1. Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE
T hirty-Nine Years Old
Benedikt
“Let’s move out.” Roman signed his orders to me.
I headed off to carry them out, hearing Valentina mumble something about being surprised we pulled this off. Of course we did, we are the Bratva. I ordered the soldiers to help collect the girls we’d found. Many had shot the teachers in the head for their complacency, but there were a few teachers who were still alive.
We’d figure out what to do with all of them once we went back home.
I stumbled, not seeing a rock in front of me, but at least I didn’t fall.
Fucking Roman.
I missed seventy-five percent of my shots since Roman had maimed me. For doing my job. A favor to my Uncle. Something I hadn’t needed to do. I could’ve stayed in my area in Russia. Happy with my little slice of the kingdom .
No, that punk from the States needed backup.
So, I saw a threat and I was prepared to neutralize it. Who cared if that threat was a woman he was calling his own at the moment? I wasn’t sure how men in the States handled their business.
I spent my time retraining as much as I could, but it wasn’t perfect. Fuck. I was worried the other spies in the network wouldn’t take me seriously, after hearing what happened. I was The Butcher, for fuck’s sake, and he’d damaged my image.
I couldn’t even retaliate. Maybe if I were the heir in line for the Bratva throne, it would be a different story. But I wasn’t. He was lucky my parents were dead. If not, and I was the heir in line to the throne, his life would’ve been mine. An eye for an eye and all that. Instead, I took his abuse and was making the best of it.
No one would go to war over an eye.
It wasn’t like he took my only tongue; I had another eye. Dropping my gun, I turned and set off to find Roman. The little fuck pissed me off, but showing it wasn’t an option. Each step slammed out my frustration, while my thoughts spiraled, refusing to settle.
I had seen none of the captives yet. It wasn’t important. We sorted them based on whose family would pay the most for their safe return. Valentina kept one of the girls upstairs company. I barely caught a glimpse of her. I only saw white streaks in her hair in passing, enough to intrigue me, but not enough to introduce myself. I had a tight ship to run and training to finish. I headed to the helipad to get more shooting in. I’d grown frustrated from having my shot statistics fall. Hence the training. No one wanted a spy who couldn’t execute.
Along with my reputation as The Butcher, I needed to get back in top form. It was a dog-eat-dog kind of world out there, and I was already at a disadvantage because of my age. I was pushing forty, this year would be my fortieth, and while I had my hand on a bit of power, it wasn’t enough.
My share of the pie was small, compared to what some heirs got, and I deserved more. By now, I should have a wife and children. Someone to leave my legacy to.
Instead, I was watching the current line strengthen, while mine weakened. It shouldn’t bother me, but I was only human. A man in his own right. I wanted what Pakhan Viktor had.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want the throne, not for anything.
I wanted the command he had over the troops. I wanted my network of spies to be a crucial part of the Petrov Legacy. I hadn’t figured out a way to do that yet. I wanted the limelight to be on me for a minute.
It wasn’t like my life was shit, I just wanted more. Was that a crime?
I set up my target, hanging it on one end of the helipad. Hopefully no one said anything, because I needed the practice time. I walked away and cleared my mind of all the negative dealings I had floating around.
I closed my eyes and released my breath. I held my gun up and opened my eye. I locked my visibility on the target, then remembered to switch hands right before I squeezed off a shot.
A centimeter too far to the left.
I adjusted myself and squeezed off another shot. It hit the center of the target’s forehead. Feeling a little better about myself, I straightened a bit and went to take another shot, when a figure walked into my line of sight.
I let go of the trigger before firing, cursing at the close call.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled to get her attention.
Her curls were sticking all over the place, and I saw the distinctive white streaks framing her face, when she shook her head back and forth before continuing to walk.
“Are you ignoring me, malen'kiy angel ?” I growled .
I didn’t know why her acting like she hadn’t heard me pissed me off so much. But it did. I stomped her way as she walked slowly along, shaking her head back and forth. As I drew closer, I realized she was mumbling something.
“Help me, help me, help me…” she mumbled, as she swung her hands in front of her, clawing.
I tried to intercept her, but she kept going like I wasn’t even there. Her sightless eyes were going to haunt my sleep. I couldn’t see her completely, but she was a beauty. Her dark skin shone in the light, and I wanted to kiss the exposed shoulder.
I shook off that sappy thought and trapped her hands to her sides, noting she didn’t loosen her claw-like grip.
“Help me, help me, help me…” she gasped in my arms.
“Shhh, malen'kiy angel. I’ve got you.” My cock grew hard for the first time in a long time.
