Nathan:I kept my arm wrapped around Katerina as the two of us walked out of the hotel, heading to a café across the street.I could tell that she wasn’t as excited to go to a club; therefore, a quiet café for the two of us seemed to be a lot more adequate.“I thought that we were going to a club?” Katerina asked. I had told her to wear a pair of jeans and a casual t-shirt as well as sneakers, and though she was confused by how she would be going to a club wearing that; she didn’t bother asking too many questions. I had jeans and a black V-neck shirt on, my phone and wallet were in my pockets, and for the first time in months, I honestly felt content.“I believe that you should have realized that we weren’t going to the club when I told you to wear something casual” I teased, kissing her temple “I figured that you wouldn’t want to go to somewhere crowded, especially not after our arguments today; therefore, I thought why not take you on a real date, somewhere where the two of us can j
Katerina:“Thank you for today” I said as Nathan and I entered the hotel room.“I didn’t do what I did for you to thank me, the two of us were simply having fun as a husband and wife” Nathan said, pulling me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me as he kissed the crown of my head “I believe that a few days of us alone are in order, especially since we’ve both had our fair share of annoyance with the family and its drama”“I don’t want to agree, but at this point, I can’t help but do so” I said, shaking my head. Nathan laughed, pulling me toward the bed. The two of us sat on the edge of it as he wrapped his arms around me, watching as I curled up and rested on his lap, my heartbeat calm as I listened to his own.“Do you want us to watch a movie? Maybe order dinner later? It’s still ten and I don’t believe that we would be falling asleep this early” Nathan asked, looking down at me.“A movie would be nice, but I don’t think I’d be able to have dinner after that fondue, but I wouldn’t
Nathan:My heart ached for Katerina whose eyes were fixed on the blanket in front of her.The way she spoke monotonously, and the way she avoided my eyes only made me realize how much it hurt her to live through what she has.I sat up, wrapping my arms around her, and pulling her to my chest. Katerina let out a quiet laugh before pushing me away gently, her eyes avoiding mine “I don’t need your pity, Nathan”“I am not pitying you, Katerina” I said, putting a finger under her chin, raising her face to make her look at me “not for a second, I am not. I was just trying to get to know you, trying to know where you came from, your past…”“I believe that sometimes, it is better for the past to remain in the past, don’t you think?” “Not always, malyshka” I said gently “sometimes it is better for us to accept and live through it. Yes, it hurts, but it is better than just hiding behind a shadow of anger or greed because of our pasts. I have my painful past too, and I too was forced away from
Katerina:I laid my head on the armrest of the couch as I got lost in my thoughts.University and classes started in two weeks, and the email of my scholarship withdrawal arrived earlier this morning, breaking my heart as it reminded me of the fate that I was forced to live because of my family.I was yet to tell Nathan about it despite wanting to, and seeing as I knew that hiding this from him would get me nowhere; I knew that the faster I got done with it, the better the outcome would be. My heart skipped a beat when I heard the house’s door open, and his scent filled my nostrils as he came inside. Inna and I were yet to talk about anything, and seeing as Nathan chose to delay his trip; I knew that he didn’t trust his mother alone with me at the pack.I got up from the couch as he entered the living room, wrapping my arms around him as I hugged him tightly. He kissed my cheek, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me to his chest before he kissed the crown of my head. His eyes
Chapter 36Nathan:I looked at the woman who was changing her sweat pants and shirt to put on a pair of jeans and a white crop top with a smile on my face, admiring her body as she stripped and got dressed in front of me.“Do you think that your mum is going to find my outfit…?”“I don’t care about what anyone thinks, if you like it, then I know that you look gorgeous” I said, stopping Katerina whose cheeks reddened as she blushed. I watched as she put on white sneakers and walked toward me. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her to the door as the two of us walked out of the room, heading down to the field where the pack members were either training or simply gathering. We walked out and I smiled when Skyler, Jade, and Amber waved at her, calling her to come while Carter walked toward me, fist bumping her hand before she walked toward the girls. “I take it that you two have finally managed to come to a proper agreement?” Carter teased.“Yes, finally” I said, shaking my head. The
Katerina:I kept my eyes on Inna whose hands shook as she processed what I said. Her eyes looked around the pack members who were watching the scene with wide eyes, clearly not expecting this to be my comeback or what was happening as a reaction.Her eyes met Nathan’s and I knew that she silently pleaded with him to help her in this situation; however, I also knew that by our rules and nature, not even Nathan could say anything about this. If anything, I was surprised that she hadn’t realized that before looking at her son for help.“Who do you think you are to speak to your Luna…?”“You are not my Luna, Inna” I said, stopping the woman from embarrassing herself anymore in front of the pack members “I am aware that you haven’t processed that, but I do suggest that you do, because if not, I will be sure to force you to do so my way. For now, I am still respecting that you are my husband’s mother, and that you are in the position of being my own mother-in-law, do not force my patience”
