Irina:“Are you okay, Luna?” I asked, taking Luna Katerina’s hand in mine. She looked at me for a moment, her eyes holding a fondness that only a mother could have for her daughter, and for a moment, I found myself fighting back tears as I remembered my own mother.I didn’t know of her fate, but knowing Cosimo, I knew that it wasn’t going to be pleasant. The man was going to hurt her. That is saying that he hasn’t already.“I am fine, Irina.” She said, squeezing my hand gently. “What you did for me is not something that I am going to forget.”“I didn’t do anything that I shouldn’t have done. The woman was crossing her limits in your home, I wasn’t going to allow her to do so.” I said, softly. “Come on, how about you freshen up before Kai comes home? You won’t want him to see you looking exhausted.”“Why did you help me out?” She asked, taking me off guard with her question. “After everything that I did, the way that I treated you when you came, why did you stand up to her for me?”I l
Kai:“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I asked, looking at my mate, knowing that things grew complicated between them.She looked down at her lap, avoiding my eyes for a moment before a small smile crept on her lips, understanding my underlying meaning as she understood that I wanted her to be honest with me. “You already heard me talking to your mom, didn’t you?” She asked, and I smiled. “And the fact that you were willing to take the blame isn’t something that I am going to ignore, but I want to know what really happened.” I said, my eyes softening. I had to ignore the fact that I was both angry and in pain for what I heard. The idea of her being adopted was one that I couldn’t understand, and the burden of knowing without telling her was one that I didn’t want to handle right now. “I wasn’t going to put her between you and Diego. No matter what the situation is, she is your mother. The pain that she has endured is one that no one should have, and though yes, I know you are
Diego: “They are going to keep getting closer, and the issue is not that. It is the fact that the man is going to end up harming you, Diego. Kai is not safe, and if he has motives that include Cosimo…” “He has his ways against Cosimo, and I know that he is not going to be betraying us. Both of them are hunters, and Irina can be Lea’s sister. You are going to need to respect that, mama.” I said, and she took a deep breath. “I know that you don’t want to, and I understand that you have your ways against her; but…” “There is no but.” Mom said, stopping me. I looked at her, knowing that this conversation will not be going anywhere. She had her own perspective when it came to Katerina and anyone who was associated with her. Kai was a completely different story and no matter how much I was going to try, I knew that she wasn’t going to be convinced with anything that I was going to tell her. “The man is her son, Irina has been defending her and would be defending her. The woman was a cheat
Irina:“What are your plans for the night?” Luna Katerina asked, and I shook my head. “I am not sure what Kai has in mind. But I am sure that he will come up with something when he gets back from work. For now, I am going to be taking a shower.” I said, and she laughed. “You seem to be getting more intimate with Kai lately?” She said, smiling at me. I blushed, and she took my hand in hers, gently squeezing it. “It is something that I like. I didn’t think that it would be a reality, and I didn’t think that he would be growing closer to someone after…”“I am more than happy being with him. And the closer we grow, I know that we will be stronger.” I said, and she smiled. “It is something that I want to hear. The idea of him being happy with you is something that I will forever be grateful and happy with. You know, as his Luna, you are going to build your family, and giving him an heir might just be one of the best things that can happen for us.” She said, making my cheeks redden. This
Kai:“I don’t care what will happen, Viktor. I want the woman to be found,” I said, looking at my beta.The pain that I saw in Irina’s eyes was one that I couldn’t ignore. “I don’t want anyone to know of this, and I don’t want anyone to notice. Cosimo is going to play his games, but I am going to be sure that I make him pay for what he is doing. And I want to know what you found about these hunters. I want to know what they are on about, and why my brother sees it as important about it. Diego seems to find it important, and I want to know what he has in mind about it.”“At this point, it is not only Diego but also Cosimo. We are dealing with more of these, and we are just going to keep getting sucked up in this maze. It is one that we really can’t seem to get out of,” Viktor said, and I nodded.“And that is why we are going to have to find out what they are on about. These crests, the hunters, and those who we are against. Cosimo is going crazy, and I know that he is going to keep dra
Irina:“Do you really believe that you are free of me, Irina?” Cosimo asked, walking toward me as I stood in one of the aisles in the supermarket. The man has been quiet for the past two months, months that I spent looking for my mother. Months that pained me day and night, and though I knew not to show the pain to Kai, I knew that he saw it in my eyes. “The fact that you managed to slip past the security men tells me that you have done something to them.” I said, looking at the man over my shoulder. I could no longer hear the men around, and I knew that I wasn’t foolish enough to think that they were alive right now.He walked toward me, standing beside me, and he scoffed, looking me in the eye, clearly reading my body language. “The fact that YOU are talking with me over your shoulder is something that I am amazed by, but then again, you have changed a lot.” He said, raising an eyebrow at me. “Your loyalty has deviated, and you seem to have fallen in love with the man that you we
Kai:“What do you mean that they killed the men and you didn’t…?”“You couldn’t expect me to call you amidst the fuss that was happening, Kai. The man was out there, waiting for me to do so. If I made ONE wrong move, then I was going to end up…”“I was going to be able to get you out of there, Irina. What do you mean by allowing him to put you in such a pinpoint? The man could have killed you and you wouldn’t have…”“I would have fought him off, but he was putting me in a threatening position. Not only were we in a supermarket, but the number of people around would have caused a stir. Not to mention the fact that it was something that he wanted.” Irina said, stopping me. “Look, I understand your anger and I know that you are worried, but this is what he wanted me to do. The man had the audacity to threaten me about telling you about the poison.”“And what did you tell him?” I asked, calming down a bit as I looked at my mate whose eyes, despite holding fear, held more strength than men
Irina:“You are going to need to keep stirring gently.” I said, looking at the maid who was helping me. “I don’t want it to burn. This is something that needs you to be very gentle. The ingredients have already blended with one another; you just need to keep stirring until the batter has thickened enough before you put it on top of the potatoes.”“Then we add the ground beef?” One of the maids asked, trying to learn with me. I nodded and smiled.“Yes, but before adding the ground beef, you are going to need to add the cheese first. This can be excluded though; it just depends on your preference.” I said, and she nodded. I turned off the fire and nodded at the woman to remove the pot from the fire.I watched as they followed the instructions that I gave them before my phone rang. It was Kai. I smiled and looked at the phone, thankful for the fact that he was calling me, letting me know that he got there.“I reached the demon’s den,” he said, making me laugh.“You can say that again,” I
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