Chapter Two
Waking up with a massive headache and a dizzy head, I closed my eyes, trying to suppress all that hazy feeling, but with no luck. Opening my eyes again for a moment, I didn’t know where I was.
Looking around again, I remembered everything that happened at the restaurant yesterday, fighting the Italians, the shooting, the stab. Everything rushed to my head quickly, making my headache unbearable.
I groaned in frustration but froze when I saw her sleeping in a small chair. The girl that saved my life that night, she looked so small, so fragile, so naïve and so fucking stupid to do what she had done. How could she be so stupid to help a total stranger like me and put her life in danger? She could have been hurt, hell she could have been killed.
I stood up, walked slowly towards her, and just thought about everything again. She saved my ass, but does she really don’t know who I am?
Why did she help me in the first place?
Does she want anything from me?
I breathed a couple of times to regain some of my strength and held her in my hands, then headed back to her bed. She mumbled something. I couldn’t hear what it was, and I froze for a second, thinking that she woke. But she just snuggled closer and drifted back to sleep.
I put her slowly in her bed and just looked at her sleeping face. Her face was so delicate and smooth, so angelic. A button-like nose, high cheekbones, and plump lips, but the most impressive thing about her is her big sky blue doe eyes.
They are mesmerizing, all this surrounded by long curly hair. Even though her body was small, she had an amazing figure with caramel-colored skin.
Snapping out of it, I straightened myself, grunting when I felt the sting of my stitches. I pushed a strand of her hair aside and whispered, “Even though you don’t know who I am, you helped me today, so I owe you, little one. I’ll never forget what you did, EVER.”
I left the room and headed downstairs; I stood behind a window on the first floor and looked around carefully for anyone who might be watching or might have followed us yesterday. And when I was sure that there was no one, I got out, took a taxi, and headed to the mansion.
The pain and exhaustion were killing me, but I knew I needed to go back to show everyone that I was alive. My men must be agitated.
As I took the first step inside, I found everyone was standing nervously. My brother was pacing the foyer, Leo was shouting at someone on the phone, and all my men were looking worried. When they spotted, they advanced, all of them.
“Where the fuck have you been, Gabriel? After the shooting, no one saw you. We looked everywhere. We found your phone discarded in an alley. What the fuck just happened?“ Leo shouted furiously at me.
“Jesus Gab, are you OK? What happened?“ My brother asked me, concerned while helping me to sit.
“I’m fine Michael. Nothing serious. I’m ok.”
“Are you fuckin kidding me, Cerberus? What just had happened in that damn restaurant wasn’t serious!? There were four dead men, and you just magically disappeared. I thought someone took you.“ Leo said, fuming.
“Don’t forget your place, Leonidas. Don’t use that tone with me.” I snarled at him. No one disrespects me, whoever he is, even if it’s my right hand and my best friend.
All my men, even my brother, flinched and took a step back because they knew what I do when I get pissed.
Leo sighed and pinched his temples. “I’m sorry, but I was worried about you. No one knew what happened, and you disappeared after the fight. You didn’t take any men with you, I was fuckin worried man, I thought........ I thought you were dead.” he collapsed on a chair next to mine.
I didn’t reply. I just relaxed in the chair, but groaned when another wave of pain hit me.
“OH my god, Gabriel you’re bleeding, bring me my kit.” Michael was in a second tearing off my borrowed shirt and fussing all over me.
“You have been shot?” Leo asked with wide-opened eyes.
“No stabbed,” I mumbled, flinching when Michael took off the gauze.
“You went to a hospital?” he asked, eyeing me curiously.
“No, some girl stitched me,” I mumbled.
“Wow. Man, she did a good job. Those six stitches are perfect. Who is she? A doctor! A nurse! Damn... this is perfect. “
He looked at my stitches with admiration and awe, like he was in love. I sighed, rubbing my face. I don’t have the patience for this.
