[Tatiana’s POV]Frowning, the woman continues to stare at me. After a moment, she reaches behind herself, pulls something from her back pocket, and shows it to me.Eyes widening, I take in a picture of myself that rests beneath the word wanted."This," I hiss, taking it in in disbelief. "How?""I’ll ask again," the woman pushes. "What exactly led to this?"For a moment, I remain silent as I take in the wanted paper that holds a hefty reward.So this was what it all came down to. My uncle really went so far as to put a bounty on my head after I escaped from Onyx River."Do you know how many people are looking for you right now?""I have an idea," I admit, but I didn’t give a damn about any of them. There was only one person who I hoped was currently searching for me. "If you’ve seen this, why are you helping me?" I continue, my guard going up."Because I don’t care for the people in that world," she explains, flashing a defiant smile. "They took something very important away from me."
[Knight’s POV]“Good luck.”It’s the only thing that Tatiana says before our connection is broken, and I’m left suddenly feeling empty. What the hell was I even thinking of saying something like that to begin with?‘Focus!’Migel’s voice echoes in my head, snapping me out of my daze so that I once again take in the bastards that are surrounding us.‘Why the hell did Massimo have to make me do something so troublesome?’ He continues, leaping and attacking, only to scurry back as a knife is swiped at him. 'Oh, right, because I’m his bitch.’Letting out a chuckle of amusement, I focus on the man closest to me and then move, easily dodging his blows until I can wrap my teeth around his ankle, slicing his achilles tendon so he crashes to the ground.Jumping on top of him, I use my claws to rip at his skin while I wrap my teeth around his face. When he stops moving, I jump off, causing a line of fire to race across my shoulders due to another asshole attacking me while I wasn’t looking.Whi
[Massimo’s POV]I sit in a corner with my eyes closed and my head resting against the rough wall behind me. The coolness from it soothes the headache that is threatening to overtake me from lack of nutrients since being locked up.That was one thing the syndicate made sure of. If their prisoners were to escape, they would be too fucking weak to stand a chance in a fight.All around, I can hear the yells and howls of those who are also in this hell with me, and I find myself wondering exactly how long most of them have been here.Days? Months? Years?Since my arrival, time has ceased to exist, and a good amount of time could have passed, and I would never know the difference.Sighing, I snap my eyes open and look toward the bars of my cell.I couldn’t help but wonder how Migel was doing. Had he managed to achieve the mission I sent him to do? And if he had, where the fuck was he?Anger flaring, I consider reaching out and finding him, but stop as the sound of rushing feet echos around
[Tatiana’s POV]I stare straight ahead, trying to process exactly what just happened as my worry for Knight continues to build.Where in the world was he, and who were those men that he was fighting? Were they his father’s men, or maybe my uncles? I didn’t know, but now that I couldn’t feel the connection with him, my heart was beating a mile a minute, and the urge to go find him clawed at me.“What’s wrong?” Winley’s voice is gentle but full of urgency as she reaches out and grabs me. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”“I have,” I respond, feeling a chill race down my spine as Knight’s warning hits me.Run before he finds me and makes me admit that the child in my stomach was his. What the hell did he even mean by that? Was he going to hurt the child or make me get rid of it?“I can’t stay here,” I gasp, meeting Winley’s gaze. “Please, we need to get out of here!”“Woah, woah,” she hisses as I attempt to jump up. “What exactly do you think you’re doing? You’re a patient, and y
[Massimo’s POV]I stumble into an alley while Knight follows closely behind, and only once I’m sure that we are no longer being chased do I finally collapse, allowing all the fucking pain that was eating me alive to escape due to the loss of my beta.“Fuck!” I snarl, punching the wall in front of me. “It’s my fault.”“How?” Knight asks, fixing his narrow gaze on me. “He knew what the possible outcomes of his actions were.”“I threatened him into it,” I say quietly, remembering my threat beforehand. “Had I not done that then…”“He would have gone against you and continued to cower under your father.”Biting back my initial response, I shoot a glare at Knight.“What?” He asks, looking smug. “Pissed that I’m right?”I was, actually. I hated that he was speaking rationally while I was all but breaking down. Here, I thought that I was strong enough to handle being a leader when I knew that doing that could involve losing those around me.“Instead of moping here, how about you make sure tha
[Knight’s POV]When we arrive at our destination, I can’t help but feel like I’m being played for a chump. The place looks rundown, and the yard is in horrible condition. What kind of person was Massimo coming to meet, exactly?“Are you really putting your faith in a bum?” I demand, keeping my distance as Massimo makes his way up the porch.“I guess you could say that,” he admits with a smirk. “But this bum is the best in the business, and if we want to find Tatiana fast, he is our best bet.”Best bet… A bum was our best bet? What kind of operation did this bastard even run?Frowning, I slowly begin to move while Massimo rings the doorbell and then steps back until two large eyes appear on the small screen beside the door.“What?” The person we are here to see demands. “Why are you back? I’ve done what you asked, now…”“Open the fucking door, or I’ll kick it down,” Massimo warns.“You can try,” the voice laughs. “You’d not make it more than an inch in this place before you’re dead.”“
