Chapter 4

(**Vicktor’s POV**)

The sound of shattering glass echoed off the block walls of my security room. I filled the wall in front of me with monitors. Each showed live coverage of every creature in my collection. I kept them each in ten by ten cells with one wall made of bulletproof glass. A steel shutter covered the glass when I was not showing them off. It was very much like a small prison.

Only my prison was for the filthy creatures that believed they were allowed to live amongst the humans they mimicked. I am showing them they are wrong by putting them on display like the circus freaks they are.

My anger boils over, causing me to throw my glass against the wall. In cell number five, my weretiger decided she was done with life. She fashioned a noose from her own clothing and hung herself from the ceiling. I will need to play the footage back to see how the fuck she did that. What a perfect way to spend my lunch. Picking up the phone on the desk, I call my cleaning team. I will need the cell searched, cleaned, and the body destroyed.

I know just the animal to put in the cell when they finish. Yes, that would be very fitting for him. A mighty Alpha werewolf. Sebastion Drakos will be my first Alpha. If Irina does her job well, I will add Arianna Drakos to my collection too. That will give me two Alphas and more money. The bonus of Drakos Enterprises will send my company to a new level.

I find myself in need of a way to blow off steam. An idea forms in my head. I leave my security room and begin walking down the corridor. Doors line the long, dimly lit hallway. Each door leads to a cell. I stop when I reach the door to cell thirteen. In this cell, I keep one of my most prized possessions.

Fiona. My werepanther.

I press the combination in and open the door. The sight of Fiona in the downward dog has me ready to go. The fear in her eyes when she sees me makes it better. I step into the room and let the door close quietly behind me. Fiona stands so she can back away from me. For such a powerful animal, she is so terrified of me.

I love it.

“Take your clothes off, face the wall, and do not utter a sound. You know what happens when you make noises,” I say to her as I take off my suit jacket. She turns to the wall to do as I told her. Her glorious ebony skin shining in the overhead lights as she peels her yoga pants down. When she removes the tight top, I walk up behind her to cup her large breasts in my hand.

I spend the next hour in various positions with my very toned lover. Her body is mine to do with as I please. When I am done with her, I leave her to clean herself in the cell's corner that holds a small bathroom. I can see her washing me off her body through the glass wall of the room. My body wants to have more fun, but there are other matters that need my attention.

“Until next time, my little pet,” I tell her as I open the door and leave her alone.

I have a meeting with the head of my branch. Gerald Finkman. The name he has makes him sound like a complete asshole. However, he is one of the most devious minded individuals that I have ever met. He has a smaller collection, but everything he has is very rare. I have only seen one of his prizes. He keeps the rest hidden from everyone, even me.

Which pisses me off. He insists on seeing all of my collection. Gerald must see every new creature we add to our collections. He claims it is his right as the head of our branch to help break them. I look forward to the day I take his position from him. Those days are coming. The power I will have makes my body thrum with excitement.

I take a quick shower to wash the stink of Fiona off my skin. I may love fucking her, but I can’t stand the feeling of her on my body afterwards. Fiona is not human, she is just a creature that needs to be shown her role in life. Her role is my little play thing when I need to scratch that itch.

Once cleaned and dressed, I head downstairs. It is past the time to head to my meeting with Gerald. I have less than an hour to get there. Gerald hates tardiness even more than I do. I sigh as my driver pulls up outside my office building. Time to go see what the head of the snake wants today. An involuntary shiver ran up my spine as my driver pulled out onto the street.

I rarely believe in premonitions, but today I have a bad feeling about this meeting.

(**Sebastion’s POV**)

I came back to my office after making a few phone calls to find Arianna closing the door slowly. Irina was nowhere in sight. At my confused look, my sister motioned me to the kitchen area. Aries want nothing to do with that idea. He was fighting for control; it was taking a lot of willpower to keep him down. I get that he wants to go to his mate.

*Now is not the time buddy. We need to earn her trust first.* I say to him as I follow Arianna to the kitchen.

*Last time I let you decide about our mate, you fucked it up. I want more say in this one.* Aries grumbles.

All I can do is sigh. He is correct. There is no denying that. My choice to stay with Gia and leave Rayne behind that day will forever haunt me. I still believe that I made the right choice in letting her go. I can tell that Parker makes her happy. He did all the things I was too selfish to be there for. Parker earned her love. I wish them nothing but happiness. I am just grateful that I can now call Rayne a friend.

“Where did you go off to?” Arianna asked me when we reached the kitchen.

“I went to make a few calls. I called Rayne back to see if there was anything we can do to help Irina’s daughter. She said that all her people are out on a mission to rescue a phoenix. Her witch friends are in Paris, but she will call to see if they can help as soon as possible.”

“A phoenix? Those are real?” She says in surprise.

“So it seems.”

“Would you have ever thought one day that Rayne would be an ally instead of your mate?”

“No, but it is better for all of us this way. I have a second chance now. Irina needs help. I want to do everything that I can to help save her child. Does that make me a fool?” I ask as doubt creeps in my mind.

“No, Sebbie, you are not a fool this time. Your mate needs you. This time your head and heart are in the right place. But I have some advice for you.”

I frown at her last words. What advice is she about to give me? I have a feeling that it will not be good.

“Relax, it isn’t as bad as you are thinking. I just know that you want to go all white knight for her. Charging in to slay the monster. Rescue the princess and save the day. There is more to this than that, and it will not be as simple as we want it to be. I need you to be cautious. You have more to lose now than ever before,” She reached for my hand, then squeezed it gently.

