Alec was the last to walk into the house behind the others. Kade, Dario and Nikolai were deep in discussion over Giovanni's motives for attacking them tonight. However, Alec wasn't done wondering about his uncle.

The door closed behind them and he spotted his brother emerging from the hallway with a controlled expression on his face. But Alec understood the look of triumph in his young brother's eyes. Vadik must have spent some time with his mate and they had come to an agreement of some sorts.

"How did it go?" Vadik asked.

"Giovanni's men intervened in the mission," Alec answered.

"And Mikhail?" he prompted.

"Unresponsive," that was the only word Alec found to explain his thoughts to his brother. However, he slid the piece of parchment with the message to his brother who was quick on the uptake.

Vadik raised a brow. "He's planning something," he muttered softly.

"You two," Kade's voice intervened.

Alec and Vadik exchanged a look wondering if they were caught.

"We're going to have to arrange a meeting with Giovanni," Kade suggested.

"Why?" Alec asked.

Kade stared at him puzzled. "Did you not notice that Luca was about to kill you?" he remarked sarcastically.

"I noticed," Alec countered. "But why do you care?" He closed the space between them and held his dark eyes with his own. "Isn't that what you want?"

Kade's clenched his jaw so tightly that Alec was sure it'd break. "The only one that gets to kill you is me, otherwise you stay alive," he growled.

"It doesn't really matter anymore," Alec retorted. "If Giovanni wants me dead, he's free to try."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Kade snapped. "Your life is mine."

"Okay, maybe we should take a breather," Dario spoke between them. "It's been a long night for everyone."

The only way Alec moved was when Vadik grabbed him and practically pulled him up the stairs and into the room they were staying in.

"Do you want to start a fight?" Vadik raged.

"Maybe, I do," Alec replied as he sat on the chair and grabbed this throbbing head.

"What's going on with you?" His brother's voice etched with concern.

"I'm pissed at everything," Alec growled as he got to his feet and started to pace in front of him. "I try to fix one thing and then a hundred things break in the process. I'm fucking cursed, that's what's wrong with me."

Vadik sat on the arm on the chair and sighed. "I know we are," he shared.

"On top of that, our fucking father left his mess for me to clean up and I'm exhausted!" Alec's tone rose even though he didn't mean to. He tried to keep his cool but it was just spilling out now that they were alone. What was he going to do? God, sometimes he really just wanted to pick up a gun and pull the trigger in his own skull. That should make everyone's lives simpler.

"Alec, where are you going?" Vadik asked.

Alec hadn't realized his feet were taking him towards the door. "I need some air," his throat felt as if someone had their hands choking the very air out of his lungs.

He opened the door and left alone. He didn't know where he'd go in this massive estate but somehow, he found his way outside in a garden. He left into the night and took the chilling air deep into his body wondering if the chains bound to him would break first before destroying him in the process.

"What are you doing out here?"

Alec's body trembled at the sound of his mate. "I'm not in the mood," he responded grimly.

"I can tell," Kade said.

"I wasn't trying to escape either," Alec explained unnecessarily.

"I'm not worried about that," he shared.

He glanced behind him and Kade was standing with his arms crossed and his long legs fixed squarely. "How'd you find me so quickly?" Alec had to know.

"The alarm on the door alerted me," Kade explained.

Alec closed his eyes and hung his head down. He didn't want to talk about anything anymore. He didn't even know whether he should tell Kade that Mikhail wants to meet at dawn. Kade would probably cut their heads off.

"If you're worried about what happened at the club then-"

"That's not the problem," Alec cut him irately.

"Then what is, Waldorf?"

"That!" Alec snapped and faced Kade who was surprised by the outburst. "That name is the fucking problem!" His eyes blazed with the rage that consumed him daily, he just hid it under his calm demeanour so no one else would know about it. But this rage burned all the time and it was killing him.

Kade drew in a calm breath, it was like Alec took it into him and it finally eased the chokehold around his throat.

"You're not going to understand," Alec confused, his tone remaining quiet.

