Alexei:I frowned in confusion when I noticed that the house was completely quiet. No one was in the living room, and seeing as I couldn’t hear anyone walking around upstairs, I knew that the top floors were practically empty. If anything, the girls were literally nowhere to be seen, and the men were busy going about with their duties as if it was some long day. But fucking hell, it wasn’t just Maddie or Scarlett now, even mom and Aunt Sienna seemed to have disappeared.“They couldn’t have killed one another, right?” Dad asked, entering the living room. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, not bothering to comment as I caught their scent in the kitchen. I walked to the kitchen and frowned in confusion when the smell of cake filled my nostrils. Scarlett was surely keeping herself busy with the amount of baking that she decided to want to do today.“Just place these here, Isabella, they would be shaping themselves after cooling down” I heard Scarlett’s voice before opening the door.
Scarlett:I ran my fingers through Alexei’s hair as he lay his head on my chest, purring gently. The feeling of us laying together despite everything that has happened and was happening downstairs was something that I was completely grateful for.Knowing that Claire’s operations went well; she would be healing and waking up in the next few days; however, I didn’t know whether or not that would be a good thing, or whether it would be the end of her. But I knew that either way, I would be both supporting my mate, and standing by his side, being his rock. “You know, if the two of us started out like this, I think most of our issues wouldn’t have occurred” Alexei said, looking up at me, breaking my train of thoughts. I smiled down at him, removing my hand, gently letting my fingers scratch his back for a few seconds before I shook my head.“I don’t think we would be who we are if we started out being a normal couple; but then again, I could be wrong” I said, looking down at Alexei who ra
Alexei:“I chose you over that, and when I came back home that evening, I couldn’t help but fear them hurting you. They gave me time to choose, to think carefully, but I already knew that I wasn’t going to let them hurt my mate, and regardless of the consequence, I knew that I had my mind set on getting you out of there” I said, avoiding her eyes. My wolf whimpered when I saw tears falling from her eyes, and knowing that I was somewhat the reason behind them, I couldn’t help but regret talking about it.“I know that I should have told you about it earlier, and I know that I’ve made my mistakes by sending you to the facility; but I also knew that there was no way that you were going to believe me. Locking you up here was not an option, and making you work as one of the slaves would have broken me. Yes, sending you to the facility may have not been my best move, but believe me, Scarlett, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you” I said, my eyes meeting hers. Scarlett wiped her tears f
Scarlett:I watched as Alexei walked out of the room, his heart racing against his chest as he knew what he was about to do. The fact that he knew that it had to be done broke him, but killing his emotions completely; he was sure to mask his pain the best he could.I walked out of the room to see the family members. The one I was worried about most was Isabella.The woman would be devastated despite managing to allow herself to loosen up last night. It took her a lot to actually stand up in front of the maids and work with them. Each one of them, including Maddie and Lena, were surprised to see this side of her, and judging by her mate’s reaction; I knew that it has been a while since he’s seen her as happy and calm.I got dressed, having taken a shower with Alexei before he left, and made my way to the door, leaving the bedroom which now felt like it was tightening around me. The whole house felt tight, and the aura around it told me that something was going to happen. My eyes caught
Alexei: My chest throbbed as I walked into my sister’s room, knowing that everything was going to end today. I knew that Claire was expecting it, but I also knew that she was hoping for something different. I had the doctors and maids take her to her bedroom for her to be at peace. At least, she would be comfortable and in her own space, maybe she would even remember where she came from. Opening the door, I looked at her to find her looking at me. I had the maids make her wear a white dress, one that reached just above her knees, something that showed some purity. “Alexei?” She whispered, looking up at me. I looked down at my feet, avoiding her eyes. I wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye if I tried, and seeing as I knew that she was expecting me to go back from my decision, or at least was hoping that I would; I knew that she saw that things wouldn’t go as planned. “Do you want to tell me anything, Claire?” I asked, looking my sister in the eye, killing my emotions as she kept
Scarlett: “Isabella, do you want to get something to drink?” I asked gently. I sat on my knees in front of her, wanting to snap her out of the state that she put herself into; however, I knew that her being as calm as she was right now took all the will power in her. The woman knew what was going to happen and to make matters worse, she was forced to stay quiet about it.“I am fine, Scarlett” she said, looking down at me. I shook my head at the woman knowing that she was nowhere near being fine. But if she was anything like her son, the woman was not going to admit how she was feeling if she was dying for it. “Isabella, you not eating would only weaken your body. You know that you have to stay strong and you need to keep your stance to hold on to the rest. Things are not going to be getting easier” Sienna said, squeezing her shoulder. Isabella looked up at her best friend. Nikolay was by their side while Yaroslav and Alexei were at the office. It was the hardest thing they ever had
