The Alpha’s Dark Revenge

Nikolai’s POV

The pain piercing through my abdomen as I drove back to the house reminded me of everything that had happened with the prisoner girl. It was almost like everything had been a figment of my imagination. And for a moment I struggled to believe it. My wolf couldn’t possibly have spoken. I had been pierced with silver and suffered a concussion so it was only understandable that I’d have hallucinations. So I convinced myself that there was nothing to worry about.

But another thing that bothered me was the girl. Why hadn’t Jonas made any move? It had been nearly two weeks since I abducted her and still there was no sign of anything. With Jonas having such a huge influence, the news would have spread by now and he was likely to begin wrecking havoc on any one he was suspicious of.

The more I thought about it, the more it puzzled me. And I knew it could only be two things. It was either be that he didn’t know she was missing, which was impossible because they lived together, and even if he hadn’t, his wife would surely have. Or, he did know she was missing but he didn’t care. That was even more impossible. She was his favorite, and to prove that he had organised the festival in her celebration. I remembered him showing her off and singing her praises at the festival and I knew that it couldn’t be it.

My grip on the steering tightened. So why was he so calm? I wondered if he was just biding his time. Could he be planning something? My mind was running a mile per minute as I tried to join the pieces of this puzzle. Maybe Jonas had already begun to search for his daughter. But that was unlikely. I would have heard about it by now.

I reminded myself to give Drew a call when I arrived home. He had been gone for too long. Drew was the only reliable one that could seep out this kind of information, which was why he was my Beta in the first place. I needed to find out Jonas’ plan before he somehow got to me first.

As I drove on, my eyes riveted to the small form of the girl that sat tucked in the passenger seat. I was surprised too see her staring at me wide-eyed, as though she had been waiting for me to get out of my thoughts.

“Hello, I’m Evelyn, but you can call me Eve. I don’t know what my surname is or if I even have one. But Eve is just fine by me. What’s your name? You have nice eyes, by the way.”

I cocked an eyebrow in surprise. Her voice was steady and cheery, and she was so forward that I found myself at loss of what to say.

“Well, uh…”

“You must be the Alpha,” She decided, running her fingers up and down the seatbelt and studying me curiously. “Everyone back there talks about you all the time. And I assumed you would be old and grey and maybe have a walking stick to support yourself. That would have been exciting. So I am surprised, but glad that you look like this.”

The sound of my own laugh reaching my ears felt foreign to me. I couldn’t remember the last time I had genuinely laughed. But there was something about how observant and bold the little girl spoke.

“How old are you, Evelyn?” I found myself asking.

“One morning about a week ago, Uncle said I just turned seven. So I guess that’s my age then. But Uncle always said a lot of things, and to be honest with you, none of them ever did make any sense to me.”

“Why’s that?”

I couldn’t stop the small smile that formed on my lips when she sighed and leaned back into the chair as if she’d just aged a thousand years.

“Well, Uncle was a bit of an alcoholic. So I never know when he’s actually saying things that are true.” She turned to face me. “But, oh well. What about you?”

“What about me?” I wondered what she was driving at.

“Well, it’s nice and warm around you, so I feel like you have a great personality. But your eyes, they’re cold. Kind of like winter. So I feel like you’re somewhere in between warm and cold. Just like spring.”

My jaw nearly dropped in shock at the way she was speaking. How could a seven year old be this smart? I wondered staring at her small form as she faced the window. And the fact that she didn’t seem scared of me was surprising.

“How did you get this?” She asked all of a sudden, running her small hand over the tattoo on my forearm. I felt a rush of sadness at her touch but I wasn’t exactly sure why.

“I used to play basketball when I was younger. We won the trophy four years in a row, that’s how I got the tattoo.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Why don’t you play anymore? I think you should start playing again. Who knows, maybe we could play. Although now that you’re older and slower I’m sure I could beat you.”

I found myself chuckling again. Everything she said seemed to take me by surprise. As I finally drove through the gates of the mansion, I saw her sit up and observe the environment in awe.

“I have never seen a house this big,” She muttered. “It’s like something from a movie.”

For some reason, the appreciation and awe in her eyes and voice made me glad that the house belonged to me. I got out of the car and helped her out, smiling a little when she shrugged out of my hold.

“Thanks Alpha, but I can walk on my own.”

I glanced at her, wondering where she got all her courage from.

I led her upstairs where the rooms were located. “You’ll be staying in the guest room for now until your room is cleaned and refurnished for you.”

The only other available room was Elle’s old room. I had not let anyone in there for years. Thinking about it hurt. But I wanted Eve to have it. But first it had to be clean and furnished for a child.

She nodded, following behind me when I stepped into one of the guest rooms. “This is the prettiest room I have ever been in,” She smiled, running her fingers over the bed and some of the furniture.

“So where do I sleep? May I sleep next to that?” She pointed to the small ottoman. “And also, my back hurts again today so would you mind if I had one of those pillows? I promise to put it back after tonight.” Her voice was low.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

I stared at her in confusion. “Why do you want to sleep on the floor?”

She looked at me in surprise. “Well, to make space for the others, of course.”

“Others? Eve this is your room. Everything in here is yours so you are free to sleep wherever you like, with as many pillows as you want.”

She looked from me to the room again as if in disbelief. “It’s mine? T-the whole room?”

I nodded.

She timidly walked to the bed, reaching out and began to count the pillows. “I can sleep here, on the bed? I don’t have to share with anyone?”

I rushed to her side when I saw tears fill her eyes. “I’m s-sorry… it’s just, I’ve never had a room all to myself,” She sobbed, reaching up and wiping away the tears that continued to fall.

My wolf growled and without thinking, I reached out and enveloped her in a hug, patting down her hair at intervals. And as I stood there, her small form shaking as she cried, I felt the urge to protect her from any sort of danger or discomfort.