“I know what is at stake, but I understand. I will try to not rush in to save the day. I couldn’t in this situation even if I wanted to. She doesn’t even know where he keeps Zasha or the others.”

“Will you try to rescue them all?” Arianna looked at me with worry.

“We can’t leave them in there even if we get Zasha. They are all victims of this fucking cult,” I say as anger creeps back into my voice.

“I know that. Yet what can we do about it? We are not warriors.”

“You are not a warrior. I am. I have trained hard and fought in battles to save our pack. You chose not to be a fighter, Ari. Maybe now that should change? You are the co-leader of this pack. You should learn how to defend it with more than just your brain. Kindness will not win battles.” The hurt look in my sister’s eyes told me my words hurt her, yet I know that she needs to hear them.

“All of that is true. I will start training tomorrow morning,” She turned on her heel and left the kitchen.

Well, that went well. We rarely fight, but when we do, it can last for a few days. I will have to smooth this with my twin, but for now I need to see my mate. I want to assure myself that she is real. To confirm that the Moon Goddess gave me a second chance. Let’s just hope that I do not fuck this up like I did last time and everything else in my life.

*Let me do the thinking and you won’t,* Aries says.

*Shut up, I get it. I fucked up last time. Just stop already,* I grumble to him.

(**Irina’s POV**)

I turn my head to the door as I hear it open. I expected it to be Arianna, but the scent that hit me let me know I was wrong. Sebastion had returned from where ever it was he went off to. Good, I have questions for him. With luck, his sister will stay away for a bit. Not that I mind having her around, I just really need some alone time with my mate.

I sigh. I never thought I would say that again. My mate died five years ago trying to save us from Vicktor. The pain of his loss was agonizing. I would almost prefer to not have a second chance mate at all. Yet if this man can help me achieve the one thing I have wanted for the last five years, then I will take it. Even if in then end we do not get along.

“Where did you go?” I asked Sebastion when he came to sit at his desk.

“I went to make a few calls. I have a business to run.” He says as he starts up his computer.

“Can that not wait?” I turn to look at him as he seems absorbed in his work.

“It can, but I am going to show you something,” He prints something out then stands up to grab the paper from the printer. He heads to the door then stops to look back at me, “Follow me.”

What the hell is he doing? Well, it isn’t like I have much of a choice. With a shrug of my shoulders, I follow him. My eyes go wide as I see the rest of the floor we are on. Rich dark wood lines the walls. The floors are a polished black and brown marble. The elegance of the office space is much more appealing than the stark whites of Vicktor’s office. I almost want to see the rest of the building, but now is not the time for sightseeing, so I follow Sebastion to the elevator.

He places his palm on the scanner plate, then looks back at me as the doors open, “The only way on to this floor is by this one elevator. There are only five people who have access to it, well four at the moment.” He answers my unspoken question as he motions for me to step into the elevator.

“Where are we going?”

“Well, you came here to be my assistant, correct?”

My mouth hangs open at his answer. I knew that I would have to do the job while I was getting close to him. I just didn’t think I would actually do the job now that he knew the truth. Maybe if I do the job for real, it will help with the charade. I see where Sebastion’s mind is heading now.

“Fair enough,” Was all I said we rode the elevator down to wherever he had in mind.

“We are going to our file room, not the main one for the building, but just for the files that pertain to the parts of the business Arianna and I run. This is where you and Tori will work for the first few days while you get the hang of our system.” He looks at me, and I shiver. There is a look in his eyes that makes my knees turn to jelly.

Pure lust.

Normally that look from any other male would make me sick with fear. Coming from Sebastion, it makes things lower in my body tighten. I haven’t felt these feelings in so long that they take me by surprise, making my mouth part in a quiet gasp. His eyes zero in on my lips, flashing gold to black, then finally back to his beautiful brown.

His struggle for control has me impressed. This man didn’t cave to his baser instinct to claim me, to make us one. For that he has earned my respect. For an Alpha werewolf, the need to claim his mate is strong. That he resisted it says much about him. It also raises questions in my mind to why he resisted. What has he been through to fight his animalistic nature, to claim me as his mate?

I pinch my lip between my teeth as questions race through my mind. A growl rumbles from Sebastion, making my eyes fly to his. Dark eyes stare back at me as they flick between my lips and my eyes. I can feel his wolf reaching for mine. The tension level in this small confined space skyrockets as our beasts connect with each other.

The hell with it.

I close the space between us. His face shows surprise for a moment, then disappears as I grab his face to bring him down to kiss me. The moment our lips touch, sparks erupt through my entire body. I am crushed against him, my feet leaving the ground, then my arms wrap around his neck as my body takes over for my mind. Pure bliss envelopes my body as his lips softly mold to mine.

Sebastion nibbled at my lips until I opened my mouth to let him in. Warning bells were going off in my head that it was too soon for this, but I ignored them as he devoured my mouth. He plastered one of his hands to the small of my back to hold me close, while the other tenderly cupped the back of my neck. This man will be my undoing, I can tell, and he is only kissing me.

Then like that, the ding of the elevator and the whooshing noise of the doors opening, it broke the spell he has on me. A throat being cleared brought us apart. Both of us breathing fast as the tempest in our bodies wasn’t over. Far from it. I need more of this man and I am going to have a hard time resisting this pull he had on my heart and body.