their

    faces.

    They know like I do that in our line of work women don¡¯t get to walk away alive.

    ¡°She¡¯s a fighter. She¡¯ll pull through¡°, Nico offers. his unwanted advice but right now I bite into his words and suck up the pain from my shoulder.

    She¡¯ll pull through.

    My nurse isn¡¯t going down like this, not when she has a kid back in my house.

    She wouldn¡¯t die leaving her kid in my custody.

    And that has me chuckling painfully.

    That woman would escape hell if it meant rescuing Millie from my clutches.

    I try not to think about Millie. The kid is seeing her mom whether I have to fight the devil

    himself or not.

    ¡°Kai?¡±

    Maximo¡¯s surprised tone next to me has me

    15671

    Chapter 32

    caring less that New York¡¯s most eligible bachelor has been standing next to me as soon as my nurse got inside those big theater doors at the end of the hallway.

    ¡°Flew in as soon as I heard there was a shootout at our hotel. The first shootout.¡±

    ¡°Camera feeds?¡±

    Maximo asks

    ¡°Already getting sent as we speak.¡±

    Silence falls like heavy hail on my head, the smell of ammonia and medicated stuff feels nauseating and unsettling.

    <b>The </b>sight of hospitals, this type of environment feels like the walls are closing in.

    Feels like my old doctor advising me to let go because Cat was no more.

    Standing here not being able to control anything, the universe flipping a huge middle finger in my

    face has me losing my sanity, my grip to reality

    fades, Maximo rings a nurse to look at my

    shoulder.

    nurse that¡¯s not Sunshine.

    The sooner the nurse approaches me the feeling

    of wanting to crush her eats me and blinds me but my mind fades out everything and focuses on one thing and one thing only.

    Chapter 32

    caring less that New York¡¯s most eligible bachelor has been standing next to me as soon as my nurse got inside those big theater doors at the end of the hallway.

    ¡°Flew in as soon as I heard there was a shootout at

    our hotel. The first shootout.¡±

    ¡°Camera feeds?¡±

    Maximo asks.

    ¡°Already getting sent as we speak.¡±

    Silence falls like heavy hail on my head, the smell of ammonia and medicated stuff feels nauseating and unsettling.

    The sight of hospitals, this type of environment feels like the walls are closing in.

    Feels like my old doctor advising me to let go because Cat was no more.

    Standing here not being able to control anything, the universe flipping a huge middle finger in my face has me losing my sanity, my grip to reality fades, Maximo rings a nurse to look at my

    shoulder.

    A nurse that¡¯s not Sunshine.

    The sooner the nurse approaches me the feeling

    of wanting to crush her eats me and blinds me but my mind fades out everything and focuses on one thing and one thing only.

    Chapter 32

    Blue eyes, mysterious like the vast ocean that goes on for miles.

    Blonde hair up in a ponytail, down her shoulders,

    in a mess.

    Pearl white teeth smiling at me.

    ¡°I let you look at my wound and you¡¯ll end up getting hurt. Any time anyone inflicts pain on my body, I react. I won¡¯t think, I¡¯ll react.¡±

    ¡°Who stitches you up when you are too wounded to do it yourself?¡±

    ¡°Maximo.¡±

    ¡°Do you hurt him when he does it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He can take a punch or two and you can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°We have to stop the bleeding and you need not to hurt me while I¡¯m doing so. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to rmend a distraction.¡±

    ¡°A distraction?¡±

    ¡°Your body reacts that way because you are stuck reliving a memory. A memory of someone probably hurting you so any time a different. person hurts you, you think it¡¯s the same person and you react. A distraction keeps your mind from reliving the past and focusing on the

    present.

    Focusing on me and realizing I¡¯m not gonna hurt you. At least not intentionally.¡±

    Chapter 32

    Alexia¡¯s words ring out loud in my head as the nurse who¡¯s already started disinfecting the wound does her job.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Focus on her. Focus on her gecovery. Focus on the blue eyes and that smile.

    Distract myself with her memories praying to the same God that took Cat to spare the nurse

    instead.

 Chapter 33

    Chapter <b>33</b>

    ALEXIA GREEN.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    What sucks about life?

    We only get one chance. No do¨Covers.

    No ¡®can I retake this scene again¡°?

    No ¡®I messed up can I jump into your time machine and stop this from happening?¡±

    Nope.

    Just one chance.

    I followed him out of that hotel because

    somehow knowing his story, the reason behind his distrustful nature, his spiteful tone had me wanting to cure him.

    I was going to settle for the ¡®no kisses¡® sex just to stay with my captor.

    I saw the gun gleaning in the rain and the speeding car heading towards us and I reacted.

    That one chance at life?

    I was ready to give it all.

    No, scratch that, I did give it all.

    And then the bullet hit me, then the blood

    sshed out of my body like a box of expired. juice getting thrown in the trash at Costco.

    Chapter 33

    At that moment, my life syed right before my eyes and regret hit me.

    Would I jump in front of Christian Volkov to save him again? I would.

    But would I risk my chance at life knowing my daughter was going to end up an orphan? Rhett was already a lost cause and God forbid: he took custody of Millie after I was gone.

    So, when I open my eyes at this very second, my body numb, every part of me stinging like hell. I take a minute to sob quietly.

    I sob as I listen to the machines go all haywire with the beeping due to my increasing heart rate.

    I sob when the first rays of light hit my face and I

    taste sunlight.

    I didn¡¯t think I would get to see the light of day.

    I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get to see Millie cry or turn my life around or p Rhett a couple of times as I watched his ass getting dragged to jail for everything he did.

    Once my cheeks are sodding with tears,ughter chokes me and then like a maniac Iugh at the pain, Iugh at this second chance at life and Iugh at thest face I saw before the lights went

    out.

    Iugh at myself and at my bad decisions.

    Chapter 33

    ¡°Umm I feel like I should give you some privacy?¡±

    My neck biting me in all the wrong ways, I turn my head at the curvy woman seated on the couch at the far end of my hospital room.

    Only then do I see the flowers and the teddy bears and the fruits? All for me?

    My eyes travel back to the woman with the dark hair, chubby cheeks that are rosy from what I¡¯m assuming to be embarrassment and the killer floral dress she¡¯s wearing topped with a cardigan.

    I might have been shot enough to make my memories all fuzzy but I don¡¯t know her.

    And I would know her because except for the Virgin Mary look she has going on, the woman is pretty, curvy and I¡¯m expecting her to be really short when she stands up but she is really pretty and she might not even know it.

    She blinks at me.

    I blink back at her.

    Who are you? And where is¡­

    Pretty Miss Cardigan stands up walking up to me

    with a card in her hands.

    ¡°I brought you a ¡®get well soon¡® card. The name¡¯s Brenda Gibbins, we¡¯ve not met yet but I saw your back at the clinic and I wanted to say hi before

    well¡­the Russian men showed up.¡±

    Chapter 33

    ¡°T¨Cthanks¡°, I groan.

    God, I feel awful.

    ¡°I¡¯m one of your assistants back at the clinic and everyone has been praying for your recovery. They¡¯ll be happy to know you are awake.¡±

    Her smile and her cheerfulness are in contrast to everything reading on my face right now.

    I¡¯m sure I have eye bags under my eyes.

    There is also the possibility of drool lining the side of my mouth.

    ¡°H¨Chow long was I out?¡±

    ¡°Um a week at most but don¡¯t worry I have been taking care of Millie and she¡¯s doing better than-.¡±

    My ears peak at the mention of my daughter.

    ¡°Millie?¡± I sit up, a headache wades in like a bee sting to the head.

    ¡°How is she? Has she been feeding? Is she here?¡±

    ¡°Alexia, you have to calm down, like I said she¡¯s

    fine. I¡¯ve been feeding her what I can and as for where she is, the man who came to my

    apartment is watching her.¡±

    ¡°What? What man? Why is she with you and

    not¡­where she¡¯s supposed to be?¡±

    Brenda chuckles nervously her fingers digging into her tote bag.

    Chapter 33

    ¡°Well two days ago, a man showed up at my doorstep and threatened to kill me if I didn¡¯t take care of your baby till you woke up.¡±

    My throat parches as I swallow hard to breathe

    out his name.

    ¡°Volkov?¡±

    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t <b>him</b>. I know Christian Volkov

    because he¡¯s pretty farhous and all plus he practically owns our clinic but no, it wasn¡¯t him.

    It was one of the men who work for him, the one

    with the rock star hair and the scary gaze?¡±

    Maximo had a buzz¨Ccut. Jagger had hair that wasn¡¯t long enough to be termed as ¡®rock star hair¡®. Nico had¡­well I guess normal hair?

    ¡°Jett?¡±

    Brenda nods.

    Before I can prod her for more answers, the door behind her flies open and the devil being spoken

    about walks in.

    Jett¡¯s gaze lingers on Brenda before he stands next to her both of them towering over me and reminding me, I¡¯m on a hospital bed.

    The irony.

    The nurse lying in a hospital bed. And apparently for one week too.

    Chapter 33

    ¡°Okay, I think that¡¯s all for now. I¡¯m gonna go check if Millie needs something.¡±

    Brenda doesn¡¯t get to finish her sentence because Jett¡¯s hand captures hers and she squeaks.

    ¡°Not so fast, kitten.¡±

    Kitten<b>?</b>

    Brenda gazes at me for help.

    Jett¡¯s nces at her taking in her cardigan and her dress before his eyes fall on me.

    ¡°How are you doing?¡±

    ¡°As good as anyone who has been shot. Where¡¯s my daughter?¡±

    ¡°With Maximo, outside. You¡¯ll get discharged. soon¡°, Jett says.

    I almost don¡¯t want to ask in front of Brenda

    where his boss is.

    Why is he not here?

    Did he visit?

    Why is Millie not in his house? With Juana at

    least?

    ¡°I want to see her.¡±

    ¡°And you will, right after the nurses give us the go¨Cahead that you are fine.¡±

    ¡°This¨Cthis looks like a private moment, I think I

    Chapter 33

    should give you two some privacy¡°, Brenda trembles.

    Jen¡¯s hold on her wrist isn¡¯t wavering.

    ¡°Off to meet your wimpy boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not a wimp!¡±

    If sweet Brenda was pretty, then angry Brenda was on another level of beauty.

    Her cheeks are on fire, whatever game Jett¡¯s ying seems to excite him and torment her.

    ¡°He offered you so I wouldn¡¯t shoot him.¡±

    ¡°You pointed a gun at us! He was nervous.¡±

    ¡°Men who offer up their women to a man with a

    gun delivering a baby are no men, kitten¡±

    This time I¡¯m the one to interrupt.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Why is Millie being delivered like merchandise?

    Like an unwanted thing?

    Because they thought I was dead and they had no use for my child anymore<i>?</i>

    Jett looks at me, reads the sadness that I wear like a badge on my face and then releases Brenda¡¯s

    wrist.

    <b>¡°</b>See you next time, kitten. Make a tuna casserole next time I visit.¡±

    }

    Chapter 33

    Brenda gives me a warm smile, sending a re to Jett as she whispers loud enough getting out of

    my room.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be a next time!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s cute¡°, Jett chuckles.

    Resting my head against the pillow, my body in knots and not from the stitches I can feel on my shoulder, I ask about the boss.

    ¡°Why is he sending my daughter away?¡±

    ¡°No one is sending anyone away. He¡¯s just making a few changes after what went down the other day.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? What changes?¡±

    ¡°Alexia you got shot and there¡¯s no way of saying this but a slight tilt to the wrong direction and they wouldn¡¯t be fishing one bullet from your

    shoulder de but two and I¡¯m no nurse but I¡¯m

    pretty sure the second one would have gone

    straight for your lungs.¡±

    Two<b>?</b>

    ¡°He got shot?¡±

    ¡°Went straight through.¡±

    ¡°Did they stitch him up?¡±

    He would never allow himself to be stitched. I

    know Volkov and that¡¯s how bad he operates that

    Chapter 33

    he can treat himself: he doesn¡¯t need help.

    All I can hope is that he allowed Maximo to stitch him up at least.

    ¡°He¡¯s fine but what I¡¯mying down right now is the Volkov mansion is too hot for you and the baby. So we relocated you to Brenda¡¯s home. No

    one would cause any trouble there: the ce is under surveince and close to your clinic

    Which trantes to: Volkov kicked me and my baby out.

    Ouch.

    It shouldn¡¯t hur

    The ce was a prison for us anyway. Yeah. Iber Brenda and her boyfriend are nice people.

    I bet they won¡¯t look at me and Millie as charity.

    ¡°Where will he be? At the mansion?¡±

    ¡°Yes.

    Rip my insides <b>out</b>.

    ¡°D¨Cdid hee to visit? At least just once?¡±

    ¡°He brought you to the hospital and that¡¯s it.¡±

    He didn¡¯t visit?

    He kicked me and Millie out?

    After we almost had sex a week ago?

    After

    Chapter 33

    It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine.

    It¡¯s not fine

    ¡°Thank him for me. For everything.

 Chapter 34

    Chapter 34

    L

    Chapter <i>34</i>

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    Almost midnight, the air con coughs groggily, you¡¯d think a ce like this where I¡¯m sending at ton of dors that would pay more than ten of my men would have better service.

    But their services are shit, wee to the sad.

    reality of power.

    Something creaks to my right, heavy snores fill the entire room and I¡¯m appalled to look at the woman sleeping beside me mouth open, snores. as heavy as a lumberjack¡¯s power saw maiming

    the air.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    I breathe in.

    I hold it, releasing the tension once more.

    Day four of being in this room and it¡¯s almost as worse as sitting down and listening to my douche of a dead father teach me about love and

    weaknesses.

    The irony isn¡¯t lost on me when I recall my old man had no single bone of love in his body. Not for my mother, not for me and not for Kat.

    As for his weaknesses? The man died from a

    gunshot wound by a rival gang, Martinelli¡¯s gang to be precise.

    Chapter 34

    I¡¯m nursing a gun wound to the shoulder, still recuperating from a graze wound to the neck and a shrapnel wound to the other shoulder and my ass is still here.

    Alive and kicking.

    Guess I¡¯m not weak, old man.

    An innocent woman <b>in </b>a bed lies in front of me.

    Machines drowning in a sing¨Csong tune beep around me.

    Juana sleeps on the next couch snoring like a tranquilized moose, a loose nket covering her.

    I swing the bass in my hands, watching Millie sleep.

    Three days with her and we¡¯ve been visiting this hell hole to keep her motherpany.

    To remind her mother if she gives up on Millie. me and Millie are stuck like this.

    Together. Forever.

    Day five, Alexia Green still remains immobile on her bed. Like Sleeping Beauty with no one to give her a magical kiss back to the real world.

    I have a feeling kissing her wouldnd her in a deepera. That¡¯s how poisonous I am to her.

    Day six, Millie and I go shopping for new clothes but she cries all the way home.

    Chapter 34

    Juana gives her her bottle of milk but the little kid refuses it finally realizing I lied to her.

    Mommy isn¡¯ting home, is she?

    I almost see it in her little blue¨Cbrown eyes when

    we visit her mother.

    I¡¯d exin to the kid that mommy is sleeping and

    the surgery was a sess but along the way I¡¯m

    starting to think the docs have been bullshitting

    me too.

    Day seven has Kai Davenport visiting me and

    Millie with the news I¡¯ve been anticipating for a

    while.

    Millie ys with her squishy toy in my arms <b>as </b>Kai gives me a report of what finally went down.

    ¡°Trinity. They blurred the tes and tracking their minivan wasn¡¯t easy but we¡¯ve got them¡°,

    Kai reports.

    Maximo¡¯s eyes are on me before he chuckles, ¡°Didn¡¯t think the padre had it in him to issue an

    attack on you. He¡¯s your biggest follower, sarcasm

    intended.¡±

    ¡°He is¡°, I affirm.

    Trinity?

    Couldn¡¯t have seen thating.

    ¡°Not if someone gave him a seat at the highest food chain to eliminate you¡°, Kai suggests.

    3/5

    Setting

    15471

    Chapter 34

    Millie throws her toy, grabbing my huge thumb

    in her tiny hands.

    ¡°Dante¡°, I say.

    Dante Keaton.

    ¡°Bingo. The fucker is desperate to find his family and to be back on the streets. He¡¯d hire anyone just to get rid of you.¡±

    He¡¯s got guts, I give him that.

    Kai tips his head at me. ¡°See you in the next war, Vitello.¡±

    Then he leaves.

    It¡¯s me and Maximo left in my study and then at minuteter, my men filter in one by one.

    ¡°You did the background checks on the four

    assistants like I asked?¡±

    ¡°Yes boss¡°, Jett answers, ¡°Brenda Gibbins is the right choice. Suburban neighborhood, boring life, can blend in with people unnoticed. Perfect ce for them.¡±

    I look at the child.

    Giving her to Jett feels like giving an egg to <b>a </b>toddler. The chances of said toddler breaking it

    being high.

    ¡°You understand what you have to do?¡±

    I ask. Jett nods, ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±

    Chapter 34

    ¡°And when the nurse wakes up and asks?<b>¡±</b>

    ¡°You never visited, Boss.¡±

    Jett takes Millie, Jagger assists with the luggage.

    I feel the girls¡® absence in the silence that hits like. thunder.

    ¡°What now?¡± Maximo asks.

    I pour myself a ss of whiskey.

    ¡°I visit Trinity Chapel. I confess my sins to the

    padre.¡±

    I make sure the padre meets his maker.

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35

    Chapter 35

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    Click. Click. Click.

    The sound of my shoes against the vinyl¨Ctiled flooring echoes louder than the usual hubaloo of the congregation chanting Hail Marys to

    ount for their sins.

    Silence lurks in this holy ce but then again, it has ever been silent if my memory is not failing

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    One. Two. Three. Four steps in and I spot the small rusty brown booth stacked away by the corner and oh so near the altar to remind every sinner that stepped in that little chamber that not only was the priest listening but the Good Lord

    too.

    The ominous chants from the parishioners. burning incense by the altar don¡¯t fail to bring back old memories of Cat and I living in this ce after we left Italy.

    Why?

    My father might have been a cynic but like everyone in the Mafia world, the belief that a man¡¯s soul might have departed from him but the Lord would never depart from him was pretty

    Chapter 35

    much trusted by everyone.

    So at twenty with an eighteen year old girl. looking up to me for food and shelter in a foreign

    country, in a foreign city, the first sanctuary I thought of was church.

    Here.

    The very same ce I taught Catelina how to pray, how to hold the crucifix right, how to confess her sins, how to look up to Jesus because only Sweet Baby Jesus would save her from the cruelty of this world.

    Except this same church is the same one that held drugs and acted as a warehouse for every drug

    lord in Chicago.

    This same church is the same church I walked away from to start an empire that didn¡¯t hide behind religion or false words.

    My fingers drawl over the wood on the benches.

    Same benches I sat in looking up to God for answers while uttering seven Hail Mary¡¯s in a day.

    My feet drag themselves all the way down the

    hallway.

    Calm, definitely not spooked by the oldckluster paintings on the windows and ceiling because this building is a mockery to the cathedrals in Italy.

    I¡¯m no holy man but if the big man upstairs is

    watching and he definitely is, he will understand. He should understand what I¡¯m about to do.

    The smell of wax and herbs meant to wade off spirite draws me in like a bet to finger¨Clicking good honey

    The confession booth, my final destination lies

    I open the squeaky door on the confessor¡¯s side and blink. The smell of mold and the disgusting sour sweat of sinners crawls into my nose.

    Nostalgia hits me in the chest and not in the fun ¡®remember when we drank beer type of way.

    My legs used to dangle on this seat but right now I¡¯m squeezed like smi in an overcrowded fish market waiting for the real sinner to jump to his side of the booth.

    It doesn¡¯t take seconds for the padre to arrive.

    I spot his holy cap, his white clothes and his meaty neck from the wire grille dividing the priest and the confessors with a crucifix hung

    above it.

    He clears his throat, a sign that I should start telling the man who has never sinned, a portion of my sins and wait for his encouraging words that are bound to cleanse and heal my soul.

    The usual voodoo shit Father Giovanni is used to.

    Chapter 35

    I do the sign of the cross reciting, ¡°In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.¡±

    His chair creaks, and I see his eyes through the wire grille trying to confirm what is too obvious.

    ¡°S¨CSon¡°, his voice squeaks, recognition being an edge to his tone, ¡°How long has it been since yourst confession?¡±

    ¡°I think you are well aware, Father¡°, I y along to his bullshit.

    I see his meaty throat throb with nervousness and I cross my legs resting a hand on my knee.

    ¡°But if you must know, I have sinned Father. About to sin anyway. I can¡¯t help it; Father and the gods above can¡¯t penalize me for wanting to kill a man who drew gunfire on an unarmed man.

    God himself hates cowards, isn¡¯t that written. somewhere in the holy book? That cowards are.

    worse than murderers. And for this coward, well I

    have a special type of punishment in mind.

    Cut a limb, watch him bleed. Cut another limb,

    tie it up something tight to stop the bleeding

    before I yank another-.¡±

    ¡°You are not too far gone, son. There¡¯s still time. to repent and start anew.¡±

    I chuckle, knotting my fists before my facees. close to the wire grille that¡¯s separating the both

    of us.

    hapter 35

    ¡°Do you really want to do this, Uncle? Beat around the bush and pretend we both give a shit about confession?¡±

    ¡°Christian¡°. His bulging eyes meet mine across the chained metal<b>. </b>¡°We are still family.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that crap. We stopped being family the minute you wanted to sell Cat and me to the highest bidder. That was decades ago, I was a kid, I let that shit slide and we agreed, Uncle. Next time you double cross me, I¡¯ll spill your blood and smear it on your filthy followers for them to see.¡±

    My uncle starts shaking, his fat body squeaking against his seat, his sweat reeking all the way to where I¡¯m sitting.

    Filthy bastard.

    I can see why he was banished from Italy.

    Men like him don¡¯t know when to stop when ites to money, when ites to power.

    ¡°What did he promise you? Another church? A ticket back to Italy without you winding up dead?¡±

    ¡°I¨CI never wanted to. I¡¯d never betray family. Your war with him would leave the seat empty and as the next in line I needed help to get there-.¡±

    ¡°Next in line? Giovanni you are a fat lousy son of a gun who betrayed the family, whether I¡¯m dead

    Chapter 35

    or not the Cosa Nostra seat would never fall into your hands. Not in this life it wouldn¡¯t and certainly not by Dante Keaton¡¯s fucking help.¡±

    ¡°Any more sins, I gotta hear about Father?¡±

    ¡°Christian, my boy. You are kinder than your father, surely you would not end me, we are family, boy¡°, he slips in that Italian ent that will help remind me of my roots.

    I have never been one to care about my roots. Not with the kind of father, I had anyway.

    Wearing my gloves, pulling out the gun from its holster, I sneak in the nozzle through the wires with a clear aim that¡¯s straight through his brains.

    If he moves, I¡¯ll still shoot. The ce is small enough to ensure the bullets reach him.

    If he begs, cries, <b>I </b>still shoot. No leeway. No way

    out of this.

    ¡°Want to know the craziest thing, Uncle? If you would have shot at me, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation. You¡¯d be alive and kicking probably balls deep in the whores you fuck on the altar but you didn¡¯t shoot me, Giovanni.

    You shot at what¡¯s mine and you know the code. No one fucks what¡¯s mine except me.¡±

    One bullet, Straight through his head.

    Blood smears his side of the booth.

    Chapter 35

    I put back my silencer in its resting ce and walk out of the booth a guiltless man.

    No one heard the shots.

    His body will be rotting in there before anyone goes to confession.

    The padre is dead. My work here is done.

    Time to check up on Sunshine.

    Sunshine¡¯s hair flies with the wind and not even

    the ear muffs on her head can tame that unruly hair in ce.

    Her smile makes the sunset behind her look

    better inparison to the rest of the days as she waves goodbye to her colleagues with the only working hand she has at the moment.

    Seeing her is enough to want to turn my car around but a certain punk in scrubs has me staying put.

    Boyish smile, a little taller than her with chestnut brown hair, the man whispers something in her ear and she giggles before handing him her keys.

    He closes up the clinic for her.

    What a gentleman, all fucking sarcasm intended.

    My phone is already by my ear..

    ¡°That man you

    hired <b>as </b>one of her cuts.

    Chapter 351

    What¡¯s his name?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡±

    ¡°Un¨Chire him.¡±Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    ¡°Can¡¯t do that. The nurse likes him and Xavier

    came in handy with the Demetri situation.¡±

    A six¨Cyear¨Cold could pick up a phone and call me

    telling me Russian bad men were in a clinic.

    This Xander guy wasn¡¯t just as receable.

    ¡°Fire him, hire a woman instead.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to hang up now, Volkov. Want to fire him, how about starting that conversation with

    your nurse?¡±

    He hangs up.

    The Xander guy is already walking the nurse. down the street with a smug smirk by the time I spot them again.

 Chapter 36

    Chapter 36

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    ¡°He¡¯s hot just so you know. I think he likes you¡°, Bree¡¯s eyes turn dreamy as she hands me our dinner.

    A few days in her apartment and I¡¯m starting to feel a bit normal. A bit happy too if I am being honest.

    The ¡®he¡® she¡¯s referring to is Xavier, another one

    of my assistants from my four assistants.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about him.¡±

    Actually, I do.

    He¡¯s from Texas and disappointinglycks that southern twang most gentlemen from Texas

    have.

    He practiced nursing a bit in Michigan before he got this gig. He¡¯s single, lives with his mother who he seems to love a tad too much to let her live

    alone.

    And that¡¯s it.

    His information alone is enough to make me want to stay away from him.

    He¡¯s a good guy. I¡¯m good but trouble follows me like lice on unwashed hair. I can¡¯t do that to him.

    This chapter is unlocked. Enjoy reading!

    Chapter 36

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know anything about me either and we are besties now¡°, Brenda nudges.

    I sigh taking a bite of my cheesy pasta that has a side of peso sauce.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your boyfriend by the way. Sorry, I kinda drove him out of here.¡±

    Bree picks at her food before she hides the pain

    away.

    ¡°Honestly, I think you moving in is the best thing that <b>has </b>happened to me so far. Victor stormed <b>off </b>right after that Jett guy threatened him. He didn¡¯t have a job and he slept on the couch most of the time. Sucks to even say this but he was just using me for <b>my </b>money.¡±

    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ve had my fair share of douche exes too.¡±

    ¡°You mean Millie¡¯s dad? Christian Volkov?¡±

    I almost choke on the cheese and the pasta.

    ¡°He¡¯s not the dad.¡±

    He¡¯s not my anything.

    ¡°Sorry. Oh God, sorry. I just thought he¡¯s paying my sry and paying me extra to house you and Millie so I thought he was your baby daddy or something.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think he likes children. Frankly speaking. I think he¡¯d rather have a vasectomy than put a

    L

    Chapter 26

    child in a woman. He¡¯s just my boss, just like he¡¯s your boss.¡±

    I would dive more into my ex owes him some money so he kidnapped me to repay the debt or he fucked me halfway then kicked me out his house the next thing but I won¡¯t

    I won¡¯t let myself think about the monster sleeping in his huge <b>mansion </b>like a baby because Millie and I are out of <b>his </b>house for good.

    Nope. No <b>thinking </b>about <b>him</b><b>.</b>

    Or the inch of his dick that was <b>in </b>me that stretched me out too well giving me pain and pleasure till <b>I </b>bled.

    Nope, definitely not thinking about him and his

    monster of a dick.

    ¡°Ooh ok. Is it true that he¡¯s some sort of gangster

    behind closed doors? That he is not as clean as his

    business partner Kai Davenport?

    ¡°Gangster, maybe. <b>His </b>business partner? I don¡¯t know any Davenport.¡±

    But I¡¯ve heard of the name Davenport

    somewhere.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know any Davenport? He¡¯s like the most sought out bachelor in-.¡±

    The doorbell rings loud, a secondter Millie¡¯s sobs filter into the <i>air </i>and I abandon my pasta

    Chapter 36

    child in a woman. He¡¯s just my boss, just like he¡¯s your boss.¡±

    I would dive more into ¡®my ex owes him some money so he kidnapped me to repay the debt¡® or he fucked me halfway then kicked me out his house the next thing¡® but I won¡¯t.

    I won¡¯t let myself think about the monster sleeping in his huge mansion like a baby because Millie and I are out of his house for good.

    Nope. No thinking about him.

    Or the inch of his dick that was in me that stretched me out too well giving me pain and pleasure till I bled.

    Nope, definitely not thinking about him and his.

    monster of a dick.

    ¡°Ooh ok. Is it true that he¡¯s some sort of gangster behind closed doors? That he is not as clean as his

    business partner Kai Davenport?¡±

    ¡°Gangster, maybe. His business partner? I don¡¯t know any Davenport.¡±

    But I¡¯ve heard of the name Davenport.

    somewhere.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know any Davenport? He¡¯s like the most sought out bachelor in-.¡±

    The doorbell rings loud, a secondter Millie¡¯s sobs filter into the air and I abandon my pasta.

    Chapter 36

    rushing to my room.

    She¡¯s been crying a lot more since we started living at Bree¡¯s.

    My only hope is that the new environment is the only thing affecting her and nothing more.

    I want to hold her but I can¡¯t hold her with one

    arm while the other one is in a sling.

    Bree has been helping me hold her but right now she¡¯s probably entertaining her guest.

    ¡°Hey, baby. The doorbell startled you? Don¡¯t worry, it startled me too. You hungry? Can¡¯t be, Bree said she changed your diaper when I was away at work. Want your toy?<i>¡±</i>

    I wiggle the Winnie the Pooh squishy in her face but she sobs harder.

    ¡°Come on, Mills. Don¡¯t be like that to mommy. You know I hate it when you cry, baby.¡±

    I caress her cheek with my thumb, her big blue eyes stare at me and sparkle before she takes my thumb and sucks it.

    Okay, she¡¯s definitely hungry.

    My boobs are heavy too. I can pump out some milk for her or breastfeed her on the bed but I need help getting her in my arms.

    ¡°One minute, okay? One minute then mommy is

    all yours.¡±

    Chapter <b>36</b>

    I pull away from my baby giving her a flying kiss. before I walk out of the room heading to the living room.

    My feet barely see Brenda¡¯s visitor when I smell his scent in the air.

    ¡°No¡°, I murmur.

    Christian Volkov stands in the living room, all muscle, all ck suit, all scowl on his face as hist

    eyes graze over the miniature furniture and his eyes¡­brown swirling with dark colors in there,nd on me.

    The room feels like a mouse trap choking my windpipe.

    His presence here suffocates me and wrings my lungs of air.

    I remember him and that night.

    I remember the hospital and how he didn¡¯t visit.

    A vast pit of distaste digs miles and miles into my

    heart.

    ¡°I think we ran out of sugar. I¡¯m gonna get sugar from the store¡°, Bree says nervously before she

    grabs her coat and dashes out.

    I almost remind her that we all can see the sugar in the jar on top of the kitchen ind from where we are standing and that it¡¯s almost toote for a night to go to the store, but my lips don¡¯t move.

    Chapter 36

    ¡°Little Nurse¡°, Vicious¡® voicees out all gravel, all hard and panty dropping.

    He takes a step towards me and I take one back.

    ¡°Don¡¯te any closer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna bite.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Checking on things.¡±

    ¡°Well, you checked, now get the fuck out!¡±

    His nostrils re with astonishment. I¡¯ll take the bunny slippers from my feet and kick him out with them if I have to..

    ¡°Your anger tantrums are usually cute but I¡¯ve had a long day and they are starting to piss me off, Sunshine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve had a long day? Aww Daddy Vicious had at long day and he wants kisses to his boo¨Cboos? I got freaking shot and you didn¡¯t¡­you.

    just¡­.abandoned me in that hospital! You didn¡¯t

    visit me.¡±

    His eyes linger on me, tracing my nose, falling to my lips before his eyes are back on me.

    I¡¯m being held by my strength and my strength

    only when he looks at me like that.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have healed you.¡±

    I took a bullet for you.

    Chapter in

    ¡°Ind you want me theyer

    ¡°So, after that made I don¡¯t we you

    §å§Ý§Ú§ß §Ý§Ú§ã§Ñ§Ü §Õ§Ú

    You probably made the right decision facing me

    and Millic out like a bunch of grays and ca thank you enough, View

    He moves lik

    One minute with him bring away from me, the next minute with him being so close to me I have terrater my head for our eyes to .

    ¡°How¡¯s your shouldere

    ¡°still in pain, don¡¯t we like you care?

    ¡°I won¡¯t. How¡¯s your pay

    him

    I raise my hand to dep bien but he catches it in

    time.

    ¡°I only ask because you cred the night. I can ?t heal your shoulder but I can heal your pussy, Little Nurse¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    Let go of me.

    Get out.

    Instead, I ask, ¡°How? Are you some magical

    Barbie of some vort?¡±

    ¡°Then get out and don¡¯t let the door p you on

    the way out¡±

    Chapter 36

    He pulls me by my wris, his lips grote my ear then his voice shivers my timbers

    ¡°But I¡¯d kiss that pussy again to erase the pain.¡±

    Chapter 36

    He pulls me by my wrist, his lips graze my ear then his voice shivers my timbers.

    ¡°But I¡¯d kiss that pussy again to erase the pain.¡±

 Chapter 37

    Chapter <b>37</b>

    CHRISTIAN ¡®VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    ¡°The padre died of a heart attack, that¡¯s the official report¡°, Maximo informs me as we lean against the silhouette of my car taking in the dump that is the southside of Chicago.

    This ce isn¡¯t just cold but crime reeks faster than the stench building up in my nostrils.

    And that stench is garbage alright.

    ¡°What do you think is happening in there? You think they killed the kid¡°, humorces his voice faster than the annoyance festering in my veins. like potent poison.

    Getting rejected is one thing but being denied sex

    hits harder.

    ¡®But I¡¯d kiss that pussy again to erase the pain.¡±

    ¡®No, thank you. Now get out.¡±

    Not that I haven¡¯t tried getting sex elsewhere but two steps breathing in another woman¡¯s direction and my dick falls t,nguishing in

    dissatisfaction and grief.

    I don¡¯t give two shits about whatever her deal

    with Demetri was. After the near¨Cdeath scare, I

    don¡¯t think I give two shits if she¡¯s plotting my

    1/1

    15

    Chapter 37

    death or not.

    That¡¯s how crazy I am for pussy.

    Add in her fucking scent that hits me every two seconds reminding me she kicked me out.

    Told me not to show my face in case it was an

    emergency.

    I couldn¡¯t touch the child either or hold her till

    she stopped crying.

    Fuck.

    I gaze at the metallic makeshift trailer home

    ahead of us and shake my head.

    This neighborhood is worse than any of the ces I¡¯ve visited. And in my line of work, I¡¯ve visited many.

    But Guepos? Guepos puts the sh in shit.

    ¡°No. Troy wouldn¡¯t kill him before talking to me¡°,

    I quip before two men appear from inside the trailer with rifles bidding us that their boss wants

    to see us.

    ¡°Fucking amateurs¡°, Maximo murmurs as we both stand to our feet moving.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, don¡¯t do anything crazy.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do crazy? You¡¯ve been doing things out of

    protocol since the nurse and the kid left. If

    anyone¡¯s trigger happy, it¡¯s you, Volkov.<b>¡±</b>

    Chapter 37

    ¡°Troy isn¡¯t worth it.¡±

    ¡°Killing the padre in front of witnesses wasn¡¯t worth it either. Let¡¯s get the kid.¡±

    The trailer¨Cbus¨Cturned¨Chouse looks like the regr beat¨Cdown houses you see around junkyards.

    The living room is squeezed in but Troy Sullivan and his men make it seem like eight men including us isn¡¯t a crowd.

    Troy, the son of a gun, is licking grease off his fingers, his meal being the boneless chicken syed on top of the coffee table.

    Some chick sits on hisp all scared and

    trembling and the kid we came to rescue is on the

    floor beaten ck and blue with wrists chained

    together by rope.

    ¡°Vic, Vic, my man. I had a feeling you¡¯d show up¡°.

    Troy starts.

    Maximo and I prefer to stand instead of sitting on

    the unsanitized couches behind us.

    ¡°You threatened to kill one of my men if I didn¡¯t show up so here I am Troy. Speak your terms<b>.</b>¡±

    Years of being raised in this dump and this man not only has an unfiltered mouth but also an unhinged mind that would rattle whoever <b>came </b>up with building the atomic bomb.

    Chapter 37

    Troy Sullivan is a genius but the type of wacko

    man who doesn¡¯t know who his friends are and

    who his enemies are.

    Any other person and Troy, would have killed

    them.

    But me? I¡¯d destroy him in an instant.

    He knows that, I know that. This whole meeting is

    a waste of time<b>.</b>

    ¡°Nah, Vicious. I¡¯m one of your men too but this¡­.this kid doesn¡¯t get to walk out here alive. He

    broke the code.¡±C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    I look at the man on the floor.

    His right eye is closed shut, his lip is busted and his whole demeanor screams ¡®I¡¯m pissing my

    pants off.

    Days of training and the kid is a disgrace to be

    called one of ours.

    But he¡¯s new and way too young to die in this

    ce.

    ¡°What code?¡±

    Troy grins, looks at the littledy in his arms and barks, ¡°He touched my sister. You know we don¡¯t

    do that around here. No one touches my sister, no one especially from your side of the walles here and takes what isn¡¯t his.¡±

    ¡°Jesus Christ, Jude. Troy Sullivan¡¯s sister? Do you

    Chapter 37

    have a fucking death wish?¡± Maximo asks Jude.

    I look at Jude and feel like grilling his balls for making me be here tonight over his balls being deep in Sullivan¡¯s sister.

    ¡°I¨CI didn¡¯t know. S¨Cshe was at the bar and we hit it

    off. One thing led to another and-.¡±

    ¡°What did you say, boy?¡± Troy grows on edge.

    He draws his firearm out.

    The sister that was in his arms minutes ago falls

    to the couch as Troy points his gun¡¯s nozzle on Jude¡¯s head.

    ¡°You saying my sister seduced you or something? Are you saying my sister went to Vicious¡® club without my permission? Is that what you saying?

    ¡°No. No. I mean yes. I mean she wasn¡¯t¡­she was.¡±

    I¡¯ll murder this kid myself.

    ¡°Put the gun away, Troy¡°, I encourage, Troy¡¯s finger looms over the trigger.

    ¡°Nah, Vic. You are here to take this punk¡¯s dead body and bury it. That¡¯s the courtesy I owe you.¡±

    ¡°Please¡­don¡¯t¡°, Jude whimpers, I groan into the

    night.

    ¡°Quit the crying, you are not going to die. Not yet at least¡°, Maximo fires.

    Jude¡¯s eyes are on me.

    Chapter 37

    ¡°You kill him and whatever business I have with

    you runs into the mud. Guepos is a small division

    in my grasp. You are as easily receable as the cups in my kitchen, Troy.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t rece me. I¡¯m the best you got.¡±

    In Guepos? Yeah, he is. In therger picture that¡¯s Chicago? No, he is not.

    ¡°The interesting thing about cups is they are all

    the same and they do the same work too¡°, I turn

    my direction to the woman on the couch, squatting on the ground to get her to focus on me and not her brother,¡± You know what your brother does for me, don¡¯t you?¡±

    She nods.

    ¡°You know the rules, <b>you </b>know the ins and outs and you know how much of a cut I get and your

    brother gets, don¡¯t you?¡±

    She nods.

    I turn to Troy, ¡°See? Just as receable.¡±

    ¡°He touched my sister¡°, Troy grits.

    ¡°Your sister seems fine to me. Did Jude force you

    to do anything?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t. I like him-.¡±

    ¡°No you don¡¯t, Glynn. No you don¡¯t!¡±

    Troy looks like he¡¯s about to burst into a st of

    Chapter 37

    tantrums and it¡¯s only seven pm.

    ¡°Let my man go, let¡¯s call this a night or else I¡¯ll let Maximo handle this and you know how my enforcer handles things, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Maximo will torture him and his band of yahoos that are holding the rifles like kids from an apocalyptic bad tv movie.

    Troy backs off from Jude.

    I step forward and grab Jude from the floor by the shoulder helping him up.

    ¡°You broke my man¡¯s nose, Troy. Not giving you something back wouldn¡¯t live up to my name.¡±

    ¡°I just let him go. He touched my sister and-¡°.

    The sound of bone cracking fills the air.

    Troy drops to the floor with one punch from

    Maximo.

    Troy¡¯s passed out. Our business here is done.

    ¡°T¨CThanks boss.¡±

    ¡°On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you need to go to the hospital?¡±

    ¡°Boss I¡¯m fine, just a little bruise here and there

    that can¡¯t be-¡±

    ¡°You are gravely injured. You need a nurse.¡±

    ¡°Boss really I¡¯m fi-.¡±

    Chapter 37

    ¡°You are seeing the nurse, you little piece of shit, for dragging me all across town to get you out!¡±

    ¡°O¨COf course, boss.¡±

    Jude upies the back seat.¡±

    I hop into the bloody car pissed off than I was when we got here.

    Maximo starts the engine but not before he says, ¡°Your obsession with the nurse is going to get us all killed, won¡¯t it Volkov?¡±

    It might.

    My dick¡¯s already dying.

    My sanity is hanging by a thread.

    Her blue eyes avoid mine as she attends to Jude¡¯s

    bruised lips and possible cuts on his brows.

    ¡°What did we say about fights?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately the fight came to me this time around, doc. I swear¡°, she rubs what looks like. cotton swabs on Jude¡¯s lips and he winces.

    She blows on it.

    She blows on his miniature wounds like he is a

    kid.

    ¡°Did the same person beat you up this time.

    around?¡±

    Chapter 37

    What person?

    How long has Jude beening here to the clinic?

    Last time this kid got hurt, beat him

    and cut

    his torso with the same knife he was supposed to attack me with.

    ¡°No. I got into a mess, boss got me out of that mess¡°, Jude says something that¡¯s at least earning him brownie points with me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll prescribe this for the pain and as for the eye, a good ole ice pack out to reduce the swelling.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Lex.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you here again, Jude. No more fights, I¡¯m serious.¡±

    ¡°No more fights.¡±

    Jude stands up, I take a few dors from my wallet shoving it in his chest.

    ¡°Get a cab. Go sleep like a baby this week because

    next week, work just doubled up for you, kid¡°, I

    whisper, the kid takes my money exiting the

    other way.

    It¡¯s just me and her now.

    Her back to me as she discards everything she

    used to clean the kid¡¯s wounds and my feet pushing me towards her.

    Chapter 37

    She¡¯s in scrubs. I bet she¡¯d look better with nothing on.

    ¡°You are not going to speak to me, Little Nurse?¡±

    ¡°You are not a patient, I¡¯m not obligated to speak to you except to render my services if you need them.¡±

    Damn, firecracker and her lying mouth.

    The sexual tension between us is off the charts.

    I¡¯d tell her I visited her when she was in the hospital, I¡¯d tell her I¡¯m dying going home because she is not there in the first ce but I¡¯m not that kind of man.

    The kind of man for sentiments or what men call

    love.

    I¡¯d never love her.

    What I¡¯d do because my dick couldn¡¯t get the memo however was fuck her and move on.

    I take the scissors by the counter. The clean ones at least, running the edge of the de on my

    palm.

    ¡°What about now?¡±

    She turns around, her face goes pale at my bloody palm before she starts doing what she¡¯s

    good at.

    Fixing the broken.

    Chapter 37

    ¡°W¨Cwhy would you do that? You are bleeding. those scissors might not have been sterilized-.¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t speak if I wasn¡¯t your patient. I¡¯m your patient, speak to me.¡±

    ¡°You are crazy.

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°I hate you.¡±

    ¡°You should.¡±

    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±

    She dabs an antiseptic soaked stuff on my hand

    and I wince, the small wound stinging.

    ¡°I need a distraction. A distraction from the pain.

    From hurting you¡±

    She¡¯s the only one who can hurt me and I won¡¯t react. She doesn¡¯t know that yet.

    I don¡¯t need a distraction.

    She¡¯s five feet hell of a distraction.

    ¡°Ooh I almost forgot but if you hurt me, I will

    in the first ce. Fine¡­umm a distraction.

    Lemme think.¡±

    Lemme touch your tits. One time. Maybe ten times to remember the feel of them?

    ¡°Oh, I know. A joke.¡±

    Chapter 37

    Stab me in the heart with those scissors right.

    now.

    ¡°What do you call a three humped camel?¡±

    I¡¯m starting to hate camels.

    ¡°What?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Pregnant!¡±

    She chuckles, doing whatever it is she¡¯s doing to

    my wound.

    I wonder if she¡¯s gonna blow it.

    ¡°Tell me another one.¡±

    Her eyestch onto mine and in slow motion she pushes her chair back and steps away from me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to. You¡¯re all patched up, boss. Now, get out and God so help me if you think of stabbing yourself with those scissors I will leave you to bleed to death.¡±

    I look around. Everyone¡¯s gone for the night.

    ¡°Who¡¯s driving you home?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern.¡±

 Chapter 38

    <b>Chapter </b><b>38</b>

    ALEXIA GREEN.

    Today was cool.

    I got to hang out with Millie, walked in the park while my assistants; Brenda, La, Xavier and Wes covered for me at the clinic.

    They all know Christian Volkov and the men that work for him and if any manes in with a wound or something serious, they are not supposed to question anything but just do their job.

    By the time I got back, a lot had to be done like signing over thetest inventory, treating Volkov¡¯s

    men who had a rather violent fight down at the

    bar the whole process included taking out broken pieces of sses from a man¡¯s hand.

    By six, everyone was beat and I offered to close

    up with Millie going home with Brenda.

    Looking back now maybe I should have closed up and gone with Brenda too.

    But I¡¯m not going to lie, evening walks all by myself have been normal¨Cish or as normal as a woman would feel working in an illegal ce that looks legal to the outside world.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you home.¡±

    1/10

    Setting

    15:84

    Chapter 38

    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere with you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn.

    ¡°Don¡¯t force me to do things I don¡¯t want to in the

    first ce.

    ¡°Maximo is driving you home then.¡±

    That was minutes ago.

    A few minutes ago a giant of a man cut his palm with scissors because I didn¡¯t want to talk to him

    and left this clinic leaving with a tiny fragment of my heart with him.

    I despise him.

    Yet I miss him.

    I can¡¯t shake him off.

    Yet I don¡¯t want him too far away.

    What sort of Stockholm syndrome is this?

    What is happening to me?

    I¡¯m in the middle of cleaning everything up when

    the main door to the clinic buzzes.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    My hopes rise above my conflicting emotions.

    Is Volkov back?

    I¡¯ll send him away.

    Yeah, I¡¯ll do that.

    It¡¯s not like I want to talk to him or generally do

    Chapter 38

    anything else with him for that matter.

    I¡¯m already up from my desk. walking sh running slightly down the hall to the door.

    My hand shakes as I pull the tinted ss door

    open.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡­you? What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Can wee in?¡±

    No.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Her perfume smells like cherry blossoms and something Dior. Demetri who is behind her smells like sandalwood and leather.

    She removes her coat and her NYU cap that¡¯s really doing nothing to hide her face.

    Demetri is wearing regr old jeans, ck tee and the asional leather jacket.

    He doesn¡¯t seem happy.

    He¡¯s never happy but tonight it¡¯s extra.

    ¡°You should not be here!¡± I whisper shout.

    Malyshka¡­no¡­.Kat steps forward taking my hands

    in hers.

    ¡°I heard you were shot, Demetri and I couldn¡¯t get to the hospital because my brother had his men all over the ce<b>.</b>¡±

    Chapter 38

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    What should I say to that?

    Gee, thanks because you wanted to visit me while your brother never even tried stepping foot in my hospital room?

    Ooh and your brother might be a few minutes near here and he could see you and kill me for thinking I¡¯m working for your Russian fianc¨¦ or whatever?

    ¡°We were worried. I had to make sure you were okay. Are you fine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Kat better than fine but you really shouldn¡¯t be here, do you understand? Your brother was here? What if he decides to turn around ande back here? Maximo is also waiting for me outside if he-.¡±

    Her eyes dte, her smile wobbles.

    ¡°Max is¡­is here?¡±

    ¡°Malyshka¡°, Demetri warns, ing here was a

    bad idea as it is. Engaging Di Marco right now is worse than bad, it¡¯s suicide.¡±

    ¡°Can I see him?¡±

    What the¡­

    ¡°Can you call him here?¡±

    Tears spring from her eyes, I look at Demetri, he

    Chapter 38

    replies back with, ¡°Do not call him or I will burn you and everything else in here.¡±

    I thought my clinic was a safe haven.

    Turns out the Volkov siblings n on tainting this ce with blood.

    Their blood? My blood? I have a feeling it will be both.

    He¡¯s smoking a cigarette in the dark.

    Heavy army boots, ck leather jacket, a buzz cut that screams mercenary and military trained, Maximo DiMarco is the epitome of viiny.

    He looks like a viin, he talks like a viin and he works for the biggest viin, Christian Volkov.

    I¡¯m signing my death certificate for even doing.

    this.

    ¡°You like to smoke a lot?¡± I ask him.

    He stops leaning on his car, standing upright to

    face me.

    How did he not see theme in if he was

    parked across the street from my clinic?

    Or was he here having a smoke and recounting

    the people he has ended? Probably zoning out on how thrilling it is to be Christian Volkov¡¯s

    right¨Chand man.

    Chapter 38

    ¡°Are you ready to leave? I don¡¯t see your bag with you.¡±

    ¡°No, yes, I mean I thought we would chat a bit.¡±

    ¡°Is something wrong with your child?¡±

    ¡°What? No.¡±

    I¡¯d offer to babysit if you want.¡±

    1 pause.

    You want to babysit? I thought you guys hated children.¡±

    ¡°Millie is a special kid.¡±

    ¡°How <b>so</b>?¡±

    ¡°She likes tattoos<b>.</b>¡±

    My baby does not.

    ¡°No she doesn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Get your bag, close the clinic, it¡¯s getting a littlete.

    ¡°About that¡­¡± I swallow saliva and feel like it¡¯s

    choking <b>me</b><b>. </b>¡°Well¡­I just need you to likee

    with me back to the clinic for a¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    His voice is final.

    He¡¯s already starting to move toward the driver¡¯s side of the car when I speak out loud, ¡°I think.

    there¡¯s a mouse in my clinic!¡±

    Chapter 38

    ¡°A mouse?¡± He asks incredulously.

    Yeah, a mouse is better than the Russian man and

    his girlfriend who you supposedly think is dead.

    ¡°Yeah. I have a phobia of mouses¡­.I mean mice. Can¡¯t you juste and kill it so I can get my bag?¡±

    He sighs before he crosses the road. legs fast and heads to my clinic.

    I follow behind with sweaty palms.

    They are going to kill each other.

    This is a terrible idea.

    Maximo opens the door.

    Catelina doesn¡¯t give him time to breathe because there she is, standing at the reception, gorgeous brown eyes, brown hair, perfection written in her clothes even though a single tear falls from her eyes when she whispers.

    ¡°Maximo.¡±

    Maximo doesn¡¯t move.

    He stills before he does the one thing I thought

    would be thest resort for him.

    He takes out his gun like a maniac pointing it at

    Cat who¡¯s standing a few feet from him.

    It doesn¡¯t get better when Demetri shows

    himself.

    Chapter 38

    ¡°Malyshka¡°, it¡¯s a call for warning

    Get Maximo under control or I kill him for

    pointing a gun at you.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, she hushes.

    Maximo¡¯s finger is on the trigger.

    Cat starts moving towards the gun.

    ¡°Max? It¡¯s me. remember?

    ¡°Bullshit¡°. Maximo voices, raw emotion in his

    veins.

    God. help us all because I think Demetri wants to take out his gun too.

    ¡°Remember when you found me under that fountain at your mom¡¯s party? I was five, you were ten and you told me pretty girls shouldn¡¯t

    have wounds on their hands.

    When you were twelve and your father..he cut

    you, i¨CI hid you in my room and you said a pretty thing like me shouldn¡¯t sob for something broken like you. When I was¡­ when you followed

    us to America, you said home wasn¡¯t the same

    without me. home was where I was because I

    was-.¡±

    ¡°Trouble¡°, Maximo¡¯s harsh tone splices the air, ¡°My kind of trouble.¡±

    She only takes a few steps in our direction before Maximo meets her halfway grabbing her whole

    670

    Setting

    Chapter 38

    life form and smashing it with his body.

    They embrace like lost lovers in a maze having

    found each other.

    ¡°H¨CHow? How?¡±

    He asks.

    But you feel it in his voice.

    The emotion, the longing, the feeling of a maning back alive.

    ¡°A miracle. I¨CI¡¯ve missed you. I¡¯m here, I¡¯m

    here.¡±

    ¡°Alive. Alive? You. Are. Alive?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m-.¡±

    Maximo wraps his hands around her mping his lips with hers, kissing her like he believes he is in

    a dream.

    Demetri watches. He¡¯s pissed but you can see it in his eyes. He¡¯s happy for her. Happy for them.

    ¡°Demetri saved me that night¡°, Cat whispers, her hand reaching out to Demetri who dly takes it.

    ¡°Saved you how Catelina? We saw your body, your brother he¨Che¡­¡±

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s a long story and I want to exin it

    all to you.¡±

    ¡°Get your hands off her¡°, Maximo growls.

    Chapter 38

    Demetri thunders back, ¡°I have every right to hold my fianc¨¦ the way I see fit.¡±

    ¡°Fianc¨¦?¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey! No one is starting a fight here. Demetri is her fianc¨¦; apparently you love her as well Maximo and she loves the both of you. Solve your problems elsewhere the more we stay here, the more scared I am of Volkov showing up.¡±

    The more scared I am that he will hate me for

    keeping his sister a secret.

    !

 Chapter 39

    Chapter 39

    Chapter 39C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    CHRISTIAN VICIOUS¡® VOLKOV.

    ¡°I visited her by the clinic today, she and Millie look happy. The young man was also kind in helping me-,¡±

    ¡°What young man?¡±

    I ask Juana, putting the documents down first and taking a swig of my whiskey.

    ¡°The dashing nurse. Xavier, I think. He¡¯s at sweetheart in helping people around¡±

    I bet he fucking is.

    He probably licks the floors clean too for the

    Little Nurse.

    ¡°Vicious?¡±

    ¡°You can go to sleep; I don¡¯t need anything else.¡±

    I nce back at the documents.

    And in all honesty, I can¡¯t see shit and that¡¯s not the alcohol talking but a whole lot of crap

    vas

    happening in my body as I imagine some punk

    nurse¨Cman getting cozy with the sunshine.

    blonde.

    My sunshine blonde.

    ¡°Vicious? If I may?¡±

    thena Pallis

 Chapter 40

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    Era il mio principe oscuro.

    He was my dark prince.

    Forged in the darkness, meant to stem evil around him, meant to pretend he was someone else underneath a false sense of duty and obligation but I knew him.

    I was his light in the darkness, I loved his evil, I knew the prince lurking beneath all that armor.

    The prince who once talked to me and made me feel I was worthy.

    I was pretty.

    I was powerful.

    Mio principe wiped my tears at the age of ten when my mother had one of her panic attacks at hervish parties andshed out at me.

    Mio principe held me and listened to me tattle about my miserable life.

    My prince looked me in the eyes and told me, ¡°You are a principessa. Don¡¯t let anyone treat you otherwise.¡±

    Fate and his past had separated us but a love that

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    was forged and written in the skies couldn¡¯t be

    erased.