"You're right," Kade answered as he held their gazes together. "I don't understand the disgrace of being a Waldorf. But I do understand being a failure. I know what it feels like to carry everything inside yourself and walk like nothing's wrong."

Alec stared at his mate's eyes that were drowning in darkness just as much as his own. They both knew what it was like to be tested to the point that it was unfair. Neither of them could hold this weight that buried them alive in this casket of their failures. They were lost. They were in this darkness that was impossible to find a way out.

"Everyone's trying to kill me," Alec said, his eyes burned with an emotion that he couldn't control and it fucking destroyed him. "And I can't find a reason for why they shouldn't."

Kade frowned and he dropped his arms. "We should go inside," he said sternly and turned his back to him.

"Can you do it?" Alec prompted.

Kade face him again. "What?"

"Kill me," Alec requested. "Just kill me."

Kade's expression turned black with uncertainty and even turmoil. "Not today," he said.

Alec couldn't help but laugh at them. More than anything, he wanted to touch Kade and hold him, but he couldn't even do that. Perhaps, this was what he needed to accept. He was going to die at the end of all this war. But maybe, the blessing was that Kade would kill him.

"Alright," Alec said as he closed the space between them. His mate's green eyes burrowing into Alec's memories and sleepless nights. "You're the only one that's allowed to kill me."

Kade's expression softened. "Damn straight," he said calmly but he didn't look certain in that answer.

"Mikhail wants to meet at the bridge," Alec revealed.

Kade straightened and the softness was replaced with a stern vigour. "When?"

"At dawn," he responded.

"And when were you going to tell me this?" Kade said doubtfully.

"I told you right now, didn't I," Alec remarked as he stepped inside the house.

"How did you and Mikhail even make contact?" Kade asked as he followed him.

"I was given a note while we walked out of the club," Alec explained.

Kade grabbed Alec by his arm and forced him to stop walking away and meet his eyes. "Are you telling me the truth?" He stared into Alec's eyes and saw nothing but the truth here.

"I will never lie to you," Alec said.

Kade's breath caught and he looked away with a curse on his kissable lips. He didn't bother using words anymore nor letting Alec's arm go, as he dragged him to an elevator and pushed him inside. He got in himself and slammed his hand on the button before it rose to the third floor letting them get off. He grabbed Alec's hand this time and took him to the large double doors at the end of the hallway. He opened the door and shut it behind them when they entered together.

Alec found himself standing in a huge bedroom that smelt of Kade and him alone. The interior was hard edges and dark colours that perfectly explained that this room belonged to him.

"What am I doing here?" Alec asked because it definitely wasn't for what he was thinking.

"You're staying here until dawn," Kade explained as he threw his suit's jacket off on the chair, unbuttoning the cuffs after that too.

"I wasn't planning on going without you," he said.

"I don't trust you," Kade said as he rolled his sleeves up revealing the watch on his thick wrist and tattoos on his forearm.

Alec sighed. "Even after everything?"

"Would you rather stay in the prison cell?" Kade retorted grimly earning a sardonic glance from Alec. "You're staying where I can keep an eye on you." He went over to the table where there was a crystal decanter and poured whiskey into a glass.

Alec took off his leather jacket and didn't bother arguing with this man who was as stubborn as a mule. He sat on the arm of the chair as he'd have to wait out the next few hours before dawn. He wasn't entirely enthusiastic to meet his uncle. Unknown of the reasons for this reunion, Alec wondered if he should take precaution and take Vadik with him. But a part of him didn't want to take his brother because if anything, Alec was going to kill Mikhail today and if he'd die in the process that was even better. Vadik would be free to return to Russia alone. Except, Alec forget about Giovanni who had also joined the list of enemies.

"Here-"

Alec looked up and saw Kade standing before him with a glass of whiskey in his hand. "What?"

"You look like you need one," Kade replied.

Alec grabbed the glass and watched as Kade drank from his own before taking a seat across him. He tasted the rich, spiced whiskey that melted into his cold body warming him up instantly. He did need a drink after all.

"Ever thought of changing your last name?" Kade broke the silence between them first.

