Chapter 33

Are you sure you want this

***********Nero POV********

They say, "out of sight, out of mind." But when Blake was gone from my place, she wasn't out of my mind, it was just that I could easily focus on what mattered when she wasn't in my face.

But then I saw her tonight, and damn it, I have that same stupid desire to keep her safe and act recklessly for her.

"Nero, please listen to me. I swear, I didn't deceive you." Luna cried, her eyes moist.

This wasn't the plan. Tonight was about me taking the easy way out of this mess reject Blake, claim Luna, and hopefully get the list sooner than later with her help.

"I am sorry. But Miss Noble was just as convincing as you are right now, so I apologize if I claim that I don't believe you." I told her.

The thought of vengeance is still very much alive inside of me, but tonight I guess, the one I will be sacrificing would be Luna and not Blake.

But I have to do it carefully because I still very much need Loki to trust me, and if I don't choose my words carefully, things may become bloody within a matter of seconds.

That is why Karen is my scapegoat because when she suddenly knocked on my car windshield a couple of minutes ago and I let her in, the way she spoke told me that she hates Blake being with Killian as much as I did.

"Karen, what the heck is wrong with you?! Why would you be spreading such lies about me and your brother?!" Luna shouted, throwing her a dirty look.

"Don't call my sister a liar! We both know who's not telling the truth here." Killian mumbled as he shot her a warning look.

"How about you stay out of this?" Loretta said peevishly.

Great, I have started the fire, and it was time to take a step back and let everyone else fan it until it blasts.

"I am not going to stand here, and let your daughter reject me for the second time, lying to my face and everyone else." Killian blurted out, raising his voice.

"What right do you have to call my daughter a liar!" Loretta lashed out.

Looking over at Blake, her lips were trembling as she stared at me, and I could tell she was holding in a chuckle.

When our eyes locked, her face grew serious, and she tried to mask her devilishness with an innocent expression, but I threw her a cold stare, and she pouted at me with sadness in her eyes.

After years of living my life in peace, I am stuck with an annoying brat, and to think she looked so peaceful as a newborn, just to grow up into this agitating rascal who somehow got me wrapped around her fingers, even though I tried hard not to admit it.

Gazing away from her, I eyed Loki as Mr. Noble approached him, and I watched him mouth out, "Fix this mess, Loki."

"Okay, how about we move past this, and go to the next stage of this ceremony!" Loki announced in an authoritative tone.

At that moment, I caught Blake glaring at her father, and at first, she didn't say anything, allowing the silence in the room to reign.

Then she eyed me and mumbled, "If Killian is Luna's mate then I am not going through with this ceremony." Blake blurted out.

"Are you sure you want us to do this now!" Loki mumbled in a dead tone.

"We both know Killain is not my mate, and if Luna belongs to him, I don't want to get labeled as the girl who stole her sister's mate."

"Stop talking."

When my gaze shifted to my right, I caught Blake staring at me.

Then she immediately drew her eyes away when our gaze locked, stared at Loki, and said, "I should have stayed with Jason. I hate myself for leaving him, and maybe this is fate telling me to go back to hi"

"Can you keep quiet, Blake!" Loki lashed out.

Already hating myself for thinking this, I calmly let out, "Actually, Blake is not alone. I don't want someone else's mate either. Since Luna already has a mate, I will take my chances with someone who doesn't."

Looking at me with a look of disbelief on her face, Luna's brows furrowed as she whispered, "What are you doing, Nero?"

"Being honest with my feelings," I told her.

As the whispering from those around us grew louder, Loki looked restless, his eyes were shaking from left to right, and he seemed like he was about to lose it.

"Good luck, Luna," Blake said loosely. "I should retire to my room for the night since I am not partaking in this ceremony. These heels are killing me."

Frustrated, I watched her walk away, and I knew she was being smart. It was going to be hectic to put it out there that she was already marked by me.

For now, I was just glad that she doesn't have to be with Killian. Later, I can figure out how to claim her after all this dies down because I need her more than ever since I just lost access to Luna.

This is going to make this whole task even longer, but it's a price I am okay with paying.

"Blake, don't take another step!" Loki shouted, frowning as he gazed at her back.

Immediately, she stopped, slowly turned around, scowling at him, and asked, "What?"

Gazing away from her, Loki looked at Killian and said, "Mr. Noble, I will ask you just this once, are you certain that Luna is your mate?"