After losing my eye, it was like my adulthood shriveled up inside of me. But having this seductress in my arms was proof that my dick worked just fucking fine. Roman could shove his suggestion about Viagra right up his tight-laced ass.
“Where are you supposed to be? Hmmm, malen'kiy angel .”
Her chapped velvet brown lips mouthed the phrase, “Help me,” in silence. I moved her down the stairs, but when I tried to walk her toward her room, she whimpered. So I steered her toward my room on the lower deck, with the rest of the soldiers. At least it wasn’t a bunk.
It wasn’t big, but I walked her over to my bed as she shivered. I tried tucking her in, but she grabbed me and pulled me toward her. Hovering above her body, her chanting changed.
“I’ll be good. I’ll be good. I’ll be good,” she muttered, lifting her dress over her tits.
And ah, fuck. What a delectable sight to behold. Her body was too skinny, but her dark skin was beautiful, and mostly blemish-free. Her small, rounded belly made my cock even harder .
She tried to pull away, but I grabbed her wrist, my grip tightening as she struggled. Her protests only spurred me on, the heat of the moment clouding my judgment. I pushed her down, straddling her with ease, ignoring the way she wriggled beneath me. My hands moved to the buckle of my jeans, and though she tried to push me off her body, I refused to budge. Her resistance only fueled the fire burning inside me, drowning out anything but my desire.
I slid my cock right into the unknown sexy woman’s tight ass pussy, and her struggling ceased immediately. I thrust deeper inside of her, and she cried out that she was a good girl. Over and over she rode my cock, telling me she was going to be good.
I bit onto her finger, drawing blood, and held her haunted eyes with my own eye as I swallowed her essence into my body.
It warped my reality, if I’m being honest.
After I collapsed on top of her, she tried to push me off, however I placed a gentle kiss on her lips even as she turned away. An apology for taking her so roughly. So I stayed in my bed, dick softening inside of her, wondering what in the world I just let happen.
I didn’t have time for some bitch, pardon my expression, to fuck up my life. I believed in the Petrov curse. It was that, as soon as we stopped sacrificing the women in this family, everything went south.
Our profit; in the gutter.
Our ranks were dying off every day. Fewer and fewer soldiers were being loyal since the entanglement with the Italians. Now, Viktor thought holding powerful men’s daughters in Russia would not start a war.
He thought he could auction them off to the highest bidder, and organizations would go for it. He saw it was harder to get them on his side than he thought. It was why I couldn’t wait to transport this load back to Russia .
Since there were so many women, it was easier by boat. I could fly home if I wanted, but it was dangerous with this many powerful lines in tow. They drugged most of the women. A slow sedation over the day that the family doctor, and a select few nurses, monitored around the clock here. I’d pulled a ton of strings to get this ship. It was massive, like a floating fortress carved from steel and secrets. The hull gleamed faintly under the dull light, painted a muted gray that blended into the ocean’s horizon. Inside, the corridors stretched endlessly, lined with doors marked for dormitories, classrooms, and crew quarters. The ship felt alive, humming with the constant rhythm of its engines.
The main deck was a sprawling open space, where the kids often gathered for drills or recreation, while the bridge sat high above, its glass-paneled walls giving a panoramic view of the sea. Below deck, there were training rooms, a fully equipped medical bay, and even a cafeteria that could feed hundreds at once. It wasn’t just a ship; it was a self-sufficient city, built to keep us out of sight, and always on the move.
After attacking The Academy, we stole all the girls to use for our gain. All but this vixen hogging my cock. I could use her for my pleasure.
It was a long while that we stayed in bed. I slept little. Insomnia kept me awake. It gave me a long time to think, and I realized I hadn’t worn a condom, so this malen'kiy angel could have my child taking root within her.
If that were the case, I would need to make some changes.
If I wasn’t careful, I’d have to take her as a wife. Valentina was, after all, my leader’s woman, and Isa was her friend. She wouldn’t take too kindly to me manipulating her sister. Maybe I’d be able to distract them from my misdeeds. Then, after the baby was born, I could kill her. It was our rite of passage. Maybe I would keep it within tradition, and allow my son to take her out .
Until I knew whether she was pregnant with my spawn, she wouldn’t be leaving my sight. This tiny vixen did not know who the fuck she was playing with.
I wouldn’t allow it.
Whatever deity decided she was mine, placed her right in my lap. She begged for my cock, although her eyes being closed was a tad odd. She told me she was going to be my good girl.
Blood for blood. I’d ingested hers, so she was mine.
Pricking her finger with a savage bite and dripping her blood into my mouth. A binding, I’d heard it called. Witchcraft, a perfect way to call her mine. She looked like a witch getting under my skin.
