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.

—But, Magnus...

—Wait. Here — I emphasize every word to let him know that my decision is final. He nods, albeit reluctantly, and stands beside Angelo.

I watch the door and taking a deep breath, I slowly approach it. When my hand touches the knob, a strange shiver runs down my spine, although the sensation is not unpleasant, I tell myself that I must not drop my guard.

I push it and make my way across the threshold to get into the bedroom. There's a window with the curtains open right in front of it and the intense afternoon sunlight makes me blink a couple of times in order to adapt. And once I do... Jesus Christ.

—Xander — I say breathlessly at the image of him, standing beside the only bed, looking at me as if I were God in the flesh, tears filling his eyes. My body is paralyzed as I try to get my brain to process reality. He is here... He's truly here.

I run and I surround him with my arms, bringing him closer to my body and sinking my face into the space of his neck. And I inhale. His sweet, tender scent makes me feel like I'm waking up after a long, terrifying nightmare.

Feeling his warmth and being able to touch him is like being given water after almost dying of thirst. It's perfect.

Here, between my arms, where he belongs. Where I belong too. Tears begin to fall from my eyelashes, he clings to my neck as if his life depended on it.

—Xander... My Xander — is the only thing I seem to be able to say within the overwhelming flame of feelings that are seizing my chest.

My throat hurts as I try to swallow the huge knot that seems reluctant to go away. The sound of his crying slips into my ears, I feel his body quivering, shaking slightly from the sobbing that engulfs him.

—Kitty... I missed you so much — I say right in his ear, my voice low and scratchy and that's when he raises the face, allowing me to observe him.

He seems exhausted, pale, haggard, as if he had all the weight of the world on the shoulders. Big dark circles have been created on the tender skin around his eyes and I can see the cardinal healing right over the right one. His lips look dry and he weighs less, much less than before, so much so that the veins in my arms don't even bulge while I hold him in the air.

Jesus... Even his hair looks weak and lifeless.

—For God's sake, kitty. What have they done to you? — The tears keep rolling down my cheeks.

I see his mouth moving, but no sound comes out. It's as if he were somehow holding back from talking, but at the same time, he wanted to tell me the whole alphabet from left to right and backward.

—Shh — I comfort him, caressing his cheek, wiping away the tears with my thumbs. He leans towards the touch and closes the eyes —. Don't say anything, everything's fine now. I am with you — that's when I bend and join our mouths in a kiss that makes me feel like my soul is floating.

His lips feel scratchy over mine, but I couldn't care less. How I missed his taste, his warmth, the passion that envelops us under its mantle every time we are together. My tongue slowly invades his mouth and begins to move against his in a subtle and delicate caress, delighting me with the sweetness that invades my palate.

He groans softly between the kiss and he clenches the fists of my shirt tightly, although he continues to tremble. By the time the kiss comes to an end, we are both panting and holding on strongly to each other.

—My love — I say, but before I can continue, I feel Angelo's presence in the room.

I open the eyes and turn my face, unconsciously squeezing Xander against my body. He wraps the arms around my waist in response and sinks the face into my neck, inhaling my scent, which seems to calm him down.

Angelo is standing under the doorway, watching us.

—Now you're gonna tell me what the hell is my partner doing here with you.