Kai:
“You…”
“I take it that you are the fiancé that my father told me about.” I said, quickly changing the subject. The last thing that I wanted was for the man to know that I stole the pendant. And with no one here by my side, I knew that I was going to have to react fast. The man was going to ask questions if he grew curious, and I didn’t need him doubting that I was ‘loyal’ to him. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,”
He had to believe that I was. It wasn’t a matter that I needed to put as an option.
“When did you get here, Kai?” Cosimo asked, speaking before the woman, Irina did. His eyes met mine, and I was forced to look away from the girl, knowing that she was going to be more of a fuss to me. I didn’t want to deal with that, but I was aware that I was going to have to consider the fact that I ‘stole’ something that she had.
“I arrived a while ago. Your secretary told me that you had someone over. But when the clock hit ten, which was when you asked me to be here, I took the initiative and chose not to wait for her to allow me to come and see you. You know, it still is my father’s office.” I said, choosing to play with my words carefully. He stayed quiet for a few seconds, clearly trying to read my expression before he nodded.
“Take a seat, I believe that it is time for you to meet your fiancé.” He said, and the woman tensed. Her eyes studied my expression, and I could tell, despite her being quiet, that she didn’t like this.
“Irina La Rosa, my son, Kai Lyonov. He got his mother’s last name when he was born.” He said, and I scoffed, looking away from him as anger boiled inside me. The man didn’t even have the guts to give the reason why I was given my mother’s last name.
“That is because you chose to neglect me when I was…”
“Enough,” he said, stopping me. I rolled my eyes but was quick to compose myself as my eyes met the woman’s. She was quiet, but I could tell by her body language that she was still scared of what was to come.
“Of course, we shouldn’t be opening such harsh topics on a first meeting, should we?” I asked, and the man let out a warning growl. The office was soundproof. I couldn’t even hear a word that he said until I opened the door. I knew that no one would be able to hear his growls no matter how loud he was.
“The two of you are to be married. Find the right date and time, and you are…”
“Immediately.” I said, and the woman frowned.
“You’re being serious?” She asked, looking me dead in the eye.
“Can we both speak alone, Cosimo?” I asked, stopping the woman from saying something that was foolish. I didn’t know the woman, nor did I want to marry her. But there were things that were in stake, and the last thing that I aimed to do was lose what I was trying to build.
“The two of you can go out together. You can use it as a ‘date’ to get to know one another. Decide on when you choose to elope, and then we can speak.” He said, looking at the woman. The glare that he had toward her told me that there was another story to her that I didn’t know. But I didn’t care to ask nor did I care to find out.
“Deal.” I said, getting up from my chair. His eyes met mine and the man frowned. “Come on,”
“At least be a gentleman and have the woman get ready. One does not take his fiancé this way, Kai.” He said, and the woman shook her head as she looked down at her lap.
“You want me to marry a man with no ethics?” She asked, not bothering to look at me. “I knew not to expect much from this rogue. But you, Alpha Cosimo, this is a little too much.”
“You should consider yourself lucky to be betrothed to an Alpha blood, omega.” I said, and she frowned. Her eyes met mine and she stood, facing me, letting out a low growl which I returned. Cosimo banged his table with his fist, stopping whatever argument was going to happen between the two of us.
“I’ll pick you up at seven. I expect you to be ready when I do.” I said, not bothering to even look at Cosimo. His eyes were fixed on us. I could feel his hardening eyes, but I knew to keep my eyes on the woman who took a breath.
“You don’t even know where I’m staying, rogue.” She said, and I smirked. I could see Cosimo pinching the bridge of his nose through the corner of my eye, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking of this. Nevertheless, I knew not to care. I was going to get things my way before getting the revenge that he deserves after everything that he’s made us live through.
“I think that the two of us know that finding you wouldn’t be hard.” I said, taking a step back. “I’ll see you later tonight. And I expect you to be fucking ready, do you understand me…?”
