Chapter 7 - Crista

I blinked because of what the hell was going on. Why am I here? Does he plan to make me stand here and watch him bathe? Maybe he’ll invite that slut back to make me watch them. That thought both turned my stomach and pissed me off. ‘He wouldn’t do that.’ Emilia whimpered. We’ve never witnessed it, but everyone knows how painful it is when your mate is intimate with someone else. Even unmarked, I would feel it now that we’ve touched.

“Why am I here?” I questioned. “I told him this was stupid.” Chesed muttered. “Told who? What did your son tell you to do this for me?” I questioned. “No. Alec did. Foolish human side thought being nice to you would be a better route.” he scoffed. “Alec? Alpha Alec is still inside you? And he… he thought to set this up?” I blinked, turning to look at him. “I am the Alpha.” he growled. 

I rolled my eyes. “Answer the question. Alec wanted to do this for me?” I rephrased. Chesed sighed, exasperated. “Yes. He wanted to be kind to you. Kindness gets you nowhere.” he scoffed. “Thank you, Alec. I greatly appreciate the sweet gesture.” I smiled softly, leaning up and kissing his cheek. Chesed blinked, and for a moment, I saw his eyes turn blue. 

He was silent for a moment, and I assumed he was having an internal conversation with Alec. “Enjoy your bath, kitten. There are clothes for you on the bed.” he stated. “On the bed?” I furrowed my brows. He cannot expect me to stay in his room. Can he? “Yes, on the bed.” he pointed back to the room beyond the kitchenette. 

“I won’t be staying with my sisters?” I asked, hopeful that he would let me. “You are mine. You stay in my bed or in the darkroom.” he firmly answered. I frowned with a heavy sigh. “Right. Well, I’m not going into that room ever again. It smells like that bitch that was leaving when I arrived. And as long as you reek of her stink, I suggest you find a different bed or, better yet, room to stay in.” I answered with my own stipulations. 

“The maid will deep clean the darkroom tomorrow. And I can take a shower if her scent offends you so much. But I will sleep in my bed with you. Make no mistake of that.” he narrowed his eyes, leaning down into my space, our faces mere inches apart. His scent was invading my nose, and so strong I could taste it. I was feeling light-headed, getting drunk on it. 

“You need to leave if I’m going to take a bath.” I stated, doing my best to ignore how fast my heart was beating. I felt like he was about to kiss me, and I both wanted it and didn’t. It’s so damn confusing. Damn this mate bond. His eyes darted down to my lips as I unconsciously licked them. “Enjoy your bath, kitten.” he smirked, letting the tip of his nose brush against mine. 

Emilia was urging me to lean forward, to kiss our mate, but before he could fight me for control, he was gone, just his scent in the air. I blinked at how quickly he had moved. The double doors of the bathroom were closed, and I was left alone in this vast bathroom. “Holy shit…” I let out a breath. ‘Our mate is so fucking hot.’ Emilia squealed in delight. I rolled my eyes at her excitement. 

‘Chesed is an ass and needs to learn his place. A wolf shouldn’t have full control over its human form. That would be like the human trying to be in full control in wolf form. We are meant to be a balance to each other. Without the wolf and human in tune with each other, a wolf is off balance and can go insane.’ I sighed. ‘Yes, but we are here now. We will help him. We will help Alec. Who seems to be very sweet with preparing the bath.’ Emilia sighed.

I nodded, undressing. I could at least agree Alec was kind. I just hope that there’s a chance I can get him to come forward, to regain control over himself from Chesed. I sighed as I sank into the water. “Oh my god… this is heavenly.” I groaned as the jets hit all my sore muscles from being in wolf form and all the running. 

I needed this more than I could describe. I don’t know how long I was in the tub, but eventually, as the water started to turn cold, I climbed out, drying myself off. I smiled as I found a toothbrush laid out by one of the sinks still in its packaging. I just hope that Chesed doesn’t have a lot of those for his many lovers. Emilia growled at the idea that a female had been in this bathroom. 

As I brushed my teeth, I pondered where the Alpha had gone to. Was he waiting just outside the door? Or was he waiting in his bed? He hadn’t let the clothes in here for me to change into, and I don’t want to put on what I’d been wearing now that I was clean. So that meant wearing the blush robe he left for me and going to the bedroom. 

But if he’s in there, will he expect me to change in front of him? God, I hope not. ‘God, I hope so’ Emilia contradicted me. ‘I am not letting that man see me naked. Hell no.’ I shook my head. ‘He’s going to eventually. He’s our mate. And unless he actually hurts the girls or us, I will not be on board with rejecting him.’ Emilia made her position firm.

I rolled my eyes because there was no point in arguing with her when she got like this. So I wrapped the robe around my body tightly and cautiously ventured out of the bathroom. This was undoubtedly a luxurious home he had. His suite has its own foyer and kitchen. In the foyer, I paused, looking at the built-in shelves. There were framed pictures displayed. 

I saw a picture of him with the twins holding glasses of wine with bright smiles. I smiled as I looked at them. They look so happy in this picture, and they weren’t fake smiles. Even his smile was genuine. And wait… his eyes are blue in this photo. Does that mean Alec does come out at times? Something to think about as I start to look at the other pictures.

