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AZURA. And with those words, I walked over to him confidently and gave him a big bear hug, praying that this worked. I felt Leo’s aura rolling off him in waves, but just when I thought he was going to slit my throat in anger, Marcel let out a hearty laugh. "It’s a true honour! I need to hear what is going on, but how about I let you finish getting dressed…" He trailed off as his eyes fell on my mark, frowning deeply. "I never knew you were mated?" "Oh I am. Kinda." I winked. "Azura is really cool, but she can’t cook." Corrado added helpfully. I pouted as I looked at mini Leo, did he really need to add that part? Marcel chuckled, "Well we won’t need Azura to cook, we have plenty of people who can cook! But I'm happy to see you here. Surprised, but happy." He placed his hand on my head and I could see the happiness in his eyes. I smiled back, seeing Nikki turn and walk off. Leo glanced at me but didn’t say anything, and I had a feeling he knew I wouldn’t say anything, before he f
AZURA. "Later." Leo’s quiet, cold voice came as I walked over to Marcel. "Babe…" Conceal how you feel. You got this girl. "It smells so good." I said, smiling as I look at the flames. "Be careful, Azura, it’s very hot." The heat of the grill was nothing compared to the burning pain in my chest. "I don’t mind getting burned." I replied quietly, before giving him a smile. "So, where did you go on holiday?" "Well, I was in Scotland for the most part, and then I stopped at a few places before my visit to Alejandro was cut short." I could feel Leo’s irritation, but I didn’t bother paying him any attention. "I'm sorry about that." I replied as I picked up the platter of cooked meat and carried it to the round table, where everything was already set up. I didn’t want to sit at the table with him, but I had no choice but to. When Corrado jumped into the seat between Marcel and me, I expected Leo to take the seat next to his father, but instead, he took the seat on my left. I clenc
LEO. I looked at my phone. The message was crystal clear, but even then, I had to fucking read it a few times. ‘I’m going to be leaving. With Marcel here, I don’t think it’s smart for me to linger. Arrange me a car, or at least let your security know to let me out.’ She was leaving. Just how I fucking wanted… There was no relief, nor fucking excitement at the fact that she was. Yeah, because once she’s gone, Marcel will have a shit-ton of questions for me to answer. Why didn’t I fix stuff with her ‘mate’, and then Corrado would do my fucking head in about why I let her go. Stop fucking with yourself Leo, you know that isn’t the reason. I lit a cigarette, taking a drag on it as I stared at the phone, letting out a string of smoke slowly. But it was for the better that she left. Her being here was fucking with me. I texted her back that I’d come to get her, but she asked for an hour in return. ‘Fine.’ I tossed the phone onto the desk and placed my feet on it, resting back in
AZURA. "Let him say goodbye." Nikki said, placing her hand on Leo’s arm. He didn’t reply, and I hated how he had an effect on me. Why that single touch of Nikki’s squeezed my heart. Fuck Azura. This isn’t you. "Please don’t go yet. How about staying for five more weeks?" Corrado pleaded, drawing my attention back to his gorgeous hazel eyes. "I can’t, I'm sorry." I apologised softly. Oh, why was this kid making my heart break just like Marcel almost did? When he loves, he loves deeply. I pushed the memory away and smiled apologetically at the boy before me. "Then why not six more weeks?" I let out a breathy laugh. "You know, you're adding days on top?" I asked, ruffling his hair. "But I had fun, I wanted to make a police doll too…" My heart clenched, but I could sense Leo’s anger rising and knew he was getting impatient or simply annoyed Corrado was talking to me, but I was at least glad he let him say goodbye. Maybe the Ice Prince has a soft spot for his son at least. "I’
AZURA. "We shouldn’t have done that." I said quietly. He shouldn’t have done that. "Yeah, but don’t go fucking taking it the wrong way, it was to shut you up." He said, his voice sounding thicker as he looked away. It had gotten to him too… This was it, the moment to reject him. I looked up at him, trying to force myself to say the words. "I…" Do it, Azura. Leo frowned as he searched my face for something. Reject him. Fuck, why was it so hard? It fucking hurt. How had he had the strength to do so? And after marking me too. He raised an eyebrow, waiting, but I couldn’t do it. His scent was overpowering me. I was looking for an excuse… asking myself what I should do… When I thought of what I wanted in a mate, I always imagined someone who found me funny, someone who would be ok with me being crazy. The type to laugh at the shit I got up to. Not everyone found their fated mate, and not everyone had it easy. But was rejection the answer, without even fighting for him? Was
AZURA. Shit. No. Do I tell Leo? I was trying to calm my racing heart, what do I do? The first thing that came to my mind was to ask him to stop at the service station and get away from him, but I had to think about my baby. Doing that would not only risk me, but the baby too. "Who was the message from?" Leo’s voice snapped me from my thoughts, making my breath hitch at his question. He was watching me intensely. His piercing eyes seemed to be peering into my soul. "One of my girls." I found myself lying, as I gazed out of the side mirror trying to see behind us. Only the glaring headlights of a car could be seen. Was that him? Was he close? Would he try something? I was putting Leo at risk as well if I didn’t tell him. What should I do? "Oh yeah? Stop lying Azura. Are you going to keep hiding it from me?" "I'm not hiding anything…" I was struggling. Why should I tell him? I know why I didn’t want to… because I wasn’t ready for him to tell me he didn’t care... But maybe
LEO. I knew something was fucking up, but I wasn’t expecting this… And the fact that the bastard somehow managed to get away… I didn’t see him leave the fucking car. I don’t know how, but he seemed to have just fucking vanished. Unless… he wasn’t in the car to start with… Blackmailing her with sex tapes. That fucking triggered me. I don’t care if she was a fucking princess or not, right now she was someone who needed help. Why the fuck was she dealing with this shit alone? On top of that, somehow the bastard had even managed to track us down... Did he have some sort of tracer on her? Her luggage. I pulled up to the side of the road, making her grab the edge of her seat and glare at me with those large, gorgeous eyes of hers. "What are you doing?" I didn’t reply. Getting out of the car, I walked to the trunk and grabbed her luggage, flipped her suitcase open, just as she came out of the car. "What are you doing?!" "I want to know how the fuck he found us." I replied, trying n
LEO. I left the cave and stepped out into the car park, trying to clear my head. Locking the door behind me, I slid to the ground, resting my head against the cold metal of the wall behind me as I took a drag on my cigarette. ‘Winona?’ I called through the link. ‘Yes, Alpha?’ Winona, she was one of the few I had taken in. She wasn’t born in the Sangue pack, but she was still someone I trusted, one of the rare few I trusted completely around my son. ‘What’s Rosaline cooked tonight?’ Rosaline was my cook, she lived two floors down from me and she made the best food for me and Corrado. When I had put out the notice for the position, I remember choosing the one whose food Corrado loved the best after tasting it all. I still remember his smile of happiness. ‘She made chicken pasta, and stuffed taco cups.’ ‘Perfect, bring a tray down to my garage, I’ll let you down when you’re outside.’ ‘Of course.’ She didn’t question me, she never did and I was grateful. ‘Oh, and Winona?’ ‘Yes,