DamonI pulled up by the City Hall and put on my mask just as I alighted from the van. I had a team of five men with me, but according to Ted, this was where the majority of the explosives were since the hall was at the center of the city. I attracted many looks as I climbed up the stairs and went straight into the building."Leo," I called to the man beside me."Boss," he said, looking much cleaner and wearing clean clothes than he was before."Get everybody out of the building," I said. "Even if things were to go south, it'd be better if they were outside," I said to him."You got it, boss."Just as I reached the stairways that led to the basement, I heard a loud booming roar followed by the sound of many people screaming."Can he really turn into a lion? I know you can turn into some sort of beast," I replied to Miguel's question. "But I haven't seen it before. I only saw a few videos taken by scared people that he was fighting against."We reached the basement quickly. "There's an
DamonI "Don't tell her," I said as I pushed myself to my feet, staggering from shortness of breath. Alessandro helped me stay on my feet and guided me up the stairs. By the time we reached the main floor of the City Hall, Alessandro received the status report."Baby, we intercepted everything," he said. Just as I opened the door, I was faced with a large beast."Leo, there's no need for you to be like this anymore," I said. Leo was a strange crossbreed between a lion and a tiger, standing on hind legs shaped like an animal's but with hooves instead of claws. "Did you rip your clothes?" I asked him, taking off my jacket. Leo nodded, and I asked Philippe if there were spare clothes in the car."Here," Philippe said. Moments later, we were climbing down the stairs. It happened quickly; Leo flinched and then curled in on himself as his body began to contort back into a man."Ah," he said as he stretched his arms and his back. He picked up the clothes and wore them quickly."Where to?" P
IsabellaI felt a slight tug at the pit of my stomach, a sign that something grave had happened. I looked at the screens in front of me. Everything was normal, except that I saw Damon shrouded in black mist. Suddenly, a surge of negative emotion rose as my hand touched my belly."Are you okay?" Paula asked as she stepped into my room."No," I said with a bitter smile. "How can I be okay? I lost my baby and potentially the ability to ever get pregnant for the man I love. I may just as well be the last member of my family." I laughed bitterly."Bella," Paula said, her voice soft and warm as she sat on the bed beside me. "Don't say that, please.""Don't say what? Don't say the reality of things?" I replied. "I've looked into my future, Paula. I've looked at yours, and there's light, there's so many beautiful children in your future.You have babies with you, and you're happy. But me... it's gray, Paula. It's very gray, like a long continuous storm that refuses to let up. There's no eye f
IsabellaDamon's eyes flashed red and then returned to their original color."Is that what you want? Is that really what you want, Mia Bella? Think about this," he urged."I want revenge," I said firmly. "I want them to feel what I felt. I want Recolletti to feel what I felt and watch as the life you brought into this world disappeared. I want her to go through exactly what I went through.""You're not calm, Bella. When you are, we can talk about this again. I'm not going anywhere. It's not up for discussion. You are going back to the manor, and when you are level headed, we can talk about how best to deal with this," he said, his tone final and imbued with power.I bit my lip as I felt myself succumbing to it, bending to the man who was king over me. Tears pricked my eyes as my vision began to blur."I won't forget this. I won't forget that you tried to stop me, Damon. And I will hate this day," I said, unable to stop the words that were coming out of my mouth as though it was some
Isabella The large man beside me said nothing as the women started to cry. One of them, the one with blood on her face, crawled towards me and knelt in front of the iron bars. "I will give you everything I have. Spare my life. Spare my children's lives. You will do that, yes? After all, you know the pain. You know the pain of a mother who loses her child," she pleaded. I shook my head. "I know the pain, but believe me when I say I don't do this for revenge. If I let your families live and if I let your properties remain, your allies will rise again. Your allies, no matter where they are, will come here and seek war. I don't want this as much as you do, but your actions have led to this. The mercy that he has shown you has long since run out. You must be Martinez. I heard about how your husband disrespected the mafia king by calling him a nameless scum. I've heard about how you called him that name many times. I will have you know that he has a name. His name is Montenegro.
