Katerina:I stood in the veranda, taking a sip of the tea Bella gave me while she went inside to check on whether or not the men needed anything. I knew that she would mostly not be coming back. The woman, regardless of not saying anything, has been trying to keep her distance from me and would only speak to me so as not to make me feel left out when I stayed quiet for a while too long. She didn’t understand that the last thing I wanted to do was piss her or anyone off.However, me being alone didn’t last for long as I felt Celeste’s presence behind me. I turned around, facing her, smiling politely at the woman who I knew was waiting for a reaction from me. Her violet eyes which have changed to a darker shade of purple, met my green ones, and I could swear that I heard the woman let out a low growl as she looked me up and down.“How may I help you?” I asked, breaking whatever trance I believed that she was in. I put the cup of tea on the coffee table as I watched her take a seat on th
Nathan:My heart raced against my chest as I walked out of Donatello’s house. My hands shook as I thought of what he had said and the possibilities of it being true. I walked forward, knowing that Katerina was following in silence. She knew not to speak after we heard as not to stir me more than I already was. My heart throbbed with each passing second, and seeing as I didn’t know how to react to it; I just didn’t know how I was supposed to feel about it. I opened the car door for my wife, waiting for her to get inside before I got inside the driver’s seat, starting the car without saying a word. The idea of having my best friend and right hand betraying me like that broke me.The ride home was quiet, and to make matters worse, Carter decided to call. My eyes caught sight of his phone number on the car’s Bluetooth as he called to check on us, especially since neither one of us bothered to call to assure the family about what happened.Katerina stared at the screen for a second, wait
Katerina:My heart raced against my chest as Nathan’s words left his mouth, his eyes were fixed on mine as he spoke, and for a second, I thought that I was dreaming. However, Nathan’s lips pressing against my own snapped me back to reality. I kissed him back, unbuckling my belt as I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer, wanting to deepen the kiss. Nathan smirked, biting my bottom lip before he pulled away to look me in the eye, his hand caressing my cheeks. Both our chests rose and fell as we fought to catch our breaths, our need, want, and love for one another could be seen through our eyes, and I knew that if we were back at home, or in a hotel room, the two of us wouldn’t have wasted time before we started making love. “I love you too, Nathan” I whispered, my cheeks reddening slightly as I looked at Nathan who smiled. The reminder that I had admitted my love for him in front of everyone was something that I knew both of us would never forget, but knowing that it was wor
Nathan: I ran my fingers through my wife’s hair as she slept in my arms, knowing that she must have been exhausted after last night. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed peacefully, curling up in my arms as I smiled down at her. Knowing that it was the weekend, I knew that she had nothing to wake up early for, but I knew not to let her sleep in as she still had a few exam preparations to make before the week started. She didn’t even understand how proud I was of her, but knowing that she was putting her best efforts into prospering in something that she loved was something that I couldn’t help but respect and appreciate. The night with Donatello still played in my head whenever I closed my eyes, and thinking about the possibilities of it was dangerous alone. The things we said at the pack, our arguments, and even our decisions as pack members were now in danger of being exposed, and the thing was, I didn’t even know who was behind that. Katerina stirred in my arms, raising hers
Katerina:I walked through the university cafeteria, knowing that I would be sitting alone.I didn’t bother looking at Blake or Alana who were sitting by one another, knowing that they would end up ignoring me or giving me the cold shoulder. Almost everyone at the campus looked at me, muttering rumors between one another as they judged me for what happened back at the event this weekend.I bought myself a sandwich and a cup of coffee before going out to sit in the garden. I had to revise for my test and I planned on taking the lunch break as an excuse to do so.Setting my things on the floor, I sat down by the tree I usually sat in front of, leaning my back against it as I opened my bag and pulled out my book. Opening the page, I read through it as I took a sip of my coffee.“University food, that’s something that I haven’t seen in a while” my husband’s voice broke my train of thoughts making me jump. I looked up to find him smiling down at me before I set my coffee down and got up, j
Nathan: I had to fight the urge of punching Donatello the second he entered my office. Katerina's words were still playing in my head as I glared at him. He frowned in confusion seeing my attitude; however, I wasn’t going to give him the benefit of knowing that he not only ticked my nerve, he managed to tick my wife’s too.I knew that Katerina was usually quiet, contained, and preferred to stay out of the spotlight, and this was one of the reasons. Whenever she was in the spotlight, she found herself being alone as she gets put in situations that are not preferable to her, and this was just one of them.Carter, Donatello, Donato, and I entered my office, the three men frowning at my state. Katerina was yet to call me to inform me that she was done with her exam; but I was surprised when I saw Donatello arriving at the office twenty minutes after our call.“I take it someone has had a tough day” Donatello mocked, pretending like the night before didn’t happen. It was part of our plan
Katerina:“What game are you playing, Katerina?” Carter asked, stopping me before I left the company. I frowned in confusion, stopping in front of him, putting a hand on his chest as I pushed him inside his office. Nathan was at a meeting and I knew that he wouldn’t be out until another hour, hence why I chose to excuse myself and go back home.“What the bloody hell are you talking about?” I asked, glaring at him. My tone annoyed at him as I reminded him of the fact that he was my husband’s beta and I was his Luna. Carter knew the rules by heart, and I knew that of all people, he should have been the one to both respect, and protect me; however, it seemed like my day couldn’t get any worse than it already was. Between everything that has been happening, I found myself no longer being surprised by anyone’s words, actions, or attitude.“Since arriving, Nathan has gotten into countless arguments with Inna, and that was something that never happened. He has been comparing me to other pack
Nathan:My heart raced against my ribcage as I processed what Donatello just told Katerina. My body froze, preventing me from moving a muscle as a wave of emotions flooded through me, and thousands of questions ran through my mind. I couldn’t even imagine what Katerina felt as she stood in front of Donatello, processing what he said.Her hands shook as she fought the urge to rip the man’s face in half, and seeing that I knew that she could, I forced myself to walk toward her, wrapping my arms around her as to pull her back. Katerina’s body tensed for a second before she turned around to face me, allowing me to wrap my arms around her as if to protect her from Donatello.“It is your choice whether you want to see her or not. But I wanted you to know that you are not alone dealing with this. She left me too, and I broke down just like you did. The one difference is, I was a child when she left, and I didn’t understand why my mom chose to run away with a different man”“No…”“She found y
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