[Knight’s POV]I continue to apply weight little by little until I feel Calvin’s ribcage beginning to cave. Was this bastard actually going to continue to remain quiet and allow me to kill him? It was looking like it, and if I did kill him, then we were going to be left with no information on Tatiana.“Why did you think this asshole was a good choice to help us?” I snap at Massimo, who is still watching us. “Clearly he isn’t interested.”“Just keep breaking him,” Massimo shrugs. “He doesn’t actually have a death wish.”At his words, I hear grunts and groans escaping Calvin, but he continues to remain silent. I wasn’t so sure from his actions that he didn’t have that death wish, but I would give him a bit longer before I made his chest flat.Pushing harder, I feel his lungs beginning to deflate, and finally he lets out a shocked gasp and then begins hitting my leg in defeat.“Okay!” He rasps, wriggling his body. “I’ll help!”Smirking, I lift my foot and then step back, watching as Calv
[Tatiana’s POV]Ronda continues to glare at me while I try to remain calm. Of course all these people would be wary of me and insult me, but to insult their own was pushing it too far.“I can just leave,” I say, not able to control the anger that is bubbling in me. “Then please do,” Ronda says, nodding toward the exit. “You would do nothing but bring us trouble anyway.”Biting back on my initial reply, I try to calm the fire that is beginning to build in me. It feels almost like the very same fire that consumed me when I was trying to get away from my uncle.Shit, what even was this, and why was it suddenly manifesting?"Oh, look!" Ronda giggles, looking at the others. “She’s going to cry.”“Not quite,” I hiss, losing control.Letting out a low growl, I close my eyes as my head begins to spin and my ears start to ring. Dammit, this was bad.When I open them again, I find myself being watched with multiple looks of shock.Confusion building, I look down to find that I am surrounded by
[Tatiana’s POV]My heart races as I stare at the name that flashes on my phone. Massimo. Was it really him calling me right now, or was it someone else pretending to be him? I didn’t know, but I wanted to find out.“Answer it.” Knight’s voice is firm, and it snaps me out of my daze. “We’ve been looking for that bastard for five years, and here he is calling you like it's nothing.”I don’t miss the hint of distrust in his voice as he speaks, but for the time being, I didn’t want to deal with it. The most important thing was answering this call and figuring out if it truly was Massimo reaching out to communicate with me or not.Sucking in a breath, I swipe to answer and bring the phone to my ear, then wait.“Little fairy.” Massimo rasps as what sounds like bottle clatter in the background. “Is that you?”Eyes widening, I realize that the person on the other end is, in fact, Massimo, and he was actually calling.“Is it him?” Knight asks slowly, clearly trying to keep his temper in check.
Three Years Later[Knight’s POV]“Daddy, look the ocean!”Octavia’s lips turn into a bright smile as she lets her eyes come to rest on the sparkling blue water in front of us. This was the first time she had ever been to the beach, so of course she was excited.“I want to swim!”As the words leave her lips, she attempts to rush forward but stops as Tatiana reaches down and grabs her wrist.“Careful!” I hiss, not missing the way she wobbles forward due to her large belly. “You’re going to fall and hurt yourself!”“I’ll be fine,” she insists, giving me a look of annoyance. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been pregnant.”Wincing, I try not to think about that time when I abandoned her when she truly needed me the most. I was a fucking fool back then, and it cost me a year with the woman I love the most and the first two months of my daughter's life.That was why this time around I was doing everything, from attending every single doctor's appointment to doing everything Tatiana needed me
A Year Later[Knight’s POV]“Daddy!”The tiny voice reaches me before arms are wrapping around my leg. Looking down, I take in Octavia as she grins up at me. She looks adorable in her golden dress, with her hair done up into a tiny ponytail at the top of her head.Since she began to walk, no one could stop her from getting where she wanted. She was a little escape artist, and I was certain her nanny would appear soon with a look of annoyance on her features.“Up!” She insists, holding up her arms.Nodding, I do as she says before turning to Desmond, whom I had been talking to moments prior.“Typical,” he chuckles. “The minute your girls are involved, no one else exists.”“As it should be,” I agree. “Why would I want to pay attention to an old fart like you when such a beauty is in front of me?”This was the first time I had seen Desmond in months, and he was busy telling me about how things were going back at Crystal Fang. I realized that things were going back to normal after what ha
