Page 65

Azura

“ A re you sure you’re going to be okay?” Song asks me. I nod.

Mama had called earlier as well. I know she was surprised that I am actually going to go see Atlas, but I can tell she is happy. When I told her that Leo and I had figured things out, she smiled and said, “That’s my girl. Get that man in line.” Goddess, she is a queen.

“Yeah, totally. He’s just a guy,” I say, shrugging.

“Okay, hun, if you’re sure,” Song replies, giving me a tight hug. I glance at Kiara when I move back.

“You sure his mother isn’t going to be around?” I ask, my voice sounding resentful despite not meaning to. Her eyes soften, and she nods.

“He doesn’t live with her anymore, and I let him know you were coming.” She smiles gently, and I nod.

“Okay,” I say, shoving my hands into my pockets as I turn on my heels.

“Are you sure you know the way?”

“Yeah, I’ll ask someone if I can’t find it,” I say before heading for the gates.

It is late, but I know he had work earlier, and if Leo could face Rayhan, then I certainly should be able to face this guy…

I finally get there a good hour later after loitering around the pack and even stopping to get a bottle of wine from one of the shops. I mean, I can’t go empty-handed, right? I finally reach his apartment and ring the bell, taking a deep breath and hoping he doesn’t answer.

The door opens a little too fast, considering I have just rung it. Was he waiting?

I look up at him. He is tall, over six feet, and he has dirty blond hair and light blue eyes. He is well built, but the first thing that comes to my mind is that he looks a lot like ‘him’. I have seen a picture of Fred, my sperm donor. Okay, maybe they aren’t that alike… but they have similarities…

“Hey.” He speaks softly, almost as if he knows I am ready to run. I press my lips together, frowning deeply.

“Hi,” I say, holding the bottle out without looking at him. I see him smile from the corner of his eyes before he steps aside and accepts it.

“Come on in.”

I don’t want to. I don’t want to be here…

I hesitate before balling my fists and stepping inside. You just spend a little time… then you turn, and you leave.

The moment I look around, I realise he wasn’t just thinking this would be a quick visit. On the coffee table in front of the corner sofa are bowls and plates with pasta, roast potatoes, and enchiladas. The place is clean, and a cinnamon and spice fragrance fills the air.

The door shutting behind me makes me snap out of my thoughts.

“Come on, take a seat and thank you for this,” he says, giving me a grin as he raises the bottle. For a moment, he reminds me of Liam.

No. Liam is my brother, Atlas isn’t.

I feel a sliver of guilt, knowing he has nothing to do with his parent’s decisions. Even Alejandro told me that he was raised without Fred even bothering to visit him at all.

“You’re welcome,” I say, walking over to the sofa and sitting down gingerly on the edge. He places the bottle down before opening the fridge and getting some juice cartons out.

“Are these okay?” He asks, holding up a mango carton and an orange.

“Yeah, totally,” I reply, looking at the oil painting on the wall of a boat sailing.

He comes over, placing the cartons on the table before sitting down. The sofa dips under his weight, but I am grateful he has left a big gap between us.

“Pasta? I did ask Luna Kiara if you were okay with it,” he says. His voice is gentle, almost as if not wanting to trigger me. He is making an effort, and I really need to give him a chance. That’s what I’m here for…

“So, Kiara was being sneaky, huh? Yes, it’s fine. It all looks good. You didn’t need to make anything. I mean, I didn’t come to eat, I’m not hungry or anything.” Wow, nice, Azura . “I mean, I’ll eat because you made it and went through the effort…” Really? Word vomit at its finest. He laughs lightly and nods.

“She did, but I’m grateful for it. You know I’ve wanted to meet you for a while now. When Alpha Alejandro told me you wanted to see me… I was…I’m grateful.”

“I guess I’m glad I’m doing this… kinda…”I trail off, instead just giving him a small smile as he begins plating some food for me…

Ten minutes later , we are both eating, and he makes light conversation. Although I am mainly answering him, he is the one keeping the conversation going and I am finally relaxing a little.

“So, you’re mated?” He asks, motioning to my mark. I place my hand over it for a moment, smiling slightly.

