“Do you like your present, Darina?” he asked, flicking the blue thong away with one finger. Nico pulled me up by the arms, so I stood in between his long legs, looking down at him.“It’s pretty.” I said. “Thank you.” I added. My pulse was racing as I looked into those forest green eyes. Those eyes that looked right through to your very soul.His hand went to my naked butt, caressing it in slow circles making goosebumps appear on my skin. Suddenly it became difficult to breathe.“Do like what I’m doing to you now?” he asked, his voice soft, melting my insides and turning my brain to mush.I couldn’t find my words. “I…” His eyes held mine captive. I felt his fingers probing into my asshole and I gasped, shocked and tried to pull away. He slapped my butt hard.“Don’t do that. I don’t want to hurt you too much.” He growled softly against my breasts, his warm breath making my nipples ache with need.I was scared. No, petrified, and what scared me most was that I might actually like it. In
NICOI smashed my fist into the wall into the corridor, the wall shook, and pieces of rock crumbled to the floor. Bones snapped in my hand only to rearrange themselves immediately. The pain was numbing the pain I felt in my chest. My mate doesn’t want my pups.Was I so repulsive to her that she couldn’t bear to have a baby with me? I closed my eyes, leaning against the wall. My wolf pushed the thought into my head that we must mark her, the mate bond will snap into place, and she will be all over us, begging us to fill her with our seed.“No!” I screamed into the air. The walls echoed my voice throughout the mansion. No, I refused! I wanted her to submit to me willingly, not because of this fucking mate bond. Besides, if I were honest with myself and my idiot wolf, I was afraid to mark Darina. What if she died? What if she turned?My wolf liked the last idea. Yeah, he would. Werewolves didn’t take humans for mates. They were weak. Why would the Moon Goddess do this to me? Did she hate
DARINAI paced the room, and the more I paced the angrier I became. I’ve had enough. Who the hell did he think he was keeping me locked in here like some plaything? He was getting a piece of my mind. I wasn’t going to stay here in this… this prison for one minute longer. No, I didn’t care if I was his slave in his mind. If he wanted to hurt me or kill me, he would have done so already.That thought stopped me, and I froze. He stopped Maria from hurting me. Lord knows what she would have done to me had he not stepped in. Maybe confronting him would be a bad idea. Would I be able to manipulate him in letting me out? He was quick-tempered, and scary as hell. But he was still a man. A man that lusted after me. I had no experience with men, but I wasn’t stupid. Women have had power over men since the beginning of time. I needed to harness that power. Bend him to my will. I smiled at that. He thought he was the Master. We’ll see about that.Was I playing with fire? I was willing to take tha
He took a meatball between his fingers, holding it out for me to take.“Open.” He commanded.My eyes widened. I hesitated for a moment but then my hunger got the better of me and I opened my mouth to take it from him. The juicy meatball almost melted in my mouth, and I tried to stifle the moan of pleasure.“Good?” he asked, taking one for himself.I nodded and he smiled. He picked up what looked like a little parcel of cabbage of some sort and held it to my lips.“This is my favorite, sarmale. Open.” He popped it into my mouth and a multitude of flavors exploded on my palate.“This is so different; I’ve never had it before.” I said between chewing.“What? Your mother never made this?” he shook his head in disbelief. It was a traditional dish.I shrugged, swallowing the last mouthful. “She never cooked Romanian dishes.” My mother wanted to fit in with the English way of living.He poured light white wine into a glass and held it to my lips. I took a sip, savoring the fruity taste on my
“Close your eyes.” Nico whispered in my ear.Before my eyes closed I stared up at him with all the questions I had in my mind, all the fears and unnamed feelings I had and prayed he saw them.He held my face in his hand. He was still fully clothed, I realized with relief.“Darina. Close your eyes. Or I will blindfold you.” The look in his eyes was feral and it scared me and excited me at the same time. I closed my eyes.“Trust me. I will not hurt you. I want you to feel pleasure.” He said, his voice husky.I clutched the silk dress, crumbling it between my fingers and tried to even out my raspy breathing. Something cold against my nipple. I gasped and my eyes flew open.“Darina!” he warned.I shut my eyes tight, gritting my teeth. I waited. And waited. The suspense was killing me. What was he doing? I knew if I opened my eyes he would do what he said and blindfold me. Maybe he should. Maybe I should ask him to do it. My heart was racing. This was insane.Trying to calm down l listene
“Open this fucking door! Now!” Nico roared. He slammed his fist against the door, and the wood started to crack.I saw Maria’s face turn ashen. A servant ran to open the door and Nico barged in, blood streamed down his right arm and dripped onto the carpet. Salvatore was right behind him.“Where’s Darina?” His eyes were wild and then he noticed me lying on the carpet with Maria standing over me with her gun. I held the side of my head, and my fingers came away bloodied.Maria took three steps back from me. The fierce look on his face had her falling to her knees. He snarled at her; lips drawn back in a feral growl. “I have warned you, Maria. Twice now.”“She attacked me, Nico. I swear, I thought she was going to escape.” Maria pleaded with him, crying. “Please, you’re hurt. Let me help you.”He ignored her, falling on his knees next to me. My head pounded so much I could hardly look at him.“What happened?” I asked, “You’ve been shot.” He scooped me up, glaring at the sobbing woman a
