I will be back
24. Oh, baby no...

Kian’s POV

Alexander crawls around on the floor and makes sounds that I guess are growls. He’s hardly terrifying this little man, but one day he will be. Considering how good both Alexander and Elias are at protecting their mother, we noticed that one time when she held them both in her arms. He’ll do a good job protecting his pack and his mate someday—a man who his mother and I can be proud of. Since Alexander has one hundred percent alpha blood in his veins, he also develops faster than other wolves. He’s already starting to try to stand and walk by himself, my little man. Stubborn as hell he is too, he got that after his mother. Oh, my Aleida, I miss you so much. Even though it’s hard to be away from her and it was hard to leave, we all know she made the right choice. She needs to focus on protecting us, and in that regard, we have nothing to say. Although she’s the mother of our children and our mate, she’s also a queen who must fulfill her duty to us. All along, she’s been strong when we weren’t by her side, and now, she’s more vital than ever. She followed her maternal instincts when she asked us to bring the boys home. It hurt her to have to do it; we could all see it in her eyes, which were full of pain. But she also knows that we can do a better job of protecting them than she can at the moment. That’s one of the many qualities I admire about her; how easily she can override her own needs to care for others, it’s clearly remarkable and loyal. Alexander rolls around on the floor and giggles at me when I make grimaces. Miliano enters the room with a sleeping Elias in his arms. He looks down at Alexander and smiles, significant to his nephew. Not that either of us sees the other’s children as their nephew; instead of that, we have two sons together. He sits down beside me, and the happy expression falls from his face.

“What is it, brother?” I ask with slight worry.

“Luis called me,” Miliano answers.

“Aleida’s gamma?”

“Yeah, he had some disturbing news, to say at least.”

“Why didn’t she call herself or let Michael do it?” I ask and furrow my eyebrows.

“If you can let me talk for one minute, then you will understand...”

I nod my head and wait for him to tell me the news that’s clearly bothering him. He never drags out the time when he’s telling me things unless it’s something he knows that I won’t like or be happy about.

“Do you want to hear the bad news or the terrible news first?”

“I guess there’s no good news this time... I take the bad news,” I answer with a sigh.

“Michael confessed his undying love for Aleida straight to her face,” he says with disgust and betrayal.

The loud growl that rumbles deep in my chest makes Alexander look at me and try to growl. I laugh at him.

“You will get there, buddy,” I say before turning back to the problem at hand. “What did she answer?”

“According to Luis, she tried to be soft when telling him that she didn’t feel that way. He disappeared before she could say anything, however. She doesn’t like him that way, and Luis asked me to tell you that Aleida loves us and only us. She would never choose someone else than us.”

“Good, and the terrible news?”

This answer is complicated for him; you can see it a long way. His eyes water and he sniffles while nuzzling his son’s neck.

“King came to their border.”

“What! What happened!?” I exclaim in horror.

“Aleida made a deal with him...” Miliano whispers.

“About what!?”

“Our safety. The vampires won’t attack any of us,” my brother explains.

“But she can’t just take his word for it and trust that disgusting bloodsucker!” I exclaim and begin to get angry.

“No, she can’t...” Miliano trails off, and I realize he isn’t telling me everything.

“Milo, what did she do?” I ask with terror; his lip is quivering.

“He offered her to make a blood pact, and she agreed.”

I’m stunned. Our beautiful Aleida made a blood pact with the devil in disguise to protect us. She will never get out of this deal unless one of them dies or he breaks her commands. It doesn’t matter if she breaks one of the rules he set up for her; the only thing that happens if she does is that he can break one of hers without consequences. Blood pacts are dangerous, and I’m not really sure that she understands what she has done. I trust her in her opinions and choices; she will do what she thinks is best. But this... This means that she never will come back to us; King will torture her until her last breath. Fuck! She sacrificed herself for us, and we just let it happen! My tears fall from my eyes, and I can’t seem to stop them. Alexander is looking at me and whimpers while he crawls towards me; I pick him up and cry into his little neck. He whines and nuzzles his head closer to me. Sounds weird? Well, it’s a werewolf’s instinct to cuddle another werewolf when we’re feeling different emotions. When my son is doing that, it’s to comfort me, even though he doesn’t understand it. Miliano is doing the same to Elias, who has woken up now. I put my head on Miliano’s shoulder and release a trembling breath. What are we going to do? Our sons may lose their mother, and we may lose our mate. Can we do something, or is it already too late? She may be dead for all we know. Want an advice? Never ever trust a blood-sucking leech. He can already have killed her! Jax’s heart breaks in the same moment mine do, and we howl loudly. I guess that Miliano is thinking of the same thing because he does the same shortly after me. Our sons try to do the same without succeeding. Other members do, feeling our pain through the pack link. No, we can’t give up. We need her, and no motherfucker is going to be standing in the way between us and the love of our life!