I saw a photo of Alec with a petite brunette, her arms wrapped around his neck as she jumped on his back for the picture. I frowned, unsure who the woman was, and did not like the familiarity between them in the picture. “That’s my Beta’s wife. She is like a sister to me.” his voice caught me off guard as he came up behind me. 

“Oh.” I stated. “Her name is Isadora. We in the family call her Izzy. There…” he pointed to a different portrait. In this frame was the woman with a handsome blonde man and three children, two girls and a boy. The elder two had the man’s blonde hair, while the youngest had her darker locks. The boy was a replica of his father. The elder daughter looked like her mother but with blonde hair, while the youngest was a mixture having her mother's face and hair but father’s eyes and smile.

“Is her family. My Beta Damon Petridis and their children Zoe, Alexander, and Regina.” he explained, pointing to each person, his arm brushing mine as his chest pressed into my back. “This is my Gamma’s family. Ezio Salvi, his mate Dayna, and their son Valter. And this is my Delta Gionata Cavallo with his mate Tasha and their daughter Dania.” he continued to point out pictures. 

I nodded, trying to remember names and faces. “Who are they?” I asked, pointing to two portraits on the top shelf. On the left was a beautiful woman, though older, with grey hair and a warm smile. The portrait on the right, I assumed, was the twins' mother as she looked like Katrina but with darker skin, deep brown eyes, and of course, she didn’t have the red streaks. 

“That is my Nonna Katrina D’Amore. I named my daughter after her. And that is Liliana, the mother of my children.” he stated in an almost detached tone. The thing is, I don’t think he was detached at all. He just forced himself to speak that way to avoid showing emotion. These women obviously meant a great deal to him. Looking at the frames again, I don’t see any of the previous Alpha and Luna. Not that I expected to give the tale of how he became Alpha. 

“Go get dressed, kitten. There is a tray of food on the end table in the sitting area.” Chesed said, turning me in the direction of the bedroom. He thought of bringing me something to eat? “Is this something Alec thought of?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder at him. “Yes, but I agree you should eat. You’ll need your strength sleeping in my bed.” he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing is going to happen in your bed.” I scoffed. “Then you’ll need your strength to resist the bond that will land you in my arms. Now I’m going to shower. Apparently, I have an upsetting odor on me.” he teased, winking as he ducked into the bathroom. ‘He’s adorable. At least he wants to be clean, so he only smells of himself, and if we get close enough, he’ll smell like us.’ Emilia sighed.

I rolled my eyes and walked through the kitchenette. It was a nice little space. A small sink, a narrow refrigerator, a two-burner stove, a toaster oven, and a rather fancy-looking coffee maker. I raised an eyebrow as I saw another small foyer with a door on either side. Peeking into the room on the left, I realized it was a walk-in closet, though it was completely empty. Strange. 

‘Maybe it’s for his Luna, meaning us. That’s a lot of closet space. We don’t even have enough clothes to fill half of that space.’ Emilia chuckled. ‘We don’t have any clothes.’ I pointed out. All my clothes were back in our pack, and I don’t think we will be getting them back any time soon. Emilia frowned as I poked my head into the other door. 

This closet was filled with his clothes. ‘He had good taste.’ Emilia commented as I poked around and saw that his suits were all Armani and the rest of his clothes were also from high-end designers. That aligns with the fact that the Incubi Pack, while feared, is also the wealthiest in Europe. I sighed, walking out of his closet and to the bedroom. 

It was massive. A black four-poster king-size bed sat against the wall on the right, flanked by windows. The room was primarily blacks and white with splashes of blue here and there as accents. I saw the clothes he mentioned folded on the corner of the bed. I frowned as I realized it was a tee, and boxers were his based on scent. ‘That’s sweet. Stop frowning. He wants us to smell like him. And I’m all for smelling his scent.’ Emila sighed. 

I sighed, rolling my eyes, picking up the clothes. I moved out of the line of sight of the doorway. I didn’t want Chesed to possibly see me as I slipped into the clothes. They were comfy. I'll give him that, and okay, I like having his scent surrounding me. It’s comforting. As my stomach growled, I picked up the delicious scent of the seafood stew and followed it.

There just as promised on an end table between the two black wingback chairs. I sighed, settling into a chair, picking up the bowl and spoon digging it. I moaned as the stew hit my tongue. It tasted amazing. “Oh my god. Whoever they have as a cook is divine.” I moaned. “Glad you like it.” Chesed smirked, leaning in the archway of the sitting room. I blushed, realizing he probably heard me moaning over stew. 

“You employ an excellent chef.” I commented. “I don’t.” he stated. I frowned. “I don’t employ a chef. I am the chef. Well, technically Alec is, but whatever.” he shrugged. I blinked, looking from the bowl of amazing stew back to him. “You cooked this?” I questioned. “Yes. I don’t see how that’s surprising. I only employ a maid. And that’s mostly because my son is a walking disaster and requires someone to clean up after him.” he explained.