Second Assault — Bond And Treason —

Chapter 38 - Returning Home

Friday, May 9th. Magnus Mansion, 2:25 p.m.

ALEXEI

—Honey, do you know where Cooky is? — Xander's questioning, worried —. I haven't seen him in a

while.

—I think Fred's got him. He said he was gonna feed him. They must be in the kitchen.

—The kitchen's already working? — asks in amazement, I just nod, watching the men keep unloading

the trucks, with arms crossed over my chest —. Well, I didn't think they'd fix it so quickly.

Suddenly, I hear a big crash behind me. One of the henchmen dropped a vase, large and tiny pieces of

glass scattered on the stone floor of the garden. Fuck, Lev's gonna be so pissed. The man looks at me

in sorrow and I just give him a signal to hurry up and pick up the mess made. It'll be deducted from his

pay for being a sloppy asshole. My mind suddenly clears and I turn to Xander and, just as I suspected,

he's barefoot.

—Go inside, kitty — I place one hand on his back and guide him to the entrance —. I don't want you

out here, there's too much movement and someone could hurt you.

—Okay — smiles and kisses my mouth —. I'll try to get our bedroom set up as quickly as possible.

—While the bed is ready, it's all right with me — I smile maliciously and he blushes.

—Make sure you don't force yourself too much, Alexei Magnus — warns me seriously, pointing an

accusing finger at me —. I know your wound doesn't look so bad now, but I don't want you to take any

chances anyway. Am I making myself clear?

—Kiss me and I'll obey without any problem — I hold his waist and draw him into my body. He blushes

even more, but still wraps both hands around my neck, standing on tiptoes to attempt being at my level.

I love that he is so small.

—A tiny one — whispers before joining our lips with tenderness and slowness. I sigh between the kiss,

and squeeze harder, reluctant to let him go.

When it dawned after having fought against Dimitri, it was that I could realize the seriousness of the

wound on my back. The fact that I could not change to speed up the healing process, was even worse.

If I had done so, I would not have now a big scar from my shoulder blades to my lower back, and even

though I was later able to change successfully to improve and accelerate the healing, about its

appearance, I was not very lucky.

It no longer hurts as much as it did in the beginning, but at the end of the day, when my body is already

taking its toll from exhaustion, it feels hot and stiff, causing annoying pain stings that are a real

headache. Lev told me that it is possible that, in the future (not too soon, from what I could

understand), the scar will disappear or become so small that it will barely be noticeable. So patience

should become my best friend and wait.

I have never been that patient. Xander has taken care of me with extreme dedication and I always

enjoy his attentions. He offered to disinfect the wound and apply the cream that Lev prescribed after

the first day, and has not allowed anyone else to do so since. Later, every evening, he massages my

muscles that lead me to glory, relaxing me until I end up falling into a deep sleep.

In the mornings, when I wake up, repeats the whole process despite my complaints, including the

massage. Together, we eat breakfast in bed, between caresses and stolen kisses. I've never been so

happy. While I have to endure Angelo's presence more often and bite my tongue every time I see

Derek hovering over my brother. Xander, upon realizing this, always sends reassuring waves through

our bond, but the glance warns me that, if I do anything out of place, I will be doomed.

I must admit that the situation has not turned out as badly as I expected. Angelo behaves like a perfect

gentleman and despite that Derek, in my eyes, is a piece of shit, I can't deny that he treats Fredek very

well, making him laugh constantly and being attentive on every single thing he needs. Fredek seems

radiant and full of life, smiles more often and he and Xander spend a lot of time together, which fills me

with joy.

Seeing the two people I love and adore the most in one picture, is more than I ever wanted. Mother

Moon has blessed me greatly. It happens that Nikon did a spectacular job, searching every corner of

that mansion, and managed to find a safe that, if it weren't for his keen sense of smell, he would

probably never locate it.

An ordinary human would never have done this, unless there were technologically advanced tools at

hand, and all the time in the world, in possession.

Hide it between the tiles on the bathroom walls? Very clever, the bastard.

And though it was a pain in the ass to get it open without risking whatever was inside getting damaged

in any way, when we finally did get it open, thanks to a special solvent created by Fred, the reward was

much more than we expected.

He had all the information of the headquarters, including the ports where he usually received or sent

merchandise, the address of all his warehouses, with an extensive list detailing any weapons in his

custody (including ammunition) and other valuables obtained through black market or smuggling. I

would never go so far as to traffic human organs, but it seems that this was not a problem for Dimitri

Zhukovski.

I don't want to be misunderstood, I'm not a good man. Throughout my life, I have done many things

that I could never be proud of, and the work that I have now is no exception. But I'm fucking good at

what I do, and despite everything, I've got a taste for it. Among those and many other things, including

quite a bit of cash, I had the opportunity to finally prove my suspicions, after twelve long and infernal

years. Dimitri was the cause of Yurik's death, my father.