    Destiny worked.

    I believed in destiny.

    I believed in myself.

    Just like Christian Vitello had once told me; I was a princess and a princess got everything she wanted including his heart.

    ¡°Silencio!¡±

    Agra Pallis, my mama, CEO of Pallis Motors and the head of the Five Mafioso Families ps her hand on the thirty¨Ctwo¨Cseat conference table.

    At the age of forty¨Cfive and with a face that didn¡¯t seem to age. Agra Pallis was a force to be

    reckoned with.

    Imbued with a tongue that would rival the gods. themselves, a witty mind that wasn¡¯t passed down to me in any way and a short¨Ccircuited temper, Agra was the epitome of perfection.

    The epitome of my imperfections.

    The epitome of the stinging jealousy that stung my heart when she mentioned my dead sister who she wished would be heir to the Pallis family

    instead of me.

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    She didn¡¯t tell me that herself.

    No, Agra had a way of kicking me to the curb by smothering me with love and expectations. and I sat and followed Mama because she was the queen in this chess game.

    I was the rook meant to be tossed around.

    ¡°Moretti betrayed us all by starting a war and leaving us in debt. Yet we expect his son to take the reins and damn us all to hell? His son will ruin us to the mud¡°, Ginno La Monda, the

    sixty¨Cyear¨Cold who owns La Monda winery speaks up, the worry lines on his forehead not being a match to mama¡¯s scowl.

    ¡°What do you propose, Ginno?¡± Mama asks.

    Ginno rubs his bulging pot belly giving everyone a peek at his newest Versace suit from the new clothing line Versace justunched and a Philip Patek watch on his wrist.

    ¡°We deny him the seat.¡±

    ¡°You want us to go to war? Moretti Vitello was a fuckup but his grandfather started all this, the Cosa Nostra is his birthright. The boy deserves a chance.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too much of a prude Agra, that¡¯s not your style. When Moretti damned us all you took the reins, you were ready to be heir. Damn it, you are the one keeping us afloat. But we are getting

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    too old for this, let our children take the throne.¡±

    He looks at his son. Ginno La Monda Jr.

    And I know Junior, we have attended balls together and he is not a good enough mafia don.

    He is no prince.

    He is no Vitello..

    Mama chuckles ridiculing Ginno where he stands. the other families chuckle too, ¡°Are you

    proposing we hand the seat to your son?¡±

    ¡°He is more than capable of-.¡±

    ¡°Your son couldn¡¯t hold a candle to what Christian Vitello Volkov has done in Chicago. While your son stays and eats like a pig in Daddy¡¯s overpriced mansion, Christian Vitello has built an empire with no money and no resources but his wits.

    He lost a family member and he is still going on strong. How many of us have stood strong after we lost people we cared about?

    I lost my daughter when she was four and I have never been the same. You lost your wife, La Monda, and you¡¯ve been balls deep in mistresses ever since. Basilio? Domenico? Can you all

    Basilio Agrusa and his family all nod their heads.

    Special Chapter 40 Athena P

    with a ¡®no

    Domenico Albano yas my mother in her wee

    Ginno La Monda looks like he¡¯s to g vein, ¡°Then what do you wongrat He hand kiw the seat we¡¯ve worked hard to traddle since bais father ruined in

    ¡°He agreed to our terms a year app den de reached out. He agreed to im has been

    under our terms.¡±

    Ginnoughs, his meaty hands depping the tas table again, ¡°Which one of us could hand ov daughter to the bruter Huh, Age? 1 kid you not the boy will want revenge for his father, he will run us to the grounds and I will not cover my bloodline with Moretti blood

    He might be a brute but Chrin Vitello hash

    own way of processing things

    None of these people know him.

    Not like I know him.

    Clutching my Brunello Cucinelli handbag straightening the La Pe minidress I have on, I speak <b>up</b>.

    ¡°I will marry <b>him</b><b>. </b><b>I¡¯ll </b>marry Christian Vitello ¡°

    Mama¡¯s sharp eyes are the first ones to shoot me down and before she can scold me for speaking

    out of <b>turn</b>, Ginno ps <b>his </b>hands.

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    ¡°Great. How befitting. It¡¯s decided then Athena

    Pallis will marry the Cosa Nostra heir and keep him in line from killing us all. Meeting

    adjourned.¡±

    Everyone leaps out one by one.

    My mother struggles to keep her anger in checkPublished by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    but fails when we are left alone.

    ¡°You were to observe, you were to listen you were

    not to-.¡±

    ¡°Mama-¡±

    ¡°You do not speak out of turn; you do not give these men ammunition to destroy you because once they have it you are as good as done. How many times have I taught you that, Thena? How many times I have taught you we women need to be careful in this type of world?¡±

    I nce at her blue eyes, the ones that earned her the name ¡®Alessandro Pallis¡® pearl¡®.

    She was my father¡¯s pearl.

    I¡¯ll never be like that and maybe some part of me

    hates her for it.

    Maybe I want to move away from her shadow. To the only man who has ever understood me.

    ¡°I love him.¡±

    I utter the words <b>I </b>have been speaking in my dreams for years out loud and feel my heart

    6/10

    Setting

    1585

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    weigh a little less,

    I have loved the prince who consoled me in my mother¡¯s garden and never spoke to me again.

    I have loved him since high school.

    When he ran away to America I cried that night for him, for us, for our future but destiny <b>has </b>intervened.

    ¡°Ooh, Athena. Men like him, fueled by revenge and darkness, never have it in them to love. A love like that will consume you.¡±

    ¡°Dad was like that and he loved you. He loved you to the very end, there is hope for me and Christian, I know there is. I will make sure there

    is.¡±

    ¡°Thena-.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a kid, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not like Alessandra, that I couldn¡¯t be enough for you after she and

    dad died but this is what I want, he is what I want and I will fight for him.¡±

    Fight to the death.

    Fight for his darkness.

    Fight for his love.

    <b>ÉêÉêÉê</b>

    I arrived in Chicago even after my mother¡¯s

    protests.

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    I have been to Taiwan, to Beijing, to Moscow, Mexico but never this north of America.

    Never too close to where Christian Vitello

    operated.

    I was too scared, too shy to speak to him but he will get the news soon.

    He will know we are to wed and he will

    remember me.

    I went shopping in a few stores though, to look good for him, to seduce him. My nerves were all over the ce as I skimmed over all the outfits I would get to wear for him.

    Tonight, in the bustling cold night of Chicago, my driver and I <b>are </b>parked across a shabby ¡®almost falling apart¡® building.

    We followed Christian all the way here and he has

    note down yet.

    Does he carry out his operations here? In this dump?

    ¡°Ms. Pallis? I think it¡¯s gettingte, we should head back to your apartment because your mother

    wouldn¡¯t like to hear any of-.¡±

    ¡°Do you work for my mother or do you work for me, Alonso?<b>¡±</b>

    ¡°For you, ma¡¯am.<b>¡±</b>

    ¡°Then if I say we are staying here till my fianc¨¦

    1561

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    Christian didn¡¯te down.

    Not after ten hours of gazing out the window

    anyway.

    When he came down, mama¡¯s words rang in my mind.

    ¡°A man like him does not have it in him to love anything or anyone.¡±

    Then why is he holding the blonde woman outside the shabby apartment like they are his prized possessions?

    ¡°A love like that will consume you.¡±

    It¡¯s already consuming me, mama.

    His eyes, his smile.

    He is happy with this woman.

    This American whore.

    It hurts.

    It hurts even more when he pinches her butt and kisses the child like the nasty thing is his.

    Why do they look like a family?

    Why is she stealing what¡¯s mine?

    He¡¯s mine. I saw him first. He became my prince.

    first.

    Special Chapter 40: Athena Pallis

    ¡°Alexia Green, twenty¨Cthree years old, orphan has a three¨Cmonth¨Cold child with one Rhett.

    Kingston. She¡¯s been off and on the streets for a few months up until recently ording to the neighbors, two loan sharks invaded her home and

    took her.¡±

    ¡°The clinic she works in is indeed your fianc¨¦¡¯s,

    ma¡¯am. I couldn¡¯t get every detail since her co¨Cworkers are a little tight lipped but your

    fianc¨¦¡¯s men have been there a lot. Seems like

    Alexia Green is the head nurse.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m doing everything I can to find Rhett Kingston, ma¡¯am but no private investigator can work under the pressure you have me under. No, money is not an issue.

    I¡¯ll find him for you ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°I found Rhett Kingston. He¡¯s in New Jersey.¡±

    Rhett Kingston is my ticket in getting rid of Alexia Green and now no one will stand in my way in winning what¡¯s mine.

    In winning the heart of Christian Vitello Volkov.

 Claimed 41

    Althea had never felt this nervous in her entire life, but right now, she felt like all air was being sucked from her lungs, she looked around her and all the eyes that looked at them were filled with bewilderment, question and disbelief.

    These people must have known about her existence, but in their eyes, she must only be the king¡¯s ything, someone that was not important enough to be in this dining hall, but was good enough to keep the king happy in bed.

    The fact was; aside from the kiss that night, Alex had never touched her without her consent, he didn¡¯t force himself when he realized it triggered something in her.

    Alex was¡­ someone that made her feltfortable and if she could say the truth, she wanted to be with him.

    Probably that was the reason why she was here, despite knowing she would create trouble for him

    On the other hand, Northern and Greyson¡¯s jaw dropped to see the king¡¯s bold move. They followed their movement with their eyes and this made Althea became even more ufortable.

    Yet, the grip in her hand was a reminder that she was not alone and Alex would stay by her side just like what he did right

    now

    ¡°You can continue,¡± Alex said, as he stepped up into the tform and let Althea to sit next to him. This seat was supposed to be for the queen and by letting Althea to sit there, the message was clear that she would be the future queen of the kingdom.

    The dining hall fell eerily silent, but once the king was out of an earshot, Althea believed, they would fall into an uproar, questioning Alex¡¯s action.

    ¡°Come eat this, it is good to nurse your body, Alex said, he putmb meat on her te. He didn¡¯t look bother at all with the tension that hang in the air. He wasfortable with this whole situation.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Althea said in small voice, as she ate her meat. She stretched out her hand to get her baby back, but Alex told her to eat first, he would take care of the baby, while she was eating.

    Greyson, who was sitting next to Althea keep ncing toward her direction, it seemed, he wanted to say something, but Alex¡¯s presence made him swallowed the question along with the food that he ate.

    ¡°She looks so beautiful today, don¡¯t you think?¡± Alex asked Althea silly question to make her rx.

    ¡°She is a baby, she looks the same every day,¡± Althea said and this made Alexughed.

    ¡°That¡¯s why she is adorable, because she looks beautiful everyday, just like you.¡± Alex leaned over and kissed her cheek.

    His movement was very subtle, but it caught Althea out of guard, as she looked at him with eyes wide. He just kissed her in front of so many people and didn¡¯t seem bothered.

    ¡°Eat your food, or do you need me to feed you?¡± Alex asked yfully and Northern was chocked in his food, thankfully, Greyson didn¡¯t eat anything and could only stare in disbelief at what the king said.

    Althea was also speechless, but she could feel this butterfly that fluttered in her stomach, she was dreadful, but at the same time, she was excited, because knowing there was someone, who would go to this length to be with her was¡­ beautiful.

    It warmed her heart. She knew it was s**d of her to think this way, but for the first time in her life, she wanted to fight for what she wanted and right now, she wanted to be with him.

    Should she tell him about that? Althea was not sure.

    ¡°Eat more. Alex pur

    another meat in her te.

    1/2

    After fifteen minutes of shock, the people seemed to rx a bit, seemingly tried to limate with the sight of their king was being affectionate with a woman

    However, when the situation was less tensed and Althea started to less nervous and enjoyed her meal, two people entered the room and Althea¡¯s heart sk**ed a beat, because one of the two people, who stepped into the dining hall was Killian.

    ¡°There he is¡­¡± Alex smirked when he saw Elder Sanders walked into the room with Killian in his tow, the two of them looked like they were a father and son, which was funny in his eyes, thus the king chuckled darkly, but Althea didn¡¯t think that way, she looked tensed, her body stiffened, since Killian¡¯s eyes fixed on her.

    Greyson exchanged look with Norther, they knew it wouldn¡¯t end up well. S**t was going to happen and they had to prepare themselves for this.

    ¡°Good day, my king. Elder Sanders said with a bright tone, he looked exceptionally happy today. ¡°I can see that you have apanion today. Twopanions should I say?¡± He indicated to the baby in Alex¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. Beautifulpanions, elder Sanders.¡± Alex then nodded at Killian, who was sitting next to him. ¡°Did you just adopt him, elder Sanders? Because that man supposed to be in dungeon for bad behavior.¡±C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    The mocking in Alex¡¯s voice didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Killian, but the alpha kept his calm and didn¡¯t look bother. What bothered him the most was the fact his daughter was in Alex¡¯s arms. He had not yet taken a good look on his baby, but this b**d had carried her around as if she was his own daughter and Althea didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    The woman lowered her head and looked ufortable, though Alex held her hand under the table, reassured her that everything would be alright.

    Oh, I took him out because I am sure that his bad behavior has a reason.¡± Elder Sanders sipped his drink. ¡°I will behave badly if I saw my mate with another man, so I can understand why he is like that.¡± He smirked. ¡°Allow me to introduce him, my king.¡±

    ¡°You are not allowed.¡±

    É«

 Claimed 42

    It was es right for Althea tough, but hearing what Alex said made her wanted to smile, because it was pretty childish and imcture for him to answer the elder like that, but then it served as a humiliation for the elder ton

    Even Grryson and Northern uniled, they shook their heads internally for the way Alex replied to it

    ¡°Pardon me Elder Sander raised his brows

    ¡°You are not allowed to introduce hum, elder Sander. We are here to eat not to introduce our guest.¡± Alex tilted his head, giving him an innocent smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t even introduce my guests, do you think it¡¯s polite for you to do it when your king said no!

    Elder Sanders smiled, but inside he must have wanted to kill the king all over again for his bold respond and the wa embarrassed him.

    However, he wouldn¡¯t be Alex¡¯s strong opponent if he would go down without a fight at all and let himself to be humiliated in front of so many people.

    ¡°Oh, I am sorry for that, my king. I will not do it Elder Sander nced at Killian. ¡°I only wanted the alpha here to meet with his mate and daughter, that¡¯s all

    It was not an introduction, but that small statement served his purpose to bring Killian here.

    Once again, the tension filled the room and this made Althea¡¯s stomach churned. The baby must have felt it, because the next second, Jasmine was crying, her face turned red because of howfortable she was.

    ¡°Let me calm her down, enjoy your food, okay Althea immediately asked for her baby, she took Jasmine from Alex¡¯s arms and then left the dining hall

    Alex didn¡¯t stop her, because he knew this was too much for her to handle and she need time to have a refreshing air for

    herself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go after her?¡± Greyson asked, he wondered why Alex didn¡¯te to see her after they saw Killun immedutely rushed out of the room to approach Althea and the baby. It was obvious that he wanted to talk with her.

    After all the affection that Alex showed Althea, it was only right if he chased after that woman now, after all, he had been very adamant to make her his queen.

    ¡°No¡± Alex watched Killian disappeared at the corner, it wouldn¡¯t take long before he reached Althea and cornered her, but even after knowing that, he didn¡¯t have any intention to prevent that from happening

    He knew Althea was still not sure with how she felt about the whole situation and with Killian talked to her, it would give her the push that she needed to make a decisionExclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    It¡¯s not like Killian could take the two of them away from this pce without his permission. Althea and Jasmine would be safe here.

    Nothing would happen to her and the baby

    Meanwhile, Killian managed to catch up to Althea and stop her.

    ¡°Althea, we need to talk¡± Killian grabbed her elbow and turned her body around. ¡°You can¡¯t avoid me forever.¡±

    Althea was hyperventted when she saw Killian, but she tried to remain calm, though it was hard to do so when the nightmare that you kept seeing every night was right before your eyes.

    ¡°W- what do you want?¡± Althea asked, she hated herself for stuttering, but her heart was beating in her ears

    1/2

    +66%

    Wed, Aug

    She knew that she couldn¡¯t be with hum, not now, not ever. The sight of him alone made her body felt unwell. She wanted to scream for him not to touch her, but then she remembered thest time when she screamed at him, he pped her so hard.

    She remembered all the pain that he put her through and what kind of degrading words that he kept saying to her.

    She would be doomed if she had to go back with him.

    She would choose all kind of hardship as long as she didn¡¯t need to deal with him.

    ¡°I want to see the baby,¡± Killian could see the fear in her eyes and he hated himself for the fact that he was the one, who had instilled that fear to her. ¡°I want to see our baby. let me see her.

    ¡°She is not your baby!¡± Althea said sternly, she wriggled her hand from his grab, but his hold was too strong for her to break free easily, in fact, Killian tightened his grip, so she couldn¡¯t go anywhere.

    ¡°She is my baby, Althea. I know it.

    Althea bit her lip. ¡°You don¡¯t have any right to call her your baby after what you have put me through.¡±

    Killian¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°I know I have done it wrong. I will make it up to you once we returned to the pack.¡±

    ¡°What made you think that I want to go back with you? Not in a million years I want to go back with you you. Please,. leave me alone. You have Willow now, you can live happily ever after with her.¡±

    Of near

    ¡°No, I want you and our child. I don¡¯t want her.¡±

    Althea must be dreaming, because she could hear the desperation in his voice, but still, he was too high and his ego was too big to even apologize to her for what he had done.

    ¡°So, here you are.. taking a pick?¡± Althea didn¡¯t even shy away when she instilled the hatred in her voice. ¡°You are going to pick me now instead of Willow? Because I have your baby?¡± Sheughed, but it didn¡¯t touch her eyes at all ¡°Go back to Willow and make your own baby with her, leave me alone. I don¡¯t want you and now you can¡¯t pick me over her. I am not an option.¡±

    ¡°Althea¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t beat me up because you liked it and now you wanted to make it right because you wanted it. You have everything in your way, Killian. You are truly despicable.¡±

    ?

 Claimed 43

    Kiban knew that he was a despicable person, he knew that long the ago ever since he hurt her for the first time. He knew bone thewed up and wrong what he had done to Althea, but he couldn¡¯t stop. He couldn¡¯t stop himself from not hurting her, besause at that nine, he was but too and the easy way was to hurt someone else, so they could feel his pain

    That was

    was a coward way, he knew that very well and there was no amount of justification that could justify what he was doing. He messed up. He messed up bad time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you anymore, Killuan. You did not only break my heart and hurt me with the rejection, you killed me that day The version of me, who wished that one day you will believe me, had gone. You killed her and now, I am someone, who

    n¡¯t want to have anything to do with you.¡±

    Killian gutted his teeth, the words were so harsh, but he knew that was the truth. He was the one, who had killed her and he was the one, who had ruined any chance that they could have to be together.

    But, it didn¡¯t mean, he would give up. He didn¡¯t want to give up yet. He had gone this far, he was going to go further for this. For what he believed was the right thing to do

    ¡°Fine¡± Killian said. He pressed his lips into a thin line, as he straightened his back. ¡°You can go. I will not go after you¡±

    Althea narrowed her eyes, suspicious crept in her heart. She knew this man well enough to say that he wouldn¡¯t give up that easily.

    And her intuition was proven right

    ¡°You can go, but you need to give the baby to me. She is my child. She is mine.¡± Killian looked at her in the eyes, her eyes were cold, but he knew what he was doing.

    Althea would never give up on her baby. The reason why she was here, seeking for refugee from the king was very obvious, because she couldn¡¯t go against Killian herself

    And for the first time Althea raised her hand and pped him across the face. The sound of it rang in this quiet corridor.

    Killian saw iting, but somehow, he didn¡¯t dodge it, he epted the p that Althea delivered to his face. Hepletely deserved that for what he put her through

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Althea narrowed her eyes dangerously. ¡°You are going to take my baby away from me? Never in million years I am going to let you touch my baby! You don¡¯t have any right on her!¡±

    Killian epted her wrath, he didn¡¯t have any expression on his face, his emotions were unreadable and this stoic face made Althea hated hum even more.

    ¡°Get out of my life!¡± Althea screamed at him. ¡°Stay away from my life! You are nothing, but a loser! If you wanted a baby, go get one with Willow, since you loved her so much, you are willing to kill me for her, right?! Go and get your happy ever after with her!¡±

    Killian gritted his teeth, his mask almost cracked when he heard that. It would be hard when all of your nasty words were thrown back to your face. He remembered every single word that he said to her and how much he wanted to hurt her with the word, but now when he heard it again,ing from his mouth, he knew the pain that he had inflicted on her.

    Even so, it was nothingpared to what he had done, the entire cruelty-

    Althea was right, he was the one, who had killed her, he was the one, who had caused her so much pain like this and he didn¡¯t have any chance with her.

    ¡°Give m

    me the baby and I will let you go

    1/2

    1119 Wed Aug 21 R R 12¡¤

    But silt Killian couldn¡¯t l** her go. He couldn¡¯t let her and the baby go. He wanted the ten of them. Called him selfish, but they were his family. His only family

    ¡°I only want the baby. You can go with the king if that¡¯s what youwanted. I only have the baby as my family¡±

    ¡°I

    Killian lost his family to an attack when he was so young, he stepped up to be the alpha of the pack when he was only sixteen, because his father and mother died during the attack and ever since that time, he was alone with Sean.

    ¡°Give me the baby¡±

    He only wanted to have his little family, he desperately wanted a family. Probably because of that, he poured all of his emotions and love for Willow, thinking she was the perfect person. Willow was perfect, she was smart and beautiful. cheerful and all sunshine and rainbow, someone that could make youughed effortlessly

    But, she made a great mistake that Killian would never forgive. It killed all the love he had for her and now, his heart filled with regret, because the moon goddess chose your mate for a reason and he unceremoniously kicked her aside, he treated her so bad and now, he had to face his own karmaN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    ¡°I will never give up my baby. Scram from my face.¡±

    Althea turned around and then left Killian alone there, the alpha stared at her retreating back with sorrow in his eyes.

    He had never felt this pain before, not even when he felt the rejection that shred his heart. This kind of pain was different. It was sorrow and misery, there was this huge hole, the emptiness in his heart that was no amount of anything that could fill it.

    Killian wanted to reach to her and tell her how much he regretted it, but he knew that she wouldn¡¯t listen and the only thing that left for him right now was to get what he wanted with the only way he could think of

    Ìï

 Claimed 44

    Thalia was confused why Althra had been locking herself in her bedroom and the didn¡¯t want to meet with anyone, the didn¡¯t even want to eat anything. She was worried about her condition

    She was contemting of telling the king, but then she was not sure how to bring this up with the king, after all, their rtionship had not been confirmed, yet, right!

    In the <b>breakfast</b>, the king didn¡¯t say anything, but then he let herio sit on the seat next to him. It could mean something, no?

    Thankfully, when she was in the middle of frustrations, she saw the king was walking to this direction and relief flooded in

    her veins

    The king must be here because he wanted to check on Althea, because there was no other room at this end of the hallway <b>and </b>she couldn¡¯t be wrong

    ¡°My king.¡± Thalia greeted the king politely, though she was impatient to tell him about what happened.

    ¡°You can leave, Thalia, thank you¡±. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    Thalia wanted to say something but she swallowed her words, she didn¡¯t need to tell him anything because the king would figure it out right away once he entered the room. She was <b>d </b>that Althea had the king¡¯s affection because her life had been very miserable.

    Thalia didn¡¯t know the detail, but to run away from her own pack while pregnant with the alpha¡¯s baby, there must be something horrendous that happened to her. Althea was <b>a </b>nice and the kindest person that she had ever met, thus it must be alpha Killian, who <b>was </b>the problem.

    ¡°Yes, alpha.¡± After drawing that conclusion, Thalia left the area and watched the king entered the bedroom.

    Alex had expected that Althea would end up like this. He hated to see her cry, but it was necessary.

    He felt so nasty to treat her this way, but this <b>was </b>the push that she needed to make the decision. She couldn¡¯t protect herself and the baby if she was coddled

    ¡°Althea?¡± <b>Alex </b>approached her, she was staring at the baby, tears streamed down her eyes. She didn¡¯t make a sound and the king hated it when he thought she did that because of Killian

    That monster of man had caused so much agony for his woman.

    ¡°If you wanted to cry, you need to let it out.¡± Alex caressed her back, he pulled her toward him and pressed her head against his chest, but still, Althea refused to cry, she shook her head stubbornly, but the king was <b>a </b>patient man, he would wait until she was ready

    Tears kept streaming down her face and at some point, feeling the warm from his embrace <b>and </b>how gentle he was with her. Althea cracked.

    At first, it was only a small whimper and then it was <b>a </b>sob before it <b>was </b>a cry. She was crying her heart out, she hugged him tightly, as if she wanted to crush his bone, but Alex didn¡¯t mind it

    He would allow her to crush him, <b>break </b>him, as long as it would <b>make </b>her felt better, he didn¡¯t mind it. He wanted to feel her pain, he wanted to take all of her <b>pain </b>away and the thought that he was part of the pain that was inflicted on her, because he wanted her to be tough, made his stormach churned.

    However, it was necessary.

    <b>¡°</b>Cry. Althea. Cry your heart out. You are safe with me now. You can cry in front of me. I am here. I will not go anywhere.¡±

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    Ha hayot hot porninde ved at herst tears and she had tucked all of her anger med sodness along with her wars te vajad these with how her people in her life that chose to walk out on turn

    ¡°He held her sights when her world cruited a few kept her in piece when everyone wanted in a piece of her

    avrad her he

    Aldew had never ersed to hard that her to life of auf her pent up emotions Hooded down like a broken dam

    di

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    Thankruth Jasmine was sleeping the crime time, the baby dsfragen wake up when Althea wailed in pain, she inoked wy serene and peaceful and the gut her sleepingce gave her her counige

    de

    ¡°Thank you Alra. Albei od berween her sobs she couldpose herself now and was slightly embarrassed because the had ruined his clothes with her ears and spot, but the king didal bother with that at all, he wiped her tears and cleaned her

    face

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank nie, Althea¡± Alex then couldn¡¯t bring ldmarif not to tell her this. ¡°Her you talk with him, so you can your own decision. I could stop but from chasing after you and having I conversation that would hurt you. I am so

    for that¡±

    He exmed himself and his decision. He didn¡¯t mean any harm, but then there was no power without pain, right?

    Althea shook her head. She was initially shocked, but then she understood his point. ¡°No. You are right. Inend the confrontation Ales was right about that one

    Mersing with Kilian Helped her to clear her end and <b>take </b>a decision about what she wanted for her life and her baby¡¯s

    ¡°Thank you for telling me this I thought you will keep it as a secret¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°I nned to do so?

    ¡°What made you changed your mind Althea narrowed her eyes, she wiped another tear that tell on her cheek

    Because I thought you have had enough people he to your face and manipte you, I don¡¯t want to be one of them.¡± Alex shrugged his shoulders ¡°Well I think in the end of the day, I did lie to you too

    Althea jussed him

 Claimed 45

    <b>Alex </b>talked to <b>her </b>very genuinely, he didn¡¯t sugarcoat his words, heither he tried to make her understood his decision, he onlyid everything on the table as it was.

    He wanted her to be strong, but at the same time, he wanted to protect her. He pushed her to her limit and confront the thing that she had been scared of for so long.

    She knew that he meant well and she knew that he meant everything that he said and she could feel that.

    If she <b>had </b>to choose a battle, she wanted to fight in a battle where she could have him by her side. She wanted to be brave and greedy for the first time in her life, she wanted to think about herself and what she <b>wanted </b>and right now, it was obvious to see about what she really wanted.

    Althea wanted him.

    She leaned over and kissed him. She was not sure how to do it right, thus she only pressed Alex¡¯s lips against hers, which <b>made </b>his body stiffened, she prayed that he wouldn¡¯t reject her or push her away, because it would shatter a little bit of bravery that she managed to gather.

    However, instead of pushing her away, Alex pulled her closer, but he broke the kiss and watched her face flushed, he chuckled to see her expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s not <b>how </b><b>you </b>kiss someone, Althea.¡± Alex loved to see how red color on her checks made its way to the tip of her ears and then down to her <b>neck </b>and chest. ¡°Let me teach you how to kiss someone properly.¡±

    Althea widened her eyes, his voice sounded like a threat, though it was not really like that and before she could think what the meaning of what his words, the king had pressed his lips against her and tried to pry open her mouth with his tongue.

    Althea was stiffened, but his kiss was so gentle and tempting <b>and </b>when she didn¡¯t get the cue, Alex pinched her hip yfully, which made her gasp and he took the advantage of it to plunge his tongue into her mouth.

    His tongue explored the inside of her <b>mouth </b>and this was the sensation that Althea had never felt before. He was very careful and gentle with her, his touch was not painful like she thought it would be.

    But, when Alex was about to take thing further, her body froze and he immediately stopped.

    ¡°I..¡± Althea flustered, she tried to exin herself, but Alex stopped her.

    ¡°I understood, Althea,¡± Alex <b>said</b>, he shushed her when she looked like she wanted to cut <b>his </b>word. ¡°I know that you are not ready and that¡¯s okay, but I will make sure that you <b>are </b><b>safe </b>with me and once you felt <b>safe </b>with me, you will know how <b>you </b>are supposed to be treated.¡±

    Althea bit her lip, his word made her wanted to cry, because she felt appreciated and <b>loved</b>. She hugged him tightly.

    ¡°Thank you, Alex. Thank you.¡±

    Alex kissed her neck and grinned, his mischievous smiled tilted the corner of his lips. ¡°You know what, once you felt safe with me, I will make you feel good.¡±

    Althea took a sharp breath, because <b>his </b>words sounded very lewd, but it made her blushed even more, she could feel the heat that crawled on her <b>skin </b>or the heat that pooled between her legs.

    She must be insane, when a moment ago, she felt like she couldn¡¯t <b>even </b><b>have </b>a physical contact with him because of her trauma, but hearing what he said, it made her turned on.

    Her body and her mind were not in synch.

    11:20 Wed, Aug 21 R RO

    ÅÌÁã+65%±¸

    Alex then warned her about a few things, since <b>Althea </b>had made her decision. He knew that talking to that <b>bastard </b>of an alpha would help her to see thing clearer.

    ¡°You need to know that the court will not be easy.¡± Alex needed her to understand the situation. ¡°<b>But</b>, you need to know that you are the future queen of the kingdom and you need to carry that title with pride and authority¡±

    Althea <b>was </b>petrifies, but then Alex added that he would be always with her.

    ¡°No matter what, I will always be with you, okay.¡± Alex kissed her forehead. ¡°You need to know that you are that matter to me You and Jasmine.¡±

    Alex hugged her and they kissed for a long time, it was not a passionate kiss<b>, </b>just azy one, as if they were teasing each other because for now, that was all that Althea wasfortable with <b>and </b>Alex didn¡¯t mind to wait until she was ready for him.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Abigail asked when he saw Brian was about to go out, but he had a bag with him. ¡°Where are you going?!¡± She became frantic when her mate didn¡¯t answer her.

    ¡°I am going out of this ce.¡± Brian turned around and looked at her in the eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t stand you and Willow any longer. ¡°What? Are you trying to say that you are abandoning <b>us</b><b>?</b>¡± Abigail was in disbelief with what she was hearing right now because she felt like Brian was trying to leave them behind, as if he finally had enough with them. Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    ¡°I don¡¯t abandon <b>you</b><b>. </b>I have enough with the two of you.¡±

    Willow heard thismotion in the morning immediately went out of her room, where she had been crying because she couldn¡¯t get a hold of Killian. She had been trying to find a news from the people that she made friend with, but afterst night, they knew who she was and what her motive of getting close to them, thus they stopped interacting with her.

    They didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with her.

    ¡°What we have done so wrong to make you like this, father?¡± Willow asked, crying again. Her eyes were very red and Abigail couldn¡¯t see this sight of <b>her </b>daughter like this, it broke her heart so bad

    B

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    Willow waited when she <b>saw </b>the coldness in her father¡¯s eyes, she felt terrified to see him like this, because he had never shown this side of bun. He was being too cruel with her and her other

    Why are you like this father? You chose Althea over me why are you ying favorite <b>now</b><b>?</b>¡± Willow kept crying, she felt so tired to cry like this, but there was nothing she could do when her heart hurt so bad.

    Not <b>only </b>Kin, <b>but </b>also her <b>father</b>, who chose Allica over her.

    ¡°Why people kept choosing her over me? Am I not good enough Am I not great enough for you to choose me? Why? Althea felt like she wanted to explode, she wanted to bawl her eyes out and asked them why they treated her like this, she felt like shit. She felt <b>like </b>she was not worth it

    And Abigail couldn¡¯t take it anymore, she couldn¡¯t see her precious daughter cried like this

    ¡°Enough¡°¡± Abigail <b>said</b>, she wiped her tears <b>away and </b>consoles Alugail, who was kneeling down, wailing painfully. ¡°Can you see how much you have hurt your daughter? Can you see how much you have <b>made </b>her cry? Are you satisfied now! What are you going to do now! Are you going to punish her?¡±

    ¡°No. 1 am not going to punish her.¡± Brian had seen enough of their behavior. All they did was crying and screaming to his face when he didn¡¯t even unter a single word. ¡°I am not going to do anything to her<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    ¡°What is that meant?¡± Abigail narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°What is that mean?¡±

    Brian didn¡¯t <b>say </b>anything anymore, <i>he </i>didn¡¯t even try to <b>exin </b>himself, as he walked away, ignoring the wailing call of his mate and his daughter. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    If he couldn¡¯t make them see how wrong what they were doing and how wrong what Willow had done to Althea or how much they had hurt her, then there was nothing he could do more to convince <b>them </b>otherwise.

    It was indeed his fault to let things escted this far, he had to put stop in their behavior long <b>ago </b>and he should <b>have </b>trusted Althea.

    He could only imagine <b>how </b>alone and lonely it must be for her, it must be terrified for Althea to face everything alone and he was not there to support her. He was not there to trust her for <b>what </b>she said.

    He should have known that Althea wouldn¡¯t be able to do something so horrible, but he didn¡¯t give a second thought when he believe that she had killed Willow.

    What a terrible father he was.

    For the next few days, Killian didn¡¯t see Althea and he was not allowed to enter the dining hall, neither he could go out for a walk outside of Elder Sander¡¯s quarter.

    He couldn¡¯t even look for her

    All Killian knew was the fact that Althea was in the king¡¯s quarter. <b>That </b><b>was </b>all and that was all he needed to know. This <b>ce </b>

    was suck.

    ¡°<b>What </b><b>are </b>you going to do now?¡± Killian asked elder Sander one evening, he had been spending three days here and he felt like he wanted to kill this elder because he moved so slow and there was no action that he took rted this matter.

    Probably, Killian was being impatient only, since he wanted to see the baby and <b>Althea </b>pretty badly, but he couldn¡¯t get a ess to either of them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything is under my <b>control</b>¡±

    an

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    Killian narrowed his eyes What control that you are talking aloin? Because as far as I can see, you are only taking your sweet time is of around and do nothing)

    His words came pretty harsh, but he only chuckled when he heard that.

    ¡°Being young and in love is a pretty good experience¡± Elder Sander nodded his head, he didn¡¯t seem to take Killian seriously and this was one of the reasons why it was hard for Killian to keep his ws from ripping his mouth. This man was distasteful ¡°I know that you feel like killing me, boy,¡± he said, as if he could read his mind.

    ¡°I am not a boy¡± It was an insult for an alpha like Killian to be called as <b>a </b>¡®boy. This rubbed him in the wrong way and somehow, to see him annoyed like this made Elder Sander smiled. It amused <b>him</b>.

    ¡°You thought that I only <b>yed </b>around with you, right?¡± Elder Sander finally stood up and approached him, he patted his shoulder in fatherly manner, which only made Killian wanted to break his hand for touching him. ¡°Keep your anger in check, alpha Killian, because your reckless behavior is not needed in this court¡±

    It was obvious to see right now that Killian had this tendency to have a reckless behavior, he was not only hot headed, but a proud alpha.

    Thetter could be a strong point for him, but also could lead him to the biggest mistake in <b>his </b>life.

    ¡°It has beer three days and all I can do is sitting around in this ce without knowing what the n.¡±

    ¡°Sit down. There is someone that wanted to see you

    Kill wanted to refuse that, just because he didn¡¯t want to be told about what to do, but in the end, he decided against it and swallowed his annoyance. He sat down and waited for ten minutes for this ¡®someone.

    Right after ten minutes had passed<b>, </b><b>a </b>man entered the room. He was wearing ck clothes and his regal aura gave away his

    status.

    ¡°I want you to meet with prince Dane. He is the king¡¯s elder brother.¡± Elder Sander looked happy to see the prince. He hugged him closely. ¡°<b>This </b><b>is </b>the man that I told you.¡±

    Prince Dane looked at <b>Killian </b>and judged him briefly before he deemed that this man fit the role.

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    At first, Althea had to learn the etiquette in the pce. She needed to learn how to walk, how to talk, how to ce her hands. how to breathe everything

    All of these lessons were suffocating, Int at the same time, it gave her something to look forwant to. She had determined that she was going to do her best to be someone, who worth to be by Alex¡¯s side and now, that was what she was going to do.

    Albes booked at herself in the mirror when she was wearing a beutiful dress. This must be the most beautiful dress that the had ever worth.

    Thalia gushed when she saw her reflection on the mirror, she was even more excited than her. ¡°See I told you that the king pampered you so much, he must be deeply in love with you. You have to trust me in this¡±

    Althea pursed her lips when she heard that, but she chuckled, while Jasmine stared at her with her curious big eyes.

    Althea was wearing a beautiful purple gown that entuated her body. She was still breastfeeding, which made her breasts were slightly bigger than usual, but she had lost most of her baby weight, which made her looked very desirable. She looked very beautiful to say the least

    ¡°Here, used this ne,¡± Thalia said, as she opened the ne box.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t remember that I have this ne.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t remember because the king just gave it to you a few hours ago, he said this will look beautiful on you.¡±

    Thalia helped Althea to put the diamond ne on her neck, which shone brightly, just like her.

    ¡°Oh, heaven! I have never seen a woman as beautiful as you!¡± Thalia kept praising Althea to the point, she blushed so hard and told her to stop

    And when Thalia was having her fun to tease Althea, they sensed the king. He entered the room shortly after they could smell his scent. It was sandalwood with a hint of pine trees. He looked define in his regal cloak.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± The king asked, as he extended his hand for her.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Althea replied, as she took his hand and then walked with him.

    Tonight, there was a party, where Alex invited the other king from the other continent to discuss about a few businesses, but Alex intended for this party as a tform to introduce Althea, not immediately, but he would take her as his woman tonight.

    The message would be very obvious to read that the king had found the candidate to be the future queen of this continent this also would be a message for his opponent that he couldn¡¯t care less about their rejection toward his choice of mate

    They could go and hit the sand for all he cared.

    Tonight was exceptionally crowd in the party room. Althea held Alex¡¯s hand tightly, as if she was afraid, she would be humiliated herself, as if the king was her lifeline, which made Alex chuckled to see how nervous she was.

    ¡°I really wanted to keep you in my pocket,¡± Alex said, he lowered his head and whispered to her ear, this gesture was very intimate and the king knew what he was doing.

    Althea blushed when she felt his warm breath against her neck. She looked around and just like what she thought, the people secretly took notice of her and the king¡¯s interaction.

    ¡°What is that mean?¡± Althea frowned, but the king simplyughed lightly, as he put his hand on her waist and introduced her to a few important people in this continent.

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    In total there were four kingdoms in this continent, the maind was the most proper ce and Alex¡¯s kingdom was the

    best among the rest of the kingdoms

    herefore, nobody dared to question him or make Althea felt ufortable despite how badly they wanted to know who man was, since the king only said her her name without giving any title on her, bait his action spoke louder than the word that he didn¡¯t say

    However, Althea felt like she was out of her element, she didn¡¯t know what they were talking about, their discussion sounded very intelligent, as they were talking about territory, businesses and a few pacts between the kingdoms.

    Those topics were something the couldn¡¯tprehend, since this was the first time for her to hear most of the terms that they used

    She felt so stupid and small.

    While Alex was talking with a few people, she would smile on cue, listening the conversation she couldn¡¯t join in, neither she understood and in the end, she excused herself to get more drink. She felt so lost.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to enjoy the party¡±

    Althea startled when a beautiful woman approached her, she was wearing a beautiful red dress that fit her body perfectly. Her red Ipa smiled at her.

    ¡°Oh, I am just a little bit tired. Althea replied, she tried to remember this woman¡¯s name, but she couldn¡¯t recall, since Alex had introduced her to a lot of people and she stopped remembering their name after the twentieth something person

    Oh night it will be not easy to take care of a baby while ying queen, right?¡±

    Althea saw it immediately. This woman didn¡¯t want to have a civil conversation, she wanted to put her down. She disliked the fact that she was the king¡¯s woman now.

    ¡°May I know, who are you?¡± Althea asked, her voice was even and polite. She had faced something worse than this woman and someone like her was expected the moment she decided that she wanted to be with Alex.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    The woman scoffed, but Althea was unfazed, she looked at her straight in the eyes, which made her felt a little bit. ufortable

    ¡°You must be too busy with your baby that¡¯s why you forgot my name when I just introduced myself less than an hour ago.

    ¡°Or maybe, you simply not important enough to be remembered.¡±

    Ìï

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    Someliew: Abbw a felt good when the sow how and the woman¡¯s fr was, here he was being gat in her ce and als huse for the first me in her life, she didn¡¯t let anyone to walk all over her weed all of her lessone all this numar was

    Ton dare a lile we like you said something like that that beautiful woman¡¯s for morphed into malice and five moment. Althea frowned with how strong her hatred toward her when she had not yet done anything wrong to herExclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.

    This probably the second ones they met, but she was very rude toward her

    Alfira lihed her chin, she looked at her in the eyes. Her insult meant nothing if shepared to what Kirs had sad so

    bee

    ¡°Be careful with your choice of word, because I will be the future queen of this kingdom and an insult that¡¯s hurled toward me can be counted as an insult toward a royal family¡±

    The woman looked shock with the way Althea talked back to her, but she was not ready yet to get down from her high hone ¡°Just because you came to the party once, it doesn¡¯t make you the royal family Do you really think too highly of yourself. Do you really think the king is serious about you when he loved histe mate in much¡± She crossed her arms in front of cheu and then added with jo***g tone. ¡°Tam sure that the king only took you in because you remanded him of histe

    mate, sinor she died while pregnant with their hest chuld¡±

    The thought about that didn¡¯t cross Althea¡¯s mind until recently and that rattled her a bit.

    However, she kept herposure and smile, as she talked to her nonchntly. ¡°Really? How can you be so sure I am not the only pregnant woman in this kingdom and I am sure about that.¡±

    Thankfully, their conversation was cut short when the guards announced the arrival of prince Dane

    Althea knew prince Dane, he was currently in the dispute with Alex for the throne and had a hidden motive to take him down Itis biggest supporter was elder Sander, the same elder that took Killian with him during breakfast not so long ago

    Althea didn¡¯t seem surprised to see Killian was there, she expected this and Alex lud warned her about it, but right now was way more condident with herself. Alex gave her that confidence.

    She wouldn¡¯t be standing here and was being so brave to face the insult that was thrown at her if it was not because for his

    assurance and how much he showed her that he loved her.

    There, your mate ising here to see you don¡¯t you want to run to his arms?¡± the woman said, she smirked at Althea

    ¡°Pardon me, but who are you, I still don¡¯t remember your name Althea tilted her head and gave her the most innocent look that the could muster, since she knew it would p** her off

    That woman gave her a dagger look, she gritted her teeth, but instead of telling her who she was, she walked toward prince Dane and whispered something to his ear, their interaction was very intimate and it would be suped of Althea if she didn¡¯t immediately guess, who that woman was

    ¡°Mathilda,¡± Alex said again her ear, his warm breath famed her bare shoulder, which made her wanted to shudder. ¡°She is Dane¡¯s quite. His chosen mate¡±

    Althea inmediately turned around and looked at this line man ¡°Oh I forgot¡±

    Alex chuckled. ¡°She is not someone that you need to re

    rry now and then to remind you who star in¡±

    Althea grinned. ¡°1 have the same feeling¡±

    Though, Tam sure she will be happy to pop in front of you

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    Alex caressed her cheek, he could see something was bothering her. ¡°What did she say to you?¡± He lowered his head and nuzzled her nose with his, while prince Dane walked toward them.

    ¡°Nothing

    ¡°I can see it in your eyes, sweety. Something is bothering you.¡±

    And when they were speaking. Dane and Mathilda approached the two of them, they greeted the king, but ignored the woman beside him.

    Alex could see it clearly what they were up to, thus she didn¡¯t feel like he had the obligation to entertain their rudeness toward his woman. After all, no one should tantly disrespect Althea, especially in front of him.

    Meanwhile, Killian, who was standing right behind Dane and Mathilda kept his eyes fixed on Althea, which only upset the king, this man didn¡¯t know when to stop at all..

    ¡°Good evening, my king, Mathilda greeted Alex, her voice was very sweet and this made Althea raised her brows, she didn¡¯t know that this vicious woman could make such sound,

    But, the atmosphere became awkward when the king only gave them a ¡®hm¡¯ to acknowledge their greeting, while his eyes. had never astray from Althea¡¯s face.

    As if on cue, Althea immediately knew what game that Alex was ying, she turned to face Alex and smile sweetly at him.

    ¡°Alex, they are here to greet you,¡± Althea said with her sweet voice, she ced her hand against his chest and she could feel how his strong heart beat.

    ¡°I have seen theming.¡± Alex nced at Dane and smiled at him, but he didn¡¯t even spare Mathilda or Killian a nce. ¡°Enjoy the party.

    That was all that Alex said to his brother, as he told his royal g**a to gather all the important people in the meeting room, as he would start the meeting

    now.

    But, before he left, Alex turned around and talked to Dane.

    ¡°Oh. Dane. It will be best for you to stay in the party and host it while I am in the meeting, it will be rude if there is no one in charge here¡±

    to the other guests

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    The message <b>that </b>Alex sent to his brother was crystal clear. He didn¡¯t want him to participate in the meeting with the other kings and important figures, instead he wanted him to be a good host for the party

    The humiliation was very subtle, but it was a humiliation regardless and because of his status, there was nothing Dane could do to refuse the order to the king, which only angered him re

    However, the prince was too cunning to shove such emotion, as he agreed with him.

    ¡°Sure. It will be my pleasure to host the party and entertain our guests.¡±

    The guests that were left behind mostly women and some unimportant figures that he couldn¡¯t lobby to be his side, there was no point to get <b>them </b>to his side, because there was no benefit for that.

    ¡°Thank you, I really appreciated your help.¡± Alex took Althea¡¯s hand and then they walked toward the main rooms, where all of the people had been waiting for the <b>king</b>.

    But, before Althea entered the room, she tilted her head and looked at Mathilda over her shoulder, <b>she </b>smiled sweetly at her, as their eyes met <b>and </b>she could see how she was hurning with jealousy and rage.

    Good. That woman was a devil. She wanted to make her jealous and provoke, but see who was smiling in the end,

    Meanwhile, Killian watched how confidence Althea was. She used to be a thuid girl. Someone, who wouldn¡¯t even look at you in the <b>eyes</b>, but right now, with the king by her side, she could even provoke a prince¡¯s mate.

    This was something new for Killiams, but he was <b>upset </b>because it was not him, who gave her the confidence.

    Only if he paid close attention to her and do not rush to draw a conclusion about Willow¡¯s death;, he wouldn¡¯t be in this position, but then, everything <b>was </b>Willow¡¯s fault, Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    He hated that woman to the house, he couldn¡¯t imagine how could he fall so hard for her to the point, he was willing to hurt his own destined mate when Althea didn¡¯t even deserve any of his cruelty.

    Killian closed his eyes when the <b>door </b>was closed and hid Althea¡¯s figure behind it. He wanted to reach her.

    Would this be toote for him?

    ¡°How nude is that. Mathilda <b>started </b>with herin, but on nce from <b>Dane </b>she shut her mouth, because she knew the prince <b>was </b>in bad mood.

    <b>¡°</b><b>Stay </b>here.¡±

    Of course, Dane wouldn¡¯t listen to what <b>Alex </b>told him to do, all of that was only <b>for </b>appearance¡¯s sake and the king also knew. that he wouldn¡¯t stay there to babysit the whole guest, therefore, it left Mathilda with that duty.

    ¡°You,e with me¡± Dane nodded at Killian and he followed the prince. As an alpha, he was the highest person in his park, but here, in the maind, especially inside the pce, his status was not really <b>matter</b>, because he didn¡¯t belong to this ce.

    In that case, Killian had to stick with someone with higher status like Dane, but to be honest, it was not in his nature to follow an onder, therefore when Dane told him in follow him, he gritted his teeth and balled his list tightly.

    This bastard was trying to enve him.

    That was the first thought that came to his mind, until he knew where he took him. He took him to the king¡¯s quarter, to be precise, they went to Althea¡¯s nursery room, where baby Jasmine was

    The baby was with Thalia, she attended the party for a while, but then fell asleep. Althea asked Thalia to take her baby and

    172

    on her crib.

    Ok pence Dane.¡± Thalia immediately stood up and then bowed her head politely to the prince

    ¡°You can leave,¡± Dane sast, he waved his hand, indicating for Th to leave them alone with the baby, but of course, the couldn¡¯t do that

    good

    pologize, prince Dane but I shouldn¡¯t have left the baby alone,¡± she said cautiously because she knew it didn¡¯t sound

    ¡°Alone! Can¡¯t you see I am here?¡± Dane raised his brows. ¡°A mere omega is dare enough to talk back to me?¡±

    Thalia shivered, she was scared, but she knew that she shouldn¡¯t leave the baby with them, she was torn.

    But on the other hand, while Dane was talking with the omega, Killian had walked over to the crib and look at his baby

    She was sleeping, her little mouth was slightly ajar and she looked so beautiful. The most beautiful baby that he had ever

    Of course, she was his child, his daughter, there was no way she wouldn¡¯t turn out very fine.

    Killian couldn¡¯t care less about anything else when he saw his daughter closely, he carried her from her crib and she made a . sound, as if he was disturbing her sleep.

    Killian kissed <b>his </b>daughter for the first time and held her close to his chest, he liked her scent, the smelled so fine. ¡°Jasonine¡°he cooed her name and then kissed her again.

    He couldn¡¯t exin how he felt right now, but he knew his heart was swelled with happiness. <b>This </b>was the kind of feeling that he had never felt before, there was no amount of happiness that he felt before that couldpare to this moment

    Killian was mesmerized by his daughter, he didn¡¯t feel like he could be away from her anymore.

    He stared at her Intle face, her little nose and her fingers that curled against his <b>front </b>clothes, she looked so serene and beautiful. The most beautiful creature that he had ever seen.

    ¡°You can¡¯t take her away, Killian, Dane said, he managed to make Thalia left

    What the prince said shattered Killian¡¯s illusion and he growled at him. ¡°Why not?¡± He roared angrily

    COMMENT

    <b>WEL </b>

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    ¡°Why I can¡¯t take away my own daughter?¡± Kin hissed dangerously at the king, he had her in his arms right now and he was not going to give her back to anyone. Now he had a chance to be with her, there was no way he would give it up just like that.

    <b>More </b>so, if he managed to get the baby. Althea woulde to seek for him eventually and <b>that </b>was all he needed to get to her.

    the baby.

    ¡°I will take the baby.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Dane¡¯s voice was very stern and Killian growled at him for being difficult with him. He didn¡¯t appreciate that at all. ¡°You will cause trouble for me if you took away the baby, this is not what we nned.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the n. I am here for taking back my baby and my <b>mate</b>.¡±

    ¡°<b>And </b>do you think you <b>will </b>be able to do that?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    The answer was very bold. Killian looked at the prince straight into his eyes, he didn¡¯t want to back down, not after he got what he wanted.

    Dane was not happy about this, he narrowed his eyes at Killian dangerously. ¡°Put down the baby. You don¡¯t know what kind of chaos that you will create if you took the baby away. I took you here to let you meet with your baby, not to take her away. Do you understand?¡±

    Killian growled at him, he was enraged because in his eyes, this man was trying to take away his baby from him and he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to do that. ¡°No.¡±

    Dane was losing his patience with the way he tantly rejected his direct order.

    However, Killian was too mad to listen to anything that he said, he pressed the baby against his chest and this made Jasmine became ufortable, thus the baby was crying. She was woken up because of the tension in the room and the loud noise that came from Killian and Dane.

    ¡°You will not achieve anything if you are being stubborn, alpha Killian. Stick to our n and you will get what <b>you </b>wanted, including your revenge on the king.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you, who wanted the revenge on the king, not me.¡± He only wanted Althea,

    ¡°Do you <b>think </b>Alex will let go of Althea? He will be more than willing to go to extra length to make sure you are no longer a problem for him anymore.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Killian scoffed. ¡°They only met for a few months, do you really think that his feeling for her that deep?¡±

    Dane scowled with derision. ¡°You don¡¯t know him, alpha. You need to be careful when you provoked him, it will be backfired at you if you are being reckless when you faced him.¡±

    Dane put down all the possibilities that Killian would have to face if he took away the baby

    ¡°Do you really think you and your small pack could get <b>away </b>from the king¡¯s wrath? Trust me, he wille to you in full force and when it happened, you will nowhere to go. The warriors in your pack will not be able to handle the royal warriors. You will only lose so many things and in the end, you will not get the baby neither the mother of your baby.¡±

    Killian¡¯s pack was not small, butpared to the kingdom, of course, it almost felt like something that you shouldn¡¯tpare in the first ce.

    !!!

    Allg 21 <b>R </b>RD.

    <b>+ </b>65%

    ¡°You think that Alex is only gny problem? He will be your problem if you wanted to mess with the people that he wanted and right now, he <b>wanted </b>your mate and your baby. You couldn¡¯t ignore that fact¡±

    Killian gritted his teeth, he wanted to scream at his face and tell him to back off, but thermal part of him agreed that what this prince said was true.

    He stared at his baby, she was <b>crying</b>, her face was so red and she curled her fingers tightly. The sound of his cry ripped his heart apart. He didn¡¯t want to make her cry.

    On the other hand, once Thalia was being kicked out of the nursery room, she immediately went to the party room, where the event was held, trying to look for Althea, but she was informed that Althea currently was with the king, as she attended an important meeting.

    <i>They </i>d

    They didn¡¯t know when they would be done with the meeting.

    ¡°Can you slip a note for her?¡± Thalia asked the guard. ¡°This is very important.¡±

    Thankfully, the guard agreed with <b>that </b><b>and </b>not long after, Althea came out from the room. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked. She didn¡¯t tell Alex about the note, she only told him that she needed to leave for a while because the baby was being <b>grumpy</b>.

    Therefore, Alex didn¡¯te with her.

    Though Althea was not sure what they were talking about, since the conversation was out of her element, she was wise enough to know that <b>was </b>an important meeting.

    Lady Thalia then told her hastily about what happened and Althea¡¯s heart was beating so hard when she ran across the <b>garden </b>and through the hallway, she felt her heart was beating so fast against her ribcage, she couldn¡¯t imagine what Killian was trying to do with the baby, she hoped they wouldn¡¯t take her baby away.

