Konstantin: The Heartless Beta

Konstantin

I walk into The Slip the following day and head towards Kai's office. He hasn't done many changes to this club since Vanya left except bump up the security detail around the girls. Human patrons won't be able to tell the difference, but all the bartenders and a few random “patrons’ inside the club are Enforcers.

When I enter the office, my brother looks up, and I spot Marle standing off to the side with her arms crossed. Even I can tell that she’s exhausted; oh well, all in a day's work for a BloodCrest witch. "Okay, since we're all here, you might as well start, Marle,”

She exhales and launches into a plan for the pack and its safety. This requires her doing a mass check of every pack member for foreign entities, securing their minds against hexes and then strengthening the borders of the estate. We're not taking any chances now that we know our father has been plotting against his own pack and family.

“That settles it then. So, what are we going to do about Dimitri?” I ask when Marle leaves Kai's office. She would be back later to speak with him and Cat in private.

"He's clear, so he's coming back into the pack this evening,” Kai says as he leans back in his office chair. “As for his mate, she still hasn't woken up, and Dimitri has decided to take her back to her parent's home tonight. Will you tag along with him?”

Frowning, I nod. “Yes, but why is he taking her back? She's his mate.” I ask, confused.

Kai sighs. “He doesn’t want her anywhere near him after what he did, he says the guilt is still fresh and would rather her not look at him with fear or disgust.”

Ah, now I understand. Dimitri has always been the one who felt things deeper than any of us. He's always been the empathetic one and would rather deal with things in a non-violent way, so the fact that he nearly killed his own mate must be eating him alive.

“Understandable. I'll go with him tonight, and when we get back, you can swear him back in.” I say, then cross my arms. “What are we gonna do about this thing with Father?”

Kai shrugs and sits forward, lacing his fingers in front of him. “We prepare ourselves; it's the only thing we can do right now. We fortify our Estate and train our warriors the best we can, including the women. We can not allow them to feel helpless if anything has to happen to me.” He says.

“You say that like you're going to die soon,” I roll my eyes.

“You never know what could happen, brother; I'm not exactly invincible even if I am considered Xamnir's heir.” He says, and his words send a chill up my spine for some reason.

I've never considered the fact that Kai might die one day since he’s the strongest person I know. Just by looking at him, you can tell he oozes power and dominance, so if someone can bring a powerhouse like Kai to his knees one day...

I don't want to think about it.

"Okay, fair enough. Will you be addressing the pack about what's been happening?”

He nods. “I have to tell them; I can’t keep them in the dark about something so major when their lives are at stake. The 500+ families at the estate are counting on us to keep them safe, not to mention the ones spread out in the other territories that I own.”

I let out a long whistle and leaned back in the office chair. “Apart from New York, we've got lowa, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan and New Jersey. You'll be drained relaying the message to them all.” I say.

“It has to be done, but they will be prepared because of this.” He says, then gets up and walks towards the entertainment section. “Next week, Caterina and I are leaving with Marle to all those cities so she can do the same to them and keep them protected. You'll be in charge for about two weeks."

"Fuck, I thought you might need to do that. Don't burn out the witch, though; we need her for whatever is coming.” I say, walking over and taking the glass of bourbon from his outstretched hand.

“Trust me, I know; that's why I'll be leaving for two weeks instead of one.” He says and sips on his own glass

I sit down on the leather couch and lean my elbows on my knees. “Who would have thought things would get so fucked up so quickly?”

The last year has been anything but easy; from finding our mates to betrayals, deaths and almost losing our credibility. It's to be expected from a wolf pack, but even more so from a family deep in the Russian Bratva. We still don’t know how Father survived Kai's rampage when he turned 18, but Nikolai has a feeling that a similar spell was used when Alyosha took him.

" “When the moment comes that prey kills predator, the foreign one shall bring forth a union of fated hybrid mates and an age of anarchy.’ I guess that fucking prophecy turned out to be true - the foreign one ended up being Marle since she put all of this into place by telling Tiarin about Caterina.” Kai says, hearkening back to the Lynx witches and their prophecy over his life.

