Note:*For any confusion, between Chapter 65-66, the white-haired huntress is indeed Nikolette. She went in the car where Sarina and Kassim were for protection but she lied to Sarina so that she could stop worrying about her. Mostly because it was a risky mission and Niko does not want her new friend to be troubled.
Leo's POV:
The storm has gotten heavier but I plowed through after Nikolette and an injured driver met our search party.
She looked fatigued and ready to keel over but she managed to tell me where my fiancee was and how she left a male agent to care for her. I had my agents to someone with a "Gate" ability to get her to our hospital in Japan to get her wounds treated.
I frowned. Something about what she said made me clench my hands. My fiancee was all alone with another male. Shit.
"Someone get Agent K.C right here! NOW!" I bellowed, causing a few agents near me to scramble and find her.
Soon enough, she appeared before me through a small gate looking a bit tired but that might be due to the clean up that was happening at Hatchet's base. But I paid no mind to it for once because I want to find Sarina first.
"K.C can you make a gate directly where my fiancee is? She is somewhere out there with an unnamed male. I must find her now."
"I only have enough calories left for one gate, Sir. It would take some time for us to finish "clean up" here. Taking this risk is dangerous; what would Sarina think if you froze in that icy storm?"
She was right but I cannot shake this feeling that she was injured and alone with another man. That thought alone made me throw caution to the wind and ordered her to make a gate immediately.
K.C sighed as she pulled out an energy bar and began munching before pulling out three more. The wind was biting cold and getting stronger as she finished eating. She raised her hand and threw a luminous circle ring that grew in size, surrounded by glowing white energy.
I immediately saw that the gate was in front of the entrance of a small cave that has been buffeted by the storm. The urge to jump was strong but I barked out orders for extraction on my location immediately after the purge clean-up and requested that K.C be taken for rejuvenation before attempting to summon another gate.
"I will see you in an hour. Agent K.C" I nodded to her and took the small bag one agent packed for me to ensure our survival and jumped in.
The gate vanished the moment I came through it and I immediately charged inside because the storm in this area was even colder. An immediate flood of warmth thawed my body and I sighed in relief. my eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness of the cave.
I felt my duchess' feeling of dwindling fear and pain at the end of the place near the blazing bonfire. I walked towards the shadowed area and stiffened when I saw a bulky male covered in a few blankets; my temper flared when I grabbed the blanket and lifted it.
"Don't." the growl was unmistakeably territorial and it rankled my senses as I recognized the voice.
"Get away from her." I snarled, my gift of command was suddenly as its fullest. " Do it gently and step away."
I felt my cousin tremble and I can tell by the resistance tugging at my mind that he was trying not to do what I say but he groaned as he got up and stepped aside.
"You bastard...put your clothes back on!" I ordered him as he reluctantly pulled back his top on and the black ops jacket he had on while glaring at me. "Stay there."
He remained seated as I checked my fiancee and she started shivering, her eyes were shut tight and she suddenly moaned as if deprived of something.
I shrugged off my jacket, coat, and sweater as I wrapped my clothes on her half-naked frame as I held her and felt the wild delirious thoughts from her head as my mind touched her through our connection, and to my dismay, I can sense elt how weak she was.
"Ohhh.....N-No...Please...." she whimpered softly as I lent her my strength and her shivering soon lessened as the pain etched on her face vanished, leaving her to fretfully sleep in my arms.
As her body relaxed and molded towards my heat; I tried to control myself from ordering someone to find Fiore Hatchet's corpse so that I can burn his remains to cinders.
The bandages I had felt on her back were still warm and smelled very metallic. Now that I had her settle down against me; I can feel her warm forehead which heralded the beginning of fever that could turn for the worst if she was not kept warm to sweat it out.
"C-Cold....so-so..." she moaned as her lips slowly turned a shade of blue that alarmed me.
I looked back towards my cousin who was still staring back at me with a burning stare. Pride made me want to just order him to stay there till the extraction team takes us from this place but an hour is a very long time.
Fuck. My body heat is not enough for her.
I released my hold on my cousin and he was surprised when he was able to move before staring at me.
"Come here and add your body heat now. My fiancee's in danger and though I would rather cut off your limbs right now I need your help."
No sooner than I could finish my speech, my cousin took my fiancee's other side and went under the covers. He did not put his arm around her but merely pressed his body against her back gently as she shivered and moaned as she tried to burrow even deeper into me.
"Cousin. I know we have our differences and I know I have done a lot of things I am not proud of but I truly do care for Sarina. " his voice made us lock gazes with each other. "I love her and I know she only wants you so please know that I will never hurt her."
I have never heard my usual flippant cousin sound so serious but the male in me was still possessive as I kissed my duchess' burning forehead. He truly must care for her if he was okay with becoming second fiddle.
Which is out of character for him because he always plays to win, whether it is in life or with women.
Sarina's shivering lessened since our bodies absorbed the chill and shield her from the cold winds of the storm, her breathing slowed down as her frown vanished and she fell asleep.