    As she ran, she wondered whether she had to <b>tell </b><b>Alex </b>about it or not, because she couldn¡¯t face the prince, she didn¡¯t have the authority to go against him,

    Alex just introduced her, but she held no status by his side for now.

    ¡°Jasmine!¡± Althea opened the door and found Killian was inside the room, but prince Dane was not there. ¡°Where is my baby?! Stay away from my baby!¡± Althea marched toward the crib and found Jasmine was sleeping there.

    ¡°I only came here to see my daughter,¡± Killian said, he stared at her gently, but a <b>harsh </b>pnded <b>on </b>his face. ¡°Stay away from her.¡±

    2/2

 Claimed 51

    Althea felt her heart was going to explode when she saw Killian was there, he was staring at Jasmine, who was sleeping. He turned around to look at him when he saw her entering the room.

    His expression was devoid from all emotions, but Althea didn¡¯t care what he was thinking at the moment, because right now. she only wanted this man to get away from her sight and even further away from her and her baby¡¯s life.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so loud, I only managed to put her to sleep,¡± Killian said gently, he looked at her as if he didn¡¯t agree with her outburst. The audacity of this man was appalling

    Althea walked past him and then looked at her baby, she checked on her, which made Killian narrowed his eyes, giving her another disapproving look.

    ¡°You don¡¯t think that I will harm our child, right?¡± Killian felt offended with the way Althea checked on Jasmine, as if he had done a heinous crime only by staying by her side alone.

    Althea didn¡¯t answer that, she sighed in relief when she didn¡¯t find something peculiar. It was not that she believed Killian would do harm on their baby, but she simply couldn¡¯t believe him

    ¡°You are too much. Althea Killian didn¡¯t seem to bother with the fact that Althea just pped him. She could stab him if that was all it took for her to go back with him with their child, so they could start a family together.

    He always wanted a family.

    But because of his s**ty, he threw one away and now he had to bear the consequences of that.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I am too much¡± Althea replied, she turned around and faced Killian. This man must be very delusional if he thought that she would go with him after what he had done, especially when he didn¡¯t seem to be remorseful, there was still no apology that came from his mouth whatsoever Thave made myself clear about this matter, Killian, I want you to stay far away from me and my child¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t separate me from my child.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I can. You are a danger to my child.¡±

    ¡°I will never harm her.

    ¡°I thought the same thing too when I learned that you were my mate. I thought no matter how angry you were, you would never treat me that cruel with no regards whatsoever, but then you proved mepletely wrong¡± Althea¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously. He couldn¡¯t mess with her anymore now. ¡°Who could guarantee that you wouldn¡¯t hurt my baby in order to take revenge on me?¡±

    ¡°Are you insane

    ¡°You are the one who made me think that way, Killian. Now, leave the room before I called a guard and said that you have tr**ed my room.¡±

    That kind of punishment would keep Killian away for a while, but with the support of prince Dare, Althea knew it wouldn¡¯t make any big difference.

    Killian gritted his teeth, but finally he gave in and then left the room. He nced at his baby on the crib for a while and then

    to his mate

    ¡°We will be a family again one day¡±

    ¡°We have never been a family to begin with, Killian.¡±

    1/2

    That was her parting word,

    Killian stepped out of the room with a heavy heart. For now, he had to oblige to what prince Dane told him to do because that was the only way for him to get his family back. Dane should be the king, only after that Alex wouldn¡¯t have a way to make thing difficult for him the day he took away Althea and Jasmine and returned to their pack.

    Abigail had been visiting his rented room for a few times in thest week, she was not relented with her demand for him to return to their house.

    She wanted him to apologize to Willow for all the things that he said to her, she told him that their daughter was very depressed because right now, they had not yet seen alpha Killian

    Willow became even more stressful with the thought that the alpha was being tortured in the dungeon.

    Meanwhile, the five warriors that came with Killian didn¡¯t seem to know what happen to their alpha either. They were clueless too.

    Not to mention a few friends that Willow managed to make with the people from the pce now avoided her like a gue once they learned what kind of dispute that happened between her and Althea.

    This was the first time for Willow when someone chose Althea over her. This hurt her so much and Abigail tried her best to console her to no avail.

    ¡°You can¡¯t avoid me forever Brian!¡± Abigail knocked on the door, she was half crying, half angry with her mate because he was avoiding the confrontation, but in Brian¡¯s opinion all of the argumentation was pointless, since Abigail didn¡¯t want to see the error in her way: ¡°Open the door and talk to me directly

    Abigail was exasperated, now she stayed a little bit longer than her usual visit, tried to make Brian to open the door for her,

    She was not going to leave until he d

    did

    But suddenly the door was swung opened and Brian was standing there. He looked at his mate with unreadable expression and Abigail immediately threw herself toward him. She was a crying mess when she hugged him.

    It had been so long ever since she could touch him and this was the biggest and the longest fight that they had. It didn¡¯t make her felt good in the slightestBelongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    ¡°Brian Abigail cried and Brian only stood there, he didn¡¯t even offer afort and when she realized it, she lifted her head and then looked at him ¡°Brian?

    ¡°I think I can¡¯t do this anymore, Abigail¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Abigail seemed to know even before Brian answered her, she shook her head, as he said the rejection.

 Claimed 52

    ¡°Look! She is walking¡± Althea was thrilled to see her baby took her first steps. Jasmine was ten months old right now and she was already able to call her mama. That happened the first time when she was only six months old.

    Of course, that was the moment that Althea would never forget. The moment that she would always cherish in her entire life.

    ¡°Look! Oh, heaven! My baby is big already, Althea said.

    Currently, she was having a pic with Alex after a long day. In the past eight months there were a lot of things that happened and this of course changed the situation around them too.

    Killian became prince Dane¡¯s advisor. Yes. He was an alpha, but he became the advisor of the prince. Therefore, Alex and Althea would see him often at court

    Especially now when Althea had be the future queen of the kingdom. Alex introduced her as such after the morning meeting four months ago, this caused an uproar from their opponent, but Alex¡¯s supporter had been informed beforehand, more so, it would be very obvious by that time that Alex had chosen her to be his mate.

    The ceremony for that would be held three months from now after Jasmine, birthday,

    ¡°She is so smart, Alex cooed the baby, he picked her up and raised her high, which made the baby Laughed and giggled. He was well aware that she was not his, but he had never treated her as such. He loved her genuinely, as if she belonged to him.

    Dada dada Jasmine babbled, which made Alex stopped for a while, he was stunned when he heard that

    ¡°Did she just call me, dada?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Althea didn¡¯t know how to exin that and her first thought was; Alex was offended by that I am sorry. I think she heard Amelia called her father often, because they used to y together and she mimicked her..¡±

    Althea felt so bad, but Alex shook his head and approached her, he kissed her softly. ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, I feel very happy right now. Why would you feel sorry?¡±

    ¡°Because I thought.

    ¡°No. I love her like my own. Althea I see her as my own child¡±

    Althea bit her lip, she felt her tears was almost spilling out from her eyes when she saw the sincerity in his eyes. He was serious when he said that and she could feel it.

    ¡°Thank you. Alex

    All this time, he had never done something wrong to her, he always tried to make her happy and now he said this precious thing. She knew that he was genuine with Jasmine, but hearing him to say it clearly was different feeling entirely

    ¡°Thank you for always be there for us¡­¡±

    The next day Alex took Jasmine in his morning meeting, he introduced her to be the princess of the kingdom and once the ceremony was done, she would be given the tittle.

    As expected, his opponent caused a ruckus again, but like before, Alex didn¡¯t give a s**t about that.

    And the day of the ceremony was here, all the corner of the pce was decorated beautifully with white daisy, Althea¡¯s favorite flower, as she dressed in beautiful purple and ck dress, this was the color of the kingdom¡¯s.

    Therefore, by her using this color, it meant, she was part of the royalty now Jasmine was also dressed in beautifulN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    pink color.

    1/2

    11 21 West Aug 21 RRU

    she looked so adorable and would melt anyone¡¯s heart

    However, if there was people, who didn¡¯t enjoy the festivity, it must be the king¡¯s opponent and more importantly was

    Killian

    He threw everything on the table, he destroyed everything that he could touch, even his five warriors couldn¡¯t calm him shown

    Once he was appointed to be the prince¡¯s advisor, his five warriors were invited to live in the pce as well and because of that Willow could no longer to have an ess or evenmunicate with them

    Last they heard, she was still in the maind with her mother, so did Brian, but they couldn¡¯t care less about that information, since she was no longer significant

    ¡°What happened here?¡± Prince Dane came to see Killian, because he knew this man would be throwing a tantrum and he couldn¡¯t be more right with his instinct. ¡°If you kept doing this, I can¡¯t allow you to attend the ceremony

    ¡°F**k you!¡± Killian cursed loudly, he was enraged, he didn¡¯t see prince Dane for his status anymore, he wanted hum te disappear along with his king brother. ¡°It has been a year, but there is no n of yours that worked!¡±

    After a few ns that they concocted, all of them met with failure and this made Killian became even more desperate to take Jasmine away and returned to his pack. It had been a year since he left his pack and he was no longer felt like he belonged to that pack with his obsession toward Althea and their baby.

    I didn¡¯t appreciate that, prince Dane said, he gestured for all the five warriors to leave them alone.

    Joe, one of the warriors, nodded and then took the rest of the warriors out of the room, giving them some privacy to talk

    There were a lot of things that they needed to sort out at this point.

    ¡°Well, do you want to keep doing this? I need to advise you to not attend if you are not able to behave.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me as if I am a child!¡±

    Then don¡¯t act like one.¡±

    Killian growled, he shifted into his beast and was ready to attack this prince. This man only barked no bit. He put the me

    of their failure on him.

    ¡°Are you really doing this to me?¡± Prince Dane narrowed his eyes and then shifted into his beast as well.

    He was part of the royal family, therefore his beast was visibly bigger than Killian

    GIFT

 Claimed 53

    One day before the ceremony, there was a warrior that knocked on Brian¡¯s door that asked him toe with him, because there was someone, who wanted to see him.

    Brian was doulsful at test, but then he saw the emblem of the royal family at the door of the carriage, he had a wild guess, but he didn¡¯t allow himself to get too hopeful, because hope was a painful thing to have

    The warrior took him to one of a famous restaurant and then <b>guided </b>him to a private room, where there was someone, who <b>had </b>been waiting for him.

    ¡°Hallo, father.¡±

    It was Althea, just like <b>what </b>he had hoped, but this situation <b>was </b>very surreal, Brian couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes.

    ¡°Althea, is that really you, child?¡± Brian could feel his voice was trembling when he approached Althea. She looked beautiful and happy

    ¡°Yes¡± Althea walked toward her father. She had heard everything that <b>had </b>happened to her father in thest few months. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    Alex kept checking on her family, even though she didn¡¯t ask, just in case she wanted to reconnect with th <i>and </i>knew

    about what happened to <b>them</b>.

    Therefore, when Althea finally reached out <b>to </b>him and ask to know about what her parents and sister were doing. already had the answer for that.

    Alex

    She was surprised, but she wouldn¡¯t put it passed hit <b>that </b>he must havee up with something like this. This man was unpredictable, but he did everything for her.

    ¡°Althea.¡± Brian called her name again, he finally met with her. ¡°I am sorry, my child. I am truly sorry.

    Brian couldn¡¯t imagine what Althea had gone through in <b>Killian¡¯s </b>hand and the knowledge kept him awake every night,

    He wanted to punch that man harder in the face. He should have done that when he had the chance.

    Althea then hugged her father. From what she heard, her father was no longer stayed with her mother and Willow and every day, without missing a day, <b>Abigail </b><b>would </b>turn in his rented room to beg for him to ept her back, <b>willow </b>woulde asionally in order to persuade him.

    However, every day as well, Brian would <b>turn </b>them down. He didn¡¯t want to see them.

    If it happened for a week or two. Althea could understand, but it had been going on for more than half a year and not even once Brian wavered, thus, she thought her father deserved a second <b>chance</b>, more so, she wanted him to be in her

    ceremony

    ¡°Do you want to see Jasmine? Althen asked after a long hug

    ¡°Yes, please. Brian¡¯s eyes lit up.

    The fight between the prince and the alpha didn¡¯tst for long because prince Dane managed to tackle him down and make him unable to move, which only angered the alpha even more.

    Prince Dane then let go of him and then roared his order. ¡°Shift¡±

    In hierarchy, the alpha would be the highest in the pack, but this was not his pack, none of these people belonged to him and <b>the </b>prince was way more intimidating than him.

    Therefore, without another choice, with the direct order from the bigger predator in the room, Killian didn¡¯t have another <b>chance </b>but to oblige, even though it tore him <b>apart </b>to actually follow his order, he felt like he was going to kill this <b>man</b>, though it was only a <b>thought</b>..

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you will be able to attend this ceremony with this behavior, Killian,¡± Dane said, hemented when he saw the anger and killing intent in his eyes, he contemted, touching his chin and nodded to himself. ¡°Hm. I am right. You are not <b>ready </b>to attend this ceremony. I want you to sit <b>this </b>one out.¡±

    <i>¡°</i>Bastard!¡± Killian roared again, he marched toward Dane, but helstopped himself before he did something stupid to this prince. ¡°You didn¡¯t have a better n, did you? Even after <b>a </b>year, there is nothing significant that happened, there is no change and all of your attempt to sit on the throne is a failure!¡±

    ¡°<b>If </b>I were you, I will take back what you said earlier, because when I was no longer being nice to you to let slide all of your

    <ol>

    <li>ul. your head will be on the street.¡± Dane narrowed his eyes. ¡°You are not really worth it actually, since I couldn¡¯t see why that slut <b>wanted </b>to choose you over a king, so your presence here is not really helping with my n, if you don¡¯t want to listen to my order, you can walk out of this room and never return.¡± </li>

    </ol>

    Killian gritted <b>his </b>teeth, he had a lot of curse words <b>that </b>he wanted to deliver to him, but he held himself back, knowing the gravity of his situation, because the moment he walked out of this room and he was being kicked out of the pce, there was no way for him to be able to return and Dane knew that

    ¡°Yes, just like I thought,¡± he said lightly, nodding his head, as if Killian gave him the answer that he wanted to hear, ¡°Sit <b>this </b>one out, alpha. We are going to talk <b>again </b>after I attending the ceremony.¡±

    After saying that, Dane walked out of the room, his expression didn¡¯t <b>show </b>any emotion and this only made Killian event enraged.

    He couldn¡¯t go to Althea¡¯s ceremony!

    But then, what he could do if he came to attend her ceremony, it was not like he was able to <b>stop </b>it. It would only burn his blood with rage.

    Probably, it was wise to let him stay <b>behind</b>.

    Yet, Killian picked up what he had been doing earlier, as he thrashed everything that he could touch and turn the room into a nightmare.

    All the five warriors that came with him from the pack could hear his angry howl from behind the <b>closed </b>door and they didn¡¯t say anything, not even shared a look with one another

 Claimed 54

    Brian came to her daughter¡¯s ceremony, but before that of course, Abigail and Willow had to make a fuss over it.

    They actually had been waiting for him outside of his door the moment he opened the door, Abigail threw herself to him and hugged him so tightly, he thought, he was going to pass out, while Willow stood there and had her eyes on him, her gaze was intense and Brian knew why.

    She saw the way he dressed and didn¡¯t like with the fact that he might be invited to the ceremony, because there was no reason at all for Brian to be so neat this early morning.

    ¡°Where are you going father?¡± Willow finally asked, while Abigail was still crying in Brian¡¯s arms.

    Abigail was very sad because today was the day of the ceremony of the union between her younger daughter and while the whole kingdom knew about it and celebrated it, she didn¡¯t even hear a peep about the invitation, even though Abigail was sure that Althea knew she was still in the maind.

    A year. It had been more than a year for her to be mad at them, it should be enough for her to calm down, but no, Althea chose to burn all the bridges and didn¡¯t acknowledge her family at all

    How could she was so heartless and cruel to her own parents, how she could be a parent herself when she abandoned her family?

    She was not a good future queen if she didn¡¯t want to acknowledge her own family and right now, Abigail came here to ask for support from Brian, because she thought they were on the same boat and if there was someone else, who knew exactly how she felt about the whole situation, it must be him.

    However, after Willow¡¯s remark, she finally realized that was not the case.

    Abigail pulled herself together and blinked her tears away, as she looked at Brian with a pale face. ¡°Wh- what is this?¡± she stammered because she couldn¡¯t believe that he was very well prepared. ¡°Are you going to the ceremony?¡±

    Brian didn¡¯t expect this early visit, but he expected them toe, after all they had been visiting him relentlessly for thest

    year.

    ¡°Yes.¡± There was no way for him to lie and Brian didn¡¯t even want to lie to her. Abigail should see the error in her way of treating their two daughters and this was only the consequences of her action that finally bit her on the butt.

    As if on cue, Abigail started to wail, as she dropped to her knees and cry so hard, Brian had to pull them inside the room so they wouldn¡¯t attract any attention in the hallway.

    However, once they were inside, he didn¡¯t know what to say, there was nothing he wanted to say to her, because she was still the same.

    ¡°How could you by yourself?¡±

    do this to me? How could you not let Althea to let me attend the ceremony? How could go to her ceremony

    Brian didn¡¯t have any sympathy for Abigail, it was weird to see her cried so hard like this, but he felt nothing, because this woman was the woman that he used to care the most, someone that he thought, he would spend the rest of his life with, but as it turned out, the only thing that kept them together was a mere mate bond that kept fading away.

    And right now, not even a mate bond kept them together because he had rejected her.

    ¡°Father, how could you do this to us?¡± Willow cried as well. She was so upset, because her father was so stubborn. She wanted to visit the pce and see Killian, she had been waiting for this moment, but she didn¡¯t give any invitation

    She came here to try to convince her father to visit the pce even without the invitation, but as it turned out, he got the invitation.

    1/2

    bb%

    You betrayed us.¡±

    Brian lifted his eyes and then met with Willow¡¯s, there was something in his eyes that made her took a step back out of instinct. The look on her father¡¯s eyes was¡­ terrifying to say the least.

    ¡°You need to think twice before you hurled that word to me, Willow.¡± Brian didn¡¯t raise his voice, but the firm tone made Willow mped her mouth.

    ¡°How could you do this to us?¡± Abigail wailed and then there was a knock on the door.

    ¡°I think you need to go.¡± Brian was familiar with this scent, if was the people from the pce, who came to pick him up to the ceremony and this made Willow and Abigail became even crazier,

    ¡°Do you want us to go, while you attending the ceremony?¡± Abigail couldn¡¯t believe that.

    ¡°All of this happened because of you, Abigail, don¡¯t y victim with me. You are the one, who didn¡¯t even try to be with her, you didn¡¯t even try to stand up for her!¡±

    ¡°Did you?¡± Abigail then stood up, her eyes zed with anger after the tears didn¡¯t work. ¡°Did you stand up for her when she was used of murdering Willow? You didn¡¯t, Brian. You didn¡¯t stand up for her even though you are the father, even though you are supposed to be the protector of the family, but you didn¡¯t do anything, don¡¯t lecture me about something that you didn¡¯t even do,¡±

    That was a sore spot for Brian, because he knew how wrong what he had done and there was no word that could describe how much he was sorry for that moment, but of course, he had something to tell her, to open her eyes.

    Yes, I admitted that was the biggest mistake in my life and I redeemed myself,¡± Brian growled at Abigail, but this time, she didn¡¯t show any fear. ¡°But, I couldn¡¯t say the same to you, in your eyes, Willow is still innocent, right?¡±

    N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

 Claimed 55

    The oromony went so well, Brian had tears in his eyes when he watched how beautiful his daughter was and he could tell than the Bully was happy, she looked so beautiful, stunning

    He was very thankful to her for inviting him here and weed him back into her life.

    However. Brun could feel the tension in the air and he knew why There were a lot of people, who didn¡¯t agree with Althea to be the queen of the kingdom, because she had a mute before and she had a daughter from the previous mate

    I was a taboo and had never happened, therefore, the union was frowned upon. Brian felt his heart was constricted because of the trouble thar Althea had to endure in the future, but he was grateful the king would be there.

    He believed that he would take care of her and love her the way the deserved it. If only he could help with something regarding this whole situation, he would do it in a heartbeat.

    In the party, Brian couldn¡¯t see Killian, he was not in the ceremony too and even though it didn¡¯t really bother him, he was curious enough to ask around, since apparently Killian became the advisor for prince Dane, the opposition, who wanted to dethrone the king

    ¡°You look so gorgeous, my child¡± Brianplimented Althea when they finally had alone time.

    ¡°Thank you, father.¡± Althea had changed her dress into a night gown, she was stunningly beautiful with a streak of innocent in her eyes.

    Brian then told her about Abigail and Willow¡¯s visit this morning. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to ruin your day, I only want to warn you that they might try something to you

    Althea chuckled. ¡°There is nothing that they can do to me, father, you don¡¯t need to worry about that¡±

    After that, they talked about trivial matter, but it didn¡¯t take long before the topic went back to Willow and Abigail again.

    ¡°Someday will you be able to forgive them?¡± Brian asked carefully. ¡°You don¡¯t need to answer this if the question makes you ufortable.¡±

    Althea lowered her head. ¡°I am not sure father, whether I can forgive them or not, but I will definitely not forget what they

    had done.¡±

    Brian nodded. That was fair enough.

    And then, Thalia came to them because Jasmine had been asking her mother, the little one was upset because there were so many people that upied her mother¡¯s attention and she wanted to get some from her, therefore she was being fussy.

    Brian¡¯s eyes

    up when he saw his granddaughter, she looked so adorable in her red dress and ribbon, she had her father¡¯s eyes, but her face looked like Althea when she was little.

    They talked about light thing, while Althea calmed Jasmine down. She told him about a few things that Jasmine could do recently and how she was a very shy person, it seemed, she got it from her mother.

    ¡°Do you want to be with grandfather?¡± Althea asked.

    Jasmine looked at Brian for a while before she raised both of herarms and Brian¡¯s heart melted, he picked her up from Althea¡¯s arms and kissed her chubby cheeks.

    She smelled so define and the way she looked at him curiously was so adorable. They just met a few days ago in the restaurant and it seemed, she remembered him.

    ¡°You are the cutest baby that I have ever seen, baby.¡± Brian cooed her

    1/2

    +65%

    After that, the ceremony went smoothly, though there was a few hups here and there and how Mathilda stared dagger at Ahhea, because she hated her to be the queen of this kingdom. Althea wouldn¡¯t let her ruined her day.

    She had dealt with her mother and Willow all of her life and even survived Killian, a Mathilda wouldn¡¯t be able to break her.

    And now, it was official that she was the queen of the kingdom and for the king.

    I time, she would spend her night with the

    Well they had seen each other before, but they had never done the deed, though it was so close to it, but Althea would have a panic attack and Alex would stop

    He was being very careful and thoughtful with her and she didn¡¯t know how she deserved someone like him.

    Althea wondered, what kind of good deed that she had done to have this man in her life, she would trade a thousand Killian for him, even though the former was her destined mate.

    And now, all she could do was to focus herself for tonight, she was so nervous. She didn¡¯t want her trauma to get in the way between her and Alex.

    The man had been very patient with her, but she couldn¡¯t push him to his limit. Frankly speaking, he had his needs too and if Althea couldn¡¯t fulfill that, he might find it somewhere else and that was thest thing that he wanted.

    Althea dreaded the thought that some random woman would touch him and Alex was finally fed up with her and her trauma and decided to give in to the temptation.

    It was not like Althea could do anything about that. Her true power came from Alex, thus if she didn¡¯t win him over, would only be another woman for Alex.

    That was how Althea thought about the whole thing. She was scared, confused and was very frig

    frigid

    Her mind and emotions s***ed.

    sheC0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    ¡°You look so stunning Alex said, as he walked toward her, he just finished to take a bath and they were ready to bed after a long day.

    However, both of them knew, it wouldn¡¯t only end up with Althea was sleeping like a baby in his arms like they usually did, because there was a certain expectation for their first night together.

    ¡°I-I will take a bath, Althea said, as she rushed toward the bathroom, but Alex grabbed her hand.

    ¡°Do you need help

 Claimed 56

    Altheaughed when he offered to help her with her dress, but the look in his eyes told her that he was deadly serious with his offer, which only made her blushed

    No Lam not a child, I can do it on my own.¡± Althea replied, she smiled at her and wriggled her hand, which thankfully, Alex let go, because if he insistes, she didn¡¯t think she would be able to argue with him in this.

    Inside the bathroom, she took her time. Actually, she took longer time than she needed to prepare herself and her heart in order to face Alexter

    She knew that he wouldn¡¯t force himself to her like Killian did, he might even relent to mate and mark her tonight and give her more time to ept him.

    However, Althea didn¡¯t want it, she didn¡¯t want to let him wait and she didn¡¯t want her trauma with Kilian ruin her future with Alex

    ¡°Come on, Althea. You can do this.¡± She felt so angry with herself because she still let Killian to control her. The thought that he was still having some sense of control over her body and mind was truly disgusted her.

    Therefore, for almost two hours. Althea finally made up her mind and walked out of the bathroom, only to find Alex was sleeping He breathed slowly, as heid on the bed with eyes closed.

    Somehow, there was a mix of relief and annoyed that washed over her, but mostly, it was a relief, because she had an excuse to postpone it

    She would be ready tomorrow, maybe not tonight, but she would definitely be ready for him tomorrow.

    Althea immediately slipped into her night dress and climbed the bed, sheid down on her side and stared at Alex. He must be very exhausted because he had to greet all the guests, everyone wanted to talk with him and he led all the conversation, while Althea could only smile by her side because most part, she didn¡¯t even understand what they were talking about

    She had been learning about the state affair, but she still had a lot of things to catch on, since she was not born into the royal family, so it sufficed to say that she had a lifetime of Alex¡¯s knowledge to catch on if she wanted to have such stimting intelligence conversation with him and his people,

    ¡°Good night, Alex.¡± Althea moved a little bit closer to him and then kissed his cheek, before he retreated and then curled herself to sleep.

    She didn¡¯t want to be cuddled, because she felt like she was being suffocated. It happened once and she woke up with panic. Alex had never tried to do it again and Althea felt so bad because of that.

    The room was quiet and the sound of thete party had faded in the background, the guests must have retreated to their own bedroom

    And when Althea finally fell asleep and her breathing became shallow, Alex opened his eyes. He tilted his head and looked at the girl beside him.

    As it turned out, he didn¡¯t even sleep, he only pretended to be asleep, because he knew that Althea was not ready for this. After she took so long inside the bathroom and didn¡¯te out even after an hour had passed, he knew tonight was not the night and decided to pretend to be asleep.

    If he rejected her advance, she would feel bad, but if they proceeded with the next level, she was not ready and he would feel

    bad to force it.

    Therefore, what he did was the safest option, though it was a little bit childish in his opinion.

    ¡°Good night too, lovely.¡± Alex kissed her forehead and closed his eyes again, this time, he fell asleep for real. Her scent alone

    |||

    was enough to calm bivnerveA.

    The next day, they went for breakfast like usual, but there were a few people, who looked at each other with questioning look

    their ryes, because they couldn¡¯t see the mark on her neck.

    Last night should be the night, where the king marked the queen, but Althea had not yet bore the mark

    However, they didn¡¯t make a big fuss about this, only feeling a bit curious and gossipy. Yet, Althea could feel that, she was well aware of the way they saw her and how their eyes trailed down to the juncture of her neck.

    She tried to keep herselfposed and not worry about that, especially when Alex didn¡¯t make a big deal out of it.

    This morning, he apologized to her because he fell asleep, because he was too exhausted and promised that he would make it up to her tonight. Althea blushed and felt a little bit guilty because she felt relief, while he felt guilty.

    ¡°Queen, Althea

    Althea stopped walking and turned around to see prince Dane approached her, he was alone and to her relief, Killian was not with him. She didn¡¯t see him in the ceremony too, though it made her sick to her stomach that she looked for him.

    But of course, it was different reason

    ¡°Prince Dane, it¡¯s nice to see you,¡± Althea greeted him, she kept her smile, but she didn¡¯t put her guard down, because she knew this man¡¯s appearance wouldn¡¯t be a good thing for her.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you too, my queen. Prince Dane stood in front of her, his towered her small body, but the smile on his lips was very warm, if Althea didn¡¯t know any better, she would think this man was decent, only if she didn¡¯t know what he had been up to in thest year to try to drag Alex down. ¡°Is it okay for me to walk with you my queen.¡±

    No. Althea didn¡¯t want to walk with him, she wanted to walk alone.

    ¡°Sure, I am going to visit the king

    2/2N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

 Claimed 57

    No, Albes didn¡¯t have any n to visit Alex, but she thought by doing so, she could make this man went away, because in ninality, she didn¡¯t want to walk with him.

    However, prince Hane didn¡¯t seem mind with her decision and walked with her anyway. He also added that he wanted to thee with his brother as well

    Great. Now, Althea was walking in awkward silent with the prince by her side, but apparently, it was only her, who felt the awkwardness, because from the look of it, prince Dane didn¡¯t feel the same.

    ¡°I think you and Mathild can be a good friend, since from the way I look, you don¡¯t make many friends here.¡±

    Althea smailed politely, but she knew that she and Mathilda wouldn¡¯t make a good friend at all. Their first encounter didn¡¯t feel pleasant

    ¡°Thank you, I need some time to adjust.¡±

    It was not that Althea didn¡¯t want to make a friend in the pce, but most of the royal family had been friend since they were little and they were very close with one another, knowing her background didn¡¯t help her to socialize with her.

    Sometime, she felt like they were mocking her, because she didn¡¯t know about a certain thing, but probably was because of her sensitive side only,

    ¡°Yes, I can see that Prince Dane smiled with full of meaning, as he nced at her. ¡°I think you need more year to be able to embrace your role as the mother of the nation, not only the mother for your child.¡±

    The way he mocked her was not very subtle, just like his mate, he seemed to hold a grudge against her when in reality, he supposed to be bothering Alex instead of her.

    ¡°What is your daughter¡¯s name again? 1 forgot her name, because I don¡¯t feel the connection with her, since she is not the blood of the royal. Don¡¯t get me wrong, but it will be messed up our bloodline if her name is put in the royal stone.¡±

    The royal stone was the stone that listed all the royal family¡¯s bloodline from generation to generation.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Althea appeared unfazed with his subtle derailment and she kept her smile bright and sweet. ¡°I will make a stone for me and my daughter. You don¡¯t need to worry about that. But, I thankful for your grace concern, because it is such a trivial matter, but apparently bothered you so much.¡±

    Prince Dane smiled at her bravery for turning the table on him.

    And thankfully, this ufortable walk didn¡¯tst forever, as they arrived at the king¡¯s study room.

    ¡°I forgot there is something that I needed to handle, so I think I will meet with my brother another time. Prince Dane nodded politely at her and then left.

    Meanwhile, Althea stood in front of Alex¡¯s study room and watched his retreating back. She decided to pay Alex a visit, since she was already here.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasant surprise to see my queen here,¡± Alex said, ttering her like usual. He gestured for her to sit on hisp. Althea blushed, but she relented and then sat on hisp, just like the way he wanted her to be.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    ¡°Something is upsetting you?¡± Alex kissed her neck, he was tempted to mark her right there and then, but he held himself back, because he didn¡¯t want to do it this way.

    It was getting hard to be around her when he knew that she was his right now and there was no amount of what people said could change that. Legally, she was his. She was his in any form and shape.

    No Altes closed her eyes, she relished the testing of his lips in foreskin or huge has warmth fire tickled her LETNES

    The Heslie Because Lenght you put met with my stepule, Althea was surprised and her heady told him o when is it something that he sand bothering your Alex cupped her fare between his palms **l looked at herrigle in the eyes he kisselles pasline and then nibbled on her earlobe Teme We promised to tell her anything, right?!

    Alches side want to tell host aliout this because she didn¡¯t dink dis was a big deal, but Alex knew her well and she was not a god har than she told him aloo their conversation

    ¡°Tim. ¡°Alex contemted, he kissednd of her eyes, because he liked it, it seemed, he couldn¡¯t get enough of her n matter what I think you are right, we need te roke out now stone. The star of mur family, what do you think about tha

    Ahhew giggled that even a thing¡±

    ¡°To will be a thing if you wanted it¡± Alex but her chin and licked the spot where he hit her ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I 11¡±

    will loss Althea said with a giggle. She stared into his eyes and then leaned over to kiss her and Alex tayed will sto let her to take the lead and didn¡¯t face her to do something that she didn¡¯t want to, as he sat there and resiprated what she gave to him

    Alibes then melged him to open his meth and he did exactly the way she wanted it, her wet tongue explored his month and he sucked it lightly, waiting for her reaction and when she didn¡¯t pull away or there was any sign of difort, Alex continued

    Her hand was on his hair and she caressed his neck, which made him hard and Althea could feel it, because she was sitting on hn hard on but she didn¡¯t dare to make a move, despite knowing that

    ¡°You are so f**g beautiful, Allie do you know that?¡± Alex said breathlessly, as he kept nozzled the side of her head she was devastatingly beautiful no matter how you looked at her.

    And then, Althea did something hole¡­

    Ìï

 Claimed 58

    Althea grinded her a**against his hand on, as he kissed his neck and this elicited a deep growl from the king

    Mex¡¯s eyes widenest with this movement, he couldn¡¯t believe what Althea was doing tes him right now, especially when she was determined to keep this going

    The pleasure that he felt from her movement was heavenly and he was barely able to hold back his urge toy her down on his table and f**k her right there and there.

    ¡°Althea..¡± Alex called her name in warning tone. His eyes darkenes, as he felt her sucked on the sensitive spot on his neck. ¡°Althea if you keep doing this. I will not be able to control myself back..¡±

    His breathing became ragged and he was not sure that he would be able to hold himself back if she kept teasing him th

    WAY.

    However, Althea licked his skin instead as a reply, whish made Alex gritted his teeth, because it was very apparent that she didn¡¯t want this to stop, but he needed to know whether she did this because she wanted it, or because she only did this our of obligation.

    Alex would be very **d if he didn¡¯t realize the way people looked at her with curiosity because there was still no mark on

    her neck.

    There

    was no way it slipped his eyes.

    ¡°Stop this for a while.¡± Alex said, his control slipped from his fingers, as he wanted to say **k it and f**k her, since she was the one, who had initiated it.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    But, the rational side in his mind didn¡¯t allow him to do so. It was Wrong alright to do the deed when she was not in her right mind.

    completely wrong for him to think that it was

    Alex then put his hand over her chest and squeezed it, which made her flinched and stopped for a mere second.

    That was enough for the king to know that she was not ready for this. More so, they were not going to do this for the first time on his desk, he wouldn¡¯t be able to work on this desk anymore in the future.

    ¡°Stop this, Althea,¡± Alex said, this time, his voice was firmer, as he pulled away from her, but she whimpered.

    ¡°No,¡± she said softly. Althea looked at Alex, she could see the desire behind his eyes, but he reigned it and she felt so bad. ¡°Why.. Don¡¯t you want me?¡±

    Alex smiled helplessly at her. He leaned over and pecked her lips. ¡°You know how bad I wanted you, Althea. You can feel it that too, right?¡± His eyes flickered down, indicating his hard on, which made Althea blushed

    Of course, she could feel it, she could feel how hard he was, after all, she was sitting on it.

    However, he stopped her, he didn¡¯t want to continue this and as if Alex knew what was going on in that pretty little head of hers, he answered the unspoken question.

    ¡°It¡¯s because you are not ready. Althea.¡± Alex caressed her flushed cheeks. ¡°I want you to want me too.¡±

    I want you. The answer was quick. She knew that she wanted him, she wanted him so bad, she was willing to do everything.

    Yet, Alex proved his point again when he caressed her inner thigh and then her neck, her body tensed and Althea lowered her head.

    ¡°I want you to only think about us when we finally did it.¡±

    1/a

    11:23 Wed, Aug 21 (R

    ¡°Maybe we just need to do it anyway.

    Alex kissed her check, he pulled her closer to him and hugged her instead, since she felt so ufortable with his hand in her inner thigh

    ¡°No. That will not help you.¡± Alex caressed her back to soothe her disappointment to herself. ¡°More so, I don¡¯t want to do it

    here.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I will not be able to look at my desk the same if you are going toy naked there as I f**d you.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡± Althea was mortified with how tant Alex was talking, sometime, she couldn¡¯t understand how he could be very attractive even when he used to talk dirty like this, but probably that was his charm.

    What a weird person¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s befortable with a cuddle first, what do you think?¡± Alex suggested this idea, which made Althea thought that was great and she nodded her head in agreement.

    ¡°Great¡± Alex kissed her cheek again and they stayed like that for a while.

    Actually, Alex didn¡¯t let her go even after an hour passed and he checked all the document and wrote a few letters with Althea on hisp. He lookedfortable enough with her nearby

    Yet, Althea could still feel how hard he was and she was afraid she would be a distraction for him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you are a wee distraction.¡± Alex grinned and continued with his busy job, as the king.

    How could you not love this man. He had more self control than most of the people and Althea felt safe with him, she knew that he wouldn¡¯t do something that would hurt her, he would put her wellbeing above his need, his lust or whatever selfish

    reason

    ¡°What is this?¡± Althea asked, she pointed her finger at one of the reports, the word ¡®queen¡¯ caught her eyes.

    Alex gave the report to her to read.

    Apparently, there was an area in the south that congratted their ceremony, but couldn¡¯t attend because of the problem there.

    Drought, that area used to have the same problem every year and every year too, they would have to be supplied by the

    nearest town for water.

    Usually, the king would toe as well

    to that area to inspect further what they needed more, but this time, they asked for the queen

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to go if you don¡¯t want to

    -No. I want to gu

    This will be her first duty as the queen to check on her

 Claimed 59

    ¡°Are you sure you want to go

    There was a mirth in his eyes, clearly he wanted her to go. Actually, he was going to bring this topic up with herter, lut since she was here, he haired her by showing the letter.

    He knew that he was reading the report with him, thus the word must have attracted her attention.

    Yes, it was a little bit maniptive, but then it didn¡¯t do anyone hormed. She could choose not toe with him too.

    ¡°Yes, I want to go with you, it¡¯s okay, right?¡± Althea asked, she knew that he warner her, but her self confidence was not really working met of the time and she still had a few issued that she had to handle before she could be more confidence with herself and the love Alex had for her.

    ¡°I really want you toe if you are willing Everything was about Althea¡¯sfort and how she felt.

    ¡°Oh,ut Jasmine Althea felt eanflicted because she couldn¡¯t leave Jasmine alone, especially when Killian was still in the pre, though the area of the pce was vast and the chance for her to meet with him was slim, but she knew that Killian would try to see her hy again if he learned that she left.

    ¡°Of course, we will bring Jasmine with us, silly He nudged her small nose. ¡°Why would we leave her behind?¡±

    ¦§

    ¡°B¡± Althea was still worried because this would be her first appearance in public and she knew that her baby was a sore spot <b>for </b>all the people in this kingen, more than her background.

    People thought that the king could do much better, there were plenty of noblewomen, who were more than willing to be the queen by his side, someone more beautiful, smarter and more knowledgealile. Not to mention that their family <b>would </b>be a

    reat support for the king and they were mon

    Bia, nope. The king sended down with a moated woman, who had a child with someone else. Althea¡¯s background was not really good either, especially when she came from different continent.

    Yet, the king could¡¯t care less about what people said and chose the woman that he wanted and this shut them up, though they were still talking behind his back

    ¡°Let them talk¡± Alex kissed her chin.

    Right at that time, Greyson entered the room and was stunned to see the sight of the two of them. ¡°Whoops, should I go backter¡±

    Caryson and Northern find epted theirte that there was nothing could change the king¡¯s mind and also because the ceremony had happencil, they didn¡¯t have any other choice, but to protect the queen and the baby.

    More so they could see how their king was so happy with this woman and the baby was so cute too, thus it <b>was </b>a great point

    ¡°No, no I will go Althea immediately jumped from <b>Alex¡¯s </bp and rushed out of the room before Alex could catch her ¡°<b>You </b>ruined the mood Alex <b>gave </b>his royal gamma a dirty look for ruining lus time together with his mate.

    Alex.could

    ¡°Well, you lighness, this is the time where you have to work, not to y around with your mate, okay? Now Greyson pur down a stack of paper on his desk. ¡°Let¡¯s be done with this quickly, so you can go back to you mate, okay?¡±

    From the look on Alex¡¯s eyes, it was almost like he was going tomit a murder, but Greyson simply avoided his eyes and then continued with the report

    Later that night, Alex and Althea tried to cuddle, but it <b>was </b>too much for her, thus they settled with holding a hand throughout the night, which she was fine with

    1/2

    21121 Wet Aug <b>21 </b><b># </b>H

    The step at a time,¡± Ates said.

    The next day, he hugged her from behind and on the seventh day, she could sleep in his arms, Cuddled with him for a long time without having a breakdown, she felt safe with <b>him</b>.

    i really helped because Alex didn¡¯t force himself to her and was very amodating Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    A weekter, they went to the drought area with Jasmine, she was a happy child, she looked so adorable when she stared at the scenery outside of their carriage, talking and asking question rapidly to her mother and father

    Althea was having a hard time to answer all of her question because she was a very curious baby. Alex helped with that and mostly, Jasmine would turn to him.

    ¡°Are you like this when you were little?¡± Alex <b>asked</b>, he nudged Jasmine¡¯s cheek<b>, </b><b>as </b>she ate her fruit, but still found something

    to ask

    ¡°I am not sure,¡± Althea replied between her chuckled when Jasmine tugged Alex¡¯s sleeve to ask about something. She simply couldn¡¯t stop with her curiosity and was very excited with her first trip.

    They arrived at the drought <b>area </b>and upied the pack house¡¯s guest bedroom, the alpha and the luna weed them warmly, they even acknowledged baby Jasmine and amodate the baby¡¯s need, which Althea was very grateful <b>for</b><b>. </b>

    They looked very genuine and warm people. Althea could sigh a relief, because she dreaded the worse.

    Thalia canie with them too, as she would take care the baby, while the other two maids would attend to Althea.

    I trust you with the baby, because I don¡¯t trust anyone, as much as I trust you?

    That was what Althea said when Thalia thought she was being reced with the other two maids <b>and </b>Althea didn¡¯t want her anymore

    The statement was enough to cheer Thalia up. She loved the baby, thus it <b>was </b>an easy job for her.

    Meanwhile, the problem with the drought happened because there was a path that was ruined and the carriages that carried water supply couldn¡¯t past it.

    But, as Althea listened to that, she had a bright <b>idea</b>.

    FR

 Claimed 60

    Althea¡¯s idea was to make a pipe that connected from the other town to this town, through the woods.

    The carriages that carried water supply had to take enroute, because they couldn¡¯t go through the woods, since there was no path could be used for the carriages to go through, therefore, it took a longer time from one town to the other.

    However, a big pipe would be sufficient to connect the two towns through the wood, where it was a shortcut.

    ¡°Oh right. We can do that!¡± Alpha James said excitedly. ¡°You are really brilliant, my queen¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Althea replied sheepishly, it felt so good when someone acknowledged your effort and was happy for your

    suggestion

    And when Althea looked at Alex, he was staring at her and she could feel how proud he was to her, which made her heart swelled with pride and happiness.

    ¡°Thope everything went well, Althea said again.

    After that, they discussed about a few details and then wrapped it up quicker than they expected.

    The next day, the king and alpha James made a few instructions to create the big pipe that connected the two town.

    The news about it spread like wildfire in the capital city and the towns nearby. They praised the queen for her quick thinking

    Of course, the news came from the king¡¯s men and Alex emphasized to them to tell the truth about the queen¡¯s suggestion and how she solved the problem.

    This helped people to see Althea in different light, though it wouldn¡¯t change their view on her overnight, but Alex was working on it, so did Althea

    The king wanted the people to see the wornan that he chose, someone that he decided to spend the rest of his life with. This was only small thing that they learned about Althea, but he promised they would learn more about why he loved this

    Meanwhile, the news about what Althea had done in her first public appearance, of course, reached Killian and he became more conflicted and depressed.

    He became more agitated because not only Althea did great in her first duty as the queen, but she also changed the public opinion about her. He didn¡¯t like this. He didn¡¯t want anyone to have any idea about her. He only wanted her for himself.

    He had never seen this side of her and now, people knew about this and he was not t was, even he had to admit that the idea was exceptional.

    He hated it

    ¡°When it will happen?¡± Killian asked grimly at prince Dane.

    Three days. Within three days, thing will take in a good turn for us.

    the first time to know how brilliant she

    Killian gave hun a nce, he didn¡¯t really trust him, because thest time he said the same thing and their n failed

    For a few weeks, they had been silent, because they were concocting new n. The road to the drought town was not able to

    acrester not because without any reason

    Prince Dane was the mastermind behind the ruined road.

    Chipert R)

    ¡°Are you sure with this Kn asked, he was sick to be in this continent. He wanted to go back to his pack, but he had gone

    De and he was not going to go back without his mate and daughter.

    ¡°Are you betting me now prince Dane raised his brows, but Killian didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°It will work now.¡±

    Are yoo the

    grated his teeth. ¡°Yeah, I hope it will work.¡± There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice when he spoke, but prince Dane mored that

    Right now, there was only the royal beta and the royal g**a in the pce, who ran the pce affair without the king¡¯s

    presence

    Something big would happen in three days.

    On the other hand, Abigail and Willow heard about the news as well. They didn¡¯t say anything, not even had any discussion about it, because what else to be discussed? It was not something that they would pleasantly talk about over meal

    However, there was a tension between their rtionship. Abigail stopped bothering Brian anymore after the ceremony, she felt this hollow in her chest because the couldn¡¯t attend the event and even more because of the fact she had not yet seen her first granddaughterN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    For some reason, she would stare at the olddy with their grandchildren every time she went out and she was jealous of their rtionship. She had grandchild too, but she had never seen her, she only knew her name and that was it

    Abigail had been asking Willow to return to their pack, but she refused, she still wanted to see Killian, trying in her own Way to get an ess to get into the pce and confronted him, but of course, it was close to impossible.

    wished

    when the other person didn¡¯t want to see her. The pce was not a ce where she coulde and go as the

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to our pack, Willow, there is no point for us to be here,¡± Abigail said one day, she looked tired. The bond between her and Brian was ruined and she didn¡¯t know what to do now, she only wanted to rest

    ¡°No, mother. If you wanted to go, you can go by yourself, I have never asked you toe. Willow was frustrated with her mother, because she was not supportive and helpful enough to get what she wanted

    And that was the first time. Abigail finally snapped at her daughter, she looked at her with teary eyes.

    ¡°How could you say that and dismissive my feeling after everything that I have done for you?¡± Abigail was so hurt. ¡°Why would you want to chase after the man that clearly didn¡¯t want you anymore?!¡±

    He wants me!¡± Willow screamed back. ¡°He is only confused right now, he only wants his child, that¡¯s all! Once he got his child back, we will be together again

 Claimed 61

    Abigail looked red when Willow kept singing the same old song and dance, as she stared at her daughter without any emotions, but when Willow screeched and cried so hard, she had this obligation toe to her andfort her.

    ¡°Lam sorry, I to hurt you¡±

    sorry,¡± Abigail said, she hugged her daughter closely, as she sat down next to her. ¡°I am sorry, I don¡¯t mean

    ¡°You hurt me, mother. You hurt me mother,¡± Willow cried so hard, she was hyperventting, which made Abigail panic. ¡°Don¡¯t cry my child, don¡¯t cry. I am sorry, okay?¡±

    ¡°You hurt me, you hurt me like how father did, you want to abandon me, just like how father abandoned me, right? You want to leave me here alone, just like father.¡±

    Abigail closed her eyes, she felt tired, but also felt this pang in her chest, Brian didn¡¯t want her anymore and Althea didn¡¯t even want to breathe the same air like her and now, she only had Willow. If she lost her, she had no one else.

    She understood about why Willow felt like she had abandoned her, though that was not her intention at all, but she couldn¡¯t help it.

    ¡°I am sorry, Willow, I don¡¯t mean to hurt you that way? Abigail kept coaxing her and this time, Willow hugged her mother back and cried in her arms.

    ¡°Tooly wanted to repent myself for the mistake I have done, but why no one gave me a second chance, why they didn¡¯t give Ine a second chance? Why they are so cruel, mother? I didn¡¯t deserve this treatment. They should have stopped this torture, right? It has been more than a year and they are still angry with me¡±

    Abigail took a deep breath, she didn¡¯t know what to say to her daughter, but she held her close to her chest, patting her back, like when she did whenever she was upset when she was a child.

    But then, there was another memory that shed before her eyes that she thought she had forgotten about it.

    She remembered when Althea and Willow fell from the tree, as they yed together when they were only seven and eight.

    Both girls were crying because it was evidence that they were hurt from falling from such height, but Abigail only approached Willow because she cried so hard until her face turned red, while Althea tried to hold back her tears.

    In Abigail¡¯s mind, she thought Willow was way more hurt than Althea, because she cried so much and so loud, but then to think about it. Willow would cry over small little thing, while Althea would keep her tears and cried alone.

    Abigail remembered the look on Althea¡¯s face when she watched her coddled her big sister, while her legs were bleeding and she bit her lip so she didn¡¯t cry sos load

    In the end, Willow only left with a few bruses, while Althea had to be bedridden for a whole week because of the incident.

    Shifters could heal so fast, but the two of them were so little, thus their healing ability had not yet developed fully, therefore, they couldn¡¯t heal quickly

    But to think Althea had to be bedridden for a week, it was

    very bad

    Yet, Abigail didn¡¯t really concern about her, because Althea had neverined, she was ever since she was little, she rarelyined, if she could say she had neverined at all.

    very independent

    Therefore, Abigail was way closer to Willow, because she showed her emotions very clear and was a happier childpared

    But now, when Abigail thought ab**

    about it, she knew how wrong she was, she knew how bad she was to think that it was alright

    Wed, Aug 21

    for her to treat both of her girls like that,

    Her heart ached with regret. If only she could change the way she treated them if only she could turn back time¡­

    ¡°I am sorry, Willow, I am sorry¡±

    This time, her apology sounded hollow because she only repeated the thing that she said earlier and didn¡¯t really mean it. She only did it to appease Willow.

    Abigail closed her eyes and more and more memories from when they were little kept flooding back and forth into her mind, she tried to shut it down, but her heart couldn¡¯t stop this strange pain, as if there was someone that grabbed her heart and squeezed it tightly, she was not sure why she felt this way.

    Today was the fourth day they were in this town and they had started to work on the long pipe that connected the two towns, if it worked, it would make it easier for the distribution of water supply to the area that needed during this season.

    ¡°Have I told you how much I love you and how brilliant you are?¡± Alex asked, as he sat on the bed and stared at Althea, who was changing her dress after she washed herself.

    She looked beautiful and it hurt.

    ¡°You have told me a dozen times about that, my king. Althea teased him. She chose a blue night gown, but she didn¡¯t on immediately, instead she nced at Alex secretly.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    Put it

    Though on the surface she lookedposed and collected, but her heart had been beating so hard, ever since she made up her mind that tonight would be the night she would give herself uppletely to him

    She didn¡¯t want to think about Killian or anyone else, she only wanted to focus on them.

    She didn¡¯t want her trauma on Killian ruined what supposed to be a beautiful rtionship between the two of them.

    She would be doomed, if even his shadow or the pain that he put her through to mess with her mind.

    ¡°Really?¡± Alex said lightly. ¡°Well, I can say it countless time.¡±

    ¡°Sure..¡± Althea then gave up the blue night gown when she approached him

 Claimed 62

    +64%1

    Althea chose not to wear that soft hhe night that was very tempting to the touch, Thalia just bought the dress a few days ago, teasing her how it would look pretty on her and she blushed with thepliment.

    But now, she didn¡¯t think that she wanted to wear that

    She was still having a towel wrapped around her body when she walked toward Alex nervously, but she calmed herself down and when she was standing in front of him, she looked like she was not anxious at all.

    ¡°Can you help me?¡± Althea gave another towel to Alex and sat down in front of him. She wanted him to help her to dry her

    hair.

    Alex raised his brows, the atmosphere became a little bit intense now, but Althea pretended there was nothing wrong with it and proceeded with her n, she was sitting in front of him with her back against him, while Alex dried her hair with the towel.

    It was very quiet and the sexual tension permeated in the air.

    Althea obviously didn¡¯t wear anything under her towel, her shoulders was bare for him and she looked like she was seducing him, but it was the mild way.

    But the problem was: Alex had so much self control for Althea liking, she was conflicted. She used to admire his self control, but at this time, it was very frustrating, because he wouldn¡¯t make a move if she didn¡¯t do it first.

    Yet, what she should do? How she could start this?

    Althea didn¡¯t know what to do with this, because she became frustrated herself, until she felt Alex¡¯s lips on her bare shoulder, the kiss was very light, as if he only smelled her, but she could feel it.

    ¡°You smell good,¡± Alex said with h**e voice, which sent shiver down her spine.

    Althea then leaned her back against his chest when Alex was about to pull himself away from her, because he thought he had startled her.

    ¡°Really?¡± Althen asked, her voice was raspy, she bit her tongue before she spoke the next word. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to make su

    of that

    Sure

    Althea felt like she wanted to jump off the cliff, she dreaded Alex¡¯s reaction for that cheesy sentence, she would be hiding inside the bathroom until the next day if he wasughing or even chuckled to hear her pathetic attempt to ¡®seduce him.

    Even she could hear this desperation in her voice when she tried to say the sentence.

    But thankfully, Alex didn¡¯t do that. He traced herans and kissed her head, his touch was very light, it rose goose bumps on her skin, but she refused to back down now,

    Alex must feel the tension from her body, as he proceeded carefully. His voice was so gentle against her ear, as he kept telling her how much he loved her, listing all the things that he loved about her and why he adored her.

    He did that for more than five minutes and she thought, he was not even close to be done with hispliment about her.

    Althea was surprised that he had so much positive thing to say about her, she was even surprised because when he told her all those things, she believed him.

    She felt pretty when she heard the way he described her

    And when she was drunk by his sweet words, she didn¡¯t even realize that he had tugged her towel, leaving her exposed, as he kissed her neck and forced her to close her eyes to enjoy his blissful touch.

    This was something that she had never experienced before. All of her senses were very sensitive now and longing for him.

    Alex pinched and pulled her nipple, which made her moaned in response, he hugged her from behind, giving him an es to see her expression and her exposed neck, when she lulled her head to the side.

    Althea could feel how hard he was against her back, but when she thought the deed would be done tonight and she finally got the mark from him, he stopped. He kissed her neck and pulled away.

    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here, okay?¡± Alex said, his voice h**se and he cleared his throat.

    But for once, Althea had her bold moment, because she turned around and kissed his lips. It was a s**y kiss, but a kiss nheless.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    She was kneeling in front of him because of the height different even thought they were on the bed, she pressed her body

    against his

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stop, Althea said against his lipc

    He could feel how his body turned stiff with that deration, he groaned and hugged her, his hand cupped her ass cheeks

    and made her straddled him.

    Both of them gasped when her center felt the hotness of his hard on.

    ¡°Last chance. Althea I don¡¯t think I can stop myself now if you continued like this¡±

    Alex was serious with what he was saying, because he thought this teasing had gone too far and his abstain all this tune had taken a toll on him.

    She smelled so define, as if she was the best drug for his longing His desire was like a me that would burn anything that

    he touched

    ¡°No, I want you.¡± Althea was certain about this ¡°I want you, Alex

    Alex groaned and pushed her body, until her back was on the bed and he hovered above her

    This position made her gasped, because only a fabric that separated him from hers.