"Yes!" Killian uttered with no reluctance.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Luna whispered, and I could see anger glowing in her eyes.

Ignoring her words, Loki gazed at me and said, "Mr. Fang, you said that you would rather take your chances with someone who doesn't have a mate. Blake and Jason are over. She is available."

Nothing made me hate Loki even more than his last statement. He was treating his daughters as something to be sold, not caring if they are with their right mates. It made me sick with rage.

"Dad!" Luna screamed, looking over at Blake. "This is all your plan right, bitch?!"

"Loretta, control your daughter!" Loki shouted, his eyes blood-red as he glared at his wife. "Before I remind her whose presence she is in!"

Then he looked back at me and asked, "What do you say?"

Staring at the serious look on his face, I knew that there was also a fifty-fifty chance that he was putting me through a test, and I mumbled, "Turning down one sister for the other, I don't think that is appropriate."

"You have principles, I admire that. But I hosted this ceremony to announce both my daughters getting marked. Don't you think I have lost face enough in front of my own pack?" Loki stated calmly with soulless eyes.

There was more to his words, and I could sense it from his body language and expression. But the last thing I wanted was to piss Loki off in his territory, so I eyed Blake, looked back at him, and mumbled, "If that's the case, it will be my honor to accept your daughter as my mate."

A grin surfaced on Loki's face as he clapped and declared openly, "Problem solved. Let the second stage of the ceremony begin!"

Confusion ate at me as I continuously stared at Loki, wondering what was going on in his sick mind, and what game he was playing with us.

"Blake, please escort Mr. Fang upstairs to the east wing guest room," Loki announced, looking at her.

Gazing Blake's way, I could tell she was in shock by her father's decision, just like everyone in this room.

At first, she didn't move, standing still like a pretty sculpture until he shouted, "Blake!"

Without replying, she seemed so disturbed as she took a long look at him, and then she looked back at me before mumbling, "Please follow me."

Not caring for the growing whispers in the room and Luna's cries, I followed Blake out of the hall and silently walked behind her in the corridor.

When she got to the room, she gently closed it, resting her back against the door, and whispered, "What just happened?"

"He's your father. I should be asking you that question." I told her, still in a state of confusion by Loki's insane decision.

"My hands can't stop shaking!! Do you think he knows about us?"

"I don't know, Blake."

When I looked down at her hands, she wasn't kidding. They were trembling, and she made a tight fist when she noticed me staring.

Letting out a harsh breath, I walked over to Blake, took her hands in mine, and squeezed them, not losing sight of her eyes.

"Why did you leave?" I mumbled, wanting an answer so desperately because that question haunted me every night since she ran off.

Staring down, she said no words as her thumb stroked the back of my hands, and then she finally whispered, "Because I was afraid"

There was a long pause. Then she raised her head, gave a weak smile, and whispered, "I was afraid of getting rejected by you for her."

A nervous chuckle escaped her lips as tears settled in her eyes, and I didn't think twice, leaning in closer toward her face to get a taste of her.

Her lips were warm and soft when mine pressed against them, and with every shared breath, I wanted more of her.... every inch of her skin, I wanted to own and mark.

When I pressed Blake against the door, she pulled back, breaking free from my kiss, and mumbled, "Are you sure you want this? I can talk to my dad to change his mind."

"Why? Are you already thinking about getting rid of me when we just got back together?" I mumbled, listening to her throbbing heart.

I got you

*******Blake POV*******

My heart was racing so freaking fast that I didn't know how to calm myself down, and my mind was still trying to figure out what the heck happened out there.

But the main reason my heart wanted to burst out of my chest was that Nero was so freaking close to my body.

Tonight, I expected so much bad stuff to happen, and all my worst nightmares to come true. But being this close to Nero again was freaking unbelievable. I was so excited, even though I was worried.

But I was not that worried about what we do because I brought Nero to my room and not where Loki asked to take him because my bedroom is way more secure than most places in this mansion.

"You haven't answered my question yet. Are you seriously thinking about getting rid of me?" Nero asked, raising a brow.

"No! No." I hastily uttered. "It's just that there are a lot of people against me, and after tonight, there will be a whole lot more. I don't want to give you a burden that will endanger you. So"

"I want you, Blake, and I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

This time, we didn't have to argue for him to say it, and I didn't have to force it out of him. It came out so naturally that I couldn't help grinning widely.

