Chapter 43 Better watch your back, Max

Better watch your back, Max

Avalyn

Max's house wasn't as big as ours. But it had a warm vibe that I loved. It had around driveway in the front and the mansion was beige with brown roofs. It was surrounded by many trees and gave a woodsy feel.

"Nice place," Nikolai said as we walked to the door which opened to the hallway meets the living room. It was. It was a mixture of modern, classic, and woodsy interior which surprisingly mixed well.

"Thanks." Max smiled, looking truly proud.

Nat gave me a mischievous grin before he ran and jumped on Max's back, her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

"I choose an obnoxious monkey." Nat giggled in his ears.

He put his arms immediately came around her legs to support her. "I'll be your daddy monkey then." Max chuckled and carried her inside.

I laughed at their antics. I was happy for Nat. She looked happier than ever and Max was good for her.

"Save the foreplay from the bedroom, Max." Nik rolled his eyes at them.

"Oh, if you saw the foreplay, you'd know." Nat winked at him, making everyone else except him laugh.

"Why do I even try?" Nik grumbled and grabbed my hand, dragging me inside.

On cue, their laughter rang louder.

Nat pressed a yellow and a red button as soon as she got off in the main living room.

"I'm hungry." She explained.

Two girls came into the living room. "Serve dinner for four," Nat instructed them.

"Three." Max corrected her.

They bowed and left quickly after that.

"Come, I'll show you to your room." Nat offered.

"Yes, thank you." I smiled.

"Are you okay?" Nik mind-linked at me.

"Yes," I replied softly. I knew he was referring to the revelations in the office. And I understood where he was coming from. As much as it pained me, I was selfish to want to spend eternity with him, even if it meant we wouldn't have children.

"So this is your room." Nat opened the door and motioned us inside. "The bathroom is through that door," she pointed at the door the left, "and I'll have fresh towels and everything sent to you in some time. Get fresh, and meet us downstairs for dinner?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you." I smiled at her.

"Anytime." She smiled back and left, closing the door behind her.

"Are you okay? Talk to me, Ava." Nik asked.

"I'm upset but I understand. I wanted to have your pup and give you the joy of being a father. But I understand why you said no. And selfishly, I want to spend all the time I can with you. I don't want to die. I haven't spent nearly enough time with you." I placed my palm on his beating chest.

He was alive and well. We both our. That's all we need. Each other. No one and nothing else.

He circled his arms around my waist. "I love you. And you are amazing. Have I told you that?" He asked.

"I love you too. And I'm not sure if I remember properly." I smiled, looking up at him.

"Then I'll just have to tell you again and again." He kissed my lips.

"That sounds like a nice idea but we should go down, they must be waiting for us," I said against his lips.

Nik only smiled and opened the door behind me.

We walked out to see Nat and Max step out of a room. We followed them to the dining room and saw that everything was already placed.

We sat at the table and then Max motioned one of his slaves to serve us.

"How is everything in the pack?" Max asked Nik.

"It's going fine. There are a couple of minor things. But nothing I can't handle." He replied.

"That's, good. I'm happy for you, brother." Max smiled at him in return.

Max pointed his finger on the floor beside him and looked at one of his slaves. She immediately came forward and extended her hand. He grabbed it before biting her wrist and started drinking her blood.

I could sense that the girl was in pain but as a perfect slave, she remained quiet and still. I wanted to say something. Do something to help her. If she just cut her hand and squeezed the blood out into a cup, it wouldn't hurt as much.

"You will not do anything, Ava. Max has been hospitable enough to invite us into his home. I told you how things work in this world. Just ignore it if you don't like it." Nik's mind linked me.

I pressed my lips together and did as he said. He was right, as always.

"Also, Avalyn killed Vasilik. She is the Queen of Mozog now." Nik said conversationally.

"Killed the centuries-old fucker? I'd love to hear what happened." Max looked at me.

"When I first discovered my magic, we didn't know what it was. So Vladimir called Rhazien, a friend of his who he thought could help us. So after a couple of days when Nik was away, Vasilik came, demanding to know why Rhazien had visited us. When he didn't get the answers he wanted, he did something mentally—"

"Tried to fry our brains. Literally." Nik added.

"But for some reason, it didn't work on me. He had brought his men who tried to capture me but I killed them. By this time, Nik came back and Vasilik got him under his control too. He was about to kill Nik." It still pissed me off. "It made me very angry and then I used my powers and killed him." I continued, trying my best to ignore the girl in pain.

"Your powers must be really strong to kill such an old vampire. A king at that." He looked amazed.

"All I knew is that I rather die myself than let anything happen to Nik," I replied and looked at Nik. When I saw him in pain, that was all it took for me to lose it.

"No one's dying. Especially not you." Nik growled.

"I'm not going anywhere," I told Nik, my voice soothing. "But we are giving away the kingdom to Vladimir. He is the rightful heir. And it's the right thing to do."

"He was always the uptight one," Max muttered. "But it's good. He will finally get the stick out of his ass." And then he looked at me. "Are you going to transfer your powers to him?"

Huh?

"When you kill a King, their elemental power is shifted to you so you can be stronger than the rest of the Kingdom and become their ruler. And since you already are half-Fae, Vasilik's powers, which are mind powers, compliment your mind powers. Shifting of powers can be very painful, especially if you aren't physically and mentally strong. Extremely strong." Nik explained. "Which is why you passed out I guess."

It made sense.

"I didn't know..." Nik didn't tell me this.