"Fiore Hatchet knew where to strike. It was as if someone knew where she was. " looked at Kassim who looked troubled as if he wanted to say something. " Spit it out. You have something to tell me?"
"I found it strange as to why Safirah was chosen by Fiore as well. Her blood's ability to change certain compounds was a secret known only to me and a few trusted servants. My father never paid attention to his daughters so I thought my sister would be safe, I was wrong." he looked troubled. "Days before Sarina was captured. Fiore's men almost encountered me and my sister when we were outside taking in the sights at a nearby town in the Alps. I had my spies investigate and it seems like there was a tip-off that a child describing my sister was seen there so I had to transfer her to one of my newer hotels in Asia for her safety. I have concluded that there is a mole in Mirage and within Danati."
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An hour later, help arrived as the extraction team crossed through the gate and rescued us the moment the agents with the gate ability rested and recharged. We were all taken to the nearest secret hospital in the countryside in France where my fiancee was given medical attention and soon she was resting in one of the best room suites, her life out of danger.
My mind went back to what my cousin said. I am afraid to admit it but he must be right.
There is a mole within the Mirage Agents which is why I secretly informed Luis and asked him and his family to do a "clean sweep" of their agents and flush the mole out from within. I know how the Valentines operate and I am sure with Nikolette leading the search party; the mole will not be able to escape alive.
I was on my way back to Sarina's room when I saw my cousin who seems to have showered and put on a clean pair of clothes. He was also on his phone while hanging around in front of my duchess' room.
He looked furious when he ended his call. His violet eyes were glowing with utter hate when he noticed me approaching. My cousin sighed and spilled out what was happening on his end of the investigation.
"I had my men search for any evidence regarding my sister and how Fiore was able to find out about her abilities. It turns out that there was this one time when the suspect attended a party at one of my hotels half a year ago. Some witnesses attested how my sister accidentally cut herself and bled over the floor. According to one eye witness, it was not an accident because a certain lady had gotten close to my sister and made it look like the cut was an accident when she startled my sister and that made her drop her juice glass, it shattered and she bled when she was tried to clean up without using any protection." he frowned. "I narrowed down the ladies that frequent any hotel parties and my man concluded that the only woman who was present whenever Safirah attended an event was Lady Laila. From the dates of the parties; it seems like she was at the party to observe Safirah before she cut her on that fateful day."
"Did your sister confirmed it?"
"Yes. she had been noticing that my uncle's wife has been present in any of the parties she went to before she was sold to Fiore. she merely kept quiet because she did not want to make a fuss." he pulled at his hair in frustration. "How can I have been so blind? No wonder she has been trying to talk to me lately and I ignored her."
I could understand his helplessness and anger. Even I am seething with hostility at everything that has happened. the females in our lives will be in danger if this continues any longer.
Laila. She has been planning her schemes for a long time it seems.
She was aware of my obsession with her and waited for the time when my coronation is near. Being a sheikh's wife made her greedy and so sure that she can get away with anything just because she has beauty and power.
My phone rang and I answered it.
A few minutes later, I hung up as I asked Kassim to accompany me to the nearest Mirage headquarters where Nikolette was.
Swift and efficient as she is; it did not take long for her to find the mole within their ranks.
I aim to exterminate the poison once and for all so that my fiancee and beloved cousin Safirah can be safe.
They do not have to know what will be done to ensure peace in their lives. I would rather bear everything than watch them become ridden with guilt of one person who had no qualms in helping Laila hurt them.
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Mirage HQ in France was the most secluded facility in Europe. But it also has the most advanced jail cells that are used to imprison those that went against the royal family who bit off more than they can chew.
It did not matter who they were.
Criminals. Terrorists.Common folks.
They ceased to exist the moment evidence against them was given.
This is the hidden power of our country.
The Mirage Agents were special people who inherited their powers from their Illyrian parents. Usually, only the royals inherit strong gifts or powers but there are special cases where Illyrians who do not have royal blood pass a strong gift to their offsprings.
Miraculously, only children with half-blooded parentage receive these powers.
On paper, The Mirage Agency is a family-owned company comprising of 10 special Agents whose sole purpose was to protect and assist the royal family.
But in reality, it was a global business of elite mercenaries and agents that can get impossible jobs done for a price. This plan of expansion worldwide was unheard of during my father's time.
But thanks to the two eldest Valentine children and the brilliant mind of Luis along with my help; turning Mirage into a successful operation only took 5 years to complete.
Now we rival most of the world's best intel systems and because our agents can accomplish what others cannot do. VIPs and even royals from other countries constantly engage our services because we always get the job done.
Hence, finding the mole within our ranks was easy.
The moment I stepped into the polished floors of the HQ lobby. A few people dressed in black greeted us but one look at my face made them straighten up.
They immediately took us to the holding cell where the mole was.
Even I cannot believe that "he" could have betrayed us but Nikolette's sources are 100 % accurate and even K.C, one of my best agents also confirmed that he was leaking info to Laila's messenger chatbox and emails.