"What are you gleaming about?" Nero mumbled, caressing my cheeks.

"I'm just happy," I muttered, smiling wider as I gazed into his eyes.

After taking a long look at me, he smirked, his hands raising towards my ear. When his fingertip touched it, I jerked a bit, giggling as I whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Nero mumbled as I felt his fingertip lightly trace the C-shaped outline of my ear.

Without stopping, he leaned towards my neck, and the moment his wet lips rested on my skin, I groaned so freaking loud that a feeling of embarrassment overwhelmed me.

"Cute," Nero whispered, meeting my eyes.

"No, that was humiliating, and I am going to bed," I muttered, withdrawing away from the door and walking over to my bed.

When I got on the mattress, I looked back at him, and he was giggling silently which was even more frustrating.

"Can you stop laughing?" I lashed out softly, pouting at him.

"Why? It was cute." Nero mumbled, still chuckling.

"No, it wasn't."

"It was"

Unable to finish his sentence, Nero burst into laughter, cracking up so hard that I wanted to kick him in the balls to make him stop.

When he finally stopped, cleared his throat, and wore a serious expression on his face, he looked at me with a coy look in his eyes.

"Did you do that to embarrass me!" I scoffed, trying to act annoyed, even though I wasn't.

"No, I was trying to spice things up," Nero uttered with a deep voice, walking over to the bed.

When he reached me, he had that alluring look in his eyes that made me want to stare into them for hours.

Leaning towards my ears, he whispered, "Did it work? Or should I do it again,"

Of course, I wanted him to do it again because my entire body was already awake and tingling from his first touch.

Before giving me a chance to react, Nero pinned me against the bed and said, "Don't think about it, and just tell me."

Feeling his hand against my gown zip, I shifted slightly as he pulled it downward. When my dress was on the floor, he gazed into my eyes, but I couldn't focus as I felt his hand stroking against the skin of my inner thigh.

"I missed you for the couple of days you were gone," Nero mumbled with a dead-serious look on his face. "The villa felt empty without you annoying me."

My brain couldn't process a response because the further his hand slowly caressed upward, against my skin, the more heated my body became, and when he finally reached the crease of my inner thigh, I curled my toes hard.

A low moan crawled from the back of my throat the instant I felt Nero's fingers so deep between my inner lips, and I grabbed his wrist with trembling hands.

Looking at me with a dark look in his eyes, he smirked and mumbled, "Good. He didn't touch you I don't have to kill him after all."

"Are you serious," I whispered, frowning at him. "You could have just asked me, instead of inspecting my body!"

"What fun would that be then?"

"You!"

My mind suddenly went blank and my eyes rolled in the back of my head as I grabbed onto the sheets, curling my toes even tighter while pulling onto it.

"You may sound mad, but your body says you prefer this way," Nero whispered, twitching his finger more before thrusting them hard, deeper.

It felt so freaking embarrassing to look at him as I suppressed an outcry, so I swayed my gaze to the right corn of the room, but Nero's words quickly drew my eyes back to him, "Only I am allowed to do things like this to you from now on, okay?"

"Does that mean you plan to keep me permanently?" I mumbled hopefully, studying his eyes.

Suddenly, Nero stopped, got off the bed, and looked back, staring intensely at me.

"What? Am I a temporary deal to you?" I whispered, afraid of the answer to my own words.

"Of course not." Nero immediately uttered, his eyes fixed on mine. "But to be honest, we are not immortal, Blake. Death is real for us, and I can not guarantee forever with you."

"But you wouldn't leave me, right? As long as you are alive, you are going to keep me by your side, right?" I mumbled, fighting against my urge to cry because I didn't want this to be one of the things that I pressure him into saying.

Keeping a calm mood, I waited patiently for Nero to say something. But he silently walked towards me and sat on the bed without taking his eyes off me.

"Is that what you want to be by my side?" Nero asked, looking deep into my eyes.

"Yes, I do," I mumbled, feeling reluctant to be truthful entirely. "But you don't have to want it too. I am not forcing you to be"

"If you want to be by my side, then by my side you shall be until you walk away on your own."

"Huh?"

Gazing doubtfully at him, I softly chuckled and mumbled, "Why would you think I will be the one to leave you?"

"You ran away just last week!" Nero teased, shaking his head slightly.

