VIKTOR
“Don’t go! Please, don’t go! I don’t know when you will come back again!”
I smile down at Jhnelle as she holds on tightly to my leg, a stubborn frown clear on her face
Maxwell chuckles as he walks past us, heading to the car.
“Good luck with her,” he mutters. “I know from experience that that grip is a hard one to get out of.”
I look over at him and watch as he gets into the car, Sven and Fin already waiting in too.
“Come on, Jhnelle,” Rowan says as she crouches down to look her in the eye. “He is going to come back.”
“You dint know that!” she snaps in returning, her hands tightening even more on my leg.
I bend over and lift her into my arms, raising her to my face level.
“Sweet heart, I am not leaving you for good,” I tell her as I peck her forehead. “I just need to go take care of some adult stuff and besides, your mother will come visit me soon and you can come with her.”
“Really? She asks with a wide eyed look before glancing at her mother who nods in affirmation with a small smile.
“Yes, really,” I tell her. “So be a good girl for your mummy, okay?”
“Okay,” she says before giving me a tight hug ND a peck in the cheek and then wiggling her way down.
I watch as she runs inside the mansion, leaving just I and Rowan at the entrance.
“Are you sure you don’t just want to come with me?” I ask her as I reach for her hands, pulling her to me.
“I can’t just leave in such short notice,” she replies with a small smile. “Things have to be put in order before I do so and besides, who knows how long I will stay there.”
“Hmm? How do you mean? I thought it will just be a short visit first?”
“True, but you and I both know that things don’t always go the way we planned. Some unplanned incident might crop up, who knows.”
“Yeah, you have a point,” I say as I rock back on my heels before leaning into her. “I am going to miss you.”
“It is just going to be a week,” she responds before leaning over to kiss me.
The kiss is slow and calm, just tow people savoring the peace and wondered a new relationship.
A destined relationship.
My hands, nice from hers to circle her waist, bringing her closer to me and in so doing, deepening the kiss and eliciting a small, quiet moan from her.
HONK.
The loud blast of the car horn startles us both and immediately has us spring away from each other.
I turn around to send a glare and a single finger to the men in the car, and Sven-the asshole responds with a finger if his mown as well as a cackle.
“Should we leave you two so you can get a room?!” he shouts towards us.
“Asshole,” I mutter at him before turning back to Rowan. “I have to go ”
“Hmn, I know. Take care if yourself.”
“I will see you too,” I say with one final peck on her lips before heading down the steps.
“And do not start a fight with Sven!” she calls out.
“No promises!”
I give her an air kiss before I get into the vehicle
“You are an asshole,” I tell Sven as I shut the door.
“And you are whipped,” he retorts
“I don’t think you have much right to say anything, Sven,” Fin says as he starts the car and begins driving. “You were insufferable when you first found Jenna ”
Jenna, his mate.
“Oh, shut up,” he snarks as he settles into his seat, buckling his seat belt.
“Can we just go already,” Maxwell gripes from my side. “The sooner we get to Vale pack, the sooner I can leave you all and go home.”
“We are not that bad for company,” Sven mutters from his seat.
“They are not,” Maxwell replies. “but you most certainly are.”
I Burt’s into chuckles at that while fun snickers at the burn
“Nicely played,” Sven mutters. “Bully me, why dint you?”
“You started it, did you not?”
The rest of the drive goes similarly the same way, light banter, a few rubbing and generally companionable and comfortable silence
“Wake up guys,” Fin’s quiet but firm voice cuts through the haze of sleep that had fallen over us. “We are here.”
I open my eyes to blearily look out the window and watch as my packs gates slowly pulls open.
“Didn’t you sleep last night?” Maxwell asks as he watches me yawn.
“No,” I answer. “I had too much pent up energy.”
“Hmm? Why?”
Because I wanted to go on a rampage and rip off the head of an abhorrent creature.
Dominick.
That pathetic excuse of a man.
Truly, the only reason why I didn’t was because Rowan told me not to.
That she wanted to be the one to kill him.
And I can’t deny her that.
I won’t.
“Viktor?” Maxwell’s voice calls out, bringing me out of my thoughts. “What got you in such a dark mood so fast?”
I look up and notice that Sven is also watching me, curious about my answer.
“Rowan… she told me who … her alpha was.”
“Oh?”
“Really?” Sven says. “So? Who is it? Who do we have to thank for setting up the path for the coalition?”
I scoff at that.
Dominick, the fiercest champion against all rogues and he is the reason why there is a whole pack of them.
“Well, who is it?”
“Take a wild guess,” I tell them as we get out of the car.
“Oh, come on, you asshole. Don’t toy with us?!” Sven snaps.
“Just take a guess.”
“I don’t want to!”
“Come-”
“Viktor.”
Maxwell’s calm tone stops me from antagonizing him and further.
“Who is it?” he asks.
“The one and only Dominik Valor,” I reply before walking into my mansion.
I am vaguely aware of the three men freezing in their steps at that bombshell but I don’t look back.
The anger… the rage I had felt when I realized just how… how much she had gone through… it is all coming back and I am not really inclined to stop it or get it under control.
“Wait!” Sven shouts as he hurries after me. “Wait. Wait. Wait. Do you mean the Dominick? Of the Obsidian pack?”
“Do you know any other Dominik?”
“Damn! That fucking bastard. Do I want to k ow how she came about to being a rogue?” he asks.
“It is not my story to tell,” I say.
“I dint imagine it would be a nice story to tell,” Fun remarks as he walks in, Maxwell at his side. “I mean it is clear that most rogues don’t usually have a good or nice background story, but is she can from the obsidian pack, if…. Wait. She is from the Obsidian pack, that means the father of Jhnelle is… from the pack. Who-?”
He halts his words once he catches my eyes, horror dawning on his face in realization.
“No!” he gasps.
I don’t say anything, I just turn to continue towards the living room.
‘Please,” Sven begins quietly as he tags along. “please don’t tell me that he is the father.”
“Okay. I won’t tell you.”
“That fucker!” he snarls. “I don’t suppose the… union was mutual?”
“What do you think?”
“Damn.”
“Man, all this is giving me a lot of pause,” Fin mutters. “Just how much crap have we let go unchecked? What right do we have to raise our head in dignity when the weak and helpless would rather become rogues than reach out for help?”
“How can they reach out when it is one of us, a fellow alpha that commits such atrocities with abandon?” Maxwell answers.
Sven scoffs as he takes a seat in the couch opposite me.
“He doesn’t know right?” he asks with an unholy gleam in his eyes. “He doesn’t know that Rowan is the leader of the coalition.”
“How would he know?” I retort. “We didn’t even know the leader was a woman. She has done very well in hiding herself and I am just now getting that it was because if him. Oh, I want to kill him.”
“Then why dint you?” Maxwell asks.
“Because she wants to kill him, and I will not deny her that right.”
“I think, it is very mature and impressive for her to not have launched a war against him. With her people, she would have a good chance to succeed,” Fin remarks.
“And risk the lives of her people in the following backlash?” I ask. “No, she would not do that. Dominik,” I say with a sneer. “in starting this fight has inadvertently walked into her hands and if she kills him, no one can really blame her for it.”
“So, it is settled then. We stand with her?” Sven asks.
“Yes, yes we do.”