Alec's lips lifted into a smile that he couldn't help from coming on. "Multiple times," he confessed.

"I suggest you should," Kade said over his glass, his eyes on the great big fire in the hearth that lit this room with its warm glow.

"You think it'll change anything for me?" Alec asked. Changing his name wouldn't stop anything. People knew who he was wherever he went and they'd hunt him regardless. The blood in his veins was the problem not his name.

"Probably not," Kade drew in a deep breath and dropped his head back on the chair, his corded neck exposed for Alec to memorize. The long lines of his throat made Alec's mouth water for a taste. He knew that Kade would be hot and sweet against his own lips that were begging to lean in and run them over the taut skin.

Alec drew in his own shaky breath wondering how he was going to spend this night without giving into the unholy thoughts of his own. However, Kade seemed completely unbothered.

"Can you just not sense it or are you just ignoring it?" Alec shared his thoughts aloud.

Kade lifted his head. "What?" he puzzled.

Alec figured out that Kade wasn't ignoring the bond but he couldn't sense it at all. His judgement was clouded by hatred that he couldn't feel that they were mates.

"I'm sleepy," Alec stood to his feet. "I'm going to my room."

"You'll sleep here," Kade stood up too and came up to him.

He looked at the massive black bed. "You'd let your enemy sleep in your own bed," he mocked.

Kade's eyes hardened. "Don't test me," he said. "Sleep on the bed or I'll knock you out and put you in the closet."

Alec couldn't help it and he laughed at this man. "You'd really do that, wouldn't you," he said.

Kade unexpectedly smiled too, it was small but the corner of his lip lifted slightly before he hid it away with a stern frown. Alec went to the bed and stripped off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Kade alarmed.

"I sleep without clothes," Alec said and went for the buckle of his pants, but Kade's glare was enough to stop him. He got on the bed and laid on his back, his arm under his head as he stared at the intricate black ceiling. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"No," Kade answered sternly as he stood over his study table looking at some papers.

"Relax, I won't make a run for it," Alec said.

"And I thought you were tired?" Kade retorted.

"Why is your room so green?" he asked in return ignoring Kade's mood.

Kade sighed. "It's my favourite colour," he answered simply.

"Why?" Alec asked.

"It reminds me of my-" Kade froze- "never mind, go to sleep now."

A few moments of silence swept between them.

"There's a forest outside my house in Russia," Alec shared. "This green reflects the trees just before the sun rose. I would run in my wolf form every single day because-" he went quiet remembering the large property where he was free to run however long he needed. No chains locked onto him. Nothing making him lose his control since he was alone to be whatever he wanted.

"Because?" Kade prompted.

"I was free," Alec finished.

"Freedom comes with a price," he remarked.

Alec laughed at the irony. Freedom had to be bought on this planet. He thought he paid the price by murdering all the people out of his way but more enemies just stepped in front of his path again. He wondered if he needed to become that cold-blooded killer once again. He locked that monster deep down in a dark hole so everyone wouldn't know how broken he really was after everything.

"My parents own a house in Italy, we used to go there every summer. My best memories are at that house," Kade told Alec suddenly. "The hedges that grow on the grove are this colour green."

Alec imagined Kade as a young boy running on the fields with his entire family, smiling even laughing. After all that happened, it was hard to imagine that Kade was ever a simple and happy boy.

"I'm sorry," Alec's throat tightened as he remembered that Lucas fucked up so many lives.

Kade stiffened where he stood, or rather, he trembled. Alec must have mistaken what he saw. "It doesn't matter anymore," he lied through gritted teeth, it clearly mattered to him more than anything.

"When I meet my uncle tomorrow, I need you to not engage with him," Alec said.

"And why would I do that?" he grumbled.

"I need to talk to him without your temper getting in the way," Alec explained.

"I can't promise that," Kade said as he crossed the room over to him.

"All I'm asking is that you let me figure out what's really going on before you fight with him," Alec explained.

Kade stood over him. "Fine, we'll do it your way," he agreed before bending down over him.

