And we are heading to Moscow... There is still one dot that you seem to be slipping, I will give you a hint, it has something to do with Lorenzo (and who he is...)
Arianna: “All set?” Dad asked, and I nodded as I put my bag down, careful for my ticket not to fall. I knew that he would get a glimpse the second it slipped, and that wasn’t something that I wanted. “Yes, I am heading off right now.” I said and he nodded before taking a deep breath. He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly, and I smiled, hugging him back. “This is not how I wanted to send you out of the pack when you were younger.” He said and I smiled. I knew that he was hoping that Mariana would bring him a boy over the years, an heir to carry the family’s name; therefore, I also understood that he meant that he wanted to send me off with another man, an Alpha, a mate, or an arranged marriage to someone that he saw fit. “I am not going away forever, dad. This place is still my home.” I said, not looking at Mariana who I knew didn’t want me approaching the pack. The fact that she connected the dots so easily made my chest ache, and the idea of her telling dad was someth
Dean: Viktor and I got out of the plane, knowing that we had a long day ahead of us. To say the least, I didn’t want to waste any more time than necessary, and considering the fact that I knew that my sister had the patience of a toddler told not to eat candy, I knew that I had to be back as soon as I could. I frowned as my chest ached for a second, the air feeling tight around me as a familiar scent hit my nostril. Mate… I shook my head, dismissing my wolf, knowing that it was impossible for me to have a different mate, and the familiarity of the scent made me doubt the fact that she would be here to begin with. Viktor and I walked out of the airport, and I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips at the feeling of being back home. It has been a long while since I have come to Russia, and despite settling in the States, I couldn’t help but miss it. “It feels good to be home,” Viktor said and I nodded in agreement. The fact that we left it to begin with was something tha
Arianna:“Your suite is right this way, ma’am.” The receptionist said, handing me the card. “This elevator would open directly inside your living room, your floor is the fifteenth.”“I thought that the highest was the seventeenth?” I asked, and she nodded.“Indeed it is, ma’am. But the owner of the hotel came, and he has both the sixteenth and seventeenth occupied for his stay.” She said, and I nodded in understanding. To say the least, considering the fact that the owner would be here, I knew that things would be top notch, and knowing that he actually came and didn’t neglect his hotel was something that told me that this hotel was and had to be well maintained and taken care of. “Thank you,” I said, before walking toward the elevator that she pointed at. I got inside and scanned the card, waiting for the door to close. My chest ached momentarily and a scent forced me to freeze as I tried processing what it was. My wolf perked up, and this time, I couldn’t help but frown when she vo
Dean: I had to remind myself that we were surrounded by humans so that I wouldn’t growl. Arianna’s eyes widened in surprise and I had to admit, I was just as surprised as she was. “What are you doing here?” She asked, glaring daggers at me. “Boss, to what do we owe the honor?” The receptionist asked, and Arianna cursed under her breath before she looked up at me as I tightened my grip around her waist, not wanting her to run off. She looked up at my chest, and frowned when she saw my necklace dangling from my neck. “Book a table for two at the Del Mountain restaurant.” I said, and she nodded. “The two of us are going for a drink,” “Sir, the lady has booked a table at El Castel de Pizza, do you want us to cancel it?” She asked and I nodded. The receptionist nodded and I pulled Arianna toward the bar. “I never said yes,” “And I never fucking asked.” I said, looking down at her as she walked beside me. I knew not to let her go in case she chose to do anything stupid, and judging b
Arianna: I frowned as I opened my eyes in a strange room. A comfortable white duvet was draped over my body, and I couldn’t help but let out a low whimper as I caught his, my mate’s, scent. My heart raced against my ribcage, and I went to sit down, wanting to look for the man who felt close as my wolf wanted to shy back, clearly embarrassed of her mate. However, I was quick to frown when a person who looked like a doctor stopped me. “Ma’am, you need to rest,” the doctor said, looking at me and I frowned as I took sight of the Alpha sitting beside the bed. His eyes met mine and I could have sworn that I saw pain in them. “Your child is going to need you to get enough rest and less stress to grow.” “You can leave, Nikifor,” Alpha Dean said, looking at the doctor who nodded as he took a step back. The Alpha’s eyes were fixed on me, and I physically had to stop myself from squirming under his hard gaze. Hell, if looks could kill, I doubted that I would be alive right now. “She needs
Dean: My chest ached as I walked out of the room. However, keeping a straight face, I shook my head in question at Viktor, waiting for what he had to tell me. “Something happened,” he stated and I raised an eyebrow, waiting for his response. “I am referring to you, and not something outside.” “I want to know why you called me, Viktor.” I said, glaring at my beta who raised an eyebrow before taking a deep breath. “We need to head to the Estate,” he said, making me frown in confusion as I tried processing why he would be asking me for such a thing. Knowing Viktor, the two of us were very much organized about how we went about with our plans. Plus, I knew that Elijah was coming, therefore, I didn’t understand the need or reason for doing so. “Elijah is on the way, Viktor. What the fucking hell are we going to do at the Estate?” I asked, looking back at the room where I knew that my mate was listening. The fact that she was carrying my child was something that I couldn’t process, bu
