NIRVANA
Knight Blackwell was only in a formal white shirt, sleeves rolled over his elbows, showing off those huge muscles and veins. He matched it with dark pants but clearly knew he could pull it off effortlessly.
He was massive and taller up-closed, and he looked unbelievably attractive, not to mention his neat quiff cinnamon brown hair, full lips, straight nose, and the dark stubble covering his hard jawline made him look like he was ready to seal the billion-dollar deal for tonight.
I couldn’t call myself petite with my height of five foot and seven inches, but he made me look dainty before him.
“Nirvana.” His expressive green eyes met mine. His voice was pleasing with a husky rumble that he didn’t want anyone to hear. He somehow didn’t look pissed off than this morning, but he wasn’t happy either.
A gasp escaped from my throat. My cheeks burned, realizing he was already standing before me. He was close enough that I could see the flecks of light green in his dark forest-green irises. And he just caught me checking him out.
“Just Vana.” I offered my hand even if he didn’t. I cleared my throat when it somehow dried up. “Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Blackwell.”
He pulled out a hand from his pocket and shook my hand firmly and briefly as if he could get cold or get electrocuted when he held my hand a little longer. I still felt the jolt of electricity in that evanescent moment.
I heard a chuckle, and it definitely came from Kailin.
Disappointed filled my chest. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know this guy, but I felt strange feelings when he was around.
“Knight is fine. Welcome to my humble home.”
“Thank you. Knight.”
“Kaleb.” That was all. He left and went to the head of the dining table.
Kailin and I followed. The guys began occupying the chairs. I sat beside Kailin before the big bad wolf while my heart was still hammering.
I couldn’t help but steal glances at him and everyone around who wasn’t properly introduced besides McKaye, Zander, and Kaleb. The rest were still strangers to me.
The dinner was served with a five-course menu.
“I’m Luka,” said the late twenties guy with darker skin sitting next to my left.
“Vana.” I smiled at him.
“How do you like the vineyards so far?”
“I haven’t been to the vineyards, but I’m excited to see the harvesting, processing, and the tasting room.”
“I can tour you around,” said the dirty blond college boy from this morning.
“Oh. I saw you this morning,” said the college boy, who had a bloody shirt but didn’t look hurt or have bruises on his face anymore.
“I’m West. The handsome of the twins.”
Just a clearing of the throat from Knight felt like a command, silencing everyone.
“We have guests coming over in two days for the tasting. Sometimes we’re short of staff. You can join us and get a commission for every bottle you can sell.” The woman with straight brown hair smiled.
“That sounds fun. Count me in,” I replied excitedly.
“That’s Heartley,” Kailin introduced her to me. “She’s the daughter of our family doctor, Dr. Duncan Shaw.”
“I sent the bottle you asked to Cadogan,” McKaye told Knight, who seemed bored in his chair.
“Thank you, Mac.”
“I received another email from Califf. The distributors like the Cabernet more. That’s the bestsellers, Alpha.”
“Alpha?” I turned to McKaye.
There was a long silence in the dining room before Knight replied, “They call me alpha because I boss them around. I got the name in college.” It suited him.
“I see. Mind if I ask how did you get into the winery business?” I particularly asked Knight, but the dining room went eerily silent again, without a breath or a single sound from the cutlery. “Sorry. I should have gone to the internet and checked the website.”
“This has been a family business for three generations. My grandfather started only ten hectares of vineyard. He only sold his Cabernet in the farmer’s market until a rich buyer tasted his wine. The man offered my grandfather a partnership, but he refused. It wasn’t easy. It took years and years of blood and sweat before the Blackwell Winery came to the local and state markets.”
“That’s beautiful and inspiring.” I smiled warmly. Something deep within my chest lightened up.
“How about you? What’s your story?” Kaleb asked.
“My grandpa owns a small restaurant. Some rich men offered to buy it, particularly the place, but Grandpa refused because of his loyal customers. He said this may mean nothing to them, but for me, this is my life. I sent you to school because of this restaurant, and I will keep this running until the day I die.”
“Wow. He sounds like a good man,” Heartley said.
“He is,” Kailin affirmed.
“Where are your folks from?” Heartley was a sweetheart. She sipped his wine.
“I grew up in the city, but my mother’s side is from Portland.”
“What about your parents?”
I looked at Kaleb. It still hurt a lot, no matter how many years had passed after losing both parents. “They died in a car crash.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Vana.” His hand came to my wrist, squeezing a little, but it was gone in an instant as if I burned him until my gaze met with the big bad biker’s green eyes.