[Knight’s POV]I stare into Tatiana’s eyes, trying to determine whether or not I heard her correctly. How was it possible that someone could be given this much fucking happiness at once? Especially a sinner like me?“Well?” She asks, looking shy. “Will you?”Would I? Of course I fucking would! But would she regret asking me to do it in the future? We still had such a long way to go in our relationship, but right now we never felt closer. However, anything could happen in the blink of an eye, and everything would come crumbling down.“Knight,” she continues when I don’t speak. “Look at me.”Reaching up, Tatiana grabs my cheeks and makes me look into her beautiful golden eyes, which can’t be outdone by the sun itself. They were perfect, she was perfect, and somehow she was all mine.“I want you to mark me,” she continues. “I want the world to know that I’m yours and you are mine. If I’ve learned anything from the past year, it is that tomorrow isn’t promised. Many were lost so that we c
[Tatiana’s POV]I wrap a robe around my still-dripping body and then pull my hair over my shoulder. After my day, I felt disgusting, and a hot shower was exactly what I needed, but despite knowing that things were going in the direction that they were supposed to, something was still nagging at me.Massimo.What exactly happened to him, and why couldn’t anyone find any sort of sign of him? It was almost as if he had disappeared or never existed at all.Letting out a sigh, I try to shake off my thoughts and head out of the bathroom to find Knight laying in bed waiting for me.“About time,” he says as his eyes begin to take me in and grow darker. “I was about to go in and check on you.”“Sorry for making you wait,” I say, taking a seat beside him and reaching for my hairbrush. “I was just…”“Needing some privacy?” He offers, making me flinch. Fuck, had he read my thoughts? “I told you that I have all my best men looking for him.”I knew that it probably hurt Knight to know that I was th
[Knight’s POV]I remain silent as Tatiana takes the lead with our ceremony, and when it’s over, I truly feel as though I’ve fallen in love with her all over again. How was it possible that my little caged princess became such a fucking queen in the short span of a year? I was both excited to see what the future brought and disappointed that I would never get to see her shy expressions again.Back then, she was so fucking lovely that it damn near killed me to stay away from her. However, now she was just as lovely but not as innocent. At least, that was what I thought, but the minute we are allowed to leave and we are alone, there it is, that shy and embarrassed expression.“You did well,” I beam, pulling her against me. “Better than well. You were amazing.”“Was I?” She asks, clearly upset over her kill.“Remember that it was to make a point.”We already agreed that the first show of rebellion would be dealt with, and she did fucking amazing in keeping to that. After all the betrayals
[Tatiana’s POV]A week passed since the battle with Onyx River, and since then, both my uncle and Fernando have been placed in the dungeon to await their trials. Of course, my uncle would be tried for the deaths of not only my parents but many others, and while Fernando had done his fair share of horrible deeds since I was still blood-bound to him, there was no way he could be killed.“Are you ready?” Knight asks me as I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I’m dressed in a long black button-down with a leather vest and black pants, and my long red hair is pulled into a ponytail at the nape of my neck. This is the typical look for a leader who is in mourning. “If you’re nervous, I can…”“No,” I say, giving him a smile. “I can do this. I need to do this.”Now that my uncle was where he belonged and Massimo was nowhere to be found, Onyx River, Obsidian River, and even Hunters Moon were without alphas, and now was the time for Knight and I to come together to lead all three packs.This
[Tatiana’s POV]I watch as my uncle’s body shifts from human to a large black wolf with a powerful aura that presses against my skin, trying to urge me to bow. Fighting it, I prepare to attack again but feel my energy fading due to the collar around my throat.Dammit, I needed to get this damned thing off of me, but I didn’t know how. Feeling my annoyance flare, I watch as Knight attacks again, slamming his body into my uncle so that they both go crashing to the side.As they begin to straighten themselves out, my uncle bites the nape of Knight’s neck and then jerks his head, throwing him in my direction.With wide eyes, I watch as he flies toward me and then slams into my body.‘Why didn’t you move?’ He demands when we hit the ground. ‘Get it together.’Right. I needed to get out of my head and get moving. I couldn’t let the fact I couldn’t tap into my abilities stop me. There had to be something I could do.‘That collar,’ Knight says. ‘It’s blocking your shifting, right?’‘Right,’ I
[Knight’s POV]I stare ahead, watching Tatiana get attacked by multiple wolves while my vision fades in and out. Fuck, I need to move, but I can’t seem to get control of my body.‘Our mate,’ Bane whines, urging me to go. ‘Help her.’‘I’m trying…’ I huff, finding it drains me to even respond to my wolf. ‘I just…’The rest of my words fade as the world fades, and the last thing I see before the darkness consumes me is Tatiana shifting back to her human form while her uncle stares down at her with a look of satisfaction on his face.“I’m sorry. I failed you.”I don’t know how long I’m out for after that, but the sound of glass shattering and then hands touching me rouse me again, and I find Desmond and Geraldo pulling me out of the remains of my car."Fuck!" Desmond hisses as he takes me in. “They did a number to you, kid.”“Are you surprised?” Geraldo counters.Ignoring their hit, I shift my gaze in the direction I last saw Tatiana and find that no one is there.“Tatiana,” I gasp, attem