Chapter 58 Silver Bullet

Silver Bullet

Nikolai

It was a few hours later when I was sitting on the couch, looking at Max who was dodging the bullets my security pelted him with, as he ran across my backyard and finally dove into the living room, breaking the glass.

Why the fuck is he only in boxers?

A bullet was lodged in the back of his calf, making him bleed profusely.

"You took your time," I said drily, not feeling sorry for him at all.

His head snapped up and he looked at me. "Nikolai." He breathed.

"You reek of sex and alcohol," I told him.

Guilt clouded his face and his eyes lowered. Damn right. He should have better control over himself.

"It's nothing." I waved away the security that had opened the windows to come in and get the intruder. They nodded and left.

"What do you want?" I asked him. I have lost all respect for him.

"Talia." He whispered. The audacity of this guy!

"Take a fucking shower and wear some clothes first." I spat.

He nodded and bent down, removed the silver bullet from his leg, hissing as he did so. He threw it on the floor and stood up again.

"April," I called the slave. She came running into the living room.

"Show him to the washroom and then give him some clean clothes," I told her, not taking my eyes off Max.

He left with her and then I sighed. How the hell can he do this? He cares about Natalia. I know he does. He has ever since she was thirteen and we found her. I also knew that he had a thing for her back then.

Once Ava came in, I pulled her in my lap. "How is she?"

It feels like I've been away from her for a very long time.

"In pain. I just got her to sleep." Her thumb traced the skin under my eyes. "You need more sleep, Nik."

"So do you," I murmured and brought her head down to kiss her full lips.

"Max is here," I told her. She stiffened at his name.

"He hurt her bad, Nik." She whispered. "She doesn't want to see him."

"I don't think anyone can keep him from seeing his mate. I don't want him to either but it's inevitable." I whispered.

"Damn right it is," Max said, entering the living room. He was freshly showered and was wearing my shorts and t-shirt.

At least he doesn't smell of sex.

Ava stiffened further and her hand clutched mine tightly. I rubbed soothing circles on her hand but that did nothing to help her.

"Where is she?" He asked us.

"She doesn't want to see you right now," Ava told him.

"Where the fuck is my mate?" He hissed, his eyes turning to flicker between red and his normal brown color.

But that wasn't the normal vampire-red color. This was the much darker red, and it turned the white area around his eyeballs black.

He zipped up the stairs and Ava and I ran after him.

He opened Natalia's bedroom and went inside. Ava and I stood at the door, ready to throw him out if Nat wished.

He was frozen in the middle of his room as he looked at Nat in her frail state. She was awake and looking up at him.

Slowly he walked to her but Nat threw the blanket covering her body aside, revealing the blood that was still on her legs and the bed.

Max fell on his knees in front of her.

"I'm sorry." Came his broken whisper.

I pulled Ava out of the door and shut it behind us. This was their private matter. Nat was strong enough to deal with it.

"I have to tell you something," Ava whispered and tugged me upstairs to our bedroom.

"What happened?" I asked her after I closed the door.

"Do you remember the scene in your office when I caught the devil on Max's shoulder?" She asked me.

"Yes?" Where is going with this?

"I felt this...dark energy pour out of it. And now...I feel it coming from him." She looked scared.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

"Yes." She whispered. "I think that the devil has merged with his soul."

This can't be true. Max has seen the devil ever since I've known him. Nothing of this sort has happened even. He had snapped one time. Badly. It lasted eight long years. I hadn't been able to find him because he was good at covering his tracks. But then one day, he suddenly went clean. All I knew was that Daniel helped him. But we hadn't talked once in all these years. I stayed away after he went clean because I thought he was still mad at me. And even during those eight years, when he has killed thousands of people, it was his bloodlust. Not the devil.

"I think we should wait and see what happens. We cannot come to such a big conclusion based on this." It can't be true. I will be the first one to say Max is not the best guy around. He is evil. But he isn't the devil.

But neither am I a good person.

No one is.

Max has a good heart though. At least for the people, he cares about.

"I know what I feel. Don't you believe in me?" She asked me.

"I do. But I believe in Max too. Let's give him a chance." I clenched my fist.

Maybe we won't have to kill him if he proves himself.

For the next two days, Max and Nat stayed in their room. I had sent a slave with some food and blood for both of them but she said that they didn't eat and Max scared her out.

Avalyn went and talked to them but neither of them responded.

I think I will have to talk some sense into him.

I opened the door and saw Natalia sleeping on the bed and the tray of food on her bedside remained untouched. Max was sitting on the floor against the wall as he kept staring at her. His glass of blood was also untouched and his color had lightened due to lack of blood. He smelled like he was decaying.

"Are you both going to stay here all your lives? Because it's not going to last long if you stop fucking eating. Natalia, you look like you're going to disappear and Max, you fucking stink as a corpse does."

There was no reaction on either of their faces.

Maybe I should make him angry. Some reaction is better than nothing.

"You're a dick for hurting your mate like that. You're no good to her dead. And you're an asshole if you think she is going to forgive you if you keep staring at her like a fucking pervert." I spat.

Still no reaction.

