TWENTY-TWO
Viktor stands tall , seemingly preparing himself for an attack from Nik. “I found your pet,” he says, waving his arm to me. “You should take better care of your things.”
Rage boils in my chest. I clench my hands tight enough for my nails to bite into my palms. I try and stomp toward the behemoth but Nikolai grabs me by the wrist and forces me behind him. His skin isn’t just hot. It’s on fire, reaching a temperature I’m not so sure human flesh can handle without melting. When he lets go, there’s a large red imprint in the shape of his palm. It doesn’t hurt, but holy shit, I still feel the heat.
“Stay away from her,” Nik bellows, his voice dripping with venom. “Or your next trip to see Father will be in pieces.”
Viktor grins sadistically and glances around the club, noting the hundreds of people surrounding us. He takes a slow, lurching step forward, the heat between the two burning like an incinerator. “Even if you could shift without the moon, brother —" He pauses, and his glowing eyes darken a shade. “You’re still too weak to do it here. And her?” He nods at me. “She’s only making you weaker.”
Nik backs me away with his arm, his entire body tensing. His shoulders flex, stressing the seams of his button up from his biceps down to the rolled sleeves on his forearms. He can burst out of the shirt at any second. Maybe even burst out of his own skin and give way to the animal begging to be unleashed.
“Final warning, Viktor.” The cords of his neck thicken and bulge.
Running his tongue along his teeth, Viktor quirks a brow. Shit. This is really about to happen. They are going to rip each other to shreds right in front of the biggest crowd Volk’s ever seen. I’d run to get Dimitri if I thought he could make any difference in a Vostik royal rumble, but even though he is near their size, I doubt there is anything he can do. Not if one of them transforms. Even if you could shift without the moon, brother. It wasn’t just the accusation of Nik not being able to change, but the arrogance in his voice. Almost as though … Viktor is implying he can .
“Relax, big brother,” he says, the roughness of his voice smoothing over. “Can’t have you scaring away our guests.” Viktor pats Nik’s shoulder, and I watch as the sharpened nails on each meaty finger retract. He peers at me once more, the eyes of the devil boring holes in my direction. “Enjoy your night, Natalia.”
Then, he is gone, his large head only visible above the rest of the club. Nik turns to me and cups my cheek, adding warmth to my already flushed face. “Are you okay?” he asks, the gold returning to his darkened eyes.
I bite my lip and nod.
He pulls me in close and brings his lips to my forehead. “Don’t leave my side.”
Not going to be a problem. Especially when his gargantuan brother with a taste for blood has apparently made it his mission to add me to the fucking menu. It was more than enough stress having, well, whatever the hell Nik and I were before, now let’s add a sadistic, vengeful brother intent on becoming the next alpha to the mix. I don’t know how this is what my life has become, involving myself in a werewolf pack, but every time I stare into his eyes, all resignation practically flies out of the open window in my head. When I see him, it’s like everything I felt my first night here rushes back.
“Are you almost finished with the pictures?” he asks, pointing to the camera in my hand.
“Not yet. I want to get a few more of the bar and the red room.”
His sharp jaw clenches. “That … can wait. Besides, I have something for you in my loft.” He interlocks our hands and pulls me toward the staircase despite my protest.
I gasp out a breath. “Nik, I told you I am working tonight. No funny business, remember?”
Nik grins wide enough that small dimples emerge on his cheeks. “No funny business, I promise. It’ll only take a moment.”
Tilting my brow curiously, I peer up at him, taking in every detail of his gorgeous face. Fuck, I can’t say no to this man, even if I wanted to. My brain hits the reset button while my body does little else than mold to him. When I nod, he leads us up the staircase, and silences Volk by shutting the hatch door behind us.
His loft is still, only the vibration of the club buzzing the floors. Through the windows, Volk’s lights flash irregularly, highlighting different parts of the event below. The platform where he chains himself up every full moon is missing as well as the furniture I watched him train from. The dining table we had dinner at. Gone. It’s empty. Almost vacant save for a book, two glasses, and a bottle of champagne on the kitchen island.
“Nik? What happened to all your stuff?” I ask, glancing from one bare corner to the next. He grabs the book from the countertop and hands it to me. There’s a flag with green, white, and red, and some recognizable monuments behind it. Speak Italian in Three-Hundred Pages Or Less. This is what he has for me? Why would I need to learn how to speak—I try and swallow the lump building in my throat. If I leave LA … Will you come with me? I remember the way he said it. The seriousness in his voice.
