The Lycan Kingpin's Captive: A Baby For The Beast

I don't know how long I've been laughing for, but I can no longer feel my cheeks. My sides ache from trying to breathe while laughing, one side of my face is smeared with frosting and the glitter bombs they shoot at me have my hair all tangled up.

Doubled over, full of cake, and laughing at Niko looking confused at the sight in front of him.

It's the afternoon of the autumnal Equinox, and I along with the Pente brides have decided to get to know each other better. They've moved onto the pack lands and are staying in the mansion with us until they're married to their partners.

Maxim still hasn't returned after going out to look for his missing bride, but Niko doesn't seem worried about it. Me, on the other hand, I am not sure if I'm worried about the bride or Maxim himself.

I get up and walk towards him, throwing my arms around his neck. “Hello, my love,” I greet him in a cheery voice. “I didn't expect you back until later this evening.”

“The meetings wrapped up sooner than expected,” he says, frowning at the giggling women behind him. “Am I missing something?”

"Nope! We're just getting to know each other better,” I say, turning back to look at them.

Just a few days ago they were terrified little lambs, now they've relaxed some. Well, I suppose the champagne is helping quite a bit.

"Hmm, well I'll leave you to it; when you're done, come to my office, I have something to show you,” he says and presses a kiss to my forehead before walking back to the mansion. “Enjoy, ladies.”

I watch as he walks away with a squeezing heart, then I turn back to women who have gone quiet. They look up at me expectantly, but I have no idea why until I sit down next to Gianna and she takes my hand in hers.

“Luna, how...” she starts, blushing. “How did you get someone as scary as the Alpha to fall in love with you?”

I blink and turn to look at their faces shining with the same curious look present on Gianna's face. That question makes me think a bit, because there's no way you can get Niko to do anything he doesn't want to do.

"How did I get Niko to fall in love with me?” I sit back in the wrought-iron chair and cross my arms. “I don't think I did anything of the sort.”

Eden rolls her eyes. “Yeah and my father isn't a cold as fuck asshole who sells off his daughters,” she says, scoffing. “You've got the second most powerful Alpha wrapped around your little finger, Luna. Spill your secrets so we know what we need to do about our situations.”

I frown at this. “Situations? Are the Gammas-"

“Cold? Ignores us? Never talks? Yeah, pretty much,” Eden interjects, then she sighs. “We'll be here for a while and know what's expected of us. But...how do we do that when our husbands are literal walls of stone?”

I finally managed to recover your hidden files and had a few things changed including the identity of your real father. Giovanni will not have a hold on you anymore, Mia, you're finally free of him.” He whispers into my ear as my tears continue to fall down.

I put the papers down and throw my arms around him in an embrace, sobbing at yet another kindness Niko has shown me. My life changed when I ran into him in that alley, and since then it has been for the better.

“Thank you, Nikolaos,” I murmured past the tears. “Thank you for everything.”

"You've given me a reason to breathe, kardia mou; this is the least I could do,” he says, stroking my hair as I continue to cry. “I should be the one thanking you.”

Niko dries my tears after a few minutes and cups my face in his hands. “Let's have dinner, then afterward I would like to fully appreciate my wife,” he says with a mischievous smirk.

That's when I remember that we're legally married now and a shy smile tugs at my lips. “I think I like that idea,” I say and I stand up. He laces his hands with mine and walks me out of his office to our first official dinner as husband and wife.

I wake up with a start, an odd feeling clawing at my chest. Turning my head, I see Niko is still fast asleep and tiptoe to the bathroom to splash my face. Something feels off, it has since after we made love this evening.

Breathing out a sigh, I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the back garden and I feel Star stirring. She seems restless, pacing up and down before settling - then doing the same thing again.

What's going on? Why do I feel like my whole body is on fire?

I look up at the full moon, noticing its cresting, and exhale again. Looking up at it seems to ease me a bit, so I level my breathing in an attempt to calm my nerves and the prickling of my skin.

Strong arms wrap around my body and Niko's scent fills my nose. “Can't sleep?”

I shake my head. “I was sleeping and woke up feeling...weird,” I say as I lean back onto his bare chest. His heart is beating just as fast as mine, and I sense the same unease in him as well

He walks around and tilts my chin up to face him...that's when the uncomfortable feeling immediately goes away. Our eyes widen at the same time, our hearts beating in time and the connection we've always shared feels solidified - like a barrel bolt lock sliding into place.

“MATE...” we say in unison, but where I whisper the word, Niko growls it.

He pulls me closer and meets my mouth in a rough kiss, claiming me not only as his wife but now as his mate. Was this the uneasy feeling my wolf's way of saying I was close to my mate and needed to be claimed?

Star must have been as clueless as me because she looks shocked as she sees Niko's large Lycan beast looking at her as if he wants to devour her. We never expected to meet our mate since it's so rare, but now something is clear.

You can only meet your mate at the Equinox.

He picks me up and carries me back to our bed, ripping off my flimsy nightdress and peppering chaste kisses all over my chest.

“Mate,” he growls again, nipping at my skin as he dives between my legs. My eyes shoot open and I look down, but there's no hesitation in Nikos scent when he languidly slides his tongue between my folds.

In our time together, Niko has never done this; he always used to freeze up. But as his tongue works delicious circles around my oversensitive clit and his claws dig into my thighs, I have a feeling he's no longer terrified of initiating intimacy.

My mind is delirious with want as Niko takes me higher and higher, finally letting me down to crash into tiny little pieces around him. I grip his head with my thighs, pulling on his hair and he growls while I ride out my orgasm

I'm still in a haze when I feel his large body covers me and when I open my eyes, his crimson Alpha ones are staring right into mine. His hand goes to the back of my head, into my hair and my thighs wrap around my waist before he sinks into me in one swift motion.

I cry out, tears springing into my eyes not simply because of the overwhelming emotion of Niko claiming me under the full moon, but because Niko initiated this. He didn’t freeze, he didn't stop or have a panic attack!

"Vasilissa mou,” he calls me his queen while thrusting slowly and hard inside of me. “I love you; fuck, I love you so much.”

Our bodies are flush against each other, and he’s looking at me as if I'm precious. “I love you too, Nikolaos,” I murmur through tears, and when we finally reach our climax and I feel his knot growing. We fall apart together, out of breath but not letting go. He lifts his head and looks into my eyes, the crimson gone and replaced with his lovely green color. His bottom lip trembles and he draws his forehead to mine.

“You were always the silver lining in the mushroom cloud of my fucked up existence,” he whispers in a shaky voice. “Now I know why.”

When his tears hit my cheek, my heart constricts and I hold him close, neither of us saying a thing. I know now that it was the Goddess giving me strength that night I escaped from Mikhail and ran into Niko's arms. She led me here to find him...

Nikolaos loannides, the broken man I helped heal; my husband, my Alpha, and now, my mate.