Although I wanted to counterattack his words, he was right, and I knew it. So I gave a smile and said, "As long as you don't push me away, I am not going anywhere."

"Is that so?" Nero voiced, looking away from me.

His voice was dull when he uttered those words, and I frowned as I mumbled, "You don't believe me? Should we do a pinky swear?"

Shoving my pinky in his face, I wiggled it, and Nero giggled as he calmly uttered, "Stop being childish and go take a shower."

"I am being serious." I pouted, dropping my hand to my side.

For a moment Nero said nothing. Then he faintly smiled and stroked my cheek, mumbling, "I know you are."

The silence between us lasted for a couple of seconds. Then I brushed my palm against the sheets and uttered, "Actually, one of the reasons I ran away from you is because Loki said that he will help me find my mother if I do as he wanted."

Scoffing, I narrowed my eyes and blurted out, "That's the only reason I am obeying him. It's so freaking exhausting!"

"Loki is going to help you find your mother?" Nero asked, looking serious all of sudden.

"Yeah. He won't tell me much about where she is or anything sensible when it comes to her, except useless stuff like I have her beauty, blah, blah, blah!"

"Do you really want to find her?"

"Yeah. But Loki's offer came along with me bearing Killin's mark, and now that I am with you, I am not sure what he's going to do about our deal."

"Right,"

"But it doesn't matter though. I spent nineteen years of my life not knowing her, I think I will be okay during the rest of it without her."

After he had stared calmly into my eyes for a brief moment, Nero gently pulled my head towards him, kissed me on my forehead, and whispered, "I got you."

Prove me wrong, and I will end you

*******Nero POV******

The weight of Blake's head on my chest and the way she had snuggled herself so close to my body left me with a smile the instant my eyes opened.

How can someone so dangerous have such an innocent presence? Maybe that's what makes her even deadly.

"Miss Blake, are you in here?" An omega's voice echoed from the other side of the door, and from the shiver in her tone, I could tell that there was a storm.

There were a couple of silent seconds. Then there was a knock and she called out, "Please. If you are in here, say something. Your father is asking about your whereabouts, and we have been searching everywhere for you!"

The sound of a sigh drew my attention to Blake, and her hand stroked against my chest as she looked into my eyes.

Frowning, she withdrew from my arms as she mumbled, "Seriously! again... I knew this was coming when I refused for us to go back to his stupid ceremony. But really this early! Could he not wait a bit?"

Now that she's awake, I take back my words. She doesn't have an innocent presence Chaotic is the word that I should have used.

After wearing her robe, Blake walked over to the door, and the moment she halfway opened it, the omega whispered, "You were in here all along? Why didn't you answer last night? Your father"

"You can tell him that you found me, and I will be with him in a couple of minutes," Blake uttered, sounding still annoyed.

Then she shut the door, turned around to gaze at me, and mumbled, "Should we go back home?"

"Is that what you want?" I asked her, leaving the bed.

"Yes. This place is suffocating."

"Okay. Then we leave today."

Grabbing Blake by the wrist, I pulled her towards me, securing her against my body by her waist, and leaned forward, pressing my lips into hers, and I felt her grab onto my bare back as I teased with her tongue.

When our lips parted, she downcast her gaze, ran her fingers through her messy hair, and whispered, "Loki is not going to be excited about us moving. But who cares! Not me! I am telling him at breakfast."

"Why would he be mad?" I asked, knowing Loki getting mad isn't a good thing for me at this stage.

"He has made this stupid decision that he wouldn't let Luna and I leave this house because he wants Killain and you to earn his trust."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. But if I keep staying here, I might lose my damn mind, do something stupid, or make some disastrous moves, especially now that Loretta and Luna hate me. So it's best to leave here."

Again, I am stuck between Blake and my plans. The closer I am to Loki, the quicker I can handle things. But the closer she is to her family, I know blood will spill sooner than later.

The feeling of dilemma continued to haunt me even after we had refreshed up and headed upstairs.

The moment we arrived in the living room it grew quiet, and my eyes locked with the bitter look in Loki's eyes.

"Nero! Seems like you slept well." He uttered in a dead tone as he stood from the couch. "Can you take a walk with me?"

"I feel like walking too." Blake blurted out softly, looking more stressed as she glanced at me, then at him.