IsabellaThe crowd fell silent, and my heart started thumping loudly. But it was too late to stop now. "And over time, even when I was in Rome in exile, they tried to kill me. My cousin and Roman actively tried to end my life multiple times but failed. Until their son, RJ, actually fired a gun at me, killing my child in the process." I took a step down one of the stairs, then another, compelled to move closer. The crowd was so large now that I couldn't even quantify how much more they had multiplied. "They cannot be let to live, period, and not just for my sake, but for the sake of the throne. Let this be a warning to the allies. We see you, and we are coming for you, so sit tight," I said, dropping the mic on the floor.I turned to Damon, who gave the signal to Raven, who did the honors. Raven got up from sitting by the stairs, climbed the raised platform, and clutched the first person, pulling their head back.With one of his sharp knives, he slit their throat, causing a torrent
IsabellaDonatella sat with her legs crossed in front of me. Beside her was a middle-aged friend of hers whose name she had told me, but I had somehow forgotten."I'm sure there are ways that you can cope, princess. But allow me to offer some advice in the process. Losing a child can be very difficult, especially when someone calls it not a miscarriage. If it was a miscarriage, you would be suffering that loss yourself, but murder…""I'm sure you will… I've heard this conversation many times already. I'm not quite interested in hearing more of it. I've reconciled with what happened and I only want to move forward," I said as I slowly got to my feet. "Donatella, I believe I will see you some other time," I said with a smile as I exited the small cafe.***"The last two months have been very healing for me," I told Andrew as I sat opposite him in the gazebo. "You do look better," he said as he patted my thigh. "Any word on your new girlfriend?" Andrew rolled his eyes and blinked rapi
DamonIsabella's face was pale when I saw her as she came out of the bathroom. She had a stunned look as though she was trying to remember something. I grabbed her hands and rubbed circles over her knuckles until she smiled at me."I am fine," she said with a shaking voice."Champagne?" I asked as I handed her a flute. She shook her head. "I can't keep it down," she said, forcing another smile at me."Isabella, what is wrong?" I asked with my mouth close to her ear. "I'll tell you when we get home," she said as she squeezed my fingers back.The rest of the evening couldn't come fast enough as I began to wish time could go faster. Finally, three hours after we arrived at the party, she tugged on my arm, telling me she wanted to go home. I bade goodbye to my friends and some others who were desperate to see me for some reason. We decided to take the chopper, being impatient and me wanting to find out what was wrong with my wife.I helped her out of her dress when we reached our room. S
IsabellaPerhaps it was Donatella's face that was the most surprising, but the days following my declaration and official ascension to the throne were followed by endless visits to my family's estate.I had to temporarily move there because I was worried about the constant movement and how my son would take it. However, according to Julio, it also applied pressure to bring Cassandra back to the city.She had disappeared a few days ago, and I believed she went to have her child."I must say, he's a very handsome boy," Nicholas said as he carried my son and began to walk around the new nursery. The baby cooed in his arms and raised his little fists towards his face. I smiled but began to miss the little bundle of warmth that he provided. I had once complained to Damon, and his reply was,"You'll just have to get used to it. Or are you going to take my son away from me?" Damon said with a smile.***To my surprise, Cassandra didn't show up over the next few weeks. I began to genuinely w
IsabellaGeorge knelt in front of me in the gazebo. I had given Alessandro the go-ahead to let him come to the mansion. He came accompanied by three more people that I didn't recognize."There was a mistake, Princess. If I had known…”“I know you think that I am a benevolent figure of never-ending kindness that might accept you. But you must understand that given my position, I simply cannot forgive you right off the bat. You have to prove yourself to me. You have to prove yourself to the city. You have to prove your loyalty, and it will cost you more than it did the last time," I found myself saying.Shortly after that, I left the men alone and made a beeline for the nursery where I felt my son squirming and crying in his cot. The maid I had instructed to stay with him was trying to keep him calm, but she was failing miserably, making me laugh.I stretched out my hands, and just as she placed him in it, the infant settled down. Shortly after passing him and singing to him, I felt ar
DamonAfter Isabella told me that I should handle Cassandra, Valentino, and her allies, I got to work instantly, telling Ted to pull out the old files he had on the trust of those she committed."So what do we do with them?" he asked. "We pick the weakest link. We pick the one most sympathetic to the lower City. Find me a couple of them and show them the pictures."A few days later, I received a call from Ted while I was out in town on a meeting with Nicholas."We have a number of them. What do you want us to do?" he asked. "Tell them to come to my place," Nicholas said with his arms raised. "I'm sure we'll do a good job convincing them." I smiled and told Ted to do the same. Six men, members of the lesser families, came through his gate.I recognized Antonio and George to be some of them and stopped myself from snickering behind my mask. The men bowed when they saw me, but it was clear that their initial fear of me was gone. I smirked behind the mask and looked at them.I loved se