“None, some high school girl found me in the back of an alley and took me to her house, then stitched me,” I said nonchalantly.
Michael and Leo looked at me dumbfounded like I had grown three heads or something; I chuckled bitterly at the irony and grunted again because of the pain.
“Dude, are you serious right now? A high school girl did that?“
I closed my eyes and relaxed when he changed my gauze and just nodded.
“This girl is my new hero. I’m telling you, if it wasn’t for her, you’d have been dead right now. The cut was deep. She cleaned it, disinfected it, and again, those beautiful stitches. For an eighteen-year-old girl, she did a hell of a job. You are a damn lucky dog.” Again I didn’t bother commenting.
“Ummm........ Gabe, you have a.... pink little mermaid Band-Aid on your forehead.“ Leo said, trying not to laugh like the stupid asshole that he was.
I opened my eyes, glaring at him. “Fuck you.”
“But seriously, man, who did this to you?” He asked, sobering.
“The fuckin Italians.” I spat the name out loud with venom and all my men just stood still. It was a surprise for all of them, hell even I can’t still believe it.
“How? I mean, are you sure? Maybe it was a setup or something. There’s no beef between us.”
I stood up and snarled, “What is that supposed to mean? You think I’m lying Leonidas or making that up?”
“No......aa...I... “ Leo’s face paled, and he stuttered while walking backward slowly.
“Alessio was there. He was the one who stabbed me.” I gritted my teeth when I remembered the entire scene.
“OK, brother, take it easy, and please calm down. Your wound will reopen again.” Michael touched my shoulder gently and helped me to sit down; I tried to calm myself down. I need to think clearly about what I’m going to do.
“OK, Cerberus, just start from the beginning. Tell us what happened?”
I looked at Leo’s serious face for a second.
“Johnny called and asked me to come to the restaurant. He said he had the first payment, so I went and met him. We talked for a while and then he went inside to bring the money, leaving me enjoying my dinner alone.
The place was empty, but I didn’t pay attention to that. After a while I heard some noise from the kitchen, and then all of a sudden the shooting started. The four men you found are Alessio’s I shot them and when I was about to get the fuck out of there, Alessio came from the back and stabbed me but I made it.
I lost my phone during that chaos and walked away, then after half an hour, a girl found me in the back of an alley and helped me to get inside some building. But fuckin Alessio was on my tail with a couple of his men, so she took me to her house and stitched me, and here I am.”
I finished exhausted. It was a long day. My men didn’t say a word, trying to comprehend what I just said. I tried to stay calm, even though deep inside I was furious. The rage inside me made my blood boil. It was the first time that someone dared to try to kill me because they knew better not to mess with me.
I’m the Alpha male, the Alpha dog of these woods.
“Leonidas, call Giovanni.” I ordered calmly.
“What? Why? Are you sure he knows about this? I mean.........”
I cut him with a growl “You think Alessio is working without his boss’s permission?! Fuckin call him, and this is your last warning Leonidas, don’t ever question me. “
“I’m sorry Cerberus, forgive me,” he said slightly paling, and bowed his head.
Leo handed me his phone, and after two rings, I heard the angry voice of Giovanni.
“Who the fuck is this and how did you get that number? No one knows it.”
“Oh, Gio, there’s nothing impossible for me, you know that,” I said, smirking.
“Cer...Cerberus?!” He stuttered.
“Who else were you expecting?” I said, my smirk broadened.
“The hellhound is still alive! Now I know that name suits you, Gabriel. The mutt of Hades......... “ He laughed “So why did you honor me with this call?” he said sarcastically.
“I just called to tell you that YOU ARE A FUCKIN DEAD MAN, Giovanni, you crossed the fuckin’ line.” I snarled.
“Easy boy, did you forget who I’m?” he shouted.
I chuckled humorlessly, “Oh, I know who you are alright; you are a dead man talking.”
I crashed the phone with my fist and breathed hard, trying to control my anger by taking harsh breaths. I stood up and faced my men, smirking darkly.
