Chapter Fifty
There was a bounty on my head? What was this? The 16th century? Did they have bounties in the 16th century? History was never my forte in school.
"I can see that you are confused." Tahlia noted, her eyes trained on my face.
I was confused but probably not for the reason she was thinking. "I am. I didn't even know that was a thing." I'm not sure if it was the word or the idea that there was a bounty on my head, I didn't feel scared or worried.
"It's real." Tahlia responded gravely.
Couldn't they have said 'there's a hit on you' I feel as though that would have been scarier. I suppose they're both very old, well Vladamir most definitely is and Tahlia probably was too and they used words that no one uses anymore.
"Okay." I shrugged.
Vladamir and Tahlia exchanged looks.
"What do you mean 'okay'?" This time it was Vladamir who spoke.
"I mean okay, thanks for letting me know." What was I supposed to do with this information? Cry? Hide? Never leave the house? It's not like I did that anymore, my life was confined to this house.
"I do not think you understand the seriousness of the situation." Tahlia seemed slightly frustrated.
What didn't I understand? Vladamir has enemies and they want to hurt me in order to hurt him. It wasn't a difficult concept to grasp.
I decided not to say anything to either of them as I grabbed one of the empty plates that was sitting on the bar and began to load food that Vladamir had made. Well, I think he made them, it could have been Jo. Now that I thought about it further, it probably was Jo.
From the corner of my eyes I watched as the pair exchanged another look. "Leanne."
"Vladamir." I mimicked his tone of voice, not bothering to look up from my food.
"This is important." Vladamir continued. "They will not hesitate to kill you."
"I thought Lycans were invincible and very hard to kill."
This time the look they shared was different, it was strange and as if they knew some deep dark secret that no one else knew.
"Yes, it appears to be that way."
What did that even mean?
"However, you are not a true Lycan. You also have no skill or training in combat."
"I bet I could punch you really hard and it would hurt." I smiled sweetly.
Vladamir ignored me. "Tahlia has offered to train you."
I glanced over at Tahlia who nodded. "I don't get this." I gestured to the two of them. "You say I'm your real mate yet you wanted to mate with Tahlia? And now your almost mate is here to protect me and train me?"
It was a bad idea, it was the same as letting your partner's ex or something along the line do something for you. They most definitely will not have good intentions, especially if they volunteer to do it.
Before either of them could respond both their phones went off and almost immediately they both pulled it out to check it.
Vladamir's face remained neutral while Tahlia's was filled with shock.
"So it is true." Tahlia whispered. "She's alive."
"Who is?" I questioned causing both of them to turn their head towards me.
"My dolzhny skazat' yey?" (Should we tell her?)
"Net, ona rasskazhet svoyemu drugu, kotoryy rasskazhet Gabrielyu." (No, she will tell her friend, who will tell Gabriel.)
"Ona ne budet rada uslyshat', chto vy skryvayete ot neye informatsiyu." (She will not be happy to hear that you are hiding information from her.)
"Can you please speak in English?" I had no idea what they were saying the only thing I understand was 'Gabriel' and even then I wasn't too sure if I heard that correctly with how fast they were both speaking.
"Eto yeye ne kasayetsya." (This does not concern her.)
"Tahlia will start your training tomorrow."
"Whoa what? What training?"
I did not agree to any training especially with Tahlia. I wasn't a very fit person and I was a little ashamed to say I sometimes felt a little out of breath climbing up and down a flight of stairs. Me and working out do not go well together. It would be completely embarrassing and I didn't want Tahlia to see me like that.
"Have you not listened to a word I have said Leanne?" I could tell Vladamir's patience was running thin by the tone of his voice.
Like the good 'mate' I am I decided to annoy him further. "Nope. Half the stuff that comes out of your mouth is usually lies and a pile of crap. I've learnt to tune whatever you say out."
"Vozmozhno, my dolzhny prosto pozvolit' im ubit' yeye, eto oblegchilo by mne zhizn'." (Perhaps we should just let them kill her, it would make my life easier.) Vladamir muttered again in a different language.
Tahlia let out a laugh. "Ty by nikomu ne pozvolil prichinit' yey vred. Ona tvoya." (You would not let anyone hurt her. She is yours.)
"Da ona moya." (Yes, she is mine.) Vladamir's piercing eyes were on mine as he said that.
"What?" I asked while shovelling a spoon full of food in my mouth.
The strange look from Vladamir's eyes disappeared quickly. "Training. Tomorrow."
"No. I don't need training." I argued back. I didn't need training and I certainly wouldn't be training with Tahlia.
Within a second of saying that something silver flashed before my eyes and hit me on the head, hard.
"Ow. What the hell?" I yelled out as pain began to radiate from my head. Rubbing my head with my hand, I looked down at the object that had allegedly assaulted me and pick it up.
"Did you just throw a spoon at me?" I managed to whisper out, barely containing my anger.
"You need training." Vladamir simply said.
Gritting my teeth, I launched the spoon back at him, aiming for his annoying face. Unfortunately, Vladamir was too quick and grabbed it before it could reach his face.
