Nikolai
One month later
Adrik got away. I had been so careful and meticulous in planning out every single detail, covering every angle. This whole thing was a huge disappointment. And on top of that, I had to stay away from Ava, my family, my home for a fucking month.
Malone, who was heading the team of witches in search of the solution of the red dust was also disappointed. They had created a solution but it didn’t work. Because of this mistake, Adrik now knew that all of us were after him. And it would be much more difficult to find him. But it was just going to be difficult, not impossible.
Malone said that he would go to Pythonissam and search for a solution there. He said that if there is a place that has everything witch related, then it was Pythonissam. And he would not stop till he found a solution.
“We will find him, Nikolai.” Mikhail reassured. “We have our best men looking for him all over Jivan.”
“If they were really the best, I would have him right now, wouldn’t I?” I said drily.
He rubbed his face in frustration. “I don’t know how Avalyn tolerates your cranky ass all the damn time. I’m going to leave after Avalyn and your birthday to chase another lead for fuck’s sake. Can you calm your tits for two fucking days?”
Avalyn’s and my birthday fell on consecutive days. But the weirdest thing was that she was born on 22 May at 11:58 pm and I was born on 23 May at 12:02 am. We were born exactly four years and four minutes apart. It was weird but cool at the same time. And today was the big day. She turned twenty four and I will turn twenty eight tomorrow. There was no way in hell I was going to miss her birthday. The first of many that we were going to spend together.
I was supposed to go on the search for Adrik right after he disappeared because the more time we sat still, the more time he would have to cover his tracks and the harder it would be to find him. We had to work quickly or else he would find a way out of this dimension and we will never be able to find him. But it was our birthday and Avalyn hadn’t celebrated it in years. I knew she was excited this year. So Mikhail and I decided to go home for a couple of days before resuming our hunt.
“I would push you off this helicopter right now if you weren’t my only hope of finding Adrik!” I snapped. It had been more than a month now that we had spent day and night together. The fucking motel was too small for our team so I had to share a room with the fucker and Ratmir, the rest of the team had to stay elsewhere. Let’s just say we had our fill of each other to last a lifetime. Ratmir doesn’t speak much so most of the time it felt like it was just the two of us.
And we need to be around other people before we kill each other.
“Selfish bitch.” He muttered just as the palace came into view.
Home sweet home.
I didn’t realise just how much I missed home till I saw it. And my family. Damn. I miss Avalyn. I need to see her again. I feel like I’m missing a limb or something when she’s not with me. And to make sure she was with me for the rest of my life, I needed to ensure our safety. And that is impossible if Adrik is alive. And while coming home was important, staying away and finding Adrik was a need. A need that fulfilled my quench to keep Ava safe. We might have to stay away from each other for some time but we have all the damn time in the world. We have the rest of our lives.
I felt a grin take over my face when Ratmir started lowering the helicopter on top of the palace. The second we landed, I jumped off and sped to the west wing.
I took in a deep breath of relief. My soul felt calmer here. In Ava’s presence. We were breathing the same air after what felt like eternity.
The moment the elevator doors slid open and I stepped into the hallway of the west wing, the sweet aroma of Ava’s food wafted to my nose. Goddamn my woman can cook. My grin widened.
“Nikolai, there is something you need to know,” Max came into my vision.
“Not right now.” I didn’t even stop.
“Nikolai wait!” Natalia grabbed my arm.
“I said not right now.” I need to see Ava first. My stomach had a weird fluttery feeling and I felt like my heart would burst any second. It was beating that fast. One month. It had been thirty fucking days since I haven’t seen my mate. Nothing and nobody was stopping me right now.
My heart sped up as I followed Ava’s voice to the dining room. “… must be coming any minute. I want everything to be perfect. No, bring the brownies right now, not the cake!” She sounded stressed. “Tessa! Did you check the ptichye moloko cake? Has the icing frozen yet? It has to be perfect! It’s his favourite! It has to be perfect!”
I finally saw her. Her back was to be as she was talking to Tessa. Her long silver were flowing freely down her back, grazing the top of her sexy ass. They were longer than ever and she had cut them. They had more layers. She was wearing a knee length dress. It was a fuck-me-right-now red and my pants immediately felt tight.
I swallowed.
In that exact moment, Ava turned around.
Wind was knocked out of my chest when I saw her face light up with a face-splitting smile. Her blue eyes sparkled like the sun was shining right in front of them. Her cheeks held a red hue which I was sure wasn’t because of makeup. Her dimples dug her cheeks deep enough for me to want to poke them. Her pearly white teeth were bordered by plump lips painted in a make-me-sin red.
The neck of the dress was deep enough for me to want to throw her over the table and feast on her glorious breasts. Were they bigger now?
My eyes slid lower, on her stomach. Her usually flat but now protruding stomach.
The smile on my face fell and my heart constricted. No. No. No. This can’t be happening right now. I felt like someone had punched me hard in the stomach and knocked out all the wind out of me.
“Tell me you gained weight.” My voice was rough as I looked up to her face again. She wasn’t smiling anymore. “Tell me you got fat, Avalyn.”
Tears quickly filled her eyes and she bit her lip.
I rubbed my chest. My heart hurt. I felt… empty.
How? Why? How?
My throat dried up. No. This can’t be. This is a sick joke.
“This is a joke isn’t it?” I forced a laugh. “It’s a good one. Where’s Dimitri? I know it was his idea. That has to be a fake belly. It is, isn’t it?” I shook my head and I felt myself backing away.
I looked around for that bastard. He came in with Andrei in tow. All were looking at me with pity in their eyes. Like they felt sorry for me.
Assholes. All of them.