    Alex kissed her gently at first, but then he became a little bat demanding, as if he tried to test her boundaries and then back to be gentle again when he could feel her being ufortable

    She kissed her neck down to her chest and leaving trail of wet kied on her skin

    Albea knew this was not ka**n, his touch was different, her body also knew abour that, so the didn¡¯t resist

    BB

 Claimed 63

    +64%

    Alex made her felt good. His touch was different from Killian, the way he touched her as if she was precious, fragile thing that could break in his hand, thus he had to treat her very gently and carefully.

    Althea liked his attention, he also checked on her, whether what he was doing to her made her ufortable or not.

    He would stop and or even be gemler if he sensed her reluctance.

    It must be so hard on him too for amodating for Althea¡¯s need, while he had his own need that he wanted to be sated. but like how she knew him, he would put her first no matter what the situation, though it was killing him to reign his own desire on her.

    ¡°Take it off¡± Althea said when her body was getting hot with every kiss and touch from him, it felt like he got her worked up and her skin became more sensitive with each passing second.

    Althea tugged his clothes and his pants, trying to get rid of these annoying fabrics. She wanted to feel his body against hers.

    Alex chuckled to see her struggling with his clothes and pants, but heplied and now both of them were naked. Althea took her time to see his body, she blushed. This was not the first time for her to see him naked, but of course, she had, never tantly stared at him like this, which made her face turned very red. She hit her lip.

    ¡°Do you like what you see?¡± Alex whispered to her ear, which made her chuckled.

    Yes. Althea replied breathlessly. She wrapped her legs around his hips and this made both of them groaned.

    ¡°Patient, love.¡± Alex said, he peppered kisses on her neck, before he entered her, she was already very wet and he was throbbing to be inside her.

    Alex did it very gently, slowly, giving Althea time to adjust to his size, though this was not the first time for her to do it, but she felt he was too much for her

    Althea bit his shoulder and asked him to stop. Alex did, he kissed her forehead and stimted her, but he didn¡¯t do much with her, because he didn¡¯t want to trigger her.

    This was an innocent sex, a pure intimate action to feel each other, to be close with one another, one thing that would help Althea to go through her trauma,

    Alex was very patient with her, he didn¡¯t do anything outrageous or demanding. It was already so brave for Althea to go this

    far with him.

    ¡°Okay, you can move.¡± Althea said breathlessly when she felt slightlyfortable with him.

    Alex moved he set a pace and made sure that Altheafortable with him

    ThisBelongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    was the most careful sex that he had ever had, but it was worth it, there was nothing that was more important for hirm aside from his mate¡¯sfort and how she was so brave to initiate it first.

    The night was still long and they would explore more about each other, but for tonight it was enough

    The next day, Althea woke up with Alex was staring at her, he smiled and kissed her a good morning and she immediately blushed when she remembered what they had donest night, but was a little bit disappointed because he didn¡¯t mark her.

    ¡°I will be too much for you.¡± Alex said, as if he could read what was in her mind when she looked at him. ¡°I really wanted to mark you, but let¡¯s take thing slowly¡­

    Yes, in hindsight, it would be too much for Althea to have sex for the first time with Alex and then was marked by hima,

    12

    4124 Wed, Aug 21 RRQ

    because the pan would be upbearable and she didn¡¯t want their first time together to be reminded of how painful it was, because it would be the same like what she had with Killian

    In that sense, Alex seemed to have the same thought like her.

    ¡°Thank you for being very considerate with me, I don¡¯t know what I will be if I didn¡¯t meet with you

    ¡°I do feel the same.¡±

    They kissed and teased each other until Thalia knocked on the door and told them that their breakfast was ready, whether they wanted to take it in their bedroom or in the dining hall with the alpha.

    Alex decided to have their breakfast in bed and asked for baby Jasmine.

    Jasmine sushed toward her parents when they saw them and hugged Alex and give him a kiss on the cheek.

    ¡°Good morning, dada..¡± Jasmine squealed when Alex kissed her aggressively on the check, teasing the little one tough before she rushed toward her mother and asking for protection, whileughing. ¡°Dada. I want to y with in the field.¡± ¡°Field?¡± Alex asked, as he fed Jasmine breakfast, while Althea ate her meal, she looked tired and sleepy: ¡°What field?¡± ¡°Yesterday, the field¡­¡±

    ¡°You meant hill¡± Alex corrected her. ¡°The hill behind the pack house?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Jasmine looked energetic and Alex already knew what she wanted. She was a very active child, she must want to climb the hill and have a pic there.

    Her favorite? She loved to ask Alex to shift into his beast and sat on his beast¡¯s back, she couldugh for hours and demanded more whenever he did that.

    ¡°Sure, but we will do it this afternoon, okay? I have something to do first.¡± Alex promised her.

    ¡°Okay¡±

    However, Althea was a little bit worried about it. ¡°If you are busy, you don¡¯t need to¡­.¡±

    ¡°I have promised her. Alex cut her off, he kissed her forehead because he knew what she was actually worried about, she still felt bad that Jasmine would be a burden for him, since she was not biologically his ¡°I have never been too busy for my family, love. I love to spend my time with my family.

    11:24 Wed, Aug 21 R RO

 Claimed 64

    Althea was very grateful for Alex, he was the man that she really wanted in her life. She didn¡¯t think she would find someone che hike lum. Even <b>more</b>, she didn¡¯t want to

    Right now, she was sitting under the tree with a few <b>food </b>around her, as they sad this little pic on the hill behind the pack house, because Jasmine wanted to go there,

    Her little daughter looked very happy when she rode on the beast¡¯s back, sheughed and the beast was very gentle with her. Of course, Alex would never treat her hardly

    The progress with the pipe <b>that </b>would connect the two towns had been really great, three days from now, they could see the result of this and Althea prayed everything would go well.

    ¡°Mamaa..mama ¡°Jasmine ran toward her, asking for protection,ughing, while a ck beast chased her yfully, ¡°Save¡±

    Alex shifted into his human form and ran toward them. He caught the two of them and kissed their cheeks, he <b>looked </b>satisfied when he rested his head on Althea¡¯sp.

    ¡°Dadda.. ¡°Jasmine hugged his face and kissed his cheeks, which made Alexughed. This little girl was the source of his <b>joy </b>and delight. He wouldn¡¯t trade her for the world. ¡°I love you, dada!¡±

    Alex smiled brightly when he heard that. This must be the first time for Jasmine to say that she loved him and the sincerity in her childish voice melted his heart.

    ¡°I love you too, little one, you have to remember thur?

    Althea watched the interaction between the two of them and had <b>tears </b>in her eyes, as she kissed Alex¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Thank you for taking care of us.

    Alex grinned. ¡°Thank you for giving me this little family¡± This was something that he always wanted. A family of <b>his </b>own, his precious family.

    However, their n did notst for long, because when they returned to the pack house, Alex received and urgent report from the pce.

    Apparently, a rios had started in the capital city and they moved so fast <b>toward </b>the pce, demanding for the king to anmul the ceremony with the new queen, <b>because </b>it was a bad omen for someone like Althea to be the queen of the kingdom.

    She came from different ind, they didn¡¯t know her background and most importantly the child, she had a child with her destined mate before.

    Something like this had never happened in the history of the royalty.

    This was the same old song, which Alex thought had been handled well, but apparently someone had provoked the mob and instigated the riot.

    It didn¡¯t take a genius to know, who was behind all of this, especially when they knew that the king and the queen <b>was </b>a day away from the pce, which meant, there were no one there to ept theirin if they really wanted to get the king to listen to their grievances.

    ¡°I <b>will </b>return immediately,¡± Alex said, he looked so angry because of this matter

    The problem was, those people stayed around the <b>pce </b><b>and </b>demanded for the king to annul <b>the </b>ceremony and if this continued, more people would join them, while Northern and Greyson wouldn¡¯t be enough to assuage them.

    If they used calent, it would band gound for the king¡¯s image dice they were only peavad Heaven only knew what kind at rotic shows n float Home would have <b>under </b>his <b>sleeve </b>if they rally used violent

    ¡°I will prepau everyiling my king, <b>the </b>warrior sail, <bi </b>Alex rejected that

    We will go on a beast form to this way, they wonbleach the pce sooner. I need hive of you¡±

    ¡°Yes, my kong

    in

    It would be easier to move is the beast and it would be faster sills less people that followed them, therefore, Alex would only bring five people with hit

    Althea bearnest about what happened and once again, she felt bad because all of this happened because of her fault. She was the <b>one </b>who had causes this trouble because she was with him C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    Once again, she felt like she was a burden, all of the happy <b>merries </b><b>and </b>her strong feelings for Alex, faltered. She thought, she could move on and face this together, but from the look of it, she only gged Alex slown with her

    Alex¡¯s voice snapped her out of her selt sleprecating thought she lifted her head to look at him<b>, </b>as if confused if there was a conversation that she was not aware of, bai Alex simply repeated the same thing

    ¡°No, Althea, stop with your <b>negative </b>thought¡±

    ¡°No, but didn¡¯t. Althea was startled because Alex seemed to know what was in <b>her </b>mind. The king way a very observant person, of course he would know what Althea was thinking right now, because it was very obvious on her face

    She was not good at lying and Alex could see people through their fa?ade, let alone soucone that he paid close attention to ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s not your fault thing like this happened, even without you, Dane will find another way to cause trouble for me Alex <b>said </b>¡°Repeat atter te, this is not my fault

    Althea was reluctant, <b>but </b>then she followed what he told her to do. ¡°This is not my fault¡­¡± she said in small voice, but Alex demanded her to say it clearer. ¡°<b>This </b>is not my fault.¡±

    ¡°Good¡± Alex kissed her forehead

    ¡°This as not my tail¡­¡­¡± Jasmine parted what her mother and father said with cute Lace, we both of themughed,

    this lessened the tension between them.

    ¡°Of course not, my angel, Alex said, he kissed her checks ¡°You are not at fault <b>here</b>. You did nothing wrong¡±

    Jasmine stretched out her arms and asked for a hug as if she knew that Alex would leave shortly. Alex pickest her up and hugged her

    ¡°Are you going tonight¡± Althea asked, she watched howfortable Jasmine was with Alex

 Claimed 65

    ¡°This is the n?¡± Killian raised his brows at prince Dane when he watched the riot from the floor to the ceiling window in the hallway, while prince Dane chuckled.

    ¡°This is only the beginning,¡± prince Dane said. ¡°Everything will be in motion shortly.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to say that you will be able to s**h the king¡¯s throne with this riot

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± prince Dane¡¯s smile faded, because he started to dislike this man, heined too much and did nothing, but scowled at his n. ¡°This is only the beginning

    Killian didn¡¯t look impress, but prince Dane let him alone. ¡°Just do your job and everything will be fine.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean with ¡®fine? Because you kept saying the same thing for thest few attempts of your failed n.¡±

    ¡°You are being so big now prince Dane sneered at him ¡°You couldn¡¯t even get your woman and your baby and you have the audacity to criticize what I am doing with my n¡±

    Killian gritted his teeth and balled his fists with the reality. He hated with the fact that even after one year, he couldn¡¯t event have any form of interaction with Althea or Jasmine.

    He could only watch a glimpse of them from afar. He watched bow Jasmine walked and it surprised him that his daughter was already able to walk and speak, but what gutted him the most was the fact that Jasmine called the king as her father,

    What the f**k of that!

    How could Althea let that happened when she knew that he was not the father and the king didn¡¯t seem to mind that. Both

    of them were insane!

    The king yed family with his mate and his daughter!

    But, even after a year he lived in this pce, being so close with her and his daughter, he didn¡¯t have a single chance to get to them. The protection around Althea and Jasmine was insane Alex seemed not to put his guard down, knowing he was

    around.

    What a b**d!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, I have a n for you. You can get your family by the end of this month¡± Prince Dane seemed to know what turmoil that raged Killian¡¯s mind right now and how his words had hit his sore spot

    ¡°What?¡± He narrowed his eyes at him. He disliked this man so much, but he was the only insurance that he had to get back his family. ¡°How are you going to do that?¡±

    Prince Dane gave Killian his disgusting smirk. ¡°Now, you are interested to know how it sounded like he was mocking him, but in truth, he indeed mocked him

    After that, he looked at him in the eyes and smirked with so much satisfaction when he saw the eagerness that Killian couldn¡¯t conceal

    This will be thest game and the end game for Alex.¡±

    The king lett with the other five warriors to the capital city right away after he put jasmine to sleep, because the little girl was so clingy to him, as if she knew that he would leave thent

    Althea was left befund with the rest of the warriors, thus the protection around her was still great even without the king was

    there, but still, she missed him so much. She was worried and actions.

    She stared at her daughter face and kissed her cheeks, she sigheid deeply and tried to not let her emotions got the better of het, because she was left with responsibility

    Because the pipe was het idea, thus right now, she was in charge to see the progress of it and the alpha from the two packs needed to give their report to her instead of the king

    Thankfully, the two of them were nice enough and they didn¡¯t see her like a nuisance, they treated her like the queen she

    And the next day, she heard that the king faced the people, who caused the rot in the capital city, it managed to be ceased down, but there were still a few people, who tried to cause more trouble for the king by bringing Jasmine.

    Though the not managed to be handled, apparently, there was more into it.

    The power struggle within the court was insane, it escted ten times because of the riots and all of Alex¡¯s opponent raised from their slumber to attack him at once.

    As if the riot gave them an ultimate excuse to make the king decide, whether he stepped down from his throne, or annulled the ceremony and made Althea his mistress, instead of the queen

    Thetter option was more feasible to appease the rage, but Alex didn¡¯t budge. Making Althea his mistress wouldn¡¯t solve his problem and ¦°¦±¦¯¦£¦±

    importantly, he only wanted her to be his queen. She was his queen and no one else could upy the position

    All of the information came to Althea from the warriors and Thalia, who gathered all the news from the capital city.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    By this time, it had been four days since Alex left this town and the pipe project was a great sess

    It was irony because while Althea was praised in these small towns outside of the capital city, the people in the capital city didn¡¯t even want to acknowledge her at all and risk their lives to cause trouble with the royal

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, my queen. Thalia said inforting tone, as shebed Jasmine¡¯s hair, the baby was happy, but she would ask for Alex every now and then, which made Althea¡¯s heart melted ¡°1 am sure the king will handle this matter well and we will go back to the capital city soon.¡±

    Alex had said in one of his letters that it would be best for Althea to stay in the town until everything was settled down

    He asked for a week, buttter did he know, a week from now. Althea and Jasmine were no longer there.

 Claimed 66

    Late at night when the sky looked so gloomy and the night was so long. Althea tossed and turned in her sleep, because she couldn¡¯t rest her mind from thest letter that Alex sent to her.

    In the letter, he mentioned that she should stay in the town for a while. He was trying to manage the aftermath of the riot and the court was annoyed h

    Therefore, even though she returned, he wouldn¡¯t have time for her, because he was rather busy, in that case, he suggested for her to explore the two towns with Jasmine, especially when this was the first time Jasmine was out of the pce.

    If you looked at the letter briefly, you would know that it was only a simple letter that didn¡¯t carry any hidden meaning, it sounded very normal and didn¡¯t raise any rms, but Althea knew Alex better now and she knew the situation in the pce must not be good, very bad if she could say, for Alex kept her away from the eye of the storm.

    She felt so bad she wanted to do something to help him, but she had nothing in her power to do so, she couldn¡¯t even be by his side to support him emotionally had to be so far from him.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    Althea finally gave up and then sat down on her bed, she stared at the dark¡­

    ¡°What should I do now?¡± she asked to no one in particr.

    That was when she realized a shadow behind her window. She furrowed her brows and squinted her eyes, thinking she was only seeing thing because her mind was not in the right ce, but then she noticed the shadow moved. She saw it again a

    Few tunes.

    Yet, Althea was not rmed by this because she thought it must be one of the warriors, who patrolled around the pack house.

    But, soon, she learned of how wrong she was because this was obviously not the warrior, since the person opened the window and entered her bedroom.

    Althea was stunned to see this, she screamed to ask for help, but there was no one, who came. Not even the warriors, who were supposed to be outside of her bedroom.

    The moonlight shone brightly from the window and she could see who actually this man was and not to her surprise, it was Killian. His scent hit her the first moment he stepped inside the rOONL

    Althea didn¡¯t wait, as she jumped off the bed and rushed toward the door, but Killian grabbed her by the waist and pushed her back to the bed, which made her struggled against him and screamed for help again, but it was very quiet out there, as if people had gone and they left her alone in the pack house.

    What was going on! What actually happened here? Althea didn¡¯t feel there was something odd before she went to bed, but now she was alone.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± Althea felt suffocated, she remembered what Killian could do to her and all the h**s thing that he had put her through. She couldn¡¯t help, but cry

    She hated herself for crying, but she couldn¡¯t help to regte the emotions that she felt right now. It was very overwhelming when all of your traumas materialized right before your eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Althea. I will not hurt you. I am here to take you back home. I will take you back now. We will be a happy family again with our child.¡±

    What a joke. Again? When did they be a happy family like be imed?

    ¡°Get away from me, Killian. I don¡¯t want to see you! I never wanted to see you e herself from him, she managed to p him, but he didn¡¯t budge

    1/2

    you ever again!¡± Althea tried her best to free

    +64%2

    11.24 Wed Aug 21 RRO.

    Althea was stummed after she managed to p him, because she subconsciously waited for a p back from him, since that was what he did to her.

    Killian wouldn¡¯t have any scrupulous when he pped her in the past, neither he would hold back when he wanted to draw pleasure from her body, but right now, it was different.

    Killian only stared at her, while she wanted for the pain, instead he buried his face against the crook of her shoulders, his voice was dejected, as if he just being rejected

    ¡°I am sorry, Althea I have caused you so much pain,¡± Killian said

    Somehow, his words sounded very genuine. He was being extremely apologetic to her, but then he didn¡¯t care about her wellbeing and her wished for him to stay away from her.

    Right now, his body pressed down against her, he only supported his body a little to give some space for Althea to breath. but their closeness made Althea felt like she was drowning

    She hated his touched, she was disgusted by how his warm breath fanned against her skin, but more importantly, she hated how he talked to her sweeth as if he was the victim in this whole fiasco.

    ¡°I am sorry that I hurt you and caused this trouble, but right now 1 am ready to fix everything. I am ready to take you and our child back to our pack. You don¡¯t need to worry about anything else. I love you. Althea. You are the only woman that |

    want

    Althea thought, there must be something that was broken in her head, because right now, she startedughing hysterically with what he said, as if he was saying the funniest jokes that she had ever heard, which made Killian lifted his head and Jooked at her

    an could see the insanity in her eyes and he gritted his teeth. He didn¡¯t me her at all, in face, he was very understanding and gentle with her right now.

    Meanwhile, Althea didn¡¯t even realize that she wasughing hysterically like this, but at the same time, she was crying

 Claimed 67

    Kilhan pressed his <b>lips</b>, as he watched how Althea was crying hysterically when he told her that he wanted to take back his family to their pack, he could see the insanity in her eyes and right now, the woman was panting, though she was still

    snorting

    ¡°Family Happy family? You are the cruelest nightmare <b>that </b>I have ever had. You are thest person in this realm that I want to be with. I would rather die <b>than </b>to be with you.¡±

    Her harsh word cut him deeply. Killian realized that he deserved that, but he couldn¡¯t help, but felt so hurt because she didn¡¯t even give him a second chance to fix thing for them.

    ¡°What about Jasmine¡± Killian asked immediately about their little <b>one</b>. ¡°Do you want to leave Jasmine alone? Or do you want to take her <b>to </b>the afterlife?¡±

    Killian knew that what he said was rather harsh, but she needed to hear that to know not to throw such heavy words easily..

    ¡°Althea. I am already very sorry for what I have done and I will use the rest of my life to make it up to you. You can hit me and do everything that you want with me, as long as <b>you </b>are willing to go back with me to the pack.¡±

    ¡°No¡± The answer was very clear. She didn¡¯t even need to think twice about it, because she knew where she was standing This, man was a piece of shit, who didn¡¯t care about anyone else, but himself, therefore, there was no need for Althea to feel pity for him. ¡°I will not go back with you. I will never ept you.¡±

    Althea tried to get away from him. She wanted to scream for help, but she had done that, yet there was <b>no </b>one, who came for her rescue She wondered what happened to all the warriors out there? Did he kill them all?

    That was not possible. Althea believed if Killian could kill one or two warriors, but she was sceptical if he could manage to fight all the warriors

    ¡°What have you done to all the warriors?¡± Althea asked. She narrowed her eyes, waiting for his answer.

    ¡°They are sleeping¡± To her surprised, Killian answered her truthfully. He didn¡¯t want to lie to her, thus he told her that he had nned all of this for long-

    ¡°You nned all of this alone?¡± Althea looked at him suspiciously. ¡°Or there is someone else, who helped <b>your </b>

    ¡°Prince Dane helped me.¡± Killian looked at her straight in the eyes when he admitted this, there was no shame whatsoever on his face, as if it was already a great gesture for him not to lie to her ¡°Can we go

    ¡°What else prince Dane has nned?¡±

    ¡°Taking the throne

    That was amon answer, Althea already knew about that even without Kin told her. ¡°Be more specific. What n did he have to take over the throne from Alex?¡°.

    Killian hated it when she said that name, he felt like she had dirty herself by mentioning his name like that, but he said nothing and only replied to her all the things that he knew and had learned.

    Althea¡¯s face turned pale when she learned about what prince <b>Dane </b>had done, it was a grand scheme of him.

    Apparently, all of the failures that he had in the <b>past</b><b>, </b>it was only for Alex to put his guard down, thinking that he had <b>won </b>when in actuality, it was his n all <b>along- </b>

    Althea needed to tell <b>Alex </b>about this, she needed to let him know about prince Dane¡¯s n

    ¡°Get off me?¡± Althea growled at him, feeling disgusted because he didn¡¯t seem remorseful at all. The <b>n </b>will not only

    1/2

    dethrone <b>Alex</b>, but he will also kill a <b>lot </b>of people and you are fine with that?!¡± C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    To her dismay, Killian started to caress her cheek and sighed deeply, as if he didn¡¯t know what to do with her..

    ¡°I should <b>have </b>known that your heart is very soft and delicate. You are the kindest person that I have ever known.¡± Killian rested his forehead against hers. ¡°You didn¡¯t know those people, but you still care about them. I should have known kindness. I was so blind and I regretted it. I am was an evil person for not realizing it sooner.¡±

    your

    ¡°Yes, because all the people around you are evil reincarnated!¡± Althea snarled at him, but he was not bothered by how harsh she was with him, instead he kept caressing her and when Althea tried to push him away, he caught both of her arms <b>and </b>held them above her head. ¡°You are an evil, Killian. You are very disgusting! I am d that Jasmine knows Alex as her father.¡±

    Killian let out a deep and dangerous growl when he heard that, he hated it when Althea mentioned Alex¡¯s name, but event more when he said that <b>Alex </b>was their baby¡¯s father.

    ¡°I am sure I can change that. Jasmine is still too linle to understand.¡± He leaned over and then captured her lips, but Althea bit his lower lip so hard, she could feel it bled. The taste of blood bloomed in her mouth and she felt like throwing up.

    When finally, Killian let her go, he wiped the blood that trickled down from his lip with the back of his hand, as he stared at Althea, he didn¡¯t look angry, if anything he looked satisfied.

    In his mind he would rather have Althea¡¯s anger than for her to ignored <b>him </bpletely.

    At the very least, with this, she still had some feeling left for him, even if it was anger. He would take everything that she offered to him, including her rage.

    think, this is the time for us to leave, Althea. Take some rest. Killian then forced her to drink a liquid from a small bottle that he fished out fro

 Claimed 68

    Brian saw the situation in the capital city was not conducive anymore because of the riot. There were many royal warriors, who patrolled the streets, just in case there was someone, who tried to provoke and create another mob

    With this, the lively street became a little bit gloomy, especially when night came because there was a curfew that they had

    to follow.

    If there was someone was out of their houses after a certain hour they would be questioned intensively.

    Brian was worried about Altea, but she knew that she was away from the capital city, in which he praised the king for taking her away from the whirlwind of this situation.

    Because with Althea¡¯s presence in the capital city, she could stir more resentment from the people, who didn¡¯t support her. thus it was a great decision to put her away for a while.

    But, Brian started to be paranoid and question how much the king would put up with this. If thing didn¡¯t get well, he might as well let Althea down and chose to save his throne and his kingdom.

    After all, Althea was not his destined mate and it was hard to treat a child that was not your flesh and blood.

    Brian was concern with the way the king treated his granddaughter.

    He wanted to ask Althea about this, but he didn¡¯t have a chance because they were not in contact after the ceremony.

    Though from the look of it. Alex treated the two of them well and they looked happy together, but the king had not yet marked her.

    When Brian was considering whether or not he needed to go to see Althea to get the answer for his question, someone. knocked on his door.

    It was Abigail and Willow,

    He should have checked first before he opened the door, but his mind was not in the right ce right now.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± He asked them impatiently.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back home,¡± Abigail said quickly, she grabbed Brian¡¯s arm. ¡°Althea is no longer in the maind, she returned with Killian. We need to go back too now.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Brian was shocked when he heard this. ¡°How? Althea is in different¡­¡±

    ¡°I know, I know, father.¡± Willow cut her father off, she stomped her feet because she wanted her father to go right away, she didn¡¯t want him to ask more question about this. ¡°The warriors who were with Killian told us that they are waiting for us at the harbor right now and we will go with thest ship for this week. We need to go right away before the curfew, father. Please, don¡¯t ask more question.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    ¡°Father, do you even want to see her? Can you stop asking question, so we can go right away? I don¡¯t want to answer your question. You will get your answer once we are on the ship, you can see Althea there.¡±

    Abigail tugged her sleeve, as if reminded her not to be rude to her father, but Willow couldn¡¯t care less about that, as she urged her father to move quickly.

    ¡°Father!¡±

    In the end, Brian immediately went to grab all the thing that important for him, while he stayed here, which was nothing

    1/2

    111:25 Bed Aug 21 RRG.

    Chap

    mach, he left moe of les ckghes and only took a bag with him, he followed Abigail and Willow our

    would

    Then was a corrage thas had been waiting five them that will take them straight to the harbor, if they were quick enough,

    chythe harder in time.

    Brim Beth know what believe and even inside the carriage. He was trying to rational this situation. How could Althea with Kallun? Why she was with him! Thid the king know? Did the have a mental breakdown because of the riot, who wanted h to step down from het pole as the queen, so she ran away!

    Brian w realured that he didn¡¯t know his daughter at all, he didn¡¯t know her character, or at the very least, what was she wn thinking, he couldnh analyze her, but it was not because Althea had a fickle personality, but because he didn¡¯t pay close

    Hell, he didn¡¯t even know Willow that great either.

    He tet like he was a failure as a father

    ¡°Are you okay¡± Aigail asked, she was trying to get to his good side, but Brian ignored her attempt to make a small talk with him during this trip, his mind was not in the right ce and he didn¡¯t want to talk to her.

    Thankfully. Abigail read the situation and didn¡¯t bother him again until they arrived at the harbor, where two of the warriors that followed Killian had been waiting for them

    lithea is here? Where is she? I want to see her,¡± Brian immediately asked the two

    Warriors.

    On of them answered him ¡°Let¡¯s go abroad first. You will see herter.¡±

    ¡°No How could I know that my daughter is on the ship?¡± Brian narrowed his eyes, he didn¡¯t want to be tricked to return to the puck

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want toe, tine There is no benefit to take you with us Alpha Killian informed you about this and took you, because Althea wanted to have her family¡±

    That was what Killian thought, he thought with her family around her and with them convinced her to stay and forget about the king he could get to her eventually, she would be more open with her new situation.

    The more people that convinced her would be better

    And her family was a good start. Killian knew how much Althea wanted the approval and love of her family and now, Killian

    going to get it for her.

    He could make them to treat her better

    Right now, Killian was holding baby Jasmine, who kept crying because she was not familiar with him.

 Claimed 69

    Aliko jestlice kepe orging ralley Sse termother and taber, and has made an¡¯s beam s*d, b**ecause she thought of

    sthan¡¯s

    Fatou Maker by your fer tried to take sober and calien her down, her face had turned red because

    ongoing

    Horner Spenne key dating her head and crying for her moder again

    verraly A**e was will undodon becse of the posion the Kan forced her to drink. She wouldn¡¯t wake up until the

    m**g the ten would be toote for her to escape They would be in the middle of the ses

    We had me to calm his saddle the refed to eat and she didn¡¯t want to be held by him

    Ser hand bilen and Gas

    Heated the king for doing this so his little gi

    Twa dada mama darajamine cried, her face turned very red and she breathed raggedly everyone, who saw her would feel pay for this line or four Killian wormed as her out of his frustration, which he immediately regretted it

    ¡°wer year father top king your father on your father ihan hollered angrily and this made Jasmine cried even

    your harder as she wrigged her small body to get away from him. Killian immediately hugged her and apologized profusely for ghing at home, but the dine want to hear that she kept struggling to get away from him. ¡°I am sorry, I am sorry baby

    dry Jasmine. I didn

    Wight at that to be heard were knocking the door and this p**d him off because he knew it was Abigail, but he timmuggur, perbuably this woman could calm his baby daughter

    Be allowed her to enter and Abigail¡¯s eyes fell on Jasmine, her pe softened and she was tearing up, because this was the first time she saw Jasmine She felt her heart har so bad to see how Jasmine looked like Althea when she was a child. She Janked men more ardurable if she could say the least

    ¡°Let me help, alpha. I will try to calm her down. Please, give her to me¡±

    She must have heard the crying sound and immediately rushed to Killian¡¯s cabin when the realized it was her granddaughter that had her crying

    At best, Killion didn¡¯t want to give this little girl to anyone else, it was already had enough that her daughter didn¡¯t recognize his own father, he didn¡¯t want her to be attached to someone else, aside from him.

    However, he didn¡¯t have a heart to see how his daughter was crying so hard and tried to get away from him, as if he was so

    preap

    In the end, reluctantly, he handled the baby over to Abigail, who looked very relief to be able to hold her for the first time. Ketom her back to me immediately once she calmed down¡±

    Abigail was about to go out of the room, but Killian told her to stay in this room, as he walked out to go back to his room and Althea, where she was still unconscious

    Though it was small, but he could hear Jasmine was still crying, probably because she was handed over to someone else that the didn¡¯t know.

    Meanwhile, Killian was too exhausted to thisk of anything else, for now, his daughter was well taken care of, thus he didn¡¯t

    172

    need to worry about her.

    ¡°Althea.¡± He approached the bed and sat on the edge of it, as he caressed her cheek gently ¡°I love you. I will do anything for you. Do you want a family? I will give it to you. You want your family loves you? I will make them put you as their priority. You want an important role! I will make you the luna of the pack.¡±

    Killian hammed when his hand traced down her neck and was gleeful to see there was no mark there. The king had not yet

    marked her.

    He didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t mark her, even though he looked like he was infatuated with her, as if he couldn¡¯t live without her, but as it turned out, he didn¡¯t even mark her.

    ¡°I think he doesn¡¯t love you that much in the end,¡± Kin said in small voice, as he caressed the sweet spot, where he nned to put his mark on her. But, this time he would do it with her consent.

    In Killian¡¯s mind, he thought the king only took precaution, because by not marking her yet, he would always be able to annul the ceremony and revoke Althea¡¯s status as the queen of the kingdom, if the situation was getting out of hand.

    ¡°I will prove it to you, Althea. You will never regret this decision to be with me. I will make you and Jasmine happy.¡±

    Killian leaned over and kissed her lips, he lingered a little bit longer, he licked her sweet lips, as if by doing so he could ease her pain and redeem his mistake in the past.

    He loved her.

    He just realized it now. Though the mate bond was no longer there, but he still felt this pull toward her. If he could love Willow without any mate bond, he could love Althea even more, even when the mate bond between them had shattered.

    *I will make your life fulfill and amazing Killian got on the bed andid down next to Althea, he pulled her against his chest and hugged her closely

    This must be the first time he could hug her without her fighting him. This was the first time that he touched her without the intention of hurting her, but instead regret for everything that he had done to her.

    18N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

 Claimed 70

    Alex was seething with rage the moment he learned that Althea had been kidnapped from the town, he crumpled the

    in his hand.

    report

    ¡°Block the way to the harbor! No ships could leave the harbor before thorough investigation!¡± Alex growled the order. However, it was already toote, thest ship had left the harbor when the royal warriors arrived there and that was the ship that Killian took to get Althea away from the maind.

    ¡°Prepare another ship! I am going to get my queen back!¡± Alex roared angrily.

    But, Greyson and Northern voiced out their concern, they couldn¡¯t let this going on for longer than this and they needed to stop the king¡¯s madness.

    Currently, Alex didn¡¯t think clearly and the royal g**a and beta were worried that he would make a rash decision, something that he might end up to do.

    ¡°You can¡¯t leave the kingdom, Alex. The situation here is still not stable.¡±

    ¡°They ***g took my queen!¡± Alex roared at Greyson because of what he said, but Northern immediately stepped in to handle the situation quickly. He tried to deescte the king¡¯s wrath.

    ¡°Alex, if you leave the kingdom now, you will not have a kingdom to return to even if you managed to get her back.¡±

    That was true, the situation in this kingdom and especially at the court was not as simple as Alex ryed on his massage to Althea It was a hundred times worse than that.

    Let alone to leave the maind, he couldn¡¯t leave the pce, since the usurper was on the move.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    However, they were doing it very slowly, as if they were waiting for Alex to make a move upon hearing Althea was being kidnapped.

    They were right actually, since Alex would likely leave the maind to chase after the queen and they relied on that. Thankfully, Greyson and Northern were there to remind him about the trap that they might pull. Alex couldn¡¯t walk straight to their trap and hand them what they wanted.

    Usually, Alex was not like this, but right now his emotions got the best of him and he didn¡¯t think rationally,

    ¡°You need to think about this first, Alex. Althea and Jasmine will be fine, you can rescue themter, but once you were dethroned, there will a hell of attempt for you to get your throne back. Northern was being the good beta he was, giving the advice that Alex needed to hear, especially when the king¡¯s mind was a **erf***k. ¡°Both of them will be fine. I promise

    you

    What happened that night was all the guards and the s**ts were poisoned. It seemed, the n had been concocted for so long, it was near perfect

    Prince Dane managed to put three of his people there and put sleeping potion into their meal, which caused the warriors and the s**ts to fall asleep heavily

    However, that night, Althea didn¡¯t eat a certain food. She was so worried about Alex, thus sheri

    she only are a few spoon of porridge and then pushed away her bowl

    Thalia confirmed that, because she persuaded her to

    headache and wanted to sleep, with tha

    Close to mind.

    9 +64

    Athea and baby Jase away

    They managed to get one of the people that prince Dane had put in that town, but the two of them were still on the run Unfortunately for them, the one that they managed to capture was suicide inside his jail.

    Therefore, it erased all the usation on prince Dane for his conspiration. his n to usurp the throne, which left them in

    this hmbo

    Greyson and Northern were right that Alex couldn¡¯t leave the pce right now, because they were in critical condition.

    ¡°Please. Alex, think clearly about this Northern then left the room with Greyson to give the king some time alone to think this matter thoroughly

    ¡°Is it okay to leave him alone like that? Shouldn¡¯t we persuade him more? Giving him more suggestion so he could see our point here!¡± Greyson looked confused at the royal beta, he nced over his shoulder at the closed door to the king¡¯s study

    Northern shook his head. ¡°There is no point for that, Northern said.

    If the king wanted to go on with his n, there was no point of them to persuade him, they could only brace themselves for the worse, but he prayed Alex wouldn¡¯t be too tempted to throw away everything and make a rash decision that would only per him in disadvantage situation

    But the next day. Alex demanded to prepare a ship. He was going to get the queen back.

    Northern and Greyson gritted their teeth.

    ¡°Alex I don¡¯t think this is.

    However, Alex cut him off harshly. ¡°I am the king! I make the decision here, if you don¡¯t like my decision, you can advise someone else!¡± Alex admonished his royal g**a in front of so many people. ¡°Or, is that what you really wanted? To advise someone else?

    Greyson was taken aback with this usation. He immediately knelt down and obeyed the order, even though he was sure this was the worse decision that Alex coulde up with

    After that, the ship was ready and the king would go in two days from now, all the things that they needed would be Prepared

    The king announced that the queen was being kidnapped, thus he took eighty percent of the warriors with him, in that case, they needed fifty ships.

    It was massive and two days preparation was actually not enough, but with the king¡¯s insistence, everything moved very quickly They didn¡¯t even have time to catch a breath because of this.

    And finally, the day arrived where the king would leave the pce.

 Claimed 71

    Ahhen teh like hes lead had grown a few size bigger tha mul, because she felt this porn on the back of her head when the regalund her consciousness.

    She didn¡¯t vertender what had happened when she opened her eyes, she only felt the familiarity of this room and then the head that she coddi¡¯rprehend at first

    This voice.

    Althea had heard this voice somewhere. She felt like she was very familiar with this voice, but she couldn¡¯tprehend. where did she hear it.

    ¡°Althea Mother will call the healer to check on your condition, okay.¡±

    Mother?

    Althea inally opened her eyes, she rubbed the sleepiness and forced through the hog of headache to finally take a good look of her surroundings

    She felt like she wanted to vomit, because the room was swayin

    Of course, it did. She was in a ship!

    When she realized that, the pane grabbed her tightly, because she remembered what happened. She remembered every f**g detail of what happened to her before she lost her consciousness and to see her mother was here¡­

    She was not wire why her mother was here, but if she was here and she was in a ship, there was only one answer for her

    current situation.

    She was being shipped back to the pack

    Where is my baby Althea askest, she immeiliately got of the bed, she ignored the headache that felt like it was going to Lill her. ¡°Where is my baby¡± She screamed at Abigail, who was startled because she was not used with Althea was being very hostile like this

    ¡°Althea you need to get back to the best, okay Please, you need to take some rest, the baby is fine. She is fine, you need to rest Aligail tried to help Althea to stand up and go back to the bed, because the moment her feet touched the floor, the room was spinning and she could¡¯t bnce herself. She almost hit her head against the drawer and this made Abigail freaked out. Please go back. I will get the haby

    ¡°No¡± Althea screamed at her, she pushed her away from her. ¡°Get away from me!¡±

    ¡°Althea. I am your mother, please, don¡¯t be like this. I will take you to your baby, but you need to rest first.¡±

    What was that mean She would take her to the baby, but she needed to rest first? She had rested enough and now she wanted her baby right away

    ¡°Stay away from me! Althea literally growled at her mother, as she threw her a dagger look, which made Abigail teared up and she took a stepck

    Hearing thismotion, Brian entered the room and found his daughter was trying to stand up. He immediately approached her, ignoring Abigail who looked devastated with Althea¡¯s rejection.

    She had been thinking about how she would build a rtionship with Althea and how they would be a good mother and daughter, but seeing her strong rejection, hurt her heart.

    Stay away from me Althea was too angry, she didn¡¯t want to be touched.

    However, Brian didn¡¯t budge will help you to walk and take you to Jasmine, okay?¡±

    Althea was silem for a while, but she didn¡¯t refuse the help this time, she let her father to guide her out of the room. The whole pher swayed. She hated this ship.

    This was the second time she was on board on a ship and she hated it..

    Yet, she gritted her teeth went to see her baby anyway Jasmine was outside, she was in the open area and the sunlight hurt her eyes, it was blinding and she needed some time to adjust with it, her father waited patiently.

    And after Althea could adjust with the scorching light, Brian pointed out her baby and Althea was pi**d, she felt her blood. was boiling when she saw Willow was holding, her baby.

    She was carrying her and talking to her, as if she was her own baby

    She saws red and started screaming at her.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    ¡°Get away from my haliy¡± Althea screamed and this startled both of them, Willow turned around and Jasmine immediately wriggled her body the moment she saw her mother, tears fell on her checks.

    ¡°Let go.. let go¡± Jasmine kept wriggling and when Willow didn¡¯t mediately put her down, so she could run toward Althea, she scratched her face, which made Willow dropped her.

    Althea¡¯s heart lurched when she saw Wallow dropped her baby, lirian screamed at Willow for her irresponsibility.

    There was no way the scratchs would be that hurt for her to drop the toddler.

    But thankfully, the baby was not hurt, as she pursed her lips and picked herself up before she ran toward her mother, raising both of her arms to hug Altliga,

    Brian¡¯s heart was constricted to see this

    He believed that Jasmine was with Abigail, because he knew that Althea wouldn¡¯t be pleased to see Willow, especially when he saw that jasmine was with her, but for some reason, Abigail handed over the baby to Willow and attend to Althea, instead of giving theby to Brian

    ¡°Mamma mama¡­ are you, okay?¡± Jasmine asked her mother, but she herself was crying because she was so sad to see her mother was tearing up

    I am fine, honey. Lam fine. Althea knelt down and hugged her tightly, she was too weak and tired to carry her. She was relief because her baby was fine and she was here with her

    She would think about what she needed to doter.

    ¡°Tam for baby I am fine. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡± she kissed her chubby cheeks and smiled at her.

    But when she pressed Jasmine¡¯s head against her chest, she looked up above her daughter¡¯s head and found Willow.

    The hatred in Althea¡¯s eyes sent chill down Willow¡¯s spine, as she took a step back.

 Claimed 72

    Mad id be an understatement for what Althen felt right now. She didn¡¯t like Willow, no, she hated her with passion.

    IF in the past, she did think inch of her, aside from a sister by the title only, but right now, the sight of her alone made her blood boded with rage, eqiecially when she saw how she dropped her baby. She could harm her! She didn¡¯t care about anyone else hat herself and Althea didn¡¯t think her attitude would change at all!

    ¡°Tam sorry. Allen Lam trally sorry. I didn¡¯t think to drop her. I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± Willow said, she pulled that pitiful card again as she approached Althea tears in her eyes and her hands clutched to her chest

    In the past, either her father or her mother would step in and tell Althea to stop hurting her sister, that she didn¡¯t mean it and after all came to her defense, but right now, Brian stepped in for Althea and told her to back off.

    ¡°Father, please, tell her that I didn¡¯t mean it. I only wanted to help. Willow looked at her father now, she pleaded with him.

    ¡°Back off. Willow. We will talk about thister.¡± Brian stood between Althea and Willow.

    If only Althea had more energy, she would have picked her daughter up and then left, but she was still very weak, it took her some time to muster her energy to stand up and then took Jasmine¡¯s hand to go back to her bedroom.

    She looked around her and what she could only see was water, they were in the ocean, she was curious how long she had been unconscious and whether or not Alex had heard about her, Would hee to save her even though there was a bigger problem in his kingdom that rted to her.

    Logically speaking, it would be a wise decision for Alex to let her go. Because it would

    wanted

    give those protestors what the

    However, the thought that she would never see him again didn¡¯t settle well with her. She fought back her tears.

    ¡°Althea! Willow tried to get her attention, but Brian stopped her from bothering Althea.

    ¡°We will talk about thister, Willow Don¡¯t bother your sister now, Brian said sternly. The look on his face must have scared. Willow because she nodded timidly and backed off. She bit her lip and tried to follow Althea quietly, but Brian put stop to that behavior, because she couldn¡¯t always get what she wanted.

    This was his fault too for Willow to have such attitude, they spoilt her too much.

    After Brian made sure that Willow wouldn¡¯t follow them, he went to catch up with Althea and then escorted her back to her bedroom.

    But, Abigail had been waiting there, she was about to open her mouth, but Brian red at her, his expression was so scary that it made Abigail to shut her mouth

    Meanwhile, Althea didn¡¯t seem to care about her mother, she treated her like air. She opened the door to her bedroom and let Jasmine to walk inside before she closed the door without saying anything.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother her.¡± Brian said firmly. He knew that Abigail wanted to knock on Althea¡¯s door and forced her to have a conversation with her, but that was not going to happen

    1 need.¡± Abigail started, but Brian cut her off immediately.

    This is not about what you need¡± Brim said with so much emotion behind has words. This is not about you. This is not about what you want, this is not about what you need. If I saw you trying to bother her, you will have a problem with me.¡±

    Abigail was shocked when she brand that because what Brian said to her sounded like a threat.

    But, before she could protest, Brian had grabbed her arm and then took her away from them. He would need to have a

    T

    kerman talk sendi dew wond Mail about ner berbering Althra

    The spebcted the mood their insene room and told dem not toe close to Althier and expertly for Willow the couldn¡¯t ynku fasserine as she pleases).

    ¡°And you don¡¯t ever gore Jasmine to her again¡± Brian looked at Abigail, his paw clenched, he was holding back his anger.

    ¡°This is not fair!

    They started with the same song, but Brian finally saw how bad they had treated. Althea all those years when they couldn¡¯t ww how wrong they wereN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Do you think what you have done to her is fairs!

    Briatt reseninted everything that they had done to Althea to the point of tears, he didn¡¯t exclude his own wrongdoing to

    And also brought up the fact that Willow had selfishly lied to them and ruin everything

    ¡°We are here at this point because of your behavior, because of your st**d decision, so look at in the mirror if you wanted to say that this is not fair Brian looked at Willow sternly and she was crying at this point. She snittled and to Abigail credit, she didn¡¯t immediately console her like she used to do it in the past.

    Almigail didn¡¯t say tmach, she only had her head hanged so low, as she stared at the floor, looking defeated. That was a good High though

    Atry Brian was done with what he wanted to say to them, he walked out of the room. He wanted to talk to Althea, but he chose to give her some space

    Instead, he went to talk to Killian Killian was in his own room. He agreed with his decision to give Althea some space. They

    russed tins and they both agreed that they would patiently wait until Althea was willing to ept him back, before he wouldn¡¯t loter her to do anything that she didn¡¯t want

    ¡°Thanks for keeping them in their ce, Killian said to Brian when he stepped into the room, he heard what happened.

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    Killian ined tomothunwell froming to Althea¡¯s bedroom and force her into a conversation with him. He knew that she would be so posed off for him to take her away from the king, therefore, he would give her time to calm herself down. so she wouldn¡¯t be too overwhelmed with every thing that happened.

    He was right about taking back her family with them. They could interfere with their problem and helped and Brian just

    showed that he was tight with this decision

    ¡°I should have done that sooner Brian replied, he took a seat on a chair in that room. He looked at the alpha and asked the question that he had been wanting to ask ¡°How can you get her hack?¡±

    Killian lifted his head and looked at Brian in the eyes, as he recalled everything that happened and what he had done to get Alhea

    Betan was shocked, he thought Althea had gone with them on her own will, but apparently that was not the truth

    Brian thought, because of the riot in the capital city, that wanted her to be dethroned from her position of a queen, the pressure was too much for her, thus the decided to leave.

    It was a seldes act that Althea used to do

    However, the fact was not like that. It was Killian, who had taken her away against her will.

    I only need some time to get her back Killian could see disapproval in Brian¡¯s eyes, as he looked at him sharply ¡°She is my destined mate¡±

    She was your destined mate, Brian corrected him ¡°You have rejected her.¡±

    ¡°She was the one, who rejected me. Killian corrected him again, as if that was important thing to say. ¡°I will take it right this time, I only need time and your support. Once everything has settled down, I know that she will be grateful for what I have done for her, for us and our baby

    Do you really think this is what she wanted? This is what will make her happy in the end?¡±

    Killian stood up and then walked toward Brian Jasmine is my daughter and Althea is my mate, don¡¯t you feel had to separate a family C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    Brian pressed his lips from responding to that question. He would talk to Althea first before he made a decision what to believe, but he would make sure Abigail and Willow wouldn¡¯t bother her until she was willing to talk with them

    Meanwhile inside the other bedroom. Jastnine smuggled against her mother¡¯s arms. She could feel how upset and distraught her mother was and this made her upset too, she lifted her head and then looked at Althea, she had tears in her eyes when she saw her mother was staring at the ceiling, her expression was scared her, because there was no emotion in there.

    ¡°Momnu Jasmine raised both of her hands and then made Althea to look at her. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. It momma said 1 am sad

    Jasmine then <b>kissed </b>Althea¡¯s cheek and this made her burst into tears. She hugged her daughter tightly, she breathed raggedly and this made Jasmine cried <b>as </b>well. She hugged her mother and for a moment, they only shared tears <b>with </b>each other until the little one was tired and she fell asleep in Althea¡¯s arms

    Jane was only a year and four months, but she was mature enough for a little girl around her age, she could pick up other people¡¯s eination easily

    Althea was so proud of her Inle baby and she wished everything great for her, but she knew, heading back to her old pack in the clutch of Kilian wouldn¡¯t do them any good.

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    Wed, Aug 21 <b>RRO </b>

    She wouldn¡¯t be happy, her whole hody was screaming at her to leave. She didn¡¯t want to go back, there was a reason why she lett and this was not the reason that she wanted to go back.

    ¡°Alex. She called his name, as tear rolled down her check. She hugged her baby tightly. ¡°I miss you. Please,e to me.¡± Hough she knew it was a wise decision for Alex not toe and get her because she was the source of his problem, but she was still holding out onto a hope that he <b>would </b>be selfish and true to his word that he would protect her and Jasmine.

    However, Althea wouldn¡¯t hold her breath on that matter, she knew that eventually, she had to save herself.

    In the end of that long thought, she fell <b>asleep</b>. Jasmine¡¯s scent helped her to calm down tremendously. She wanted to hug her forever like this and didn¡¯t wake up at all to face the reality of her current situation right now.

    Yet, when the sun down, she felt Jasmine moved in her arms and she woke up, whatever sleeping potion that Killian had given to her, must have left residue effect, because she had been sleeping for hours, even though she just slept for an entire night and day before

    ¡°Monma. Jasmine called her.

    Apparently, she had woken up long ago and she just returned to snuggle against her again, her chubby cheeks flushed red, from the look of it, someone must have taken her to y.

    ¡°I yed with grandpa¡­ she answered the unspoken question, ¡°I was hungry and grandpa took me to eat something

    delicious. You need to eat too.¡±

    Althea smiled at her baby. ¡°Sure. I will eat.¡±

    And with that, her day was spent like that, she would stay inside the bedroom because she was too tired to go out and her father woulde to y <b>with </b>Jasmine and took her out to y

    Brian knew not to <b>let </b>Abigail and Willow to get close to Jasmine and she was pleased that her father kept his words.

    Althea asked Jasmine if she yed with someone else and she would say the alpha would y with her some time, but she

    didn¡¯t like him

    #

 Claimed 74

    +64%6

    nothi

    Ch¨¬ the third day they were on the slip, Althea woke up one and found Killian was sitting on a chair, staring at her ands. The warded her and she she woke her baby up butthankfully, she could stop herself before she started

    almost streaming

    She vet Killian whes ses her as the eyes, he hit seem to be bothered with the hatred in Althea¡¯s eyes, but he didn¡¯t say anythine hy staring at Alles like that, as if there was nothing wrong with the whole situation

    What are you doing here? Althea¡¯s voice was sober, she was on alert, because all of her sleepiness had disappeared and now it isced with anger. She hoped, she wouldn¡¯t make her baby up to hear this conversation. Stay away from me and my [daughter¡±

    Killian aldatanswer her

    medunely, he rested his elbows on his knees, his sight fell on Jasmine¡¯s sleeping face, her small hips were slightly ajar as she smore softly.

    She is my daughter too, Althea,¡± Killian replied softly, something that you wouldn¡¯t hearing from his mouth when he tortured her in the past. ¡°I have every right to be in her life.¡±

    ¡°No You don¡¯t

    Killian knew this would be the respond that he would get, but he couldn¡¯t stay away from her like he asked him to do

    It had been days and he really wanted to see them. He couldn¡¯t get near Althea because the little one would scream at him and cry if Brian left her alone with him. No amount of coaxing could make herfortable with him and this made Killian sait

    It almost felt like all Althea¡¯s hatred had been manifested on Jasmine and she couldn¡¯t even stand the sight of him.

    ¡°What should I do to fix this?¡± Killian finally asked, he could no longer hold it back Tell me and I will do it¡±

    ¡°Return me back to the maind-

    ¡°Except that¡±

    Althea scoffed ¡°Just like usual You would say to do everything as long as it convenient you, but when you don¡¯t feel like it, you will bail out. I shouldn¡¯t be surprised.¡±

    Killian didn¡¯tment on that, he kept staring at Althea and noticed how different she was right now. She was no longer that timed girl, who wouldn¡¯t be able to stand up for herself. She was not a shy and scared girl, who would stir away from confrontation. She was no longer that girl, who would hide whenever killiam got angry.

    There was fire in her eyes and it upset him that he was not the one that put the fire in those beautiful eyes.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    She had changed and it was because there was another man. There was another man, who gave her the courage to change. There was another man, who made her look so alive and that man was not him.

    ¡°I know I have done you wrong. So wrong, Lapologize for that and I will make it up to you for the rest of your life.¡±

    ¡°Fine I will forgive you if you never showed your face ever again in front of me and my baby¡±

    Ican¡¯t do that.¡±

    Althea scoffed again when she heard that. ¡°See! You can see how selfish and hypocrite you are for couldn¡¯t even sacribce yourself to atone for your mistake

    I want uy to be family

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    ghes

    +64%

    The y ejected you and I left the pack, was the day that you are nothing. You are only a stranger

    Kill??n sped his hands, his long fingers intertwined and his jaw hardened. He gritted his teeth when he spoke again. ¡± want to be together agant, I will correct my mistake this time only if you gave me a chance to correct it.¡±

    deserve

    wans you to correst your mistake because you are that person I don¡¯t want to give you a chance, because you don¡¯t

    Stelt his heart was being stabbed. He had been staring at them from afar, without even being able to get closer to them but right now when she was only a few steps apart, he still felt like there was an ocean between them.

    The you think the king will save you Do you think the king willse after you and abandon his kingdom for you?¡± Kilian could see the thicker in Althea¡¯s eyes when he said that, he knew that his word got under her skin and he hut the right

    st, thus he continued calmly

    You are not stupid. Abilica Ican see how start you are with the problem that you just solved about the drought. You are very smart and I regretted that I didn¡¯t see that. My head was clouded with my anger and unjustified hatred toward you Killian give her a self deprecating smile. Because of that, I know that you will be able to tell it would be wise for the king to

    ge, because you are the reason for the current riot there.

    KATE

    Althea didn¡¯t answer that She didn¡¯t give him any response. She wanted to scream at him and tell him to get out of her tomban she didn¡¯t do that because she didn¡¯t want to wake her baby up

    Seeing how Althea lost for word, Killian continued

    You know that the whole kingdom will not ept Jasmine. She will be forever a sore thumb in their eyes, because she is not the king¡¯s daughter You can see yourself what trouble that you have stirred to stay with his and crowned yourself as the queen less than a year but your position herself has caused rior. What do you think will happen in the future? The king ught be able to overlook this one incident, but do you really think this will be the end of it?¡±

    Killian shook has bead

    ¡°That¡¯s only the beginning. Althea

 Claimed 75

    Parketile de bans the things up the watkelt the best acel the immediately jobed and or desi bg Moskitt excel and conded her when she shoo her loop

    A**s cared for back and Enne wat teej technorable with the nach of her mother

    The you really shock this

    espn die tem

    sleepi

    skills me when he was sure that his daughter had fallen lock to sleep

    sy this shots it to they dont we the is balry, at the very least, they agreed on that one

    beber the Ang with the face of mingler is not this

    king

    the ¡°He wille

    kalkan byd driven all the thing that Althea had known all along, but when he said it, the reality of the situation hit her hand she looked at how with hatred in her eyes, though there was nothing us that she could do to lix her situation.

