Eleanor:I sat on the edge of the bed of the infirmary as I took a deep and slow breath, trying to process what just happened between Liana and I.The way she looked at me, her questions, and even her glares. All that played in my head and I couldn’t help but feel somewhat anxious about her suspecting anything about me.It couldn’t be possible that she was, right?The doctor left a while ago, giving me the privacy to rest while the two nurses stayed behind as they made sure to ‘supervise’ me in case I needed anything. My heart raced with each second that passed as I processed the fact that I left the house, and not only that, but the idea of something happening to lead Elton here was a lot scarier than anything that I could think of. If anything, the last thing that I would want to deal with was an angry Elton. I could barely take him when he was in his normal state.I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath. He wouldn’t think that I was here, I am sure of it. The man w
Killian:I walked inside the suite as Liana was walking out of it. She smiled and nodded at me, and I returned the nod, giving her a quick smile before turning to the maids who were with her. Her eyes hardened as she turned to look at them, her expression was one filled with authority, reminding them of their places in front of their Alpha, and her position as their headmistress. They all lowered their gazes at the sight of me, and I nodded at them to leave before going inside. The day was long enough as it was, and I had to admit, the number of things that I still needed to tend to for the week gave me a headache, especially since I knew that I would need to get them done before the auctions started next month. The number of people who were coming required me to be attentive, forcing them to keep in mind that there was one Pakhan in the area, and I wasn’t planning on sharing my grounds with anyone else. The likes of Elton were plenty, and the Bernardi family who were gathering fo
Eleanor:For the first time since as far as I could remember, I woke up without being startled by someone entering my room.The bedroom’s door was closed. If anything, I even slept without being bruised, getting yelled at, scolded, beaten, or abused. I couldn’t help the small smile that formed on my lips for a second before I checked the time, my eyes widening at the fact that it was a few minutes to six in the morning. The last thing that I wanted to do was annoy Liana, and I knew that I would need to find out where the kitchen was to begin with; therefore, I was sure to get up and quickly freshen up before getting dressed.I put on a new dress, the one that I was wearing was wrinkled and I knew that I would need to iron it before being seen with it. I wore a white apron, reminding myself of Liana’s instructions before tying my hair in a bun.The bruise that was on my neck from Elton choking me was finally healing, however, I knew better than to go against the protocol of what Lian
Killian: I woke up to the sound of my alarm. A frown formed on my lips at the headache that I got before I rolled my eyes and turned to turn off the alarm. I knew that the house’s activity already started and that the maids were either cleaning or tending to their duties. The rest of the pack members were now getting ready for work, school, and universities. Either way, everyone was busy in their own way. The scent of Eleanor hit my nostrils, making me frown as the distinct smell of roses filled my nostrils. I knew that our garden was filled with them, but the last thing that I expected was to catch their scent within the walls of the house. I shook my head, not wanting to bother as I walked toward the bathroom. I was quick to freshen up and shower knowing that I had a long day ahead. Plus, there was also the fact that I needed to ensure that the wedding was through with and that the Italians were gone. The last thing that I needed right now was to bother dealing with them, and I
Eleanor:“The Alpha just left, and I do hope that you didn’t do anything to disrespect or upset him earlier today.” Liana said, entering the kitchen where I was waiting for the Alpha to leave. I feared cleaning and him walking out on me with barely his towel on again. Therefore, I settled on helping the girls out in the kitchen until he was gone.“I have done nothing to upset him, Liana, you needn’t worry,” I said, and she raised an eyebrow. She didn’t respond for a few seconds before nodding at the cabinet that was behind me. “The broom, mop, and bucket are in the cabinet behind you. I do suggest that you start cleaning up, and believe me, I will come and check to see that everything is done properly. Then you will be ironing the Alpha’s clothes. When you’re done, you will come here and help us out in the kitchen,” she said, and I nodded.“Yes, ma’am,” I said, turning around. She didn’t say a word to respond as I opened the cabinet to get the things that I wanted. I also chose to pi
Killian: “Sergio Diaz, just the man that I was looking for.” I said, glaring at the man before shooting one of his bodyguards. The man’s body fell, hitting the ground as blood poured from his head. Vladimir did the same to the other one, watching as he fell to the ground, taking his last breath before Sergio had time to process what was going on. His eyes widened in surprise at my interruption, but he knew not to think of trying something stupid. If anything, he knew that I was the last person that he would want to mess with. And considering that he was doing something behind my back, he knew that I wasn’t here for a drink. “Killian Ivanov, to what do I owe the honor?” he asked, trying to give me the best smile that he could muster. He looked down at the man who was sitting on the desk. I could tell that this was the last thing that both men expected when they tried having this deal, but then again, the last thing that I would ever do was leave my grounds unsupervised. To say the