NICOBefore dawn I crept out of the mansion, let the wolf take over and went for a run at the far end of the property. My men were patrolling but they didn’t see me, I kept to the shadows. They were extra vigilant since Marcello’s men attacked us earlier. Good. They needed to up their game. Satisfied that everything was as it should be, I snuck back into the house in human form. I paused for a few minutes at Darina’s room, listening to her steady breathing and heartbeat. She was asleep.Turning away from the door I went to get dressed, almost forgetting to replace the bandage. I had to call an emergency meeting with my associates, and I had to deal with Maria, not something I was looking forward to. But I couldn’t let it go, she was defying my authority. Although this wasn’t a werewolf pack, I applied the same rules. They were my pack, human or not and I was their Alpha.The Snake Man and his merger could go to hell that’s how I felt. I’m sure the others would agree with me. If it’s a
DARINAMy head still hurt where that bitch clubbed me with her gun. I touched the bump lightly and cringed. At least I got all the blood out of my hair. My door slid open, and I saw Nico in my mirror. My heart leapt in my throat; his expression looked so dark. I sat, frozen, on the dressing table seat my hand holding the brush suspended in mid-air. Unsure if I should kneel or what.His hands were on my forearms before I could blink.“Master?” I croaked my throat dry all of a sudden. Thank goodness I was already dressed.“It’s time I started training you, my little fox. Last night was just a bit of fun. But now the real fun begins.” He said, looking at me sternly. “First thing I told you when I enter a room where you are, what was it?” he asked.I gulped. Shit. He came in so unexpectedly I became flustered. “I… I had to kneel and look at the ground?” I asked.His hands tightened on my arms. “So, tell me, Darina? Why didn’t you do it?”“You startled me.” I watched his eyes in the mirro
The atmosphere in the living room was tense as seconds ticked by waiting for Nico’s reply. His arm around my waist tightened and trying to calm him, I stroked his broad back, feeling the muscles contract under my palm.But then he spoke. “Zane, Mariana, I don’t want my children to grow up not knowing where they came from. I want them to know their grandparents.”I blew out a deep breath I never knew I held in. Nico looked at me and back at them. “All these years knowing what hell we’ve suffered at the hands of Constantin and yet you did nothing. It’s hard to wrap my head around it, knowing that I am your son.” The lines around his mouth deepened while he looked at Mariana.“I didn’t know everything, Nico. You know he never allowed us to visit.” Mariana stepped away from Zane who went to sit down with Anthony by his side. Anthony put a comforting hand on Zane’s thigh and Zane covered his hand with his own.Mariana reached for Nico. He made no move to go forward. “I never wanted to give
DARINAWhat was taking so long? “I can’t stand it anymore. They should have been here already, Sanda. Something’s wrong.” I was in panic mode, pacing around the living room.“Slow down, my love. Nico won’t let himself get caught. You’re making yourself ill.” Sanda smiled serenely back at me, lounging on the couch.“I don’t know how you can just sit there so calmly. We should have gone with Zane.”“Darina,” Mama came into the living room with Daciana on her hip. “Is Lycas with you, because I can’t find him.” Daciana held onto Mama’s neck with her little fist in her mouth, giggling at us.That boy would be the death of me. “I left him in the playpen together with his sister, Mama.” He must have transformed again. I sighed. Using the mind link, I sent out messages to the pack to help find my small wolf cub. “I have a mind to spank his little behind.” I said, storming to the front door.“Boys will be boys.” Sanda laughed. “He’ll turn up when he’s hungry.”“Someone lost a pup?” Nico filled
“Can everyone just calm the hell down!” I glared at Zane and Sanda. My grip on Darina tightened as I held her around her waist with her back to me, hiding my erection. She didn’t struggle but leaned back against me ever so slightly. “I get it, you are mad at me. I fucked up. Maybe.”That earned me a snort from Sanda and Zane’s eyebrows raised a few inches. He stood with his arms folded across his broad chest and I knew from the look in his eyes he was considering breaking a few bones.“But as soon as the dust settles and we’re all back at Romania, we can go on with our lives. Just like you wanted. No more humans trying to get us killed or wanting to use our pups for lab rats. No more Mafia. Okay?” By the gods! What more did they want from me?Sanda came towards me. “Idiot.” Her hands on her hips, she glared at me, “You should have trusted us.”“Sanda’s right.” Darina wriggled her way out of my grasp. “That’s not how you treat us, your mates. We don’t keep secrets from you.” She went t