I must admit, I was not surprised. Instead, an explosive fury so massive, took over my body with such

force and impact that even Xander, with all his effort, could not quell it. I lasted for hours in my animal

form, destroying everything in my path, blinded by anger and without controlling the immense pain that

was tormenting my soul. Thank heaven no one was hurt.

Everyone stepped aside, letting me handle the situation in my way, and waiting for me to calm down.

Because of that, my wound opened up, ruining all the progress I had made. Lev and Xander got pretty

angry and almost tied me up, to prevent me from losing control again. They made me reluctantly

promise that it wouldn't happen again, taking advantage of my pride and loyalty.

I always keep my word, after all. But the desire to have condemned Dimitri to a far worse end than he

had suffered, still haunts me and makes me look red with wrath. Two days later, under the pressure

and insistence of Angelo, we sent Dimitri's body to his father. Not because he fucking deserved it or I

gave a shit about him. It was more like a peace offering, as I made sure to send him a copy of the

documents that were the proof of his son's involvement in my father's murder. An eye for an eye...

I left out the Xander situation, out of respect for him and his desire to bury the whole thing in the past.

Angelo was the intermediary regardless of my brother's complaints and insistence, and even though

Dimitri's father was not very happy about how things finished, he agreed to leave us alone and never

mess with us again. I would never have agreed to such an action if I were him, but I imagine that the

hatred towards his son for being a shifter was not badly formulated.

Angelo told us that not even a tear came down his wrinkled cheek when he saw the body of his only

son, which justifies what a great piece of shit Dimitri turned out to be after all. I'm not quite sure what

my fate would have been if I didn't have to take care of Fredek when he was just a kid, or if Yurik hadn't

given a shit about us.

Maybe the result now would be that Dimitri and I would even be good friends. I don't know and thanks

to the moon, I'll never know. Right now, we're occupying The Mansion again and while it's not yet fully

restored, its condition is safe and stable enough to take us in. I hope that in less than two weeks, it will

be completed.

—Hey — Xander pinches my cheek and pouts —. I said a tiny one — I have no fucking idea how much

the kiss lasted, but it was pretty long... And pleasant.

—How can you ask me to resist those sexy, full, delicious lips that drive me so crazy? — I purr with a

lustful tone, pleased with how his body responds to my touch, arching to stick more to mine —. I must

be dead or delirious not to be attracted to you every time I have you around, kitty — laughs and walks

away, despite my attempts to stop him.

—Stop it! — slaps the hand that inevitably went to his right buttock —. We're in public, Magnus.

—So? — I smile maliciously and he, blushing, runs out the entrance, disappearing through the door

soon after. In the night, there will be no escape.

XANDER

I can't believe he's so brazen to touch me like that in public. Fuck, anyone could see us, we were in the

middle of the garden, almost all the men were still outside, unloading the stuff from the trucks. I love

that he's possessive and authoritative, but I'm ashamed when he does things like that in front of other

people.

I prefer him to do it when it's just the two of us, in the privacy of our bedroom, where I'm free to love

him as I please and he can be as perverted as he likes. Frustrated and pouting unconsciously, I wander

through the familiar corridors, henchmen pass me by, carrying boxes and suitcases, distributing them

efficiently in the right rooms. When I'm near the one Magnus and I share, I get dizzy and start to feel a

sudden upset stomach.

I have to hold on to one of the walls to avoid falling, grabbing my rebellious stomach with the other

hand. But what's wrong with me? This morning I was completely fine, I don't understand why this

suddenly happens to me. Could it be something I ate?

I take several deep breaths, trying to get my body back to normal.

—Xander? — thank God Lev's here, my legs don't seem to be able to support me, and the sweat

bathes my skin —. Baby boy, are you okay?— approaches and grabs my shoulders, concern taking

over his features, I try to concentrate on anything but this discomfort.

It doesn't work, though. I push Lev out of the way and run the short distance to the bedroom, one hand

covering my mouth, feeling the bile rushing up to my throat. I barely make it to the bathroom, with Lev

on my heels.

I fall to my knees in front of the toilet and completely discharge everything I had eaten during the day.

By the time I finally finish, I flush the toilet, my throat is burning from coughing and the effort of

breathing, I receive reassuring pats on my back.

—Fuck, Xander. Did you eat something spoiled? — Lev helps me up and leaves me in front of the sink,

so I can clean up.

—I don't think so — I rinse my mouth with water repeatedly and spread toothpaste on the bristles of my

toothbrush —. Everything tasted good — I proceed to brush my teeth under Lev's attentive and

evaluative gaze.

