Chapter 4 - Nikolaos

I lock the envelope in my safe and walk over to the crystal bourbon decanter in the corner of my office. 

The omega said yes to my offer, not that I thought she’d reject it. She’s running away from a man who hates me, of course, she would agree to my offer of safety. But I still don’t know why she was running from that cunt, Mikhail, or why they needed her back so desperately that they ran right into my territory. 

She must be important to them; the fact that she ran right into my arms must be a sign from the Goddess. Not that I’m a believer; All I know is that little rabbit is my trump card in this war, and making her birth my first-born will be the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to that asshole. 

The door of my office bursts open and my Beta, Maxim, walks in with his eyes glowing golden and his hands balled into fists at his side. He’s pissed off about something, I can tell from his scent.

“Típota! Absolutely fucking NOTHING!” he exclaims while looking feral as fuck.

I take a sip of my bourbon and raise my eyebrow at him. “Are we playing guessing games right now?”

My nonchalance causes him to emit a low growl and he glares at me. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Niko; that fucking Omega sleeping soundly on the top floor,” he says, then walks over to me and grabs the glass from my hand before downing it.

I sigh and proceed to pour myself another two fingers into a separate glass while looking at him questioningly. He didn’t like it when I asked him to bring that little rabbit along with us after killing those soldiers who ran after her. In hindsight, I probably should have kept them alive to question them, but seeing Mikhail’s men in my territory made me fucking see red.

“Did you find out who she is?”

“That’s what I meant when I said absolutely fucking nothing. She’s not listed anywhere; no prints, no facial recognition, no birthdate, no name - no biometrics,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s like she doesn’t fucking exist.”

I grin. “Hmmm, this intrigues me even more now. What could Mikhail want with a ghost?” I say, chuckling. There’s no way he would go to such lengths to keep this little rabbit hidden… ”Unless that ghost is something more… something he’s trying to hide from the world.” 

Maxim looks at me as if I’ve gone crazy, then he shakes his head. “I don’t like that look in your eyes, Nikolaos,” he says. “I don’t like it at all.”

“Well, it’s obvious that rabbit is of high importance to someone like Popov; so we keep her here for a while until I’m done with her.”

He frowns. “Done with her? With all due respect, Niko, you have more important things to worry about than playing warden to a nobody. The Pack Elders-”

“Will get their heir,” I say, finishing my drink. “That’s what I mean when I say until I’m done with her.”

The cogs seem to be turning in Maxim’s head and I can literally see when they come to the conclusion I offered. His eyes pop out of his head and he nearly drops his glass as he takes a step back from me. “No fucking way.”

I nod. “She’s important to Mikhail, now she’ll be the one to birth my firstborn. I think the irony fits,” I say with a chuckle and slap his back. “Come now, Maxim, you were the one who wanted me to find someone-”

“Yes, an important someone! One with a name, a lineage, a powerful family - one with pull. Not some…ghost!” He exclaims, violently shaking his head and placing a hand on my shoulder. “Please, Niko, you need to rethink this!”

“No need to,” I say and peel his hand from my shoulder. “The papers are signed and she’ll be inseminated during her next heat cycle. The sooner I have this child, the sooner I can get the Elders off my back.”

They wanted a child from me since I was adamant I would not have a Luna. This was my compromise so I can keep my Alpha title, not to mention half of the city. So I will give them an heir and how easy was it to get someone who wanted to escape the city?

“You’re making a mistake-”

“I am in this predicament because they want a new Alpha, and since Bastien will have nothing to do with our father’s old pack, this is on me. He got out easy by establishing a pack in Sin City,” I say, nearly biting back my words because my twin brother did not take the easy way out. 

Maxim sighs. “What if she turns out to be worse than-”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I growl as the anger makes its way to the surface. Maxim takes a step back when he sees my eyes and black claws, then he holds his hands palms up as if in apology.

“Say their names and you’re dead. You might be my Beta and closer to me than Bastien, but dredge up the past again and I’ll shove your heart down your throat.” 

I don’t even have to raise my voice for him to get the idea that I’m serious, because he knows he fucking overstepped. Mentioning those names is taboo in my pack, and anyone who utters them will have a swift death.

“A-apologies, Alpha,” Maxim says before he scurries out of my office with his tail literally between his legs.

I empty my glass and smash it against the fireplace before allowing the pain of the shift to take over and sprint towards the forest surrounding my property. Nothing angers me more than thinking about the past; a past drenched in pain and abuse where those close to me did the unspeakable. 

I cannot stand the touch of another woman; they ruined that for me. Even the most gentle of touches feels like silver razor wire peeling off my skin.

This is easy; killing, torture, blind fury… it’s an easy outlet. I will allow no one to get close to me again, not after that. For now, I need to focus on what I have to do to secure an heir, then see what secret this little rabbit has to hide.

**The Rest Will Be Uploaded On Thursday 5 Jan 23**