The Lycan Kingpin's Captive: A Baby For The Beast

Beta's Runaway Bride: 12 - Xiomara

“He’s home, please tell Alpha Nikolaos not to worry. I’ve tended to his wounds, cleaned him up, and

made sure he’s okay,” I tell Luna Mia over the cell phone she lent me to keep in touch with her. “He

didn’t want the Alpha seeing how hurt he was.”

“Oh, thank Goddess! Niko has been trying to contact him through the mind link, but the silver might

have blocked it,” she says, relieved and breathing out a long sigh. “Thank you, Xiomara; is it okay if we

come by later?”

“Please do! We’re having something to eat right now, but I think he’d appreciate it,” I say, turning my

gaze to Maxim who nods at me. “See you later, Luna Mia.”

I kill the call and put the cell phone down on the counter before walking over to Maxim laying down on

the couch. This morning with him was torture; being naked with him in the shower did all sorts to me,

but luckily I reined my lust in.

He trusted me enough to be naked with me, trusted me enough to let me wash him down then

embraced me afterward. I don’t know what’s happening between us right now, but the silence is

growing so loud and my stomach is in knots.

My eyes flit to where he’s laying deep in thought, his one arm behind his head while the other rests on

his stomach. He hasn’t really spoken to me, either, not after we embraced in the shower. Things just

feel awkward now.

Do I mention how he makes me feel or leave it be?

“I don’t require a babysitter, Xiomara,” he suddenly says, his eyes still glued to the black TV screen.

“You don’t need to sit here and keep me company if you’d much rather be someplace else.”

I bite back a retort but respond anyway. “What makes you think I don’t want to be here with you?” I only

realize after I said those words that it has a double meaning because he looks back up at me with

narrowed eyes.

“You’re fidgeting in your seat and won’t even look my way or attempt a conversation. If I bore you-”

“But you’re not doing any of that either,” I shrug. “Or are you expecting me to keep this conversation

going while you lay there?”

Whatever I just said seems to be amusing to him because he chuckles and shakes his head. “Touche,

Bambi,” he says, calling me that stupid nickname again.

“Why do you call me that? I’m in no way timid like a deer, nor am I fragile like one,” I ask, genuinely

curious as to why he would liken me to that character.

Maxim smiles at my question. “Because of your eyes,” is all he says, and doesn’t elaborate further.

Even if I wanted to ask him what he meant, I am unable to because there’s a knock on the front door,

and the massive presence that is Alpha Nikolaos stalks inside.

I don’t want to show how much he terrifies me, so I simply get to my feet and offer both him and Luna

Mia a smile. Alpha Nikolaos frowns at me before turning to his Beta who is now sitting up.

“You fucking scared me, asshole,” he says, surprising me by embracing his Beta, then he drops into a

conversation in another language.

I think it might be Greek, but all it tells me is that the Alpha wanted privacy. Luna Mia comes over to me

and wraps her arms around me. “Hey, are you okay?” she asks.

“I am. Would you like something to drink?” I say, hoping she gets my double meaning and thankfully

she does. We walk to the kitchen and she joins me next to the coffee machine.

“What happened?” she asks in a low voice. “From what Ghost and Descry told us, Maxim was badly

wounded but refused medical attention; he just wanted to be home.”

This is news to me; I just assumed he didn’t want Alpha Nikolaos to know he was badly hurt. Did he

want to come home even while seriously wounded? What exactly does that mean?

“I’m the one who tended to him after finding him downstairs. What he went through… the damage, it

was terrible,” I say, shaking my head as I recall how badly he was hurt when I found him.

Luna Mia’s eyes grow slightly. “You cleaned up Maxim and tended to his wounds?” she asks and when

I nod, she beams at me. “Wow, Xiomara, that’s amazing! Thank you for saving him!”

I cringe under her appreciation, but that doesn’t stop the smile creeping onto my lips. “I was just doing

what… anyone else in the pack would have done,” I say and if Luna Mia didn’t believe my words, she

said nothing.

After finishing up our coffees, we head back into the living room where the two men are still in deep

discussion but it seems to be wrapping up. Alpha Nikolaos claps Maxim on the back and gets to his

feet before turning to me.

My heart leaps into my throat when he walks towards me, but I remember Maxim’s words the last time

Alpha Nikolaos terrified me.

“You’re mine, he won’t touch you.”

I hear those words whispered to me in Maxim’s voice and don’t allow myself to feel scared in the

presence of this Alpha… even if I am literally shaking.

“Xiomara, I don’t believe we’ve been formally acquainted. I’m Nikolaos,” he starts. “Maxim tells me you

saved his life last night, and for saving one of the most important people to me, I am eternally grateful

to you.” Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

My mouth opens and closes like a fish and I can feel my eyes widening to dinner plate size. Did this

Alpha just thank me?!

“I… I was just doing what anyone else in this pack would have done,” I repeat my lie and hope he

doesn’t catch on. “Maxim saved my life before, so…”

“Be that as it may, you’re not even part of the pack and yet you saved the life of the Alpha’s second in

command. Again, thank you,” Alpha Nikolaos says and offers me a semblance of a smile. Then he

turned to Maxim. “We’ll be off, but remember what I’ve said.”

