Konstantin: The Heartless Beta

Lily

"Fuck, Konstantin, calm down. It's just a few people! They'll be fine!” I say through gritted teeth for the tenth time.

“I don't trust ANY of those sons of bitches around my fucking children!” He replies, not letting me near the twins’ wooden cribs.

I growl and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Move the fuck away or so help me..." I trail off and feel Kai standing behind us, chuckling. “Kai, please tell your brother to move away from the cribs.”

He walks inside, and I turn around, immediately melting at the huge Alpha with a tiny baby in his arms. Little Kira has him completely wrapped around her little finger at three weeks old; it doesn't help that she looks exactly like Caterina, just with the Volkov blonde hair.

As usual, we had to wait for a full moon to do the Children’s Blessing; however, I am already back in the pack.

“Kon, don't be a shit; people are waiting to meet your children,” Kai says, walking towards his brother, who lets out a huff.

“There are too many different scents here; they won't like it!” The mother hen cries, but Kai simply picks him up by his neck with one arm and plants him down.

“There you go, Lily,” he says, then walks out of the nursery again. “Don’t worry, they won't pick up on the scents yet; only when they're seven and gain their wolves.”

I can't help but chuckle as I watch Kai leave with that comment and walk over to the cribs. It has been an absolutely hectic three weeks. Pups grow at an alarming rate, but not only that, they're always hungry. If Kon touches my nipples by accident, I usually send him flying with a punch. Motherhood is not for the weak.

After placing the twins in their stroller, I look over at Konstantin grumbling on the bed with his arms crossed.

"Hey," I say, chuckling while shaking my head at his tantrum. “They're Volkov pups; don't you think they're tougher than most?”

He looks up at me and sighs. “I just don’t want anything to happen to them; they've been through so much already.”

I walk over to him and sit down on his lap while placing my arms around his neck. “I know and understand what you mean, trust me. But don't you think that the people Kai has invited today are trustworthy? It's only Fenriz, his wife and the three Rogues who helped you breach Stefan’s hideout.”

“You can't ask me to turn off my overprotectiveness, Lily; they're my kin.” He says, leaning on my chest and setting off the nipple burn again, but I grit my teeth and kiss his forehead.

"And I won't ask you to. Just try to keep calm today, okay? These are people you're aligned with-" "And Dimitri is our brother,” he whispers, then sighs. “I'm sorry. Okay, I'll try to keep calm today, I promise.”

I know what he means by that, and trust me, I get it. The one who betrayed all of us the most was Dimitri while under the influence of a parasite. Nothing I say right now will calm him down, so I stand up and hold out my hand to him, watching as the ring on my finger glints.

“Let's get out there and show off our beautiful children,” I say, the slight smile on his face causing my heart to quicken.

He nods, then gets up, pulling me towards him and kissing my lips gently. “I love you so fucking much,” he says, his eyes flashing silver.

“I love you too,” I say, not being able to control myself, and I kiss him deeply. I'll never tire of his kisses, of the absolute possession behind them and how it feels as if he’s claiming me with each one. Konstantin is a passionate lover in bed but an even more passionate mate.

I no longer resent my brother for gifting me to the Volkovs; he knew Konstantin was my mate even before I did and sent me here to protect me. I know that now.

Konstantin slaps my ass before walking over to the twins and pushing the stroller out of their nursery, then picking it up and walking down the stairs. We've all been living in the estate for the last three weeks, and frankly, it has become like home. Kai has said that we all can stay here if we want to, and I gladly accepted. Caterina and I have bonded, and I truly see her as a close friend. She's an odd one but would have your back no matter what.

Not to mention that she's the literal Moon Goddess reincarnated.

It's a crisp October afternoon, but we've invited the entire pack at the estate to witness the Children’s Blessing. Kai has enclosed the back area, so the pups don't get too cold while the witches conduct the ritual. We walk towards the back entrance and remove the twins from the stroller before we make our way to the tented space.

Everyone has gathered outside, including Kai and Caterina, who is holding little Kira. They see us approach and smile, gesturing for us to stand next to them. Marle, the High Priestess, starts the ritual with a prayer blessing.

“Three Volkov heirs, born the same day as the Goddess wished. Little ones, may the sun shine bright upon you, may the moon in darkness guide you, may the stars in the sky watch you.” She starts, placing a hand on each of their foreheads. “May fate be kind to you, may your loved ones aid you in the storms of life, may joy be yours and may there be little strife, may peace and happiness be yours all your days, may you find friends and the love of a fated mate on your way.”

I could feel the blessing reverberate through me and know that this is no young witch; this woman is powerful. She then picks up a goblet and draws a crescent on each of their foreheads. “Blessings of the Spirits be upon you. Blessings of All Beings be upon you.”

Concluding the blessing, she gives each of us a candle to blow out before placing a crescent on our foreheads as well.

“That was something else,” I murmur, and Caterina agrees

“It truly was; Marle’s blessing was...I can’t explain it.” She says, shaking her head and holding Kira close before they walk off.

I know what she means, but I am at a loss for words until I smell a familiar scent and turn around My eyes widen at the sight of my brother and the woman on his arm; she’s definitely not one of his usual brides, that's for sure.

“My little sister is no longer so little,” Fenriz says and smiles as he comes to a stop in front of me. He looks down at Kaia in Konstantin’s arms and Luka in my arms, then sighs. “They are beautiful, Lilith.” My heart sings at his compliment. “Thank you,” is all I can manage before he wraps one arm around me and pulls me into an embrace.

“l am so happy you're safe,” he whispers, then kisses my hair before letting go.

Never in my 19 years of living with my brother has he ever shown any emotion towards me, so to say this shocks me is putting it lightly.

He clears his throat and takes a step back, holding a hand out to Konstantin. “Look after my little sister, Konstantin.” He says, shaking my mate's hand.

"On my life, 1 will.” He promises, and Fenriz nods before turning to his mate.

“Lilith, Konstantin, I would like to introduce you to my bride, Umiko.” He says, placing a hand on her back.

The timid girl bows her head to Konstantin and me before giving us both smiles. I find her not talking as odd, but then Fenriz says something that blows me away.

“There is a binding on her tongue which prevents her from speaking; her father had it put there.” He says, with such anger in his tone that it stuns me. “We've come to ask your witches for advice, but we doubt their spells will work on Eastern curses.”

"Speak with Kai; I'm sure there's something that can be done,” Konstantin says.

Fenriz nods. “That I'll do.”

A binding on her tongue? Is there a reason she is not allowed to speak? Well, I'm sure Fenriz will find a way out of this. But why would he want to break her curse?

“It was lovely seeing the both of you,” he says, then walks off towards our Alpha.

Konstantin looks at me. “Wow, that's something I never thought I would ever see,” he says with wide eyes and shakes his head.

"Yeah, I can tell Fenriz actually respects this woman. It is a far cry from what I am used to seeing.” I say, placing a kiss on Kaia's forehead then glancing up at him again, frowning at the look on his face.

“No, that's not what I mean. That woman with Fenriz is a fox; I never thought I would see something like that over here.” He says, scoffing.

"What? As in she’s hot?" I ask, raising my eyebrow at him, but he only blinks and shakes his head again.

“No, Lily, that woman is an actual fox, not a werewolf. Can't you see her tails? There must be a reason there's a bind on her tongue, and it cannot be a good thing, especially if her father had it done to her.”

I look at Fenriz and his wife again, but this time, my eyes switch to silver and my heart races when I see what Konstantin means.

Umiko had seven tails, and the spirit surrounding her seems to have its claws embedded deep in Fenriz's lower back.