    Evivethe wooly for her.

    The Kn talked about the more Althea felt bad to even want to rent to Alex, because he emphasized how she  the source of his misery She didn¡¯t want to give anyone trouble, especially Alex

    ¡°Dexos even kosow this there are a lot of attempts of minders in the pce Thetile in the court is not a child y, A that¡¯s in the lie that you could survive. You are smart, you are too naive if you thought the king could protect

    (asi aur baby tiever in the kingdom that he has built. Do you want him to run his own kingdom for you and Jasinine?

    Arried her teeth, she balled her fists tightly and tried to biyahe evenly, but it was hard to content herself stud her

    ¡°He that the life that you wished for Jasmine Killian asked the crucial question. ¡°Where people talked about her behind her hack and threw it in her face that she is not the king¡¯s child, thus there is no ce for her there. Do you think there will no killing attempt on her in the court Do you think how long and how much more trouble that the king could handle before he gave up on you

    Althea felt her eyes bamed, she held back her tears, but one escaped her eyes and the felt like her world crumbled when Killian gave her the final blow

    ¡°There wille a time when the king has to choose between you and his kingdom. Do you think which one that he will choose Even if he chose you, could you bring yourself to watch how he lost everything?¡±

    Killian knew the answer of his own question. Althea was still that kind girl, who didn¡¯t want to see other suffered because of her, he was d that her old self was still there, but he was also upset became she was willing to sacrifice herself for someone else, for another man.

    Our step at a time.

    Killian talked to himself. He knew that he could get rid of Alex from Althea¡¯s stund if he was given time. He knew that Althea would give up on trying to get back to the maind, if he was given enough time to prove it to her that he was serious on fixing everything

    ¡°Althea. You know the answer and you know that you wanted the best for our daughter, but do you really think giving her the life full of pressure and surrounded her with the prople, who looked down on her will be a good idea? Do you think that¡¯s the life that you wanted? The life that filled with constant fear that might be one day, the king will get tired of the two of you and finally give up?¡±

    Althea hissed at lum ¡°Get out. Get out from my room.¡±

    Killian looked at her with pity and this made Althea lost it, as she screamed at him, forgetting the fact that Jasmine was still sleepingPublished by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    ¡°Get our of my roound. Althea screamed on the top of her lungs, is she threw a pillow at Killian to chase him away, that was

    111

 Claimed 76

    They finally arrived at the harbor and because it was already night, they decided to rent an inn to stay the night.

    At this time. Althea had regained her energy back, though she didn¡¯t think she was doing well mentally. It still brought <b>so </b>much pain to return to thisnd.

    She thought, she would never step in this ce anymore, but here she was

    ¡°Althea, let me help you to carry <b>Jasmine</b><b>,</b>¡± Abigail said, she approached Althea. She had been trying to get to her <b>good </b>grace and Althea allow her once to y with Jasmine, but ever since that time, she had been pestering her, thinking everything was alright and forgiven.

    However, Jasmine answered that for her, as she hugged her mother¡¯s neck tightly and then waved her hand to Abigail.

    ¡°No¡­ no. Jasmine said clearly, <b>she </b>didn¡¯t want to be bothered with her time with her momma, thus Althea didn¡¯t need to say anything and walk <b>away </b>from there.

    From the corner of her eyes, Althea could see how devastate Abigail was with Jasmine¡¯s reaction, but to her credit, she didn¡¯t make a big of deal out of it and probably it was because Brian was there and he watched every move that she made.

    Brian was true to his <b>word </b>that he wouldn¡¯t let Abigail or Willow tried to manipte Althea anymore, he <b>was </b>standing by her daughter <b>and </b>granddaughter¡¯s side and somehow, <b>Althea </b>found she wasfortable with her father to a certain level, but not to the point that she would spend her time with him and talked about life.

    After that, all of them went to the inn. Thankfully also, after that night, Killian had never tried to <b>sneak </b>into her bedroom again and have ate night ¡®conversation, because that event had messed with her mind and she had a hard time to fall asleep.

    Even when she was sleeping, she would jolt awake when she heard <b>a </b><b>small </b>noise and this would leave her with a headache in the morning.

    However, tonight when they finally settled in the inn, it was not Killian, who actually bothered her at night, but it was Willow.

    She had been keeping her <b>distance </b>with her because Brian had given her a stern warning, but Althea would asionally see her, staring at her and Jasmine from distance. She couldn¡¯t say what was in her mind, because her expression was unreadable.

    But <b>tonight</b>, it seemed she <b>had </b>lost all of her patient and decided to talk to Althea no matter what their father¡¯s reaction would be.

    She shook her awake and Althea startled the moment her hand touched her. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    ¡°<b>What </b>are you doing here?¡± Althea asked, annoyance in her voice when she saw Willow was there. She couldn¡¯tprehend how <b>could </b>peoplee and go her room as they pleased?

    She didn¡¯t know whether she chose to have Willow or Killian, who <b>would </b>wake her up, but she thought she didn¡¯t want both of them at all in her bedroom.

    ¡°I want to talk with you,¡± she said in <b>small </b>voice, she looked afraid there was someone found out that she <b>was </b>in Althea¡¯s bedroom. She should be.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to <b>talk </b>with you, go out of my room now.¡±

    Willow was startled. They said that Althea had changed, she had seen it herself, but to be kicked out of the room by her, this must be the first time.

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    <b>¡± </b>

    Growing up, she didn¡¯t pay attention too much on her little sister, but then, she didn¡¯t pay close attention to anything that didn¡¯t take her interest

    However, Willow remembered how Althea would cater to all of her need, even if she didn¡¯t, their parents would intervene and she would do it in the end

    Therefore, it came as a surprised that Althea talked harshly toward her, but she bit her tongue, knowing the situation was not

    the same anymore.

    ¡°You really have changed¡­¡± Willow muttered under her breath.

    ¡°Get out, Willow¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk now and I will not bother <b>you </b>anymore.¡± Willow said. She sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at Jasmine¡¯s sleeping face. ¡°I have a solution for your situation. <b>Give </b>me five minutes to let you know about my idea.¡±

    ¡°No. Get out now,<b>¡± </b>

    Willow shook her <b>head</b>. ¡°Althea, even if it¡¯s not now, I will find a way to talk to you in the future. You and I know that there will be some point that <b>you </b>will have this conversation with me and I think you should hear my idea about this and decided whether you will do it or not.¡±

    Althea looked at the door, she wanted to push her away from the room and continue to sleep, but at the same <b>time</b>, she was curious about what Willow so called ¡®idea

    ¡°Five minutes, after that you need to leave.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Willow nodded and then smiled softly at Althea. ¡°I will not take much of your time, <b>because </b>I know that you need to get some rest,¡± she said softly.

    However, Althea shook her head. ¡°What the idea?¡±

    And then, Willow said the most ridiculous thing that Althea had ever heard, she didn¡¯t know whether she was stupid or her mind <b>was </b>scattered, but the idea that she gave to her was almost like she suggested for her to cut her hand and then be fine with it, or even thanked her for that.

    ¡°You can leave Jasmine here with me, under my care,¡± Willow said straight to the point.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Althea narrowed her eyes dangerously.

    Willow¡¯s point was; because Jasmine was the sore eyes in the kingdom and she <b>was </b>the cause of the <b>trouble</b>, since she was the king¡¯s real daughter and in her opinion Killian only wanted Althea back because Jasmine was his firstborn, thus by leaving Jasmine with Killian would solve their problem.

    ¡°You can go back to the kingdom and be with king Alex <b>and </b>Killian will not bother you anymore, since he has his daughter.¡±

    É«

 Claimed 77

    Althea should have known that she just wasted live minutes of her life the moment Willow opened her mouth, because whatever she said was very ridiculous to the point, she was speechless and had to listen to the end of it.

    She wanted her to leave Jasmine with Killian because that was what he wanted? Because Jasmine was his first daughter, thus he only came after Althea for his daughter and not her, which that didn¡¯t make any different from Althea.

    But then. Willow said, by leaving Jasmine behind, Althea could walk away and be together with Alex and they would have another child, lived happily ever after, problem solved.

    The way Willow said, as if jasmine was another piece of clothes that Althea could just leave behind without a second thought.

    What kind of garbage that her idea was?

    Willow was very lucky that she was quite afar from her, because if she was close, Althea wouldn¡¯t promise that she wouldn¡¯t be tempted to not p her so hard in the face.

    Her body was shaking right now, even the sight of her was very disturbing, she found Willow was very disgusting and she couldn¡¯t understand how someone could be as clueless as her.

    This woman was f**d up in so many levels and she couldn¡¯t even start to think what was actually in her head right now when she suggested her brilliant idea.

    Did she expect her to be overjoyed because she found a solution for her problem? By leaving her daughter like a piece of garbage and then went ahead toward the sunset with Alex?

    ¡°What do you think? This is the best option for you to keep everyone happy. Willow smiled brightly, thinking that Althea¡¯s silent was because she was contemting her idea, she looked at her with expectant eyes. ¡°This could solve your problem. Althea. I can help you to get out of the inn tonight, but leave Jasmine behind, so Killian will not chase you down.¡±

    Althea met her eyes and she could see that in Willow¡¯s mind Killian still wanted her. Killian only went after Althea because she had their child and Willow wanted to y mother with her daughter.

    It must be hard to believe that Killian was really done with her, because of how much Killian dotted and loved her in the past, that alpha would turn the world upside down only to please her, but now, he didn¡¯t even want to be in the same room

    with her.

    Therefore, Willow must have gotten the wrong impression.

    ¡°Have you decided about it?¡± Willow asked impatiently.

    Althea then looked at Jasmine and then got off the bed, she went to the door and step out of the room, seeing this, Willow was very excited, though she was still a little bit confused, because Althea didn¡¯t bring anything with her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to bring a few clothes?¡± Willow asked quietly, as she followed Althea out of the room. ¡°But, it doesn¡¯t matter. 1 will give you money, so you can buy your clothes on the way.¡± She was feeling generous because Althea agreed with her idea, or so she thought¡­

    Because the moment they stepped out of the room and Althea closed the door behind her, Willow was trying to give her more support when Althea actually turned around and.. pped her!

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about Jasmine. I will take care of her, I will treat her like my own child¡­ ah!¡± Willow screamed when a harsh pnded on her face, she cradled her cheek and looked at Althea with shocked.

    Althea came closer to her and whatever Willow saw in her eyes, this must have scared the shit out of her, because she took a step back.

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    ¡°Taking care of her like your own child?¡± Althea hissed, her voice filled with a lot of venom. ¡°Who do you

    Willow gulped down with difficulty. She was scared of her right now.

    ¡°Do you think I will discard my own child like a garbage? Do you think you can rece my position?¡±

    think you are?

    Althea growled at her and this made Willow took another step from her, she was afraid that she would attack her, because right now, from the look of it, that was something that Althea would do to her.

    ¡°You are garbage, Willow. You have never changed. If there is someone, who is a burden, it¡¯s you. You are the one, always ruined everything. You even ruined your own life and you wanted to ruin mine?*

    who

    ¡°I gave you an idea.. why do you think that I will ruin your life? I give you the life that you want!¡± Willow tried to find the courage and a level ground, but she ended up raising her voice at her.

    ¡°The life that I wanted? You didn¡¯t even know me enough to know what life that I wanted.¡± Althea felt that was an insult to think that she would actually consider to leave her baby behind

    ¡°You don¡¯t want the baby anyway, why did you make a big of deal out of it?¡±

    Another harsh pnded on Willow¡¯s face and this made her very furious.

    ¡°Althea! How dare you to p twice?! I tolerate you for the first time, but how could you p me again!?¡± Willow was about to p Althea and she saw thating, she was ready to dodge it when someone held Willow¡¯s hand.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Killian asked, he looked at Willow sternly, behind him Abigail and Brian came out of their room because they heard themotion in the hallway.

    ¡°She pped me, Killian,¡± Willow said, she teared up and showed the side of her face that Althea had hit. There was still red mark on her skin, because Althea indeed hit her only a few second ago, both of them didn¡¯t realize that Killian was already

    there.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

    Althea felt like she was thrown to the past in this situation.

 Claimed 78

    too,

    is in the Who was teaming up and

    The situation like this had happened in the past to where she was putting in the position, where Willow was traning up and she was being solded for making her sad. She was the one, who would be med despite them not knowing what the reason beb

    And for

    sment A

    guard when all of her traumas rushed back to

    grip on her.

    simrity in this situation, especially with Killian, who was staring at her.

    illow, who was crying and ber

    There was

    parents.

    looked at her. She felt like she was back to her teenage self, where everyone would me her for whatever happened to Willow

    She pped me twice she pped me.¡±

    This was the same. Althea closed her eyes and breathed deeply she tried topose herself, but her whole body started shaking. She shouldn¡¯t have let Willow to maniphate these people again, she should have had more courage to counter ber word and prove that she wo wrong in this situation

    But Willow was right, she pped her twice

    Althea didn¡¯t react well in this situation, because she felt trapped, this was what happened to her. This was how her childhood, this was how she was growing up

    They wouldn¡¯t believe her even if she tried to exin and she forgot when thest time she tried to exin herself, because every time she started to speak, they would tell her to shut up

    Therefore, her reaction on this matter was to damp her mouth.

    ¡°Althea Brian called her name because he could see that she pressed her lips to hold back her emotion. ¡°Why did you p Willow¡± he approached Althea, stretched out his hand to offer somefort

    However, Albea saw that as a threat

    itted his hand instead

    She lifted her head and then looked at him with malice, which made Brian took a step back Killian narrowed his eyes because this was not like Althea Willow would have said something to provoke her and make her reacted strongly

    But, how could they know if Althea didn¡¯t say anything at all to them?

    ¡°Althea Brian looked at his daughter and the angry and hurt in her eyes but she still didn¡¯t say anything, instead, she went to her bedroom and calmly close the door.

    Abigail immediately went to the door with the intention to knock on it, but Brian quickly stopped her. ¡°No. Let her be

    ¡°But Abigail was about to argue, but she immediately went silent because she knew it was not a good idea to go against

    Brian¡¯s word.

    Now, without Althea was there, all of their attention fell on Willow, who had tears run down her cheeks. She looked at Killian with longing but the alpha reciprocated the look with coldness

    ¡°What did you say to her?¡± Killian asked. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Willow shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. I only went to her bedroom to talk¡± she said hastily when she saw the look on Killian¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Have I warned you not to talk to ber?¡± He asked with malice in his voice. ¡°I told you to stay away from her, didn¡¯t 1a

    Willow teared up again, she looked at her father and mother, but none of them came to her rescue and stopped Killian from? questioning her.

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    ¡°I only wanted to talk to her, I only wanted to apologize to her.¡±

    ¡°Then why she pped you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Willow cried again. ¡°I think it¡¯s because she hated me.¡±

    *Don¡¯t lie.¡± Killian was still holding Althea¡¯s hand and his grip on her wrist tightened. He looked so pi**ed because he could see how manipted Willow could be.

    If in the past, he let his logical side to a** the situation, he wouldn¡¯t end up with this whole messy situation.

    Therefore, right now Killian refused to be manipted by those tears.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie. I will not lie. I only wanted to talk to her and then she told me to get out, she pushed me out of the room because Jasmine is sleeping and then she pped me twice.¡±

    Even Brian and Abigail didn¡¯t believe that, they creased their brows and this was a new thing for Willow for not being trusted by her parents.

    In the past, they would cater to her need and make a big fuss to see her cry.

    After a few second, finally it was Abigail, who tried to deescte the situation, probably because out of habit, because she used to stand up for Willow and old habit really died hard

    ¡°Alpha, I think¡­¡±

    However, Killian didn¡¯t want to ask more question in front of Abigail and Brian. He didn¡¯t let Abigail finish with her words or whatever she wanted to say when he took Willow to his own bedroom, seeing this, Willow was happy because finally she got a chance to be alone with Killian

    He had been ignoring her so hard, to the point, he didn¡¯t even allow her to be near him.

    Abigail looked worried, but Brian didn¡¯t care much about Willow. It was not like Killian would kill her. He was more concern about Althea and wanted to know what actually happened, but he didn¡¯t want to bother her either.

    ¡°Now tell me.¡± Killian let go of Willow¡¯s hand once they were alone in his bedroom. He looked at her with intensity that made Willow felt her stomach dropped to the ground.

    The room became a little bit colder and then tension that permeated in the air suffocated her. The alpha was angry and he showed it clearly:

    ¡°What actually happened?¡± Killian didn¡¯t want to hear another b**it, thus he warned her to tell him the truth. ¡°If I asked Althea and she said something different. I will banish you from the pack

    Willow was shocked with the threat. ¡°You will not do

    it¡­ right? It¡¯s not right¡­N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.

 Claimed 79

    Willow was scared when <b>Killian </b>said that he wanted to banish he from the pack. She was surprised because.. she believed

    him

    This was the man that dered that he would never leave her no matter what, but after one mistake, he forgot everything and wanted to kick her out of the pack, leaving her to be a rogue a wolf without a <b>pack</b>. How could he do that?

    ¡°Killian..¡±

    ¡°Start with your exnation, Willow. I don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    Killian felt like kicking himself because he didn¡¯t take precaution of someone would actually enter Althea¡¯s bedroom. He should have put one of his warriors in front of Althea¡¯s door too, but then he didn¡¯t want to make her felt ufortable.

    Althea might be very upset if he put a warrior around her because it could be perceived that she was being controlled and monitored. That was thest thing that Killian wanted her to feel

    He wanted to give her the freedom that she wanted and started to feelfortable with him again, but Willow had toe and ruin it and here they were now.

    He and the other warriors were in his room to talk about the situation in the maind, whether or not prince Dane managed to get the throne, because it could be his concern next if he failed again. That was when he heard Willow screamed because Althea apparently had hit her.

    What did you say to her?¡± Killian asked, he felt like his patient was wearing so thin. Think about this carefully, Willow. will not give you a second chance¡±

    Willow gulped down, but in the end, she decided to tell him the truth about her idea and why she thought that was the best

    solution.

    The more she talked, the more Willow believed this was the best solution for all of them, but the more Killian listened to what Willow <b>said</b>, the more he felt like he wanted to p her hard on the face again.

    Althea should have beaten her up for suggesting such idea to her.

    But, the fact that Althea was angry because of Willow¡¯s suggestion, made Killian felt like he had hope for the rtionship

    between them.

    She didn¡¯t want to leave, even though it was because she didn¡¯t want to leave their daughter, but it <b>was </b>fine for <b>Killian</b>, as long as she didn¡¯t want to leave<b>, </b>everything else would be fine.

    ¡°See? We can be together again, you and I will be a little family with Jasmine and everyone will get what they wanted.¡± Willowe closer toward Killian, there <b>was </b>this expectation in her eyes, thinking that Killian would feel the same with like she did.

    However, Killian red at her, the way he looked at her filled with malice, as if he was going to kill her, if she tried to take another step closer to him, which made Willow staggered back. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    I thought I <b>have </b>made myself very clear with my word earlier,¡± Killian said. ¡°But, I think you need stronger word for you to get my point.

    Willow gulped down when Killian leaned his back against the door and then crossed <b>his </b>arms, there was something in his eyes that made Willow felt uneasy, especially when he blocked the door with his body, which essentially didn¡¯t give her <b>a </b>way to leave this room, trapping her here.

    Willow felt like she was being in the cruelest predator in the room when actually this was only Killian.¡±

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    Kine was calm, it almost terrifying to hear e sad those things I don¡¯t want you anymore. Your died

    then went ahead to kneel down in front of Killian, she was

    Ito

    know that I am not worthy of you, but I promised you that woman that you used to love. I will be the perfect mate for Mou to forgive me!¡±

    llow threw herself like this, but then he really wanted to

    ull circle right now and he didn¡¯t know whether he wanted

    I want to see you ever again, Willow.¡± Killian leaned over eyes. ¡°If I found you around Althea again and my daughter e your chance, Willow and mind your own business.¡±

    should have just brought Brian with him back to the pack. te and my baby alone. Do you understand what I said?¡± aw the look on Killian¡¯s face, but she couldn¡¯t go against his

    voice, while Killian took her by the elbow and pulled her

 Claimed 80

    The next day. Althea woke Jasmine up to have her breakfast and <b>the </b>girl ate her meal well, she looked sail and this made Althea asked her about why <b>she </b>looked so down this morning

    ¡°Emis Dada, who, dada is not here¡°¡°<b>Jasmine </b>parsed her lips. ¡°Tiada don¡¯t love me anymore?¡±

    Althea hugged her baby and then kissed both of her cheeks. ¡°Of course, dada loves you. He loves you so much. Jasmine¡±

    ¡°I jasmine be a good girl, will dadae back?¡±

    Althea didn¡¯t know how to feel about this, obsly that was a lie, because she didn¡¯t even know whether Alex woulde to get her and Jasmine or not, knowing the situation in the kingdom

    But she couldn¡¯t see her daughter cry, thus she nodded her head

    yes, dada is busy night now, but once his business finished, he wille to get us¡± Althea really wanted to believe that. She wanted to believe her own lie and had the strength to actually believe that.

    ¡°Really? Dada loves momma, right?¡±

    bviously Althea kissed both of her cheeks again. ¡°Now, you need to be a good girl and then finished with your okay

    ¡°Okay¡± Jasmine munched on her meal happily

    After that everyone went into their camages. There were two carriages for them, one carriage for Abigail, Brian and Willow, while the other was upied by Killian, Althea and Jasmine. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    Killian sat across from Althea and Jasmine and he watched how talkative Jasmine was. He wondered if Althea was this talkative when she was little, he needed to ask Brian about that, because obviously, Killian <b>was </b>not that curios as a childi.

    However, hearing how jasmine talked and asked a lot of questions brought a smile to his lips.

    ¡°Yes, there is a fish in the river,¡± Killian replied to one of Jasmine¡¯s questions when she pointed at the river that the just passed

    Jasmine looked at him, she was intrigued. ¡°What fish? Can you catch fish?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to catch fish?¡± Kin asked, he smiled brilhantly at <b>his </b>daughter.

    She was adventurous and full of curiosity, which made Killian was very happy because his daughter had grown up so well. despite the situation they were in

    ¡°Come, I will teach you how <b>to </b>catch a fish.¡±

    However, Jasmine looked <b>at </b>Killian¡¯s stretched out arms with hesitation before she turned her head and then looked at her mother, asking for Althea¡¯s permission..

    ¡°Momma, can I go to catch fish?¡± she then added with her adorable tone. ¡°Please?¡±

    Althea wanted to reject the request. She didn¡¯t like the <b>idea </b><b>that </b>Jasmine <b>and </b>Killian spent their time together, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to reject her when she didn¡¯t know anything about the bad blood between her and Killian.

    And she felt bad because she had been a good girl during the whole trip here. She didn¡¯t make a fuss and Althea knew how much Jasmine loved to be in nature,

    Because: <b>Althea </b>didn¡¯t answer immediately, Killian thought that she would refuse and he was ready to console Jasmine, telling her that she could catch fish next time. There were plenty of times and <b>chances </b>to do it.

    However, to Killian¡¯s surprise, <b>Althea </b>agreed to that.

    ¡°<b>Okay</b>,¡± Althea said softly.

    Killian then asked his warriors to stop the carriage and they stop near the river. ¡°Come here. I will help you to get down.¡±

    Killian then hugged his daughter to get down from the carriage, but when Althea was about toe out, she ignored his stretching hand and then got down by herself.

    People at the other carriage looked confused, but when they saw Killian started to y with Jasmine in the river, they understood.

    ¡°Thank you for letting the alpha to be close with his daughter,¡± Ronan said, he was one of the warriors. ¡°He <b>has </b>been very miserable ever since you left the pack.¡±

    ¡°He deserved that.¡± Althea replied coldly. She didn¡¯t even try to be sweet with her answer.

    Ronan was slightly taken aback with that answer, he knew Althea, though they were <b>not </b>close<b>, </b>but he didn¡¯t expect such cold answer woulde out of her lips, but the woman didn¡¯t seem to care what he was thinking about her, as she watched Jasmine was ying in the river with Killian.

    I looked like they were having a good time, but in Althea¡¯s mind, she hoped Alex would be here. She didn¡¯t want Jasmine forget about him, but just in case just in case that he would never get them and this was the life that she had to live. it would be better if Jasmine didn¡¯t remember hin and have less memories of him, because it would help her to cope up.

    I broke Althea¡¯s hear when she saw how Jasmine was crying this morning, because she missed her dada and she couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of lie and empty promises <b>that </b>she had to give to her <b>until </b>she finally realized that her dada wouldn¡¯t

    She wished she was wrong, but she knew she couldn¡¯t hold her breath on this matter. This was way moreplicated than she was thinking.

    ¡°I know that you are hurt, Althea, Ronan spoke again after a few moment of silence. ¡°But, try to open your heart and you will be able to see how much the alpha loves you. He tried to redeem his mistake and atone to his sin, please, don¡¯t punish him more than this. You don¡¯t know what kind of hell that he has gone through to get to you.¡±

    Althea thed her head, she looked <b>at </b>Ronan, her expression didn¡¯t change when <b>she </b>replied to him. ¡°Do you even have any idea what kind of hell that I have to go through in his hand for the mistake that I didn¡¯t even do?¡±

    Ronan opened his mouth, but there was no word that he <b>could </b>think of to answer that question. H

    <b>was </b>speechless.

    Öæ

 Claimed 81

    ¡°She looks happy.¡± Killian stated when he saw how Jasmine was smiling in her sleep, she mumbled something about fish and this brought smile on his lips. He felt his heart was so warm with the sight of his daughter and his mate.

    This was what he wanted. This was the life that he wanted for him and his little one. The family that he always dreamed of.

    Althea didn¡¯t say anything about <b>that</b>, she simply held Jasmine closely to her chest, she rearranged the nket that wrapped around her little body, so she wouldn¡¯t get cold

    ¡°She is beautiful¡± Killian couldn¡¯t have enough to see the sight of his baby girl. He regretted that he was not there in the <b>earlier </b>life of hers, but now, he wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake again. He would always be there for her in every step of the way. She <b>was </b>his daughter, his one and only.

    Althea didn¡¯t say anything, she kept her <b>eyes </b>on her baby¡¯s sleeping face or the sight outside.

    It brought a lot of memories to her, because they were so close to the pack house now and the area around here was so familiar with her. She used to y in the <b>wood </b>and she would run in her beast form when she was younger.

    No one was there in her first shift because Willow was sick, she imed that her stomach was hurt, but even a healer couldn¡¯t tell why she was in so much pain when she checked on her and she was fine.

    Now, Althea could say for sure that she faked it.

    Althea remembered how much she was in pain and confused because she was left alone during her first <b>transition </b>and she went to the wood when she finally shifted into her beast.

    That

    I was one of the awful memories that she didn¡¯t want to recall.

    ¡°We are here.¡± Killian said, pulling Althea out of her reverie.

    She blinked her eyes and realized the carriage had stopped in front of the <b>pack </b>house. The house that was the beginning of her nightmare. The house that trapped her and where she was being tortured by <b>him</b>.

    Suddenly, Althea felt her heart stopped beating, she was suffocated, as if all the air was sucked out of her lungs, she clutched her chest and she blinked her eyes, she didn¡¯t even realize that she <b>started </b>crying and <b>this </b><b>motion </b>woke Jasmine up.

    ¡°Momma? Momma?¡± Jasmine tugged her hand when she saw her mother was in pain, Killian immediately approached Althea and then took Jasmine away from her.

    However, this movement only made Althea became more panic, she shook her head and tried to get her daughter back.

    ¡°Calm down, Althea, I will not separate the two of you. I will only take her down from the carriage!¡± Killian gave baby Jasmine to Ronan, but she fought the warrior<b>, </b><b>as </b>she wed his face, but thankfully, <b>she </b>didn¡¯t have any ws yet.

    ¡°No.¡± Althea whimpered, her panic hit her like a storm, she felt very overwhelmed with a lot of emotions that she couldn¡¯t even decipher. ¡°No my baby¡±

    ¡°Come here, I will help you to get down.¡± Killian said.

    Abigail and Brian immediately got off the carriage when they heard how pitiful Jasmine was crying, they were confused about what had happened.

    ¡°Momma, momma!¡±

    ¡°What happened¡± Brian immediately took Jasmine from Ronan¡¯s arms and then watched Killian carried Althea in his arms. She was uncontespus. C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

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    Chapter S1

    Sean was there too, inchiding his beta and gamma. They were there to greet the alpha, because thi after more than a year he left the pack. The pack was fine, but it didn¡¯t look good on Killian for him to leave their pack

    was the first he returned unattended for that long.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Sean immediately came to Killian and saw Althea for the first time, there was not much that had changed from her, but she looked¡­ better than when she was <b>here</b>.

    Killian didn¡¯t say anything, he didn¡¯t answer their question and immediately strode off inside the house with Althea in his

    <b>arms</b>.

    He put her down in his bedroom. He knew why she was like this, the trauma had been triggered and she was too overwhelmed and tired to handle it.

    However, Killian couldn¡¯t let her live outside of the pack house, he couldn¡¯t let her stay away from her, especially when it meant, he had to be away from his little girl too.

    ¡°Momma¡­¡± Jasmine crawled on her bed and kissed her mother¡¯s cheek in hope it would wake her up.

    ¡°Call the healer,¡± Killian said with urgency, but thankfully, Sean was very thoughtful, she had called for the healer when she saw Althea fell unconscious.

    Thus a few secondter, she returned with the healer of the pack and she immediately

    checked on her.

    ¡°How is she?¡± Killian asked, he gritted his teeth, as he picked Jasmine up and hugged her to calm the baby down. ¡°It¡¯s okay, momma is okay. She is only tired¡±

    Jasmine wiped her tears and then went silent, though tears kept streaming down her chubby cheeks.

    After a few moment, the healer told the alpha <b>that </b>Althea was fine, but her condition was not really good, she needed a lot of rest, it was a long journey after all, more <b>so</b>, her mind and heart had been in a lot of turmoil recently, thus it could be the source of her problem.

    Killian nodded and after the healer said that <b>she </b>would make the concoction for Althea, all of them left with her as well, leaving the three of them <b>alone</b>.

    ¡°You hear her too, right?¡± Killian said to Jasmine. ¡°Your mother is only tired, there are a lot of things that she has in her mind, so <b>you </b>can¡¯t add more, okay?¡±

    Jasmine is a good girl.¡± Jasmine pursed her lips and Killian wiped her tears.

    ¡°You <b>can¡¯t </b>ask about your dada again, okay?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    <i>03 </i>

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    ¡°Why?¡± Jasmine looked like she wanted to cry because she was not allowed to ask about her father, since in her eyes, her father was Alex and she didn¡¯t know this man. She missed her father dearly, she wanted to see him again.

    Even though she was still little, but she could seuse it that her mother was happier whenever her father was around and she had been crying so much because her father was not here.

    ¡°Because your father will nevere.¡±

    Jasmine cried the moment Killian said those hurtful words, she cried so hard, her face turned red, she cried even harder when Kilian tried to calm her down. She hit Killian¡¯s face, but of course, it meant nothing for the alpha.

    He then took his daughter out of the room, so she wouldn¡¯t wake Althea up. This was something that he needed to sort out with his daughter. There was something that he needed to straighten up with her before Althea could intervene.

    ¡°Listen to me, sweet girl,¡± Killian said, as he sat her down on the table at his study room. Jasmine was still trying to get away from him, but he held her firmly, which made her a little bit scared of him.

    The sight of Jasmine, reminded Killian of the way Althea looked at him when she was under his control. The fear in her eyes were the same.

    Therefore, Killian hugged her instead and patted her back. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you, little one, but can you stop hitting me, so we can have a talk?¡±

    Jasmine didn¡¯t stop, she kept hitting him and tried to get away from him, but the alpha didn¡¯t budge. He was determined to

    talk to her.

    She was little, but she was so smart, she must understand what he was talking about.

    Killian waited until Jasmine was tired of fighting him and then talked to her.

    ¡°Dada left you and your mother,¡± Killian said, the moment he got a chance.

    ¡°No!¡± Jasmine cried again and Killian had to hug her and waited until she calmed down to continue what he was trying to

    ¡°Dada left you and your mother. That¡¯s why mother is sick, because dada hurt her.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Jasmine teared up, but this time, she was not throwing a tantrum, probably she was tired. ¡°No. Dada wille.¡±

    Killian shook her head and Jasmine kept repeating the same thing, until she was tired and didn¡¯t say anything, she stared at Killian, tears streamed down her cheek.

    Killian wiped her tears and then kissed her forehead, but Jasmine pushed his face away from her, she didn¡¯t want to be touched by him, as she pursed her lips like a petnt child.

    But, even so, Killian still loved his daughter.

    ¡°Mother is sick because you keep asking about dada. Do you want to make your mother even more sick?¡±

    Jasmine wanted to cry again, but she held back her tears and then shook her head. She blinked her eyes. ¡°Why? Momma loves dada¡­ dada loves momma

    ¡°Because dada doesn¡¯t love momma.¡±

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    @ +63%

    11:29 Wed, Aug 21 R RO.

    Althea woke up and then the nightmare began. This was the house that she knew, this was the room that she knew very well, the strong smell of him filled the room and made her wanted to vomit.

    She then got off the bed and inmediately went to the bathroom, she emptied her stomach and this made her head dizzy. Someone came from behind her and she saw Sean. The olddy looked at her with pity in her eyes and Althea hugged her. ¡°It¡¯s okay, my child. It¡¯s okay. Everything will be okay.¡± Sean hugged her tightly. ¡°Everything will be different this time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it to be different. I don¡¯t want to be here at all,¡± Althea said between her s**b.

    Sean then helped her to clean herself up and Althea asked about Jasmine, she said that Brian came this early morning and took her to walk around the pack house. She reassured her that the alpha didn¡¯t try to separate them.

    Somehow, on top of the trauma, Althea had been paranoid that Killian wouldn¡¯t allow her to see her daughter, but Sean reassured her that would never be the case at all

    However, Althea was persistent to see her daughter, she wanted to see Jasmine to keep her mind at ease, thus Sean helped her to get dress and then walked her out of the pack house to find Brian was ying with Althea.

    Her father shifted into his beast and let Althea to sit on his back.

    This was Althea¡¯s favorite thing to do with Alex and this brought tears to her eyes, because she missed him so bad, but she couldn¡¯t find a way to figure out what happened in the maind or whether or not Alex woulde to rescue her.

    She felt crushed.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Momma!¡± Jasmine rushed toward Althea when she saw her mother was already awake, Brian then shifted back into his human form and then approached his daughter.

    ¡°How are you? You shouldn¡¯t be outside, it¡¯s rather cold in the morning¡±

    ¡°I am fine,¡± Althea replied.

    They then had a nice morning together, where Jasmine looked happy because she could be in the open area and there were a lot of trees here with river at the back of the pack house,

    Meanwhile, Killian watched them from the hallway in the third floor, he watched how his daughterughed and Althea smiled.

    See? He had promised that everything would be alright and he would keep that promise. He would fix everything and they would be a happy little family,

    Right at that time, his ga**a approached him, he brought a news from the maind kingdom.

    ¡°The king is on the way here,¡± he said. ¡°What are you going to do? You will not stand a chance to fight him.¡±

    ¡°No. Why should I fight him?¡± Killian smirked, he then left, because he needed to write a letter for prince Dane.

    2/2

 Claimed 83

    For Alex toe here and actually leave the kingdom, it was what they expected. They could see how infatuated the king was with his new queen, the only thing that made them wondered <b>was </b>the fact he had not yet <b>marked </b>Althea <b>despite </b>all the affection that he showed to the public.

    However, with king Alex went to fetch Althea in Killian¡¯s pack, this was within their n and once he was <b>here</b>, everything would go ordingly.

    ¡°<b>What </b>a stupid man..¡± Killian talked to no one in particr. He then dismissed his gamma, as he wrote a letter to prince

    Dane.

    If Alex didn¡¯t leave the kingdom, it would be harder for Dane to snatch the throne, but without him there<b>, </b>it would be easier. It was easy enough to pain Alex as the king, who abandoned his own kingdom for a woman and how that woman and the baby were witch, who had put the king under their spell.

    Killian didn¡¯t mind for Dane to tarnish Althea¡¯s name in maind, with that. Althea could forget to ever set a foot there again

    Everything would go as they nned and this was a good news for him.

    After he asked someone to send the letter, he went to watch his daughter y in the garden with Brian and looked happy. He hoped that little girl understood their conversation of how she was not allowed to talk about the king.

    Althea, she

    He didn¡¯t mean to hurt his baby, but he couldn¡¯t think of anything else to put a stop to her inclination toward a man, who was not her father.

    ¡°Everything <b>will </b>be alright, little one,¡± Killian said to himself. He smiled when Jasmine fell on her butt and then giggled when her mother came to pick her up.

    However, when Jasmine looked up and saw Killian had been watching them, she immediately hugged Althea¡¯s neck and then buried her face against the crook of her neck. Their eyes met and all Killian could see <b>was </b>fear in his little girl¡¯s eyes

    ¼®

    He knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy, but he had a lifetime to make that little girl to see that he <b>was </b>her father.

    ¡°What happened, sweetheart?¡± Althea asked, she could feel Jasmine was trembling, as if she was holding back her tears. ¡°Something is wrong?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Jasmine whimpered. ¡°Want to go back.. hungry. She whined and Althea chuckled.

    ¡°I thought you just ate,¡± she said softly, but then she told her father that she would return to the pack house because Jasmine was hungry.

    ¡°Okay, I wille and visit youter.¡± Brian stood up and pinched Jasmine¡¯s chubby cheek gently. ¡°We will y againter. <b>okay</b>?¡±

    ¡°Okay¡± Jasmine peered through her longshes. She <b>waved </b>at her grandfather, <b>as </b>Althea took her back to the <b>pack </b>house. ¡°What do you want to cat?¡±

    ¡°Pancake <b>with </b>chocte,¡± Jasmine replied happily, she was back to her cheerful self when she got what she wanted and munched <b>on </b>her meal happily

    Later that noon, Althea took her for a nap, as they chatted about a few things and how she liked the area because there so many trees and there was a river behind the pack house.

    <b>However</b>, there was one thing <b>that </b>Althea noticed, Jasmine didn¡¯t mention anything about Alex.

    were

    1/2 Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.

    17:24 Wet Aug 27 RRU

    The other was mebebe she dated to her, but some part of her felt sad and worried, because she didn¡¯t want

    dikow what to believe and what to do in this whole situation, her emotion was all over the ces, she

    Lan? krock on the door puted the back from ever, she looked at Jasmine and she had fast asleep.

    The sofamed and she knew immediately, who was. She could smell his scent and she didn¡¯t like to see him.

    anck

    Lutfies difit swant to wat je thus she did have ocher choice, but to get up and open the door and

    Jamnica deging te aut steamed to spend as

    attes sut she wanted to spend as le time as possible with him.

    ong

    the house alone already put her into let alone to see him in front of her, basking in al the af memonts and angin ber, which made her unable to see his eyes

    now for you on out me fire the n said he nced into the room and stared at his sleeping

    ipx pursed culty. Ther¡¯s talk somewhere I don¡¯t want to wake her up.¡±

    pond to relive put the new that all would be so pretence and it would be a futile attempt in the end.

    looses they walked at the back of the pack house, where you could hear the

    Her to you

    Sigis the cave because there was time when n was being very cruel with her and he forced himself ther be detandet att baked there in the middlect the sigh

    of

    Set the pareng the same this was the sting far could bring peace to her<i>, </i>but right now, the only thing that

    Kalba tad nemet ter metres avour the pack. She felt her there was no corner of this park that she could be fond of

    th

    The left for the how ther you know furton Lillian booked at her, it was very unsenling that Althea sosem a the eyes but he would attach the ¡°you couldn¡¯t do it for me, at least think of Jasmine¡±

    EE

 Claimed 84

    Althea leaned her <b>back </b>against the wall, as she stared at the tree, she felt sullocated by all this talk about how she should let go of what happened and he would do better, he would fix everything, he would use his lifetime to seek her forgiveness and how he great the future was with the three of them together.

    Althea listened to what he said, but at the same time, she didn¡¯t listen to him, because everything was the same. All of the things <b>that </b>he promised her was the same.

    He didn¡¯t add anything new and she was tired and only wanted him to stop talking because she didn¡¯t see why she had to let it <b>go </b>when she was the one, who was hurt.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Althea asked after Killian stopped with his preach.

    Hearing the question, Killian knew that she was still not willing to <b>give </b>their rtionship a chance. He knew that he should be more patient with her, but he couldn¡¯t help it, as he realized that king was still in her mind.

    ¡°Do you think he will be here to get you?¡± Killian asked. ¡°If he really wanted you and truly wanted you back, he should be here by now. He is the king, the news about you missing must have reached his ears long ago, but why he is not here?¡±

    Althea tried topose herself when she heard the question, she knew that <b>Killian </b>only tried to egg her and she didn¡¯t <b>want</b><b>. </b>to fall into such nasty trick.

    However, that was the question that kept her mind awake at night. Why Alex was not here? Why he didn¡¯te? Althea bit her tongue and remained calm.

    ¡°If he really wanted you, he must have marked you. You have been together for long, having a ceremony <b>and </b>all, but why he has not marked you?¡± Killian tried to make her see the fact of the situation. ¡°He wanted to <b>take </b>precaution, just in case thing <b>went </b>out of hand, which it already happened, be could bail out on you.¡±

    Althea waited for <b>a </b>little bit more before she looked at him dead in <b>the </b>eyes. ¡°Are you done?¡±

    They held each other gaze for a while. Althea could see the desperation and remorse in Killian¡¯s eyes, but she didn¡¯t need that. She didn¡¯t need his remorse and regret, she didn¡¯t need him.

    ¡°Even if I am not with Alex, I will not be with you, just because you are the father of Jasmine, doesn¡¯t <b>make </b>you the man that I wanted.¡± Althea felt the satisfaction when she saw the shocking look in Killian¡¯s eyes.

    It must be hard on him to hear this when all the women used to fall on his knees, he could get whoever woman that he wanted in this pack only by a single word, but he <b>was </b>loyal to Willow then, and now, he wanted to be loyal to Althea?

    <b>What </b>Killian <b>had </b><b>was </b>an obsession.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you, Kilian. After what you <b>have </b>done, <b>you </b>told me to forgive and forget? Why should I? I <b>was </b>the one, who had to suffer in your hand, you don¡¯t have any right to tell me what to <b>do </b>with my feeling¡± Althea narrowed her eyes, she leaned over, so Killian could hear the venom in her voice. ¡°You know what? Standing here with <b>you </b>alone and staring into your eyes already disgusted me so much. I still remember every detail of cruel thing that you have done to me, you will never be <b>able </b>to repay that even if you used your own life.¡±

    Killian¡¯s jaw clenched, he balled his fists and his breathing ragged, he looked at Althea with a mixed of emotions, but sadness <b>was </b>the one emotion that was very palpable in his eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you, Killian. I don¡¯t want your sorry life. I couldn¡¯t even stand you, do you think I can y family with you?¡± Althea scowled, <b>as </b>if the thought of that alone made her wanted to throw up. ¡°Even if I am not with Alex<b>, </b>a monster <b>has </b>better chance than you. You are worse than any monster, Killian

    Killian¡¯s gaze hardened on her, as he watched the meek woman <b>that </b>he used to y in his palm had insulted him in any possible.

    + 63% C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    Willow had never done anything like this to him, but even when he was <b>so </b>much in love with Willow at that time, he wouldn¡¯t let suchment slide.

    However, he couldn¡¯t even bring himself to get angry with Althea for all thement imagine to yell at her or force himself to her again.

    He felt¡­ tired.

    He only wanted a family and he wanted this one to work out.

    at she said. He couldn¡¯t even

    ¡°If there is nothing else you wanted to say, I will take my leave. Even if she couldn¡¯t be with Alex and return to the maind, she wouldn¡¯t with with Killian either.

    ¡°In the future, could you see yourself forgave me? Not a year, ten years or even twenty years, can you see yourself forgave

    me?¡±

    Althea <b>gave </b>some thought about it. ¡°No.¡± The answer was final. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t forgive him. Called her vindictive, but he brought this upon himself and by him kidnapping her to make her stay in the pack, only added more to bad memories about him.

    Althea wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive him in this lifetime.

    And suddenly, Killian did something that Althea didn¡¯t think he was capable of doing. He was kneeling in front of her. His lowered his head and looked at <b>Althea </b>with determination.

    ¡°What should do now, Althea?¡± Killian asked, his voice <b>was </b>pitiful and he sounded like he was going to cry, which made Althea startled. ¡°I will throw everything for you, including my dignity. Just give he said

    me one more chance, that¡¯s all I ask of you,¡±

    18

 Claimed 85

    Willow watched Althea and Killian walked toward the back side of the pack house, she followed them and hid from their sight, she kept distance with them too because she didn¡¯t want to be caught, since if she got a little bit closer, they would be able to pick up her scent, therefore, she couldn¡¯t hear their conversation.

    Killian talked to her. His expression looked restless, but Althea kept trying to avoid an eye contact with him, she ignored. him, which made Willow upset. That woman shouldn¡¯t have put such air around her.

    Just because Killian was guilty for what he had done, Althea couldn¡¯t use that against him forever. He had tried to atone for This sin, he had gone extra miles for her and baby Jasmine, but Althea didn¡¯t even give the decency to look at him.

    What else that woman wanted? Why would she try to make Killin looked so bad? She shouldn¡¯t have been like that. Killian had good intention to lix his mistake.

    The more Willow watched the whole thing, the more angry she was because Althea was too arrogant. Probably, she thought she was still the queen and an alpha like Killian didn¡¯t deserve her attention.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    Willow got so mad when Althea talked to him and she could see how she looked at him with so much disgust. Willow wanted to go out of her hiding spot and confronted her, but she held herself back, because she knew it wouldn¡¯t do any favor for

    But what made Willow¡¯s blood boiled was the fact that Killian actually knelt down in front of Althea. After that woman humiliated him and looked at him with so much contempt, she made him kneeling down on the dirty floor!

    ¡°B**h!¡± Willow gritted her teeth, she felt the urge to w Althea¡¯s face. She remembered how she did the same thing Killian and he didn¡¯t even budge.

    to

    She knew how humiliated it was and especially with Althea¡¯sck of reaction, she simply stared at him, as if what Killiant was doing right now was such an inconvenient for her.

    That b**h..!

    Willow remembered how she did the same thing too and this hurt her heart.

    In the end, she couldn¡¯t take it anymore and then left her hiding spot before she would do something that she might regret and only bring more trouble for her.

    But, when she walked across the hallway, where she passed Althea¡¯s bedroom, she saw Jasmine was sleeping there. The little one was not even aware that she was alone in the room, she slept soundly

    Now, the anger and hatred that Willow felt toward Althea was directed toward that little girl. She hated that little girl so bad, because she was a reminder of Althea.

    In her mind, she kept ying the scene where Killian was kneeling down in front of Althea, but it would alternate with the sight of herself, kneeling down in front of him, asking for forgiveness.

    The irony of the situation baffled her.

    Slowly. Willow entered the room, her heart was pounding against her ears because she knew what she was going to do next was something uneptable, but she had this strong urge to pay Althea back for the way she had hurt Killian

    That women shouldn¡¯t have done something like that to Killian, He didn¡¯t deserve that.

    Hm? Jasmine opened her eyes when she felt someone carried her little body. She was still very sleepy, she just slept for less than an hour and around this time, she usually slept for three to four hours.

    ¡°Sash we will go to momma, okay?¡± Willow said softly, as she rocked her little body, so she could fall asleep again..

    ×ÔÁã+63%

    Jasmine mumbled something about ¡®monuma¡¯ and then closed her eyes again, she wrapped her arms around Willow¡¯s neck and then rested her head on her shoulder, her head lulled to the side when she fell asleep.

    Willow gritted her teeth, she pressed her lips tightly, because she knew once she was calm enough, she would regret this. decision, but she was filled with impulsiveness and no amount of logic could stop her.

    Therefore, she went with her initial n.

    She walked toward the side door of the pack house and then rushed into the wood, thankfully, there was no one there to catch her carrying baby Jasmine.

    Willow ran as fast as she could, she tempted to shift into her beast and dragged Jasmine, but then it would wake the baby up and people would hear her cry, that was thest thing that Willow wanted.

    She ran and ran, deeper and deeper into the mountain and when she ran for an hour and thought it was already deep enough, she found a small cave that she discovered two years ago and sighed in relief that it was still there and she still remembered the way here.

    ¡°Sleep here, little girl.¡± Willow put Jasmine down, she watched how she curled herself because this cave was rather cold, but she was still sleeping soundly.

    Willow was hesitated for a while, she stayed there for two minutes before she decided to leave. She stood up, but after a few steps away, she gritted her teeth and then took off the coat that she was wearing to draped it on her body, which made Jasmine stop shivering.

    This is it You can¡¯tin now, I show you some mercy,¡± Willow said and then she shifted into her beast, leaving Jasmine alone in the cave. This time, she didn¡¯t turn around or even spare the little girl a nce, because even after she put her small body down, the guilt already ate her alive.

    It was the most f**d up thing that Willow had done, but her impulsive nature made her made the cruelest decision.

    Once she arrived at the pack house, it was a catastrophe because they realized that Jasmine had gone missing and the alpha went ballistic to look for his daughter.

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    Althea couldn¡¯t stand the sight that Killian was kneeling in front of her, she didn¡¯t want to see this side of him, because it bothered her, more so, she didn¡¯t want anyone to kneel before her. It was a pretty disturbing sight to see and she knew this was not what she wanted.

    If Killian thought by doing that, he could make her heart melted and softened, he waspletely wrong.

    ¡°You think, by doing this, you will be able to gain my forgiveness?¡± Althea asked, her voice was small, but very clear like the sky. ¡°I feel so bad that you will stoop this low and I feel nothing, but resentment on you.¡±

    Killian looked at her with surprised, he knew that Althea had changed, but the woman before him right now was very callous and hurtful. It almost felt like he dealt with someone else entirely different.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything toward you, Killian. I hope this cleared up everything. If you wanted to be close to Jasmine, I will not forbid you, but I don¡¯t want you to force her into anything

    Althea wanted to turn around and then left him like that, but apparently, there was one more thing that she wanted to say to him.

    ¡°What you have done to me is so awful, do you know how awful it was?¡± Althea turned around and then looked at him in the, eyes, she stared straight into his soul when she said the next word. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand the extend of pain that you caused me, so, let me put it into a situation so you could grasp the cruelty that you put me through. Imagine someone did the thing that you have done to me to Jasmine, how you would feel about that?¡±

    Althea didn¡¯t want to put it into that perspective, but she needed him to understand that the sight of him alone was already too much for her, being in this pack house again was already too much for her, she didn¡¯t need him to be around her and talk something along the line forgive and forget

    How could you forgive and forget after you dealt with such craziness

    Althea watched how Killian¡¯s eyes morphed into a terror, as the understanding sunk in his mind. His eyes dted and he lowered his head, he shook his head, as he tried to get rid the image that came to his mind.

    He must be imagining that and he didn¡¯t like it, no, he was disgusted. His blood boiled with rage.

    If someone touched his daughter the way he touched Althea Killian couldn¡¯t even put himself to imagine such thing would happen, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t even start to imagine that, the thought of it alone had made his heart clenched painfully, he felt like he was going to kill anyone, who would touch his daughter inappropriately.

    Meanwhile, seeing the understanding finally sunk in, Althea didn¡¯t want to stay there for a little bit longer, she walked away from him.

    She only wanted to sleep this problem away, breathing in her daughter¡¯s scent that gave her so muchfort, but to her dismay, when she arrived at her bedroom, she couldn¡¯t find Jasmine anywhere. She was not here.

    ¡°Jasmine¡±¡± Althea called her name, she checked the bathroom, thinking that she woke up and then went to take a pee, but she was not there.

    Her scent was slightly fading, which meant, she had gone for a little bit longer. Her heart was thumping against her ears, as she walked out of the room, thinking Jasmine went out to look for her, because she woke up and found herself was alone.

    ¡°Jasmine Jasmine?!¡±

    Or was it her mother? Did her mothere her and she took her daughter? Her mother might have lost her patient and she became unhinged, as she took her own granddaughter, because Althea didn¡¯t allow her to meet with her

    JASMINE

    1/2

    11:30 Wed, Aug 21 RRG

    Althea looked around the pack house to find her daughter, but she couldn¡¯t. Her scent was fading away, but it was all over the ces, since she had been in this pack house for a while and she was an active child.

    ¡°What happened, Althea?¡± Sean came, she heard Althea¡¯s frantic call and immediately approached her.

    ¡°Sean, where is Jasmine? Did you see her?¡± Althea believed someone else must have taken her baby, because usually, Jasmine would sleep throughout the afternoon and didn¡¯t wake up untilter.

    ¡°Jasmine? Shouldn¡¯t she in your room? Sleeping?¡± Sean looked confused too and this made Althea¡¯s heart lurched.

    ¡°No, Sean! She is not in the bedroom! I couldn¡¯t find her!¡± Althea became very frantic. She pulled her hair in frustration.

    ¡°Calm down, Althea, let¡¯s look for her together, okay? I will ask around if someone saw her, there is no way Jasmine could go

    far alone.

    Althea nodded her head profusely, as she tried to look for her again, but at that time, Killian also heard her voice and immediately came

    ¡°What happened here?¡±C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    i while bent

    Althea looked at him for couldn¡¯t care less about the grudge between them right now, she needed him to find their daughter.

    ¡°Jasmine is not in the bedroom¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Killian¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, as if he just cried, but there was no evidence of tears on his scary face. However, Althea didn¡¯t have time to pay for that small detail, because her mind was a mess.

    ¡°She is not in the room! She supposed to be sleeping in the room, but she is not there and I couldn¡¯t find her anywhere!¡±

    Killian gritted his teeth and reassured her that everything would be alright. ¡°I will ask the warriors to look for our daughter. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

    Althea was crying at this point and Killian pulled her against his chest, he hugged her and for a moment, Althea didn¡¯t push him away and Killian was grateful for that.

 Claimed 87

    Althea¡¯s mind was mumbled up right now, she couldn¡¯t think straight, thus there was this weak moment, where she let Killian to higher and she let ham.

    Yes, it didn¡¯tst long, because a momentter, she pushed him say and wiped her tears she didn¡¯t say anything and samply turned around to <b>leave </b>to look for Jasmine. C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    No matter how messy the rtionship between Althea and Kilhan, the alpha wouldn¡¯t take this matter lightly and Althea was

    right.

    A few momentter, there were hundred of warriors that searched for Jasmine, they didn¡¯t leave a rock unturned <b>in </b>order to

    They searched every nook and cranny of the pack house. Noter of this pack house that they didn¡¯t touch

    However, they couldn¡¯t find Jasmine anywhere. The little girl vanished from their sight just like that and Althea was inconsble. She had been crying and searching at the same time, she didn¡¯t care whether there was hundred or thousand of warriors that look for her baby, she wanted to go and search her as well.

