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Florian
The rock music blasts through the air as owls hoot in the distance, and the moonlight shines brightly with no cloud in sight.
Wrapping my hand around the whiskey bottle, I take a greedy gulp as I grab the nearby ax and throw it at the target several feet away, enjoying the blade hitting it right in the middle.
A loud howl echoes in the night, and I glance at Zeus. “Enjoying yourself, are you?” He huffs at me and howls again, making me wince because this is his favorite fucking thing to do during a full moon.
Good thing I bought this vast land a few years back and built my two-level glass house here, opening up on the magnificent garden filled with roses, orchids, and oak trees that create a sense of doom and beauty.
Two things that have the power to destroy us.
An iron fence surrounds the property, and several security guards surveil it. It’s my sanctuary from the outside world, and no one knows about it besides my best friends. Even my parents think I live in one of the penthouses in the skyscraper I own.
Impossible.
I could never permanently exist in a place with so many people around me, and I like my privacy and hunting grounds. Plus, Zeus has all the freedom to explore the forest and garden without anyone screaming or being an unfortunate casualty.
My beast is moody after all.
Picking up another ax, I throw it at the target moving forward, and it hits the middle again just as dark clouds gather, threatening to pour rain on us, but I welcome the frigid air on my bare skin. “I think she’ll do something stupid to hurt me, and I will not like it.” Zeus huffs again, glaring at me for interrupting his next howl, and then strolls toward me, snagging a bone from the nearby table, and falls on the ground, biting on it. “We both know one universal truth. When Cortezes are hurt, they retaliate.” He barks. “Why the fuck does she need to be so stubborn?” He pauses in the middle of taking another bite and cocks his head to the side. “Okay. I could have definitely handled it better.”
“Wow. You have some deep conversations with your wolf. Should I be jealous?” I see Octavius prowling through the grass, rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt and getting dirt on his perfectly polished leather shoes and jeans. He scans me from head to toe. “And you’re wearing sweats while guzzling whiskey. Forget jealous. I think I should be concerned.”
Flipping him the finger after another greedy gulp, I grab the next ax and send it flying in the air, but this time around, it lands near the target, missing it. I scowl when Octavius laughs, and Zeus puffs air as if supporting his amusement. “What are you doing here?”
“After you so hastily left the club earlier, I figured something happened, so here I am.” My brow furrows because it makes zero sense to me, and he clearly must read it on my face, as he elaborates. Since when do we spy on each other? “Your head of security called and said you were in a weird mood tonight.”
You’d think Octavius pays my staff’s bills at the rate they tattletale on me to him, and for whatever reason, my best friend always comes to the rescue, even if I never tell him what’s going on.
I have my dark moments like all of us, but I prefer not to show them to anyone, including him.
The asshole doesn’t care, though, and just barges in to keep me company, so here we fucking are.
“I thought you’d be busy.” I turn off the music just as Zeus howls again, and Octavius rolls his eyes.
“Busy with what?” He grips the ax’s handle, flipping it up in the air, catching it, and then swiftly throwing it at the target. Of course it sticks right in the middle. “You know I’ll always make time for you.”
“Nice way of changing the subject. Busy with a certain woman desperate to find out her family secret. You know the one who even tried to blackmail us earlier? With her.” He stiffens at this and sends me a warning glance that’s so easy to read.
She’s off-limits, and that’s a new thing in itself because Octavius never pays attention to women, and I do mean never. He has sex once a year with a paid escort, and that’s about it. So him not only protecting her but also being the one to handle the problem?
Speaks volumes.
I find the whole thing deeply hilarious.
A serial killer and an ex-cop turned private investigator.
“Well, since we’re sharing about women here…” he starts, and it’s my turn to tense, the bottle pausing midway to my mouth while a grin shapes his lips. “What’s going on with you and Jimena? You know your best friend’s sister who he loves very much and will kick your fucking ass once he finds out the truth?”
“Touché,” I reply and put the bottle away as he continues to throw axes. I lean on the table. “She’s pregnant.”
Saying it out loud still feels surreal, and an odd warmth along with possessiveness rushes through my blood, wanting to shout from the rooftops that my woman is carrying my child, as chauvinistic as it might be.
I would have never tried to get her pregnant so soon. She has her whole life ahead of her, but how can I feel anything but joy at the prospect of holding my baby?
I groan inwardly just thinking about her getting all round with my baby, and how everyone would know she belongs to me.
That makes me a man who makes no commitment to anyone choose her and permanently attach myself to her.
