Konstantin: The Heartless Beta

Konstantin

Fenriz shakes his head. “I don't know if it's such a good idea. Your mate will be here alone, and she is so close to her due date already.” He says, looking at Kai with a raised eyebrow.

“Dimitri and Konstantin will be here-"

“Excuse the fuck out of me? Do you really think I'll stay here when we might have a step up in this?” I exclaim as soon as Kai says this bullshit.

Kai's chest rumbles as he tries to contain a growl and sighs. “Fine. For fuck sake. Let me speak with Caterina about this.” He then takes off towards the mansion, and I can hear him cursing all the way. Fenriz chuckles as he watches Kai with an amused look on his face. “I should mention that since Caterina is his mate, he will not lash out at her or do anything to harm the child.” He says, and I can see Kai turn his head slightly.

“Those wives were just that; wives. None of them were my mates. They were all given to me to strengthen accords which I have obviously shredded to pieces with their deaths. Caterina will be fine, so will he.”

This puts me at ease, knowing Kai's beast won't do anything to harm Caterina. I know if anything had to happen to her because of him, he would tear this entire city down and take us all with him. "Well, that's good to know,” I say, then follow my brother inside.

Is there ever going to be a day where I don't find out something fucked up about everyone around me? It's like finding your mate ends up with so much fucking drama; I'm sure ordinary wolves don't go through so much shit.

Then again, The Volkov and Vega packs aren't exactly what you would call ordinary.

“Konstantin,” Fenriz walks up next to me. “Thank you for going through all of this for my sister.”

I stop walking when I reach the back steps, then turn to look at him. “I will do anything to have her by my side again, even if it means fighting a beast I know nothing about. She's my mate, Fenriz, and I owe it to her. I owe her so much more than this.” I say as a feeling of emptiness creeps into my heart again.

He nods, and a thin smile forms on his face. “When I meet my mate, I hope I feel the same way as you and Kai feel over yours instead of causing another bloodbath. Especially since my beast now knows her name.” He says, then runs up the steps and into the mansion.

More drama. Good thing this doesn't involve me; well, I fucking hope it doesn't anyway.

Instead of going to the SUV, I take a left and walk towards Lily's old home. I asked Kai to leave it empty in case she returned, but after almost six months of it standing vacant, the air about it feels haunted.

As soon as I step inside, my wolf lets out a painful howl. I've had people in here to do a weekly clean, but I can still detect her faint lavender scent from when she bounded in here after I claimed her.

I should have tried harder to make her stay; I should have stopped being such a coward and given in to what I wanted. My mate stood in front of me for over ten years, and I didn’t do a thing about it.

Making my way towards her bed, I fall down on my stomach and inhale; trying to find even the tiniest scent of her here, but I come up empty. It's only when I close my eyes that I realise that I realise how absolutely exhausted I am.

/"Mate..."/

I try to open my eyes, but all I see is darkness, and when I try to speak, nothing comes out.

Then in the distance, I spot my wolf, his tail and ears alert and his hackles raised. He turns his head towards me. /“Mate..."/ He says before bounding off happily.

That's when I see her; her coat may not be obsidian like mine, but its dark grey colour is one of beauty. I try to call out to her, but I am left choking on my words. Nothing is coming out. No words, I can't even move!

I watch as my wolf approaches her and nuzzles into her neck. For the first time since my wolf appeared to me, it seemed relaxed. His ears are back and tail between his legs to show submission to his mate.

Then they both look at me, and my wolf huffs before they walk over to where I stood frozen. /“Konstantin,”/ she says over the mind link, and I fall to my knees at the sound of it. I haven't heard her voice in so long, and to hear her say my name renders me to tears.

She pads over to me and lays her head on my shoulder. /“Lilith is no longer herself; you need to save her,”/ she says through the link in Lily's voice.

It breaks my heart to hear her voice and not see her face, but hearing her voice is enough for now.

I look up at Lily's wolf. /“Do you know what's happening to her right now?"/ I ask, and she closes her eyes before baring her teeth.

/“She’s being consumed from the inside out by the demon she lays with. Whatever he’s doing to her, whatever hold he has on her is not allowing me to speak with her. She has been without me since she left the pack.”/

/“What? She hasn't had you in over - she hasn't shifted in over five months?!"/ I exclaim, shock shaking me to my core. This is the worst thing for a wolf... if she hasn't shifted in so long, she will be a danger to herself and her child.

/“She hasn't; the serpent lying in wait stops me from even trying to communicate with her. All I know is that she is in danger and is drifting further away from her werewolf side. She's becoming more like him every day, and I fear the next time we see her, she will have no need for me anymore.”/ Lily's wolf says with a whine, and I hear my wolf growl as he nuzzles her.

Something occurs to me then, something she just mentioned. /“More like him? What exactly do you mean by this? Do you know what Stefan is?"/ I ask.

Lily's wolf looks up at me and sadly nods her head. /“"He told her what she truly is as well, and before he pushed me out of her consciousness, he told her this is the reason she cannot refuse him. She is just like him; well, half of what he is anyway."/

/“Please tell me what that is!"/ I exclaim, literally begging on my knees as I look into the eyes of my mate's wolf.

/“She’s not a half-human wolf as we all thought, Lilith is a-"/

A green smoke suddenly appears around her wolf, and she distorts before she can tell me anything further. Then she disappears with a painful howl right in front of our eyes. /“No!"/ I hear my wolf growl, causing me to snap out of my dream and jump out of bed.

/“We need to find her!"/ My wolf roars, sniffing at the air and attempting to locate her scent, but I know it's futile.

/“We'll get her back; this will not be the last time we see her, that I promise you.”/

He lets out a low whine and then lays down with his ears flat against his head. I don't know what the fuck just happened, whether it was a dream or not, but I relay everything to Kai over the link. Something tells me that I need to let Kai, and only Kai, know about this.

/“I'm at the penthouse with Fenriz and Zephyr; meet us here.”/ My brother says, causing me to frown, and when I look at my phone, I nearly shit myself.

I slept for over twelve hours. Twelve valuable hours wasted!

Running towards the mansion, I find my SUV and haul ass out of there. But something bugs me on the way to Kai's penthouse; how exactly did Lily's wolf speak to me if she’s no longer a part of the pack? How did she even make her way into my consciousness? Could this be a trap set up by Stefan to drive us onto a different path?

Fuck, I hate not being able to trust people. It is the worst fucking feeling in the world, and right now, I trusted no one but my family. Trusting the wrong people got two of our brothers killed; I won't let that happen to my last two.