Chapter 16 - Mira
Chapter 16 - Mira
There’s a hand around my neck and I can’t breathe. The more I try to fight them off, the tighter their
grip gets - no amount of clawing at the hand stops them and their white Rogue eyes look down at me
with glee.
“Take your death quietly, Omega whore,” his voice echoes in my head over and over until I eventually
hear a scream.
I sit up in bed and pull my covers closer to my chest. My eyes are still adjusting to the light in the
bedroom when the scent of Autumn hits me….that’s when I realize that I am not in my own room at all.
Looking around the room, I swallow deeply and try to remember how I got here.
Last night someone attacked me and I was nearly killed, then the Alpha saved me, killed the man who
tried to kill me, and then Dr. Lilah and Maxim -
Oh, my Goddess! My hand goes to my mouth as I realize I’m in Alpha Nikolaos’ bedroom.
He wanted me here, but for what? Did I do something weird that made him worry about me? No, that’s
not right, he doesn’t worry about anyone or anything; there’s no way he would be worried about me like
that.
A groan in the corner of the room makes my heart leap into my chest and I clutch the front of the
nightgown I’m wearing. From here I can see the body draped over a couch and snoring gently.
I get to my feet to get a closer look, only to have my breath knocked out of me at the sight of Alpha
Nikolaos. He has one tattooed arm draped over his eyes, with the other is placed on his extremely well-
built chest. He’s barefoot, wearing a pair of black sweatpants, and no shirt, so I can see…everything.
Every tattoo covering his arms and chest, every bullet hole, stab wound, old stitches, and punctures.
But even with all those, he still looks glorious. How can this man still be single while looking like this?
I am so enamored with the intricate dips on his chest, that when my gaze travels up again, I realize his Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
eyes are open and he’s watching me with a smirk teasing his lips.
“Good morning, kouneláki,” he says in an amused tone.
My heart slams inside my ribcage, and I take a step backward. He chuckles and gets to his feet; but
when he stretches and lets out a groan, my mouth goes completely dry. Surely this man knows how
beautiful he looks?
The throbbing in my core sure does.
“G-good morning, Alpha,” I say, still maintaining eye contact. “Thank you for allowing me to sleep in
your bed for the night. I’ll be out of your personal space… soon…”
He shuts me up by walking towards me, then he lifts his hand and I automatically flinch. The sound of a
growl echoing in his chest forces me to open my eyes, then he gently takes my chin and moves my
head to the side.
“You’ve healed, but there might be a scar,” he says, before taking two steps back from me. “Come, I’ll
take you to your new bedroom.”
I breathe out a sigh when he walks ahead and holds the door open for me, but then something else
occurs to me and my heart shatters into a thousand little pieces.
“Josef, he-”
“Josef is fine, Mia. He’s healing. If you want, I’ll ask him to come around to your bedroom so you can
see for yourself,” he says with a slight smile.
I nod excitedly. “Yes, please! I can’t help but feel responsible for what happened to him,” I say sadly,
but then Alpha Nikolaos shakes his head.
“Josef is your bodyguard. He is meant to protect you. I do have a sneaky suspicion that he feels bad for
not stopping that fucking Rogue, though,” he says, then cocks his head towards the door. “Come.”
“Yes, sir,” I say and follow him to my new bedroom….which happens to be right next to his. I turn my
head and look up at him with a frown.
“No one will attack again, knowing you’ll be right next to me,” he says, then opens the door to my new
bedroom… which looks exactly the same as my old one.
As I am staring at it, a few things start coming back to me. “Alpha,” I start. “The dagger that Rogue
used, it looked familiar.”
The Alpha nods. “It’s one of mine; you’ve probably seen Josef play with his a few times, but Josef’s
dagger was not missing, nor were any of my other warriors’,” he says. I can see his green eyes slipping
to crimson just before he blinks them away. “Did he say why he was here?”
“To kill me,” I answered immediately. “ ‘He told me to make it painful,’ those were his words. Oh, and he
called me Omega Whore.”
