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Twenty-Three
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Kiara’s POV
I sat across from Ivan at the table the next morning over breakfast. A stony silence hung between us. We were alone in the large dining room but we faced our collective plates ignoring each other.
I was still upset with the stunt he’d pulled on me last night. He’d left me alone like that too and I’d only managed to escape by shifting, thus ruining his Egyptian thread-count sheets.
He’d been pissed at me but I was equally enraged with him so we’d ended up cursing each other out and going to our separate rooms.
This morning, when the maid called me for breakfast, I’d scrambled to follow, not wanting any excuse to have him put me in that position again anytime soon. I wondered why he bothered though because sinc
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Kiara’s POV I was roaming around the garden with Archer, who seemed to be looking for something, eyes scanning between the bushes and flowers that surrounded us while he muttered to himself under his breath. “The entrance is somewhere around here. I just can’t remember the exact spot. Dammit.” He’d told me about a secret passageway, somewhere around here in the garden. It apparently led to the borders of Ivan’s lands, a convenient place to be for any who wanted to escape undetected. If only he could find the opening to the passage anytime this year. “Aha! By the gardenia bush!” He said pointing at a thicket a few feet away from us. It looked like it was in front of a huge rock. I
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Ivan’s POV I considered whether or not the errand I’d sent Lucille on was important enough to interrupt this precious moment I was finally about to have with Kiara. Deciding it wasn’t I turned back to the woman underneath me. “Leave us.” I spoke to Lucille without looking over. She hesitated for a few more moments, obviously unsatisfied with my decision before finally leaving. She was beginning to forget her place. Lucille. Perhaps it was my fault for fucking her but I’d started to notice it and I had no patience for it. She was going to need an attitude adjustment real soon. Pushing Lucille out of my mind, I leaned down to capture Kiara’s mouth in another
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Kiara’s POV“Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked, glancing from Archer to the lonely passageway that had been tucked at the end of the garden and then back to him. He rolled his eyes but nodded.“Yes. Ivan is out right now and made me your guard for the day so I’m naturally supposed to accompany you to wherever you chose to go. No one will suspect a thing.” I nodded, deciding to trust him and followed him down the passage.While we shuffled through the narrow space, I decided to casually pry into what I’d heard the other day. I knew Archer to be tight-lipped but it wouldn’t hurt to try. After all, what was a little extra information when one was willing to go this far?“What’s this I hear ab
Shh, little wolf Twenty-Eight
Kiara’s POVI clutched my chest as the wolf disappeared from sight, as suddenly as it had come. Sweet, blessed relief flowed through me, filling up my very soul. I breathed heavily, reassuring myself that it was only a hallucination and it wasn’t real after all. I hadn’t shifted at all. I hadn’t torn my clothes and there was no blood on them. I wasn’t dying. I wasn’t in trouble. I was completely and utterly fine. Knowing that didn’t calm me in the slightest. I anxiously scanned the hall way. There was a guard at either end but it didn’t make me feel any more safe. I walked down one end, going downstairs through the darkened halls until I got to the kitchen. Relief hit me when I noticed the lights and I let out a heavy sigh. It took me a moment before thoughts of who would have put on the lights filtered into my head. Almost immediately, I heard a sound behind me, the slightest hint of footsteps approaching and I froze. “Tigress.” I heard a voice call softly behind me and I shrieke
Shh, little wolf Twenty-Nine
Kiara’s POVI pushed Ivan’s hands away from my head where he tried to fluff my pillow.“Stop fussing! You’re not my mom!” I grumbled bad-temperedly at him.He didn’t budge, fluffing it instead, to his heart’s content and then pushed my shoulders all the way down so I was laying on top of it. It was more comfortable but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of gratitude, scowling at him instead.“Ivan. I’m fine. You can go now.” As usual, he ignored me, taking his seat once more.“Thanks for the concern Tigress but I’m fine right where I am.”It wasn’t concern so much as the fact that I was going crazy from having him glued to my side since morning. I had an escape to plan. I didn’t have time to be playing patient.Evening had fallen and he was still here. The man was a King for fuck’s sake. Why in the hell was he here playing nurse?“Ivan come on. Be serious. You don’t need to sit here watching over me.”He gave me an amused look “I fail to see how my here sitting matters to you.”“Don’
