Chapter 30 Nikolai
I hurried through the meeting like my life depended on it.
The men across the table kept talking. But I could not focus. My mind was somewhere else.
With Anya.
I needed to get back to her. Every second away from her felt wrong.
"Pakhan?" One of the men said. "Do you agree to the terms?"
"Yes. Whatever. Just send me the documents tomorrow." I stood up abruptly.
"But we have not finished discussing the…"
"I said tomorrow." I said coldly.
The men looked at each other nervously. But they did not dare question me further.
I walked out without another word. Mikhail would be furious about my behavior but I did not care.
Nothing mattered except getting back to Anya.
The drive back to the estate felt like forever.
I tapped my fingers on the armrest, checked my watch and asked the car to move faster even though he had already exceeded the speed limit.
"Is everything alright, Pakhan?" The driver asked nervously.
"Just drive faster," I ordered.
When we finally arrived, I jumped out of the car before it even stopped completely.
"Pakhan!" The driver called after me. But I was already running.
Guards stared at me with wide eyes. They looked confused.
“Dinner is set, Pakhan.” Vera said. But I did not stop.
Food could wait. Everything could wait. I only had one destination.
Anya's room.
I turned the corner into our wing. My heart was pounding in my chest. A smile was already forming on my lips.
I imagined the way her eyes would light up when she sees me. The small shy smile that would form on her lips.
But what I saw made my blood freeze.
Air vanished from my lungs. My eyes widened. My feet stopped moving.
Walking down the hallway was Alexei. Alexei Volkov. The man I hated more than anyone in this world. He was carrying Anya in his arms?!
Her head was resting on his chest.
I saw her freeze when she saw me. Her huge eyes were wide with fear and pain. Her dress was torn and dirty. Blood stains were all over her pale skin. Cuts were covering her arms and legs.
But all I could see was his hands on her.
My vision turned red. My hands clenched into fists so tight my knuckles turned white.
"Anya?" My voice came out lower than I expected.
She tried to get away from Alexei. But the bastard held her tighter. A smug smile appeared on his face.
That fucking smile made me want to rip his head off.
I walked slowly towards them. But inside, I was burning. Pure, white-hot rage consumed every part of me.
The guards behind me shifted uncomfortably. They could feel the danger radiating from me like heat from a fire.
"Put her down." My voice was deadly calm.
Alexei's smile widened. He looked at me with those cold blue eyes. "I do not want to."
My jaw clenched. "I do not repeat myself, Alexei."
"Then maybe you should learn to," Alexei said casually.
He held Anya tighter, adjusted his grip on her, then he walked past me into Anya's room, like I wasn't even standing there.
Anya whimpered in his arms. And the sound destroyed the last thread of my control.
I followed them into the room. My vision was red. My hands were shaking with barely contained violence.
Alexei laid Anya gently on her bed and touched her hair with his dirty hands.
Then he reached for the first-aid box on her nightstand. Like he had the right. Like he belonged here.
I grabbed him by the collar before he could reach it, spun him around and threw my fist across his face with all my strength.
The punch connected with a sickening crack, sending him flying across the room. He hit the wall hard and slid to the floor.
Anya choked and started crying. "Nikolai, please!"
But I could not stop. I could not control myself.
Alexei stood up slowly. He wiped the blood from his bursted lip with the back of his hand. Then he smiled again like he had not just been hit.
That was why I hated him. He was always unaffected.
I grabbed him again. But this time, Alexei was ready. He grabbed me too.
I threw a punch and he returned one right to my jaw.
I hit him in the ribs, feeling his bones crack under my knuckles. He hit me in the stomach, knockimg the air from my lungs.
We fought hard, trading blows like animals.
Blood stained our knuckles. Our lips were bursted. Our faces were bruised.
Anya was crying. "Stop! Please stop! You are going to kill each other!"
I couldn't stop. I felt the need to destroy him.
"How dare you!" I growled. I pinned him against the wall. "How dare you lay your filthy hands on her!"
Alexei laughed. Blood dripped from his lips onto his shirt. "Why do you care so much? She is only a mistress. You can always replace her."
The words made me want to kill him right there.
I slammed him harder against the wall. "Shut your fucking mouth!"
"Or what? You will kill me?" Alexei's eyes gleamed with challenge. "Go ahead. Start a war and lose everything you have built all for a slave who means nothing."
"She is not nothing!" I roared, raising my fist again.
But before I could strike, the door burst open.
Mikhail walked in with several guards. His face was pale. His eyes were wide.
"Pakhan!" He shouted.
"Take him away," I ordered. My voice was shaking. My whole body was trembling.
The guards grabbed Alexei and dragged him towards the door. He did not resist, he just smiled at me the entire time.
Bastard!
Mikhail looked at me and all I could see in his eyes was disappointment. He didn't say a word, he just turned and walked out.
The door closed and the room fell silent.
Now I was alone with Anya.
She was curled up on the bed, crying and trembling. Blood and cuts were all over her skin. Her dress was torn. Her hair was messy.
"Nik..." She started. Her voice cracked.
"Shh," I raised my hand. "Do not say anything."
I was supposed to mad at her, but I could feel was longing.
I crawled onto the bed slowly and pulled her close to me. She stiffened. She thought I was going to hurt her.
I wrapped my arms around her small body and buried my face in her hair.
I breathed in deeply. Trying to calm myself.
Her scent filled my lungs. That sweet and familiar scent that feels like home.
"I am sorry." Anya said suddenly. Her voice trembled.
"You don't have to be sorry," I whispered into her hair. "I know it was Alexei who approached you first. I know those maids hurt you and he saved you. But do not let him ever get close to you again. Do you understand?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Good." I held her tighter. "God, I was scared, Anya."
The words came out before I could stop them.
I had never admitted fear. I had never showed weakness. But with her, I could not help it.
"When I saw you in his arms... I thought..." I could not finish.
I had been terrified.
The last time I felt like that was when I saw my father push my mother down the stairs. I watched light leave her eyes and she died in my arms.
But now this woman I was holding was making me feel things I did not want to feel.
I was supposed to be angry at her. I was supposed to punish her for being in Alexei's arms.
Instead, I was scared.
We stayed in each other's arms for a while.
Then I noticed something was wrong.
There was an unfamiliar scent. Het body smells different.
Alexei's cologne
My jaw clenched. But I forced myself to stay calm.
"You smell like him," I said suddenly.
Anya looked up at me. Her eyes were wide. Shocked. "I do?"
"Hmm." I nodded. "His cologne is all over you."
I stared at her for a while. My eyes burning with desire.
"Let us go wash his smell off your body," I said.
Anya's cheeks turned bright red. "Stop."
"Stop what?" I smiled. "I am serious."
Then I picked her up, bridal style, just like Alexei had and carried her to the bathroom.
I put her gently in the tub, and shut the door behind us.
I started taking off my clothes, my eyes never leaving hers.
"Nikolai," Anya whispered. Her cheeks were burning. She looked embarrassed.
Her eyes were wide and beautiful. Her lips were parted slightly. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
I stripped down to my boxers. Then I looked at her, my body was on fire. I couldn't control the burning desire.
"Let me replace his scent with mine," I said. My voice was low and obsessive.
Anya eyes widened, the she started hiccuping.