“Yeah, to Leo Rossi. Alejandro’s nephew.”

“Oh… nice.” He seems to realise who he is. “Are you happy?” My smile fades, and he shakes his head.

“Shit, sorry, I just meant he treats you well, right? It’s just that I know what Fred was like, too… I’m sorry.”

I guess I’m not the only one with a blabbering issue. He is looking down, but I can tell he is tense. I reach over, placing a hand on his leg.

“Hey… it’s okay. You don’t need to worry that I’ll get offended. The hardest part was facing you, and I totally aced that…” I say lightly before smiling. He looks up, and I am surprised to see the sadness in them.

“I’m sorry, on behalf of both him and my mom, for what happened to your mom… how their actions affected her.” Yeah, talking about her does hurt, about Fred, too, but it isn’t Atlas’s fault. I sit back, picking up my glass, and take a sip.

“I’m going to be honest. I hate the fact that your mom got with him when she knew he had a mate. If she didn’t know, it’d be different, but she did. I don’t know if it was a full relationship or a one-night thing; either way, I’ll never forgive her. But I’m not going to hold you responsible for their actions,” I say, thinking it is the right thing to do… just as Leo had done. He looks at me, a slight frown on his forehead as he nods.

“I agree. She didn’t do the right thing. Thanks for giving me a chance.”

“Can I ask why you even want to know me? I mean, neither of us knew our sperm donor, we weren’t raised by him… so, why?”

“I just wanted to have the chance to get to know you. I mean, does it matter if we weren’t raised by him? We’re still related by blood. You’re still my sister, my only sibling.” I frown slightly; I get that… just the way I want this baby to get to know Corrado… to get to spend time with Leo…

“Okay.”

“Okay?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I’m ready to at least try to get to know you. Fred’s abuse towards Indigo really affected me… but I know it’s not your fault… and I know it’s going to take me time to open up… but I guess what I’m saying is, we can try to be friends.” I shrug, stabbing a potato and shoving the full thing into my mouth. Okay, it is a little big, but if I can take Leo’s dick, I sure can take a tiny potato. I can see he is trying not to smile.

“Sure, I’d really like that.”

Okay, somehow, this is harder than giving Leo a blowjob. I am struggling to break it down. I swallow my potato, feeling it stick in my throat, and he swiftly passes me my glass again. I take it and gulp it down.

“Thanks,” I say as I feel the potato going down. “Don’t you dare laugh.” He grins.

“Alright, I won’t.”

“Good! Now eat up. This is a lot of food for two.”

“Oh, I eat a lot.”

“Me too, but I can’t cook like you.”

“I can imagine that,” he jokes, giving me a smile, and I can’t help but smile back at him…

I stay for another hour, and we make small talk. Although I’m not ready to welcome him into my inner circle, it is a start. We have exchanged numbers, and he has asked questions about what I do, my birthday, and I tell him I am pregnant. Surprisingly, he isn’t hard to talk to, and I ask him a few questions, too. He doesn’t want to be a warrior, and I have a feeling it is because of Fred; he is instead a trainer for the younger pups at the pack.

He walks me to the mansion, stopping a few metres away, and watches me enter. I give him a small wave before I take a deep breath and saunter to the door. Only to freeze when Leo’s scent hits me. I turn to see him standing in the shadows, leaning against the wall, one foot propped up against the wall, and smoking a cigarette, looking absolutely fuckable. Damn that man is fine meat…

“Leo!” I run down the steps and pounce on him. He catches me with one arm, looking down at me with a raised eyebrow as I tighten my hold around his neck. “Did you miss me?”

“Not really. I was enjoying the peace and quiet without you around,” he replies, making me frown.

“What did you just say?” I growl, digging my nails into his neck.

“Fuck, woman, stop with the violence. I said I was enjoying the peac-” I clamp my hand over his mouth.

“I gave you a chance to rectify your mistake and choose your words wisely. Ass.”

He pulls away, biting the side of my hand lightly. A knot forms in my stomach as his lips caress my skin, placing a soft kiss before letting go.