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Kiara’s POVCaden stared at me, frozen for a moment, the surprise clear on his face before blinking out of it and rushing over to me. A big grin on his face, he threw his arms around me and hugged me tight, nearly suffocating me in the process. “Ooof!” My breath was pushed out my lungs by the force of his hug. I struggled to draw in air. “Caden…” I gasped and he let me go, releasing me with a sheepish look. “Sorry. I was just really excited to see you.”I softened the tiniest bit because fear aside, I was excited to see him as well. “What are you doing here?” He asked and my eyes neigh bugged out of my head. “What do you mean what am I doing here? What are you doing on Vampire lands. They know you’re here by the way. Do you know that?”He shrugged. “We had a run in with some Vampire sentries a few days ago. We’ve changed campsites now though.”“That doesn’t matter! What matters is that we need to get out of here quickly before Ivan realizes we’re gone and come looking.”My mind fl
Shh, little wolf Thirty-One
Kiara’s POVI’d missed this man. I’d missed him so bad that I nearly gave into my urge to fly into his arms. To have him wrap around me in a hug, kiss my forehead and promise me everything would be okay. I remembered in time his betrayal and it kept me rooted to the spot, staring at him with all the pain and hurt I’d been blocking out for the past few weeks suddenly coming to the surface. He had aged in the little time we’d been apart, his dark hair interspersed with traces of gray. I took in his face greedily, even though I refused to go to him. He had always been my confidant this man. My biggest protector. My closest friend. Mother often complained how much I favored him but I’d been a daddy’s girl since the day I was born and I’d never looked back. That he would sell me out like this made me question. Made me doubt. Made me wonder if he was really the same person I’d known for the past twenty three years. If anyone had told me even a month ago that my father would sell me out to
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Shh, little wolf Forty
Kiara’s POVI went to find my father immediately after his meeting with Ivan was over, not just curious, but anxious to find out what consensus had been reached. He didn’t seem surprised to see me, only letting out an exasperated sigh and gesturing for me to take a seat on the other side of his desk.“Well?” I said even before my ass had touched the chair. “What did you guys decide?”My father shrugged. “That he’ll return back to his manor and you’ll remain here with your family until such a time when you are interested in being with your mate.”I paused, my eyes bugging wide, disbelief coloring every inch of my features.“I’m sorry, what?” I said, shocked that such a thing was even possible. My father gave me a deadpan look.“You’re serious? Ivan really left like that?”I asked with a frown. I’d never known dad to be anything but concerning official affairs, but the thing he just said was so at odds with what I knew about the Vampire King that I immediately suspected foul play. Dad s
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Nine
Ivan’s POVI stared coolly at Damien and the man stared back. Kiara hovered a few steps away from us, glancing nervously between us both.We were in his immaculately furnished study, having been summoned there by a maid after we had the refreshments Amelia provided. I respected their willingness to at least feed us before engaging in this confrontation. It would have sucked to do this with a headache caused by blood starvation.“Kiara. Leave us.” Damien rumbled lowly and predictably enough, she tried to argue with him, only cutting off when he sent her a glare.I chuckled, glad to see she wasn’t this combative with me alone and watched her with an amused, if slightly hungry gaze as she left the room. I was aware that Damien was watching me watch his daughter, but after missing her for more than forty eight hours, it was hard to let her out of my sight.I hadn’t expected her to give up on witnessing the discussion I was about to have with her father so easily but I needn’t have bothere
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Eight
Kiara’s POVI scarfed down my food, barely managing to chew it completely before swallowing and stuffing my mouth with the next morsel. Conversation flowed around me but I ignored it all in favor of stuffing my mouth full with pasta and some heavenly meatballs.“Kiara come on. You’ll choke on that. You have got to slow down.”I slurped on the last of the spaghetti strands in my mouth and swallowed most of it before attempting to speak.“I wasn’t able to catch dinner last night.” I sent my mom a pointed look from across the table where she sat “Somebody held me up last night.”Mom primly dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin.“Yes, it’s not because you went out for a two hour run and missed dinner is it?”She snarked back in such a haughty tone that I rolled my eyes. Deciding that I was too hungry to push the issue, I refocused my attention on my plate and kept leveling it down.Everyone was at the dining table, including my dad, Caden’s dad and both our moms. There were even
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Seven
Kiara’s POVThere was someone in my room and it wasn’t any of the wolves I lived with. I lay completely still, keeping my eyes tightly shut and trying to make sure my breathing remained even.It was night time and everyone in the manor was fast asleep. Except for the intruder. And now me.I tried to think quickly of what I could do to get out of this potentially dangerous situation. My dagger was all the way over on the table at the far end of the room and I silently cursed myself for being so careless with my weapon when I was expecting something like this to happen.The person crept to my bed without making so much as a sound. I felt rather than heard the presence hovering above me. I waited, holding my breath until he came close enough and then I sprung into action.Pulling his hand, I dragged him down to the bed and flipped him before he hit the mattress so that he landed on his back with a grunt. In another moment, my hand was around his throat and I squeezed tightly, ignoring his