Arianna: My heart raced against my ribcage as I saw the news. My father’s men were the ones sending the news reporters, wanting to cause a scene, and knowing that they never did that unless he was behind this worried me more than ever. “Pick up the fucking phone,” I said, glaring at the device, calling my father through the safe line. If he was here, then the last thing that I wanted was for him to find out about me being here. And the idea of him being here was frightening enough to begin with. “Dad, you can’t be killing innocent people right now. You got what you wanted,” I said, shaking my head as I glared at the phone before letting out a low growl as I realized that he wouldn’t answer. The man was either too busy or was avoiding my calls, either way, I knew that this was not going to end well. ‘’Fucking hell!” I snapped before throwing my phone on the wall, smashing it as I called and was ignored for the sixth time. I glared at the door for a second before looking around the
Dean: I had to fight back the growl that almost escaped my lips as I heard and processed my mate’s words. The way she looked at Lorenzo, and the way he looked at her, clearly surprised to see her. The replica, the necklace, hung from his neck, and I couldn’t help but shake my head as I realized that she stole the necklace from me to give to him. “You came to Russia? To our enemy?” He asked, glaring at the woman who stood a step behind me. Her heart raced against her chest and she let out a low growl that I had to admit, even I was surprised of. The fact that she was here, trying to get the kids out didn’t escape my mind, but I knew not to trust her act. The woman could have easily been lying to get what she wanted, and that wasn’t something that I was going to drop or let go of. “You and the Alpha can have your feuds amongst one another as enemies. But there are innocent women and elderly people, and I will not start with the kids.” She said, glaring at him and he chuckled. The r
“You called for me,” the Alpha asked, entering the hotel. Arianna looked at him and he smiled before opening his arms for her. She looked at her mate for a second before taking a step toward the Alpha. He hugged her tightly before pulling away to shake the Alpha’s hand. “You need not worry about me trying to steal your mate, Alpha Dean.” He said, looking down at the woman as she walked back to her mate. “She wouldn’t spare me a second glance anyway.” Arianna laughed and ran her finger over her mate’s chest as he wrapped his arm around her. “How are you, Alpha Alessandro?” “I am well, Alpha. However, I am more or less curious as to why you would call me for a meeting in Vegas when we could have met in either my house or yours.” He said, raising an eyebrow at the Alpha. “Lucius is back.” Arianna said, and the man’s face dropped. “You’ve heard the rumors.” He said, and she nodded. “Do you believe them?” “I have no reason not to.” She said, taking a step closer as she showed him her
“The body isn’t here.” Arianna said, looking at Alpha Dean who frowned in confusion. The man had followed her to ensure that she was okay, but the last thing that he expected to hear was that the body of his enemy or more specifically, her mother, wasn’t there. “Arianna…” “We are being played, but by who, why, I don’t know.” She said, her voice cold. The Alpha knew that his mate was speaking out of anger and torment. The pain that she was feeling was one that she did not understand, and judging by Lyov’s expression, he felt the same way. “Mariana?” Alpha Kai asked, shaking his head in question. “She never arrived with the Alpha and yet her scent…” “As I said, we are being played.” Arianna said, taking a step back to hide her tears. The Alpha, her mate, grabbed her hand, stopping her before pulling her to his chest. “I know that it hurts…” “You don’t.” She said, her voice coming out colder than she intended for it to. His eyes dropped to the ground but she took a deep breath. “Don
Dean: I watched as Arianna sat on the couch, facing her mother whose eyes met mine for a second. I had to fight back, glaring at the woman as I reminded myself of the fact that she might have been, most likely, forced into staying away from her daughter. I could see it in her eyes when Arianna looked at her, and I could tell that things ended up taking a turn that she did not want for them. However, there was nothing that we could do about it right now. We were going to have to deal with what we had the way that we had them, and one way or the other, we were going to have to be able to cross the mountains together the way that we climbed them. “You have ten minutes to explain to me the basics of what I need to know.” Arianna said, and I shook my head at my mate, knowing that she was having the impatience of a toddler. “Because believe me right now, if I am sitting in front of you, it is because of my mate. However, if it were up to me, I would have been in my bedroom alongside my d
