The Lycan Kingpin's Captive: A Baby For The Beast

Chapter 23 - Mira

Maxim is standing at the door, looking at me with an odd expression. I had just gotten dressed and was

about to write in my journal when he opened the door.

I stand up and look at him. “Can I help you?”

He cocks his head to the side. “Is that any way to speak to the person who’s getting you out of this

room?”

“What?” I ask with a frown and he simply chuckles.

“Come, Mirabella. I’m sure you’ve missed the back gardens,” he says and walks out, leaving the door

open.

I swallow hard and take a step back, remembering how he fooled me last time. It’s the reason I’m in

this room right now, the reason Alpha Nikolaos has me locked up.

He walks back and looks at me with an eyebrow cocked. “Are you coming?”

“The last time I followed your instructions, I ended up in here. Why would I follow you now?” I say, then

I promptly sit down. “Please, leave me alone.”

Maxim walks in and gets down on his haunches in front of me. I refuse to make eye contact, but his

gaze is burning holes into the side of my head, so I relent and look at him.

“Mirabella, you know why I had to trick you,” he starts. “Niko isn’t someone who trusts easily, and with

you literally dropping into his lap after Mikhail’s men chased you into his territory…he knew something

was up. He knew you were important.”

I sigh. “You could have asked-”

“He did that, remember? You pretended not to know who you were or why they took you. Listen,” he

says, taking my hands in his. “If there’s one thing Niko values, it’s the truth. It doesn’t matter how much

it sucks or how much it hurts. Niko prefers that over bullshit.”

I look at this Beta with a frown on my face, perplexed that he would come to me with this now. That

cold look in his eyes from before is gone, and in its place stood something resembling sincerity.

Why is he telling me this now? “I’ve told Alpha Nikolaos everything I know - even the disgusting things I

didn’t want to admit. There’s nothing left in me to dig through, nothing left in me to dissect.” I say,

pulling my hand out of his grip.

Maxim sighs. “I know, Mirabella and I am sorry it had to come to this. We had to find out the truth for

the sake of the pack. We had to know if you could be trusted or if you’d run off at the first scent of

freedom. You failed miserably, but we both understand why you did it.”

“I did it because I thought my being here would endanger more lives. They nearly killed Josef; what if

Ariadne was next?!” I exclaim. Maxim’s eyes widen slightly when I say this, then he bites the pad of his

thumb.

“You really left because of that?”

I shrug. “Speaking to Josef made me realize that; then I saw the note you left, and it pushed me to do

it. At first, I thought it was Mikhail’s handiwork, but he doesn’t do things the sly way with assassins. He

makes it known that he was behind it; well, apart from killing my father’s heirs. It solidified that

someone else didn’t want me here, so I left.”

Maxim is quiet for a while, staring at me as if I have grown a second head, then he chuckles. “Well,

then think of this as my apology for fooling you before. As I’ve said, just be honest with Niko and he’ll

treat you well.”

When he says this, he takes my hand and pulls me towards the door while I protest.

But as soon as we went outside, I’m happy he forced me out of my prison cell, because the chilly

spring weather woke me right up. I wrap my cardigan around my body, but it doesn’t cover me because Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

of my belly.

I’m about to ask him if we can go back for a coat when he wraps a warm shawl over my shoulders.

“Thought this through, see,” he says with a wink before pulling me into the back garden.

We walk in silence while I take in the beautiful garden. The gazebo is littered with an array of different

buds and flowers, making it look even more beautiful than before. I place my hand on my heart and let

out a sigh. “Wow…”

Maxim laughs. “I knew you’d like it. Ariadne will be out here soon. She wants to have some tea with

you again.” He says and my head whips towards him in surprise.

“But Alpha Nikolaos forbade me-”

“He gave the okay when she asked him, don’t worry. And no, I’m not lying. You can ask him when he

comes back tomorrow,” Maxim says, rolling his eyes.

Oh. I forgot he’s gone to see my father…he might come back with the news that I have to marry him,

too.