Eleanor:I hung the Alpha’s jackets as I finally found it in me to take a breath as I finished his laundry. The freshness of his clothes and the suite gave me a sense of satisfaction and contentment. And the fact that for once, I was actually being treated like a human, and for the first time since as far as I could remember, I was hit or yelled at, I couldn’t help but feel calm. However, I couldn’t deny it being somewhat difficult and tiring to get everything done. I could swear that he had too many clothes or that the maids of the pack never did his laundry. Whichever the case was, it took me hours to get everything through with, and though I did expect to initially be done around mid noon, it was now a while past nine in the evening. I did notice the fact that Liana was sure to not only keep me busy with work, but to also ensure that I had random breaks to either eat or even get myself a cup of coffee. The luxury of having to drink it was something that I didn’t expect, especial
Killian: I frowned as a clench made me freeze as I stopped in front of the sink, washing the ointment from my hand. The fact that the woman lied to me annoyed me more than I thought that it would, and considering that she was mostly either flinching or weary about her every move that she made only made me grow a lot more curious. I knew that she was still in my room, clearly debating or processing my words for a few seconds before she walked out, and I sighed, letting out a low breath before taking my jacket off. I needed to instruct Liana about getting the blood off my clothes after the encounter with Sergio earlier today. The Bernardi family were clearly making it obvious that they were not leaving without causing a fuss, and not that I expected any less anyway. They were often ones to come and leave with a fuss or carnage. This time, I just hoped that things would have settled when the wedding ended. But now I had a missing bride to worry about. The thing was, I couldn’t rea
Epilogue:“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride.” Vladimir didn’t wait to be told twice to kiss Elena.He smiled into the kiss and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer.“Elena Ivanov.” He said, taking both her hands in his as he kissed her knuckles. The two of them smiled as they looked at one another, and she blushed.Killian, who was his beta’s best man, looked at her and the two of them smiled before he walked toward towards Eleanor. Elena frowned in confusion, but the Alpha was quick to turn to face her with a black box in his hands. His eyes met hers and he took a step forward.Vladimir tightened his arm around her, pulling her to his chest as she looked at the Alpha. His eyes were fixed on her as he opened the box, revealing a topaz and diamond necklace.“You are now not only our Beta’s mate, but also my brother’s wife. The two of us may not be brothers by blood, but we have chosen to be ones. We have chosen to make it our duty and goal to
Vladimir:I looked at Elena who laid on my bed, not saying a word.It was on Natasha that I couldn’t approach her. The woman would not let me near my mate. And though I understood her reason, I had to admit, I couldn’t help but find myself hating it.“She is going to need to think, don’t press on her, Vladimir.” Natasha said as she and Eleanor walked out of the room, leaving us alone. My chest ached as I walked toward her, and when I sat by her side and she didn’t turn to face me, I had to admit, I couldn’t help but find myself regretting the fact that I brought her family over for her.“I know that you are in pain, malyshka. But had I known that them being here was going to hurt you this much…”“I had to see them, Vladimir.” She said, stopping me. She sat up, and I watched as she wiped her tears from her eyes as she curled on the bed. I don’t even remember when was the last time I saw her this broken. But it pained me to know that I was the reason behind it. “I just didn’t think that
Elena:“We didn’t think that he was being honest when he told us that you were alive. The fact that we believed that you were dead…”“Why didn’t you come looking for me?” I asked, stopping my father. His eyes dropped to the ground and for a moment, I had to admit, I regretted the fact that I asked. Seeing his pain in his eyes told me that there was more to the story than I knew. But even so, I knew that nothing was going to explain what I went through. I lost my life because of them.“We did, Elena. For months, we searched for you. Konstantin convinced us that you were dead. He wouldn’t allow us to see your body. But he showed us your pictures, he showed us your grave, and it was then that we left.” Mom said, choosing to be the one to answer. “I know that you have been through a lot…”“You know nothing of what I’ve been through.” I said, looking at my brother and sister. “I lost my life and everything because of all of you. You chose to sacrifice me to a monster, and not once did you s