Aleida’s POV

Heavy chains around my wrists again, perfect! In case you didn’t notice, that’s sarcasm. I’ve already agreed to this idiot’s conditions, so why is he so persistent in chaining me up? This makes no sense at all... But what should I expect from a man who claims that someone made a promise to him about me without having any proof? Either way, it doesn’t matter. He has decided that I’m his, even though I’m not. Which also means that he wouldn’t give up until he got me. People like him don’t take no for an answer and don’t hesitate to use violence to get what they want. I wouldn’t accept that, and he knew it. Bastard... Now it’s too late to do anything about it anyway. I’m hanging here like a piece of meat at the butchers. Waiting for the creep to come in here and tell me what it is he really wants to accomplish with all this. There’s no way that all of this is only about me being his and that he wants me as his mate. Something else has to be behind this; something else would be crazy! I’m wondering how long he’s been thinking of keeping me locked up and strapped? If he now absolutely wants me as his mate, I can announce that he receives a lot of minus points since we first met. This is not how you should treat your partner. But in itself, maybe this is classified as a first date, a useless one. What do I know? Anything can go on inside his insane brain, and no matter how much I try to figure out what, there’s really no point in trying. I’m stuck here with him regardless. When I made a deal with him, it was in sheer desperation. Since he poses a danger to my family, he forces me to keep them safe. My boys deserve to grow up safe. Because technically he can’t kill me, I might as well take the opportunity to fuck with him as much as I can. If he has plans to kill me, he would have done it a long time ago. Therefore, he needs me and can’t drag me over the edge of life down to hell either. And if he does, I’ll drag him down to Hades with me. He would certainly feel at home there, given the evil that smolders within him. Hopefully, I’m lucky, and he’ll break the contract we have. But if he does, an innocent wolf will die or be injured under my watch... Forget it, by the way. I’d rather suffer in silence than have thousands do it in screams of fear. Heavy footsteps move toward me, and I know it’s King by the scent. The footsteps come closer, and finally, the door opens.

“Good morning, my beautiful mate. Have you slept well?” he asks with a smirk.

“What do you want, King?” I ask with a groan; he throws his head back and laughs like I’ve said the funniest joke on the planet.

“Always so feisty and sassy. I came here to see you, silly. We’re going to have breakfast together,” King declares with childish happiness.

“Nah, I think I’ll pass on that,” I answer and let my head hang again, making him glare at me, and all signs of laughter are gone; the whole atmosphere has gone cold.

“I wasn’t asking. You are coming with me downstairs for breakfast, either you want to or not.”

He releases me from the chains and has a firm grip on my upper arm, dragging me out of my cell. This is the first time that I’ll see my daily prison correctly. The last time I was here, I had thrown myself out the window; that’s hardly the opportunity to look at the interior. Both times I’ve been dragged in here, I’ve been unconscious. The house is really nothing special on the inside, with dark colors and a musty scent everywhere. He drags me down a steep staircase, and if he hadn’t a firm grip on my arm, I would fall heedlessly down the stairs. With a force that almost causes my arm to relocate, he pulls me up again.

“Watch where you’re going, mutt,” he growls.

In the kitchen are four bloodsuckers, and when we step into the room, all look up at me at the same time. Despite knowing that I’m stronger than them, I’m very nervous, which causes my heart to pump faster and the blood to pulsate. They lick their mouths, and right now, it feels like I’m the breakfast. Thankfully, King growl at them and push me towards the table. I sit down, and my gaze never leaves the floor. I’m not very good at submitting, but now I have no choice. I’ve practically sold my soul to the devil to give others the choice to live; I can’t let my mouth disturb the peace I’ve created just because I’m stubborn and don’t like to obey orders. Neither my wolf nor I like this, but we agree that we have no choice.

“She’s not for eating!” King growl at the others. “She’s my mate and will soon carry my hybrids. Under no circumstances are you allowed to touch her. Do I make myself clear?”

No one says a word; they simply nod their heads and look down. King smirks at the gesture before settling down beside me.

“What would you like to have for breakfast, my queen?” he asks in a sugary voice.

He disgusts me in every possible way. I’ve always loved when Kian or Miliano gives me nicknames, but I’ll rather swallow my own vomit when King does.

“Anything would be fine, really,” I answer in a low voice.

“Bacon and eggs?” he asks.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” I say and fake smile at him, trying hard to sell my submission.

“Now there’s my sweet baby girl that I know you are; wait here for a minute. I’ll be back soon,” he says and kisses me on my temple before barking orders at the men.

I’m miserable and have goosebumps from his gross touch. When he doesn’t look, I wipe my temple and pray to the moon goddess for a miracle.