“Okay, fine. I’ll rephrase,” he says, his arms wrapping around me tighter as he leans down and claims my lips in a deep kiss that takes my breath away. Kiss me forever?

My heart is pounding as pleasure rushes through me; his lips move against mine so deeply and sensually that I can no longer think of anything else. He moves back after a few moments, and the kiss suddenly feels too short. He smirks sexily when he places me on the floor but refuses to let go of me, and I think I needed it.

“As I was saying… I missed having my psycho circus clown around to entertain me,” he snickers, releasing me.

“Oh no, you did not just call me a clown… no, no, no! You are so done for!” I lunge at him, and he dodges, smoothly taking a drag on his cigarette. I try again, but he ducks. “I am going to skin you alive! Or better, I’ll make a rug out of your fur! Wait, I need a staple gun!”

He tosses his cigarette to the ground, crushing it under his boot before grabbing my arm as he spins me into his arms, my back hitting his chest.

“What’s the staple gun for?”

“To add a few more steps to your damn dick ladder,” I growl, trying to bite him.

“You really are my perfectly imperfect little psycho.”

To my surprise, he starts laughing. My heart thunders, and I freeze, tilting my head up at the beautiful sound. It is probably the most carefree laugh I have ever heard from him, and it makes me feel so many emotions. He looks years younger, his pearly white teeth only adding to his beautiful smile. He catches me staring, and his laugh fades away as he raises an eyebrow.

“What are you planning?” I shake my head.

“Revenge, my dear mate, will come later, but I was just admiring your laugh… it’s beautiful,” I reply softly, unable to stop the surge of emotions in my chest. I made sure my walls were up earlier through the mind link. I had almost been about to express my feelings, but… I don’t want to do it over the mind link…

“Oh, yeah? I might try to laugh a little more often if you end up looking at me like a love-struck little puppy a tad more often,” he smirks, squeezing my cheeks. “I’m not sure who has juicier cheeks, you or your son.” I glare jokingly at him.

“Hey, I am not looking at you like a puppy!” But I am lovestruck… “And of course Corrado!”

“Oh, yeah, you can’t be a puppy. You’re Lola the fish, right?”

“Oh my god, you ass!” I pull away, smacking his shoulder. He smirks, dodging me as I chase him.

“Hey, for what it’s worth, she’s one gorgeous fish.”

I smirk as I tackle him to the ground. I know he let me because he is not that easy to bring down. My heart skips a beat when he catches me, making sure I don’t take any of the impact of the fall. I smirk, straddling him and bunching his shirt in my fists.

“And if I’m Lola, then you’re Oscar. You have some damn big lips, too,” I say, bending down and kissing him softly.

“Only thing is Oscar was only infatuated with Lola. What I feel for you… is way fucking more than that,” he says quietly, his hands slipping under my top, dancing along my skin as he kisses me again.

“Same…” I say, thinking this is my moment.

“You were going to -” Leo is cut off when the front door opens, and Alejandro leans against the door frame.

“If you two are fucking done? I don’t need you lot getting it on out here. Wasn’t earlier enough?” He smirks, making my cheeks burn. Oh, he’s so dead.

“Kiara! Control your mate!” I growl, jumping off Leo and running at Al.

“Hold up there, kid,” Al drawls, still smirking annoyingly and clamping his big hand down on my head.

“Ow, ow! Ow !”

I bring my knee up, ready to hit him in the privates, when he steps back, snickering as Leo pulls me into his arms.

“Baby, be nice,” Kiara scolds him, coming up behind him.

I’m always fucking nice, Amore Mio,” he says, grabbing her by the back of her neck and kissing her.

“Hey, don’t play dirty!” I know he is just trying to distract Kiara! I stick my tongue out at him, leaning into Leo’s hold.

“You’re fucking immature, you know that?” Leo asks Alejandro when he moves away from Kiara.

“Does it look like I give a shit?” Al counters.

“Clearly fucking not,” Leo replies coldly.

“Okay, how about we retreat to Alejandro’s office? Corrado is playing with Rayhan and Alessandra…” Kiara suggests, and I realise what she means.

Time to try to heal him…

“Yeah, let’s,” I say, feeling unease settle into me…