KNIGHT Nirvana was fucking gorgeous, it should be a crime, and she wasn’t even aware how beautiful she was that she caught everyone’s attention. These guys had been warned beforehand to behave— this meant she was off-limits as Kailin’s best friend. Despite only seeing her once, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. She had already become my distraction. And her name alone was like a nirvana to me, and I wouldn’t allow it to happen tonight. The dinner went well despite the constant glaring coming from Kailin, warning me to be polite to her guest. I quickly left the dining room while McKaye and Kaleb showed the Blackwell wines to Nirvana. “Where do you think you’re going?” Kailin followed me out. “To my office.” “You’re lying. You’re leaving.” She sounded disappointed. I stopped and faced her, sighing. “I did my promise, Kailin. I showed up and introduced myself to Nirvana. I can’t stay here. I have tons of paperwork—” “Boring,” she sang with an eye-roll. “You can show her ar
NIRVANA What a jerk! Prick. Prick. Prick. I felt rejected. A sliver of pain pierced my chest. Disappointment seeped through within me. I didn’t know this guy, but his words hit different coming from him— they sliced right into my heart. And it felt like I’d known him for a long time, that he meant what he said. When Axell broke up with me, it didn’t hurt like this. What was with this man that caused me such agony? He was gone for a few minutes. His footsteps faded in the hallway, but his expensive taste of cologne still lingered in my head. When he knocked on my door, I was expecting an invitation, maybe a walk in the vineyards under the moonlight. Obviously, I was way over my head. But something must have happened after he left the dining room. I saw the rage in his eyes and the clenching of his jaw. Whatever enraged him that had twisted his boxers— if he wore one, had nothing to do with me. Maybe he just hated me. Perhaps he was just an ass. Whatever. I picked up my
NIRVANA “Anyone there?” I bent over to see who was on the other side but saw no one. Until a giant brown wolf appeared that almost gave me a heart attack. With my breathing stuck in my lungs, my heart pounded so hard, and my feet seemed rooted to the ground. My gaze was still glued to the wolf, and I had no idea there were wolves around here. And then the cracking sound of something broken pierced my ears— it sounded like bones crunching and excruciating. Goosebumps erupted all over my skin. Shocked, my eyes bulged out, but I couldn’t manage to blink or breathe until my lungs almost exploded and my chest began to heave. The wolf deformed before my very eyes. The bones cracked, and from the four-legged animal, it turned into a two-legged naked human in just mere seconds. It was not real. I was just dreaming, or the shadow was playing tricks with me. This was impossible. “Oh, no, no.” Shivering, I stepped back with my shaky knees and immediately crashed into something h
KNIGHT Shit. Things went out of hand quickly. She had just seen Gage shift, and she was terrified. Who wouldn’t be? She was human and only aware of our existence in fantasy, fiction books, and movies, and our representation was a terrifying beast that ripped human parts apart. And I pissed her off. It was better that way. She was away from our dark and dangerous world. She was better off out of my life. The longer she stayed at the vineyards, the harder it was to stay away from her. The pull was so strong it drove me crazy in just a little time I sat with her. She better hate me than drag her into my world. I dialed Alpha Califf, one of my allies. He had one of the biggest packs in the world, a witch coven, and the Lycan Alpha King at his disposal. “Knight, how’s life?” Califf found his mate, a lycan princess, Shadow Hawks, and they were stronger and fought enemies together. If I was being honest, I envied him that he had a stronger mate. Shadow was also a half-witch gif
KNIGHT “Yes.” I nodded glumly. “She’s better off without me. She’s—” “Human? Yeah. And the intoxicating mating pull was nothing I’d ever felt before. It was so strong I couldn’t control it, and it started to drive me insane.” “Poor thing. I won’t help you, Knight. You’re being selfish. Werewolves and Lycans can have human mates. It works just fine.” “Really?” I met her gaze. “What’s the lifespan of a human? She grows old, and I barely age. I can’t go through that. When my father died, my mother took her own life. And they were both werewolves and were strong, but my mother couldn’t handle losing her mate. She couldn’t handle the pain.” Every time I thought of having a mate, I saw my mother’s lifeless body in her bed as she took poison to end her life. “Is that why you don’t want a mate?” “Yes. We will both suffer in the end. Considering how weak humans are.” “You’re wrong. When Shadow lost her wolf and her ability, she did everything to fight against Aciano. She may not have wh
NIRVANA I felt so cold, my chin trembling. I was in my pajamas, barefooted, and walking in the woods alone in the dark. I couldn’t remember how I ended up in this place, but I had a feeling I was lost. I wrapped my arms around my body when chilly air seeped through my bones. My body shivered, and my breath steamed as I mindlessly walked through the dirt path. Then, a big gray wolf appeared before me. I stood frozen. My heart hammered as its dark eyes narrowed, and the rings around the irises glowed golden as if it just found its prey. I’d never seen a wolf so big before, taller, more robust, standing with pride, its fur shining against the darkest night. The wolf prowled, growling, exposing its long, sharp, white fangs. “Don’t hurt me!” I jolted up in bed from a dead sleep, drenched with sweat, still catching my breath. My heart pumped so hard in my chest till it was so uncomfortable. And my dream felt so real. “Oh, thank God.” I wiped off the beads of sweat all over my for
NIRVANA “Knight is visiting Blackwell Firm, and since I’m his assistant, I came with him and used his card to book a suite for myself.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You book a suite for yourself?” “That’s what we agreed upon, or I’ll leave the vineyards, stay with you, and find a job.” “Huh.” That was all I could say. “He’s loaded anyway. He has a penthouse here. He can stay there or book a suite for himself, but I didn’t.” Of course, it wouldn’t be a surprise, but Knight, besides his nasty, gruesome attitude, seemed grounded. Before I could reply, a knock on the door interrupted us. “That’s our coffee.” Kailin rose to her feet and went to the door. Since she was my roommate, she still had keys to our apartment, even if she left months ago. I was about to get up when I heard a familiar voice from my small living area. I was curious to know if it was still a remnant of my dream. I went to see if what I heard was right. “Be nice, or I swear to—” Kailin warned Knight when they
KNIGHT “What the hell is wrong with you?” Kailin was still pissed at me. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. It seemed that every time I saw Nirvana, the world stopped spinning, things suspended, and my mind went blank. The pull between us was getting stronger and stronger. I started to lose my mind, and it seemed that I was the only one who was affected. And it fucking drove me insane. “Don’t challenge me again, Kailin.” My warning didn’t seem to budge her. “You don’t wanna see me mad. And I’m still your alpha.” “Then tell me, why do you hate her so much?” “I don’t hate her.” “Then why do you act like she has some kind of infectious disease when she’s around?” “I don’t wanna talk about it. You can stay here if you want to. I’m just going to visit the firm. See you at lunch.” I was already walking towards the door when she held my arm. “What?” She sighed. “I apologize because you’re my alpha, but not as my cousin.” “Apology accepted, but don’t ever challenge me again, espe