A condescending smirk graced his face. "Want to try again? I shall go first."
"You're so annoying, you know that?" I told him as I watched him carefully, worried that he was going to throw other utensils at me to prove his point.
"And you are weak."
Weak? I'll show you weak. I scanned the room for something heavy to throw at his smug face.
"Do not be stupid Leanne, you will not win this argument."
"It is for your own good." Tahlia chimed in.
Who asked you?
"Fine." I said through gritted teeth. "Why does it have to her?" I questioned Vladamir using my spoon to point at the woman in question. Couldn't Vladamir train me or Mikhail?
"He does not want another man to touch you." Tahlia said softly before Vladamir could answer.
I rolled my eyes. Typical Vladamir, jealous and overprotective for no valid reason.
"Whatever." I went back to eating my food. I was no longer interested in this pointless conversation.
It was rare for me to have any plans, unfortunately my life had turned upside down ever since my accidental mating with Vladamir. I was a social butterfly when I was at uni, now I spent most of my time sat in bed watching Netflix or random videos on YouTube.
It was easy to slip into this mundane lifestyle, everyone was busy and I had nothing to do. Vladamir had let slip that the ludicrous job I was offered was from him, it wasn't even real. The money was but the job wasn't.
He did it so he could keep an eye on me when I went to 'work'. Vladamir was filthy rich, he obviously paid the company to offer me this pretend job but I wonder what I would have actually done once I got there.
Would all the staff have been aware that I wasn't a real employee? How would it all have worked?
I had to find an actual job or do something with my life. I couldn't spend my entire life hiding away in Vladamir's house.
Maybe I could become an influencer? Spend all day taking pictures of my food, clothes and travels and pretend I'm living my best life.
After breakfast, I texted my parents to let them know I would be coming over today.
I had to also inform Vladamir about my plan who responded by saying I needed a bodyguard with me. After a long conversation we both agreed on a compromise. I would go to my parent's house but one of his men would follow me there and wait outside until I was ready to return.
I spent the rest of the saying lounging around before getting ready to go to my parent's house.
Once I got to my parent's house, I let myself in using my key. From the outside I could see that the upstairs lights were on but not the downstairs lights.
"Mum? Dad? I'm home!" I yelled as I wiped my shoes on the welcome mat.
My statement was met with silence, causing me to frown a little. My parents should be home and expecting me. I had texted them to let them know the time I was coming.
"Mum? Dad?" I shouted, switching on the hallway light that was turned off.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I checked to see if they had sent me any messages to explain why they weren't home but there were no new messages from them.
An eerie feeling suddenly entered my body causing me to shiver slightly. Something was wrong, this wasn't right.
"Mum! Dad!" I entered the living room to find it empty, neither of them were there. The room looked as neat as it usually did.
Unlocking my phone, I began to call my mum's phone. My ears perked up when I heard my mum's ringtone in the distance.
So they were home!
"Mum?" Why wasn't she responding or answering her phone?
I followed the sound of her ringtone to the dark kitchen. Maybe they had popped out for something and she had left her phone by accident?
Switching on the lights, my eyes were temporarily blinded from the bright kitchen lights for a few seconds before adjusting quickly.
My phone slipped from my hand, dropping to the floor with a loud, deafening thud.
"Oh my god."
@=#~=~#=@
A/N: Two chapters in less than 12 hours, who am I?! I uploaded the first chapter after one of the many night feeds, I couldn't go back to sleep and thought I would upload a chapter now while I had time.
My husband used to be such a light sleeper before we had my son, any little noise would wake him up. When I used to get ready for work I would have to tiptoe around and not turn any lights on, any little noise he would wake up straight away. Now, there's a baby screaming his head off inches away from him and he's sleeping away peacefully 😒
Anyways I hope you guys liked this chapter
What do you think Leah saw? Let me know what you think is going to happen next
I will upload again next weekend but you can read the full story on www.patreon.com/kayy_b
I mentioned this on the previous chapter but for those of you who don't have patreon or can't access it in your country, I have another option for you. Inkitt has a subscription page where you can now access all my completed and ongoing stories! I've spent the last couple of hours sorting my page out for those of you who are interested
It's very similar to patreon and you'll be able to read the completed version of The Wolf Baby and The Lycan's Mark and also the third book in this series- The Lycan's Second Chance (ongoing)
My inkitt page is www.inkitt.com/kayy_b
If you have any questions, let me know.
Also here is a little snippet of one of new books I will be uploading soon, the book is called Fated Enemy!
After being tormented for years Katherine Anderson thought her nightmare of a life was over when Lorenzo Romano left for university hundreds of miles away. It never occurred to her that Lorenzo would come back into town to take his rightful place as Beta of the pack but he did. He claims to have no recollection of what happened between them yet he cannot leave her alone, he needs to be in her life. Does Lorenzo remember what he did? What is Katherine to him and why can't he leave her alone? Will Katherine forgive him when she finds out Lorenzo's secret?
Chapter one
I'm dreaming, I had to be. No. not dreaming, having a nightmare. The worst nightmare I've ever had because there was no way I was seeing Lorenzo Romano standing in line for a coffee. He was supposed to be hundreds of miles away, not here standing less than six feet away from me.