NICOA few days earlierJohn wasn’t kidding. That blast knocked the shit out of me, also, burned off my clothes. I guess I should have moved further away before I pressed the button. Then I heard Sanda scream, and it took all of my willpower to stop the wolf from rushing back to comfort her.Our mate was in anguish, and he fought me with everything he had to go there. She was crying, screaming my name. I dug my nails into the earth and clamped my jaw shut not to cry out. The wolf turned his back on me in disgust.We’ll go back when it’s dark, hide in the stables. I tried to placate him, but he huffed and turned away. My blood turned to ice when I heard the men screaming for Darina to stop. Oh, no! She ran towards the burning wreck! That was when the wolf took over. There was nothing holding him back. He rushed towards the blaze, but the heat was too much. Whining he backpedaled.But then Sanda came, and I heard her say that no one could survive that. I reigned the wolf in hard. Patie
The day of Nico’s funeral came, the day all of us dreaded. Zane, silent as a ghost, moved about the mansion, looking but not seeing, touching things but not feeling. I had no words for him. Because I felt the same. Mama knew better not to touch me or look at me with pity. She only did that once and I snapped at her. I needed to be strong for my babies and for Sanda. She needed me more than ever. More than once I found her in the bathroom, hiding in a corner, crying. I’ve never seen my dear one so broken.“What makes it so hard for me, is that I could do nothing to protect you or Nico.” She said through her tears, “I’ve failed both of you.”I took her into my arms and stroked her tear-streaked face. “Nonsense. Stop this. If we have to blame someone, blame Nico. His arrogance got him killed. Nothing else.” I kissed her trembling lips, closing my eyes, because I didn’t want her to see how deep the hurt was that I felt.So many cars, so many people coming to his send off. All of his assoc
DARINAMen running, women screaming and above them all I heard Sanda’s voice lifting into a howl. I crushed the twins to my chest, wide-eyed and terrified. My legs wanted to run, to see what was happening, but my brain refused to cooperate.Katherina ran to me, clutching her belly. “Darina! Oh, my God!” She fell down at my feet, sobbing.I was frozen like a statue with the twins in my arms. They cried just as hard as Katherina. She looked up at me. “His car… oh, my God, his car…”Something snapped into place in my brain. “Whose car?” Nico and Sal went out early that morning. I put the twins down next to Katherina and my legs carried me out of the house.When I saw the inferno in front of me, I sank boneless to the ground. “No. No. No.” I couldn’t believe it. Not Nico. Not my mate.Sanda ran to me, her face contorted with anguish. “Darina, he’s in there. We have to get him out.” She screamed at me, but my ears refused to hear.“It can’t be. No.” I clawed at the earth beneath me. Sanda
NICOHours earlier“Are you sure about this, Boss? I mean, why do this now when everything is going so well? We’ve destroyed our enemies and we have control over the city once more.” Sal tried his best to convince me to discard my plans. Although he did everything I asked him to do, he wasn’t happy about it. Which was fine by me, he didn’t have to like it.The meeting with my associates went well. Business was picking up and the money rolled in. Problems with the cops and the feds were minor. Most of them could be bought, it was just a matter of the right price.Sal and I were having lunch at a bar in London, going over the plans for my death.I touched Sal’s shoulder. “Yes, Salvatore. I am doing this for my mates and my pups. Zane is right, I don’t want this life for my children.” I twirled the glass in my hand, staring at the golden liquid. Besides, I owed it to my pack because of all the trouble I caused.“But you lived for this, for our business.” Sal groaned, “I can’t do this wit
DARINA I can’t believe the arrogance of this man! Acting like he is invincible or immortal for that matter. Sanda followed Nico around like a watchdog, she never says it, but I know she loves him with every fiber in her body, just like I do. Thank the gods for the twins, because I would lose my mind worrying about Nico and our safety.“He just received another threat, I heard when he answered his cellphone.” Sanda came into the nursery where I had just bathed the twins and put them in their cribs. “The voice was disguised, like they used some kind of machine.” She plopped herself down onto the rocking chair, holding Daciana’s pink unicorn on her lap.My hands stilled on the clothes I folded. “Sanda, if you continue trying to be his bodyguard, you’ll make yourself sick. If anything should happen, there’s not much we can do about it, is there?” I made my voice sound casual, but my stomach clenched with anxiety.She glared at me like I was crazy. “Don’t patronize me! You’re just as worr
“You have officially lost your mind.” Salvatore spat out his cigarette. “What the fuck’s wrong with you, Nico?”“Lower your goddamn voice.” I growled at him and pulled him after me down the steps. “I don’t want the girls to hear us.”He pulled his arm out of my grasp. “Well, I think they should. Talk some sense into your…”“Salvatore!” I let my Alpha aura wash over him and he submitted at once, dipping his head in deference. “Let’s take a walk to the stables.”He followed me, silenced by my authority. It started to rain, and I lifted my face to the cold, grey sky. I would miss this place. This was the first place where I felt I belonged.Sal drew his hand through his dark mop of hair. “Please tell me you’re not serious.”“Dead serious. I want to fake my death. But it must look believable.” I went into the stables, inhaling the warm scent of hay and horses. There was no way I was going to leave my horse here.Salvatore looked at me as if I had grown horns. “How the hell do you expect m