Chapter 8
Nikolai
I can’t help but laugh and rub my beard as I look at the four slain bodies on the breakfast hall floor. My father and I killed four of our best men, all because of her. When she made her accusation, I spared no thought, just pulled the trigger.
Two fucking times.
I grew up with two of these soldiers. We played hide and seek in the compound gardens. Now, all their eyes stare at the ceiling. Lifeless.
If anyone who didn’t know Aspen’s place in the family, they know it now.
I take the white napkin next to my covered plate and wipe off the blood from my face. Quinn grabs my wrist with clammy palms.
“He— no you, can’t do this.” There’s true shock on her blanched face.
I remove my wrist from her grip. “We can and we did.” I tap the call button on my wrist comm. “Boris, send the cleaners to the breakfast hall stat.” I cut the call without hearing his response.
“I’ve never seen you do something like this before.” Her words come out clumsy.
We have, especially whenever it comes to my mother and sisters. We run this fortress with an iron fist which is why this compound is impenetrable.
My father has the personality of being about more action, less on words. You can tell a lot about how a man move and my father moves with lethal efficiency and firmness, always making his messages clear.
I move the same way.
Don’t fuck with us or what we consider ours. And we just laid claim on Aspen so we’re not going to take anything lightly when it comes to her.
“What did you expect, she’s my wife. She was disrespected. That has consequences.” Tossing the napkin back on the table, I move to leave the hall and Quinn follows.
“You’re not married yet!” She throws her arms out.
“Doesn’t matter.” Servants line the wall and bow their heads as I walk down the hallway towards the front door.
“She doesn’t bear the Volkov name. In all my years here, you have never done something like that for me.”
“Aspen is a Volkov because we made it so.” I stop, turning to face her. “We don’t need formalities. We make the rules. People like you obey and follow because it’s law.”
My father and I made our statement crystal fucking clear. Aspen is my wife, whether we’ve said I do or not. Whether she wants this or not. This isn’t transactional. She is mine to protect and I will do so at all costs.
I resume walking and I notice Quinn fidgeting with her fingers.
“Did you ever love me?” she asks.
I stop at the front door. “No. I’ve only ever loved Helana. You knew that before we started fucking around.”
“Then,” her voice cracks as she looks away. “Why did you—”
“Because I was hollow inside. I was chasing the ghost of her through you.” I wait until her eyes meet mine again. “You were convenient. That’s the harsh truth you’ve been avoiding all these years.”
The only thing I owe her is honesty. And it’s the only thing I will give her.
Her head reels back like I slapped her. “So, you’ll use her, like you’ve been using me? What makes her so worthy of your commitment? Your loyalty?” Her words are filled with poison.
I don’t answer. Truth is, I don’t have one.
Not once have I seen Helana when I looked at Aspen.
I’ve only seen her cold, determined brown eyes.
Her desperation to get away from me and to protect her brother.
With every passing look, her eyes feel like knives cutting through my layers, exposing me, pushing me to answer the call that pulls me towards her.
They make me feel alive.
It’s been fifteen years since I felt my heart pump for another person. Since I’ve felt hunger and possession over someone.
I motion to Boris, who stands on the side of the front door. “Make sure Quinn gets home safely.”
“Yes, Boss.”
I walk down the curved steps to my SUV.
“So that’s it. You’re leaving me without a goodbye? Fuck you Nikolai!” Quinn screams from the top of the steps.
You already did.
I get in my car and head towards my private plane.
***
His skin is ashen and a ventilator is helping him breathe.
Even with three blood infusions, his color is paler than the photos our private detectives brought me.
I don’t know this man, but I can tell he doesn’t belong in this room that smells like bleach and decay and feels suffocating and too sterile.
Roman may be lying here unconscious but I can tell he can fuck some shit up, wreak havoc and collapse cities. There may be tubes sticking out from every place on his body, but this man is far from weak.
Just like his sister.
“You look like shit,” I breathe out, sitting in the chair next to Roman’s bed, his pulse spikes on the monitor.
I took a shower and changed into a new suit on my flight to Stockholm from Moscow since Roman is in a hidden human hospital right outside the city. We placed him here just in case he had any affiliation with one of the werewolves or vampire gangs here.
He doesn’t.
According to his file, Roman has been Aspen’s bodyguard for the past five years. She’s a singer and model from Upstate New York and they were in Solna for her last concert. Looks like she’s pretty popular too since every show she headlines sells out.