Arianna: I laid on our bed as Dean entered the room. “I really don’t want you telling me to hear her out first, Dean.” I said, not bothering to raise my head from the pillow. The two of us still had blood on our hands and clothes, and I knew that we were going to need to change the sheets before bed. But at this point, I didn’t care. I just wanted to lay in bed for a while. “I didn’t come to tell you anything, malyshka.” He said, wrapping his arm around me as he got on bed behind me. He pulled me toward his chest and a sob escaped my lips before I could stop it. The thing was, at this point, regardless of everything, I was grieving. I was grieving for the man that I called father for years. The man has abused me more than anyone could have, mentally, I mean, and yet, I knew no one but him. I lost my mother to find out that she was alive, seeming to be by our side for so long and yet, not once did she bother to make an appearance. The man that took her away from me was the one fam
Gabriella: I watched as Arianna looked at me, trying to process whether or not I was really there. It was a habit that she had when she was younger; therefore, I wasn’t really surprised when I saw that she was frightened and worried. “Do you want to drink anything, Gabriella?” Lyov asked, and I shook my head. The fact that I saw the man with his wife and son was something that I was thankful for. I knew that he missed a lot as he looked for me. “I am fine, Lyov.” I said, and Arianna shook her head. “You couldn’t have been alive through all this time and yet I’ve never noticed you. The two of us know the number of times that we moved around. Hell, Lorenzo was sure to never have us staying in one place for more than…” “Do you really believe that I am a lookalike that looks exactly like your mother, knows you by heart…” “You know nothing about who I am, what I am, or about me.” Arianna said, and I smiled. “I know that you have a heart of gold, and I know very well that you chose y
Dean: I growled as I ordered my pack members to attack the man who dared call himself Alpha on my grounds. The man didn’t know what he was getting himself into, but I was more than a little sure that he was getting ready for more trouble than he could afford. “I take it that you are taking the habit of hiding behind your mate.” Lorenzo said, and I chuckled. The man was taunting both Arianna and I, but what he didn’t understand was that I was not going to allow him to get between my mate and I. However, judging by how Lyov was looking at the woman, I doubted that she was ONLY a lookalike, and considering the fact that even Arianna, despite not wanting to admit it, didn’t shoot the woman, then something was most likely up. “And I believe that you really don’t know who you are messing with; but then again, I doubt that you ever knew that.” I said, and he growled. The man believed that he could taunt my mate in front of me, but I was going to be sure that I taught him a lesson that he
Arianna: I froze, staring at my mother for a second too long before shaking my head. She wasn’t alive, this was just a game that Lorenzo was playing. He wouldn’t have been able to cheat on the mating bond with Mariana throughout this whole time when she was still alive. I knew that he wouldn’t. “Arianna…” “You are playing a very bad game, Lorenzo.” I said, stopping Lyov from saying a word. The idea and fact that I knew that he would easily try telling me against this was something that I couldn’t deny. But I knew for fact that he was just as delusional. The woman died, I saw the building burning with her inside it. “Am I, child?” He asked, knowing that he was testing me. “Do you really believe that I am playing a game?” “She died.” I stated, my voice becoming colder than it ever was. He chuckled and pushed her in front of us. Lyov growled, and both Yaroslav and Viktor tensed. Yelena, who stood a few steps away from her mate, froze, looking down at the woman before whispering. ‘
Dean: “I want the pack ready, and for the humans to go inside. Protect the kids and I want no one who isn’t ready to fight to go out.” I said, speaking to the pack’s headmistress. She and the other maids were trained for such fights, and I knew that they would be having both Alina and Ray with them. “Until I call you, you stay in the underground tunnels. And if things backfire, you know what to do.” “Yes, Alpha.” She said, and I nodded. My one concern right now was my sister, but I wasn’t dumb, she was in the basement, away from all of this, and hidden. Needless to say, IF things did backfire, then I doubted that she would be affected. If anything, she might end up getting a reward for what she did. “Go,” I said, looking at my daughter for a second. My heart ached at the fact that they were to run with her being this young, but right now, I knew that we were not going to have another option. I ran my finger over Ray’s hair, the guilt that I felt for him was one that I couldn’t des
Arianna: I frowned as I took a deep breath, processing that I was in a room that I didn’t recognize. My heart raced, and I tried sitting up only to find myself cuffed to the bed that I was laying on. The memories of Lorenzo filled my head, and noticing that I couldn’t see Kai, I couldn’t help but feel like my heart was going to burst at how fast it was beating. “Kai?” I called, looking around frantically. “Hey, easy,” Dean’s voice echoed through the room and I growled, not wanting this to be another mind game from Lorenzo. The man has put me through enough torment to get me to process that he wanted me to kill my mate, and that wasn’t something that I wanted. “For the last fucking time, Lorenzo, I am not going to kill him.” I said, and Dean frowned in confusion before he took a deep breath. “Lorenzo is not here, malyshka.” “As if I would be falling for that lie again,” I said, and the man frowned. “What has he put you through, baby girl?” He asked, looking me in the eye, and I