Katerina: “Are you alright, love?” I asked, walking around the gala alongside my husband. Nathan’s been quiet since the encounter with his mum, and I was starting to fear his cold behavior. “I’m fine, Katerina” he said, not bothering to look at me. I knew to dismiss the topic after that, not wanting to cause a riot or a problem that would have us being the center of ‘bad’ attention. We could already hear gossiping happening around from the other packs and the other human businessmen that were around. Unfortunately, the rumors about the scandal that Inna did not only caused us an issue between the wolf packs. Despite them not really knowing about us being wolves, the fact that she had a lover over her husband was enough to have others putting a question mark. “If it isn’t our famous Pakhan and his beloved maiden” Andreas Garcia, one of the Mexican partners we had. The man was an heir of the Garcia family, and not only was he arrogant, but he was one of the men who had helped with
Nathan:“What the hell are you two doing?” Ariana asked, glaring at Katerina and I the second we approached them.“Hello to you too, mother” Katerina said coldly. No matter how much the woman tried to actually make things right with her daughter, Katerina had put the line a long time ago. I couldn’t blame her for it. She has struggled more than any child should have at that young age by her mother who abandoned her on the streets, and had her father not come for her, I knew that my beauty might have been injured out alone at that young age.“Katerina, Nathan, you brought over the man that literally threatened to want you dead…”“I believe that what we do does not and should not concern you, mother. Especially since we’ve been drawn to so many things due to what you started” Katerina said, shaking her head at Ariana who shook her head. Anthony, who was standing beside his mate, tightened his arm around her, stopping her from arguing in front of others. Donatello didn’t say a word as he
Katerina:“You’ve been quiet since we left the gala” Nathan said, wrapping his arms around me from the back as I placed my jewelry back inside the boxes. I didn’t bother responding as I moved from his arms, turning to walk to bed. Nathan chuckled, shaking his head, clearly aware that I was more than just a little upset with him.“Katerina…”“You lied to me, Nathan” I said, stopping him.“Well, I can’t say I'm lying. I merely didn’t mention it…”“Nathan” I snapped, turning to face him. His eyes met mine and he sighed before looking down at his feet, avoiding my eyes.“I’m sorry, Katerina” he said, looking up to look me in the eye “I know that you don’t like me hiding things from you, and I know that you hate being put in such situations…”“And yet, there you went, putting me in such a situation” I said, glaring at him “you partnered with the man who wants us DEAD, Nathan. Screw me dying, screw that, it is the last thing I care about. He wants our kids dying. Did you put that in consi
Nathan:“Daddy!” Ilya said, smiling when he saw me entering his studying room.I knew that he had homework to finish since it was the weekend, and the fact that we went out every evening only meant that he had to have his work done before doing so. Katerina’s rules.He got up from his chair and ran to me, jumping in my arms as I smiled at him, kissing his cheek. He laughed before I put him down, watching as he walked back to his desk. I nodded at his tutor, motioning for her to leave the two of us alone before sitting beside him. It has been a while since I’ve spent enough time with the kids, but with everything that has been happening before the gala, I hated to admit it, but I barely had time to see my wife before bed at night. “How are you doing, Ilya?” I asked, calling him by his Russian name.“I am fine” he said, finishing his assignment.“You didn’t ask me how I am” I noted, knowing that he only did that when he was upset with me.“You love Calista more than you love me, so, I
Katerina: “What do you mean that we’re having sudden competition?” I asked my manager “this is a hotel and a trusted one, not some restaurant that just opened” “Mr. Domenico Mancini opened his line a few blocks away, ma’am, and almost all the big shots are going there now. I am not sure what he has in mind, but he is the owner of the building that has been under construction for the past year” he said, and I nodded, letting out a quiet laugh. I knew that Domenico wouldn’t just come here for peace. The man had to have his share of something somehow, and it seemed like this was just the beginning of his dirty games. “Is there anything else that I need to know?” I asked, looking at the manager who I could tell was more scared than he was letting out. His shaking hands gave him out easily; however, I was sure not to show him that I could read his expression easily as he extended a file to give me, wanting me to read it. “These are the financial records for the past month” he said, and
Nathan:“Is everything alright?” Domenico asked, pretending to care. I gave the man the best smile that I could muster, and nodding at the man, I took a seat on my chair. I looked at Carter before nodding at him, assuring him that things were alright at home. His phone was on silent, and I usually never took calls when at a meeting, but when it was Katerina calling, I knew not to ignore it, especially since I knew that she was not at home.“My apologies, my wife was not aware of me being in a meeting” I told the men. They nodded, knowing well that Katerina was our partner. Domenico, who was the only new member on our table, frowned when he saw that the men were not really concerned about the topic, but he was sure not to comment on the topic as he looked at his lawyer who was setting new clauses, wanting new changes.The other men did not bother with setting new ones as they knew the ones that we worked with often did their best; but I knew that the case was not the same with Domenico
Katerina:My heart raced against my ribcage as the woman stood in front of me. Her eyes studied my expression for a few seconds, practically reading my body language, making my heart race under the tension of her intense gaze.“What the fuck is going on here?” I asked, looking at mum whose eyes dropped to the ground, avoiding my eyes. I knew that she could read my anger in my eyes, and seeing as she didn’t respond, I could tell that this was something that she has been setting up for a while.“I believe that the two of us need to talk. That is why I came here, and I am well aware that me coming here without an invitation would not really help…”“Who the bloody hell are you?” I asked the woman who sighed. The woman’s eyes and stance were more confident than I would ever be, and despite knowing that I looked exactly like her, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat weak compared to her. Maybe because I actually was…“She does have my attitude; therefore, I cannot say much about it” she said,
Nathan:I froze, listening to what the woman said for a second before Katerina shook her head. It wasn’t like I was against Donatello being the next heir of elders, it was the exact contrary. The fact that the man was now at risk was what worried me. “How could my brother be the next heir? Hell, if anything, Domenico wants nothing other than to…”“He seemed to be the chosen one. Elders are chosen due to different criteria, and your brother has met them all. One of them was peace with the wolves, he does not mind humans being around him, it is something that Domenico does. He is humble, and does not take advantage of his position as Alpha. Needless to say, he is everything that an elder should be, something that Domenico seemed to forget over the years. And that is something that he would be paying for greatly” Caterina said, looking at me, shaking her head in question as she waited for what I had to say.“Does he know? Or is there any way that he would know?” “He does not, not yet
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