Irina:“You didn’t tell me that you were sending me as a bride, mama.” I said, looking at my mother. She raised an eyebrow at me but proceeded to drink her wine. This was the third bottle that she’s drowned down so far. “Mama, you are going to end up hurting yourself…”“You shouldn’t be caring what I do,” she said, and I looked away, avoiding her eyes. “What did you tell the Alpha?”“What am I to tell him?” I asked, shaking my head at her. “It seems to me that things were decided already; I just had to go with them.”“Good. Then for the first time, you chose to do what was best for this family.” She said, making me hold my breath. “Did you meet him?”“He is taking me out in a bit. The two of us are going to…”“You are not going to say or do anything that would upset him. He is the Alpha’s son, and I think that you should know better than to annoy the man.” She said, and I nodded, knowing it best not to argue. She was tipsy anyway, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before sh
Kai:I kept my eyes on the woman, waiting for her response. My grip was firm, but I was sure not to hurt her. I wasn’t the type to harm a woman, but I knew not to trust anything that came from Cosimo. And for the woman to quickly accept eloping when she didn’t even know me wasn’t normal, not in my eyes at least. “Let me go,” she said, and I let out a low growl. I was careful not to catch anyone’s attention, knowing that we were still in public. The last thing that we needed was to catch anyone’s attention. “Until you answer my question, you are…”“He has my father in debt. I am going to pay for it by marrying you. There, you got your answer?” She said, pushing me back. I frowned and she looked at my beta. “You can rot in hell for all I can fucking care…”“You are going to pay your father’s debt by marrying me?” I asked, and she looked away from me for a second. She stayed quiet, not answering, but I already got my answer. The man was selling her off to me to pay a man’s debt. I sho
Irina: “What the fuck do you mean that the two of you eloped?” Alpha Cosimo growled, banging his desk. I kept my eyes on my lap, leaving his son to talk to him. Nevertheless, I knew that the man was going to have his own tow with me. But I was going to have to deal with that later. “I told you, I was more than willing to marry her. She is a beauty anyway, might as well make use of it.” He said, and I let out a warning growl. I was no slave or prostitute for him to be speaking about me in such a manner. “There was a wedding to be planned. We had to have guests…” “I wasn’t going to have a wedding without my mother’s presence, and I think that you know very well why she is not going to attend an event, no matter what it is, where you are present in.” he said, his tone growing harsh. I looked at him for a second and Cosimo drew in a breath. “Fair enough.” He said, and I watched as he turned his attention to me. “Did you constitute the marriage?” “We agreed to do it when we’re bac
Kai:“YOU DID WHAT?” Mom yelled so loud that I believed that the windows would crack.I had to force myself to look away from her, knowing that I had done something that I knew she wouldn’t like. “Mama, you refused to listen to all reason, and you refused to look at what I wanted to do, what I needed to do…”“NEED?” She asked, her eyes widening in surprise. “What the fuck do you need from a bastard like Cosimo? The man abandoned you, he neglected you, and he chose to announce you a bastard in front of everyone. You can’t seriously be thinking of defending him!” “I am not defending the man, mama. But if he is going to live without giving us what WE deserve, what YOU deserve…”“He can rot in hell with what he thinks that he can offer me.” She said, stopping me. Her heart raced against her chest and I could visibly see her chest rising and falling as she fought to catch her breath. “We don’t even know who this woman is, we don’t know what she is up to, and she is working FOR him, Kai.
Irina: “Do you want to tell me how you managed to make the rogue Alpha marry you as fast as he could?” Mom asked, shaking her head in question. “What is that supposed to mean, mother?” I asked, shaking my head in question. She looked me in the eye, studying my expression, and she smiled. “One minute you were against the fact that you were to be married. Next, you and the Alpha have spent the night here as husband and wife. I am curious as to how you have managed to do so in such short notice.” She asked again, verbalizing her question. “It is my father’s life on the line, mother. I believe that you would know me enough to know that I would do anything for him.” I said, and she scoffed. “For him? Or for the power that you can get from the rogue?” Mom asked, shaking her head in question. Her eyes studied my expression, and I shook my head. “I will choose to not discuss such a matter. I already dealt with my father's anger, and now…” “You chose to go against all traditions, you
Kai:I watched as mom had the maids unpack the things that she had them bringing in. She wasn’t speaking nor was she looking at me, and I knew that it was going to take more than just a simple apology for things to be fixed this time. I don’t think that I have ever seen her as angry with me, but I wasn’t going to go back from my decision.“What is all this for, mama?” I asked. She looked at the maids, nodding at them, silently dismissing them from the room. They all walked out without saying a word, and I shook my head in question. “The woman is coming as an Alpha’s bride. She has to look like one. As far as I understand, she is an omega…”“I am an Alpha, but I am an outcast…”“An Alpha is an Alpha whether or not you want to admit it. You seem to be going high about being that demon’s heir that you forgot that IF you are an Alpha now, it is because you earned it by blood. The number of nights that I stayed up tending to your wounds are countless, and I know that you would have fough
