Konstantin: The Heartless Beta

Konstantin

I step into my club and breath out an annoyed sigh. It is such a fucked up thing knowing that even as Lily is out there have fuck knows what done to her, I have to go about my day as usual. Yeah, I get it, we're Bratva, and the show must go on but fuck. I hate it.

Zephyr walks into my office and starts giving me the rundown of things. From what he’s telling me, I gather that things have been running smoothly. Apparently, there's a new bout of regulars in from Hell's Kitchen, and they've been itching to meet me, especially the Alpha.

"Did they say what they wanted?” I ask.

Zephyr shakes his head. “Nope, but from what I've noticed, they're a pack of Rogues with one man leading them and calling himself Alpha.”

My eyebrows raise up at this. “Oh? A pack of Rogues? That's interesting but not unheard of, I guess. Usually, the Rogues keep out of BloodCrest territory, but this one is brazen enough to stroll right in.” I say, hoping this shit isnt connected to whatever is going on in my fucking life right now.

“If he comes in tonight, tell him I'll meet him here tomorrow evening at 8," I say, and Zephyr nods before walking towards the door.

A Rogue Alpha, hey? To be honest, it wouldn't fucking surprise me if he is connected to the shitstorm that is my life. It seems like everything is connected to Stefan or Lily one way or another, and it's starting to really piss me off.

My office door opens, and the tank that is my older brother saunters in. “Kon,” he greets me with a nod.

“Do we not knock anymore?” I ask, getting off my ass to take his hand and shake it.

He smirks. “I thought pleasantries go out the window when I have news?” He says and plants himself in the seat opposite me.

“Only if it's good news, fuck,” I say and sit back down.

The smile that crosses Kai's face terrifies and excites me. “I take that as a yes.”

He nods. “Fucking finally; we have a shoo-in. The witches have informed me that there is a tool to destroy a demon; it's called the Nephilim Dagger and will literally kill any supernatural creature in existence. Even a God.” He says, the grin all but gone from his face.

My eyes widen at this. “Where the fuck are we going to get one of those? It's not like they sell it at your friendly Smithers around the corner,” I ask.

Yeah, this is definitely good news, but only if we have the fucking thing on us. Stopping Stefan is out of the question now; we need to kill the asshole once and for all.

Kai sighs. “Well, seeing as these witches are from Norway, they have their fingers in all types of pots, including magic so dark it slips way underneath the taboo point. Marle, the High Priestess, has gone back to their homeland to retrieve the dagger.” He says.

I know how much Kai hated these witches, but damn do they come in handy.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" I exclaim, looking at my brother wide-eyed. A heaviness lifts from my heart for the first time in months when he nods, and at that moment, I feel like fucking crying. We have a shot; we finally have a shot!

“That's... that's good news. Thank you. But how are we going to cross that barrier?” I say and lean back in my chair.

Kai nods. “Anytime, brother. We'll do it with the dagger; apparently, it dispels every witch's spell as well. They will be back in two days because Marle needs to be at Caterina’s side when she gives birth, which could be any day now.” He says.

I have major respect for my brother; on top of having to worry about everything else, he has the pending birth of his first born to worry about as well.

I nod. “By the way, I have an Alpha requesting to meet with me; a Rogue Alpha from Hell's Kitchen,” I say, watching as a frown slips onto my brother's brow.

“Hell's Kitchen? Could that be Cain? Why the fuck does he want to meet with you?” He asks a shocked look crossing his face and for obvious reasons. This Alpha didn't ask to speak with Kai but with me specifically.

I shrug. “Fuck knows, but I told Zephyr to set it up for tomorrow night,” I say.

Deciding to change the subject, I get up and walk towards the mini bar. “How is Cat?" I ask, remembering how she looked the last time I saw her.

“She's craving raw meat and having more and more visions; Marle says it is because of the dormant Goddess inside of her. Before Tiarin perished, she created the Mate Bond for every wolf born for the next two generations. After that, Caterina will have passed on and taken over the mantle. Marle says that what she is seeing are visions of people closest to her; those related by blood.”

I frown at Kai when he says this. “Closest to her? Then what the fuck did she mean by “The Epsilon Lives'?” I ask, blinking as I try to remember Cat's exact words while pouring two glasses of neat bourbon.

"What did you just say?”

I look up at my brother and hand him the glass. “The other evening, when I came to see you and Caterina seemed in a trance at the window, she mumbles something. /'“Beware the rise of the serpent as he feeds on Volkov Epsilon blood/,” then she repeated the words “The Epsilon lives’. That was when I called you.”

Kai narrows his eyes at this, and I can feel the anger coming off of him in waves. “Volkov Epsilon blood? The only Volkov Epsilon is dead, and that's Nikolai,” he says. “I held his broken body and wrapped it in the burial shroud myself.” He says, gripping the glass so tight that it looks like it would explode.

“I know, brother,” I say.

I could feel his sadness through the link as he wrapped Nikolai; all of us could. He wouldn't permit any of us into the room, not even Cat. Nikolai was as close to him as I am to Dimitri - he looked up to Kai and wanted to be like him. As close as Kai and I are, I know he was more fond of our little brother.

Kai looks at me and shakes his head. “There's no way he could be alive, no fucking way.”

Downing my glass, I pat his back. “I know, brother,” I repeat and watch him do the same to his own glass. “I'm sure it means something else entirely.”

I had to lie even if I didn't believe it myself. Nikolai is dead; we all saw his body but amongst everything else... Wait.

Something occurs to me then, and I take Kai's shoulders in my hands, not sure what this could fucking mean. “Kai, I'm not saying it is, but what if Nikolai is still alive? Did you feel the link snap when he died?”

Kai pushes me back hard and lets out a growl, pinning me against the opposite wall with his forearm to my throat. “Don’t fucking do this, Kon. Don't give me hope when there's none!” He roars, his crimson eyes bordering on splitting.

“Fucking think about it! We were so caught up with that fucking Hell beast and finding Cat we never felt the link snap!” I implore, not sure why I would be because fuck, we all saw Nikolai's body!

“No!” He roars, “I saw his body! I cleaned it, I held it! Nikolai is dead!”

My brother and I face off with a stare, neither of us giving in. He's never used his Alpha Roar on me; he's never had to, but right now, it feels like he’s fucking close.

The office door opening snaps us out of our face-off, and Zephyr walks in with a confused look on his face. He looks at Kai and then me. “Is this a bad time?" he asks.

I push my brother away and shake my head. “No, it's the fucking perfect time,” I mumble, and Kai glares at me but takes a step back.

"Okay good, because... Uhm...-"

"Out with it, Zephyr,” I say, already annoyed by my fucking shithead brother and his reaction to my theory. It was only a theory, for shit's sake! Who the fuck explodes like that, really?!

Zephyr looks uncomfortable then peers up at me, his mohawk looks like it's literally drooping under the anger emanating from Kai. “Well, there's a woman out front looking for Nikolai... She says she’s his mate.”

Kai and I look at one another when Zephyr says this, neither of us knowing what the fuck is in store for us now.