Second Assault — Bond And Treason — novel Chapter 16

ANGELO

I see him walking out of his mansion accompanied by a group of men, while I wait for him in my GT. His appearance looks much better than when I came to visit him last time and I must give him credit for how composed he seems, considering the huge situation that's happening.

He wears a neat black suit, with a dark red shirt, a black-tie that looks like silk from where I am. His shoes are perfectly polished and his hair has a casual look that moves slightly in the afternoon breeze.

I'm not going to lie, I'm very nervous. Magnus has this kind of aura around him that makes you want to think twice before even giving him a bad glance. He's a few inches taller than me and his broad shoulders only add weight to his impotent appearance.

He's... Intimidating.

After giving a couple of orders to the men, he approaches my car at a steady pace and slips into the passenger seat with a grace I envy, even though I'm a feline. He sees me, nods briefly in greeting.

—Okay, Dalaras. Let's get this over with — he tells me and I take it as the signal to start driving to the place where his partner is right now.

I don't know what topic of conversation to bring up to distract him and not bring up the reason why I'm taking him to my house now. I've always been the talkative type, never lacking a subject to bring up or, if I don't have one, I just make it up.

But right now, my brain is a blank, my nerves won't let me be able to come up with something and open my mouth to say anything at all.

—Well, since we're here, could you tell me what all this secrecy is about — his rather heavy Russian accent, he turns towards me and I can feel his piercing gaze out of the corner of his eye —. As I mentioned before, I don't like surprises.

Well, fuck. Now all I can do is try to delay it as long as possible. Not an easy task, considering that it will take at least two and a half hours to get from his mansion to my house.

—Relax, Magnus — I smile and try to keep my tone as casual as possible in this circumstance —. I'm still not comfortable discussing something like this anywhere else but at home — I hope that's convincing enough —. And yes, you mentioned that you don't like surprises, but I'm absolutely sure this particular one will be worth it.

The silence extends for such a long time that I have to look at his reaction, and when I finally manage to see him, he shows absolutely nothing. His face is inexpressive and he only stares at me, my palms start to sweat and I press the wheel more. I hope it doesn't show how nervous I am.

—I hope you realize that it won't always be like this, Dalaras — he says in conclusion, his voice has dropped and is now much deeper —. You know I am a very busy man, I have a whole organization to handle and you are also aware of the situation that has been afflicting me lately.

—I know, Magnus. And...

—Good — he interrupts me abruptly and turns to face the window on his side again. I take a deep breath and slowly release the air.

Well, that went better than I expected.

XANDER

The uncertainty is killing me. The days I've spent here have made my paranoia worse. Obviously, the treatment I am receiving is nothing compared to the torture I experienced again under the claws of Dimitri, but still the fear is rapidly spreading through my veins in the face of the lack of knowledge about what the future holds for me.

I still don't completely trust this Angelo character, and after what happened to me, I doubt I'll ever trust anyone but Magnus again. I want to believe that he's willing to help me, but I don't know him, I have no idea who he is and I don't know what he hopes to gain from his involvement in all this.

His assistant, Rosé, has given me only vague information about him and nothing seems to be able to convince me of the supposed goodness he is determined to show. I'm afraid... Deeply and enormously frightened. There's only one thing I need and I hope Angelo will be true to his word and bring it to me. I was furious when I found out that they had given me suppressors along with the treatment drugs for my condition.

I was shocked and terrified that I couldn't communicate with Magnus since yesterday, I thought it was because of how weak I am, but still, I might be able to hear him. But none of that happened and thinking about how worried he must be after I assured him that I wouldn't break the bond for anything in the world, makes me feel terribly helpless. Damn it... Can my life get any worse?

Nightmares haunt me, even when my eyes are open. No matter how hard I rub my skin, so tough that I hurt myself, I can still feel his hands on me. Hurting, injuring, bending me. His voice, blowing his disgusting gasps as he satisfied himself with my defenseless, drug-addled body, keeping me submissive and subdued.

«That's right, Xander».

«You belong to me now».

«You are alone. You're dirty. You're broken».

«Scream, little one. Scream louder. Let me hear your voice as you break».

A sob escapes from my throat and I drown in search of air, doing my best to keep those thoughts away. No, they're not thoughts: they're memories. The kind that clings to your soul like a leech, like demons, sucking up vitality and will to continue living.

The only thing keeping me going is the promise I made to my Alpha. Not to give up, to wait for him, to enter the enveloping warmth of his embrace and never leave his side again.

I'm looking out the only window in the room when I hear a knock on the door. Seconds later, a smiling Rosé opens, revealing herself standing on the mahogany sill.

—Hello, Xander — her smile widens and I see her carrying a tray with two cups of steaming liquid —. I brought some tea, I thought you might like to have some with me — she leaves it on the nightstand and looks at me expectantly. I let out a little sigh and surrender to her whim.

I crawl up onto the bed and sit down with my back against the backrest, as far away as I can. She holds one of the fine porcelain pieces and passes it to me, taking care not to brush her fingers against mine. The first time she tried to touch me... Let's just say things got a little out of control.

On the second day of my stay here, she came over intending to put some cream on the open wounds in my skin, I lost connection with reality and attacked her with one of the lamps, despite the very weak state I was in. Since then, she leaves it on the table and tells me the correct way to apply it.

—You have very beautiful eyes, I'm glad the bruise is hardly visible now — takes a sip of her tea and I'll do the same. It tastes good, a little sweet for my taste, but nice enough —. Your other wounds appear better too, although they still need more time to heal completely. If you could change, the healing process would be faster — I know, there's no need to tell me that, and if it were possible, I would have done it as soon as I got out of bed.

I'm not a masochist, I don't like pain, but the reason I haven't done it is out of my hands.

—Mr. Dalaras is a good man, Xander — continues after realizing that I have no intention of responding —. I know it's hard for you to trust us, but believe me, we wouldn't be able to hurt you, especially after... — her voice fades and I can see the regret on her face once she's finished speaking.

I leave the half-empty cup on the tray and get the notebook she gave me so I can communicate. I write, "You can't blame me for not being able to trust him. I still don't know why he's doing this for me", and I show it to her. I see her eyes move back and forth as she reads and then she glances at me.

—I understand, and I can't be the one to explain his motives to you — she chuckles —. I know it's not every day you see sympathetic mobsters, but this one's not so bad. I don't know if you can trust me a little bit, but I really wish you could. I want to help you too — I watch her for a moment, trying to process the words.

Should I trust her? I quickly start writing again: "I want to be able to trust you and him, but... It's still too soon", and show it to her. She finishes reading and smiles at me. A sweet, tender smile that lights up her eyes.

—I know, and don't rush it. I trust that sooner or later we will be very good friends — I try to smile back, but at that moment, we heard several vehicles approaching the property.

Soon my alarms start ringing and my whole body tightens up. She raises a hand in my direction and cautiously approaches the window to confirm who it is. When she turns around, her expression is one of relief.

—Calm down. It's Mr. Dalaras — she smiles —. And he seems to be in good company.

ALEXEI

Angelo's house is not at all what I imagined it to be. It's beautiful and rustic, small, and cozy with a domestic atmosphere.