They were on their way to her hotel until one of our men attacked them on the road.
This little brother and sister duo went down fighting but still found their way in the Volkov clutches.
Roman here is being taken care of by my folks under our payroll and Aspen spending the rest of her life with me.
Bratva life isn’t as comfortable as the soft life she forged for herself as a so-called popstar but she’s a fighter and she’ll get used to it.
She has to.
Turning the pages on Roman’s file, I see that he served in the military for fifteen years.
Thinking about my first encounter with Aspen, I wonder if he’s the one that taught her how to fight.
I remember her assessing the environment before she jumped out that window, there was no fear in her face when she sprang into action.
I whistle to myself at the memory.
Running my finger down the page, I confirmed that Aspen is thirty-six and he’s thirty-eight and that they’re in fact orphans.
They’re each other’s only family since the file states their parents died in a fire in their family home when they were six and eight.
They were in and out of foster care until she’d debuted in an all-girls group when she was sixteen and he went into the military when he turned eighteen.
He’s a decorated soldier. And she’s a star.
The documents show he was in SRU- Special Recon Unit.
He has experience in the supernatural, which could be the reason why Aspen didn’t show any shock with my shadows.
Species like vampires and werewolves can blend in into the human world but there are times when there are crossovers and bloodshed is exchanged.
Rogue vampires may feed directly from humans, killing them in the process or a human can catch a werewolf on the wrong full moon night.
For the most part, people like me stay in the shadows and go undetected all their lives.
Others think they are above the rules and live too boldly.
That’s when they find out that the Syndicate is real and the underground is cruel.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I lean back into the chair.
“Someone is going to report them— or just her— very soon,” I mumble.
Roman’s pulse kicks up on the screen again and I study him more closely.
Did he hear me ?
He has long black locs, they’re shaven on the sides and he has a neatly trimmed goatee. Other than the obvious, he looks like her twin.
He’s her weakness.
He won’t be, if he’s dead.
I let out a harsh breath. “She might actually kill me if I let you die and I can’t have that.” I press his nurse’s call button, and one comes through his private hospital room. “Prepare another blood transfusion.”
I’m going to give him my blood since it has healing properties—as well as destructive ones. With at least one infusion, we should be seeing instant results since he’s human. If he wasn’t then, he would need more. Either way, it’s a case by case thing based on the person’s overall health state.
Before I leave Roman’s bedside, I tighten his security detail.
“Protect him with your life, or you will lose yours,” I tell the soldiers stationed outside his room.
As long as nothing happens to him, nothing will happen to prevent my marriage to Aspen. Most importantly, my ascension to be Pakhan. A Pakhan can’t ascend his throne without his queen, and I will be dragging Aspen with me even if she’s kicking and screaming along the way.
***
With everything that happened today, I’m completely drained as I take my private elevator to my penthouse.
Once inside, I’m met with my panoramic view of downtown Moscow.
The night sky is clear, but the city lights are bright as I look across the skyline.
There’s fresh snow on the rooftops of the buildings below, since it snowed more today.
Walking over to my kitchen island, I pour myself a shot of vodka. It burns my throat as the molten liquid heats my chest. Reaching inside my shirt, I pull out my silver chain. It holds two sets of rings.
Mine and Helana’s.
Closing my eyes, I can see her frolicking in the sea of sunflowers we kept in our garden during the summers.
Keeping our rings so close to me, it’s as though she’s still here with me reminding me she was real.
If I close my eyes tight enough, I can still feel her wrapping her arms around my center from behind, her head resting on my back.
Moving to the bedroom, I lay across the bed not bothering to remove my clothes, then look out the floor to ceiling windows.
“Solnyshko, is marrying Aspen another betrayal?”
I turn on my side, putting her ring on my pinky finger and mine on my fourth finger.
“I didn’t want this. You know that, right? But I can’t be the Pakhan without her.” Sighing, I roll on my back again. “She’s not you. She’ll never be you but she’s—something.”
Aspen is a very dangerous woman. She may be human, but I have no doubt that she will be my downfall. I don’t even know her and I’m taking ownership of her. I have to put some distance between her and me, until I can start thinking clearly and rationally.
She may come off strong and may be wearing barbed-wire skin but something deep within me is telling me to handle her with care.
It’s been a long time since I had to be gentle with anyone, and I know I will mess up with her from time to time.
But I’m willing to do the work. I’ve been painting the streets red since Helana was taken from me, I’ve had no will to live.
Until now.