Chapter 46 – NIKOLAI
Chapter
Forty-Six
NIKOLAI
I pace the length of Geo's living room, each turn making my wounds throb. The pain is a persistent reminder of Geo's bullets in my back, of the unwelcome fact that I now owe Raven my life, and most distressingly of all, of Cosima choosing a literal monster over me.
My mate.
Mine.
The thought makes me grind my teeth until my jaw aches.
Geo sits in his armchair by the fireplace, pretending to read some pre-war book as if I'm not here, as if we're not forced into this bizarre truce while waiting for his golden-haired drama queen to return.
The crackling fire does nothing to warm the ice in my veins. My fingers twitch with the urge to wrap around someone's throat, preferably Geo's, but I'd settle for any target right now.
The silence between us hangs thick and hostile until?—
A dull thunk comes from down the hall.
Geo's eye flicks up from his book, meeting mine briefly before returning to the page with forced nonchalance.
I open my mouth to make some cutting remark when another sound interrupts me. A low rumble, like a growl, followed by what sounds like... laughter?
Cosima's laughter.
My stomach knots. The implications crawl under my skin like acid.
"Sounds like your doc's a real miracle worker," I drawl, the words tasting like poison.
Geo doesn't bother looking up. "Better than expected, apparently."
Another sound reaches us, this time unmistakable—the discordant notes of a piano, played clumsily, as if someone had simply fallen against the keys. Or been pushed against them.
"Guess she's teaching him to play piano," I remark stiffly, attempting to maintain whatever's left of my sanity.
The words have barely left my mouth when Cosima's moan cuts through the air, clear and unmistakable.
Geo's lips curl into a smirk, his one eye still fixed on his book. "Sounds more like she's teaching him to play her ."
The silence that follows is excruciating.
I resume pacing, bile rising in my throat with each step. The sound of the piano continues, intermittent notes punctuated by more moans, more growls, more laughter. The sound of wood cracking and splintering.
Geo's eye twitches. The spine of his book cracks.
My mate is in there with the monster who tore through my men like they were nothing. The creature I captured to weaponize, not to fuck my omega.
My omega, who looks at me with disgust in those violet eyes.
My omega, who doesn't think she's mine at all.
What's most infuriating is how much I still want her. I've never wanted anyone more, and I've certainly never considered anyone my fucking mate before.
I don't do mates.
I don't do love.
I barely even do sex that isn't transactional.
So what the fuck is happening to me?
Another moan, louder this time, rips through my thoughts. My hand clenches involuntarily into a fist.
Geo slams his book shut. "That was an antique, you know. Belonged to a fucking prince."
I turn to him, incredulous. "Your piano ? That's what you're concerned about right now?"
His eye narrows. "What would you have me concerned about? Your wounded alpha pride?"
"She's my mate," I snarl.
"Funny. She seems to be mating with someone else at the moment." His tone is casual, almost bored, but I see the tension in his shoulders. He's not as unaffected by this as he pretends to be.
"Where the fuck is Raven?" I snap, finally reaching my breaking point. "What's taking him so long?"
Geo shrugs, reopening his book. "How the hell should I know? I'm not his keeper."
"Could have fooled me," I sneer. "You should go find him."
His bark of laughter is harsh, but I can tell I struck a nerve. "Like hell I'm leaving you alone in my base." He gestures toward the door with his book. "But you're more than welcome to leave. If you bring Raven back, I might even let you back in."
I eye the gun on his hip. "I need my weapon."
"No."
"You expect me to go out there unarmed?"
Geo looks around lazily, his eye eventually settling on the mantelpiece beneath the massive horned skull. "Best I can do is this," he says, reaching up to grab a rusty sword that looks like it hasn't been used in centuries. He tosses it to me with obvious amusement.
I catch it one-handed, scowling at the dull, pitted blade. It's clearly just a wall decoration, but it's better than nothing. And I've killed with less.
"You're a piece of shit, you know that?" I growl.
"So I've been told," Geo replies, already returning to his book. "Close the door on your way out."
A fresh wave of moans and piano notes drifts down the hall. That decides it. I can't stay here another minute listening to this. I turn on my heel and stalk toward the exit, the sword gripped tightly in my fist.
My boots echo on the concrete as I storm through the tunnels of Geo's underground empire. The guards eye me warily, hands drifting to their weapons as I pass.
At the main entrance, a young alpha stands at attention, his rifle held across his chest. He straightens when he sees me approaching, eyes darting nervously to the rusty sword in my hand.
