Page 25 of Alpha’s Fake Marriage

Feeling bolstered by her admission, I continued. “I know, and now I’m worried that he might have hired Brian to follow me so he can eventually come and get me. If he ends up selling me to Damien then that’s the end of my life, I will never be free. I’ll be locked away by that evil man, used only to procreate. Because that’s why he agreed to drop Father’s gambling debts for my hand in marriage, right? So I can give him the ‘beautiful babies’ he wants. Urgh, it’s disgusting.”

As I poured out my fears to my mother, her reaction was immediate and visceral. With each word that spilled from my lips, her expression hardened, her features contorted with a mixture of fear and determination. It was as if a switch hadbeen flipped within her, igniting a fierce protective instinct that brooked no opposition.

“We have to leave, Irina,” she declared, her voice firm and resolute as she began to gather our belongings with frantic urgency. “Now, before Piotr and the others find us. You might be right. Brian might be a warning of what is to come.”

Her words hung heavy in the air, laden with the weight of unspoken danger, and I felt a chill run down my spine at the gravity of her words. The threat of Father and his associates loomed large in my mind, casting a shadow of fear over our fragile existence.

But even as my mother busied herself with preparations for our hasty departure, I hesitated, torn between the instinct to flee and the lingering sense of responsibility that tethered me to this place. I couldn’t shake the feeling that running away would only delay the inevitable—that sooner or later, we would have to confront the demons that haunted our past.

“Mother, we can’t just leave,” I protested, my voice tinged with uncertainty as I grappled with the enormity of the decision before us. “We have a life here, people who care about us. We can’t abandon them. Plus, won’t we actually be safer here where we have people who care? Without Octavio and the others, we’re alone and we can’t fight anyone, just me and you. We won’t stand a chance.”

My mother paused in her frantic movements, her gaze locking with mine in a silent exchange of understanding. In that moment, I saw the conflict etched on her face, the fierce struggle between the instinct to protect her child and the desire to stand her ground against the forces seeking to destroy us.

But as the minutes ticked by and the threat of danger loomed ever closer, my mother’s resolve hardened, her determination solidifying into an unbreakable resolve. With a steely glint in her eyes, she turned to face me, her voice firm and unwavering.

“Irina, listen to me,” she said, her words a solemn vow forged in the crucible of adversity. “We will face whatever comes our way, together. But for now, our priority is survival. We cannot fully trust Octavio. I know you want to, but you have to be smarter than that. Once upon a time, I trusted Piotr too!”

And with that, she resumed her preparations, her movements swift and purposeful as she gathered our belongings and made ready to depart.

As my mother urged me to leave, her voice tinged with urgency and fear, I couldn’t bring myself to comply. The thought of abandoning Octavio, of leaving behind the new found sense of security and belonging that he had brought into my life, filled me with a profound sense of dread.

“He’s not like the others, Mother,” I insisted, my voice trembling with emotion as I tried to convey the depth of my feelings. “He’s different. He makes me feel safe. Heissomeone I can trust, I just know it.”

But my mother’s eyes bore into mine, her expression a mask of skepticism and disbelief. How could I possibly trust a man I had known for barely a month to keep us safe from the dangers that lurked in the shadows?

“How can you be so sure, Irina?” she challenged, her voice laced with doubt and uncertainty. “You barely know him. How can you trust him with our lives?”

Her words struck a nerve, dredging up memories of a lifetime spent in fear and uncertainty, constantly on the run from threats both real and imagined. But amidst the chaos and turmoil that had defined my existence, there had been moments of fleeting respite, brief glimpses of peace and safety that had sustained me through the darkest of times.

“I’ve been scared my whole life, Mother,” I confessed, my voice barely above a whisper as I laid bare the truth that had long been buried deep within my soul. “But when I’m with Octavio, Ifeel... I feel safe. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel like I belong. Iknowhe cares about me, I can see it in his eyes. And the World Walkers do, too. There is peace in this town between the wolf clans for a reason. That isn’t easily achieved, so it makes me think people here can be trusted.”

My mother’s expression softened, her gaze searching mine for any sign of doubt or hesitation. But as she looked into my eyes, she saw only the unwavering conviction that burned within me, a steadfast belief in the bond that had formed between Octavio and myself.

“Trust me, Mother,” I implored, reaching out to grasp her hand in mine. “I know it’s a risk, but I believe in him. I believe that he will do whatever it takes to keep us safe.”

And as we stood there, locked in a silent embrace, I knew that no matter what dangers lay ahead, I would face them with Octavio by my side, my unwavering faith in him serving as a beacon of hope in the darkness that threatened to consume us.

“Mother, we have to believe in him,” I implored, my voice tinged with a quiet urgency. “He’s proven himself to be loyal and steadfast. He’ll do everything in his power to keep us safe. He promised me, and aside from Brian being a nuisance, we haven’t had to deal with anything bad. This is working for us.”

But my mother remained hesitant, her gaze clouded with lingering doubts and fears. How could she place her faith in a man she barely knew? The weight of our decision hung heavy in the air, casting a shadow over our fragile resolve.

Reluctantly, my mother nodded, her expression a mixture of resignation and apprehension. “I’ll try, Irina,” she murmured, her voice heavy with uncertainty. “But I can’t promise anything. If things get worse, then wehaveto run again.”

I reached out, grasping her hand in mine, drawing strength from the fragile connection between us. “That’s all I ask,” Ireplied softly, my words infused with a quiet determination. “Together, we’ll get through this.”

As we stood there, united in our shared resolve, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope stir within me. Despite the challenges that lay ahead, I knew that as long as we had each other, we would find a way to weather the storm. And with Octavio by our side, I dared to believe that we might just emerge stronger after all of this was over.

As I surrenderedto the embrace of sleep later that night, my mind became a battleground, haunted by the specter of nightmares that lurked in the shadows of my subconscious. In the darkness of my slumber, Damien’s figure loomed large, his presence casting a pall over my restless dreams. His tall stature, his white hair, those piercing gray eyes of his which chilled me to the very bone…

I found myself trapped in a nightmarish landscape, the air thick with a sense of foreboding as I fled from the relentless pursuit of my tormentor. Each step felt like an eternity, the weight of fear pressing down on me with suffocating intensity. He was getting closer to me with every passing step. Nothing was going to help me escape him, it was absolutely impossible…

Or so it seemed…

But just as despair threatened to overwhelm me, a familiar face emerged from the darkness, a beacon of light in the shadowy abyss. Octavio’s features came into focus, his eyes ablaze with determination as he reached out to me, offering a lifeline in my darkest hour.

In that moment, the grip of fear loosened its hold on me, replaced by a sense of safety and security that washed over melike a warm embrace. With Octavio by my side, I knew that I was no longer alone in my struggle, that together, we could face whatever trials lay ahead.

As if by some silent agreement, we slowly edged closer to one another. The space between us dissolved, replaced by a magnetic pull that only intensified with each passing second. Our gazes locked, breaths mingling in the crisp night air. I wasn’t sure what had happened to Damien in that moment, but I truthfully didn’t care. The nightmare had become the perfect dream and I wanted to embrace every moment of that.

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