“I’m flying out tomorrow night.” He smiles wanly, scanning every inch of my face for something. Agreeance? Panic? I’m not sure which, but the more he looks at me, it’s impossible to keep the rush of anxiety hidden. “Dimitri is the only one that knows.”
I draw in a deep breath, searching for the right words to say. “When—when will you be back?”
His eyes harden. “I won’t.” Nik puts his hands on my waist.
My hip bones scorch under his fingertips, the touch impossibly hot and cold all at once. God, I want his hands all over me. Clasped to my cheeks. My throat. The body I’ve been so ashamed of all my life. I want to give him all of me. And if the burn on my hips is what hell feels like, I’d happily sell my soul to get there.
“Come with me, Natalia.”
“Come with you ... to Italy?” The air rips from my lungs. Italy? I can’t just pack up and leave the States with him, can I? I shake off the embrace, knowing there’s no chance I can think this through when his hands create an inferno at my midsection. I can’t deny the unnatural sensation in my stomach. One I’ve never felt until Nik. And before I let him whisk me off to a different country, away from everything I know, I’m going to be certain it’s truly my decision and not because of what this man does to me.
The smallest hint of a smirk tugs at one side of his face. “You said you’ve never been.”
“But you’re asking me to—” I pause when realization hits me. We’ve talked about a lot of things, and overseas trips have never been the topic of discussion. “How did you know that?”
He gives a chuff of laughter. “Werewolf, remember?”
I just got back from Italy, have you been? This snide comment came from none other than Veronica Tate. God, the way she smiled when I said no was even more infuriating. Like my lack of travel time was just another reason to dig her Louboutin heels in my unworthy back.
“You heard us at the bar.”
Nik nods once, his eyes trailing from my lips and back to my bemused gaze.
“How good is your hearing?”
He tilts his head to one side, seeming to focus. Besides the slight humming of the floors, nothing coming from downstairs is distinct. “Right now there’s a woman heading for the front doors, and a man is chasing after her. Alek is making a martini, but his pour is off. And your friend Courtney just ordered a vodka cranberry. She’s not paying. The guy tapping his wedding ring on the bar top is. He sounds nervous too. His heart rate is near a hundred and twenty beats per minute.”
I glance out the window panel next to the door and skim the crowded club. A woman pushes her way through the dance floor, and right behind her is a man trying to yell above the music, following the same path she’s created. Behind the bar, Alek shakes a drink in a metal tin, giving his trademark annoyed expression. And Courtney, well, she only stares at the ceiling while the guy next to her continues to talk inaudibly, his hand patting the bar like it’s a game show buzzer.
Holy shit. It’s not possible. There’s no way his hearing is that good. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it play out with my own eyes. Nik can probably hear everything in this club. The music. The bar. The bathrooms. The bathrooms? Dread sours my dry mouth. Dread and the bitter taste of sheer fucking embarrassment. That means he heard Courtney and me when I cleaned myself off after getting knocked to the floor. Nik listened to all of it.
“Your, uhm, super-hearing, excludes the women’s bathrooms right?”
He closes his eyes and bites back a grin. “Unfortunately not.”
Oh, wonderful. Before I thought I was going to be killed by his brother, and now, now I’m going to die from humiliation. Somehow Viktor’s claws are even less intimidating. I take a deep breath to compose myself, hoping the color of my face hasn’t completely drained to my feet.
“What about all of this?” I manage, gesturing to his empty loft and the club below. “Why would you leave everything you’ve built?”
The lines of his face deepen. “I never wanted this. Any of it. And the longer I stay here, it’s only a matter of time before the little bit of humanity I have left is taken. Not by a full moon, but from my family. If you think Viktor is bad, just remember who raised him. I was lucky enough to know what a monster my father is at an early age, and Viktor will only up the ante someday. I’m sure of it. I can’t be a part of this pack when it happens.”
Imagining someone worse than his brother is damn near impossible. There’s always a cruel, calculated look in his dark gray eyes. The way he practically threatened me not even ten minutes ago. Viktor is dangerous, and yet, there’s something worse out there. Then, I remember the scars on Nik’s torso, the thick, ragged lines beginning at his collarbone and ending at his hip. His father did that to him, and if he’s anything like Nik has said, he probably enjoyed doing it. I can’t blame him for wanting to leave. That just leaves one unanswered question throbbing in my head.
Can I leave? Can I really go with him?