Page 67 of Chained Fate
Arielle inclines her head in greeting but doesn’t say anything.Instead, she tells Konstantin that she has to use the bathroom, and he immediately leads her away, as usual not bothering with such social niceties as goodbyes.
I don’t waste the opportunity.Grabbing Valery’s sleeve, I lean in and whisper-hiss, “Who is she?What’s her deal?How long has Konstantin been with her?”
Valery glances at Alexei before returning his attention to me.“It’s a bit… complicated.”
“In what way?”Alexei asks, draping a possessive arm around my back.His dark eyes narrow.“Anything that could blow back on us?”
I blink.I wasn’t even thinking in that direction—but of course, Alexei’s mind would immediately jump to that possibility, though I can’t imagine what kind of danger Konstantin’s date could possibly pose to us.
To my surprise, Valery doesn’t laugh off the question.“Hopefully not,” he says and excuses himself to go greet some business acquaintances.
I let him go reluctantly.I’ll have to get him alone later, or better yet, corner Konstantin.
Unfortunately, I don’t get a chance.A few minutes later, I spot Konstantin leading Arielle to the exit, his hand a constant, guiding pressure on her back.
I watch them go, a chill creeping down my spine despite the warmth of the ballroom.There’s definitely something off about the way Konstantin is with Arielle.His manner with her seems almost… controlling.That tiny nod—it wasn’t encouragement.It was permission.
I’m suddenly reminded of the early days of my relationship with Alexei.
But no.That can’t be.Konstantin wouldn’t do that to a woman.He’s not a typical Molotov.Or a typical man, for that matter.
Maybe he and Arielle simply had a fight, and that’s what I picked up on.
Either way, I put it out of my mind for now and resolve to talk to Valery about it later.
We stay at the party for another half hour before we head home—the mansion we rebuilt after my brothers’ attack.It’s now more of a fortress than ever, with a mixture of high- and low-tech security measures providing redundancies upon redundancies that would be next-to-impossible to overcome.It’s also the most comfortable place I’ve ever lived in, with everything laid out and furnished exactly as I like it.Alexei gave me free rein in that regard, and I surprised myself by having a lot of fun setting up our home.
I even added a little nursery that adjoins our bedroom and decorated it in gender-neutral colors, though a part of me is still convinced we’re going to have a girl one day… one way or another.
Outside, the snow is falling again, white flakes shimmering like tiny stars under the streetlights as our car winds its way through the busy city streets, with Alexei’s most trusted guard behind the wheel.I cuddle against Alexei in the back, enjoying the warmth of his big body as I breathe in his familiar winter-forest-and-leather scent.
He truly is my everything, this terrible, beautiful man whom I feared for so long—and now love beyond all measure.
As if hearing my thoughts, Alexei inhales deeply and brings my hand to his lips, kissing each knuckle with such tender reverence that my eyes burn and my breath catches in my chest.
“I love you, Alinyonok,” he says quietly when I pull back to meet his gaze.“So fucking much.”
It’s not the first time he’s said it—that happened a month after my brothers’ misguided “rescue” attempt, in the aftermath of a particularly mind-blowing sex session— but each time, the words hit me anew.Because he knows how much love can hurt, and he’s still choosing to embrace it.
To embrace me, even though I’d pushed him away for so long.
In response, I lean in, and he crushes his lips to mine.The kiss is as savage as it is tender—a brand of ownership I now welcome, a vow of a future I now crave.
It’s a promise of what awaits me not just when we get home, but for the rest of our lives.
For years, his obsession was a prison I fought to escape.But as he pulls away, his dark eyes holding mine, I know I was wrong.The fortress he built around me was never a cage.It was a sanctuary.
And the monster who rules it is not my captor.
He is my guardian.
My beginning and my end.