Chapter 189

Vladimir:

I watched as Elena walked out of the house, gathering her courage to see her family.

Her eyes were fixed on them, and though I would have normally gone out to stand by her side, I knew better than to do so. For this, she was going to have to do that on her own. I was going to have to stand back for her to be able to do it

“Mom?” She whispered, looking at her mother.

“Elena?” Her mother responded. Her whole family got up, and I smiled before taking a step back. I turned to find Natasha standing behind me. Her eyes met mine and I smiled, extending my hand toward her, hugging the woman who grew as my sister for a long time.

“I haven’t thanked you after saving her.” I said, and she smiled.

“You know that you didn’t need to thank me. She is my brother’s mate and I wasn’t going to leave her to die.” She said, making me smile. I kissed her forehead, letting my lips linger there for a moment.

Flashback:

I watched as Konstantin’s body dropped to the ground before rushing to Killian as the door opened, revealing Natasha. Her eyes met mine for a moment before she caught sight of Killian.

“You really shot him?” She asked, and I scoffed.

“And we need to get him out of here to get the bullet out. Things are going to get out of hand, though. I am going to need you to get her out,” I said, and she frowned.

“Her?” She asked, and I nodded.

“Her name is Elena, my mate. She is going to be waiting for you in my room.” I said, and she frowned.

“How the fucking hell am I going to find your room in this place?” She asked, watching as I lifted Killian in my arms.

“You are not going to take your last breath on us now, Alpha.” I whispered, ignoring her question. I walked past her, and she let out an annoyed growl.

“Vladimir!”

“You’ll find it, Natasha. I know that you would…”

End of Flashback.

“I know that you would have done it either way, but you still didn’t have to put yourself in that situation…”

“And you know that I have nothing to lose,” she said, putting her hand on her stomach. The memories of the pain that she went through years ago were still fresh in all our minds. Her hand on her stomach was a reminder to all of us that she would never be able to have a child. And the reason behind it being the man who she was deeply in love with, the father of the baby that she lost.

I put my hand on hers, squeezing it gently.

“You know that you have a long life ahead of you. You would be losing a lot more than you think if something happened to you, because you, sister, are more valuable to all of us than you think.” I said, and she smiled. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to me, and she hugged me back. “You know, with the kids that we are going to have around, they are going to need a crazy aunt to get back to when they need an escape. Plus, they are going to need someone to teach them all the crazy things. And I think that you of all people should know that aunties are moms too. Just mothers who didn’t give birth.

I kissed the crown of her head before pulling away as the two of us looked out the window to find Elena speaking to her family.

“Do you think that she would accept them?” She asked, and I shook my head.

“I don’t know, but I know one thing; it a better option for her. To know that they are alive and safe, for her to see them being well. That is the better option for her. The idea of her living with the pain of not knowing whether or not they are okay, whether her sacrifice went for nothing. You know, there are a lot of things that could have played out differently. It is not something that I wanted for her.” I said, and she nodded in understanding.

“Do you plan on marking her?” She asked, and I smiled.

“But I intend to marry her first.” I said, and she raised an eyebrow. “She has been through more than she should have. I want her to know that despite all that, that I want her to be mine. In her own language, and in mine.”

“To think that I doubted that I would ever see you falling in love.” She said, making me laugh. “I plan on being her bridesmaid, I’m going to tell you that now. Anyway, that is not why I came.”

“Why did you come?” I asked, and she scoffed.

“Killian asked to see you. He wants to speak to you, and I think that it would be the right opportunity for you to do so. You know, with her speaking to her family,” she said, and I nodded. “I’ll be here, waiting for her to come inside or if she needs anything. Someone that she knows should be there for her to speak to…”

I walked toward the infirmary room as Eleanor walked out. She smiled, and I put my hand on her stomach, kissing her forehead gently for a moment.

“I am yet to meet our newest member of the family.” I said, and she smiled. “Let me settle things with Killian and I am going to go up and see him.”

“Well, I think that you might end up being a little disappointed,” she said, making me frown in confusion. “We had a little girl. The doctors seemed to have seen the umbilical cord as a mistake. We have an angel little girl laying upstairs, and trust me, it seems that she is going to be more spoiled now that you are back.

“You can count on that,” I teased, and she laughed. “I’ll pass by her room in a bit. For now, let’s go and speak to our Alpha.”

I walked inside his room, and raised an eyebrow at Killian who smirked when he saw me.

“You knew that I wouldn’t kill you with the shot.” I said, walking toward the chair that was beside his bed.

“I trusted you,” he said, making me smile. “But now, the two of us have a lot to talk about. Starting with the now broken businesses that we are going to need to take care of…”