Alec moved back wondering why he was closing the space between them like this. Suddenly, metal clanked and something hooked around Alec's wrist. His eyes shot down to his wrist where Kade hand-cuffed his arm to the handle on the table beside him.

"What the hell-"

"So, you don't run off while I sleep," Kade shot him a cunning smile.

Alec shook his head as he held his mate's burning green eyes, they were close enough for him to see how the green played with the specks of gold within them. The musk of darkly enriched spices wrapped around him and he was drawing in his scent. Pressed against the bed, he really could just grab Kade and taste his lips and sate the agony that caused the raging fire within his body.

Kade ripped his eyes away first and stripped off his shirt before laying on the bed beside him. The bed shifted from his heavy weight and Alec felt the cool air touch his bare skin.

"This is uncomfortable," Alec remarked as he clanked his arm around.

"Deal with it," Kade said as he closed his eyes and slept.

"Where'd you meet Dario and Nikolai?" Alec asked then wondering if his mate really fell asleep.

"Prison," Kade answered.

Alec's eyes widened. "Seriously," he said. "Why were you in prison?"

"Go to sleep," Kade said sternly.

Alec turned towards him despite his arm being pulled behind him. "I know you're taking revenge for your family," he admitted. "I won't stop you, but all I ask for is a chance to show that my brother and I aren't my father." Kade didn't say anything but turned his back to Alec and showed his dark tattoos that were spread over his broad back down to his lean waist.

Alec didn't sleep as he stared at Kade all night long.

Hours passed.

He felt the first beam of light brighten the room and touch his boot. He turned over and cracked his thumb letting his hand slip free from the handcuff. He slid off the bed and put his shirt on, grabbing his leather jacket before leaving the bedroom. He knew Kade would wake up and follow him as soon as he sensed his departure.

Alec left the house undetected.

He went to his brother's truck and opened the car door. The keys were kept in the small compartment above his head. He started the ignition and drove off the property. He barely made it past the first half of the forest when he heard the roar of another engine.

A smile crept onto his lips, he looked at his rear-view mirror and saw a black Lamborghini speeding down the road. Alec pressed his foot down on the gas and let his mate chase him down the roads where there were just the two of them alone.

Finally, he reached the park near the bridge and parked near the lake. The sky was a misty blue as the sun peaked above the horizon lighting the bridge from one side only. A blanket of fog covered over the hills of the park veiling some of the trees and pathways.

Suddenly, the door to the truck opened and Kade stood with a blazing expression on his handsome face, the hard lines of his jaw stern and his lips held in a tight frown.

"How dare-"

Alec turned on the seat facing his mate silencing him. They were inches apart, keeping Kade between his legs. "You're a good driver," he complimented. He grabbed the collar of Kade's shirt pulling him closer, leaning both of them into the truck. "I'm surprised you caught me." Kade's breath was harsh as his heart hammered inside his chest. Alec could almost hear it in his own ears.

"Why'd you leave by yourself?" Kade growled.

Alec's thumb stroked the base of Kade's throat, it was soft and probably the only delicate spot about him. He almost wished he could lay his lips there and taste the bronzed skin. "That's what you get for handcuffing me," he retorted.

Kade grumbled a curse. "Don't ever leave me like that again," he demanded.

Alec sighed with a smile. "I'll see," he shared before pushing Kade back and got out of the truck himself. "Remember, don't make contact with Mikhail unless I say so."

Kade glared a hole through his face. "I'm not a child."

Alec's smile broadened. "Right," he sounded unconvinced.

They separated from each other and Alec went down the rocky path towards the lonesome bench near the lake. A man sat with his legs crossed and his broad back leaned against the bench. He wore a black suit and his wintery silver hair raked back. However, it was the face of the devil on the back of the man's neck that told Alec right away he found his uncle.

Alec stood in front of the bench facing Mikhail's soulless blue eyes that matched the misty blue sky. "Uncle, it's been a long time," he greeted.

"You're here," Mikhail gave a curt nod to the seat on the bench. "And I can see you're not alone."

Alec wasn't surprised that his uncle could sense Kade.