"I didn't want them to wait too long. And then it slipped my mind later on with everything going on." He smiled and squeezed my hand and then looked at Max and Nat.

"Oh, by the way, Sofiya is his mate. And they are going to have a baby." Nik grinned, lighting up at the thought of having a niece or a nephew. That baby was going to be spoilt by all of us.

"Shit!" Max's eyes widened. Nat didn't look surprised which meant Sofiya had already given her the good news.

"We are going to Mozog in a couple of days. I'd ask you to join us but it would be better for people not to see us together. At least until this mission is accomplished. You can always come to visit after though." Nik said.

"Sounds like a plan," Max replied and Nat grinned at me widely. We would finally get some girl's times.

After dinner, both of them lent us some clothes for the night as well as tomorrow.

"Let's go to the garden, we have so much to talk about!" Nat dragged me out at the garden which was at the back of the mansion.

"So how did you meed Max? Tell me everything!" I asked her, excited to know what was had happened with her.

"Well, you know that I was kidnapped and Max ended up saving me right?" She asked.

"Yes, Nik had told me that." I nodded.

"So after that, we just clicked. I mean I knew him since childhood. Nikolai and he were the ones who saved me, as I told you. And I had spent an entire year crushing on him before... well before things went downhill. And now I know why." Her smile dimmed at the end.

"What had happened?" Is that why Nik was anxious in the office?

"You better ask Nikolai about that. But what's important is that it's all in the past. Now the only problem is the whole training thing." She didn't look very ecstatic about it. "I hate submitting."

"Well, after all of this ends, you can always show him who's the boss." I joked, trying to lighten her mood.

She laughed at that. "Nice idea."

"Thanks." I half-smiled. Nat wasn't a submissive. She was the one who liked to do her own thing. I can only imagine what she must be going through.

"And what about you and Nikolai? Does he still have his panties in a notch?" She raised her browed.

More like he has my panties in a notch, always!

"Aah, I knew I knew something is up. Spill, girl." She poked my ribs.

"It's him who has my panties in a notch." I giggled.

"How do you submit to that grumpy ass?" She asked like it was the most impossible thing in the world.

"At first I did it because I didn't have enough confidence in myself to make my own choices. But because I gave him ultimate control, he turned me into a better and stronger person. Now I do it because I want to. I like pleasing him." I replied softly, a smile flitting across my lips at Nik's thought.

"But how can you do it so easily? Don't you feel like doing whatever you want? Or to sometimes even hit him across his head if he is being a dick?" She asked me.

"Is this about me or you and Max?" I raised my brows at her.

"Me and Max." She whispered back.

"Thought so." I nodded. I had to make sure to say it right so she understood what I was saying and that it would make things easier for her.

"Try thinking like this. Max is your mate. And at the end of the day, he is the only person in the entire world who will have your best interest at heart. He wants you to be the best version of yourself. And he will punish you when you make a mistake because he wants to push you and always do better in life. And I can tell you with personal experience that punishments may be physical but they are mentally more eye-opening. He also has more knowledge about most things than you so his decision-making judgment is better than yours. Instead of fighting with him, just do as he says, and if you have a doubt, ask him politely. I'm sure he will explain it to you." I explained softly. This is exactly what I thought when I was with Nik. I hope this helps.

"You're right." She sighed. "I will try thinking like that from now. I think it will be good for us."

"Yes, it might help you with all of this." She was doing all of this for me. The least I could do was help her in any way I could.

Nat was looking at me and then her eyes shifted somewhere behind me.

Her eyes widened and she moved out of the way before Max could touch her.

"You're mine, babe." He smirked at her and ran again, catching her in a second.

I was too busy gawking at their antics to see Nik who was already beside me and then he threw me over his shoulder.

"Maximilian Romano—" Nat shrieked somewhere in the background but I was too busy trying to tell on to Nik's waist so he wouldn't throw me in the pool as Max did to Nat.

It was a fruitless attempt because he managed to release my hold and throw me in the cold water.

Nat drowned in the pool before coming up and gasping, "I can't swim." And then went underwater again and came up, "help!" She yelled. I knew for a fact that she was acting because I had swum with her a hundred times and she was a thousand times better and faster than me.

"I've spent a year with you like a decade ago if you remember. Your trick won't work on me." Max grinned at her mischievously and turned around to leave.

She pouted and stopped her acting, swimming normally now. Nik and I burst into laughter at both of them.

"I'm going to get back at you for this!" She yelled.

"Which will earn you a punishment, princess," Max said without turning around.

"See what I told you about?" Nat asked me. "You're a dick!" She pointed at him. "And I believe that you are what you eat!"

I gasped.

"I remember someone else begging for it," Max smirked and paused for Nik to catch up to him.

"You—you!" Nat turned red.

"I think we will have to work on your vocabulary too. You have to learn five new insults each day." He joked before they walked into the house through the windows.

"We should get out, it's cold," I said, hoisting myself out of the pool.

"That fucking dick." She mumbled under her breath as she followed me back to the house

"We are going to get back at you!" Nat said pointing her finger at Max and Nik as we climbed the stairs together.

"I'm scared," Nik said with a dry voice.

"And Avalyn and I are having a sleepover." I giggled and Nat's response. She knew for a fact that Nik hated sleeping without me.

"Fuck no." He growled.

"That's her getting back at you." She replied and pulled me upstairs with her quickly

"You're better to watch your back, Max," Nat mumbled.