Nathan:I walked toward my mom’s house with a heavy heart.Never in my life did I think that I would be forced to choose between her and my duties as an Alpha; but it seemed like life has taken a path that not even I expected. I knocked on the door twice, watching as Vitaly opened the door, already knowing that it was me. He kept his eyes on the ground, avoiding my eyes as he took a step back, fearing my anger. But I wasn’t angry with him, I couldn’t be if I wanted to anyway. “She is in the room, and I don’t know whether or not she would want to see anyone right now” Vitaly said. I nodded, knowing that he was right. If anyone knew that mom would be more than just a little upset with me right now, it was me, but she needed to know that I didn’t like doing this anymore than she hated me doing it.I walked toward her room, knocking the door twice as I heard her crying inside the room. She wouldn’t respond, not that I expected her to anyway, and I sighed opening the door, walking inside
Katerina:“Hello?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I answered whoever was calling. Nathan, who was asleep by my side, opened his eyes, frowning in confusion at who was calling this early in the morning.“Hello, is this Mrs. Katerina Kozlov?” A man asked.“Yes, it’s me” I said, sitting up. Nathan sat up, shaking his head in confusion before a smile replaced his forming frown.“I am Professor Jasper from…”“Professor Jasper? As in the one professor we knew majoring in business laws?” I asked, looking at Nathan who wrapped his arm around me. I allowed myself to lay on his chest, relaxing in his embrace as he ran his hand over my stomach, resting his chin over my shoulder as he did. “Yes, I am proud to know that I am remembered” he said, arrogantly. I had to fight back a rude comeback, as the reason behind remembering the bastard was that most of his class, my classmates, failed during taking his course; I was surprised to know that I have passed back then, but seeing as I had
Nathan: I watched as my mate sat by the window, processing what she has lived through over the past few weeks. “How is she?” Mom asked, approaching me. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, not knowing how to answer. My beauty lost her mom the same way she lost her father years ago. Both wanted to kill her, and both had to be killed to be stopped. “I don’t know, mom” I said honestly “she is not talking, and we both know why, so I don’t know what I can do at this point” Mom and I, despite the gap that we had, I knew that I had to be thankful that she at least, fought to protect me instead of putting me in the face of danger, wanting to kill me. I had seen my woman go from her strongest of states to her weakest, and at this point, I didn’t even know how to tend to that. “She just needs you by her side. The two of you have been through…” “You haven’t seen her when I did. The man broke her face, literally broke it. Had it not been for Alexander’s blood in her system, the bones
Katerina:To say that I did not trust her would not be a lie.But the last thing I expected was for my mother to be as cold hearted as to send me to my enemy with her own hands, along with my brother, to be killed.“Kat…”I didn’t bother looking at Donatello let alone respond to him. I didn’t blame him for wanting to trust her. I couldn’t do that, but I hated the fact that he chose to be as harsh as he was to me as he defended her, only for me to be the one who was right and to pay the price for it.“I trust that you still have the cat holding your tongue?” Domenico said, entering the cell that he kept us. He looked at me before putting on a few rings. Fuck, I knew that this was going to hurt. And approaching me, he stood in front of me for a second before punching me in the face, making my eyes widen in surprise as I felt my jaw break. I was actually surprised that my teeth didn’t, but I knew that it would be a matter of time before that happened. “How about we manage to loosen it u
Nathan:Katerina was quiet throughout the rest of the planning, mostly because her mother and brother were here, and knowing how tensed up things were, she knew not to risk saying a word that could lead to an issue. “So, in other words, Katerina would be the one to kill Domenico, to prevent him from killing her and Donatello” Ariana asked, and I nodded. "Yes, and it all has to be done on the night of the eclipse. I am not sure how he would be luring Donatello toward him, but he would have to kill him on that night. Otherwise, the Lycan dies, and all that he’s been plotting would pretty much be for nothing” I said, and the woman nodded.“Why not just keep him in the house? Have Domenico die anyway”“He would do something that would drag him there whether or not he likes it, and I can assume that it would have something to do with Katerina. The issue is not that we can handle the bastard not killing Donatello, the main concern is that he could, and he would, try hurting the kids and m