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Six
Kiara’s POV“Kiara? Kiara! Wake up!” I heard from deep within my slumber. I groaned and rolled over, not wanting to stop the Ivan filled dream I was having.I’d barely resettled into position when my warm duvet was suddenly ripped off my body.“Kiara Hudson! You get out of that bed this instant!” My mom yelling right over me was the last straw. The pleasant dream I’d been having disappeared in a flash as I was pulled back into the reality of wakefulness.“Mom. Come on. Five more minutes.” I whined much liked Caden had with me just yesterday. Unlike me however, my mom was not so benevolent.“No. Get your lazy behind up and get ready so we can go out.”“If you’re trying to rope me into another shopping trip you can forget it. I need to sleep.”I groaned and felt around my feet for the duvet, keeping my eyes closed in an attempt to trick my brain into falling back asleep.My mother smacked my hands away.“Ow!” I whined, eyes flying open to glare at her.She raised a brow “It wasn’t a requ
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Five
Kiara’s POV“Savez, come on. Keep your hands high enough so you can parry his thrust and block. Otherwise you’ll end up with a slit throat before we’re done here!”I yelled at one of the sparring groups currently battling fiercely on the training ground.The man in question did as I asked, holding his sword a bit higher and parrying his opponent’s next jab way more fluidly.“Good.” I grunted, moving past their group to the next.This pair were clearly still a bit green about the ears. It was clear from the way the awkwardly held their swords, as if it was too big for them. It made their knife clanging lack any power, force or even proper direction.I stepped up to them amused.“Grip it firmly, don’t clutch it like that.” I said helping one of the boys fix his fingers properly.The other mirrored the new position while the one I’d physically corrected flushed bright red. He looked shyly at me from under his lashes and I snorted. He could barely hold his sword up. What made him think he
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Four
Ivan’s POVI paced back and forth the length of my study, hands clamped behind my back, cursing ever so often and kicking at any of the poor furniture that got in my way. Lilith sat on one of the visitor’s chair, watching me pensively. Forty eight hours. It had been forty eight goddamn hours since I last saw her. I was going crazy.Was she thinking about me? The way I thought about her? This obsessive, compulsive and almost destructive way? Where was she right now? Was she laughing and happy? While I writhed here in agony, wasting away for all she cared? Was she with that stupid little werewolf friend of hers who touched her far too familiarly in ways that made me want to rip his arms off? All I’d done since she got here was spoil her. So why the fuck was she not here!“Goddamit!” I swore, exploding all of a sudden and whirling around to face her.“I can’t take it anymore. I need her back! Today!”“Ivan. Come on. You can give her a bit more time. You’re acting like two weeks when it’s
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Three
Kiara’s POVI drew open the curtains the window letting light filter into my room, the golden rays falling directly on the bed where Caden slept. He scrunched his face up in his sleep before simply turning to the other side and pulling the duvet over his face. Amused an undeterred, I marched to the bed, pulling the duvet off him. “Hey. No fair.” He grumbled sleepily. “Yes it is. It’s already past ten AM.” He grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like an insult and then chucked a pillow at me. I laughed, easily dodging it. “Your pillow tricks won’t work on me. Get the hell up.”“Come on mom. Five more minutes.”I let out an exaggerated sigh “Fine.” I said benevolently. I’d had my bath when he slept and even dried my hair. I was almost fully dress when I tried to wake him and he still didn’t budge. Most of my good clothes were abandoned at Ivan’s mansion so all I was left with in my closet were the not so nice ones. I put on a T-shirt over my faded jeans and pulled my hair i
Shh, little wolf Thirty-Two
Ivan’s POVI leaned against the back of my chair, thoroughly amused despite myself not to mention a tad impressed at my woman. My sweet, fiery Kiara. She didn’t cease to amaze me that wolf. Just when I thought I had all my bases covered and there was no way she could possibly get around them, she went ahead and did exactly that. I wasn’t sure why she insisted on playing this cat and mouse game but I couldn’t say I wasn’t intrigued. After all, I did so love to chase. She couldn’t possibly think I would let her escape that easily could she? Surely she knows I will be coming after her, very soon too. I wondered how she would react to the plans I was making to get her back. The thought of her cute face, scrunched up in a scowl and alight with fury made me chuckle. I couldn’t wait to see what she did. A frown marred my face when I thought of the man who had helped her escape. A growl neigh left my lips. He was a problem I didn’t appreciate. In other words I fucking hated his guts. He’