“Mikhail’s personal favorite,” he says with a murderous look in his eyes. “I apologize, Mia, that will
never happen again. I will make sure of it. For now, try to relax a bit.”
With that, the Alpha walks out and leaves me terrified once more because as much as I want to believe
this was Mikhail’s handiwork, covertness is not the way he does things. He makes a bang; he makes
an entrance - he wants you to know this was him.
He wouldn’t send in a sneaky assassin to do the job, he'd send someone in to plant bombs. So,
no….this was not Mikhail’s handiwork.
A shiver goes up my spine when I walk toward my journals on the desk and see a white square in one
of my completed journals. I know I never put it there, so this must have been left just for me to see.
I swallow deeply. Something in me knows who this is from, but the shock is still the same when I open
the postcard size square.
“Two days left. Tick, tock.”
Maxim. I knew it was him from the get-go. This attack on my life, nearly killing Josef; it was all him.
Now, do I show the Alpha this note, or do I leave in two days?
I’ll die if I stay, he’s just proven it; but if I go, I’ll have a new identity with money on the side. Yes, I’ll be
pregnant, but I’m sure I can raise this child on my own…right?
No. no, I can’t do that! There is no way I will make a good mother by any means! I have to do this. I
have to stick it out even if Maxim tries to kill me again. I signed a contract for a better life and I need to
honor it.
Besides, the Alpha saved my life last night, didn’t he? He held me close and comforted me - he even
let me sleep in his bed so I could feel safe! No, I have to stay….I have to.
A knock sounds on my door and I run towards it, knowing it would be Josef. I pull the door open,
wearing a huge smile, but it immediately drops when I see the look on Josef’s face.
He’s all cut up; there’s a gash going along his right eye and across his neck. My hand goes to my chest
and my mouth hangs open in shock. Oh, no! Poor Josef!
“Hey, Miss Mia,” he says with half a smile. His voice sounds weathered, and I know it’s because that
Rogue tried to slit his throat. I throw my arms around his neck.
“Josef! Oh, my Goddess, I am so sorry!” I cry out, feeling so close to tears but swallowing them down.
“This is all my fault. You got hurt because of me!”
He chuckles, and it sounds so normal, but so forced. “This isn’t your fault, Miss Mia, this is all on me. I
didn’t protect you,” he says.
I break off the embrace and look at him, dumbfounded. “What?! No, don’t say that. You’ve always done
an excellent job! I wouldn’t want anyone else at my side!”
Somewhere I hear a low growl, but ignore it as my attention is solely focused on Josef. I reach out to
touch his scar and a sad chuckle bubbles over my lips. “We match now, I guess,” I say, and he
chuckles as well.
“Don’t say that, you’re still more beautiful than I’ll ever be,” he says, offering me another pained smile.
“But I’ll be taking a day off to heal fully. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all! Take as many days as long as you come back to me, okay?”
The bedroom door next to mine opens and Alpha Nikolaos pops his head out. “Josef, join me,” he says
before walking back.
Josef sighs, and is about to walk off when I pull him back into my arms. “Thank you for everything,
Josef. Please get well soon,” I say and place a light kiss on his cheek.
He’s wearing a sheepish grin and his face has gone red, but he nods and then walks toward the
Alpha’s bedroom. I hope he won’t get reprimanded. He really did try his best and almost died for me.
I close the bedroom door and walk to the bathroom with the intention of soaking up in a nice bath when
my gaze falls on the white square again. Picking it up, I open it again while walking to the bathroom
and a heaviness settles in my heart.
If I wasn’t here, Josef wouldn’t have been harmed. If I wasn’t his charge, he might still be okay today.
Does my being here put more people in danger?
Even with being under a powerful Alpha’s roof, someone still got in and tried to hurt me. What
difference does it make whether I am here or there?
The next person to be hurt might be Dr. Lilah or even worse… Ariadne. My being here is putting them
at risk and Maxim leaving this note is proof of that. Perhaps I have been too naïve thinking I am under
a powerful Alpha’s protection when I am not.