Irina:I looked at my reflection for a second, getting lost in my thoughts as I found myself being completely alone.In theory, I knew that I was.But when it came to such an event, it hurt me to see that no one was even bothering to help me get ready as a bride would.My bedroom door was knocked, breaking my train of thoughts as I caught the Alpha’s scent. “Come in.” I called, standing up from in front of my dresser.I turned to face him, and lowering my head to the ground, I was sure not to look him in the eye. He had done more than enough for me as it was, and I was still embarrassed of the situation that I put myself in with him.“Your husband should be here for a bit.” He said, and I nodded. “He called to inform me that he was on his way.”“I am ready,” I said, looking down at the white dress that I was wearing. It wasn’t a wedding dress, but as wolves, we didn’t wed to begin with. The dress reached my knees, and it was more of a traditional dress that symbolizes our pack. A br
Kai: “Are you okay?” I asked Irina, watching as she snapped out of her thoughts. Whatever it was that she had on her mind, I knew that she was annoyed. “I’m fine, thank you.” She said, looking down at her lap. “You said something about a ceremony…” “There is no ceremony.” I said, stopping her. Her eyes met mine and she frowned. “But I didn’t want to find myself staying back in a pack where I clearly wasn’t wanted. And if I should add, one that is clearly ready to find a reason to argue.” She didn’t say a word as she looked out the window, and I knew that she understood that she was helpless. She had nothing to say in response, but that was the last thing that I could care about. “We have a few things to discuss when we get to the Estate before you meet the family.” I said, making the woman’s eyes harden. “You lie to my family and expect to discuss matters with me when it concerns yours?” She asked, and I scoffed. I was thankful for the fact that I was the one driving, it gave t
Kai: I had my arms wrapped around my mate, pulling her closer to me as I felt her tighten around me. I swelled inside her, throbbing with each thrust, knowing that I was nearing my edge. Her canines and mine were already bared, and our wolves were more than willing to mark one another. The café was empty, and the rooms that we had there were going to need us to both rearrange and fix them later. But then again, I figured that what better way to mark our new spot than with a marking for our love. It was something that even Irina understood. Something that the two of us loved. “Fuck…” Irina said, crying out when she felt me hitting her G-spot. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and I knew that if I didn’t mark her now, both of us were going to end up out of energy. But then again, I doubted that she would mind. It wasn’t until she woke up to find out that she was with a limp that we would be making the smaller difference. “You are so fucking tight.” I said, shuddering over her
Irina:“What do you want to do today?” Kai asked, breaking my train of thoughts.I looked at him and smiled, shaking my head in question. It has been two months since my mother left the pack, the woman that I called mother, that is. I didn’t know what I should address her as anymore. But I knew one thing, I was thankful that she went without more trouble. She has caused enough as it was anyway.“I have nothing in mind, but I can assume, since you asked, that you might have something that you want us to do?” I asked, and he smiled. He walked toward the edge of the bed where I was sitting, reading through a few emails.“What are you doing?” He asked, and I shrugged.“You have work that you assigned me to do, remember, boss?” I teased, and he smirked.“Well, having you as my assistant ended when we were in the office, that is, of course, if you don’t want me to take you here and now, on the desk.” He teased, biting my bottom lip as he leaned in to kiss me. I laughed and wrapped my arms a
Kai:I watched as Irina walked out of her mother’s infirmary room, looking as if she had seen a ghost. And though I heard everything that went on inside, I knew better than to walk in. I knew to leave her to deal with things with the woman by herself. Had I interfered, she wouldn’t have been able to see her true face. A face that I saw long before she had seen it.Flashback:“She is not going to understand anything from her, Kai.” Mario said, looking at me. “While I know that you want her to try and listen, she is going to be more hurt than she has been. You are going to need to be there for her, and if they do talk, you are not going to interfere. If the answers that she gets do not satisfy her, I am going to speak to her.”“A little too late for that, Mario. The woman doesn’t even know you as her uncle. I doubt that she is going to accept a word from you…”“I am going to try to speak to her. If she is willing to listen, then I am more than open to telling her what happened. If not,
