Chapter 3

Natalia:

“Where are we going again?” I asked Damien who was driving. I didn’t even know when he brought his car considering the fact that his driver was the one who dropped us off here.

“One of our restaurants. It has been closed for the evening for the two of us, and I figured we could have a ‘romantic’ dinner on our first wedding night” Damien said casually.

“So, the big mafia Leonov Pakhan is closing a restaurant for a romantic date with a wife he didn’t want?” I asked raising an eyebrow at the man. Damien sighed and parked the car in front of the restaurant, looking me in the eye.

“You do know that being Pakhan doesn’t make me a barbarian, Natalia” Damien answered getting out of the car. He vampire sped toward my side of the door, opening it for me “come on, little wolf”

“Stop calling me that” I snapped at him.

“I’ll call you whatever I want, malyshka” Damien said watching as I got out of the car. I put my hand on his chest, pushing him back slightly as our chests brushed while I walked out of the car. I still didn’t understand why he was acting the way he was when he surely proved to me not to want the wedding anymore than I didn’t during our engagement. Mum didn’t seem to want to understand that arranging a wedding between two dominant wolves would never work, especially when the opponent wolf in question was an Alpha.

Damien’s eyes were fixed on me as I fixed my white knee long dress. Mum had told me that as a ‘bride’ I was to at least wear a white dress on this day considering the fact that we both refused to have a party or gathering after we had eloped “now, come on, let’s enjoy this evening at least”

Damien put his hand on my lower back, pushing me to walk forward. However, I arched my back, flinching from his touch “we’re no longer in front of our guests, Damien, I suggest that you keep your hands to yourself”

“You’re my wife, little wolf. If I haven’t laid a finger on you, haven’t mated you, and claimed you as my own; it’s because I want you to be ready for this. But don’t test my patience too much, malyshka, I’ll be bending you down the nearest table, claiming you as my own and taking in every possible position before you’re screaming my name so loud that everyone knows that you belong to me” Damien said making me blush. My eyes avoided his as the words left his mouth and I found myself forced to submit to him as I walked forward along his side.

We entered the restaurant and my eyes widened at the sight in front of me. The candles that were lit everywhere, the soft music, the dimmed lights, the romantic table. I couldn’t help but stare at what I saw in front of me, my eyes widening when Damien wrapped his arms around me from the back, resting his chin over my bare shoulder, softly kissing my cheek “do you like it?”

“You set all this for me?” I asked turning my head to face him. Our breaths mixed as our lips neared, and I had to fight back turning around to connect my own lips with his as he hummed in response. It was hard enough controlling myself after kissing him twice already, and now that he was doing all this for me; I didn’t know what to think.

“Yes, with the help of your mom. She told me what your preferences were, and I figured that I would at least make this night memorable for you. Something that you wouldn’t forget, a night for the two of us” he whispered, his breath mixing with my own with every word he spoke. I put my hand on his, pushing them back and smiling at him. My heart racing as I fought back falling for the tension that rose between the two of us.

“How about we make use of the night while its still young, yeah?” I asked. Damien bit his bottom lip and nodded extending his hand for me to head to the table before vampire speeding toward my seat, and pulling it out for me making me laugh. I sat down on my chair, watching as he walked to his own and sat in front of me. The candles in the room warming it, making the scenery all the more romantic, and I wouldn’t even speak of the red and white rose petals that were spread on the floor.

“So, I heard that you just graduated?” Damien asked, nodding at the waitress to come. The woman approached us with the drinks he had brought of us, pouring us two glasses of wine.

“Yes, I was hoping to complete my masters too…”

“What stopped you?” Damien asked stopping me. I frowned in confusion at his question and he raised an eyebrow waiting for my answer.

“We got married, Damien” I said pointing at the two of us. Damien took a sip of his wine before his eyes met my own once again.

“So?” He asked frowning in confusion. The man must have been joking with his question, either that, or whatever wine we were drinking was too strong on him.

“Damien…”

“Did you apply for anything yet?” Damien asked taking me by surprise.

“Uh- no, I just graduated a month back” I said honestly “why?”

“Did you get your certificate?”

“Yes?”

“Okay, how about we have this month to ourselves, just you and me, then we start checking for universities here, see where you’d prefer…?”

“What?” My heart raced against my chest as I heard the man’s words. His honesty could be read in his eyes, and his genuine smile told me that he was being serious.

“I wouldn’t stop you from chasing your dreams, Natalia. You’re my wife, yes, but you’re not my slave” Damien’s eyes were fixed on my own as he spoke, and for a second, just for one second, I forgot that him and I were arranged to marry one another. It was something that even my mum didn’t want me to have, hell, she forced me stop both my dream and life to get married.

The waitress arriving to the table with our food snapped me out of the sudden daze that I fell into. I smiled at the waitress, silently thanking her as she put my plate in front of me “I take it mum told you that I liked spaghetti”

“Yes, she was sure to mention that you liked Italian food, and your main preference was spaghetti” I laughed at his concern and nodded.

“What about you?” I asked getting curious.

“What about me, little wolf?”

“What did you study? Didn’t you have any dreams to follow?” I asked, my curiousity getting the best of me. I knew that he was a mafia Pakhan, it was all mum let me know about him as if to ‘gloat’ about the man’s power. But she didn’t seem to care about the fact that I knew literally nothing about him.

“I studied law, and I did, I followed my dreams too” Damien said as he took a bite out of his spaghetti.

“A mafia Pakhan who studied law?”

“What better way to break the law than knowing every possible loose end that you could avoid?”