    She didn¡¯t eat, she didn¡¯t drink, she didn¡¯t sleep, she didn¡¯t rest at all. The best hunter of the pack went down to look for Jasmine, but with nothing to track, it was hard for them

    When a day passed and there was still no sign of the little one. Killian wen to the nearby pack to inform them about missing baby and asked help from them.

    Althea was a mess when the sun rose, her face was so pale, tears streamed down her face, she wanted to look for Jasmine again, but Sean and her father stopped her, they told her to take some rest first.

    ¡°How could I rest when I don¡¯t know what happened to my baby? Althea sked, her voice was hoarse because she cried and screamed her daughter¡¯s name too much

    She med herself because she left her alone, she med Killian because <b>he </b>took her away t gibberish talk.

    She <b>was </b>at lost, she wanted to me everyone else there and also herself

    from the room to listen to his

    ¡°If you kept going on like this, you will only hurt yourself, Althea Brian said ¡°Please. If you fell sick, you couldn¡¯t even get up from the bed to look for her. You need to take care of yourself first to be able to look for Jasmine. Everyone is looking for her. I promised, we will hul her

    Althea turned her head and gave her father a re. ¡°You <b>never </b>keep your promise, father. Why do you think I will believe you this time!TM

    Brian was at lost for word, Althea must be <b>talking </b>about the past, where he kept breaking his promise to her, thus he couldn¡¯t End a word to retort that.

    It was Sean, who reassured her. ¡°Come. You need to clean yourself, take a bath cat and then <b>sleep</b><b>, </b>only after that, you will find the energy to find Jasmine and think of the possibility where she is

    Althea didn¡¯t say anything, she only let Sean to take her away from the crowded beasts that kept trying to look for her baby sin

    Sean did everything for her, blessed her heart. She bathed her, fed her and put her to bed, she told her that everything would be alright

    If there was one person that Althea wanted to see <b>when </b>she returned to this <b>pack</b>, it must be Sean Nother parents, hot Killian, but this old woman.

    111

    This old woman was the one who stood by <i>her </i>side during all the cruelty that Killiary showed to her, she was the only one that was with her during those difficult time and even helped her to escape from this pack.

    She was the one, who knew when she was conceived with Jasmine, she was the one, who cleaned her wounds after the torme that <b>Kilian </b>submitted to her.

    Therefore, <b>Althea </b><b>was </b>veryfortable with her, she was way morefortable with Sean than her own parents.

    She let Sean to take care of her, because she was very exhausted mentally and physically.

    <b>¡°</b>You need to tell me immediately if they found any sign of Jasmine.¡± Althea looked at Sean with her expectant eyes, she had stopped crying, but it didn¡¯t mean that her heart had stopped bleeding.

    ¡°I will wake you up <b>when </b>they found any sign of Jasmine.¡± Sean reassured her and that was all that Althea needed. ¡°You don¡¯t <b>need </b>to worry, <b>now </b>sleep, sweety.¡±

    Althea closed her eyes. She trusted her, she knew <b>that </b>Sean would keep her <b>word</b>.

    Sean stayed there for a while, as she caressed her <b>back </b>to ease her to sleep, which <b>Althea </b>was very much appreciated it.

    However, this kind of act was witnessed by Abigail. She wanted to get close to Althea, she tried to reassure her, stayed by her side, but Althea didn¡¯t want to be around her. The way her body reacted when she was nearby told her that she was notfortable with her own mother, which was very hurtful.

    And then. Abigail watched how Sean took care of Althea, how she was willing to be lulled to sleep by this old woman, who was no one to her.

    It hit Abigail so hard with the fact that her daughter was way morefortable with stranger than her own mother. She couldn¡¯tprehend this<b>. </b>

    With <b>that</b>, Abigail entered the room when she noticed Althea had fallen asleep. ¡°You can leave<b>, </b>I will stay here with her.¡± She was her mother

    Sean looked at Abigail, she wanted to refuse that because she knew the rtionship between them was not good, but Abigail looked at her sternly.

    ¡°Get out from this room. I will stay with MY daughter. Abigail emphasized to the word ¡®my, possessively.

    Because <b>Sean </b>was only a maid, she was only an omega in the rank, she couldn¡¯t go against Abigail Reluctantly, she left¡­.

 Claimed 88

    Brian tried to figure out what had happened, there was no way die little girl could go far from the pack house without anyone knowing about <b>this</b><b>. </b><b>More </b>so, no matter how adventurous Jasmine was, she wouldn¡¯t be brave enough to enter the wood too deep.

    The warriors had searched the woods nearby, but they couldn¡¯t find anything, there was no trace of the baby there.

    One and a half year old baby couldn¡¯t shift yet, but they couldn¡¯t <b>find </b>her trace on the ground, they could only find those traces of adult and beasts, which wasmon, since the area was not a forbidden ce and many people woulde and go from the woods,

    In <b>that </b>case, Brian thought, there must be someone else, who had taken Jasmine away, but who?

    Everyone knew that Jasmine was the alpha¡¯s daughter, no one would <b>dare </b>enough to mess with the alpha and wanted to see

    his wrath.

    But then, there was one name that crossed Brian¡¯s mind. Willow!

    Her daughter had impulsive tendency to do something reckless and she was nowhere to be found. No one paid attention to her absence, since all of their focus was on Jasmine.

    However, he looked around and asked whether they had seen Willow and none of them had seen her since they started the search,

    With that, Brian went back to his house to look for his other daughter. His heart was beating so hard against his chest. He prayed his usation was wrong.

    Willow couldn¡¯t be that stupid

    Brian found Willow in their house, she was staying in her room, curling under the nket, as she turned off all the light. This room was dim-

    <b>¡°</b>Willow.¡±

    Brian noticed <b>that </b>his daughter was not sleeping, because her body jolted a little when he called her name and he didn¡¯t know where to <b>start</b>.

    Brian entered the room and then sat at the edge of the bed. He sat there in silent for a while to gather his thought and tried to think of the right question to ask.

    ¡°Willow, I know that you are not sleeping.¡± Brian pulled the nket from her, but she held it, thus he let it go, it only confirmed that she was indeed not sleeping at this moment. ¡°Why did you do that?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything¡±

    Willow¡¯s voice was hoarse, indicating that she had been crying. Brian closed his eyes topose himself, but his body started trembling. The way she talked, the way <b>she </b>acted he knew that his pray didn¡¯t work.

    ¡°Where is she, Willow?¡± Brian asked to the main point. He might not know Althea growing up and he might lose his sight on Willow and how much <b>she </b>had changed as she grew up, but he still knew her at some level. ¡°Where is Jasmine?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    The answer was very curt, but her voice dripped with guilt. She felt guilty, she should be.

    ¡°I know that you are not that cruel, Willow. I know that you are only hurt and you wanted to hurt another people because of that, but Jasmine is only a baby, she is still your niece, how could you do that?¡±

    1/2

    |||

    I didn¡¯t do anything¡±

    Willow¡¯s voice faltered, she started crying, but she was too stubborn to <b>admit </b>her error and how wrong what she had done.

    ¡°She is a <b>baby</b>, Willow. She could die and her death will be on you¡±

    This time, Willow didn¡¯t <b>say </b>anything, she was silent, the room was so quiet and time trickled with tension.

    ¡°Tell me where is she, Willow. This time, the question came rather harsh. Brian asked her firmly, he didn¡¯t want the answer, but he demanded it.

    Willow refused to speak, she pulled the nket <b>over </b>her head, she didn¡¯t want to say anything about it.

    ¡°Get out of my room. I want to sleep. I don¡¯t know anything.¡±

    That was when Brian lost hisposure and actually yelled at her. He yanked the nket out of her harshly, which made Willow velped. Brian threw the nket away and then looked at his daughter incredulously. He couldn¡¯t imagine what what this woman had be. She was not the daughter that she raised.

    Not only she hurt her sister, her niece, but Jasmine was literally a baby. How could she bring <b>herself </b>to hurt a baby!? How could she didn¡¯t care at all with that <b>fact</b>?

    ¡°Enough!¡± Brian roared angrily at Willow¡¯s immaturity, he red at her harshly and this made Willow shivered in fear.

    She had never seen her father this angry before. yest, she had done so many bad thing, but he had never looked he was going to stranger her.

    her as if

    ¡°Fa father.¡± Willow gulped down, she moved toward the wall, put herself as far away as possible from Brian, she was so scared of him. ¡°Father, you scared me.. she whimpered.

    ¡°Good¡± He wanted her to be scared. ¡°<b>You </b>know what fear is, but <b>you </b>don¡¯t care that a baby is scared right now because of

    your action!¡±

    Willow lowered her head, she avoided to look at her father in the eyes, because of her guilty conscience.

    ¡°Tell me where is Jasmine, <b>Brian </b><b>asked</b>, he enunciated every word carefully, so she would hear the anger in his voice. She should know better not to <b>make </b>this impulsive action after what she had done before with the fake death.

    Willow shook her head, but Brian was seeing red, he raised his hand and pped her so <b>hard</b>, she bit her <b>tongue </b>and blood oozed out from her mouth, but Brian couldn¡¯t care less about her.

    The injury that Willow suffered would be healed in a matter of <b>second</b>, but if something happened to Jasmine.. Brian couldn¡¯t even start to imagine it.

    *TELL ME! WHERE <b>15 </b>SHEPT

    Willow startled <b>and </b><b>broke </b>down in tears, <b>as </b>she pleaded with him. ¡°I will tell you please father¡±

    but please, don¡¯t tell anyone about this, Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    72

 Claimed 89

    Abigail stared at Albea¡¯s sleeping face, she stretched out her hand and carefully caressed her head because she didn¡¯t want. to wake her up, she knew that Albea wouldn¡¯t appreciate her to be there when she woke up, thus she wanted to spend as much time as possible to be by her side, even though she was currently sleeping.

    ¡°I am sorry.¡± Abigail said, her voice was a whisper.

    But, Althea actually woke up, her brows scrunched when she saw her mother was there, she thought it was Sean, but her scent was not right, thus it woke her up, after all, she couldn¡¯t sleep soundly.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Althea pushed herself from the bed and then looked at her mother, she frowned because a wave of headache hit her.

    ¡°I am sorry that I woke you up,¡± Abigail said with sweet voice, she was really sorry, because she didn¡¯t mean to wake her up. she wanted her to rest. ¡°Rest again, Althea Twill go out.¡±

    Althea shook her head, which was not the right thing to do because she felt dizzy. ¡°I will go and search Jasmine.¡±

    Althea got off the bed, but the headache and dizziness still upied her head and the room was spinning when she stood up so fast, but Abigail was there to steady her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself, you still need to rest,¡± Abigail said with worry, concern in her eyes because her daughter could be very stubborn and didn¡¯t want to listen.

    fam fine. That was all Althea said

    ¡°You just slept for two hours Althea, you have not yet slept at allst night,¡± Abigail tried to coax her.

    However, Althea didn¡¯t want to listen to her and then walked out of the room, she felt this headache, but it was still bearable. She wanted to leave this room quickly, because she knew that she couldn¡¯t keep up with her mother for long

    Abigail followed her out of the room. She walked behind Althea in the hallway. There was nothing different, there was still a lot of beasts and warriors, who discussed about a few things about the disappearance of Jasmine, but there was no progress or sign that they were going to find her little girl.

    When they walked in silent, they heard the sound of someone was crying in the distance and they recognized this voice immediately.

    It was Willow. The one, who was crying hysterically was Willow, but what happened?This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

    Althea immediately went straight to the source of themotion and what she witnessed baffled her, but at the same time, her brain kicked in and she immediately knew what actually was going on.

    At the front yard, everyone was staring at Brian and Willow, Abigail was freaking out, but she didn¡¯t immediately rush to save her baby girl, instead, she stayed by Althea¡¯s side, probably, just like Althea, she also knew what Willow had done.

    If Brian was this angry toward Willow, it must be something thatpletely f**d up.

    Willow cried so hard when her father pulled her hair and then dragged her to the pack house, she was truly underestimated the rage of her father, she thought, her father still loved her enough to cover it for her, but as it turned out, Brian had enough and what she had done right now was unforgiveable.

    She was not only doing it out of spite and recklessness, but her impulsive tendency could cause the death of that little baby.

    The thought that Jasmine was deep in the wood alone made him sick, his whole body was shaking with rage. He took Willow to admit it herself in front of Killian and all the people there.

    1/2

    People should know what kind of monster she was to put a baby¡¯s life in danger because of her own jealousy.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here!! Killian asked Brian, he only spared a nce at Willow. He didn¡¯t want anyone to cause a ruckus, because Althea was currently sleeping. He didn¡¯t see that Althea was actually there and she was not sleeping, instead she w watching everything unfolded

    ¡°Tell them!¡± Brian screamed. ¡°Tell them what you have done!¡±

    Willow cried so hard. She sobbed, her hair was a mess, a big chunk of her hair was still within Brian¡¯s grip, but she could n longer feel the pain from the burning scalp, because right now, she was in the center of Killian¡¯s ire. Soon, she would be th center of everyone¡¯s rage too once they leamed what she had done.

    ¡°Tell them what you have done!¡±

    Willow cried again, but she shook her head, thus Brian took the role and exined what actually Willow had done to Jasmine and how she was still trying to not tell him where Jasmine was

    Killian was seeing red, he knelt down and gripped her chin to lift her head, so she could see the anger within his eyes.

    ¡°Tell me where is my daughter? The question that came out of his mouth sounded like a venom to Willow¡¯s ears, she tried to avoid his eyes but she couldn¡¯t because he forced her to look at him closely.

    ¡°Tell me where the f**k is my daughter?¡± Killian asked again, this time, he drew blood from Willow¡¯s chin, he was seeing red, he was so close enough to snap her head. He didn¡¯t do it because he needed to know where Willow had taken Jasmine.

    Willow shook her head. She cried so hard. ¡°Inside the woods close to the forest in a cave.

    The wood was close to the forest, where it led to the mountain, which there would be many wild animal and Jasmine was only a baby. How could she defend herself?

    Willow cried so hard ¡°I am sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to do it I am sorry.¡± She was afraid that instead it was Althea, who kicked her and then wed her face.

 Claimed 90

    Altes lod enough of Willow, she conduct think straight with the fact that Willow had taken her sleeping daughter and lett her alone in the main At hom to the park house. How a deep she had gone into the mountain!

    I had a day and hall spine Jasmine had gone and everything could happen. Her daughter could be mauled by wild

    ¡°Augh A**s stuffed into her beast and then attacked Willow she wed her face before she could dodge her attack and thew shines into bri w braut in deterol herself

    Ahhea daily warm a figlies, but right now, he could el a warrior ande out as a winner with how ferocious her aa wa walin a few wrond Willow¡¯s beast is sustained a considerable amount of injuries before the two of them could be aparated, but Albea still was not happy about it, she leje trying to attack Willow even when she was forced to shift

    Vi ste insane! I am going to kill you it something luppened to my daughter! I am going to kill you, Willow!¡± Althea named on top of her lungs. She was seeing red ¡°That¡¯s my daughtest How are you hurting my child

    All of them could feel theirst was torn into pieces when they heard how Althea was crying so hard, they could feel the desperation fear and anger that Althea was feeling right now to how that her daughter was in a great danger out there.

    The eyes fixed in Willow with so much contempt for what she had done, they couldn¡¯t imagine someone would go to that lengly became of jealousy.

    i

    Willowed the girl that people liked, but right now, the sight of her made their blood boiled with rage

    Pegle hates her because little Jane had nothing to do with her, she shouldn¡¯t have gotten that little girl involved in this

    She was crying, but she sull tried to justify herself instead of apologizing for his wrongdoings. She didn¡¯t seem to regret it, but was asid became everyone hated her now, rightfully se

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it. I didn¡¯t mean to do that ¡°Willow then ran toward her mother when she saw her, but to her surprised. gail stepped aside when she tried to hug her, which shor keel Willow so much because she didn¡¯t think that her own mother would reject her as well ¡°Mother?¡±

    Abigail held back her tears, she couldn¡¯t imagine someone was capable of doing such h*ous t**ing to her granddaughter, rapecially when it was her own daughter.

    ¡°Mather didn¡¯t mean it. I am sorry Willow apologized to Aligail instead.

    However, her mother didn¡¯t want to hear anything from her anymore as she walked away from her. She wiped her tears, she felt like she was morning the death of Willow again

    Yes, in her eyes, Willow was dead. She didn¡¯t want to acknowledge such monster as her daughter. How could she do that without thinking twice of the conserprices was beyond her.

    After that, all of the people went into the wood and then the forest to look for Jasmine, they had searched this area, but didn¡¯t thank in search deeper than this

    ¡°Youe with in, walk aliran in show us where did you leave her Killian¡¯s voice was rigid when he talked to Willow, as il he was giving amand to one of his warriors, which hurt Willow such, but she didn¡¯tin

    By this time, for wound had healed, but blood still stained the foot of her s**t mul on her fur when she shifted into her beast then showed them the rave, where she let Jasmine ale a day agThis content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

    OF

    want to but a little animal, let alone her own sister, but after what she had done, she was no longer a sister of hers.

    However. Althea was not the only, who wanted to strangle Willong to death, because Killian felt the same feeling like her.

    It was wensi hon feeling could change so intensely. Two years ago. Killian wouldn¡¯t have thought that he would have this strong urge to kill Willos, because he always saw the woman as the love of his life, the woman that he wanted to spent the rest of his hic with, but right now, the sight of her alone made him wanted to vomit.

    He hated the thought that he had hurt his mate and his daughter for this nasty woman.

    In no time, they finally arrived at the cave, where Willow left Jasmine alone, but when they checked inside, there was no one

    there

    ¡°I let her here. I left her with my coat, because the cave was cold, so I left my coat behind to keep her warm.¡± Willow started talking rapidly, thinking her small act of kindness could get her out of this trouble that she created. ¡°I swear! I left her here!¡±

    Killian didn¡¯t wait for long, as he inspected the area. Willow was right, there was Jasmine¡¯s scent on the ground, but it was very faint, his daughter¡¯s scent was fading away, it meant she had left the cave.

    Jasmine was not here, she must have woken up and then walked out of the cave, but thankfully, to their relief, there was no traces of wild animal or blood

    Althea would have fainted if she saw blood here, but it didn¡¯t mean Jasmine was safe now.

    ¡°I swear! She was here! I left her here!¡± Willow repeated the same thing over and over agam, until Althea had enough and pped her face harshly, which made her lips bled.

    ¡°Shut up¡± Althea red angrily at her. ¡°I am going to kill you myself if something happened to my daughter!¡±

 Claimed 91

    The sun set and this was the second day of Jasmine had gone missing and there were so many warriors that rummaged the whole forest and mountain, but they couldn¡¯t find the little girl.

    Some of them thought that she was a lost cause and some of them thought the wild animal must have eaten her without any trace on the third day of their search, but on the fourth day, they found the coat that Willow said she had left for Jasmine because the cave was cold.

    Right now, Willow was sitting in the dungeon. She better prayed for Jasmine¡¯s safety, because if the little girl. met her demised, then she would follow her to the afterlife in the worse way possible. A slow death was the only thing that waited for

    her.

    ¡°She must be around here¡­ Althea said, she looked so haggard, the fact that she was still able to stand and shift into her beast was a miracle, this must be her only sheer power, because she wanted to find her daughter so badly.

    She still had a little hope inside of her.. a little, but that was enough¡­ She wouldn¡¯t give up on her.

    ¡°I will take you back, Althea. You don¡¯t look good,¡± Killian said, but Althea shook her head. ¡°Althea ¡°he called her name, but she had shifted into her beast and scoured the mountain a?uin.

    Probably because of the tension of losing Jasmine or probably. Althea was too tired to keep hating Killian, because right now, she didn¡¯t seem to be so hostile toward him. They could talk amicably, though the topic was only rted to Jasmine, but Killian was d enough with this progress.

    Because of this ident, the alpha forgot about the fact that Alex was on his way to his pack with so many warriors with him.

    He only remembered this matter when one of his warriors sent him a letter. This letter supposed to be the letter from prince Dane, a reply for his own letter almost a week ago.

    ¡°He supposed be here by now, right?¡± Killian talked to no one in particr, as he opened the envelop. ¡°Did you hear any news from the harbor: People from maind entered?¡±

    ¡°No, alpha. The harbor is like usual, there are a few people from the maind, but our men said they didn¡¯t think those people were warriors. More so, only around twenty people from maind that came to ournd¡±

    Killian furrowed his brows. He then opened the envelop and the letter inside made his eyes opened so wide

    The letter didn¡¯t

    Ite from prince Dane, but it came from Alex himself!

    Abigail sneaked out and went to the dungeon to bring warm food for Willow. Her heart ached so bad to see her daughter in this condition, but she still hated her for what she had done.

    Yes, it was a conflicting feeling that Abigail was not able to sort it out quickly, but she was trying to make herself feeling

    better.

    ¡°Mother.. mother¡­ I am sorry, I am sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it. You know that I will not do such horrible thing. I was fiot thinking straight at that time, please please tell father to tell Killian. I don¡¯t want to spend my time here.¡± Willow cried the moment she saw Abigail. She looked at her mother with tears streamed down her face. ¡°I am sorry.¡±

    Abigail knch down and pushed the warm food that she brought with her. ¡°Eat this. You need to eat something¡±

    ¡°No I don¡¯t want to eat. I want to get out of here..¡± Willow cried again, she didn¡¯t want to be with her destined mate because he was a very poor man who travelled everywhere, who was satisfied with only having a sky above his head and the ground as the ce to sleep.

    + 62% #

    Willow couldn¡¯t live like that, but the irony was, she had the grond, but no stars and night sky, only dirty ceiling and bars for her right noR.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the that you should ask for apology

    ¡°Althea wamed to kill me, mother. How could you be so callous?¡±

    Abigail narrowed her eyes, she felt her hatred toward Willow grew even more the more time she spent with her, but even so, she was still trying to keep it down

    ¡°You deserved to be killed for what you have done, Willow. If you still did not understand the situation right now, I must have spoilt you rotten to the point, you lost all of your empathy¡±

    ¡°Mother!¡± Willow cried.

    ¡°There are so many things that I have done for you. I always put you first before Althea, but I think it¡¯s enough. I have done so much for you and now, I will do what is right by Althea¡±

    After saying that. Abigail stood up and then left, she ignored Willow¡¯s cry for help and forgiveness. She ignored her cries and pleas

    Abigail quickened her pace and once she was out in the opened area, she breathed in the fresh air of the cold night, she closed her eyes and then let her tears fell down her cheeks.

    She felt like she was mourning the death of Willow again.

    After that, she went to the pack house and found Althea was being escorted inside, because apparently, she had forced herself to the point she fell unconscious. It was only a matter of time, because people could see how distraught and haggard she was when she didn¡¯t want to listen to them to take some rest.

    Abigail¡¯s reThis content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

    narrowed when she watched how Sean tried to clean Althea¡¯s body.

    ¡°Twill do it¡± Abigail said, she s**ed the towel from Sean and then red at the olddy. ¡°She is my daughtest

    I will do it!

    Abigail didn¡¯t see Killian, probably the alpha didn¡¯t know that Althea had fainted again, but Brian was inside the room, he looked at her with a frown,

 Claimed 92

    jarestan Brian,

    will be Tag ¡°At the challenges him to say otherwise She wouldnt

    she would prove it that she carest for Athes, but how she when everyone kepe yong to prevent her from getting

    establi?o in trying hedgeh

    ¡± ?? ????? ??? ?????

    The one woldt en san should carry her out of them and dragged her by hiked to Wiles of br ss ber to love

    On the verbod uld see the determination in Abigaileves, she then nodded politely and go up her spot to her.

    galinly s

    wenching us be changed his mouth and hit mention anything he let Abigail to take care of Althea

    bad for Albea richt i

    She cared, the best Ave wasted to look good, but she really cared for her daughter the knew that the vid

    ough can that begal stated to the eve on the way low made a decision, bow selfish she was

    Therese this agght be a chance that Abggal seesied to get closer to Althea again after everything that happened

    Sean then walk out of the noon be dosed the door and watched bowe Abigail cleased Altheak bode up gently, her focus was then svest her

    Meanwhile, ather an ethers botim he went to the dungeon, he needed to talk to Willow He was very dwa toe her but he couldnt st leave her like that.

    Now his anger had subeded and be him with worried and degeralson se his granddaughters whereabouts he didn¡¯t think his action was justified when he dragged her along the street and humhared ben in such a way though oneined about that

    When he awod at the cell where Willow was eating the food that Abigail brought for her his heart battered to see Aboga ditioned so messed ups This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

    The sight other goned him he can¡¯t even gek when thigal stated crying She was sitting on the flow with shiny hair and duty clothes saames with her own blood and this worry state et the dungeon with no one by her side

    He wembered how bright and brilliant Willow was that was why he and Abigail used to sober because ber mile astughter used to be so take their stays

    could give

    It Albea was as calm as the asslight that it goe you peeand tranquility then Willow was as bright as the tw at night. She could make everyone smiled effortlessly, she was breathtakingly beautit and splend

    g?osoms,

    But right now, she was none of them Willow was like this dungeon diny, gosony, nasty and is one wanted to be here

    ¡°Father.¡°Tears started streaming down her cheeks, but she bit her bigs Her mother had talked to her harsh thas she was scared her father wald do the same thing she prepared herself the harsh word but her fathery shod there

    ka

    For a moment, they only stared at each other in sit there was to sound the this shangen aside from their beething

    Cattier am I a disappointment to you to

    Willow asked her ice was small, but in this quiet ce it does throughout

    the wall Willow could hear how desperate she was

    ¡°Yes¡± Brian didn¡¯t want to he. ¡°Yes I am very disappontest on you¡±

    +62%

    11:31 Wed, Aug 21 RRO

    Tears streamed down Willow¡¯s cheeks even more when she heard that, she lowered her head, she was embarrassed of herself night now and she realized, there was no amount of apology that was enough for her to say if something happened to Jasmine.

    I am sorry. I am truly <b>sorry </b>

    This time. Willow didn¡¯t try to apologize, she simply lowered her head in defeat. She stared at her father¡¯s feet and realized <b>what </b><b>a </b>wonderful life <b>that </b>she would have if she didn¡¯t follow her impulsiveness to run away from this pack with a destined mate that she didn¡¯t want.

    Even though Althea was Killian¡¯s destined mate, she knew that he would <b>stand </b>by her side and choose her.

    By this time, she would be the luna of the pack and gave birth to his firstborn. She would give him the family that he always

    wanted.

    Only if she didn¡¯t let <i>her </i>impulsiveness took over her conscience and left Jasmine in the mountain, she might have a chance to fix the rtionship between her and Althea, she would be an aunt for her daughter and she would end up so miserable in this part of the pack. Inside this filthy dungeon¡­.

    Only if¡­

    There were so many possibilities that ran amok in her mind, but then she remembered the important thing here.

    ¡°What about Jasmine?¡± she asked in defeated tone, because somehow she knew that they had not found the little girl yet, if they had, they would have given her the verdict about what would be her punishment and she would ept it.

    No. She has not been found.¡±

    Willow knew it. She nodded. ¡°I hope they found her soon.¡± She couldn¡¯t live with this guilty feeling to think that she had killed her own niece because of her impulsiveness. ¡°She hugged me tightly when I took her to the mountain. There was a moment where I wanted to turn around and take her back, but I am an idiot. I let my jealousy ruined her life

    ¡°You gave her your wo

    Willow.

    Brian didn¡¯t know why he said this, but it seemed, he only wanted to make it a little bit better for

    ¡°Yes. I gave her my coat¡­ Willow cried in silent

    Ìï

 Claimed 93

    Alex stared at prince Danc. Elder Sander and another thirty people, who had conspired to stage a coup agai

    Meanwhile, Northern and Greyson stood by his side, the two of them looked so pleased with Alex¡¯s decision they were surprised with how cunning the king was.

    They knew that Alex had a lot of tricks up his sleeves, but they didn¡¯t think that even them, was being tricked

    They thought Alex <b>would </b>really go to chase after Althea and abandoned his kingdom, they had voiced out the the king didn¡¯t want to listen.

    All of the preparation and the fifty <b>ships </b><b>were </b>ready to sail in order to get the queen back. Fifty ships Which r percent of the warriors <b>would </be with them, leaving the kingdom in vulnerable state and it was the perfect anyone to stage a coup.

    However, after an hour they sailed. Alex ordered for them to return to the capital city. This sudden order shock them, not only the royal beta and the royal gamma.

    As it turned out, it was Alex¡¯s strategy to lure their enemy to make their first mistake, because once they arrived. pce, they could see who was the traitors that would stab Alex¡¯s back the moment he turned around

    With the eighty percent of the warriors in their disposal and the surprise attack<b>, </b>as they didn¡¯t think the king wou this quick, <b>they </b>caught all of the people, <b>who </b>tried to manipte the pce and spread the nasty rumor.

    To top it off, they found prince Dane was sitting in the throne, holding what looked like a morning court. The aud

    that man.

    Of course, they were punished severely and the punishment for traitor was death sentence. There no exception.

    It took only half a day for them to take down all of the traitors and swept clean the entire court from <b>those </b>rats.

    ¡°Hang them all in the public area. Their execution will be tomorrow.¡±

    <b>That </b>was all that Alex said. He used his enemy¡¯s tactic to go against them and in the end, he came out as the winner.

    But, did he give up on Althea? Of course, not,

    ¡°We will <b>go </b>a week from now,¡± Alex said. There were a lot of things that he had <b>to </b>¡°clean up¡® first before he took his mat his daughter <b>back</b>. He didn¡¯t want anyone to talk nasty thing about Jasmine and the public punishment was enough as i example how scary the king could be.

    Yes, respect had to be earned, but fear could be a tool to keep his subject in check and his enemy to think thrice before 1

    made a move on him

    ¡°Are you still going to get her?¡± Greyson asked.

    The throne room was quiet after all of them were being dragged away to the dungeon, waiting for their <b>final </b>moment bef they met their demised tomorrow.

    Alex tilted his head and <b>gave </b>Greyson a look <b>as </b>if he was saying, what kind of question is that? Is that even a question.

    If Althea was being kidnapped by his enemy and not that sickhead ex mate of hers, he would have gone and rescued her without thinking twice, but it was Killian. That man was obsessed with her and he had witnessed it countless time the way h looked at her and the longing and also regret in his eyes.

    Yes, he knew it would be scary for Althea and she might think he wouldn¡¯te to save her, but he needed a little bit more time to arrange <b>his </b>affair here first, so when Althea and Jasmine returned, everything would be perfect for them and no one

    1/2

    NYCU, MUG ZI

    would dare to throw such insult and tarnish their name easily.

    Therefore, though it waste, which Alex was ready to drop to his knees to ask for Althea¡¯s forgiveness, he would definitely

    ¡°What? I will be in charge for all the mess that you left behind?¡± Northern asked, he gave Greyson a look to tell him that his question was <b>so </b>silly.

    The royal beta was happy enough that the king didn¡¯t let himself to be blinded by his love for Althea and still had his best interest for the kingdom, with these whole ordeals, he knew that Alex was capable of handling and bncing his matter, whether it was his personal life or the problem at the kingdom and his <b>court</b>.

    ¡°Mess?¡± Alex raised his brows at the royal beta. ¡°I literally handed you the traitor in a silver te. I have not even talked about how the two of you keptining without any pause to think twice about my n.¡±

    Greyson raised his hand. ¡°In my defense, you didn¡¯t tell us anything about your n. You literally tricked and

    us, you know.¡±

    Northern nodded, agreed with Greyson¡¯s statement. He felt like a fool now. ¡°You should have told us.

    your pro

    ¡°Where the fun of it?¡± Alex tilted his head. ¡°More so, it will be more believable this way, right? Your raving made it more

    real

    They were at lost for word, too speechless to defend themselves apparently.

    ¡°I will prepare everything,¡± Greyson said, he wanted to leave the throne room as soon as possible, before Alex changed his mind and tried to settle score with him, byining to him all night.

    ¡°I will check our men, Northern said. ¡°I have a lot of things to do.¡±

    And with that, the <b>two </b>of them rushed out of Alex¡¯s sight before the king could say anything and this brought smiled to his lips, though it didn¡¯t really touch his eyes, because he missed Althea and Jasmine¡¯s presence.

    He wished he could go sooner than this, but he hoped, he wouldn¡¯t be toote.

    Althea. He whispered her name, as he leaned <b>against </b>his throne and stared at the moonlight.

    Wed, Aug This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Claimed 94

    Althea woke up to find Abigail was sleeping next to her bed. Her body slung on the edge of the bed with her head lulled to the side and she used her arm as a pillow, she was sitting on the floor, while holding her hand.

    From the book of it, she had been sleeping in this position for a while and needless to say, this position was very

    ufortable.

    Althea looked around her and the very first emotion that hit her was this hollow in her chest, the sadness that she couldn¡¯t describe into word, where she felt like her world had copsed around her feet, the fact that she had lost Jasmine couldn¡¯t be

    described into word.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    How she would live her life after this? How she could continue with her life?

    Althea felt like there was no point for her to live anymore. Even if they gave the most severed punishment for Willow, there was no point for that, she lost her daughter, her daughter had gone.

    There was part of her that tried to tell her that her daughter was still out there, waiting for her to be rescued, but the logical part of her told her there was no hope. It had been days and Jasmine was only a year and half year old, how could she fend herself for that long?

    More so, she knew what people thought. Wild animal must have mauled her to the point they couldn¡¯t even find any trace of her anymore

    Althea had seen herself the effort that they exerted to find her baby, but still, there was no sign whatsoever.

    She was desperate. She wanted to crawl out of her body and scream this pain away. She didn¡¯t want to be in this pain anymore, she only wanted her baby. She didn¡¯t want anything else.

    A cry tore her throat, which woke Abigail up and the moment she saw her daughter was having a mental breakdown, she immediately got up and cradled her in her arms.

    ¡°Sssh¡­ it¡¯s okay, baby. It¡¯s okay. Everything is going to be okay. You can cry. You can cry¡­ but I promised everything will be okay¡±

    Althea screamed on the top of her lungs, she wanted to rip her heart and throw it away, because it was so painful, she wanted to crawl out of her skin, so she didn¡¯t need to feel this pain and her scream was the only thing that one could hear in this morning, echoed throughout the hallway, tore every wall.

    Brian was there, behind the closed door, staring at it as if he could see what Althea was going through. He stood there, he couldn¡¯t do anything for her daughter or for her granddaughter.

    Killian, who heard the sound of her scream, immediately rushed toward her bedroom, but he didn¡¯t have the courage to open the door. He stood there beside Brian. He balled his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white and his ws stabbed his palm, but he couldn¡¯t feel the pain

    There was no pain that was more painful than this.

    He failed again and this time, he failed miserably and now, he could only stand there, watching the woman that he loved falling apart.

    Abagail was inside to giv

    who just lost their child

    givefort for Althea, but there was no amount offort that could shoot the pain of a mother,

    They had tried so hard to find Jasmine, but they still couldn¡¯t find her anywhere. She vanished from the surface of this realm and now, there was this big hollow in their chests.

    Althea¡¯s cry tore everyone¡¯s hear, who heard that.

    12

    9 +62

    She cried for long terbut yhen she was done, it was eerily quiet. One couldn¡¯t decide whether this quietness was better

    thun ber scream

    For the next four days. Althea shut herself down. She didn¡¯t eat, she didn¡¯t sleep, she refused to drink Abigal tried every method possible, but she didn¡¯t budge to the point on the fifth day, her mind was shutting down, she didn¡¯t notice her surroundings anymore, she didn¡¯t show any emotions and only stared at the ceiling, she would mumble a song that she used to sing for Jasmine.

    Her condition became even more worse than ever on the sath day

    Kn felt like he was watching her slow death. Every second of Althea was an inch closer to her demise and this was the hardest thing that Killian had to watch in his entire life.

    And everything was his fault¡­

    Only if he didn¡¯t bring Althea back Only if he didn¡¯t take Willow with them. Only if he let her go. she might be happy with Jasmine with the life that she chose.

    But right now, he lost her slowly and he had to watch how her mind and soul died before her body followed

    However, Kin¡¯s problem was not only that because a few dayster he received another information about dozen of ships from maind kingdom had docked at the harbor and king Alex was finally here.

    ¡°What are you going to do now Armond asked, the beta knew about the failed n and how prince Dane had been executed a few days ago which meant, if king Alex was here, it was not a good sign at all for them. The king could kill them all for literally kidnapping the queen and they had no mean to fight these royal warriors, especially when they had no back up, since prince Dune had failed with his coup

    The letter that Killian received a few days ago came from Alex. In the letter, it said that Alex was going to get his queen and his daughter back. Killun had to hand them over or else, he would bring havoc to his pack

    ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± Armond asked again when Killian didn¡¯t give him an answer.

    ¡°Open the gates and let them in Killian finally said

    ¡°You will wee them

    ER

 Claimed 95

    The you think this is a trap¡± Greyson tilted his head when he saw the gates were opened widely to wee them.

    They came here with so many royal warriors, you could see the entourage from the other pack. This was enough to tell their oppement that they wouldn¡¯t stand acuer

    However, Garysou expected some form and challenge, where Killian tried his pathetic attempt to fight back, but there was any

    Chappened, inmead their gates wear opened so wide and at the other end, Killian was standing with his beta and

    ¡°Mould we investigate first? Greyum asked Alex again, at the king had stepped into the pack house, he couldn¡¯t care less about traje All he could thank of was Althara and Jasmine, if they opened the gate to wee there, it was fine, it would <b>make </b>things raier for him to get them back.

    ou would make it hard for Alex to kill Kian.

    ¡°What do your eau Jenine had gone missing for weeks?¡± His eyes darkened a few shades when he approached Killian and theter slidn¡¯t waste a second for a small hat, but werd straight to the point about what happened in his pack

    <ol>

    <li>ul. He had exerted </li>

    </ol>

    to Jamie. ¡°I will appreciate.¡±

    that he had, even now, his warriors were still looking

    Kumanda¡¯s theger to lirush his words, because Ales hacker punch him on the face, which made the situation

    He, Kalian slot do anything, be stored up and epted the punch

    Tagg to kill you¡± Alex wanted to rule him right there and then, but there was a lot of things that he had to handle, side from asking faimself in Killian¡¯s dood, he could kill him any time he wanted. ¡°Where is Althea

    le couldn¡¯t imagine what Abra had to go through all of those days. His whole body was shaking with rage and he wanted kill any living being who had let her down, which meant, including himself

    July if he came here a life but faster

    Allians shed the way to Althea¡¯s rewan. There was no word that ex hanged, the atmosphere was so heavy and could cut

    leximately opened the four when they arised at Althea¡¯s bedom. The bedroom was not big but it was simple and

    the bed, he could see Althea was sleeping the closed her eyes and Alex¡¯s heart broke to see how pale and sick the was gallery for side the whole time and she was shocked to see the king was here, she looked around and found th, she looked at him, as if asking what was going on

    wwever, when the king entered the room, she immediately stood up and then gave her spot for him

    was any a single word, but it was powerful enough to make gail¡¯s body move on its own to follow the order, the left

    sorry for

    kinny, her condition was Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    pared at Alda fare and her five full meshestral up and immediately fred order to look for

    I NE THE ACTIVE MAANA he was to the past an

    Away with feed was huggered what way to i wyghing cents say th the ac

    are when my herd the water Killian¡¯s

    The line ¡®ugh wages

    them and held hoses pending all they sweet wood agres big fat the of work we wettest way to kill Killist in tHE

    me to me who do nothing new to

    The thing **** Stubs that for one tex

    Aumentar outside the time the winter was prepodge or the peodardom from her mouth, berse

    and

    wwe this herb couldn¡¯t take to sex how turpin that her

    ¡± the the party at her his This was the woman that he bored, wonnene that he vibe him, he wanted top be there to her, few betweder

    and when her pee the king was with Aldew

    ed the ended the ends to hit, be she didn¡¯s immediately leave, she left the door slightly apar

    At the dutinize the Alex we are hew the few minutes, there was this flicker in her lifeless eyes, the Wuded her and the test word came the mouth for the first time in werke.

    ½Ö

 Claimed 96

    ¡°11 i me. Jone.¡± Alex said, his heart beat so hard when he heard her voice called his name, the way she looked at him and how trans (5) down her eyes, he knew that he could get her back.

    ¡°My baby is got my baby is gone missing. Alex what should I do?¡± Althea started crying, which was good, because she let her bonded op emotions to rome out

    ¡°My pont¡­

    pal started crying valently behind the door too as she watched everything unfolded. She rather had Althea was crying like thus and showed her emotion than for her to keep everything inside and let herself drowned in misery.

    ¡°My baby died, my baby died. Alex. I lost her. I am a bad mother Althea cried so hard, Alex picked her body up and craded bo

    He didn¡¯t say much, he only told her that he started to look for their baby and then let Althea cried in his arms.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

    There wa

    many word that was exchanged, but it was enough for them to know that they were there for each other.

    You need to eat okay?¡± Alex ined to coax her to eat, but she didn¡¯t want

    Meanwhile Abigail sighed in relief as the wiped her tears and wanted to walk away, but then she realized she was not alone.. Killian was there, she didn¡¯t know how long he had been standing behind her and watched what happened inside the bedroom with Althea and the king

    Al-alpha Abigail stuttered, but Kilian simply left without saying anything

    On the other hand, inside the room. Alex finally managed to persuade Althea to eat, she ate three full spoons of porridge before she vomited it

    ¡°Oh, no Abigail immediately rushed into the room and tried to help. I will clean her up, please leave for a while

    ¡°There is no need for that,¡± Alex said.

    Alex didn¡¯t seem to bother with that, since this was not the first time Althea vomited on him, but Abigail was freaking out, the tried to call someone to help the king to clean himself.

    ¡°No need to call anyone, Alex said again when he saw Abigail was trying to help cleaning up the mess. ¡°I got this.¡±

    ¡°Please, leave, Alex said, he was trying to be nice with Abigail just because she was Althea¡¯s mother, but if he could, he wanted to push her away from the room and mmed the door on her face.

    He didn¡¯t do any of that, but simply told her to leave

    At first, Abigail was hesitated, she insisted that she would stay to clean up the mess, but Alex finally had enough, his expression hardened and his voice was no longer pleasant

    Leave

    That was amand from a king, which left Abigail dumbstruck, she couldn¡¯t retort and then sheepishly left the room, but what the witnessed after that baffled her.

    True to his words, Alex cleaned up the mess, he was very patient with Althea and when he was about to take off her clothes after he found a new and clean dress, Abigail closed the door and then walked away

    The king was so good with her daughter, he treated her well. He didn¡¯t mind to clean up Althea¡¯s vomif, which most man wald find it very disgusting

    1/2

    + 62%2

    32 Wed, Aug 21 RRD.

    Abigail was so happy for her, if this situation was not this horrible. The king was the right man for her daughter and she was

    too blind to see that.

    In the end, she went to see Brian and cry for hours in his arms, she didn¡¯t know what she was crying for, but her heart was so hurt, she couldn¡¯t even utter a word.

    ¡°I am sorry-

    That was the only thing that she kept repeating. She didn¡¯t know what to say. She didn¡¯t know what she was sorry for because there were so many. She could see how wrong she was and it was toote.

    She lost her mate, Brian rejected the mate bond between them, she lost her first daughter and she was on the process of losing her second daughter too.

    She couldn¡¯t stand to watch her died slowly.

    ¡°Everything will be alright, Brian said, that was his pray too.

    But, even after three days, they still couldn¡¯t find any clue and all hope had gone, though with Alex was here, Althea¡¯s condition improved, even if it was not significantly, you could see that she was not a ¡®dead¡¯ person anymore.

    She talked and conversed with Alex.

    Killian stayed out from it. Not even once, he came closer to Althea¡¯s bedroom after that night when he watched Alex and Althea together.

    The alpha focused on an impossible task to find the missing baby that by this time had gone for over a month.

    Althea didn¡¯t want to see anyone, Alex would be by her side, but she recovered. The king to give her the strength to go through th

    was there in every step

    the way

    And three dayster, they found new clue.

    ¡°We found there were at least three people inside the mountain, deep in the mountain, but we didn¡¯t know if they found Jasmine or not, or it was just a coincidence, Greyson said.

    This was not really a clue though, but Alex insisted to look for this matter and ordered his warriors to find those people, who. had entered the mountain, apparently, the three people were still in the mountain, as they try to find shortcuts to reach their destination through the mountain

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Althea opened her eyes. ¡°I want to go too.¡±

    Alex though she was sleeping, but apparently, she had been listening to the royal g**a¡¯s report.

    Althea insisted to go to find those people, but Alex persuaded her to stay. ¡°There are a lot of royal warriors that looked for them, we will find about it shortly¡±

    And just like what Alex said, the next day they received another information.

 Claimed 97

    ¡°There is a baby with them!¡± Greyson shouted even before he opened the door to Althea¡¯s bedroom

    Alex was eating with Althea. She didn¡¯t eat much, but she would eat better if Alex ate with her, thus he would make time to eat together with her three times a day. He put so much effort to nurse her back to her health, not only physically, but also mentally

    She looked a lot better now with Alex¡¯s presence.

    They <b>had </b>not talked much about what happened between them because most of the time, they spent infortable silence, just to be in the presence of each other.

    ¡°Jasmine..¡± Althea dropped her spoon, she was about to get off the bed and rush to meet those people.

    Alex red at his royal gamma because he simply barged into the room and dropped the information without any scrupulous

    ¡°Have you confirmed the baby is Jasmine?¡± Alex asked sharply.

    He had pura lot of effort to bring Althea out of her shell, but if Greyson just told them this news and let their hope high, he was afraid, Althea would be more crushed than this.

    ¡°Hm.. about that..¡± Greyson immediately realized his error and looked mortified to make Althea¡¯s hope so high.

    The woman <b>literally </b>was about to dash out of the room now if it was not for Alex, who stopped her.

    ¡°Check on that first.¡±

    ¡°Our man has been escorting them to the pack. They will be here in four hours if it¡¯s not five..¡±

    Because they were so deep in the mountain, even if they shifted into their beasts, it still took them <b>that </b>long to reach the pack.

    ¡°I want to see them, let¡¯s meet halfway,¡± Althea couldn¡¯t help, but suggested. She struggled against Alex¡¯s grip<b>, </b>she hated it when he made a point of how strong he could be.

    ¡°You <b>will </b>not go anywhere, sweatheart, until you finished your meal,¡± Alex said calmly, though he threw a dagger look at his gamma for being inconsiderate jerk, but when his gaze fell on his <b>mate</b>, his eyes softened.

    Greyson wanted <b>to </b>w a hole or run away from the king¡¯s wrath. He was too excited, okay, but he knew he was being an idiot <b>for </b>not checking on it first.

    Finish your meal and we will go after that.¡±

    Althea wanted to argue, but Alex showed it to her that there was no room for discussion, thus all she could do begrudgingly eating her <b>meal </b>and they went to meet <b>those </b>people half way.

    the shifted into her beast again and this was rather refreshing to be outside of the pack house and was not trapped inside

    ier bedroom

    his was <b>also </b>the first time for Althea to meet <b>with </b>her father, mother and.. Killian again.

    he shifted back into her human form and her father gave her a hug, they were waiting here to see those people.

    Everything will be alright, sweety,¡± Brian said.

    bigail came to her

    and she look a little bit hesitated ¡°Can I give you a hug?¡± she asked carefully, prepared herself for the

    E

    However, it was Alhes, who made the move first, she went to hug her mother and breathed deeply. She was so tired, she didn¡¯t have the energy to hair anyone else right now, thus it was easier to just ept it.

    Probably, because <b>Althea </b>also knew that her mother had been there, taking care of her at the lowest point of her life, where she didn¡¯t even recognize herself

    It was not much, it wouldn¡¯t immediately make her forgiven for what she had done to her in her entire life<b>, </b>but it was a step. At the very least, she showed an effort and Althea was already so tired of holding a grudge

    She wanted her daughter, there was nothing else matter

    Even when Althea saw Killian, she felt nothing toward him, there was no sadness, hatred, fear, or anything. There was nothing. He felt like a stranger that she just met today, a stranger with a lot of bad memories, but she was numb toward him.

    The alpha looked disheveled, he must <b>have </b>lost so many weight, dark circles under his eyes.

    Althea looked away from him and released her body. She looked at Alex and hugged him, as they waited patiently until those royal warriors arrived here, as they escorted the people with the baby.

    It took then twenty minutes until they showed up and the moment they were here, Althea knew immediately. She could smell her scent, her scent hit her so hard.

    ¡°Jasmine!¡± Althea was the first person, who rushed ahead and grabbed her daughter from one of the beast¡¯s back, as the baby was sitting there.

    Jasmine looked fine, she cried when Althea hugged her so hard, she thought she almost crushed her baby, but the little one kept calling her.

    *Momma momma why didn¡¯t you

    !</b>¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, baby. I am sorry¡± Althea hugged her tightly, she didn¡¯t want to let her go.

    Meanwhile, the other three beasts finally shifted into their human form and were relief that they finally found the baby¡¯s family.

    *We found her deep in the forest, she was almost mauled by a wild animal, therefore, we took her in, but she couldn¡¯t <b>say </b>where she lived, or what park she came from.

    One of them started to exin what happened and they apologized because they didn¡¯t try to go to look for her family sooner, since they were in rush to get to their destination.

    However, one of them looked at Killian with a curios expression Are <b>you </b>alpha Killian?¡±

    Killian looked at ham. ¡°Yes I am¡±

    The man looked besitated, but finally he blurted it out. ¡°Can I meet with Willow for a while?¡±

    Killian narrowed his eyes because of this weird request.¡±

    ¡°Who are <b>you</b>?

    The man once again, looked hesitated, but then he replied. ¡°I was her destined mate.

    23 Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

 Claimed 98

    Althea was standing at the harbor, waiting for Alex toe and join her when Killian approached her, Jasmine was happy. she was ying with her hair.

    Althea couldn¡¯t be grateful enough because those past weeks when she had gone missing, those people had taken a good care of her and she didn¡¯t look like she was traumatized, though she missed her mother, she loved to be in the nature, thus. with those people was being very patient with the liule one, she was less scared.

    ¡°Althea Killian called her.

    ¡°Killian, Althea replied with the same manner. She didn¡¯t avoid him anymore, because there was no point for that, she would be gone from this part of this pack, she would live her life in the maind kingdom.

    This probably thest time she saw him again, or maybe not, because Jasmine was still his daughter.

    ¡°I am sorry for everything. Killian looked at Jasmine, the baby pursed her lips, seemingly she hated him too. ¡°I know that I have said it a few times, but I really meant what I said.¡±

    ¡°I will not forgive you, neither I will forget, Althea said calmly. After all the pain and fear that she had to go through when she lost her baby, there was nothing else that could make her scared, especially not Killian. ¡°But, if you wanted toe and see Jasmine, I will not stand on the way?

    Killian appreciated that a lot.

    I don¡¯t want to see him, Jasmine said, she buried her face against her mother¡¯s bossom. She clutched onto her mother dress tightly and was adamant not to see Killian, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see him, he is bad!¡±

    Killian¡¯s heart lurched, he felt like someone just stabbed him with a dull knife and he didn¡¯t know to alleviate the pain, even more when Jasmine still remembered what he said to her before

    ¡°He is a liar?¡± Jasmine was upset. ¡°He said dada doesn¡¯t love mel Dada loves me, momma loves me! He is a liar!¡±

    Jasmine was annoyed, she lifted her head and looked at Killian with tears in her eyes, but you could see the little one was pi**ed, she pursed her lips before she buried her face again against Althea¡¯s chest.

    ¡°I want my dada, momma¡­ let¡¯s go to dada¡­¡±

    Meanwhile, Althea seemed to understand what was going on and she looked at Killian with indiscernible expression.

    ¡°You really ruined everything, Killian,¡± Althea said and after that, she turned around and left him there, standing alone. while watching his daughter was very excited to see Alex.

    The man picked her up and she giggled, her expression was pure of happiness, as she called him over and over again and the king gave her a kiss on her cheek.

    Killian watched another man yed father to his mate and daughter, but he couldn¡¯t do anything. Watching everything unfolded before his eyes was the most excruciating pain that he had to endure, but he couldn¡¯t turn around and not to see, because this might be thest time he would see the two of them

    Brian and Abigail woulde to visit Althea every now and then and they were weed toe, while Willow was banished from the pack.

    With the fact that her destined mate was the one, who had saved Jasmine, they agreed to let her go. This was a mercy for her hud she was not allowed to step foot in the pack

    Althea didn¡¯t say much about it, but when Willow wanted to speak to her for thest time, she refused to give her the opportunity.

    1/3

    Èâ+62%S

    11:33 Wed Aug 21 RR G+

    She wanted to apologire and exin herself. That will only give her some relief and free her from guilty conscience for what she had done to me, but why would I need to give her such satisfaction? I am fine with the way it is

    That was what Althea said, which in the end. Willow didn¡¯t get what she wished for, hur she got a chance to talk with her

    mother and father

    Killian, didn¡¯t give a chance for Willow to talk to him too, since he didn¡¯t think there was a need for a closure for the two them. It was already very obvious there was nothing between them to talk about.

    ¡°Dada, do you love me?¡±

    ¡°So much¡± Alex kissed her cheeks and Jasmine hugged her father

    Janine looked at Killian, who was staring at them and then stuck out her tongue to mock Killian, which he found it was hrious, but sad at the same time, since he realized how much his daughter despised him now.

    Killian could only take that and watched them left.

    The ship sailed and the sun set, everything was gloomy, even though the sky was bright in red color, but Killian felt his heart was empty. He didn¡¯t know what to do with his life right now.

    He knew that he had to let Althea go the moment he realized what kind of monster he was in thest conversation he had with her before Jasmine went missing and the way his own daughter couldn¡¯t even stand him was¡­ devastating.

    Brian approached him and asked whether he was alright.

    ¡°No Killian replied. ¡°I don¡¯t think I will be alright after I lost what¡¯s important in my life.¡±

    He only wanted a family and now, he didn¡¯t have any

    Althea felt this sickness again, she felt like she wanted to vomit.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to travel by the sea again,¡± Althea grumbled, as she curled herself on the bed, while Jasmine wasying down on her back. The little one was a little bit clingy now, she would be anxious whenever she didn¡¯t see her mother, but Althea could understand why she was like that.

    She felt the same after all.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to travel by the sea again,¡± Alex reassured her, he caressed her hair and chuckled when Jasmine gave her head to be patted too. She crawled to hisp and rest her head there, which made the king was busy to pat the two important girls in his life.

    ¡°Momma..¡± Jasmine called her, she patted her cheek so Althea could open her eyes to see her.

    Right now, they were onlyzing around in their room, there was nothing much they could do when you were surrounded by water.

    I want baby sister and baby brother, Jasmine said randomly. ¡°I want baby, momma.¡±

    Alex chuckled when he heard that. ¡°How many babies do you want, sweety?¡±

    Althea gave him a look because of his question, but Alex dutifully ignored it and waited for Jasmine¡¯s answer.

    ¡°I want a lot of babies!¡± Jasmine replied.

    Althea scrunched her nose, but there was this tinged of blush on her cheek, she grumbled and hid her face under the nket.

    Alex had told her about what happened in the maind kingdom and how everything was perfect for them.

    ¡°Dada, can you give me the baby?¡± Jasmine asked Alex now because her mother was hiding.

    ¡°Sure, but you need to sleep in your own room, if you wanted a baby, because we need to have a serious discussion about

    that

 Claimed 99

    Jasmine turned seventeen today, which meant, she hade to age, where she would finally meet with her mate. She was very excited about it.