Katerina:I sat on the edge of the bed as I took a deep breath, processing everything that went on this long day.Nathan, who knew that I was upset, didn’t speak for a while, knowing that I needed my space. But in truth, I actually needed him. I needed his arms to wrap around me, and I needed him to hold me close.He entered the room, having gone to check on the kids, and I got up from bed to hug him. Again, he didn’t say a word, but his embrace was enough to tell me that I was not alone. He kissed the crown of my head, letting his lips linger there for a few seconds, purring as to comfort me before pulling away to look me in the eye.“He was angry, Katerina, and you can’t expect otherwise. Your brother, as strong as he is, also has a breaking point, and he too has been under too much pressure. He would eventually understand” Nathan whispered and I nodded, knowing that he was right. It was just that his words were a bit too harsh for me to simply accept.“I understand, love” I said, t
Nathan:I frowned when I saw my wife sitting out on Elijah’s porch, staring into space.Her eyes met mine, and taking a deep breath, she got up from the chair and walked toward me.I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her into a hug, before pulling away to look her in the eye.“Something happened, didn’t it?”“Domenico, happened” Katerina said, and I frowned, shaking my head at the fact that he had the audacity to show up. “we are going to need to go home though. I just got into an argument with Elijah, and I do not intend to face him right now. The man was being too much of a prick for me to stay quiet about it”“What happened?” Alexander, who was behind me, asked, frowning in confusion.“Nothing to worry about. The man is not used to someone talking back at him, and I had to be the one to do it. Anyway, how did things go from your side? Domenico would not be approaching this house for a while, but we need to be careful about ours, and the kids” Katerina asked, trying to change the s
Katerina:The house’s door barged open, Elijah’s, to be more specific, revealing a furious Domenico.Caterina, Elijah, and I were sitting in the living room, waiting for him to show up.“What the fuck?”“Hello to you too, Domenico” Elijah said calmly. Caterina went to stand up, but Elijah shook his head at her, motioning for her to stay seated. Her heart raced, and I knew that she feared the Lycan. I stayed still, watching the scene before my eyes, knowing that things weren’t go as peaceful as Elijah would have hoped his home would be in, but we all knew that things had to go down, and they had to do so fast if we were to get out of the bullshit of the Lycan.“What the fuck are you guys up to? Huh? Do you think that the stupid wolves would keep you safe…?” Elijah let out a low warning growl before taking a step toward the Lycan, towering over his body, his authority, despite his calmness, was one that was intimidating, and seeing Domenico’s fear in his eyes, I knew that I didn’t want
Nathan: “So, in short, you need Domenico dead before the next eclipse which is in five days' time” Elijah said, looking at me. “Exactly, if we can manage doing that, then we would…” “There is no if, in this one, Nathan” Alexander said, stopping me “if the man does not die, he will kill you all, Caterina, then turn to us; therefore, if you do not trust that you can face him, I suggest that you just let us know now” “I take it that you are actually excited about killing him” I said, raising an eyebrow at the vampire. “The prick has done us all more damage over the years than should have been considered acceptable. So, to answer your question, yes, I am more than willing to kill him” Alexander said casually “as for you getting the last name, I do know that since you are married, you wouldn’t need the bloodline, but we can find a way to alternate the history…” “The last thing I can care about right now is whether or not I carry the Grimaldi last name, Alexander, and I believe that y
Katerina:Alexander froze as he took sight of Caterina, his lover, standing in front of him.Whatever the real story behind their relationship was, I could tell that this was the last thing he ever thought that he would be facing. “Cat…?”“I know that you never liked me being around your son, Alberto” Caterina said, not caring about looking at Alexander, or in other words, Giuliano, who was still processing her presence. Her eyes were fixed on Elijah whose eyes were wide in surprise as his heart raced “you changing your name would not mean that you have changed who you are, and you going from country to country to hide your son never meant that Domenico would not find him. As you can see, and have noticed, he has, and he has followed you here, forcing you one again to submit to him. I believe that you are aware…”“First of all, I am not hiding my son from anyone. He is strong enough to fight anyone who can stand in his way, and the Lycan fucking knows that and is living because WE ar
Nathan:I smiled at Carter who was heading toward the car with his mate and child.My chest ached, but I knew that it was for the best to ensure their safety. Plus, they had their part to take care of in Russia, as a Pakhan, we all knew that we had our duties here and there. He would be my eyes and ears there, and he would be the one in charge of ensuring that things go as planned while he was there.He turned to face me after Jade and his baby got inside the car, and smiling, he walked toward me to hug me tightly. I hugged him back, the memories of us running around this house’s garden played in my head. Us going to school, growing up. All what we’ve been through just seemed to repeat itself as we pulled away to look one another in the eye. I knew that it was not a goodbye. As brothers by choice, it would never be; however, until we have united again, I knew that these memories were ones that we would be holding on to."Keep them safe, yeah?” I asked, and he nodded.“And you, them” h