"Sir? You're not supposed to?—"
I don't let him finish. In one fluid motion, I slam him against the wall, the dull edge of the sword pressed against his throat.
"Your gun," I say softly. "Give it to me."
His eyes widen in fear. Good. Fear I can work with.
"I-I can't," he stammers. "Geo will?—"
"Geo will what? Kill you?" I lean in closer, letting him see the cold certainty in my eyes. "I'll save him the trouble. Your gun. Now."
His shaking hands fumble with the rifle. I snatch it from him, checking the magazine. Full. Better than I expected.
"Where did Raven go?" I demand, keeping the sword at his throat.
"Who?"
I roll my eyes. New recruit, clearly. "The pretty blond alpha. About this tall." I gesture with my free hand. "Fancy clothes, blue eyes, mouth that doesn't stop running."
Recognition flickers in his eyes. "Oh, him. He left with some shady-looking guy a while ago. Heard them talking about heading to a brothel."
That gets my attention. "A brothel?"
The guard nods rapidly. "That's what it sounded like."
I step back, tucking the rifle into a holster on my belt. It's a tight fit, but it'll do. The guard blinks in confusion, but I'm already walking up the rusted stairs leading up to an even more rusted hatch.
The sunlight stings my eyes after the artificial lighting of the underground complex.
I squint, giving me a moment to adjust to the harsh glare reflecting off the wasteland's bleached earth.
The wind carries the ass-bitter taste of radiation and dust, a familiar flavor that reminds me I'm back in my element.
Out here, I know where I stand.
Out here, the rules are simple.
Kill or be killed.
Geo's underground market isn't far from the skeletal remains of what was once a small town.
Rusted signs, half-buried in sand, guide travelers to the entrance.
Around it, makeshift stalls and tents have sprung up like weeds, catering to those unwilling—or unable—to navigate the politics of Geo's domain below.
He'd better watch it. If he's not careful, he's going to end up a mayor.
I know exactly where I'm headed. The Alpha's Alpha, Raven's "tacky" sex club. The memory of Cosima's barb, and the look on his face, still brings a small smile to my face.
Not a bad place to gather intel, I have to admit. The Reinmichian and Surhiiran elite might sneer at it publicly, but many find their way there under cover of darkness. Alcohol and sex loosen tongues, and Raven's whores are trained to listen and remember. They're better informants than most.
It's where I would go if I were looking for information on someone like Azarel, this mysterious alpha Cosima wants so badly. The jealousy that floods me at the thought is as unexpected as it is unwelcome.
I've never been the jealous type. Never cared enough about anyone to feel threatened. But now...
Now I want to tear apart anyone who might take her from me. Including the monster currently fucking her back in Geo's compound. Including this Azarel, whoever the hell he is.
A Surhiiran working as a Reinmichian soldier.
Now that's a niche. Probably not someone I'd usually be inclined to fuck with, either, considering he's got ties to the two nations I like to keep a low profile with.
And yet here I am, considering tracking the bastard down myself just to put a bullet in his skull before Raven can bring him back to Cosima.
What's happening to me?
The thought nags at the back of my mind, a splinter I can't quite reach, as I make my way through the ramshackle pop-up towns on the way to the seedier district where the Alpha's Alpha holds court.
The sun beats down on my shoulders, aggravating the wounds in my back.
I can feel fresh blood seeping through the makeshift bandages, but I push the pain aside.
Pain is an old friend, after all. We understand each other.
The buildings here are little more than shells, their windows boarded up or broken, their walls covered in crude graffiti. But I know this world. I know the unspoken rules of the Outer Reaches. The more decrepit the exterior, the more likely there's something valuable hidden inside.
I'm so focused on my destination that I almost miss the warning signs. The sudden silence. The prickling at the back of my neck. The faint scuff of a boot on gravel.
Ambush.
I dive for cover behind a rusted-out vehicle just as the first shot rings out. The bullet pings off metal where my head had been a moment before.
"Fucking amateurs," I mutter, pulling the stolen rifle from my belt.
I peek over the car's hood, counting targets.
Five of them, spread out in a loose semicircle.
Armed with a mix of shotguns and pistols.
Not raiders—they're too well-equipped. Possibly Geo's men, sent to take a cheap shot while I’m alone and vulnerable.
Or someone else who recognized me and knows there's a bounty on my head.
A few of them, actually.