    Ever since she was little, she always thought about this day, especially when she saw the rtionship between her father and mother.

    Despite knowing that she was not really the king¡¯s child, king Alex loved her the same. Her father would treat her the same way he treated Aiden, her younger brother.

    ¡°You look gorgeous, sis!¡± Aiden squealed as he approached Jasmine and hugged her.

    He was ten years old now, but he wouldn¡¯t turn down a hug or two. Though whenever he was having an attitude, he would look like their father, most of the time, he had the personality of their mother. He was soft spoken young boy, but he could be very mischievous if he wanted to.

    ¡°What are you doing here, Aiden?¡± Jasmine raised her brows. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you s**ed your ss again.¡±

    Aiden grinned when he heard that and then pouted his lips. ¡°Why I still have a ss when today is the celebration of your birthday? Today is a party day. I don¡¯t need to be in ss.¡±

    Jasmine shook her head. He always had an answer for everything. ¡°If you wanted to be a good king, you should learn more.¡±C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    The young boy sighed deeply, which made him look like an old man. ¡°You are the firstborn, why should I be the king?¡± Heined, he had beenining the same thing for the past year when he realized the responsibility and the task he had to do when he was sitting on the throne.

    It had been made very clear from day one that Jasmine wouldn¡¯t take any responsibility for the crown, since she was not the royal blood. Her mother agreed with that and Jasmine was actually very relief too. She didn¡¯t like the battle in court and had to deal with those vicious people.

    Therefore, when the queen fell pregnant five years ago, every soul in this kingdom were very excited, especially when they learned that it was a baby boy. Their expectation was too high, it was scary.

    Because of that too, Jasmine felt bad for her brother, the pressure must be insane for him, even though he was still little.

    ¡°Go back to your ss, okay?¡± If people knew that Aiden s**ed his ss, again, they would talk about it and there would be another fight in court, their demand would be crazier.

    Their father handled most of it, but he couldn¡¯t shield Aiden forever. Jasmine knew that much about the dynamic within the pce.

    ¡°No.¡± Aiden crossed his arms in front of his chest.

    ¡°The party is still in the evening, there are still four hours left before it.¡±

    ¡°No. I will not go back there.¡±

    Jasmine bent her body and kissed his cheek. ¡°I will save you one more piece of my cake, okay?¡±

    Hearing that, Aiden contemted for a while and raised two fingers. ¡°I want two.¡±

    ¡°Deal. Jasmine giggled. Her brother was adorable. She then watched how Aiden dragged himself back to the study room. He was not happy, but what else he could do

    +5

    09:49 Sat, Aug 24

    891%1

    After that, Jasmine went about her day to prepare her party tonight. Her mother helped and her father came this early morning to wish her a happy birthday.

    There would be a lot of people, who woulde from all the kingdoms in this continent, also¡­ her real father. He arrived in this continent a week ago and his birthday presents had been sitting on her boudoir.

    Her rtionship with him was good. He promised his pack to her, since she was his only child, after her mother, he had never been with anyone else, but Jasmine declined.

    +5

    The rtionship between Killian and Althea was amicable to say the least, since her king father wouldn¡¯t let the two of them alone and her mother didn¡¯t have any interest to even have a small conversation with him.

    They only got along well only for Jasmine¡¯s sake, even so, the time when they were in the same space was very rare, for example was her birthday.

    ¡°You look so beautiful, princess,¡± Renee said after she was done with her hair. ¡°I hope you got what you wished for.¡± Jasmine blushed. Renee knew what she wished for. To find her mate. She was very romantic at heart.

    ¡°Are you done here, lovely?¡± Althea entered her daughter¡¯s bedroom and Renee bowed her head in respect for the queen. ¡°You can leave, Renee, I will take over from here.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my queen.¡±

    Renee left the two of them alone.

    ¡°You looked so beautiful, my love,¡± Althea said, they looked at each other through the reflection on the mirror.

    ¡°Thank you, mother.¡± Althea kissed her hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you have turned seventeen,¡± Althea said, she kissed her hair and there was tear in her eyes.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t cry,¡± Jasmine said, she stood up and hugged her mother.

    ¡°I know that you wished to meet with your mate in your party, but I hope I will have more time with you.¡± Time flew so fast and in a blink of an eye, Jasmine was a young grown up woman, she was so beautiful, but Althea still wanted her for herself.

    ¡°Oh, mother, I will not go anywhere. I will still be here with you.

    They hugged it and cried a little bit, but then Althea reminded her not to ruin her make up and both of them went out of the room.

    Jasmine was excited, somehow, she couldn¡¯t exin it, but she could feel it in her heart that she would find her soulmate tonight, but little did she know, it was not in the way that she imagined it would be.

    And one more thing; tonight, it would change the trajectory of her lifepletely. Her life wouldn¡¯t be the same anymore after tonight party.

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

 Claimed 100

    ¡°You look so beautiful, my daughter,¡± Killian said. he stared at Jasmine with adoration in his eyes.

    ¡°Thank you, father,¡± Jasmine replied, smiling at her father beautifully. She could see how her father had aged, he looked even older than his age.

    And there, she caught him ncing toward her mother again. She knew what happened between them, but her mother was very vogue about what she had to endure in his hand.

    However, that was enough for Jasmine to understand why her mother wanted nothing to do with Killian, if it was not for her.

    She respected her decision.

    ¡°Can I have a dance with you, beautiful?¡± Killian asked, his focus was on Jasmine again. He was smiling, look genuinely happy for her.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Jasmine giggled.

    It was a beautiful night, where Jasmine became the center of attention and peopleplimented her beauty. Aiden was happy to be there too and reminded her of the extra cake that he would receive.

    As the future king, he had to go through strict education and watched what he ate, but today was a special asion, right? So, extra sugar wouldn¡¯t be a problem.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    Needless to say, Jasmine dotted on her brother so much. Sometime, even more than her parent.

    However, there was only one thing that kept bothering her mind right now, it was the fact that she had not yet found her mate. She always imagined this magical moment when she found him and how it felt to finally find your other half.

    But, it seemed, she had to wait a little bit longer¡­

    It was until alpha Lorent from Redwood pack of the north kingdom entered the room. He waste and he didn¡¯te alone. He came with his chosen luna. Their ceremony would be held in a week from now.

    That was when Jasmine realized that he was her destined mate and she was not the only one, who realized that.

    Alpha Lorent was stunned, he was petrified when their eyes met. For a brief moment, they stayed like that, as if the world that revolved around them had stopped and time was no longer ticking.

    Jasmine gulped down with difficulty when she realized what happened.

    However, the smile that bloomed in her lips when she realized, she had found her mate died very quick the moment a woman stepped beside alpha Lorent and looped her arms around his. She followed his line of sight and it seemed, it was not the two of them that realized what was going on.

    That beautiful woman started tearing up and it snapped the alpha out of his reverie, which drew unnecessary attention toward them.

    ¡°What happened? Why she is crying?¡±

    ¡°What happened with her?¡±

    ¡°Is that Valerie? Alpha Lorent¡¯s chosen mate?¡±

    09:27 Mon, Aug 26 G.

    ¡°Are you okay, dear?¡±

    +84%

    People started talking, but none of them knew what was going on, since there was no word that was exchanged between alpha Lorent and Jasmine. They only stared at each other for a couple of second and thing escted out of their control when they still tried toprehend what was going on.

    ¡°Who is that woman, who dared enough to make a fuss in this asion?¡± Killian growled. He was having his dance with his daughter, but was interrupted with thismotion, which made him mad. ¡°I will go and check what¡¯s going on.¡±

    ¡°No, please.¡± Jasmine snapped back to reality and then caught her father¡¯s arm, she didn¡¯t want him to leave her there.

    Meanwhile, king Alex and queen Althea approached themotion and people dispersed to make a path for the two of them, this made alpha Lorent panic a little bit, because the two figures came approaching him, while he was still consoling

    his mate.

    ¡°Valerie, please don¡¯t cry,¡± alpha Lorent said desperately.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± king Alex asked, his expression turned ashen. If this woman only came here to make amotion, they should leave. This was not the ce for them to pull such stunt.

    ¡°King Alex.¡± Alpha Lorent gave the two of them respect, but he could see princess Jasmine came approaching from behind. She looked so beautiful and her scent¡­ her scent was heavenly, it made him weak in the knees.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a room to have a discussion,¡± Jasmine said, she looked calm andposed, despite the fact that Val¨¨rie was ring at her through her tears.

    Alpha Killian followed behind her daughter. His eyes narrowed, he watched how everything was unfolded and hoped this was not what he was thinking.

    Alex and Althea were confused, but they did what Jasmine asked them to do and find a room for their privacy, where they could talk about what was going on here.

    ¡°I want to go too,¡± Aiden said, he followed them, but Jasmine stopped him.

    ¡°I will stay with him,¡± Althea volunteered, she would hear what happenedter. ¡°The party is still in full swing, it will not look good if we left them.¡±

    Althea didn¡¯t want to stay in the same room with Killian and because he was a guest, he couldn¡¯t stay behind too. But, Alex was there with their daughter, so she didn¡¯t feel too worry about what was going on.

    ¡°Okay, thank you, Mom.¡± Jasmine kissed her mother, they exchanged a meaningful look.

    Althea was curious why Jasmine took care this matter on her own when she didn¡¯t have to, but from the look in her eyes, she knew this was something important.

    ¡°I want to be with Jasmine!¡± Aiden protested, but Althea had ushered him away.

    Killian was thest person, who entered the room. He leaned his back against the door and watched everything unfolded. Storm in his face when he saw how that woman was crying and how uneasy the other alpha was. He was a young alpha, he must have chosen that woman to be his since he thought he wouldn¡¯t find his mate

    He knew that much because he was in his ce before.

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

 Claimed 101

    ¡°They are mate!¡± Valerie was screaming right now. ¡°Don¡¯t take my mate! You can¡¯t take my mate away from me!¡± Tears streamed down her face.

    Valerie broke down the moment they entered the bedroom. Thankfully, she knew better not to do it in front of thousand of people out there, who would obviously take this opportunity to be the topic of their gossips in every tea party.

    Jasmine bit her lip, she balled her fists and watched how Valerie clung onto her destined mate.

    Meanwhile, alpha Lorent was speechless, he held Valerie, but his eyes were on Jasmine. There was this longing in his eyes. The pull of the mate bond was too strong to be denied by the two of them.

    Killian growled, while king Alex glowered at alpha Lorent.

    ¡°Is that true, Jasmine?¡± Alex asked his daughter, he knew the answer even before she replied to his question and his heart broke for her.

    ¡°Yes, father. He is my destined mate.¡± Jasmine didn¡¯t know how she found her voice, but she was grateful that her voice was not shaking. She didn¡¯t want to show her weakness, neither she wanted to shed tears in front of them. She didn¡¯t know why, but she felt this strong urge to appear unfazed.

    The king finally spoke after silence stretched out in this room. Not aplete silent, since Velerie¡¯s cry echoed throughout the wall.

    ¡°We need to discuss about this further.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Velerie refused and alpha Lorent tried to stop her, yet she didn¡¯t want to listen to that. ¡°I am pregnant! You couldn¡¯t take him away from me! Just because you are the princess in this kingdom, you can do whatever you pleased!¡± Velerie was furious, even though Jasmine had not yet said anything about this matter.

    And probably because Velerie was too emotional, she said something that she shouldn¡¯t.

    ¡°You are not even the real daughter of the king!¡±

    ¡°Valerie!¡± alpha Lorent snapped. That was a taboo topic to talk about and the king had made sure no one questioned her royal status in this kingdom, but Valerie just mentioned something that was uneptable.

    ¡°Impudent!¡± Alex roared, the king was livid and Velerie whimpered when she became the receiving end of the king¡¯s wrath.

    The king was not the only one, who was enraged, Killian pushed himself off the door and approached them.

    09:35 Tue, Aug 27

    Kiss

    @+ 87% !

    +5

    Out of instinct, alpha Lorent put himself in front of the two men to shield Velerie. He chose her for a reason and just because he found his destined mate, he would be fine if someone else harmed

    her.

    Jasmine didn¡¯t want Valerie to be harmed too, she was not bothered by what she said. She could understand why she slipped up and she could see that Valerie was also shock after the word left her lips.

    ¡°Guard!¡± Alex growled.

    ¡°There is no need for that, father,¡± Jasmine said, she stepped forward and held her king father¡¯s hand. He was shaking with rage. She also intertwined her fingers with her alpha father too, to prevent him from attacking alpha Lorent.

    She knew how bad it looked like, but she would feel even worse if they harmed the two of them. In a way, the two of them were innocent.

    She was also innocent in this matter. No one was at fault here. It was only the timing that was not right.

    ¡°Let me talk for a while,¡± Jasmine said, she gripped both of her fathers tightly, keeping them in ce before their ragepletely consumed them and when the guards came upon the king¡¯s order, Jasmine dismissed them.

    Once again, the room fell into silent, but this time, Valerie had m**d her cries. She was terrified for her being left by her mate, but at the same time, she was also terrified at the alpha and the king. The two of them looked like they were going to tear her apart for hurting the princess¡¯s feeling.

    Probably, this was the only time where Alex and Killian were on the same page. They were trying to protect their daughter.

    It was not the same, but both of them had gone through the pain of losing their mate. Therefore, they didn¡¯t want Jasmine to go through with the same agony.

    =

    ¡°There is nothing to talk about,¡± Killian said sternly. ¡°The rule is very clear. The mate stays together. You should prioritize your destined mate.¡±

    It sounded so weird when the word came from him, but he couldn¡¯t care less about it.

    ¡°No. I refused to stay with him.¡±

    Everyone in the room was shocked when they heard that and this time, Valerie hadpletely stopped crying, she looked at Jasmine closely and blinked away her tears. She was surprised that Jasmine would say such thing.

    ¡°Tell me your full name.¡± Jasmine didn¡¯t know what this man, she only knew he was her mate, but she didn¡¯t even know his name at all, or anything about him, aside from the fact, he was going to

    09:35 Tue, Aug 27

    GK

    087%

    +5

    father a child with his chosen mate.

    She was not going to do that. She couldn¡¯t break a family. Therefore, it left her with no other option.

    ¡°Jasmine, we can fix this,¡± Killian said, but the king said nothing, he simply looked at his daughter and quietly observed her.

    Shaking her head, she exined to her father. ¡°No, father. I don¡¯t want this union.¡±

    ¡°Jasmine, you don¡¯t know what you are talking about. You don¡¯t realize what will happen to you.¡± Jasmine simply looked at alpha Lorent. She didn¡¯t ask whether he would agree with this rejection o not, because if he gave her his full name, it was the end of it, since she couldn¡¯t reject him without

    it.

    ¡°Lorent. Lorent Addison Jaz.¡±

    And that was it.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    It was not an easy decision for Jasmine to make, but finally she said the word. ¡°I, Jasmine Alexandra ck, reject you, Lorent Addison Jaz, as my mate. May the bond severe forever.¡±

    ***

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

 Claimed 102

    Killian felt his heart dropped. Probably this was a karma, but even if it was, why would it happen to his daughter? Why would his daughter have to suffer for his crime in the past.

    He watched when Jasmine¡¯s body was trembling and her face twisted in pain. His daughter, his only daughter felt the pain because of the severed mate bond and he couldn¡¯t do anything to help her.

    And before her body fell to the ground, it was actually Alex, who caught her first and carried her in his arms.

    The king walked away, leaving Killian and alpha Lorent, who fell to his knees too because of the pain, while Valerie looked panic.

    ¡°You stay here. No one left this room,¡± Killian glowered at alpha Lorent and Valerie. He was so close of losing his control over his beast. He wanted to kill this man for hurting his little daughter.

    Even though he knew, technically, it was Jasmine, who had rejected him, but with him telling her his full name, it sealed the deal. He wanted to reject the princess, but he didn¡¯t know what to do, especially in front of the king and the other alpha. And what made Killian madder was the fact that Jasmine also knew about it and gave this man an easy way.

    He felt like a hypocrite right now, which didn¡¯t help with how he handled the situation.

    After giving them the warning and made sure the guards outside wouldn¡¯t allow the two of them to leave, he followed Alex. He knew where he went.

    Everything went so fast, they didn¡¯t have time to intervene. But, even if they could, would they be able to make Jasmine changed her mind? Would it be alright to make her stay with her destined mate when that man had impregnated another

    woman.

    This situation was f**ked up in so many levels.

    But, before Killian could catch up with Alex. Althea had approached him. She looked worried, because she saw Jasmine was being carried away by Alex.

    ¡°Wait, Killian.¡± Althea approached Killian against her better judgment. This must be the first time for her to strike a conversation first, of course, Killian immediately stopped and told her about what happened. She understandably looked shocked.

    ¡°I will go and see her,¡± she mumbled to herself and Killian could only nod dumbfoundedly, as if she was talking to him.

    This was their first interaction. The longest moment when they talked after so many years and Killian still looked at her the same. There was this longing in his eyes and regret. He had been regretting everything.

    However, he knew he couldn¡¯t act on it, since this was thest chance he could be in his daughter¡¯s life. If he couldn¡¯t be a good mate for Althea, he had to be a good father for their daughter.

    And now, when he watched how his daughter was in pain, it reminded him again of what he had done to her mother. If he could, he would rip his heart out of his chest to lessen her pain.

    His daughter¡­ she didn¡¯t deserve this¡­C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    Killian stared at the close door, where alpha Lorent and Valerie were. He fought the urge to barge in and kill both of them, but he knew Jasmine wouldn¡¯t be happy with that and it only caused trouble in this kingdom.

    Althea and Alex wouldn¡¯t appreciate that too.

    ¡°Why are you here? Where is momma?¡± Aiden tugged his sleeve and this snapped Killian back to reality.

    19:34 Mon, Sep 21 GD.

    74%

    5

    He lowered his head and looked at the young boy. He had his mother¡¯s eyes and every time he looked at him, he was always thinking of Alth¨¦a.

    ¡°Your mother has something to do, why don¡¯t we go back to the party?¡± Killian grabbed his hand and then walked him back to the party.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like here. This is Jasmine¡¯s party, but she is not here.¡± Aiden pouted. ¡°What happened earlier? Did alpha Lorent do something bad to Jasmine?¡±

    Killian took a drink and gave it to him. It was not alcohol. ¡°Kind of,¡± he replied nonchntly.

    Hearing that, Aiden huffed. ¡°I am going to beat his a** if he made my sister cried.¡±

    Killian chuckled.

    ¡°But, don¡¯t tell my momma I said that, okay? Momma will not be happy if I said bad thing.¡±

    Brushing strands of his short hair, Killian nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Meanwhile, when Althea came approaching the bedroom, she could hear Jasmine¡¯s cry and Alex was trying to console her.

    The king was hugging her tightly in his arms, while she cried her heart out. She looked strong and calm when she rejected alpha Lorent, but Alex knew better how soft and sensitive Jasmine was.

    ¡°I know I am doing the right thing, but why my heart hurt so bad, father?¡± Jasmine asked between her cries. ¡°I will feel so bad, awful, if I broke them for my selfish reason, but I couldn¡¯t stop the pain.¡±

    Alex listened to her without saying anything. He knew whatever words that he said, wouldn¡¯t lessen her pain. More so, Jasmine needed time to process everything. She was too emotional right now. She only needed someone to listen to her.

    Althea then entered the room and the moment, Jasmine saw her, she cried even harder and this broke Althea¡¯s heart to pieces to see her daughter had to experience this kind of thing. She hugged her tightly and both of them sat with her the whole night.

    With that, Althea¡¯s birthday was ruined, she didn¡¯te out of the room again.

    Alex returned to the party after a while, he ended it smoothly, but of course, Jasmine¡¯s absence and the littlemotion that Valerie created would be the gossip in town. Soon enough the rumor would spread around about what happened.

    It was not difficult to deduct the possibility after all.

    The next day, when Jasmine woke up, she felt the pain was not as worse as before.

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

    COMMENT

    74%

 Claimed 103

    Despite the pain and difort, Jasmine pushed herself up from the bed and met with Renee¡¯s concern eyes. She was a year younger than her and from the look in her eyes, Jasmine knew that she had heard about what happenedst night.

    Now the pain was more bearable, she felt bad for how she handled the situation, but then it could be worse than that.

    ¡°Princess¡­¡± Renee called her with teary eyes and Jasmine smiled at her.

    ¡°I am fine, Renee, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡± She saw the breakfast on the table. Her mother must have sent her here to deliver the food for her, knowing she was not in the condition where she could meet anyone.

    Her mother always knew the best.

    +5

    ¡°You can leave now, I am okay.¡± The fact that Aiden was not even here, her mother must have restrained the young boy from bothering her, which she was thankful for.

    Renee gave her a concerning look and then left the room. She didn¡¯t say much because she knew it wouldn¡¯t help with anything. The queen and the king knew best what to do with the princess.

    She loved princess Jasmine because she had helped her during her difficult times and she treated her so well, not like any royal family in her position.

    Meanwhile, inside the bedroom, Jasmine ate her food slowly, she was thinking about what she should do next, since everything had happened and all she needed to do now was to handle the aftermath.

    After she ate her breakfast, which she could only eat less than half, she called for Renee and asked her what had happened.

    Renee immediately told her about what she knew. The party went well and alpha Lorent and Valerie were still in the same room. From what she heard, they were not allowed to leave the pce, but they were treated well.

    Jasmine nodded with the information.

    ¡°Help me to clean myself, Renee,¡± Jasmine said. She wanted to meet with alpha Lorent and had this conversation. The sooner the better, but she couldn¡¯t appear in this haggard state.

    Renee immediately followed her favorite princess to the bathroom and ran water for her. She looked worried, but to see how well Jasmine epted what happened, she became less worry.

    Once she was done and she looked more presentable, she told Renee to inform alpha Lorent that she wanted to meet with him. She didn¡¯t need to tell him her intention for this meeting, since he would know anyway.

    ¡°Oh, and ask him to bring Valerie with him too,¡± Jasmine added. She didn¡¯t want to cause misunderstanding between them and more importantly, she didn¡¯t think it was wise for her to see him alone when the situation between them was rather awkward.

    Valerie was not a luna yet, thus Jasmine didn¡¯t address her as such.

    ¡°Should I inform your mother and father about this? They had been asking me about how are you when they knew you were

    awake.¡±

    Jasmine chuckled. She could imagine how her father would have been struggling to prevent her mother from barging inside her bedroom.

    You can inform them after I met with the alpha.¡±

    They would learn about this anyway, sooner orter, therefore there was no need to keep it from then.

    1/2

    19:34 Mon, Sep 2 G.

    74%

    +5

    And ten minutester, here Jasmine was, sitting opposite from the man that supposed to be her destined mate and a woman, who was currently pregnant with his child. Jasmine sighed. This was not how she imagined her morning would be.

    Only yesterday, she was very excited for her birthday and how it went, but right now, thing had changedpletely.

    ¡°I am sorry for themotion that I createdst night,¡± Valerie said sheepishly. Both of them seemed not to have a good night sleep.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can understand,¡± Jasmine replied gracefully, she was sipping her tea and cleared her throat to address the issue. ¡°I wish the situation will be different, but because thing had escted this way. I hope there will no misunderstanding in the future. I hope you understand that this thing is not something that I and alpha Lorent could control.¡±

    Valerie nodded. ¡°Yes, I know,¡± she said in small voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to cause trouble, but I was panicked when I learned what happened. I am sorry to cause you trouble for the stunt that I pulledst night.¡±

    Jasmine shook her head. ¡°Just like I said, I do understand your situation. You don¡¯t need to be sorry for me. None of us here at fault.¡±

    Their conversation didn¡¯tst for long and after that, Jasmine sent them away with well wishes for Valerie¡¯s pregnancy and their happy life together.

    ¡°Thank you, thank you so much princess,¡± Valerie said gratefully. She knew about the rumor of Jasmine¡¯s birth and how bad people out there talking about her, but right now she was very thankful for her kindness.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. You owe me nothing.¡±

    Meanwhile, alpha Lorent didn¡¯t talk much, he thanked Jasmine for how wise she was despite her young age.

    Jasmine was very civil with alpha Lorent. The pain of rejection still lingered and the pull of the mate bond was still there, therefore, it would be good for both of them if they didn¡¯t see each other. It was not like they would see each other in the near future though.

    Once they left, Jasmine went back where she found her mother had been waiting for her.

    ¡°I am fine, mother. You don¡¯t need to worry about me,¡± she said with a chuckle when she saw how her mother was trying so hard to stop herself from crying. ¡°But, there is one thing that I want to ask you. Could you please grant me my wish?¡±

    ¡°Anything, love. Anything.¡± Althea was at the point, where she would agree to anything that Jasmine wanted, because she knew how painful it was.

    ¡°I want to leave the pce.¡±Chapter 103

    Despite the pain and difort, Jasmine pushed herself up from the bed and met with Renee¡¯s concern eyes. She was a year younger than her and from the look in her eyes, Jasmine knew that she had heard about what happenedst night.

    Now the pain was more bearable, she felt bad for how she handled the situation, but then it could be worse than that.

    ¡°Princess¡­¡± Renee called her with teary eyes and Jasmine smiled at her.

    ¡°I am fine, Renee, you don¡¯t need to worry.¡± She saw the breakfast on the table. Her mother must have sent her here to deliver the food for her, knowing she was not in the condition where she could meet anyone.

    Her mother always knew the best.

    +5

    ¡°You can leave now, I am okay.¡± The fact that Aiden was not even here, her mother must have restrained the young boy from bothering her, which she was thankful for.

    Renee gave her a concerning look and then left the room. She didn¡¯t say much because she knew it wouldn¡¯t help with anything. The queen and the king knew best what to do with the princess.

    She loved princess Jasmine because she had helped her during her difficult times and she treated her so well, not like any royal family in her position.

    Meanwhile, inside the bedroom, Jasmine ate her food slowly, she was thinking about what she should do next, since everything had happened and all she needed to do now was to handle the aftermath.

    After she ate her breakfast, which she could only eat less than half, she called for Renee and asked her what had happened.

    Renee immediately told her about what she knew. The party went well and alpha Lorent and Valerie were still in the same room. From what she heard, they were not allowed to leave the pce, but they were treated well.

    Jasmine nodded with the information.

    ¡°Help me to clean myself, Renee,¡± Jasmine said. She wanted to meet with alpha Lorent and had this conversation. The sooner the better, but she couldn¡¯t appear in this haggard state.

    Renee immediately followed her favorite princess to the bathroom and ran water for her. She looked worried, but to see how well Jasmine epted what happened, she became less worry.

    Once she was done and she looked more presentable, she told Renee to inform alpha Lorent that she wanted to meet with him. She didn¡¯t need to tell him her intention for this meeting, since he would know anyway.

    ¡°Oh, and ask him to bring Valerie with him too,¡± Jasmine added. She didn¡¯t want to cause misunderstanding between them and more importantly, she didn¡¯t think it was wise for her to see him alone when the situation between them was rather awkward.

    Valerie was not a luna yet, thus Jasmine didn¡¯t address her as such.

    ¡°Should I inform your mother and father about this? They had been asking me about how are you when they knew you were

    awake.¡±

    Jasmine chuckled. She could imagine how her father would have been struggling to prevent her mother from barging inside her bedroom.

    You can inform them after I met with the alpha.¡±

    They would learn about this anyway, sooner orter, therefore there was no need to keep it from then.

    1/2

    19:34 Mon, Sep 2 G.

    74%

    +5

    And ten minutester, here Jasmine was, sitting opposite from the man that supposed to be her destined mate and a woman, who was currently pregnant with his child. Jasmine sighed. This was not how she imagined her morning would be.

    Only yesterday, she was very excited for her birthday and how it went, but right now, thing had changedpletely.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°I am sorry for themotion that I createdst night,¡± Valerie said sheepishly. Both of them seemed not to have a good night sleep.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can understand,¡± Jasmine replied gracefully, she was sipping her tea and cleared her throat to address the issue. ¡°I wish the situation will be different, but because thing had escted this way. I hope there will no misunderstanding in the future. I hope you understand that this thing is not something that I and alpha Lorent could control.¡±

    Valerie nodded. ¡°Yes, I know,¡± she said in small voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to cause trouble, but I was panicked when I learned what happened. I am sorry to cause you trouble for the stunt that I pulledst night.¡±

    Jasmine shook her head. ¡°Just like I said, I do understand your situation. You don¡¯t need to be sorry for me. None of us here at fault.¡±

    Their conversation didn¡¯tst for long and after that, Jasmine sent them away with well wishes for Valerie¡¯s pregnancy and their happy life together.

    ¡°Thank you, thank you so much princess,¡± Valerie said gratefully. She knew about the rumor of Jasmine¡¯s birth and how bad people out there talking about her, but right now she was very thankful for her kindness.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. You owe me nothing.¡±

    Meanwhile, alpha Lorent didn¡¯t talk much, he thanked Jasmine for how wise she was despite her young age.

    Jasmine was very civil with alpha Lorent. The pain of rejection still lingered and the pull of the mate bond was still there, therefore, it would be good for both of them if they didn¡¯t see each other. It was not like they would see each other in the near future though.

    Once they left, Jasmine went back where she found her mother had been waiting for her.

    ¡°I am fine, mother. You don¡¯t need to worry about me,¡± she said with a chuckle when she saw how her mother was trying so hard to stop herself from crying. ¡°But, there is one thing that I want to ask you. Could you please grant me my wish?¡±

    ¡°Anything, love. Anything.¡± Althea was at the point, where she would agree to anything that Jasmine wanted, because she knew how painful it was.

    ¡°I want to leave the pce.¡±

    ***

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

    COMMENT

    0

    19:34 Mon, Sep

 Claimed 104

    It was not easy for Jasmine to convince her mother and father that she was fine. She only needed some time alone and wished to use theirke house in the north kingdom. She wanted to stay there for at least a month or two without anyone

    else.

    ¡°You can go, but at the very least, take someone with you,¡± Althea suggested. ¡°Take Renee with you, so there will be someone, who will take care after you.¡±

    However, Jasmine rejected the idea. ¡°I want to be alone, mother. I don¡¯t want to bring anyone with me.¡±

    Her king father didn¡¯t agree with the idea either, but he found a middle ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can leave to the north, but if you didn¡¯t want to take Renee with you, you need to take the warriors.¡± Alex raised his hand before Jasmine and Althea could protest.

    Althea didn¡¯t want Jasmine to leave and Jasmine didn¡¯t want to bring warriors with her. She had said it a few times that she wanted to be alone, but they seemed not to understand that.

    ¡°Listen to me first,¡± Alex said, which silenced Althea and Jasmine. ¡°Those warriors are necessary. No matter where you go, you will be the princess of this kingdom, your safety is the priority, but if you wanted to be alone, I will tell them to maintain the distance from you and not to show themselves unless it¡¯s necessary. With that, you can feel alone, but also safe.¡±

    Jasmine wanted to protest, but after she thought about that for a while, she agreed. Her status alone would put her in danger and she wouldn¡¯t say that she was confidence to be able to defense herself if suddenly she was being attacked. Therefore, the king¡¯s suggestion was the best.

    ¡°Thank you, father!¡± Jasmine said, she went to kiss her father and mother before she finished her meal and then left, but before that, her father reminded her of one thing.

    ¡°You should be the one, who told Aiden about this.¡±

    Jasmine grimaced. She knew talking to her younger brother would be more difficult than talking to her parents, but she nodded anyway and then left to find Aiden.

    Once Jasmine left, Althea immediately turned her head to look at Alex. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± she protested. She had been wanting to say something, but Alex held her hand, gesturing for her to not say anything.

    ¡°Althea, you know how it feels, you have done the same thing in the past too,¡± Alex reminded her gently.

    Althea chose to run away in the past because of the pain that Killian put her through, of course, she didn¡¯t wish the same pain to her baby, but she should know more than anyone that Jasmine needed this escapee.

    ¡°You have done everything that you could. It¡¯s not your fault. Nobody at fault here.¡± Alex put his finger under chin and looked at her right in the eyes. ¡°She is big already, she knew right from wrong, she will be fine. You need to trust her judgment.¡±

    Althea leaned against his touch and sighed deeply. ¡°You are right. I am too worried about her.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you are worried, you are her mother.¡± Alex pulled her closer and then kissed the top of her head. Even after so many years they were together, he still felt this spark between them. He loved her even without the mate bond.

    Two dayster, Jasmine was ready to leave the pce, heading toward the north part of the kingdom, where theirke house

    was.

    This was the location that they used to visit during summer, but right now it was almost winter, thus Jasmine decided to

    1/2

    §¢§Ö§â

    spend the whole winter there. She wanted to see the surface of theke froze over.

    0 73%=

    +5

    ¡°Please, write okay, write every day,¡± Althea said, she shed tears in her eyes, as she kissed Jasmine¡¯s cheek and this made her giggled.

    ¡°Mother, it¡¯s almost winter, even if I wrote to you every day, you will receive it a weekter,¡± Jasmine kissed her back. ¡°But, well, I will write to you.¡±

    Aiden hugged her. He didn¡¯t want to let her go, but her mother said that big sis needed to leave the pce, because she needed to heal, he didn¡¯t know what¡¯s that mean. Why she should leave when they had the best healer here?

    But apparently, their best healer couldn¡¯t heal his big sis.

    ¡°You need to write to me too. I want a letter to myself. I don¡¯t want you to ask about me in mom¡¯s letter. I want my own letter.¡±

    {

    Jasmineughed at that, she shook her head. Her heart was still in pain, but her family made it easy, yet she needed to leave for herself this time. She needed quietness.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Jasmine then looked at her king father. ¡°I will write to you too, father.¡± She tiptoed and kissed her father.

    Alex pulled her into a hug, as he squeezed his son in the middle.

    The parting words were said and finally, Jasmine left the pce. It would take her two weeks to reach the north part of the kingdom, by the time she was there, it would be the first week of winter.

    There were around ten warriors that woulde with her, but they would stay away, making themselves invisible, because Jasmine didn¡¯t want to be followed.

    She sighed deeply and then she saw a beast that she recognized. It was her father. Her biological father. She then asked the carriage to stop and she approach him.

    Killian shifted into his human form and hugged her. ¡°I am sorry, I can¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, father. There is nothing that you can do.¡±

    Jasmine could feel it that her father felt guilty for what happened to her and her destined mate. In a twisted way, he thought it was his karma for what he had done to her mother.

    ¡°I will write to you.¡±

    ***Chapter 104

    It was not easy for Jasmine to convince her mother and father that she was fine. She only needed some time alone and wished to use theirke house in the north kingdom. She wanted to stay there for at least a month or two without anyone

    else.

    ¡°You can go, but at the very least, take someone with you,¡± Althea suggested. ¡°Take Renee with you, so there will be someone, who will take care after you.¡±

    However, Jasmine rejected the idea. ¡°I want to be alone, mother. I don¡¯t want to bring anyone with me.¡±

    Her king father didn¡¯t agree with the idea either, but he found a middle ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can leave to the north, but if you didn¡¯t want to take Renee with you, you need to take the warriors.¡± Alex raised his hand before Jasmine and Althea could protest.

    Althea didn¡¯t want Jasmine to leave and Jasmine didn¡¯t want to bring warriors with her. She had said it a few times that she wanted to be alone, but they seemed not to understand that.

    ¡°Listen to me first,¡± Alex said, which silenced Althea and Jasmine. ¡°Those warriors are necessary. No matter where you go, you will be the princess of this kingdom, your safety is the priority, but if you wanted to be alone, I will tell them to maintain the distance from you and not to show themselves unless it¡¯s necessary. With that, you can feel alone, but also safe.¡±

    Jasmine wanted to protest, but after she thought about that for a while, she agreed. Her status alone would put her in danger and she wouldn¡¯t say that she was confidence to be able to defense herself if suddenly she was being attacked. Therefore, the king¡¯s suggestion was the best.

    ¡°Thank you, father!¡± Jasmine said, she went to kiss her father and mother before she finished her meal and then left, but before that, her father reminded her of one thing.

    ¡°You should be the one, who told Aiden about this.¡±

    Jasmine grimaced. She knew talking to her younger brother would be more difficult than talking to her parents, but she nodded anyway and then left to find Aiden.

    Once Jasmine left, Althea immediately turned her head to look at Alex. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± she protested. She had been wanting to say something, but Alex held her hand, gesturing for her to not say anything.

    ¡°Althea, you know how it feels, you have done the same thing in the past too,¡± Alex reminded her gently.

    Althea chose to run away in the past because of the pain that Killian put her through, of course, she didn¡¯t wish the same pain to her baby, but she should know more than anyone that Jasmine needed this escapee.

    ¡°You have done everything that you could. It¡¯s not your fault. Nobody at fault here.¡± Alex put his finger under chin and looked at her right in the eyes. ¡°She is big already, she knew right from wrong, she will be fine. You need to trust her judgment.¡±

    Althea leaned against his touch and sighed deeply. ¡°You are right. I am too worried about her.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you are worried, you are her mother.¡± Alex pulled her closer and then kissed the top of her head. Even after so many years they were together, he still felt this spark between them. He loved her even without the mate bond.

    Two dayster, Jasmine was ready to leave the pce, heading toward the north part of the kingdom, where theirke house

    was.

    This was the location that they used to visit during summer, but right now it was almost winter, thus Jasmine decided to

    1/2

    §¢§Ö§â

    spend the whole winter there. She wanted to see the surface of theke froze over.

    0 73%=

    +5

    ¡°Please, write okay, write every day,¡± Althea said, she shed tears in her eyes, as she kissed Jasmine¡¯s cheek and this made her giggled.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Mother, it¡¯s almost winter, even if I wrote to you every day, you will receive it a weekter,¡± Jasmine kissed her back. ¡°But, well, I will write to you.¡±

    Aiden hugged her. He didn¡¯t want to let her go, but her mother said that big sis needed to leave the pce, because she needed to heal, he didn¡¯t know what¡¯s that mean. Why she should leave when they had the best healer here?

    But apparently, their best healer couldn¡¯t heal his big sis.

    ¡°You need to write to me too. I want a letter to myself. I don¡¯t want you to ask about me in mom¡¯s letter. I want my own letter.¡±

    {

    Jasmineughed at that, she shook her head. Her heart was still in pain, but her family made it easy, yet she needed to leave for herself this time. She needed quietness.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Jasmine then looked at her king father. ¡°I will write to you too, father.¡± She tiptoed and kissed her father.

    Alex pulled her into a hug, as he squeezed his son in the middle.

    The parting words were said and finally, Jasmine left the pce. It would take her two weeks to reach the north part of the kingdom, by the time she was there, it would be the first week of winter.

    There were around ten warriors that woulde with her, but they would stay away, making themselves invisible, because Jasmine didn¡¯t want to be followed.

    She sighed deeply and then she saw a beast that she recognized. It was her father. Her biological father. She then asked the carriage to stop and she approach him.

    Killian shifted into his human form and hugged her. ¡°I am sorry, I can¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, father. There is nothing that you can do.¡±

    Jasmine could feel it that her father felt guilty for what happened to her and her destined mate. In a twisted way, he thought it was his karma for what he had done to her mother.

    ¡°I will write to you.¡±

 Claimed 105

    Jasmine arrived at theke house two weekster, thankfully, their journey was smooth, there was nothing eventful that happened.

    ¡°Everything has been put inside, princess. Is there anything else that I can help you with?¡± Ethan, the head of the ten warriors that would keep her safe here, informed her about all of her belongings had been put inside her bedroom.

    n

    There were four bedrooms in thiske house and a few little huts that scattered around the area. Those huts would be used by the warriors for them to stay.

    ¡°I will deliver food every Thursday, once a week.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ethan. I don¡¯t think I need anything else. Everything is perfect.¡±

    ¡°If you need something and wanted to call us, we are nearby, you only need to mindlink us.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ethan, you are very thoughtful,¡± Jasmine said, she shed him a smile and he blushed.

    Ethan was twenty five years old warrior, he joined in when he was only fifteen and he was the best in his field, but Jasmine knew that he was a softie at heart, though many warriors looked more like barbaric, but he was decent.

    ¡°I will make sure you know if I need anything.¡±

    After that, Ethan took all the warriors out of the houseke¡¯s area and disappeared behind the woods, they wouldn¡¯t be visible, but Jasmine knew that they were there to keep her safe.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.

    Once the warriors had dispersed, she went to theke house and then entered the living room. This ce was clean and just

    like how she remembered it.

    Every month there would be a cleaningdy that came to clean this ce.

    Jasmine walked mindlessly, the quietness was therapeutic. She missed her family, but this was what she needed right now.

    She went from bedroom to bedroom and then ended in the library. Her mother loved to read and she would spend her time here, so did she.

    She traced her hands on the spine of the book and read the title. She would be able to read a lot of books during her stay here throughout the winter.

    Once theke was froze over, she would go out and y there. She had never been in theke house during winter, thus she couldn¡¯t help, but being very expectant.

    After Jasmine chose three books, she then went to her bedroom and started to read, until she fell asleep and woke up at night.

    She woke up around night when she felt hungry. It was rather ridiculous because she used to have someone by her side, who would be ready with food and everything that she needed, like Renee.

    However, right now, she needed to cook her own meal.

    And the problem was; she didn¡¯t know how to cook. She had never cooked in her entire life, so how could she know how to do it?

    Jasmine got up from the bed, she grimaced.

    ¡°Why I didn¡¯t think about this earlier?¡± She furrowed her brows. I should have brought Renee with me when she asked, but apparently, I am an idiot¡­¡±

    1/3

    Sighing in regret, Jasmine didn¡¯t have any other choice, but to get up and make her own meal. She didn¡¯t want to call for the warriors and ask them to cook for her.

    She was sure they could do the job better than her, but her pride didn¡¯t allow her to do so, especially after the arrogant disy of how she wanted to live alone.

    ¡°Great.¡±

    Jasmine shook her head and then went to the kitchen, where she found all the supply to cook something edible, only the problem was; she didn¡¯t know how.

    Thinking about her predicament for a while, she then remembered of a recipe in the library. She immediately went there.

    ¡°Great. There are instructions here. I only need to follow it, right?¡± Jasmine hummed to herself, as she returned to the kitchen with a triumphant look on her face. She was very satisfied.

    However, she was quick to learn that finding the

    reci

    It was way harder than she imagined and after tw overcooked steak.

    not equal to the fact that she had to cook the food herself.

    hours struggling in the kitchen, finally she managed to make an almost

    Jasmine wanted to cry when she saw her steak, but when she tried it¡­

    ¡°Well, not bad¡­¡± she nodded to herself.

    Though the look was not good, but the taste was¡­ well, tolerable. Jasmine only hoped she wouldn¡¯t get stomach bug when she finished eating this.

    And after that, she cleaned her te, it felt weird, but she liked this mundane thing and somehow she was excited to try new recipe.

    Probably, this would be her life for the winter and when her food was more tolerable, she would have the warriors to try them.

    Jasmine sighed and then stared at the window, it was dark outside, she then used the magic stone to light up the front yards.

    After that, when she thought she was ready for bed, she heard a noise from the backyard.

    the room and

    ¡°What is that?¡± Her eyes narrowed, thinking wind knocked something off, but she didn¡¯t go there to check, until she heard it again and startled.

    She hoped it was not what she was thinking, but she decided to check on it anyway and found something that made her heart thumped wildly against her chest.

    ¡°What happened?!¡± Jasmine screeched, she immediately covered her mouth and approached him, right in time when he shifted into his human form.

    Obviously, he was a shifter, but his beast looked a little bit weird, it was very big¡­ just as big as her king¡¯s father when he shifted into his lycan form.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Jasmine approached him, she could smell blood. He was bleeding. ¡°Wait, I will ask for help!¡± She was panic. Obviously.

    However, his hand grabbed her wrist and held her. ¡°Get me inside the house. Don¡¯t let anyone see me.¡±

    2/3

 Claimed 106

    Jasmine couldn¡¯t understand why she agreed to his demand in the first ce, it was not like she was under the pressure. She could mindlink Ethan and the warriors would get here to check on this bleeding lycan.

    He was bleeding profusely. He must have been harmed by silver, because that was the only to exin why his bleeding had not yet stopped.

    It was a little bit dark at the backyard, thus she couldn¡¯t see clearly his face, but his dark hair was mated by blood.

    ¡°I can¡¯t carry you, you need to get up,¡± Jasmine said, she crouched down next to her.

    Her mother and father would have screamed at her for being so reckless. She shouldn¡¯t have let a stranger into the house, let alone the one that bleeding, she should have called for Ethan, because that was the right thing to do.

    However, Jasmine didn¡¯t seem inclined much to follow the rule. She leaned more toward her instinct at this time, as she helped him to get up and take him to the nearest bedroom in the second floor.

    She grimaced when his blood dripped down on the floor and then seeped to her dress, she could feel how warm it was.

    She had never seen blood this much.

    ¡°We need to call a healer,¡± Jasmine said, as she panted heavily after she put him on the bed, she grimaced when the white sheet turned red because of his blood. ¡°You could die.¡±

    The man chuckled. He shook his head. ¡°No. They are going to kill me and you if they found out about my whereabouts. I will heal. Just give me some time.¡±

    Jasmine shuddered. ¡°Who tried to kill you?¡± She now contemted to call Ethan and check on the warriors around theke house.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call anyone. Close the door and lock it.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Jasmine looked over her shoulders, as if someone would jump on her from behind. and killed her. ¡°Who is after you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask too many questions, just lock the door.¡±

    And after that, his eyelids dropped. He was unconscious. He fell into the darkness and as as a countermeasure, Jasmine mindlinked Ethan.

    [Do you need anything, princess?]

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    [No. I only wanted to know if you saw something not usual?]

    There was a long pause there and then Ethan¡¯s voice echoed in her mind, while she locked the door and then checked all the window.

    [There is nothing unusual, princess. Is there something that bothering you? Should wee over and check?]

    By this time, Jasmine had returned to the bedroom, where the man was. He was still fast asleep.

    The blood lost was a little bit mortifying, but she knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough to take his life, especially when he was a lycan. Her king father was a lycan, and that kind of shifter was the stronger among the shifters.

    A lycan was an old royal family that rule this continent, therefore if he was a lycan, it could be said he came from royal bloodline.

    They were in the north, which meant, it was Aurones Kingdom. That was the closest kingdom from here.

    Yes, actually, I need you here.] Jasmine looked over at the man again and then added. [Ask someone to bring a healer.]

    [Are you hurt, princess?] There was edge on his voice when he asked, Jasmine could feel his anxiety. [I have asked someone to call a healer, I will be right there in a second.]

    [Okay.]

    That man had requested to not call anyone, but it was not possible, since this matter was very serious if someone had tried to harm a royal family bloodline, it meant they were up to no good. She didn¡¯t know this man, she couldn¡¯t recall she had met with him somewhere.

    If he was a royal family, he must have attended one of two parties in the pce. But then, Jasmine didn¡¯t know many royal families from the other kingdom.

    It didn¡¯t take long before Ethan knocked on the door and Jasmine forgot that she had locked all the doors, thus she dashed to the front door and open it for him.

    ¡°Are you okay, princess?¡± he asked in worried. ¡°You are bleeding!¡± he was shocked, but because he couldn¡¯t touch her recklessly, he stopped himself. ¡°We need to get¡­¡±

    -¡°Calm down, Ethan. I am fine. This is not my blood. I am fine.¡± Jasmine waved her hands at

    him casually, she smiled to prove it to him that she was fine. ¡°This is not my blood.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not your blood?¡± His brows furrowed.

    He would have been more frantic than this if he came from the back door and watched

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    blood that trailed down from the path there into the house and also there was a pool of blood on the floor.

    ¡°Yes, I am fine.¡±

    ¡°But, the healer?¡± He tilted his head, observing her body, trying to find any sight of injuries. but then his head snapped up and he sniffed the air. ¡°There is someone else here.¡±

    He was good. No wonder he was the best young warrior in this kingdom. He entered the room and his shoulders turned rigid.

    ¡°Yes, there is someone inside the bedroom and he is injured.¡±

    ¡°What? How?¡± Ethan looked around him, his eyes glossed over, it seemed he was mindlinking the other warriors and asked them to patrol their surroundings. Good thinking though. ¡°Princess, you shouldn¡¯t have let stranger toe in,¡± Ethan said.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    Jasmine walked him toward the bedroom where the lycan was. ¡°What should I do? Turn him away when he almost died?¡±

    Ethan groaned, but he didn¡¯t argue with her, since he knew how soft hearted the princess

    was.

    ¡°More importantly, I think he is a lycan. I am sure he is a lycan. I saw him shifted into his human form before.¡± She could say that for sure because her king father was one.

    However, when Ethan came closer, the lycan woke up and grabbed his throat.

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

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    Chapter 107.

    076%

    Lycan was the strongest among the shifter, therefore they were feared the most. There were not so many lycan, but all the lycan woulde from the royal bloodline.

    Therefore, even though this man was injured pretty bad, he still managed <i>to </i>move so fast, to the point Ethan couldn¡¯t avoid him when his hand stretched out and grabbed his neck.

    His movement was very precise and lethal, but thankfully, he was not in his best condition, or else, sure enough Ethan would lose his neck before he could break free from his grip.

    ¡°What do you think you are doing?!¡± Jasmine immediately jumped in surprised when he tried to hurt Ethan. She growled at him viciously and pushed Ethan away, but the warrior ced her behind his back in order to protect her.

    The lycan snarled, but he was too weak to shift into his beast. ¡°Who are you?¡± his voice was dark and heavy, because of the pain.

    Jasmine breathed heavily, she poked her head from behind Ethan¡¯s back. ¡°He is my personal warrior.¡±

    ¡°Personal warrior?¡± the lycan asked, narrowing his eyes at Ethan. ¡°From what kingdom are you?¡± Only people from the royal family and someone important who had personal warrior with them.

    Therefore, the fact that Jasmine had one, it meant she was part of the royalty.

    ¡°She is princess Jasmine, the first daughter of king Alexander,¡± Ethan replied, his voice was tight and his eyes still looked at him with worried.

    The lycan narrowed his eyes and Jasmine decided that earlier was only a misunderstanding. She patted Ethan¡¯s arm, telling him to rx.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, you are safe here.¡± Jasmine was about to approach him, but Ethan held her hand to stop her from doing so. He didn¡¯t believe this man at all.

    However, Jasmine reassured him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened with you and what you have gone through, but you are safe here. You don¡¯t need to worry. Ethan has sent one of the warriors to look for a healer. He will

    return soon.¡±

    ¡°I told you not to tell anyone,¡± he groaned, but Jasmine ignored him. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    ¡°What is your name?¡± Jasmine took a step closer toward him, despite Ethan¡¯s protest that she shouldn¡¯t be within this lycan¡¯s arm reach.

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    10, Sep 5

    For a moment, Jasmine thought he wouldn¡¯t answer her question, he had his eyes closed, thus she thought he had fallen asleep, but when she was about to turn around and then left. he finally told her his name.

    ¡°Killian,¡± he said, but there was no other exnation aside from that.

    ¡°Are you from the royal family?¡± Ethan asked, but this time, Killian didn¡¯t answer the question and continue to sleep, or probably he had passed out again.

    ¡°Let him to get some rest, tonight must be too much for him.¡±

    ¡°Princess, you are too kind, you shouldn¡¯t have let a stranger to enter the house. He could do something horrible to you.¡±

    Jasmine didn¡¯t agree with him, she turned around and then looked at Ethan. ¡°I didn¡¯t let a stranger enter the house, Ethan. Shouldn¡¯t you and the other warriors secure the area around the house? How could you let a stranger get close to theke house and enter?¡±

    Hearing that, Ethan lowered his head, he was a little bit ashamed to admit his error, but he apologized for his ipetence.

    Jasmine took a deep breath and patted his arm, she was smiling beautifully like usual. ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel bad. I am fine. Everyone makes a mistake, but please don¡¯t be too harsh. That man is badly injured, he will not harm us.¡± She then walked past him. ¡°We will ask him again tomorrow, for now, you can stay inside the house.¡±

    However, before she could walk out of the room, she turned around and then added.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything to him. I am sure he is a lycan and it will cause trouble if you harm royal family from the other kingdom.¡± It could cause a war, especially if this man was died under their care. ¡°Do you know royal family named Killian?¡±

    Ethan paused, he thought about that for a while. ¡°Killian is amon name. I know three princes with the name Killian, but I am not sure.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Jasmine nodded. ¡°I will be in my bedroom, if you need anything, you can knock on my door.¡±

    Hearing that, Ethan blushed. It felt weird to hear the princess let a warrior like him to knock on her door, but Jasmine didn¡¯t notice that, she then left the room and returned to her

    bedroom.

    She continued to read a few pages of her book before she felt sleepy and finally fell asleep. She still remembered that lycan¡¯s sharp eyes.

    The next day, the warrior that had been sent to look for a healer had not yet return, which was very unusual. This was not the first time for them to be in this area, thus they must have

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    076%

    known a short way to get to the town and then look for a healer, but to the fact that warrior had not yet returned, it could mean there was something not right.

    He should have returned hours ago.

    ¡°Send two more warriors to go to the town and look for him on your way there,¡± Ethan said sternly to his two warriors.

    ¡°What happened here?¡± Jasmine asked, she just woke up and was in her night dress, but she covered it with herfortable cloak.

    ¡°Good morning, princess.¡± Ethan bowed his head politely. He avoided to see her in the eyes, especially right now when she looked so beautiful with her messy hair.

    ¡°Good morning, Ethan,¡± she said with rather hoarse voice and then yawned. ¡°How is it? The warrior has not yet returned with a healer?¡±

    ¡°I have sent two more warriors to check on the matter.¡±

    Jasmine narrowed her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird?¡±

    ****

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

 Claimed 108

    ¡°Probably, the warrior couldn¡¯t find a healer in the nearby town, so he went to the next town that close from here.¡± Ethan gave her reassurances that everything was alright, but Jasmine was still skeptical about the whole thing.

    ¡°Ethan, I think you need to see this matter more carefully.¡± She then nced at the bedroom, where the lycan was still sleeping. ¡°There must be a reason why he was attacked so badly like that. There is something not right and we need to be careful. Whoever that hurt him, could hurt us too.¡±

    Ethan gritted his teeth. He knew about that. ¡°I will check the around around the house again, princess. You don¡¯t need to be worried.¡±

    Jasmine watched as Ethan shifted into his beast and then disappeared behind the wood. The weather was getting cold and the surface of theke had started to froze.

    Once Ethan had disappeared from her sight, Jasmine decided to check on the lycan.

    Aurones Kingdom

    That was the kingdom that was close to thiske house. Jasmine felt she needed to write a letter to her father to ask about that kingdom. She remembered the north kingdom was the same kingdom that alpha Lorent came from.

    Jasmine then sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at this man. He looked slightly pale, but his bleeding had stopped and probably, he was only sleeping right now.

    If it was any normal shifter, who suffered the wounds like he did, they must have been dead within a few minutes. A lycan was amazing.

    ¡°I told you not to call anyone.¡±

    He spoke first before he opened his eyes and this made Jasmine chuckled. ¡°So, you are awake.¡±

    Ken finally opened his an angel right now.

    eyesC0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    and was dumbstruck to see the beauty before his eyes. He was close to think that he was seeing

    eautiful this woman was. ¡°You ¡°You are beautiful.¡± Last night, because of theck of light and with him in a very critical condition, he didn¡¯t see her clearly but now, with the warm light of the sun that filtered through the window, he could see h**

    have not yet

    told me your

    name.¡±

    +5

    ¡°I thought you will ask for food or drink the first thing you opened your eyes.¡± Jasmine tilted her head. She stared at him. He was¡­ mesmerizing. He had tan skin and ck eyes. His short hair looked messy, but adorable. The sight of it made Jasmine had this urge to run her fingers through his hair.