“We are on a hunt boys. Be ready.”
They smirked back and bowed their heads; I faced my brother and my right hand.
“I’m going to get some rest, Michael. You need to be extra careful now. When you go to the hospital, take a couple of men with you..... “ he tried to cut me off, but I glared at him.
“It’s an order, Michael,” I growled harshly.
“Yes sir, I’m sorry.”
“Leonidas, gather the men and check the mansion security, then call the other branches and tell them to wait for my new orders, we gonna have a family meeting soon.”
I heard Leo’s reply while I was on my way to the elevator to go to my apartment.
After taking a shower and wearing sweatpants, I slept on the bed and closed my eyes, my mind still repeating the events of the day for the millionth time, but all I could see were big sky blue doe eyes and a warm smile.
That was the last memory I saw before drifting into deep sleep.
Chapter Three “Ariel, wake up. You’re going to be late for school.” “ARIEL..... You better get your ass down here after ten minutes or I swear to God, I’ll drag your sorry ass to school wearing your pajama. “ I groaned in annoyance and tossed around, a big yawn escaped my lips. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking, then shrugging, and again drifted back to sleep. “ARIEL.” “Damn it, just calm down woman, I’m awake,” I shouted back at my mother that woman doesn’t chill. I stretched like a cat and turned around, my face buried into my pillow; I inhaled deeply and sighed. Closing my eyes, I smiled softly and rubbed my face all over the soft fabric, enjoying its sweet masculine smell. I sighed again, enjoying the sweet feeling. After two seconds I shot up looking around frantically searching for the stranger who I found yesterday. Just as I was about to get out of bed, my bedroom door swung open and my angry mom’s face greeted me. “So I’m gonna drag you out of bed, then.” She said, put
Chapter Four I punched furiously for the millionth time today; I changed my stance panting, all my body was covered in sweat, feeling hot and exhausted, but still, I didn’t let that stop me. Even though my knuckles were ripped open and bleeding but I ignored the pain. Physical pain is nothing, but emotional is much worse because I hate feelings, being fragile and the worst of all is being helpless. I punched again, aggressively. The bunching bag rattled under the force. No one hurts my family and that stupid fucker, Giovanni and his assholes, crossed the line. After trying to, or almost killing me, they gain the confidence to mess with my business. I don’t give a shit about that; it was like your brat son is making some mess to gain your attention, but yesterday they went insane when they killed two of my men working at one of my clubs. “Woah, easy man. What did the poor punching bag do to you?” Leo entered the gym with a big concerned frown on his face. “Gab, it’s been almost fi
Chapter Five Part 1 Insomnia....... It’s been three days since I had a decent sleep. I can’t concentrate, I can’t communicate with anyone, I can’t even participate in anything. It’s like my mind wants to be shut off from anything and everything. Yep, I’m going into a deep depression and the best thing is I’m all alone. I didn’t see my mom since Monday and it is Friday today. God, I just want to stay asleep and never wake up ever again. Ugh, is it that time of the month? Damn you, periods. That’s why I hate being a girl; though it’s early for that torture....... ugh I need to get up. I rolled over the bed and kicked like a little kid, but because I knew it was the last day of the week, I thought it was better to get it over with. God, I hate high school, so much drama, and hormones. Yep, it’s all about hormones. I chuckled lowly. I’m sulking, and it’s only 6 in the morning. It is going to be a LONG day, man...... I hate my life. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and didn’t b
Chapter 6 Part 2 “Seriously, Rine. I’m not in the mood for clubbing right now. Besides, I look awful.” I said while she dragged me to the kitchen to ask Daniel for permission to leave early. I wasn’t kidding about looking awful. My eyes were puffy and red, my face was swollen and had traces of tears, and my nose was blocked. I was a walking mess. “Actually, this is the perfect time for clubbing because you feel like shit, so we need to fix it.“ She chirped happily, still dragging me. I huffed and cursed her in my head. She’s a stubborn bitch, I know it’s done, I’m going, like it or not. “Not to mention that I don’t have any ‘ Dresses ‘ to wear, heck I don’t even have a simple sundress,” I said, annoyed, saying dress sarcastically. “Don’t worry boo I got your back, and actually I bought you a sexy dress as a birthday gift, and girl, you are damn lucky to have me as a best friend because this is going to be perfect.” She squealed. We entered the kitchen, and Daniel smiled, greetin