Alexei: I froze, processing what Scarlett just said. The way her eyes tried focusing on anything but me as she spoke, letting me know how nervous she was before she forced herself to look me in the eye, gathering her strength to do so. My feet seemed to have a mind of their own as I walked toward her. I cupped her cheeks and connected my lips with her own before she could say a word. She looped her fingers with my belt loops, holding me close, probably wanting to make sure whether or not she was awake. I bit her bottom lip, pulling it back gently before pushing my tongue inside her mouth. The two of us pulled away to look one another in the eye, my chest rising and falling as we took deep, slow breaths. I rested my forehead against her own before leaning in again, pecking her lips. Her cheeks reddened and I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips as I looked at her “how is it possible for you to make me smile when I am in my weakest state?” “I am your mate, Alexei, I am her
Scarlett:I watched as Alexei left his sister’s room. His heart raced against his ribcage as he walked past his parents. However, he didn’t turn to look at anyone. It was like he was in another place, and if anyone asked me, I believe that he was. His heart throbbed with each step he took, and reminding himself of the Aslanov oath, he forced himself to keep walking forward. It was an oath that I knew was said between each family around. The Alpha was to pledge his loyalty to his pack and them to him, and seeing as Claire chose to break that oath, I knew that Alexei had to punish him for it. I didn’t need to hear what happened inside to know that he suffered to do it. The way he looked around, his eyes void of emotion, and his stance which was cold told me that this was nowhere from being over. If anything, I had a feeling that we just barely started. Alexei stopped in front of Ivan who was trying to read his expression carefully; however, I knew that the men were forcing their
Alexei: I smiled at the sight of my wife who walked into the bedroom wearing her wedding dress. The dress which hugged her body perfectly was made by an Italian designer specifically for her, and I knew that she wanted to give it away as a present to another woman who couldn’t have her own dress made, and seeing as she already knew who she was going to give it to, I couldn’t help but smile at her genuine side. The two of us chose not to have an after party; therefore we went to the hotel directly to spend a few nights there before heading out on our honeymoon. I walked toward her, and slowly removed the veil of her head, smiling when I saw that she was blushing. “Now, now, why are you shy, malyshka? It’s not like I haven’t seen you before” I teased, running my finger down her arm. I chuckled, knowing that tonight would be different. I didn’t know or understand why, but seeing her in her dress made my heart drop, and my air got caught in my throat. She knew that for fact, and hear
Scarlett:“Where are we going?” I asked, smiling at Alexei who had his arm wrapped around my waist.“You know, I never took you as impatient, but it seems like I was wrong in that” he teased, kissing my temple. I knew that the two of us were heading to have breakfast, but considering that we just passed the buffet, I couldn’t help but be curious.“Alexei, come on, stop being so stubborn” I said, pouting my lips. Alexei laughed and shook his head at my behavior. The sound of the fountains and built waterfalls was relaxing, and I couldn’t help but stop my tracks as I took sight of the flower fields. “Your eyes were closed last night, and I thought that we would end up having a tour after dinner, but things took a whole different route” Alexei teased, making me laugh. My eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the flying squirrels, and seeing how excited I was, Alexei wrapped his arms around me from the back, hugging me tightly.He kissed my cheek and rested his chin against my shoulde
Alexei:“Okay, the forest is literally the last place I expected after the lantern thing we did earlier” Scarlett said as the two of us walked toward our date. I laughed, shaking my head at my impatient beauty whose eyes were covered with my hand as I guided her. Passing the small built waterfall that was giving the area a more romantic aroma. The smell of flowers filled my nostrils as we passed the jasmine field and I was more than a little surprised that my mate decided that we were in a forest.“I don’t even know how you assumed that it was a forest, especially since your eyes are closed. Anyhow, we are almost there, just watch your step” I said, making sure that she didn’t hit anything that would hurt her. The path ahead of us was mostly empty except for a few squirrels who would be running around or rocks that she could trip on. I would occasionally kiss the crown of her head as she complained, and noticing that she has been doing it a lot since arriving, I realized that my mate
Scarlett:I ran my fingers through my hair as I untangled it before bringing the brush. I couldn’t help but feel thankful for finally being able to move my hand without feeling like it was about to fall off. The past few weeks have been hell on me as it was without being able to mobilize it, and I know for fact that I didn’ want to go back to living through that again.Having taken the cast off two days ago, I still needed a bit to be able to move it completely, but it was a start, and that was something to hold onto. At least, I wouldn’t have to rely on a maid to help me with simple tasks like cutting a tomato when my muscles went numb.I smiled as I stared at my reflection. My face has regained its color, and I have added the few pounds that I have lost with everything that has happened after I got shot. I was also glad to see that Isabella and Sienna’s treatments, nutrition wise, were working. The family has silently decided to spend more time together after everything has been set
Alexei:Scarlett and I walked out of the office to find most of the pack members sitting in the living room by mom’s side. Her eyes were fixed on the box that she got, Viktor’s head, and despite the tears that formed in her eyes, I knew that she was proud of what she saw.I cleared my throat, catching everyone’s attention, and seeing me enter the room, mom straightened, standing up from the couch as she approached me. Scarlett who was standing beside me, took a step back as mom wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug,“I am very proud of you, Alexei…” she whispered, kissing my cheek. She pulled away to look me in the eye, and despite her tears that fell from her eyes, she gave me a small, confident smile “I never want you to think otherwise. What you did was the right thing for the pack, and it was what we should have done years ago. If we couldn’t do it because of our positions as his parents, you took the hardest part as his brother and ensured your pack’s safety.