"I'm fucking done with your shit. Every time you mess up and it comes back to bite you in your ass. You killed three hundred and forty-seven vampires in seven fucking days. What the fuck were you thinking? Have you lost your fucking mind?" I said, irritated now.

They both ignored me.

I walked out, slamming the door behind me. Goddess knows what they will do now.

I walked down to the living room. Avalyn looked at me worriedly and I shook my head.

Nothing is working.

"Maybe I can try?" Mikhail asked. "Nat will listen to me. Tell her I'm awake."

"This might work." Andrei nodded.

"That might be dangerous." Dimitri entered. "I'm not here for three days and what did you get yourself into?" He tsked. He's back early.

"Why will it be dangerous?" Ava asked.

"Mikhail is not in his best shape. And Max might snap again if he feels threatened by him." Dimitri said.

"How do you know?" Andrei asked.

"Zora," Dimitri said. "She...sees things. She saw something she couldn't explain. About Max and she doesn't even know the guy. And I think we should believe in her." He said and passed a paper to Ava.

"What's that?" I asked.

"She did some...research about what she saw. And she wrote down a couple of signs and symptoms. And if the Devil has captured his soul, she has written what we should do." Dimitri looked at me.

"What is she?" I asked him.

"She doesn't know it herself. She has never met her parents and those vampires adopted her. One moment I was talking to her and the next she fainted. Woke up after twelve hours and told me about Max." Dimitri said. "I left immediately after that."

I remember her saying her parting words to Louis. Adopted. Outcast. Cursed.

"Can we trust some girl like this?" Andrei asked.

"It's our only hope," Ava said as she went through the paper. "He won't be able to touch anything holy without destroying it. And he will get lose control when he will get angry. And she has written the word 'Latin'." Ava told him after she was done reading. "I'm not sure what that means."

"We can test all of that," Mikhail said.

"But we need to get him out of the room first," Andrei muttered.

"We will do it." Our heads turned to the source of the voice. Adrian and Vanessa.

"No." Ava immediately said. "Neither of you are allowed to go in there." She told both the kids.

They are the only ones to whom they both might listen.

"Why don't we discuss this over dinner? I haven't had proper food in days." I said.

"Oh yes!" Ava immediately said, realizing I am right. "Come in the dining room, I'll get Irina and April to serve dinner." She said and disappeared towards the kitchen.

"You can go." I nodded and Adrian.

A small smile appeared on his face. "Thank you." For believing in him. For trusting in him.

I gave him a short nod and he went upstairs with Vanessa.

"Are you sure?" Andrei looked weary.

"Yes. He isn't a kid anymore. Let's go have dinner." I said and they went to the dining room.

I took my seat at the head of the table and Ava sat on my right and everyone else took their seats.

We had just started eating dinner and Nat entered, followed by Max. I saw Adrian give me a thumbs up from behind him and I gave him a short nod.

Job well done.

Natalia took a seat next to Mikhail and Max sat next to her.

April served her a plate.

"I'll take some blood, please," Max said before she began to serve his.

"In a glass." He said when she offered him her wrist. Good decision. He was deprived and if he drinks from her directly, he might not be able to stop.

He put one more glass in front of her when she finished squeezing blood in the first one.

He gave us all a look and we continued eating our dinner. No one said a word. All of us were on edge right now. We didn't know what to expect at all.

I saw that everyone was done and then I stood up, followed by the rest. Max remained sitting.

"Nikolai, I need to talk to you." He told me over his second glass of blood.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"In private." He said, looking directly at me.

My curiosity rose. "Let's go to my office."

"I have some work but I'll see you at night, princess." He whispered in Natalia's ear before kissing her cheek and then he stood up, walking towards me.

We both silently walked till we reached my office. I took my seat and he took the one opposite mine.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked him.

"I met Emilio Gonzalez."

I stiffened the moment those words left his mouth.

"Where?" I wanted to know everything.

"When I went to kill Lionel Preston." He told me.

I motioned him to carry on. This wasn't enough.

"Lionel Preston was the one behind the kidnapping of Talia and presumably Mikhail too. He was the leader of the Vampire Kingdom's rebels. The ones who were against the Vampire-Werewolf Peace Treaty. I killed them all. Emilio saw me when I killed the fucker. He was there for the same job. Lionel was creating problems in his pack. He was impressed by my skills and I offered to take him to my club. He said he had to go but he said he is going to visit next week to meet me." He chuckled, shaking my head. "He walked right into the lion's den."

This is gold.

"I can make him talk. Make him think we are buddies and get all the information about his club- where it is, when it's going to open, and everything else. Get a fucking invite." A smirk formed on his face.

My mind raced through all the diabolical plans I could make if they did become buddies. This is gold. And I'm going to mine the shit out of it.

"If I get there, I can kill him and all of his trusted people who will be there for the opening. So there won't be any chance of backstabbing in Montana when you take over either. And at the same time, you can attack the pack. Kill all the warriors there. Two birds in one stone." He leaned back in his chair, smirking like everything was done.

"No," I said, the perfect plan forming in my head.

"No?" He echoed. Sounding thoroughly confused.

"No," I repeated, a malicious grin forming on my face.

"You will bring the enemy in our pack."