Even before he was chosen to guard my duchess, it seems like that viperous bitch had sunk her claws into the traitor's mind and body.
She does a seductive, irresistible way of using her beauty and body to make even the most stubborn men kneel before her.
I should know. I was once under her spell. Foolishly panting after her like an imbecile.
But after making love to Sarina countless times, it made me understand that although my fiancee lacks Laila's seductive ways and mature charms; the gentle desire and warm way she makes me feel every time we come together have given me a measure of peace and an equally burning desire for her.
In time, she would learn about seduction and other more feminine wiles but my wish is that she uses it on me only.
Knowing her, she might tease me until I jump her bones.
My musings placed me in a better mood as I took a chair and placed it in front of him before sitting on it and grabbed Amir by the jaw roughly.
The big burly Danatian had a bloody lip, bruises all over his naked frame, and whip marks on his back as he tensed up as I squeezed his jaw while I looked him in the eyes with a sharp glare.
He was one of the chosen ones who came with us during the purge initiative. The worry in his face when he heard that my duchess was taken had another meaning.
When his partner Shin noticed his strange behavior during the mission; he tried to attack his comrade to flee but being a master swordsman and a faster agent; Shin managed to win over Amir's heavier built and even knocked him out cold.
Dammit, I thought I knew who he was and yet it seems like I don't everything about Amir at all.
"Do not bother spouting shit. I have only one question. Why did you do it?"
He looked at me with a blank stare before I saw a flicker of guilt in his dark eyes.
"Your Highness, Just kill me and get it over with. " He choked hoarsely as he trembled. "She promised me that she would accept my feelings once I give her the information she needed but then...she sent a hired killer to dispose of me while I was in custody; though the agents managed to stop him; the assailant's knife was tipped with a fast-acting poison when he cut me both on my arm and chest. These wounds will kill me soon so, please...Just end my life."
This was new. Does Laila have such power to dispose of her pawns now?
She was becoming even more frightening than I thought.
I made him look at me again and this time I used my gift on him to tell me that truth as his eyes glazed over after hearing my voice.
"Did she use the information you gave her to get to my duchess?"
"Yes sir." came his monotonous answer.
"Why?"
"So that she can get closer to you once again and rekindle your obsession with her. She said she wants to become a Queen and that the duchess was in the way..."
Rage boiled within me as I raised my hand and Kassim pulled out a gun from his coat and handed it to me.
"You have done well. As you have requested; I will personally kill you. For betraying the Royal Family, the Agency who employed you and going against everything you have sworn to protect. Your punishment is death."
Amir smiled sadly and nodded as he bowed his head as I squeezed the trigger as the familiar recoil shook my hand as the muzzle exploded.
The familiar heaviness of taking a life has always been the dark side that I have walked on. As Amir's body fell back with the bullet wound in his head bleeding profusely, my cousin walked over to the dead body and closed his eyes.
I sighed but kept myself in check because to show anyone here that I was about to be sick will cause some nasty talks about me.
"Nikolette," I spoke steadily despite my rolling stomach and the impending urge to vomit.
As if by magic, she appeared dressed in a clean Mirage-issued suit as she had her men take the corpse.
"What do you want me to do, Your Highness?" she asked in her calm voice.
"Bring news of his death to his family and double the money sent to them from now on. Say he died during the latest purge mission against Fiore Hatchet." I looked at the corpse being taken away as I gave her the gun. "Hold a simple funeral for him. Nothing too flashy."
"Yes sir." She bowed and left me in the empty room. "Oh and give my regards to Sarina, I'll visit her soon okay?"
"Sure. Thank you Nikolette." I smiled at the way she winked at me before she followed her men.
Kassim was silent and I was thankful for that as we left the building and I felt the tension in my body drain away a bit as I wondered how my duchess was doing.
"I have never seen you in this state. Is this what love does to you?" my cousin's tone lacked his usual sarcastic tone as the car drove past the building's gates as it made its way back to the secret stop point where we both got off and saw K.C waiting for both of us in the middle of a secluded circle of trees.
She stopped chewing on a chocolate bar and raised her hand, immediately conjured up a gate wide enough for us to go through and transport us back to the hospital where Sarina was recuperating.
It occurred to me that I never answered Kassim as we arrived inside the men's bathroom and almost scared an older gentleman who was taking a piss.
But the truth was that...
I was very afraid. Sarina is such a gentle and kind soul so I am not sure how she would feel about someone who can kill as easily as if it was nothing.
More like, I am afraid to see the look of abject horror and disgust that might grace her sweet face if she knew that my hand is stained with blood even if that was to protect the ones I care about.
My worst fear is that she would leave me once she finds out this side of me; walk out of my life and be forever out of my reach.
My morbid thoughts were broken by a scream from my fiancee's room.
Rina!
Her name on my lips made me quicken my pace as it practically ran past a startled nurse with Kassim keeping up with me as I flung the doors open.