Scarlett:I watched as Alexei walked inside the house. His eyes avoided mine, the blood on his clothes and lifeless eyes told me that things were done, his brother was dead. His heart raced against his ribcage with each step he took, and I knew that he was trying to pull himself together to stand strong despite the shock that he was living through. It was one that I wouldn’t want my worst of enemies to live through; therefore, I wasn’t going to let my mate live through it alone.I went to walk toward him only for Maddie to wrap her hand around my arm, shaking her head at me. However, I responding with the same head shake and moved away from her hand and followed him; I wasn’t going to leave him to live through this pain on his own. If anything, I would be helping him mend his scars like he’s helped me with mine.I entered the office without bothering to knock on the door, not that Alexei expected me to do so anyway. He was more than used to me ignoring that. He stood by the bar, debat
Alexei:I growled, glaring at my brother whose eyes were wide in fear, and I could see his hands shaking despite being cuffed to the chair. His heart raced, and the vein on his forehead told me that he was more than just a little petrified.He knew what was coming, and at this point, I really didn’t care whether or not he was answering my questions; I knew that I was punishing him for MY pleasure, and that itself was enough to make him piss his pants. The man not only forced us to kill our sister, and himself. He also hurt my mate, and if I wasn’t chewing his neck off right now, it was because our father was in the same room, and I still had some work to do.“Alexei, stop, please, I will answer your questions” he begged, making me chuckle. I ran my blade over his abdomen, enjoying his cries of pain too much to stop, allowing it to rest right over his cock, or what was left of it anyway. The man didn’t deserve to have one to begin with and I handled that the way I knew best.“But, thi
Scarlett:“Isabella, I am fine” I said, shaking my head at the woman who wanted nothing more than to feed me the second bowl of soup.“You are not, and you will not reject this bowl of soup. It is good for you and would help you grow stronger. You need to build your strength, and judging by what Andrea said about your state, I am going to be taking care of you myself” she said, making me laugh.“Well, it seems like Doctor Andrea told you all about my state” I said, looking down at my lap. My smile quickly faded from my lips, and reading my expression, Isabella, put a finger under my chin, raising my face for me to look at her. Her, Sienna, Lena, and Maddie were in my room while Alexei went to deal with a few things. What they were, I didn’t bother asking, but I didn’t need to ask to know that they concerned his brother. “You are not going to listen to a word she said, do you understand me, Scarlett?”“She is a doctor…”“Nothing she said is guaranteed” Isabella said, stopping me “she
Alexei:I ran my finger over my mate’s arm, watching as she stirred, waking up from the deep slumber that she fell into.Having slept in the car, the doctors took her to examine her wounds, and I couldn’t help the ache I felt when I heard from the doctors that she was hurting herself more than she could handle. The fact that she knew that she wasn’t supposed to exhaust herself for the sake of healing herself and her wolf made me regret sending her to Viktor. She knew the risk and yet didn’t tell me anything about it.She opened her eyes, and sitting up, she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, gently kissing her temple, loving her more than I ever have for what she was doing for me. “How are you feeling, Scarlett?” I asked, pulling away from the hug. She frowned, moving her shoulder before smiling.“I’m fine. The pain on my shoulder is somewhat nonexistent” she said, making me smile. “What happened? Where are we anyway?” She asked, looking me in the eye