IsabellaDamon had carried me into the tub filled with cold water. As soon as my body came in contact with the water, I instantly sighed in relief. Marie came to me with a small figure half wrapped in a cloth and laid the pink infant on my naked chest.I leaned my back against the foam headrest and let my child lean against my skin. He squirmed and cried, but Marie said it was all part of the process, even though my heart was aching as I desperately searched my mind for what to do to ease his sorrows somehow."If he doesn't cry, his lungs wouldn't be strong. You have to let him cry, princess," she had told me before I struggled with her, and Damon carried me into the bathroom. Even now, he was still crying, but I felt a bit assured as Damon held my hand and began to rub soothing circles over my knuckles. "You are so strong," he whispered. "I'm so proud of you." He whispered again, and this time his hand reached up to caress the head of the infant that laid on my chest. I smiled, bu
IsabellaDamon laughed suddenly, his shoulders quaking, and the room filled up with the hearty sound of joy. He stopped after a while and turned his head towards Cassandra. "It looks as though this wannabe princess is uninformed about what's happening in the city. Someone please tell her."Andrew cleared his throat. "The King…" Damon took off his mask, revealing his face, causing Cassandra to gasp and cover her mouth, as did Donatella. "The King has been married to the princess for quite a while now. I happen to be one of those privileged to witness the ceremony and the signing of their marriage certificate.This, of course, meant that as one without a surname, he would take his wife's own, making him Damon Montenegro Therefore, your challenge… your stake on the throne is very much mitigated by him.""That's not possible!" Cassandra screeched. "You wouldn't do that," she said as she turned her head towards me and stared daggers at me through the screen. "I did. Would you like to h
Isabella"Do I need to remind you that you are a fugitive?" Damon's voice cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter."Do I need to remind you that your crimes are so great you deserve to be put to death?" Damon stood up from his seat and walked towards the pregnant woman."Get out, or I will pull my gun and shoot you between your eyes, not caring about the child within your belly." Instantly, Donatella gasped and covered her mouth with surprise.She got up and walked towards both of them and set herself in their midst as though to protect Cassandra. "Ouch," I thought to myself. "So much for loyalty forever," I said out loud. Donatella turned to me."You must understand, princess, it's not as though I will not be loyal to you. It's just with the recent developments, we find ourselves needing an heir. Perhaps once she gives birth, she can leave." "I'm not going anywhere," Cassandra said, protesting as she pushed the older woman out of the way."I'm here to challenge her
Isabella“No, Isabella. We still need Cassandra to come out. We need her to show her cards. I'm sure it's not going to take long, but... you have to hang tight, Mia Bella," Damon said, shaking his head.He raised his hand and began to caress my belly before leaning in and pressing a kiss on my swollen abdomen. As if in response, the baby kicked where his hand was."He's saying hello to me," Damon said with a smile as he leaned forward and then pulled open the robe I wore to reveal my naked belly."So perfect," he said as he pressed another kiss on the pale skin. "So damn perfect," he said again as he met my eyes. I could see the expression there, his eyes flashing red before returning back to their normal hazel color. He spread open my legs and slowly removed the outer robe to reveal my naked pussy. Slowly, he kissed his way from my belly button down to my weeping pussy.***The extra wait was grueling, but I didn't mind it. I filled my days with walking, with Paula up and down the
Isabella"It was just a rumor," I told my husband as he paced the length of the room, hitting one wall and then going to the next to do the same."We both know rumors are next to truth. It wouldn't be said if it wasn't seen at some point. But you're the same person that said the city thrived on rumors. Why is this one only different?" I questioned him, but the man continued his insistent pacing. He had taken off his shirt, leaving him half naked and making my eyes wander to strange places."Please," I begged him as I stood up. I took off my coat."You're making me dizzy," I said.Damon stopped suddenly and looked at me. "And if the rumor's true?""Then we laid a trap. And I think traps are your thing… at least Julio's thing.""So let's call the ultimate trap master and have him whip up something for us," I said as I reached up towards my husband's head.***The day after, Julio sat opposite me in the gazebo. "How could you not tell me you were pregnant?" He asked, his eyes wide and f
DamonIsabella's face was pale when I saw her as she came out of the bathroom. She had a stunned look as though she was trying to remember something. I grabbed her hands and rubbed circles over her knuckles until she smiled at me."I am fine," she said with a shaking voice."Champagne?" I asked as I handed her a flute. She shook her head. "I can't keep it down," she said, forcing another smile at me."Isabella, what is wrong?" I asked with my mouth close to her ear. "I'll tell you when we get home," she said as she squeezed my fingers back.The rest of the evening couldn't come fast enough as I began to wish time could go faster. Finally, three hours after we arrived at the party, she tugged on my arm, telling me she wanted to go home. I bade goodbye to my friends and some others who were desperate to see me for some reason. We decided to take the chopper, being impatient and me wanting to find out what was wrong with my wife.I helped her out of her dress when we reached our room. S