Or will she hide it? Will she be shy and lie to me about that side of her? Her kinky side making this so painful and pleasing because it means she’s even more of a match for me.
Because Alena would never deceive. Deception requires planning; you know you’re going to hurt someone, and she’d never do that. She stumbled into her lie, her secret with me, and she doesn’t even know it.
She’s a good person.
But clearly, I’m not.
I’m deceiving her.
I’ve been hiding who I really am, in plain sight, her entire life. In town. On the beach. At a convenience store. I’ve been a stranger to her, while she’s become everything to me.
If this Bratva bullshit didn’t exist, we’d already be together. We would’ve met at the Slurpee machine when we were teenagers. Or I would’ve approached her on the beach when she rescued that boy and taken her out for dinner. Either way, we’d be married by now.
But it doesn’t matter.
Because Fate’s doing it again. She wants us to be together.
Alena’s perfect for me. When she’s not being a dirty scientist or a fucking badass, she craves pleasure and submission. She’s starving to be adored, and it’s all I want to do.
I thought I was a loser, loving her from afar. But now, I’m not. I was right; we’re special together.
Love sends you signs. Accept them as gifts because not everyone receives them.
But right now?
I need to meet with The Queen and my brothers. Calls and chats won’t cut it. I got an eerie vibe about that young woman Alena rescued yesterday.Sasha.It was visceral and in my blood. Dark things are going on up here, and the fuck if I’ll leave Alena unguarded. I need backup.
So I embrace the stalking.
I shadow Alena’s old, dirty truck down the interstate while I call Axel on my Bluetooth.
“Yeah?”ONEappears on my dashboard’s screen. It’s Axel’s number. He’s The King in charge.
“I’m coming home with Alena,” I announce. “We’ll be there in three hours. Tell Nash to be at his house to greet her, and then I want everyone to meet me at the club at six.”
“You’re cominghomewith Alena?” Axel barks. “The fuck you are!”
“Bruh, you should’ve thought about this before you devised this crazy plan for me to be her secret bodyguard. It’s impossible. So, we’re friends now. She knows?—”
“Friends?” His seething voice fills my truck. “You’re not fuckingfriendswith Alena Allen. You guard her with your life, you stay hidden and safe, and you keep your hands off her. Understood?”
Why is Axel like this with Alena?
He’s not this way with Delphine, our other queen. Hell, he wasn’t this protective with his first wife either.
Katya, Axel’s first wife, was our first queen. She wanted it as much as Axel. Maybe it was her Russian lineage; she knew about the secret tradition.
But with her, our private initiation felt more sexual, less sacred. We used the boardroom in Axel’s office, and Katya wanted all of us. All the kings, and we gave her what she demanded. Me, in her throat. Axel in her ass. Sire in her cunt. Then Grant and Nash and Jace and so on. She was insatiable.
And I can’t lie; we enjoyed it. We felt it. What happenswhen brothers share a woman. Other cultures do it, and now I know why.
You don’t just bond with the woman, vowing you’ll always protect her. You bond with your brother, honored by his trust, sharing something that’s helped cultures survive the most brutal conditions. You’ll always fight by your brother’s side.
His children are yours. His wife—yours. His future is so intertwined with yours; nothing can break your bond.
That’s what created us: seven kings with seven queens. Led by the wisdom of The Queen. No war, nor Bratva Pakhan, can break us. We’re too powerful together.
But Katya left Axel almost two years ago, just fucking ghosted him, and he’s been a hyper-dick ever since. Broken. Bitter. But fuck, I’ll always love him.