My parents, if they were alive right now, would say I wasn’t boo boo the fool. I wasn’t. For the short period they were in my life, they taught me survival. Never trust a woman. Which was why my father had me kill my mother a bit earlier than what was tradition.
But that wasn’t important.
What was I to do about the malen'kiy angel sleeping on my cock?
As I lay beneath her, trying to think of a way out, my eyelids drifted closed. I let out a small yawn, and my eyes widened in surprise. I rarely made that sound. Not since I stopped sleeping.
My eyelids drifted closed again.
Her pussy clenched and unclenched on my cock, a relentless rhythm that, somehow, lulled me into the first proper sleep I’d had in what felt like forever. Darkness pulled me under, thick and suffocating, and for a moment, there was peace.
Until I woke.
The sound came first, faint but distinct. A creak of the floorboards was soft as a whisper, but it was enough to jolt me from unconsciousness. My eyes snapped open.
I forced myself upright. The room was dim, moonlight spilling through the cracks in the curtains, but I wasn’t alone .
Isadora, her name I found in the information at The Academy.
She was there, standing at the doorway, her figure shrouded in shadows. Her hair fell wild around her shoulders, her steps slow and deliberate as she moved barefoot, toward the hall. My pulse spiked.
“Isadora,” I called, my voice rough, barely above a whisper. She didn’t stop. She didn’t even look back. Something about the way she moved, graceful but detached, like she wasn’t entirely there, set my teeth on edge.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed. She was leaving, walking out of the room, and I wasn’t about to let her disappear into the night. Not her. Not my Isadora. She said she would be good, but she was being a naughty girl. How dare she leave without my permission?
Dragging myself to my feet, I stalked after her; the adrenaline burning away the haze of exhaustion. “Isadora,” I growled, louder this time, my voice echoing down the empty hall. Still, she didn’t respond. Her steps were steady, her arms slack at her sides, her head tilted slightly forward, as if she were being pulled by some invisible force.
I reached her in seconds, my hand shooting out to grab her wrist. Her skin was cold and clammy. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I hissed, yanking her back toward me.
She turned, her eyes half-lidded, unfocused. Sleepwalking .
Her lips moved, barely forming words. “I… I’ll be good. I s-swear I’ll be good.” Whimpering cries sounded from her throat.
“What the hell?” I spat, tightening my grip on her wrist. She tried to pull away, weakly, her body resisting without purpose, without thought. It pissed me off more than it should’ve; her helplessness, her lack of fight .
“You’re not going anywhere,” I growled, my voice sharper now. “You belong to me. Do you hear me, Isadora? To me.”
Her only response was a soft murmur, something incoherent, her head lolling slightly to the side. The sight of her like this, lost, vulnerable, sent a sharp jolt of anger coursing through me. Not at her, but at whatever part of her mind thought it was safe to wander away from me, even unconsciously.
I moved quickly, wrapping one arm around her waist and lifting her off the ground, as she struggled weakly against me. Her nails scraped against my forearm, but it was like she didn’t even know what she was doing. I carried her back toward the bedroom, her body rigid against mine, her breathing shallow.
“Stop fighting me,” I demanded, my voice low, venomous. “You’re going back to bed, whether you like it or not.”
She whimpered softly, the sound barely audible, but it cut through me like a blade. I ignored it, shoving the door open with my shoulder, and kicking it closed behind us.
When I reached the bed, I dropped her onto the mattress, not gently, not carefully, but with just enough force to make her still. Her body sank into the sheets, her chest rising and falling unevenly.
“Stay,” I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument. I pressed my hands to her shoulders, pinning her down, as her body writhed faintly beneath me. “You don’t get to leave, Isadora. Not now. Never.”
Her eyes fluttered, a flicker of consciousness breaking through the haze. For a moment, she stared at me, wide-eyed and confused, her lips parting as if to speak.
I leaned in close, my breath hot against her ear. “You’re mine, Isadora,” I whispered, my voice a dark promise. “Even when you’re asleep. Do you understand?”
She nodded weakly, her body going limp beneath my hands.
Good.
I stayed there for a moment longer, my grip firm, making sure she wouldn’t move again. When her breathing evened out, and her eyes finally closed, I released her, sitting back on the edge of the bed.
I slid my cock back inside of her, whispering my love while I thrummed her clit, roughly flicking her to a passionate release. As she throbbed her orgasm all over my cock, I came deep inside of her. In the aftermath, I felt her walls squeeze my dick in time with my migraine.
The throbbing in my skull settled after a while, to a dull ache that I welcomed now. It reminded me I was alive, that she was safe, and that no matter what haunted her dreams, I would be there to pull her back. Even if I had to do it savagely.