Ignoring her words, Loki walked past her, reached me, and tapped my shoulder as he mumbled, "Let's talk."

Looking back at Blake, he firmly let out, "Just the two of us."

Then he focused back on me, gave a stiff smile, and said, "Let's go."

Even though I didn't know what to expect from this talk with Loki, I gave Blake, who looked extremely distressed, a smile to comfort her before following Loki out of the room.

This task was always a fifty-fifty life or death risk for me, so I wasn't really that bothered about what the outcome of this so-called talk with him was going to turn into. But one thing I was certain about if I was going down, I am taking him.

When Loki and I walked into his study, he walked behind his desk, pointed to an empty chair, and said, "Please take a seat, Mr. Fang."

Not losing focus of his dull eyes, I walked over to the chair and sat down, keeping alert the entire time.

"What's your relationship with my daughter?" Loki asked after a good amount of prolonged silence.

"Until last night, Blake was just a student to me," I said, keeping my eyes on his, and lessening my blinks per second.

"Well, you must be a good teacher then. And now, who is she to you?"

"Someone you have made me responsible for."

Even though he didn't speak after my remark, I could tell he was satisfied with my response, and I precalculate that because making it seem that he was responsible for Blake and me being together takes the focus off me.

"There's not much out there about you, Mr. Fang, and I kill people like that who enter my territory quicker than a needle can take to pop a balloon."

Loki calmly said with a death stare.

Knowing those words were not made for a response but a threat, I kept my composure and my silence.

"Do you know why I chose you for Blake despite my lack of trust in you?" Loki asked.

"No," I replied.

The simplest the answers, the less risk it is for me to get myself involved in some deep shit with this lunatic.

"Of all the research I did on you, one thing was clear as crystal" Loki said, pausing dramatically.

Tapping his desk as he took a long look at my face, he finally huffed and mumbled, "You are the only one Blake respects. At least that's what all of her classmates say about you two."

Slowly, I breathe out in relief, feeling thankful that he and I had different ideas in mind of what he was going to say.

"Luna and her mother made a stupid statement about Blake having feelings for you, and their words mess with my mind that I did a little digging at her school about you guys' relationships," Loki said, his expression emotionless.

"Is that so," I mumbled.

"Apparently, everyone couldn't tell me if she did like you or not, but they all said, you were the only one who could shout at her and she listened not only listen but obey your words."

"Really,"

Silence fell between us as Loki intensely gaze at me. Then he smirked and said, "Killain was a decent choice, but he wouldn't be a good alpha for Blake."

Resting back in his seat, he let out, "we both know that Blake is wild. She needs an alpha that can control her, something that not even I, her father, can do correctly. But somehow, you can, and that's why you are with my daughter."

There was a brief pause before he continued, "Also, you don't have the influence of a bond with her, so you can think clearly without considering her feelings."

"I don't follow," I mumbled, feeling genuinely confused.

"Blake needs an alpha that can handle her, and I need her to be with an alpha that I can control. Let's get one thing straight, I don't trust you, Nero not the slightest bit. But you have the power in your hands to change that."

"How?"

"Simple. Bent Blake to my will for me."

Damn it! I shouldn't have convinced myself that this was going to be a simple in and out task. Why does everything keep getting so fucking complicated?!

Looking at him, I revisited my words countless times in my head and then said, "Blake wants to move over to my place."

"She told you that?" Loki uttered, sounding annoyed.

"Yeah, this morning. There was something about her going insane if she stayed here..."

"Why are you telling me this?"

For a moment I held back my tongue, observing Loki's mood before saying, "If I am to handle Blake, she doesn't need to know that I am on your side. Let's be honest, you haven't given her a reason to do so"

"Is that how you feel?" Loki said with a raise in his tone.

"If I can remember clearly, you storm into my class and humiliated her in the worst way possible, so it's a reality, not just how I feel."

"Continue,"

"Blake doesn't respect me because I have some power over her. She does because I have not given her a reason not to. So, for now, let me work on earning her trust to fulfill yours."

"Hmm,"

"The more loyalty she has in me, the easier it will be to make her do things, don't you think?"

At first, Loki seemed hesitant. Then he frowned and mumbled, "Fine. But know that you are only with my daughter and alive because I find you useful. Prove me wrong, and I will mess you up!"

"Well, I guess proving you wrong is not an option for me then," I mumbled, giving him a half-smile.