Maxim nods curtly, a serious look crossing his face and the Alpha and Luna Mia make their way toward

the door. Luna looks back and gives me an encouraging smile before walking out of the front door.

Now it’s back to me and Maxim being awkward with one another. Honestly, I have had enough of it

now, so I get to my feet.

“I’m going to lie down for a while, I am still quite tired from last night,” I say and he nods without even

looking my way.

Why is it always like this? Why does it feel like we’ve made progress only for us to take ten steps back

and fade into awkward silence? I’m tired of the whiplash; maybe going away will be a good thing.

Then again, I don’t know what punishment awaits me with my father. Right now, my future seems even

more vague and terrifying than a few months ago.

When I get to my bedroom, I curl up into a ball under my covers and swallow down the sadness

threatening to choke me. A lone tear slips down the bridge of my nose and onto the pillow and I scoff.

I always saw tears as weakness, but right now crying feels therapeutic.

After a while, knock on my bedroom door has me sitting up, and when it opens, Maxim’s apologetic

face has me narrowing my eyes. “Hey, I was wondering if we could talk,” he says.

I draw my legs towards my chest and wrap my arms around them before answering him. “Sure, you

can sit down on the bed if you’d like.”

He nods curtly and slowly walks towards my bed but instead of sitting down next to me on the opposite

side, he walks around to where I’m sitting. Being in close proximity like this always seems to get my

heart beating way too fast, and right now there’s no exception.

I can feel his eyes on me and a flush covers my cheeks as I peer up at him. “What did you want to talk

about?” I ask, or rather, whisper because right now even the act of breathing is difficult for me.

Even battered and bruised, Maxim is still the most handsome man I have ever been around. His blue

eyes, once emotionless, now have a cloudy tint to them and for the first time, I wish I knew what was

on his mind.

Maxim sighs, then winces. “Before I went away, we sort of left things open-ended between us and I

would like us to discuss them,” he says, and as thankful as I am for him coming out with this, I also

hate the fact that I have to talk about it now.

“I thought it was just… sex to you,” I say, leaning my head on my knees. “Wasn’t it?”

He shakes his head and my heartbeat picks up. “I know I deserve you seeing it that way, but I didn’t

just think of it as sex,” he says. “Things between us are strange and strained, I know that, but I’d be

lying if I said I felt nothing for you.”

I sit up straight and my eyebrows pinch together; am I hearing what I think I’m hearing right now? “It’s…

not just me that feels it?”

Maxim chuckles and draws his hand to my cheek, cupping it gently and running his thumb over my

skin. “You had me right by the heart the second you tried to stab me, Bambi,” he says. “But as selfish

as I am, I know that I can’t have you when you yearn to be free from me.”

Wait, no. “Maxim-”

He places a finger on my lips and shakes his head. “I saw the look of shame and regret on your face

and in your eyes afterward; I don’t ever want to see that again. So, I’m letting you go because the last

thing I want you to feel when you’re with me, is shame.”

Is that what he thinks it was? I mean, I felt ashamed because of my actions, not because of how he

made me feel! “Wait, just let me-”

“I can’t be selfish with you, Xiomara, even though everything in me is telling me to. So I want to ask if I

can have one last kiss before we go our separate ways, if that’s okay with you?”

Go our separate ways? Is he that determined to let me go?

I sigh and nod my head. “One last kiss before I go,” I say with trepidation in my heart because I know

this kiss will be the one to set my soul ablaze. He parts my legs and moves closer, running the pad of

his thumb over my bottom lip…

And when he leaned in to capture my mouth in a searing kiss, I knew I wasn’t wrong. He pulls me flush

against his body; against all logic, I melt into his embrace and drown in his delicious scent.

I can practically taste his desire with every swipe of his tongue against mine and every groan my kiss is

eliciting from him. The last time we kissed, it was out of anger and frustration but this one is bittersweet

- it’s a farewell neither of us wants.

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me onto his lap where I can feel his thick length; even if

this is only a parting kiss, his cock is betraying his true intentions.

I wrap my legs around his waist and my hands dove into his soft hair. He groans when I grind down on

his cock, my own body betraying my true intentions now. With a low growl, he slips his hands down my

back to my ass, cupping it and bucking right against my pussy.

Breaking off the kiss, he brands my neck with sharp, curt kisses before working his way to my mouth

again.

With every kiss, we’re telling each other what we want, but neither of us can say it out loud. Saying it

would make it real, and it would feel even worse when I do leave here.

But how do I tell him that I don’t want to leave? How do I let him know that this is what I want, that my

freedom is being with him when he’s already made up his mind to let me go?

With a sudden jolt, he breaks off the kiss again and frowns. I cup his face with both my hands with the

intention of telling him that I want him for him when his next words shatter the little semblance of

happiness his kiss gave me.

“Your father is here.”