“It all goes back to that, huh?” I say, primarily to myself. Viktor was the predator killed by a mere witch, and his death set off everything that happened afterwards.

“Seems that way, but I'm not about to dwell on what has been; there are other things to look forward to now.” He says, then downs his glass as I follow suit. “Let's get going; Dimtri has just let me know he's ready to go.”

I nod and follow him outside, wondering how things will work out now with a new Dimitri in the pack and a new and even more dangerous enemy on the rise.

Dimitri

Konstantin holds open the SUV door for me as we exit the penthouse elevator. I have my mate in my arms, but she's still passed out; but I'm not sure if it's from pain meds or something the witch did.

“Are you sitting back there with her?” Kon asks me when I get in and lay her head on my lap.

“If you don't mind? I won't see her again after this and would like to..." I trail off and look away, uncertain of how to finish that sentence, but my brother seems to understand what I meant and nods before starting the car.

I look down at the woman who is supposed to be my destined mate and realise how breathtakingly beautiful Arya truly is. Her light blonde hair frames her heart-shaped face, and her lips are pressed in a pout as if she’s having an odd dream.

Even with the ugly red scars running down her face, she still looks flawless to me. But even as I recognise her beauty, I know the scars will have a negative effect on her life, and the thought alone breaks my heart.

I did this to her; I ruined her face, and if she had to find out, she would hate me forever.

This is why I cannot risk it again. I cannot risk her safety, knowing she nearly died at the hands meant to keep her safe. For once, I am going to be selfish and give up my only chance at happiness since everything I touch turns to shit.

I betrayed my pack.

I betrayed my family.

I almost killed my mate.

These things show how untrustworthy I am; Dimitri Volkov, the traitorous Gamma. A hollow feeling settles into my chest, and I breathe in the pain, so it sinks into my bones. I deserve this; I know I do. “We're here,” Kon announces after a while, and I reluctantly peel my eyes away from Arya. Kai informed me that she belongs to the Falcone family from Brooklyn, a mafia princess set to marry Dante DiMaggio in a few months. The thought of someone else claiming what was mine sent a possessive jolt through my body, but I knew that I had no right to feel possessive.

I look ahead and notice Falcone’s men heading towards the car with him leading them. He's a short, stocky man with brown hair dressed in a suit looking worried and angry. I wonder if Kai called him to let him know what has happened.

Kon stops the car, gets out and walks over to Falcone with a hand outstretched. They talk for a few seconds before Kon leads him to my side of the SUV, and when he opens the door, Falcone's eyes fall on his daughter.

“La mia Colomba!” he exclaims in horror when he sees her, and I can feel the pain behind his eyes. If he only knew that I felt double that. He then looks up at me. “You saved her?”

I frown when he asks this and slowly nod. “I did,” I answer.

Falcone takes my hand and breathes out a sigh. “My family is forever indebted to the Volkov Bratva for this. Konstantin, please tell your brother I accept.” He says, but I drown out whatever he says next because I know this would be the last time I see my angel.

“Dimitri, brother?”

I snap out of my reverie and blink, realising that Konstantin had spoken. “Yes?”

“Hand Arya over to her father; we'll be going soon,” he says, and along with those words, every little bit of happiness leaves my body. I nod and do as my brother tells me, handing my mate over to her father.

He looks up at me with gratitude then walks off with her, my arms already feeling cold as her warmth leaves my skin. I watch as he walks away, and I notice her mother and little sister running towards him with tears in their eyes, then equally turning horrified when they see the damage done to her.

I get out and clamber into the passenger side, then Kon starts the car and speeds out of there.

"Are you sure you want to do this, “Mitri? We could always go back, do an arranged marriage since she is a Mafia princess-"

“No, I've made up my mind. She needs to live a normal life away from the supernatural and away from me.” I say with finality. Kon picks up on my foul mood and remains calm for the rest of the trip back to the Estate.

Before I can slip back into a haze of self-pity, Kon lets me know that Kai wants us to meet him at The Slip.