The Lycan Kingpin's Captive: A Baby For The Beast novel Chapter 57

Xiomara

I don’t know what I expected from this Luna, but her pure kindness isn’t something I banked on. She could have easily let me be and not tried to make nice or whatever, but instead, she sent her literal protection away so she can talk to me.

And what did I do? I was a complete bitch to her.

“Why don’t we sit down?” She says with a small smile. “Preferably before Maxim comes back here and says our hour together is up.”

That actually makes me give her a small smile. We walk over to the sofas and sit down; me with my hands clasped tightly in front of me and her looking comfortable, wearing that smile still on her face.

I wonder if she’s ever suffered, or worked a day in her life. How easy things must be for her as a Luna; I wish I had the same options, and yet I am nothing but a sold bride.

“Let me start by saying that you are not a prisoner here; if you wish to leave, the door is right there,” she says, surprising me. Could this be true? Can I just leave here and no one would stop me?

As if she can see the question on my face, she offers a thin smile. “However, remember that with that decision comes something else - the lives of your old pack members. Going back on an arranged marriage to one of the biggest packs in the country could mean their exile.”

Just as freedom gets given to me, it’s snatched away.

“So, what is this?” I ask, scoffing. “You tell me I’m free to leave but then threaten me with the lives of my old pack members? What kind of Luna are you?”

“The type who doesn’t lie,” she says clearly, but her eyes shine with apology. “This can’t be easy for you, Xiomara, but I promise you Maxim isn’t as terrible as his reputation.”

I shake my head. “It’s not his reputation that bothers me, it's the fact that I am being given away like prized cattle. You might have been fine with being sold-”

“Do you know who Giovanni Cotroni is?” she interjects, her lips a thin line.

The name sends a sick shiver down my spine and a sliver of anger slips into my heart. “Yes, I know who that bastard is; he’s the reason my Mamma is dead.” I bite out and can see the pity in her eyes.

“I’m his illegitimate daughter whose body he used to sweeten deals with other packs,” she says, flooring me with her honesty. “The reason I’m here is because I escaped from the hands of the man he sold me to; Niko found me.”

My breath hitches in my throat when she says this and my heart stills; she’s Giovanni Cotroni’s daughter. The man who had my mother killed, the asshole who sits at the very top. How?

“The man he sold me to treated me worse than my father ever could. I was strung up, raped, whipped, branded - all for his sick amusement. When I finally gathered the strength to run away, I literally ran into Niko’s arms and…well, the rest is history,” she says, actually smiling. “But I won’t lie and say our happily ever after came easy, because it didn’t.”

I move away from her and get to my feet; my heart hammering loudly in my chest at her words. Within the space of ten minutes, I assumed so much about this woman, that she was fine with being sold and fine with being a sex slave when she didn’t even have a choice in the matter.

“I…I…”

She follows me. “It’s okay; and don’t even think of apologizing, because your reactions are normal for someone who has been forced into doing something they don’t want to do,” she says and attempts to put her hand on my arm, only to pull away. “I understand why you would assume we’re bad people; Niko did accept you as a bride for one of his trusted men.”

I scoff. “That’s no excuse for assuming you’re a bad person,” I say, shaking my head. “Sometimes I wish I thought about things before I just spoke them.”

This makes her laugh. “Then you’re more similar to Maxim than you think! Although…he terrified me when we first met,” she says just as a pensive look quickly crosses her face and was gone before I can even ask why she looked like that.

I cross my arms and breathe out a long sigh. “How…what kind of person is Maxim, if I may ask?”

“Maxim is…” she trails off before gesturing for me to sit down again. “He’s extremely loyal to Niko; they’re best friends before they became Alpha and Beta. But he’s fiercely protective over his family, pack and what’s his. But that being said, he’s also a private person. I’ve been here for over a year and I still don’t know his last name!”

My eyes widen at this. “And the rumors? He’s jealous of his Alpha?”

Luna Mia chuckles. “Oh, that! Let’s just say that’s one of the pack’s well-kept secrets!”

I don’t know what to say to this because now I feel like I’ve been left out of a joke. Is he jealous of his Alpha or not? Is there infighting? I have a feeling I won’t find out anything about this pack unless I’m trusted.