—And then? — thinking for a while —. Maybe you got dizzy from the trip — I spit and, with some water,

I finish brushing my teeth, feeling better gradually.

—Maybe, but we arrived early this morning — I say, puzzled —. Isn't it strange that I'm feeling sick

now?

—Yes, you're right — puts an arm around my shoulders and drags me out of the bathroom —. Let's go

to the kitchen, I'll make you some tea so you'll feel better — honestly, I don't feel like going out, but I

nod and follow without protest.

I worry, shifters don't usually get sick, unless it's something really serious, and ruling out something I

might have eaten as probable cause, I have no idea what could have caused my condition.

—«Everything all right, kitty?». I can hear the concern in his voice, he must have sensed that I'm not

feeling well.

—«I don't know... I feel a bit sick».

—«What happened?».

—«A few moments ago I gave back everything I had in my stomach, Magnus» — I can't stop the fear

from seeping into my voice —.«I have no idea what could have caused it, what we ate this morning

before we came was good, right?».

—«Of course, I would never allow the opposite» — pauses briefly —. «Where are you?».

—«Lev is taking me to the kitchen. He says he'll make me some tea to make me feel better».

—«Good, stay with him. I'll be right there».

—«Hurry up».

—«I'm going as fast as I can, kitty».

I sit on one of the stools surrounding the big isle in the middle of the kitchen. Mrs. Ewa is already busy

preparing dinner with the help of the twins, but when she sees us coming, smiles sweetly, and stops

what she is doing to welcome us.

—You're early, cockatoo. What are you here for? — pinches Lev's arm, and he's screaming in pain —.

Looking for a bite to eat before dinner? I don't want you poking through my ingredients.

—Ouch — Lev rubs his arm —. Stop hurting me, you naughty old woman! Yaak will be angry if I arrive

with some bruise spoiling my beautiful skin — scolds her, but Mrs. Ewa just laughs.

—As vain as ever — shakes the head —. You should practice humility once in a while.

—Let me be, old woman — Lev makes an annoying face, filling a pot with tap water —. Anyway, I didn't

come for you — fuck... I'm feeling bad again. I rest the elbows on the counter and bury the face in my

hands, working on my breathing, in an attempt to calm down.

—What are you talking about? — Ewa asks in confusion —. Whenever you come here is to annoy me,

I doubt that today is the exception.

—Ungrateful old lady! — Lev shrieks and places the pot on the stove at medium heat —.In case you

haven't noticed, my baby here... — I spy them through my fingers and he points his chin in my direction

—. Doesn't feel so good. I'm going to make him some tea to help him get over the discomfort — Mrs.

Ewa turns to me, though she does not seem at all surprised. She just stares at me for a long moment,

and when she proposes to speak, does so with a big smile on her face.

—Well, if it's perfectly normal to feel bad in your condition — says as if it's no big deal, while I feel as if

my eyes are going to pop out of their sockets in amazement.

—What? — I stand up slowly, but immediately I feel a new dizziness hitting me.

—Calmly, little one — the woman instructs me, with a gentle tone, patting me on the back —. You

mustn't make any sudden movements, the first few months are the worst.

—The first few months? — Lev walks towards us and looks at Mrs. Ewa as if she had suddenly

sprouted three heads. I imagine I see her the same way —. But what are you...? — stops suddenly,

and I see the transformation on his face like in slow motion.

First, a deep frown, biting his lower lip and watching the old woman cautiously. Then, his eyes open so

wide that the pupils appear ridiculously small. Finally, he looks at me and a big, radiant smile settles on

his face, jumping in place and clapping as if he were a little boy. But what the hell? Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

—I can't believe it! — I'm so surprised by his scream that I put a hand on my heart, trying to keep it

from coming out of my chest —. It's wonderful, Xander!

—But what the... -? — he won't let me finish the sentence, hugging me so hard I can barely breathe.

—Get off him, you cockatoo! — the old lady hits him in the back of the head with a wooden spoon. Lev

walks away complaining and rubbing the area, but still smiling —. Stop shaking him so much or he will

feel bad again.

—But I just can't believe it! — he's screaming with excitement and I'm about to explode if they don't

explain quickly what the fuck this is all about —.It's a miracle, I'm so happy!

—Can you tell me, for the love of all the gods, what the hell are you talking about?! — Lev squeals and

jumps again. Mrs. Ewa rolls the eyes, like if the answer is fucking evident, and I'm too stupid for not

realizing it —. Well?! — I scream again when I don't get an answer.

—You're pregnant! — the two of them shout in unison and now I'm the completely stunned one. Then,

the door opens abruptly, causing a great crash as it hits the wall with violence.

—What?! — Magnus' scream could well have been heard all over the galaxy.