    ¡°No. I think I need your name first.¡±

    Jasmine raised her brows. ¡°I have told you my namest night. Try to remember it.¡± She then stood up and then poured a ss of water for him. She helped rearranged the pillow behind him, so he would be a little bitfortable and didn¡¯t choke when he drank his water. ¡°I will leave you alone, as you tried to remember my name. I will make something for us to eat.¡±

    Ken groaned when Jasmine left the room. Her scent still lingered there, which made Ken grumbled again, his shoulder was still hurt, but he would be fine if he was not being attacked again.

    He ran his fingers through his messy hair and tried to recall what had happened to him. It happened so fast and thest thing he remembered, he fought dozen of beasts to survive. They must have still been out there, waiting for the right opportunity to attack him again.

    In that case, with him staying here, he would put that girl with beautiful eyes in danger, yet he couldn¡¯t move his body freely

    1/2

    09:44 Wed, Sep 11

    and he didn¡¯t think he could shift into his beast and stay in that form for long, let alone to fight.

    He needed at least two to three days to recuperate before he could go back to his normal state.

    +5

    However, Ken didn¡¯t know that aside from the people, who was hunting him down, there was another form of danger that was waiting for him. and this kind of danger was presented by that woman with beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Are you sure this is edible and I can eat it?¡± Ken scrunched his nose when he saw the food that Jasmine brought for him. ¡°I am recovering now, I don¡¯t want to poison myself.¡±

    Jasmine gritted her teeth when she heard that. He didn¡¯t need to be an a***hole just because the look of her food was not good.

    couldn¡¯t ¡°I am eating the same thing, do you think I will poison myself?¡± She said with annoyance in her voice. She waspletely annoyed by this man now. ¡°Stop talking and start eating, you will know if the taste is actually good. Some time, you judge book by its cover you know.¡±

    ¡°I doubt that,¡± he grumbled.

    ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t want to eat, don¡¯t eat.¡± Jasmine took the te, but before she could do that, Ken had secured his food. ¡°I will eat.¡± Ken put the te closer to him and grimaced to see his food, but he forked the egg and put it into his mouth. ¡°You look like you are being forced to eat.¡± Jasmine forked her egg too.

    Because Ken was still too weak to walk to the dining table, thus she brought the food for him. He should be grateful that a princess would bring him the food to his bed.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Jasmine asked after he took the second one.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Edible at best, I will be grateful if I don¡¯t get stomachache.¡±

    ¡°You know what? I start to regret to save youst night. I should have stabbed you to death.¡±

    However, instead of being angry, Ken wasughing at herment. ¡°You are too ki freaked you out.¡±

    o do that. I am sure, my

    blood

    Later that night, there was avnche and the three warriors that went to the town never returned.

    Read my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

    Çú

 Claimed 109

    The avnche happenedte at night and all the seven warriors stayed in theke house because it was the safest ce for them and Jasmine obviously let them inside, more so, this was no longer a vacation that she had imagined.

    She didn¡¯t expect to have a lycan in her house, but it was not that bad. At the very least, with this all the people would be

    safe.

    Jasmine watched how Ken groaned and threw a dagger look at Ethan when he helped him to change the bandage, the man was very grumpy. Probably most of the lycan like that, because her father, if he was not with his little family, he would be grumpy too with other people, even when he was with his royal beta and royal ga**a.

    ¡°Do you think the three of them will be alright?¡± Jasmine asked, she turned her head and then watched the dark sky out there. Because of the avnche, they needed to find another way to the town, because they needed to buy groceries, for now the groceries would be enough tost for a week, but after that, they didn¡¯t have other choice, but to go to the town.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we will need a healer again at this point, princess. He looks fine to me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a healer.¡±

    It was rare to see the two of them agreed on something and this made Jasmine smiled. ¡°The two of you finally get along well.¡±

    Ken rolled his eyes sarcastically. ¡°Seriously.¡± He clicked his tongue. ¡°The only thing that I like about him is his food. That¡¯s it.¡± Compared to Jasmine¡¯s, obviously, it was not even aparison.

    Hearing that, it was Jasmine, who was ring at him this time. She scrunched her nose with annoyance.

    Meanwhile, Ethan didn¡¯t say anything and after he was done, he patted his wound rather harshly and this made Ken snarled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡±

    ¡°Ethan, you can leave. I have something to talk with him,¡± Jasmine said, dismissing Ethan from the room.

    At first, Ethan looked a little bit hesitated, but then he nodded and left the two of them. Actually, there was something that he had to take care of.

    Three of his warriors had not yet returned, in that case, he needed to find out what happened with them, but he couldn¡¯t send another warrior to look for them, especially after the avnche. It would be too risky and it would weaken the protection around the princess, more so when they had not yet learned about what and why Ken was being attacked, he had not yet told them about his original and what happened.

    Ethan was sure that princess Jasmine right now was asking those questions. Therefore, he left her with him.

    And he was

    right. Jasmine didn¡¯t beat around the bush when she asked him the question.

    ¡°So, you are lycan. I assumed, you came from the royal blood. Is it Aurones Kingdom?¡± she guessed.

    Ken tilted his head. ¡°Yes. I am and apparently, I am the future king of Aurones Kingdom since my father was killed by my brother. Really, nice right?¡±

    He said all of those things with light tone, as if it was not something shocking.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.

    ¡°Wh- what? But, I didn¡¯t know about that¡­ that should be a big news, right?¡± But then, Jasmine remembered that she had been on the road for two weeks and rarely stayed in a city or town, because she chose to be in rural area. People there, didn¡¯t care about politic, especially the one that happened in different kingdom.

    ¡°Obviously. I don¡¯t even see thating.¡± Ken ran his fingers through his hair and he looked more upset than sad.

    1/2

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    09:45 Wed, Sep 11

    ¡°I am sorry for what happened.¡±

    +5

    ¡°Don¡¯t be,¡± K¨¦n said, he waved his hand nonchntly. ¡°My father is a sh**y king. My brother is no different. He usurped the throne because he is not happy because I am the crown prince.¡± He shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I became the crown prince because I was born from the queen, while he was born from mistress, is not like he didn¡¯t know about that since the beginning.¡±

    Jasmine tried to remember the king from Aurones Kingdom, she didn¡¯t have any recollection from that northern kingdom.

    ¡°Apparently, my brother has been gathering many supporters and one of them is alpha Lorent from Redwood pack.¡± Ken winked at him and then chuckled. ¡°I heard he was your destined mate. What a pity I couldn¡¯t attend your birthday, princess.¡±

    ¡°You know about that?¡±

    ¡°You can say that you are famous among the nobles. You are thetest hot gossips for those women.¡±

    Jasmine groaned. She knew it would happen like that and she hated it when someone preyed into her life. Well, they couldn¡¯t be med, since that was quite a scene actually.

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯te for your birthday, but I gave you gifts. Have you opened them?¡±

    Jasmine grinned. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t touch any of my gifts.¡± After the whole ordeal, she only wanted to leave the pce and didn¡¯t have any desire to open any gifts.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I am here to be your gift then.¡± Ken opened his arms, gesturing that he would give himself to her as a gift. Hearing that, Jasmine made a face. ¡°No, thanks. I don¡¯t think I want it. I don¡¯t need it.¡±

    Both of them thenughed, but suddenly, Ethan entered the room. He didn¡¯t even knock on the door and from his expression, they knew there was something not right.

    ¡°There are a few beasts that we spotted in the woods,¡± he informed them.

    ¡°That must be the warriors that have been chasing me down,¡± Ken said, his happy go lucky expression suddenly changed, as he got off the bed. ¡°Shut down all the light and locked the door. I am sure there are not many of them.¡±

    Ethan didn¡¯t like to be told what to do, but he did it anyway.

    Çú

 Claimed 110

    In this circumstances, what Ken said was the right thing to do, therefore, Ethan didn¡¯t have any other choice, but to relent.

    Within a few seconds, all the light had been put off and theke house became so dark. The cold wind blew from the opened window.

    Ethan and the rest of six warriors stood guards at the door of the house. There were two entrances, but there was a big window on the second floor and each of the room that could be an ess to enter the house.

    In that case, they had to stay vignte, while thinking what they had to do next.

    Jasmine stayed inside the room with Ken. All of them didn¡¯t sleep a wink at all. The anxiety was building up in the air.

    ¡°What are you nning to do?¡± Jasmine asked Ken finally after a long silent. She was sitting on a single chair, where she was hiding in the darkness. Ethan told her not to get close to the window and she obeyed his order just because he looked so anxious about her safety.

    ¡°I am going to meet with my warriors at the border. They must have been waiting for me there.¡±

    ¡°Where are your warriors at right now?¡± Jasmine stared at the murky sky. The night had grown very quiet, aside from the howling winds in the distance.

    ¡°Great Darren city, I have stationed my warriors there just in case something like this happened and all I need to do is to reach them.¡± He would be able to strike back if he reached them in time and before his brother found that ce and attack them first.

    ¡°Great Darren city is two days away from here,¡± Jasmine said, she contemted it for a while. ¡°With your current condition it will be hard for you to move.¡±

    Kenughed at thatment, he shook his head. ¡°King Alexander is a lycan too. You know that a lycan is very hard to be killed. There is nothing for you to be worried about. I healed very fast. I will be fine tomorrow. It¡¯s only me being spoiled, as I stayed here a little bit longer to enjoy the princess¡¯s beauty.¡±

    Jasmine rolled her eyes when she heard that. Obviously, she wouldn¡¯t believe that, after spending some time with him, she knew how flirtatious this man could be.

    No, thanks, she wouldn¡¯t fall into such easy trap.

    ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy yours.¡±

    It meant to be an insult, but Ken didn¡¯t seem to see it that way, as he started tough when he saw how agitated Jasmine was. ¡°Don¡¯t worry princess, I know that you only didn¡¯t want to admit it, because I believe, my face is my best asset. I have better chance with woman with my face than my status.¡±

    Jasmine rolled her eyes at thatment, because obviously, he became more and more insufferable.

    But then, they heard the noise at a certain part of the house and a ss was broken. Ken¡¯s face turned serious, as he the bed and looked out the window and the door, as if he was anticipating someone might burst from the two entrances. It was so dark outside, therefore, it was hard to tell whether they had an uninvitedpany or not.

    got

    off

    ¡°Come closer to me,¡± Ken said, as he beckoned Jasmine toe to him. She was sitting at the other side of the room, hiding in the darkness, but Ken needed to check what thatmotion about, he couldn¡¯t leave her alone in this room. Mindlink Ethan what¡¯s going on.¡±

    ¡°I have.¡± Jasmine walked toward him. ¡°He said he is checking on it and told me to stay inside the room.

    09:45 Wed, Sep 11

    87%1Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    Ken furrowed his brows, he nced at the window again, as he pushed Jasmine behind him. He was ready for a fight if there was really enemy around thiske house.

    And he was right. The enemy had been lurking this house and despite their effort to make them thinking there was no one here, they didn¡¯t buy it.

    Because a secondter, they heard themotion. Vicious growls and roars filled the air.

    As if on cue, a beast crashed against the window and the ss sttered around on the floor. There were two beasts and Ken immediately shifted out of instinct, while Jasmine was screaming.

    +5

    The lycan fought the two beasts at the same time, but it was hard, since he was not yet fully recovered and with this fight, he gained new wounds.

    Seeing this, after her initial shocked was worn off, Jasmine immediately shifted into her beast too and then helped Ken.

    She fought one of the beasts and killed him..

    The adrenaline was too high, she didn¡¯t even realize that she made the first kill tonight. Once they managed to kill the two beasts, Jasmine shifted back into her human form, where she was sitting on the floor with blood on her face.

    Her expression was ashen. She was trembling.

    ¡°Are you, okay?¡±

    ¡°I- I just killed someone¡­¡± She stammered and Ken immediately understood.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, they are trying to kill you first.¡± He knelt down in front of Jasmine, he made himself appeared less intimidating. ¡°You did a good job by killing him first.¡±

    Jasmine shifted her attention toward him. She didn¡¯t know what to feel about that. Was that even apliment for her?

    Suddenly, the door was mmed opened. Ken was ready to shift into his beast again, as Jasmine screeched, but thankfully, it was Ethan.

    However, the warrior was not happy when he saw the princess was covered in blood.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?! What happened?!¡± Ethan immediately approached Jasmine, as he shoved Ken to the side. The lycan groaned, because he was also injured.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry. I am fine. This is not my blood.¡± Jasmine hastily exined herself because she was scared. She had never seen Ethan this angry before. ¡°I am fine.¡±

    Q

 Claimed 111

    ¡°How many that you and your warriors had killed?¡± Ken asked. He had informed Ethan that at very least, there were a dozen of them out there.

    89%

    +5

    The avnche could be their downfall, but also their blessing, because when they couldn¡¯t go out from this ce until they found another alternative way out, the enemy couldn¡¯t ask for more help.too.

    In that case, they only needed to deal with the current enemy, unless, by some miracle, they managed to get a back up.

    ¡°Five.¡± Ethan wiped the blood from Jasmine¡¯s face with his sleeve.

    ¡°It will be seven¡­¡± Ken murmured. There would be five more warrior out there,¡± he calcted it.

    ¡°Are you sure there are only twelve of them?¡± Ethan asked. He didn¡¯t look happy at all to find themselves in this situation, which was understandable, since it put Jasmine¡¯s safety at risk.

    In his opinion, Ken shouldn¡¯t havee to this ce at all. He should have stayed away from here, or once they learned what happened, he should have kicked him out.

    The problem with the other kingdom was not his business and what happened to him was not his concern, his duty was only for the princess.

    On the other hand, Ken seemed to catch the animosity that Ethan exuded and he shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°As far as I knew, there are only twelve of them.¡± Ken then walked toward the door. ¡°I will check it out myself.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what do you think you are going to do?¡± Jasmine immediately stood up and stopped Ken from leaving the room. ¡°Are you crazy? You are going to kill yourself if you were going out there alone. You are still not fully recovered.¡±

    ¡°He is a lycan, princess. You don¡¯t need to worry,¡± Ethan said, he didn¡¯t seem to care and it was very obvious.

    However, Jasmine ignored thatment and came to Ken, she grabbed his hand to stop him from leaving, which surprised the lycan.

    ¡°What is it, princess? Did I manage to charm you and now you are so worried about me that you

    couldn¡¯t bear to see me in difficult situation?¡± Ken smirked and Ethan felt

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    Chapter III

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    this sudden urge to knock some sense into his head. This man didn¡¯t know any better.

    ¡°Don¡¯t overvalue yourself. You are not that important,¡± Jasmine said lightly. ¡°I stop you from leaving because there is no guarantee that your enemy will stop harassing us once you disappeared, unless you wanted to make your departure known to them.¡±

    In another word, if Ken nned to leave this ce quietly, those warriors that had been looking for him, would still harass Jasmine and her warriors, unless they learned that Ken had gone, but if he made his departure known, with his current condition, he wouldn¡¯t be able to make to Great Darren city.

    Ken¡¯s face fell when he heard that and Ethan snickered. He liked this princess more and more.

    ¡°You are so cruel. Do you know that?¡± Ken furrowed his brows, but Jasmine simply shrugged her shoulder, she didn¡¯t think much about that, as she continued.

    ¡°If you wanted to leave, make a big entrance from this house. So, those warriors out there could follow you instead of bothering me and warriors.¡±

    my

    Ken clicked his tongue and then shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know that you are this cruel princess.¡± However, despite what he said, there was this admiration in his eyes for her.

    ¡°Oh, you judged me too fast if what I suggested is cruel. Because I can be even crueler than this.¡± Jasmine shrugged her shoulders nonchntly and then let go of his hand.

    Ken contemted his option and for Ethan¡¯s annoyance, the lycan decided he was going to stay for another day until he was fully recovered and could take those five warriors on his own.

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t have a tendency for suicide, so I will stay here until tomorrow and made a full recover first before I left.¡±

    ¡°You are so shameless,¡± Ethan said through his gritted teeth, but Ken simply smirked at him, as if there was nothing wrong with his decision. ¡°You are going to stand on guard along with the other warriors too, since you look for shelter with the princess¡¯s protection.¡±

    ¡°I am the king.¡± Ken raised his brows at him, couldn¡¯t believe the audacity of this warrior to call him out.

    Yet, Ethan was having none of it. ¡°You are only a refugee by now.¡±

    ¡°I will talk to king Alexander once I managed to return to my kingdom andin about you.¡± Ken crossed his arms in front of his chest. ¡°You should be grateful to help

    19.49

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    me in time of need, because when I sat on the throne, I will not forget that, so don¡¯t

    cross me.¡±

    Ethan smirked this time. ¡°Yeah, the word here is ¡®if¡¯. I hope you a good luck for tomorrow.¡± He took Jasmine¡¯s hand to go out of the room. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, I will tell the king himself that you have jeopardized the safety of his daughter. Let¡¯s see what he is going to say about that.¡±

    Ken really wanted to hit this warrior on the head. He couldn¡¯t believe a warrior would talk to him like this, while Jasmine only enjoyed their banter and didn¡¯t do anything.

    Well, it was not like they were going to kill each other, so all was well.

    However, before they could continue with whatever grievances that they had, they heard the sound from the second floor and another vicious growls, but this time, apparently there were more than four beasts.

    Without a second thought, Ethan immediately mindlinked the warrior, who should have stood on guard there and learned something mortifying.

    ¡°What is it? What happened?¡± Ken immediately asked when he saw the change on Ethan and Jasmine¡¯s face.

    ¡°You said there are only five warriors left?!¡± Ethan hissed viciously.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that¡¯s the exact number! That¡¯s my prediction! How many are they?¡±

    ¡°FIFTY!¡±

    ***

 Claimed 112

    ¡°Fifty?!¡± Ken couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. That was way too many of them than he previously thought. ¡°Do you mean one five, right?¡±

    ¡°Five zero!¡± Ethan snapped. ¡°Or at least, that¡¯s how many of them that my warriors could count.¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.

    10

    ¡°How they know? Are they here already? Inside the house?¡± Ken looked around the house, as if he expected to see or heard fifty beasts ransacked the entire ce.

    ¡°No, my warriors spotted them, they are ten minutes away from here. Three of their warriors just tried to barge in again, but my warriors had taken care of them¡± That must be themotion that they heard earlier. Ethan shook his head. ¡°There is no way we will be able to fight against fifty warriors!¡±

    Ken knew their predicament. He contemted his next move. ¡°It¡¯s not safe to stay here. We need to leave.¡±

    ¡°You put the princess¡¯s safety at risk.¡± Ethan pointed out the obvious and he was not even sorry to make the lycan felt bad about it.

    This time, Ken¡¯s easy going look had disappeared and he contemted his next move. ¡°We are going to go separate ways,¡± he decided.

    That was the same thing that Ethan wanted to suggest, but Ken had voiced it out first.

    ¡°You better gathered all the thing that you needed. I am sure there must be a way to reach the nearby town. I will try my best to lure all of them to me.¡± Ken had this serious expression on his face.

    ¡°Wait! You can¡¯t go out like that, they are going to kill you.¡± Jasmine stopped them. She looked panic when she saw Ethan agreed with that n and they were going to do exactly that. ¡°You can¡¯t do that. That¡¯s a suicidal attempt. You could die!¡± She looked mortified. ¡°You said it yourself that you couldn¡¯t fight properly because you are still recovering, what chance do you stand against fifty warriors?¡±

    ¡°That will be his business, princess. We need to ensure your safety first,¡± Ethan said. He knew the princess wouldn¡¯t agree with the n, that was why he let Ken who voiced it out.

    ¡°No.¡± Jasmine changed her tune immediately when she knew the situation was like this. ¡°You are die. That¡¯s a suicide attempt.¡±

    going to

    Ken gave her his signature smirk, as he pressed his lips to stop himself from smiling. ¡°What? Is the princess worried about me?¡±

    ¡°I am not.¡± Jasmine immediately shook her head to deny the usation. ¡°It¡¯s simply because it will weigh on my conscience if I let you die out there.¡±

    Ethan urged them. ¡°There is no time left for discussion We need to leave now.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Jasmine came up with something. ¡°Why don¡¯t we all go to Great Darren city? We can find shelter there. You said it yourself that your warriors are there, right? We need to go there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s two days away from here!¡± Ethan protested. The thing that he didn¡¯t say out loud was; he didn¡¯t think they would survive the night if they had to fight against fifty warriors, let alone a two days journey in

    this situation.

    The weather had be so cold and now the night was chilly. They would have a hard time to go that city.

    ¡°It will be safe for us to go to the town. We will find a way to reach there.¡± Their other six warriors wouldn¡¯t be able to fight against fifty warriors, but they could be very sneaky and reached the town instead, after that, they could ask for help from the warriors that were stationed there.

    ¡°No. If we go to the town, Ken needs toe with us too. It will be safe that way. He will still need to recuperate and from the town, he can continue his journey to Great Darren city.¡±

    ¡°You will put all the people in the town in danger, princess. We don¡¯t know what those fifty warriors would do. You don¡¯t want to see them ran rampant in the town in order to find him, right?¡±

    Ethan knew what he said was rather harsh, because it would force Jasmine to back down, if she learned she would bring trouble to other people.

    Right at that time, one of his warriors mindlinked him and informed that their enemy was only two minutes away.

    ¡°There is no time for this discussion!¡± Earlier he had mindlinked the other warriors to pack what they needed to go away from the house. ¡°We need to leave now. They were two minutes away.¡±

    Ethan then grabbed Jasmine¡¯s hand and they rushed out of the room. The other warriors had been waiting for them and Ethan tossed a bag to Ken.

    ¡°We can only help you until here.¡±

    The bag that he tossed to Ken filled with food that would enough for two days journey and that was the only thing Ethan could do to show his kindness to Ken¡¯s perilous situation.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ken smiled and then when his eyes fell on Jasmine, his smile grew brighter. He caressed her head. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look, it almost like you are thinking that I am going to die.¡±

    Jasmine said nothing, but she swatted his hand from her head before Ethan could break his bone and his to survive the enemy would close to zero.

    ¡°We need to leave now,¡± Ethan urged them and then he took Jasmine¡¯s hand to go out of the house from the front door. ¡°Make sure they saw you, so they will not follow us.¡±

    Ken raised his hand to make an ¡®ok¡¯ sign. ¡°Go now.¡±

    Jasmine gave thest look on Ken before she shifted into her beast, she heard from the mindlink of the warrior that scouted the area that the fifty warriors were there. Jasmine herself could smell their scent in

    the cold air.

    She hoped, Ken would survive this. She couldn¡¯t bear the thought that his chance was very slim.

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    75%

    Jasmine was afraid that something bad would happen to Ken, but at first, she needed to worry about herself and the warrior with her, because right now, not like what they had nned, the fifty warriors had split into two parties.

    While one party chased after Ken, the other party wasing after Jasmine and her warriors.

    There were only seven warriors, including Ethan right now and there was no way they could fight against more than two dozen hard battle warriors like them.

    Therefore, their only chance to survive was to reach the town as quickly as possible.

    Jasmine felt her lungs were going to burst because she was running very fast in her wolf form, but still, it was not enough.

    She was the smallest, the more delicate beast among her seven warriors. She was not a fighter and more so, running in this weather was rather difficult.

    But in the end, she couldn¡¯t push herself and copse. Because of that, Jasmine couldn¡¯t preserver her beast form and was forced to shift into her human form.

    Ethan and the other warriors immediately encircled her from their enemy.

    ¡°Are you, okay princess?¡± Ethan asked, he approached Jasmine in his human form, as he helped Jasmine to sit down and check on her. She was fine, but it was very obvious to see that she was not in the best condition. The harsh cold wind made it more difficult for Jasmine to move.

    ¡°I- I am fine¡­¡± Jasmine stuttered. She gulped down with difficulty, as she looked around her and then realized she had slowed them down, soon enough they would be surrounded by their enemies, if she didn¡¯t immediately get up andpose herself.

    However, the problem was; Jasmine didn¡¯t have the energy to keep going.

    ¡°You need to go¡­. I don¡¯t think I can continue¡­¡± Jasmine said, panting heavily.

    ¡°Obviously not.¡± Ethan¡¯s tone was sharp and determined and Jasmine had expected this would be the answer.

    She knew Ethan and the other warriors wouldn¡¯t leave her alone to save themselves, if anything, they would have sacrificed themselves for her safety. That was why she felt so bad when she became a burden for them.

    If anything happened to them, their blood would be in her hand, She was so scared.

    ¡°Come on, princess. We will go out of the woods and reach the town. We will be alright.¡± Ethan helped Jasmine to stand up and then shift into their beasts again, as they continued to run away.

    Jasmine had never run this long before, not to mention against the cold night wind. She was trying to keep up with the warriors, but it was obvious that they were slowing down to amodate her.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

    In this rate, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. Let alone escape, Jasmine would be the one, who dragged them down to their own death and she couldn¡¯t imagine that.

    [You need to leave¡­ you need to go on¡­ I can¡¯t¡­]

    She tried to mindlink them and in the end, she shifted back into her human form, because her body couldn¡¯t preserve her beast form, due to the exhaustion. She shook her head.

    ¡°I-I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t go on. Please, please leave¡­¡±

    Ethan immediately approached Jasmine and squatted down next to her, worried etched on his eyes when he saw her current

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    condition.

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    ¡°No, princess, we will not leave you.¡± He then ordered the other six warriors to keep an eye on their surroundings. Their enemy were close and there was only one way for them; fight back.

    It was a vain hope for them to be able to fight two dozen warriors, but they had no other choice.

    Jasmien felt so bad for her warriors, they wouldn¡¯t be in this dire situation if it was not for her, if she didn¡¯t insist to go to theke house just because she couldn¡¯t handle her heartbreak, they wouldn¡¯t be in this dangerous situation.

    She wanted to ask for their forgiveness, but she forced her mind to think of a solution. She bit her lip to fight back the coldness and then remembered something.

    ¡°No¡­ there is a way.¡± Jasmine was trembling now. ¡°There is a way for us to survive this¡­¡±

    ***

    D**n it!

    Ken was anxious, he could see that not all the warriors that came after him, chased him, which meant half of them wereing after Jasmine and the other.

    He couldn¡¯t let anything happen to Jasmine. Not only because she was not involved in this matter, but also because she was the princess of this kingdom, if anything happened to her, king Alexander wouldn¡¯t let his kingdom off the h**k. The rtionship between two kingdoms would be ruined and it would be the innocent lives that would be the sacrifice.

    Ken could only pray they wouldn¡¯t mess with Jasmine, yet he couldn¡¯t help, but worried for her wellbeing.

    At this point, Ken had fought five warriors and his energy depleted very fast. He needed to rest before he ran again, but he didn¡¯t have the luxury.

    At the same time, a beast jumped on his back and took him down to the ground, which made the lycan growled in anger. He tried to fight back this beast, but it was so hard, because the next second, there were three more that jumped into the fight.

    In a blink of an eye, Ken had to fight four warriors at the same time.

    [How dare you! I am going to have your head on the spear!] Ken roared to them through mindlink and he could feel how it still affected them, after all, his rank was way higher than them, but it was not enough, since they had shifted their loyalty to his brother.

    [We are sorry that it came to this prince Ken, but we have an order.]

    [Let me go and I will spare you.]

    [We can¡¯t. This is direct order from the king.]

    Ken expected that much.

    ***

    Read

    my new story: THE DARKEST OBESSESSION.

 Claimed 114

    Jasmine was afraid that something bad would happen to Ken, but at first, she needed to worry about herself and the warrior with her, because right now, not like what they had nned, the fifty warriors had split into two parties.

    While one party chased after Ken, the other party wasing after Jasmine and her warriors.

    There were only seven warriors, including Ethan right now and there was no way they could fight against more than two dozen hard battle warriors like them.

    Therefore, their only chance to survive was to reach the town as quickly as possible.

    Jasmine felt her lungs were going to burst because she was running very fast in her wolf form, but still, it was not enough.

    She was the smallest, the more delicate beast among her seven warriors. She was not a fighter and more so, running in this weather was rather difficult.

    C

    But in the end, she couldn¡¯t push herself and copse. Because of that, Jasmine couldn¡¯t preserver her beast form and was forced to shift into her human form.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.

    Ethan and the other warriors immediately encircled her from their enemy.

    ¡°Are you, okay princess?¡± Ethan asked, he approached Jasmine in his human form, as he helped Jasmine to sit down and check on her. She was fine, but it was very obvious to see that she was not in the best condition. The harsh cold wind made it more difficult for Jasmine to move.

    ¡°I- I am fine¡­¡± Jasmine stuttered. She gulped down with difficulty, as she looked around her and then realized she had slowed them down, soon enough they would be surrounded by their enemies, if she didn¡¯t immediately get up andpose herself.

    However, the problem was; Jasmine didn¡¯t have the energy to keep going.

    ¡°You need to go¡­ I don¡¯t think I can continue¡­¡± Jasmine said, panting heavily.

    ¡°Obviously not.¡± Ethan¡¯s tone was sharp and determined and Jasmine had expected this would be the answer.

    She knew Ethan and the other warriors wouldn¡¯t leave her alone to save themselves, if anything, they would have sacrificed themselves for her safety. That was why she felt so bad when she became a burden for them.

    If anything happened to them, their blood would be in her hand. She was so scared.

    O as they continued to run away.

    ¡°Come on, princess. We will go out of the woods and reach the town. We will be alright.¡± Ethan helped Jasmine to stand up and then shift into their beasts

    Jasmine had never run this long before, not to mention against the cold night wind. She was trying to keep up with the warriors, but it was obvious that they were slowing down to amodate her.

    In this rate, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. Let alone escape, Jasmine would be the one, who dragged them down to their own death and she couldn¡¯t imagine that.

    [You need to leave¡­ you need to go on¡­ I can¡¯t¡­]

    She tried to mindlink them and in the end, she shifted back into her human form, because her body couldn¡¯t preserve her beast form, due to the exhaustion. She shook her head.

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    ¡°1- I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t go on. Please, please leave¡­¡±

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    +5

    Ethan immediately approached Jasmine and squatted down next to her, worried etched on his eyes when he saw her current condition.

    ¡°No, princess, we will not leave you.¡± He then ordered the other six warriors to keep an eye on their surroundings. Their enemy were close and there was only one way for them; fight back.

    It was a vain hope for them to be able to fight two dozen warriors, but they had no other choice.

    Jasmien felt so bad for her warriors, they wouldn¡¯t be in this dire situation if it was not for her, if she didn¡¯t insist to go to theke house just because she couldn¡¯t handle her heartbreak, they wouldn¡¯t be in this dangerous situation.

    she

    She wanted to ask for their forgiveness, but she forced her mind to think of a solution. She bit her lip to fight back the coldness and then remembered something.

    ¡°No¡­ there is a way.¡± Jasmine was trembling now. ¡°There is a way for us to survive this¡­¡±

    ***

    **n it!

    Ken was anxious, he could see that not all the warriors that came after him, chased him, which meant half of them wereing after Jasmine and the other.

    He couldn¡¯t let anything happen to Jasmine. Not only because she was not involved in this matter, but also because she was the princess of this kingdom, if anything happened to her, king Alexander wouldn¡¯t let his kingdom off the h**k. The rtionship between two kingdoms would be ruined and it would be the innocent lives that would be the sacrifice.

    Ken could only pray they wouldn¡¯t mess with Jasmine, yet he couldn¡¯t help, but worried for her wellbeing.

    At this point, Ken had fought five warriors and his energy depleted very fast. He needed to rest before he ran again, but he didn¡¯t have the luxury.

    At the same time, a beast jumped on his back and took him down to the ground, which made the lycan growled in anger. He tried to fight back this beast, but it was so hard, because the next second, there were three more that jumped into the fight,

    In a blink of an eye, Ken had to fight four warriors at the same time.

    [How dare you! I am going to have your head on the spear!] Ken roared to them through mindlink and he could feel how it still affected them, after all, his rank was way higher than them, but it was not enough, since they had shifted their loyalty to his brother.

    [We are sorry that it came to this prince Ken, but we have an order.]

    [Let me go and I will spare you.]

    [We can¡¯t. This is direct order from the king.]

    Ken expected that much.

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    Kiss

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    Ken was bleeding profusely, as he shifted back into his human form, because he couldn¡¯t preserve his beast one, since he was badly injured.

    His old wound reopened again and there were additional wounds on top of that. His energy had depleted. Chapter 114

    He couldn¡¯t believe that he had to hide from these warriors. As much as his body was in pain, it hurt his ego.

    ¡°D***n it.¡± Ken leaned his back against the tree and when he looked up, snow fell from the murky sky. It was the first snow. ¡°Snow¡­¡± He muttered under his breath. He was feeling dizzy and he knew he would be unconscious soon, but he tried to keep it together.

    He could die if he fell unconscious now. He needed to move. This coldness would kill him once he fell unconscious, there was a high chance that he wouldn¡¯t be able to wake up again.

    Breathing heavily, Ken stood up and walked away gingerly, he sharpened his senses, just in case, he heard something in the distance. Just in case those warriors were close to him.

    It would take longer than two days to reach his warriors in his condition, if he could reach them at all.

    Ken shook his head. He couldn¡¯t go on in this condition. The safest n for him was to go to the nearby town, which meant he would see that princess again.

    But before that, he needed to shake off the warriors that came after him, let them thinking that he went toward different direction.

    With that in mind, Ken battled his sleepiness and his tired body.

    Thankfully, he was bleeding profusely, which meant, it would be easy for him to lead them to wrong direction, but once he stopped bleeding, he would go toward the opposite route.

    The snow would cover his trace and they wouldn¡¯t know where exactly he had gone.

    It sounded like an easy and simple n, but in actuality, it was so hard, especially when your body refused to cooperate with

    you.

    At this point, Ken only moved with a mere sheer willpower.

    He wondered if Jasmine had managed to reach the town by now. He hoped she was fine be able to protect her.

    and the warriors around her would

    However, little did Ken now, at the same time, Jasmine was hiding inside a c**k of a tree. She knew this cr**k because she used to y around this area when she was here with her family. She would hide here with her little brother.

    The tree was so big, so the c**k within was enough to amodate two grown up people.

    Right now, she stayed there with Ethan, while the six warriors went ahead to the town to ask for help from the warriors there, since there was no way they could fight their enemies when they were greatly outnumbered like this.

    ¡°Are you, okay princess?¡± Ethan asked. He looked at Jasmine with worried. He was in high alert, as he assessed their surroundings, just in case they were being attacked or their enemies were too close and they couldn¡¯t escape.

    ¡°I am fine,

    you don¡¯t need to worry,¡± Jasmine said. She felt better after she took a rest, but the coldness didn¡¯t want to go away, especially when she saw the first snow. ¡°No wonder it is very cold. It¡¯s snow¡­¡± She looked up to the sky and

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    contemted.

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    Meanwhile, Ethan had his eyes on the princess. She looked ethereal, so beautiful and delicate, but then he immediately averted his gaze, knowing how inappropriate that was. The tip of his ears turned red.

    ¡°We will be fine, princess. You will be fine. I will make sure of it.¡± Ethan was determined.

    Jasmine smiled, she shifted her attention toward Ethan and shed him a brilliant smile. ¡°I know. You are here, there is nothing for me to worry about.¡±

    +5

    Ethan blushed, he lowered his head. If he could, he wanted to stay in this situation for a little bit longer, but of course, it was only his wishful wish.

    ¡°The snow will cover our traces,¡± Ethan informed Jasmine to reassure her that they would be safe. ¡°You need to take some rest. Sleep, princess. I will stay to watch our surroundings.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s take turn.¡± Jasmine yawned, she pulled her legs and hugged herself, as she rested her head on her knees. She was tired and it was too cold for her, but Ethan was right, she needed to rest, just in case they had to run again. ¡°Wake me up after three hours, okay? You can sleep and I will watch.¡±

    Now Ethan had mentioned about sleeping, she couldn¡¯t help it, but feeling sleepy.

    On the other hand, Ethan smiled when he heard that and then nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± But, he had no intention to wake her up, he would let her sleep as long as she needed. He would stay awake for her.

    She would scold him for sure when she woke up, but Ethan would be fine with that, as long as he could keep her safe. That was his main duty after all.

    A few minutester, Jasmine was too tired, she fell asleep so quickly, her breathing was even and her hair fell to the side of her face, as she snored softly.

    Ethan took the advantage to watch her sleeping face. It was not every day for him to be able to see her in such vulnerable state. She looked so beautiful and he had this urge to touch her, to brush away the hair from her face.

    And somehow, his craziness won, he stretched out his hand and brushed away her hair lightly, so he could see her face without any obstacle. Her full lips were slightly ajar and her longshes rested on her cheekbones.

    How could someone be this beautiful?

    Ethan wanted to caress her cheek, but he held back himself and retracted his hand. He chided himself for crossing the line.

    ***

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    ? ¡¢ ????, 68%=

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    He was not sure since when he was attracted by the princess. Because as far as he remembered, he had this strong feeling for her even when he saw her for the first time.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.

    Jasmine might not remember what happened back then, but that moment would be forever etched in his memories.

    Ethan remembered when he found the princess was sitting under a maple tree, reading her book for her younger brother, who was only two at that time. She had so much love in her eyes when she stared at the little prince and because of that the way her eyes were shining made her beautiful.

    It sounded silly, but that was what Ethan felt at that time.

    He looked up and stared at the murky dark sky, as the snow fell and melted on the ground. He hoped his warriors managed to reach the town and ask for help from the warriors there, so he could bring back the princess to the safety. He couldn¡¯t bear the thought that she might be in a great danger.

    He would rather lose his life than to put her in a great danger.

    And for the rest of the night, he stayed awake, staring at her peaceful sleeping face and that was enough for a lowly warrior like Ethan. It was more than enough than he deserved.

    But when the first ray of the sunlight pierced through the gloomy night and fell on her face, Jasmine stirred awake, she groaned and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

    The pale sunlight gave some warm for them, but the snow fromst night had covered the whole ground.

    ¡°Hm? It¡¯s morning?¡± Jasmine rubbed her eyes and stretched her body, but when she saw Ethan, she remembered something important. ¡°You didn¡¯t wake me up!¡± She said with annoyance.

    ¡°You sleep very deeply, I didn¡¯t dare to wake you up,¡± Ethan replied, he had thought about this answer and knew that Jasmine wouldn¡¯t be happy with that.

    ¡°Still, you should wake me up, Ethan!¡± Jasmine was upset. She looked around her and was sure they were safe. ¡°Sleep, I will stay. At least, you can get a few hours to sleep.¡±

    Ethan shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need to sleep, princess. I will be fine, more importantly, we need to move now.¡± Ethan then crawled out of the **k from the tree and stretched his body.

    ¡°But, you didn¡¯t sleep the whole night, you need to rest too,¡± Jasmine protested, she followed him out and looked at her surroundings.

    ¡°I will be fine, princess,¡± he repeated the same thing. ¡°We need to move now.¡±

    Jasmine was not happy with this. ¡°If you wanted to protect me, you should take care of yourself first. How could you protect me if you are not in one hundred percent fit?¡±

    Ethan chuckled, he then apologized for that to appease her, but that was not what Jasmine wanted. ¡°We need to go to the town, maybe we can meet with the other warriors half way,¡± Ethan suggested and Jasmine agreed with him.

    It would save them so much time too.

    With the renewed energy that she got after she slept the whole night, Jasmine shifted into her beast and followed Ethan¡¯s beast toward the direction to the town.

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    It still amazed Jasmine about how easy he could navigate the direction, because as someone, who didn¡¯t even know where was north and south, she was clueless.

    It took them around eight hours to reach the town, more so, they had to take a long route, because there was avnchest night, not to mention they needed to stop and take a rest. Thankfully, the warriors that chased after them were nowhere in their sight.

    Probably, they didn¡¯t reallye for them, since their main target was Ken. There was no use to get an extra trouble, which was good for Jasmine and Ethan.

    However, Jasmine was worried about Ken. Would he be alright? Would he manage to reach Great Darren city?

    Was he being captured? That was why, the warriors that came after them had backed down and left them alone because they managed to get what they wanted?

    There was a lot of things that swarmed in Jasmine¡¯s mind, but she didn¡¯t want to make Ethan worried even more about her, thus she didn¡¯t voice out what she was thinking.

    [We are almost there,] Ethan said through mindlink to encourage Jasmine, who looked like she was about to copse again. She really needed to exercise. Jasmine made a m**l note to start training the moment she returned to the pce.

    [Wait.] Ethan halted. His beast sniffed the air and out of instinct, Jasmine followed his gesture, but she couldn¡¯t catch anything that was not right. She was not trained for that.

    [Wat happened? Something is wrong?] Jasmine looked nervous. They were close to the town, what could happen? [Yes, something is not right,] Ethan replied. Through the mindlink, Jasmine could feel his anxiety.

    [What¡¯s going on?]

    Ethan then told her to stay there, as he went to check the town, but Jasmine didn¡¯t want to be left alone and then followed him.

    But, what they saw was very devastating.

    [No way¡­] Jasmine was shocked, she was dumbfounded to see the town had been ransacked. The closer you got, the thicker the smell of blood in the air.

    From the look of it, there was no mistaken in it, this town had been attacked. Many people died, the town people had been killed brutally.

    [impossible¡­ who had done this¡­?]

    ***

    ¡°What do you mean there is problem in the north kingdom?¡± Alex asked one of his warriors, who delivered the news.

    ¡°Apparently, there is a shift of power in Aurones kingdom. Their king just died and onlyst night we received a report that the town near the border had been attacked.¡±

    ¡°Had been attacked?!¡± Alex stood up from his seat. ¡°That town is close toke house!¡± The king rushed out of the room. Jasmine!

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    Jasmine was so scared when she saw what happened with the town. Many people were injured and most of them were children and elderly, but there was no warrior in sight.

    ¡°Princess, I think we need to get out of this town. We need to leave,¡± Ethan said with urgency when they came closer to the town. They could see that this ce had been ransacked. There was no way mere thieves who had done this.

    Thieves wouldn¡¯t be able to destroy a town in such short time.

    ¡°We need to know what happened here,¡± Jasmine said, she ignored his warning to leave, as she headed toward the people there. She looked so worried and she couldn¡¯t even hide it.

    Ethan came closer to her, he followed her since he couldn¡¯t persuade her to leave this ce. The princess could be stubborn. More so, he also needed to know what was going on here.

    A few houses had been burned down to the ground, leaving only ashes and charcoal, probably the fire was extinguished because of the snowst night, therefore, they didn¡¯t see the smoke from afar, which meant, the destruction had been going on for quite a while.

    The buildings that were still standing were also destroyed, the doors hanged loosely on its hinges. The intruder must have checked every building here and took the valuable things.

    Jasmine walked among the wreckages and her heart was beating so fast, it hurt her to see these people were in dire need of help, but she couldn¡¯t do anything to alleviate their pain.

    The children were crying, asking for their mother or their family and Jasmine helped them to stay in one ce, she also helped the elderly to gather in one building that was still decent. Ethan helped her too, while the dead¡­

    They didn¡¯t know what to do with their dead bodies. They couldn¡¯t bury them all, because there was a high chance the attackers would return and it was not safe for Jasmine to be around. If they learned her identity, they wouldn¡¯t let her go. She would be in a great danger.

    Jasmine knew about that too.

    ¡°What happened here?¡± Jasmine asked one of the elderly, his wounds almost close and he was very grateful for Jasmine¡¯s help. He didn¡¯t even know that she was the princess of the kingdom.

    ¡°I am not sure what happened¡­¡± he said in bitter tone, he looked around him and grimaced, as he told them about what actually happened.

    Apparently two days ago, there was an attack, the warriors in the town fought them all, but on the second day, there were more enemies to the point they surrounded the town and killed all the warriors, also the men in the town, who they deemed could trouble them.

    Two days ago¡­ it was almost the same time when Jasmine found Ken. He was unconscious in herke house.

    From the look of it, Ken was wrong to think that those warriors came only for him. As it turned out, his brother wanted to expand his territory by taking some part of their kingdom.

    ¡°We need to tell father about this. We need to alert father that the other kingdom has breached our territory.¡± Jasmine was thinking that this matter became deeper than she thought.

    Lam sure the king was aware about this situation, the warriors must have sent report about this.¡± Ethan was familiar with

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    the procedure, that was why he believed by this time the king must have heard about the situation here. ¡°He will send reinforcement.¡±N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.

    Especially when he realized that his lovely daughter was in great danger, since this town and theke house was very close.

    ¡°Still, it will take a week for them to reach this ce,¡± Jasmine said and Ethan agreed. ¡°Should we go to the next town?¡±

    ¡°Those people went to the next town too. I think it will be better for you to stay here¡­¡± The elder man said. He looked at Jasmine with worried. ¡°Don¡¯t go there. It will not be safe for you

    Jasmine contemted that information and then agreed it would be best if she stayed there and observed the situation first.

    In the end, Ethan found a safe spot for Jasmine to sleep that night, while they tried to figure out what they had to do next.

    ¡°I am sorry, princess. I couldn¡¯t find anything here. This is the best I can do. I hope you have a good rest.¡± He had gathered clean nket that he could find and make them into makeshift bed for Jasmine, but he had to apologize for that.

    Jasmine chuckled when she heard that. ¡°I will be very ungrateful if I asked more than this. Thank you so much, Ethan, for taking a good care of me.¡±

    Ethan looked bashful. He simply nodded and then sat down next to her bed.

    ¡°Have you received any news from the other wa

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    Ethan fell asleep, but he didn¡¯tpletely put his guard down, his conscience wouldn¡¯t allow that. He was still on alert to the point he would wake up with the slightest sound.

    Meanwhile, Jasmine was too tired, she had been running around to help the town people to the best she could and now, she fell into a deep slumber, despite their surroundings.

    However, it was better than sleeping while sitting like the other night.

    Close to midnight, Ethan was woken up for the fourth time when he heard soft footsteps against the ground. His mind was on alert, as he opened his eyes, but he didn¡¯t make a sudden move.

    He waited for this person toe closer before he attacked him

    There was only one person, a man, he was sure about that, his scent was too masculine for this person to be a woman, more so the way he walked¡­

    He was getting closer¡­

    He was so close¡­

    And when Ethan felt that person was leaning over him, he moved so fast, his ws shed that person face. He managed to dodge the attack!

    This person had a good reflex, or else, he would have had his throat was being shed instead.

    But, Ethan was not done, he needed to attack before this person could recover, but when he saw his face, his anger and wariness turned into annoyance.

    ¡°What the hell you are doing here?!¡± Ethan hissed viciously when he saw it was actually Ken. That lycan cradled his bleeding cheek and red at him.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you stop attacking me!?¡± He growled in annoyance and thismotion woke Jasmine up, which infuriated Ethan

    even more.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Jasmine asked, she pushed herself into sitting position immediately, as she looked around her, thinking that they were in some sort of danger.

    ¡°There is nothing princess, only a little bit of disturbance,¡± Ethan replied, he was unhappy to see Ken was here and thest thing he wanted was for the princess to see this man.

    Unfortunately, there was no way Jasmine didn¡¯t see Ken now she was awake. Her eyes widened in surprised when she saw

    him.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She asked incredulously. ¡°I though you were heading to Great Darren city?¡±

    Ken huffed, he then sat down on the ground, the wound had healed, but the blood on his cheek smeared on his hand and his clothes. Jasmine noticed that.

    ¡°What happened with your cheek? Are you hurt?¡±

    Ken nced at Ethan, who looked aloof with what he had done to him. ¡°I am fine,¡± Ken finally murmured. He wiped the blood with his sleeve. ¡°Only a little bit scuffle.¡±

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    Ethan rolled his eyes and didn¡¯t say anything, he sat down next to Jasmine and observe his surroundings. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Ken then exined why he decided to go to the town. ¡°I thought I will ask for help to reach Great Darren, but when I arrived, I realized this town had been attacked.¡±

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    ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave immediately once you realized it had been attacked?¡± Ethan crossed his arms. ¡°You could be followed and you will put the other people here, in danger.¡±

    Jasmine nudged Ethan¡¯s arm, signaling for him that he was a little bit harsh with his word, but the warrior didn¡¯t heed that.

    ¡°Do you think they will be so generous to follow me here? If they found me, they would have killed me right away, there is no need to follow me to the town that they had destroyed.¡±N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.

    ¡°So, you agreed that the attacker of this town was the warriors from your kingdom?¡± Ethan drew conclusion.

    Ken didn¡¯t want to admit that, but he didn¡¯t have other choice. ¡°Yes, I am sure they were the one, who had done this.¡± He gritted his teeth, he felt so bad for those, who had died.

    However, they didn¡¯t have time to continue with their lungs and this put them on alert.

    conversation when they heard someone screamed on the top of their

    ¡°I will go and check,¡± Ethan said, but before that, he looked at Ken and groaned. ¡°Stay here and protect her! If something happened to her, I will not hesitant to kill you instead!¡±

    Ethan then shifted into his beast before he could hear Ken¡¯s reply.

    ¡°Why he is so feisty?¡± Ken scrunched his nose. Ethan didn¡¯t need to threaten him, because he knew that keeping Jasmine safe was priority.

    ¡°Should we check too?¡± Jasmine asked, she stood up and peeked to the empty street, but from the distance, she could hear the sound of people screaming became clearer. Not only one, but three and then more people screamed in pain. ¡°What is going on?¡±

    Jasmine tried to mindlink Ethan, but the warrior had not yet reached the spot.

    ¡°Do you know what happened to the next town?¡± Ken asked Jasmine to distract her. ¡°Can we go to the next town and ask for help?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I am not sure.¡± Jasmine then told him what she knew. ¡°Based on what the town people told us, the attackers went away after they managed to kill all the warriors here, or the people that they thought could be a potential danger or fight them back, leaving only the elderly and the children.¡±

    She then told him about Ethan¡¯s assumption that the information about what happened here, had reached the pce and the king must have known about this.

    ¡°So your choice are; staying put here until the reinforcement from the pce came or move toward the capital city through the mountain.¡± Ken concluded.

    The mountain route was very dangerous, because there was a high chance they would be attacked by monster, but they couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that they would be attacked by the enemies.

    ¡°We still have not decided yet about what we should do,¡± Jasmine replied truthfully, but suddenly, Ethan mindlinked her and this put her on alert.

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    ¡°What is it?¡± Ken could see the horror in Jasmine¡¯s eyes, but he didn¡¯t know what actually happened, since he couldn¡¯t hear the mindlink between Jasmine and Ethan.

    ¡°We need to run!¡± Jasmine said, she grabbed Ken¡¯s hand and then took him to the opposite direction before she shifted into her beast and then runaway.

    Ken followed behind her. He was not fully recovered, after such brutal fight yesterday and it was hard for the two of them tomunicate, since they didn¡¯t share mindlink, therefore he could only follow her without knowing why they were running away.

    And what about Ethan?

    Jasmine headed toward that tree again, the same tree where she was hiding with Ethanst night. He told her to wait there.

    It took them a few hours for them to reach this ce and once they were there, only then the two of them stopped. The sky had turned bright and the ray of sunlight pierced through the leaves above them.

    Almost immediately, as soon as they stopped, the two of them shifted into their human form, because they could no longer maintain their beast form.

    They were panting heavily, too tired to even speak, as theyid down on the cold ground covered by the snow.

    ¡°Wh- what happened?¡± Ken finally asked, after he managed to control his breathing.

    ¡°The enemy¡­ the warriors were there, they killed all the people in the town,¡± Jasmine replied bitterly, she felt so angry because she couldn¡¯t do anything, but even if she stayed, she couldn¡¯t help. More so, they would take advantage of her and make her as a leverage for her father the moment they knew she was the princess of this kingdom.

    She didn¡¯t want to put that burden to her king father.

    ¡°Ethan¡­¡± Jasmine whispered, she looked around her. Her eyes focused at the direction where they came from earlier, as if

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    ¡°What happened with him?¡± Ken approached Jasmine and then gave her the bottle of water that he had with him.

    Jasmine was thankful and drank half of it, she gave it back to Ken, who took a sip.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I am not sure. He told me to run away after he exined what happened.¡± She bit her lip nervously. ¡°He will be alright, right? He told me that he will meet me here.¡± Jasmine pulled her hair anxiously. She prayed that Ethan would manage to run away.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait,¡± Ken said.

    And the two of them wait until the sun set, but there was no sign of him.

    ¡°I should have waited for him¡­¡± Jasmine said, her voice dripped with guilt, she hugged her legs and rocked herself back and forth, as she stared at the distance, she hoped she could see Ethan walked toward her and smiled like usual.

    ¡°You are going to die too if you waited for him,¡± Ken said, he ruffled his hair and then stood up. ¡°I will hunt. We need to eat something.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Jasmine held his hand when he was about to walk out of the c**k on the tree. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡± She looked worried. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be left alone.¡±

    What if he didn¡¯te back? What if they captured him and she didn¡¯t know? What if those warriors reached this ce and they were separated?

    Jasmine didn¡¯t want to be left alone.

    Ken stopped, he stared at her hand that held his, seemingly Jasmine didn¡¯t realize it yet. He could understand why she didn¡¯t want to be left alone. Da**n. He could see the fear in her eyes.

    ¡°Can you hunt?¡± Ken finally asked.

    Jasmine blinked her eyes innocently and then shook her head.

    ¡°Hh¡­¡± Ken sighed deeply. ¡°Fine, you cane with me, but don¡¯t make a noise.¡±

    However, hunting with a princess, who had never done it was not an easy task to do and Ken was close to lose his patience.

    After an hour with Jasmine, he finally shifted into his human form and put his arm

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    on his hip, his eyes filled with annoyance, as he stared down at Jasmine¡¯s beast.

    Slowly, Jasmine shifted back into her human form too and looked at him sheepishly.

    ¡°At this point, we will not eat anything,¡± Ken said, he was frustrated. ¡°We are going to starve and die because of it, before those warriors could find us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. You will not die just because you **ed dinner.¡±

    ¡°For your information, I have not eaten anything since yesterday.¡±

    ¡°You will not die just because you didn¡¯t eat for two days.¡±

    Ken was speechless, he bared his teeth at Jasmine and the princess lowered her head, she knew that she was not in the position to argue with him and he was right, they needed to eat, but her conscience couldn¡¯t allow her.

    ¡°This is not like this is the first time you eat meat!¡± Ken chided.

    I eat meat, but I have never seen the animal was being killed!¡± Jasmine retorted. She was afraid when she saw Ken almost got a fluffy rabbit. She could see the killing intent in the lycan¡¯s eyes and suddenly it clicked in her mind what was going to happen and before she could prevent it, she had caused a ruckus and made the rabbit ran away.

    And that was not even the first time, she did it again a few times until Ken lost his patience.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to eat, fine! But, I am hungry, okay. I want to eat,¡± Ken grumbled, he rubbed his face roughly when he saw the look in Jasmine¡¯s eyes. ¡°Hh! Look, both of us need to eat, we need all the energy that we can get. We can¡¯t run if our stomach empty, so just stay here and I will return in fifteen minutes. I will be nearby. Close your eyes and don¡¯t make any noise, understood?¡±

    Jasmine nodded obediently, so did her stomach that made grumbling noise. She was hungry too.

    Ken heard that andughed.

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