Irina:I walked inside my mother’s room, daring to face her after everything that happened.I had to admit, I was just as scared as Kai was, if not more frightened and worried. But I didn’t want him to see that. I didn’t want him to see me weak and I didn’t want him to think that I wasn’t going to be willing to do this. For him, for us, and for myself.I knew that this was something that I was going to have to do. Otherwise, I wasn’t going to be able to cope. I knew that about myself, and I knew that he saw it in my eyes.“You came.” Mom said, taking me off guard. The fact that she was speaking to me was something that I didn’t expect, but I knew not to expect any less. She has hurt me enough to be ignored. And I knew that many would have done so.“You still raised me as a daughter. One that you both abused, I understand that much, but I was still growing under your roof for a very long time. I might as well value that, right?”“Irina…”“I am not going to be long, but there are a few
Kai:“Are you sure that you are going to want to do this, Irina?” I asked, looking at my mate, remembering the pain that I saw in her eyes the other day.The fact that I knew that she wanted to speak to her mother wasn’t one that I was going to deny. But I was worried that IF she did, that she would be falling back into the cocoon that I barely managed to get her out of.“I know that you are worried, Kai. But I have no other choice right now. I am not going to run away from the woman. She still is the person who raised me, and considering the fact that I can’t get answers elsewhere, this is the one place that I have. Plus, it is not like I am a child.” She said, and I shook my head at her. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, turning her to face me.“Irina, I don’t want you hurting. And you know that IF you try hiding it, I am going to feel your pain. This is going to make it a lot worse, because this time, I am going to have to look at the woman without breaking her face for breakin
Irina:“I want to be left alone, Kai.” I said, knowing that Kai was going to try and comfort me. While I was thankful for his attempt, it wasn’t what I needed right now.“I know, but I am not going to leave you to deal with your pain alone. Plus, it is not like you don’t know me as a husband to think that I would be willing…”“Me knowing you is not going to change the reality of me wanting to stay alone. I really need to be alone to allow myself to process what happened, and though it might not matter to you…”“Do you really believe that it doesn’t matter to me, Irina?” He asked, and I took a deep breath. I knew that it did, but right now, I also knew that I was bursting out over so many things. He wasn’t the one that I was angry with, and he knew that. But the idea of him not willing to leave me alone was one that I didn’t like. I didn’t want to be beside anyone. I just wanted to vent, but I wanted to do it by myself.“I don’t want you to see me in my worst state, Kai.” I said, and h
Irina:“Hey,” Anastasia said, putting a drink on the table in front of me.I looked at it for a moment then at her, and she smiled. “It is not poisoned, I promise.”“The fact that you would think that I would be concerned about it being poisoned amazes me. But then again, you lived your life dealing with Cosimo. I doubt that you would be living in any less worry or concern.” I said, and she smiled. I took a sip of the drink, wincing when I felt it burn my throat. It was vodka.“Are you okay?”“Would a person in my shoes be okay?” I asked, and she sighed. “I need to think straight, and no matter how much I want to, I really can’t find myself doing so. And to make matters worse, I know that nothing that they are going to tell me is going to make this any better. I am going to need to try and understand things my way, and it is going to be a lot harder as time goes.”“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I am exiled from both my brother and mother. Neither one of them is going to want
Kai:“Irina…?” I frowned, seeing that she wasn’t by my side.I got up from bed, and walked out of the room, frowning when I heard the fuss that was going on. The idea of her not being here was something that I didn’t like. I didn’t want her to be alone, especially when I knew that she was holding a lot more than she was supposed to inside her.“What is going on?” I frowned, seeing that mom was walking with her robe. She was wearing a white one, and the idea of seeing her awake at this time was one that I wasn’t used to.“Irina’s mom woke up.” Mom said, making my eyes widen in surprise. “Rustem saw her first, and Irina is there now.”Anastasia, who was here, looked at me. Her eyes met mine and I nodded at her, but the woman looked down at her feet. I knew that she was thrown in tough situation, but I wasn’t going to leave her alone. Not after everything that she went through.I put my hand on mom’s shoulder, gently squeezing it, before turning to the infirmary.I looked at Irina who wa
Irina:I woke up, careful not to wake Kai up, as I got out of the bed.The man had barely slept, and the last thing that I needed or wanted for him was to end up exhausting himself more than necessary. He needed the break, and I wasn’t going to deprive him from it.I walked out of the room, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep anytime soon, and to the dressing room to freshen up. Washing my face in the suite’s bathroom could end up waking him, and I wasn’t going to take that risk.My heart ached with each step that I took, and it wasn’t long before I found myself in the garden, walking around, knowing that I would be finding most of the pack members asleep. Some were walking around, others patrolling, but it was almost empty.We have been here a week, and I still couldn’t find myself accepting what happened. And with my mother still being asleep, I knew that I couldn’t help but find myself falling deeper into the cocoon that I was in. Kai was the one reason that I was a