"Why are you with the enemy?" Mikhail asked.

"He's not. Kade's my friend," Alec told him.

Mikhail didn't give a reaction.

"What are you doing here, Mikhail?"

"Do you not know that your father was killed?" he said.

"I do, since I was the one who killed him and the rest of the men who followed him," Alec retorted.

Mikhail looked at him now. "What?"

"Didn't you know?"

"No," he said. "Why would you do that?"

"They deserved it after all the damage they caused," Alec said.

Mikhail went quiet and looked back at the lake. "I told Lucas to stop, I guess he didn't listen," he replied.

"Mikhail, I need you to stop killing people in this city. You'll stir trouble like you did last time," Alec said wondering if he was going to get his head cut off right about now.

But Mikhail sighed, his eyes grew somnolent as he leaned his arm on the back of the bench. "Times have changed," he said. "Before I could kill whoever the fuck I wanted and now there are people in this city who would try anything to stop me."

"Those people are also friends of mine," Alec said. "The alphas of this city are brave protectors and take their job very seriously."

Mikhail looked at him with an indistinguishable expression. "You've changed, Alexander," he said.

"I had to," Alec shared.

"Anyone that is faced with a field of monsters soon enough becomes one himself," Mikhail said. "Tell Vadik I didn't appreciate the poison attack. I couldn't even taste the bourbon I enjoy."

Alec cracked a smile. "I'll tell him," he said.

"How's Natalia?" he asked then. "She's probably all grown up now."

Alec frowned. "You don't know?"

Mikhail's expression darkened. "What?"

"Lucas didn't tell you," Alec said. "Natalia is dead."

Mikhail's eyes flared. "And who killed my niece?"

Alec grumbled a curse. "Lucas, your brother did," he said. "He trapped her and killed the love of her life only to sell her off to another man. She hung herself to death."

Mikhail's eyes hardened as he looked out to the lake. He cursed in Russian and then said a soft prayer for her soul to rest in peace. "Lucas," he cursed his brother's name. "If you hadn't killed him, I probably would have." He got to his feet buttoning his suit's jacket.

Alec got up as well facing his uncle at this fortunate turn of events. He didn't think his uncle would step down so quickly. "Why have you changed your mind so easily?" he asked then.

"I was only here to protect my nephews," he answered plainly. "But if you don't need me then I'll return."

Alec didn't understand. A Waldorf never backed away from a fight even if they started one or not. "You're different now," he shared.

Mikhail smirked. "What tales has my brother told you about me?" he questioned.

"Many," Alec said.

Mikhail put on his sunglasses. "Kill whoever fucks with you," he said. "but we don't touch women and children. That was the code of our pack until my irritating father was born."

"What happened?" Alec asked.

"They lost their fucking minds," Mikhail answered. "I couldn't take it so I killed my father. Maybe, you and I aren't so different after all."

"Are you returning to Russia?" he asked.

"Yes, I will," Mikhail said before he walked away on the lonesome path along the lake.

Alec was left to his own accord wondering what the hell just happened. He never thought that this was the way his uncle would respond to this situation. He thought there would be a fight and a lot of threatening of lives. But there wasn't at all. Maybe, Alec shouldn't jinx it. He should just be glad that someone in the Waldorf bloodline was born with some sense.

Alec returned to his car and Kade was leaning on the door. "It's done," he assured. Kade's green eyes changed, there was a light to them that wasn't there before.

"We're going home," Kade said sternly as he unlocked his own Lamborghini.

"Race you," Alec jested as he jumped into his truck knowing fully well that Kade wouldn't let out on another competition.

They raced together back to the house.

Kade won and he was smug about it. Alec joined Kade at the door when his phone rang; it was Gabriel Centauri's name on the screen. Alec didn't know what this was about, but Kade's demeanour flipped, his stern frown appeared again and that light vanished from his sharp eyes.

Hey guys! If you want to read chapter 14, it is already posted on my Patreon, which not only has the new chapters but also exclusive content. Hope to see you there! Have a lovely weekend.

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