Last I heard about him, he was training somewhere in London to become the pack's next Beta, so him being here at this café was impossible.
Tilting my head to get another look I realised it was him. There was no doubt about it, Lorenzo was here. He had changed, gone even bigger than he was before. Shifters were huge in general but Lorenzo stood at six feet eight, his shoulders so broad that they strained the shirt he was wearing and every inch of him was pure muscle.
While he may sound like a dream, he was a nightmare. We attended the same secondary school and from the moment he laid his grey eyes on me he had it out for me. Him and his friends made my life miserable and there was nothing I could do to stop it. At first I tried, I told my teachers and he told them I was lying. There was no way the teachers would believe a human over the future Beta.
That was my first mistake, from then on it got worse. I should have told someone else, I should have told my mum but I didn't. Maybe she could have stopped it. Or maybe she wouldn't have believed me like everyone else.
Not wanting to spend another second around him, I quickly spun around and tried to leave the busy café. I pushed past people without an apology, desperate to leave before he saw me. I barged through the exit door and tripped onto the floor.
Embarrassment ran through me as people stared at me, no one helped. They just stared. Groaning slightly, I lifted myself up and glanced at my bag that was just a few inches away. I let out another groan when I realised that half my bag's content was all over the pavement.
"This is just great." I muttered to myself as I grabbed my stuff from the floor. "Could this day get any worse?"
I hastily zipped up my bag, cursing myself for leaving it unzipped and turned around.
My head collided with something hard and for the second time today I found myself sprawled on the pavement.
I blinked several times, trying to get clear my spinning head. The ringing in my ear was excruciating loud and drowned out the voice of the person standing above me.
Without a warning, the man grabbed my arms and lifted me up. His grip was tight and but not painful. My vision was still blurry so I closed my eyes and took in a few deep breath.
"Are you okay?" The man asked, still holding me.
I froze at the sound. Even though his voice had gone deeper over the years, I knew who that was.
Lorenzo Romano.
I snapped my eyes opened and tried to pull away from his grip. "Let me go!"
"Hey it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He tried to soothe me but his words had me scoffing instead.
Yeah right!
I tried even harder to pull away but he tightened his grip.
I looked up at him and met his eyes. "Let go of me!"
As soon as his eyes met mine, he let go of my arms as if I burnt him. His grey eyes widened almost comically as if he was in shock.
I didn't realise how tightly he was holding me or how hard I was trying to pull away because before I knew it I fell back hard and this time when my head connected with something hard the tiny black dots were not so tiny and all I saw was darkness.
@=#~=~#=@
My first thought was I was not in my own bed. The sheets below me was too soft to be mine. With my eyes still closed I felt the bed around me. It was definitely not my bed. My hand then went to my curly hair, stopping when I felt a lump towards the back of my head. The lump ached under the touch and felt like a rock.
I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. I was in someone's room, a room that barely had anything in it except a bed, bedside tables and wardrobe. The walls were bare and there were large boxes on the floor.
What wasn't empty was the chair next to the bed and on it sat Lorenzo Romano. His large body barely fit the chair and his eyes were closed.
When will this nightmare of a day end?
Keeping my eyes on him at all times, I slowly pushed the sheets down and put one leg on the ground. The mattress didn't make a sound which I was thankful for but I was still worried that he might wake up.
Shifters had amazing hearing but I didn't know if that same rule applied when they were sleeping.
I slid my other leg off the bed and stood up, wobbling slightly as if I had a little too much to drink. I looked around for my shoes but couldn't find it anywhere.
I didn't care, I wanted to leave and I didn't want to waste time looking for it. I didn't care if I was barefoot or not.
I took a few steps towards the door, still keeping my eye on the sleeping man. I was almost at the door when he suddenly appeared in front of me, causing me to stumble back.
"Shit, sorry I didn't mean to scare you." He apologised, raising his hand in a surrendering motion. "Where are you going? You need to get back into bed."
I looked at him as if he was crazy.
"Are you crazy? I'm not staying anywhere near you!"
"The pack doctor said you should stay overnight." Lorenzo told me softly. "I know you might be confused and scared but I promise I won't hurt you."
Liar!
"My name is Lorenzo Romano." He continued. "I'm the pack's Beta and you're safe here."
Safe? With him? Tell me another joke!
"What's your name?" He asked softly taking a step closer.
What?
"Is this some sort of game to you?" I questioned taking a step back to create more space between us.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"You're actually going to pretend you don't know who I am?" I let out a humourless laugh. "After all those years, you're still the same arse you were 4 years ago."
He frowned in confusion but didn't say anything. His eyes trailed up and down my body causing me to feel slightly self-conscious. He had an amazing body, I on the other hand did not.
He continued to stare at me and his eyes held no recognition.
Does he actually not know who I am?
"Allow me to refresh your memory, I'm Katherine Anderson. The girl you bullied all through secondary school."
@=#~=~#=@
Let me know what you think of the first chapter!
Thank you for reading :)
-Kayy xx