Chapter 7 I groaned and closed my eyes tighter to block the light; I tried to use my arm as a shield, but I couldn’t. There was something heavy preventing me from moving. I groaned again, annoyed, but then I felt the little movement of a warm body next to me. Opening my eyes slowly, I looked down at that warm body. It was her, Ariel. She was sleeping peacefully snuggled at my side. Half of her body was above mine, her right arm around my torso, her right leg between my long legs, my right arm holding her tightly closer to my body. I used my left hand to brush some curls away to be able to see her beautiful face; she sighed and snuggled even closer. I smiled and searched for my alarm clock to check the time. 09:00 Am! I slept more than 8 hours?! That’s a first. I looked back at Ariel’s serene face again and remembered yesterday’s events. It was a hectic day, no doubt. After coming back from the Vegas meeting, I was discussing the new security details with Theo and Leo, and all of
Chapter 8 I finished quickly and headed to the second floor to see what kind of information Leo got. I didn’t forget what happened yesterday, even though I looked composed and calm, but deep inside I was seething. I can’t believe something like that happened in my club, to my Ariel. My Ariel?! Since when did I consider her mine? Since you gave her your necklace and marked her as yours ... I still don’t get it. Why did I do that? It’s like another me did that. I snorted. It’s true. It’s the other you alright, the beast inside you wanted her and when it wants anything, it just gets it. But why her? She’s eighteen, for God’s sake! Does it matter? She’s your woman now. Your beast claimed her as his... as yours. My beast..... Cerberus....... My mother gave me that name when I was a little kid saying that I have the soul of a beast, a hellhound, Cerberus, the mythical dog that guards the underworld, Hell. When did I ask my father why Cerberus? She said because I am like him, strong
Chapter 9 I sat on the bed for a while after Mr. Stranger left, still trying to comprehend what was going on. I still don’t understand. What am I doing here? Or How did I come here? I groaned and fell back on the bed; it was soft and tender and so freaking big wow. I turned on my stomach and inhaled deeply, and sighed. Yes, this is his smell. I still remember it perfectly. Though it started to fade back home, his masculine scent, mixed with his cologne, surrounded me like a safe cocoon. I rolled on the bed like a happy cat having her first dose of catnap. His scent made me feel high. I knew it was weird. I should be panicking right now because hello I wake up in a stranger’s bed, a dangerous one at that. But all I felt was safe and protected. Besides, he’s my stranger, so bite me if you don’t like it. I walked to the door he just entered before he left and found his walk-in closet and what I saw made me gap like an idiot. It was huge, bigger than our house, and had everything a
Chapter 10 After I made sure that Ariel was safe at her home and there was no one lurking around it, I headed back to the mansion. I have some serious interrogation to do; I need to know who was that asshole harassing my Ariel and why he chose her from all the girls in the club. I mean, I get it; she was so beautiful in her innocent way, so vibrant and so alive. Every soul in that club noticed her even, me, the coldest asshole. There, her heat and light draw me like a moth to the flames, but still why, especially her? There were so many women there ready to go for a one-night stand. I pinched the bridge of my nose and got out of the car. Everyone was busy doing their job, and as usual, Theo and Leo were waiting for me in my office. “So your girl is safe at home?” the smugness of Leo’s face irritated me. I ignored him as usual and faced my third after sitting behind my desk. “He still refuses to talk.“ I asked with a calm voice, unlike the storm that was raging inside me. “Yes, s