Then she sighs and offers me that smile again. “I can’t promise it will be easy, Xiomara. The rest of the brides are struggling to come to terms with their predicament as well. But as daughters of Alphas, we knew what would be expected of us one day, knew that our lives would be bartered in a deal. If you’d like, I can introduce you to them?”

I met them on the drive over before escaping and the way they took to being sold made me feel sick. Do I really want to listen to their sob stories and know how bad they have it? I suppose it can’t hurt…

“Sure… I’d like that,” I answer before I can even think it over and her bright smile just knocked the apprehension from my thoughts. Why is she so easy to talk to and why do I hate it so much? “I have met them before, but only briefly.”

“Oh, that’s good news! I’ll introduce you to Gianna first, I think you two will get along quite well,” she says with a wistful smile on her face just as the front door opens and slams shut.

Maxim walks in with a scowl on his face and looks from Luna Mia to me. “Are you two done?” he asks and she gets to her feet to walk towards him.

“We are, thank you, Maxim,” she says and squeezes his upper arms. “Do you mind walking me back to the packhouse? There’s something I wish to discuss with you.”

His eyes are still on me when he answers, “Sure,” and walks her out.

Luna Mia turns back to me with a smile. “I’ll come to visit tomorrow again if you’d like?”

“Thank you,” I say while finally returning her smile with one of my own. I don’t know, but I feel like I can trust her. It’s weird though, isn’t it? Being able to trust my captor’s wife.

Sighing, I walk back to my bedroom so I can straighten my thoughts.

****

Maxim

“I like her; she has fire,” Mia says, making me stop short and she slips her arm into mine to urge me on. “I know what you’re going to say and I am not here to convince you otherwise. But I do think Xiomara has a reason for apprehensiveness.”

“She’s not a caged bird,” I find myself saying, and immediately regret it. “She wants her freedom back and I might be giving it to her.”

The look on Mia’s face made me wish I didn’t say a thing. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shrug. “I asked for a different bride and Niko is making it happen so Xiomara will be leaving sooner than expected.”

Mia stops walking and gives me a horrified look. “You didn’t!” she exclaims and I just shrug again.

“Why make something work if we both hate each other? I’m sure she’ll be just as happy to be free of this arrangement,” I say, and that seems to be the thing that finally shuts her up and stops her before she can even think of playing matchmaker.

I walk Mia up the steps to the packhouse and say goodbye before turning back to walk home. This time my thoughts are quiet as I make my way home. There’s nothing left for me to do today, so I hole myself up in the gym again.

Usually, it helps me calm down but the more I sweat, the angrier I get until I bend a steel pull-up bar and toss it against the wall. I need to either fuck or kill to get rid of this frustration and right now neither of those options are available.

Deciding against my better judgment, I finally give up on calming down with a workout and head upstairs to freshen up. The smells coming from the kitchen tell me Xiomara is playing house again and I grit my teeth walking past that particular room so I don’t have to look at her.

The shower is over faster than expected and I throw on a pair of gray sweats and a tank top before heading barefoot downstairs. As much as I want to avoid her, I am fucking starving and whatever she’s whipping up smells delicious.

She looks up when she hears me approaching and smiles, knocking the wind out of me. I don’t miss the way her eyes slowly rake over my body as she clears her throat.

“Just in time; I hope you like seafood,” she says before picking the plates up and walking over to the kitchen island where we’ve been having our meals together.

Seafood paella; gods, it smells even better up close.

“Two for two; what’s the special occasion?” I ask as I pick up my cutlery. “You must be really coming to terms with your captivity.”

She visibly winces at my words and I feel like an asshole again. We remain quiet for a while, the atmosphere fraught with tension as we both pretend to enjoy the food with the anxiety making it difficult to breathe.

“I deserved that,” she says as she pushes her food around her plate. “I’m…just tired of fighting with you, Maxim, and going to sleep with my stomach in knots only to wake up and repeat the cycle.”

My eyes find her and I see the sincerity in them. Now would be a good time to tell her that she doesn’t need to play nice because Niko is sending her back to her father and getting me a new bride.

So why can’t I say the words?