I nod uncomfortably, then move to the front of the gazebo to see a brunch layout. I guess she really

wants to speak with me, then.

When I sit down, Maxim shoots me an odd look. “When Niko comes back tomorrow, don’t forget what

I’ve just told you. He…has a past filled with pain. It would be a pity to see you add to it.”

Before I could ask what he meant by that, he turned around and walked away from me. What is it with

the men in this family and their cryptic words? I won’t add to the Alpha’s pain when he doesn’t feel

anything for me.

However, even as this thought runs through my head, I can’t help but blush as I recall his words the

other night. What he wants to do to me, how I make him feel, and how he wants to claim me.

I shake my head. No, that’s dangerous territory. We’ll keep up the charade, if my father decides it, then

after he’s dead, we’ll go our separate ways. Just as the contract stipulates and nothing more.

“You really should pay attention to your surroundings,” I snap out of my thoughts, only to see Ariadne

sitting opposite me and pouring us tea.

Wow, vigilance isn’t my strong suit, is it?

“I was just…thinking,” I say, biting my bottom lip only to catch her knowing smirk.

“Hmm, I could see that. Was my grandson at the center of it?” she asks, grinning and my blush

deepens.

“That’s…yes,” I admit, and take the teacup from her. “I’m just confused right now.”

Ariadne nods. “That’s understandable, especially after what happened these last two weeks. But I

know my Nikki means well, even if he doesn’t show it right now,” she says.

Means well? I don’t know about that. The Alpha is an enigma on his own; he’s hot, then cold. He

comes into my room, presses up against me, muddles up my mind, and leaves me wanting him with an

ache I cannot explain.

The worst part is I allow him to.

“I’m…sure he does,” I say with a tight smile, sipping on the delicious tea.

Ariadne laughs a bit as she picks up a cookie. “Once you’re married, you’ll see what I mean, and don’t

look at me like that. Of course, I know you’re about to get married, especially with the way he looks

when he talks about you.”

I place the teacup on its delicate saucer, reeling from what she’s just said and hanging my head in my

hands. “Please…not you too. I can’t…”

The pressure in my chest threatens to push out the tears just cresting the surface, but I take a few

calming breaths to calm myself down. It works a fraction, but that pressure still remains. I know what it

is, I know its hope wrapping its tendrils around my heart.

The last time I felt this was when my father took me in - I won’t be fooled like that again. I won’t allow

myself to be taken that high, only to be dropped and shattered. I lost my wolf that way, I can’t lose

myself, too.

I take a deep breath, and then offer her a small smile. “Our marriage will be in name only, nothing else.

Once my father dies, I will take my leave, as we’ve discussed before.”

Ariadne’s smile drops slightly, but she nods as if she understands and dives into one of her recent

books again.

I know she’s trying to make me see reason, but I can’t do that. Alpha Nikolaos thinks he wants to claim

me because of that one stupid mistake when I went through my heat. He had a taste of a she-wolf in

heat, nothing more. I’m a constant distraction because I’m something new, that’s all.

The cookie I had picked up drops from my hand and I suck in a surprised breath. Something feels odd

in my belly; did I eat something I shouldn’t have?

“Are you okay, dearie?” Ariadne asks me, the concern clear in her rheumy eyes.

I nod. “I think it’s just indigestion- oh!”

There it is again, like a swarm of butterflies inside my stomach, flapping their wings at the same time. I

frown and place my hand on the swell of my belly and my eyes widen when I feel it again.

It’s not indigestion, the baby is moving.

Ariadne takes in my expression, and a warm, motherly look washes over her face. She places a hand

on her chest and sniffs. “The baby?”

“I…yes, it’s moving slightly,” I nod, but it doesn’t happen again.

That pressure on my chest, the hope wrapping itself around my heart, now intensifies just as a tear

slips down my cheek. It could not have happened at a worse time, just as I started to accept that I’d

have to walk away from everything.

That little movement destroyed everything in five seconds flat, that little movement flipped the switch

completely, allowing me to feel and forcing me to cry for the first time in years.

This is bad…this is so, so bad.