Vladimir:I watched as Elena walked out of the house, gathering her courage to see her family.Her eyes were fixed on them, and though I would have normally gone out to stand by her side, I knew better than to do so. For this, she was going to have to do that on her own. I was going to have to stand back for her to be able to do it“Mom?” She whispered, looking at her mother.“Elena?” Her mother responded. Her whole family got up, and I smiled before taking a step back. I turned to find Natasha standing behind me. Her eyes met mine and I smiled, extending my hand toward her, hugging the woman who grew as my sister for a long time.“I haven’t thanked you after saving her.” I said, and she smiled.“You know that you didn’t need to thank me. She is my brother’s mate and I wasn’t going to leave her to die.” She said, making me smile. I kissed her forehead, letting my lips linger there for a moment.Flashback:I watched as Konstantin’s body dropped to the ground before rushing to Killian as
Elena:“You are the famous Elena who had Vladimir staying a bit longer than we expected.” A woman, who I learned is Eleanor, said.“Human,” Natasha, the woman who actually got me out of the room, said. The fact that she did had me scared to death, but when my eyes met Vladimir’s…Flashback:“Open the damn door, Elena, I am Natasha.” She said, making my heart drop at the urgency in her tone. I opened the door, and she nodded, holding her gun in her left hand as she bared her canines. Her eyes were golden, but she didn’t bother as she nodded at me to follow her. “Vladimir…”“Come on, now is not the time to ask questions. There was a lot of gunfire, and the last thing that I am going to need for you is to be caught in an ambush.” She said, making my heart drop. “We’ll get you to Vladimir when he is out of this place.” “He’s…”“So far,” she said, looking down at me. “Let’s hope that things proceed to remain in our favor. But you know, being his mate, and being as special as you are, we
Konstantin:“Everything is going to be over very soon.” I said, looking at Vladimir who nodded.“Indeed. However it may end, I will be sure that things take the path that we chose.” My nephew said, and though I stayed quiet, I was forced to stop myself from scoffing. I needed his loyalty to be mine, and sometimes, I doubted that it was.“You are going to be killing Killian. It is going to be the one way that his reign ends. While Eleanor may have lost the child, it does not mean that he might not have more. I do not want that to be a matter of…”“The two of us already discussed the matter, and with Killian’s death, we are going to gain the power that we lost. We are just going to need to be careful. You know, he has his men swarming around the corner. One wrong word, sound, or even tone, and these wolves are going to be more than willing to tear everyone down.” He said, stopping me. “I am going to take charge of killing him. It is going to be in your office where they cannot hear us. Y
Elena:I was quiet as Vladimir walked out of the room.For a whole week, the two of us wouldn’t speak. However, to my surprise, neither once did he insult me. Even when I knew that I was doing something that he didn’t like, when I tried to attract his attention. All he did was look at me. He didn’t say a word to comment.Tears fell from my eyes, but I was quick to wipe them before anyone saw them. I knew that I was going to need to leave the room, and the idea of meeting Konstantin was not one that I wanted. But I knew better than to keep hiding.I walked out of the bedroom, my heart aching when I saw Vladimir with one of the maids. The two of them spoke, and I could swear that I saw her trying to flirt with him.“You see, I told you, it was only a matter of time before he grew tired of you. And here it is, the man has grown tired of you to the point where he doesn’t even bother looking at you.” Konstantin said, catching my attention. I took a step back and turned to look at him, knowi
Vladimir:I had to fight back my anger as I knew that my mate was doubting me. And the fact that Konstantin was going to be taking advantage of everything that he could do to break my mate. And the idea of that happening was not one that I wanted to allow him to try, not again.“Think, Vladimir, think.” I muttered to myself, knowing that the night was going to be longer than I wanted it to be. “You are not going to betray your pack, your Alpha, nor are you going to let your mate go. But how the fuck do you intend to do so without breaking her heart?”I tapped the sink counter twice before looking down at my reflection. I was furious, but I didn’t know how things were going to be, not now at least. “You are going to need to choose. Are you going to weaken for your love? Or are you going to be pulling yourself together to do what you came here to do?” I whispered before turning the water tap. My hands shook, and I knew what I had to do. Elena, for her safety, I was going to have to do
Elena:Now, if I thought that I would be getting used to the peace this much, I was going to believe that I finally lost it.Konstantin has been gone a week, and never in my life have I felt like everything was finally in place.No one was there to argue or fight, and I was able to get full sleeping nights without the fear of him approaching me in the middle of the night if Vladimir wasn’t around.“You are lost in your thoughts,” Vladimir commented, wrapping his arms around me from behind. I smiled and leaned in to his touch, thankful for it.“I am embracing the peace that we are living through. You know, it is not one that I am used to,” I said, turning to face him. “I thought that you would be at work?”I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him to me as he wrapped his around my waist, raising me to sit on the dresser. He smirked and leaned in, brushing his lips against my own as he did before he bit my bottom lip gently.“I was supposed to be, but I have a few things to deal wi