Alpha Luciano’s POV
I found myself shaken after that moment with Arabella. I wanted to be a better person, I realized. I wanted to be a person my child could look up to. But first, I had to ensure that all my enemies were handled.
“Vitalio’s next shipment of people comes in tomorrow. The bidding has already begun on the dark web.” Mikah said, showing me secure footage for the auction gotten from one of the sights by my hackers.
The man was despicable. I could see some underage girls being paraded about naked like they were livestock. I comforted myself with the fact that even if I hadn’t been after Vitalio before, I would have tried my best to stop this trade. It was disgusting.
“And the men are in place?” I wanted to go myself, it had been a while since I had gone on a run with my men but I didn’t like the idea of leaving Arabella all alone without sufficient security personnel. Once her pregnancy was officially announced, I could put as much as a company of soldiers outside her room. For now, I had to be content with monitoring her via surveillance remotely and Margaret’s hourly reports.
“Yes, Alpha. Our men in the military and the media have also been notified. Vitalio Bianchi is about to become the man of the hour.”
I knew Bianchi would get himself out of the situation with his connections and money but I intended to make it as difficult and as messy as possible so that he would be too heavily scrutinized to ever try venturing into the business again and I would ensure that he haemorrhaged a lot of cash while he was at it.
Hours later, I watched the news about a busted human trafficking ring due to an anonymous tip and a fight among the criminals that had a tie to multimillionaire business tycoon Vitalio Bianchi.
I smiled darkly. The red tape would keep him occupied for a while before I could get back to him. I had the Creole to deal with next.
As I had suspected, they didn’t get backing from the Espositos at least not yet. Seeing that I wasn’t going to take their terms, they began small attacks at our borders as though testing our strength before committing their forces.
They had also begun to poke their head into our drug market selling less pure versions of our substances at low prices. The drug market was now volatile as the pure and impure products struggled for dominance.
I knew a reckoning was coming but for now, I was waiting.
I saw Arabella every day. She was radiant and for the first time, I understood the saying about pregnant women glowing. Sometimes I found it difficult to look away from her. At the office, I would get the random urge to just look at the live surveillance footage even though I had seen her mere hours before. It was fucking bizarre.
The morning sickness was becoming somewhat manageable, I noted with pleasure. Only her temper tantrums remained and to be honest, I found it cute as hell and would laugh at random moments of the day recalling something peculiar Arabella had done while having a tantrum.
The other day, I noticed Mikah looking at me strangely before he gave me his report.
“I know that look, Mikah. What have you gotten into that head of yours now?”
“Nothing, Alpha. The report–.” He said hurriedly.
“Out with it, Mikah, I won’t ask you again.” I steeled my voice.
He hesitated before he spoke. “It’s nothing Alpha. I just noticed that you are a lot more relaxed than usual recently and just now you were smiling at nothing.”
If I were capable of blushing, I would have.
“Perhaps from now on you should keep your opinions to yourself.”
“But Alpha, you specifically asked me for my opinion…”
If looks could kill, Mikah would be dead already.
“Shut up and give me the report.”
“Yes, Alpha. We have located Natasha.”
I nearly flew out of my seat. “Why the bloody hell didn’t you lead with that?”
“My apologies, Alpha.” Mikah bowed.
Natasha, Natasha. I would rip her apart. Nothing was more terrible than betrayal for me.
I could afford to be late to see Arabella tonight. This was too important.
*********
Mikah had tracked her down to a residential location. No matter, that was what silencers were for after all. I took four of my men with me just in case of contingencies. I could take Natasha alone any day but now that she was a drug lord, she could have security personnel with her.
The house was a small but cozy two-story house. It had a picket fence and matched others in the neighbourhood with a small yard that held a swing. It didn’t look like Natasha’s style. It was too sedate.
After scoping out the area, I left the men outside around the house and knocked on the door. I heard the padding of feet running towards the door and the door opened. It was a little child in a nightwear with her brown hair in pigtails. She was maybe two or three and looked like a replica of Natasha. She regarded me with large curious brown eyes and I felt my heart skip a beat. I never knew she had a child.
“Alesha, what have I told you about opening the door without me? Your friend can wait for two–”
Natasha froze as she saw me standing a few feet from her daughter. She moved faster than I could comprehend pulling her child behind her and pulling a gun on me.
It would be so easy to kick the gun out of her hands and break her neck. Quick and easy. I looked at the child once more, thinking of Arabella and our unborn child, thinking of how seeing my parents killed had fucked with me.
I raised my hands in the air. “Put the fucking gun down before you get hurt. Your daughter is right behind you, a stray bullet could kill her.”
“Like hell, I’m putting it down. Once I do so, we’ll both be dead.”
I cocked a brow. “Do you really think that I came here all alone? My men have this place surrounded. So here’s what we are going to do. You’ll drop that gun, send your daughter to her room then you and I will have a talk. If you try to act smart, I can’t guarantee either of your lives.”
I was bluffing. I would never harm a child but she didn’t know that for sure. She hesitated then she nodded stiffly.
Minutes later, both of us sat in tense silence in her sitting room.
“I didn’t know you had a child.”
“You don’t know a lot about us that work for you. You think our entire lives revolve around yours.”
“That’s not true.” At least I didn’t think so. I knew most of the top officials’ birthdays and gave them days off for emergencies.
Natasha cocked a brow. “I got mated, separated and lost a child. Mikah has been engaged for a year now because you won’t give him the free time to get married and go on a honeymoon. I could go on and on but you don’t really want to know about us. You want your drugs back. I don’t have them. I sold everything to get enough money to leave this hellhole and this lifestyle. If you want to kill me, get it over with already.”
I looked at her. “Why haven’t you left already?”
Natasha looked up at me shocked before answering. “The visa process is taking time.”
I should have killed her already. I was taking too much time on this already but I found myself doing something else entirely.
“Give your details to Mikah. I’ll tell him to fast-track it.” I stood up from the chair. “I want you out of this country within the week. Don’t think of returning or I will end you, child or not.”
I left her staring after me in shock, I had already reached her door when she called out to me.
“Why are you doing this?”
I opened the door. I didn’t have to answer her questions.
“I’m trying to be a better person.”
*********
When I got back to the pack house, I was in a mood. I had spared a traitor’s life today. I had gotten Natasha in the palm of my hand and I had spared her. I could have gotten her kid to a nice orphanage to good parents instead of her drug lord mother.
I didn’t recognize myself anymore.
I took off my tie feeling suffocated. A knock sounded on the door.
Who could be at my door at this hour? I wasn’t in the mood for company or anything else at this point.
“Enter.”
Emery entered and I fought a strange sense of disappointment. I caught myself. Who else had I been expecting to pass through those doors? Arabella? I was losing my head.
She didn’t speak, just took off her robe. Her body was a work of art and as always I wondered how one she-wolf could be so perfectly proportioned. But for the first time, my dick wasn’t hard at the sight of her naked body.
Her hair was too red, her eyes too colourful. A picture of Arabella popped into my head with her dark beautiful wavy hair, her brown eyes lit up with amusement at something I said. A sudden feeling of longing nearly drowned me.
Unaware of my thoughts, Emery knelt before me, her hand going to my crotch.
“I’ve missed your summons, Alpha. I just want to serve you.”
She paused when she noticed I wasn’t hard, a spark of surprise in her eyes. Her mouth opened to speak but then I smelt coffee.
Arabella. I looked up and saw her standing by the doorway wearing a soft pink nightgown and a ridiculously large white robe. Her dark brown eyes were brimming with pain, and sorrow and she turned her back to me before running away.
I shoved Emery away and went after her. “Arabella!”