Page 20 of Owned By Shadows

My ire towards him melts, just a little, at the look. I guess his actions with Roman saved him, and he’s been keeping him safe ever since.

“I won’t let him hurt you, little one,” Nik whispers as he stares down at our hands, at the child that grows in our woman.

There’s a pounding in my ears, an edgy, twitchy feeling across my limbs as I think about the man Nik is referring to. Sergi fucking Petrov. He’s the devil who is to blame for the shit we’ve been through. Nik is just trying to survive, like I had to all those years ago.

“We will help you take him down,” I state, and Nik snaps his head up to me. “And then, we will wipe him from the earth so that no part of him exists anymore.”

“But a part of him will always exist,” Iris comments softly, and I turn to look down at her. Her eyes are watery with tears, and my heart twinges inside my chest. “Nik and this baby are half his.”

“But they belong to us now,” Hunt states, his tone brokering no arguments. I can feel Nik’s stillness at the statement, and I glance at him to find his attention focused on Hunt. “So the part of them that is his no longer belongs to him.”

Nik’s throat bobs, his eyes glistening as he takes in Hunt’s statement, and it’s as if I’m seeing for the first time how truly alone Nikolai Petrov is. He’s like us all, unable to rely on the family he was born to, so he needs to find his own family. My hand shifts on Iris’s stomach, my palm covering Nik’s.

His gaze finds mine and I give him a slow dip of my head.

“Let’s get cleaned up, and maybe some breakfast because I’m fucking starving,” I say, holding his gaze. “Then we have a family meeting to discuss this clusterfuck we’re in.”

A small smile lifts his lips, and I recognise it. It’s a smile full of hope, something that I doubt he allows himself much of. I know I didn’t.

But finding my family, finding Hunt and then Iris, allowed me to see the possibility of a future. Of happiness. And I’ll be fucked if I let Sergi Petrov steal that away.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“LOST MY MIND - ACOUSTIC” BY ALICE KRISTIANSEN

IRIS

We all head to separate bathrooms—each bedroom has one—because I pointed out that if any of us shower together, things will get hot and heavy again, and even poor Evangeline needs a break. I quickly get dressed, throwing on some super soft cashmere lounge pants and an oversized cotton shirt with a fluffy cardigan. I’ll never not appreciate being able to choose my own clothes, not after Sergi took that choice away from me when he held me captive.

I open the door from the master suite and am hit with the smell of pancakes, which makes my mouth water and my tummy growl.

“Ready,Dorogaia?” Nik asks from where he’s lounging against the wall, one foot up and looking all too handsome in dark suit trousers and a black shirt, sleeves rolled and showcasing all that glorious ink along his forearms. As if his muscles weren’t enough to make me melt.

“Ready, love,” I reply, and his lips twitch into a small smile as he prowls towards me like some kind of jungle beast. My heart kicks up a notch, my breathing quickening as he gets closer.

“What I feel for you, Iris, goes beyond love,” he tells me, coming right into my personal space, his chest brushing my breasts. “Goes beyond the boundaries that this world, this universe, places on us.” His hand comes up to cup my cheek, and I stare into his fathomless eyes. “You are my sun, my moon, the very air that I need to breathe. My home is where you are. My heart beats for you, my body yours completely.”

Tears sting my eyes at his confession, and I take a shuddering inhale as he lowers his head, his lips brushing the softest of kisses onto my lips.

“I want to live for you, Iris. I want to wake up next to you every morning, lie down beside you every night, knowing that I get to do it all again tomorrow.” His words tug at my insides, the dream so vivid that I can almost see it right in front of me. “And so, I will do all I can to make that happen,Moye Solntse.”

He gives me no chance to speak, pressing his lips against mine in a kiss that’s so sweet, the tears fall down my cheeks.

“Breakfast is ready!” Roman yells from the bottom of the stairs, and Nik slowly pulls away, only to rest his forehead against mine.

“We should go down, you need to eat,” he says, and I can only nod past the lump in my throat.

I want the dream he promises so badly it almost hurts, and yet, I’m terrified at the cost we will have to pay to make it a reality.

Taking a deep inhale and shaking away the worry over things that I have no control over, I grasp Nik’s hand and we make our way to the dining table, which sits in front of large glazed doors which look out over the forest that surrounds us.

On the table is the biggest breakfast spread I’ve ever seen in my life. There’s a pot of oatmeal, Russian black bread and various toppings, including butter, jam, and a variety of meats and cheese. There also seems to be pancakes that are golden and smell divine. Plus, there’s juice, tea, and coffee.

“This looks incredible,” I say, sitting down when Nik pulls out a chair for me. He takes the one next to me, the head of the table, while Hunt comes over and sits at the other end. Roman sits next to me, Rowan next to him, and Andrei and Dima take seats across from us, Dima next to Nikolai with Bubby next to Andrei.

“Dima likes to cook,” Andrei tells me, pecking a quick kiss on Dima’s cheek before gripping the plate of pancakes and offering them to me across the table. “You have to try his Syrniki. They are to die for, especially with the blueberry jam.”

I take the plate of golden looking pancakes. They’re thicker than traditional pancakes, smaller too, so more like American biscuits. I take a couple, then pass the plate to Nik, who smiles in thanks. Grabbing the pot of blueberry jam next, I put a dollop on the pancakes and then pick up my fork. Cutting a piece off, I place it in my mouth, and the sweet cheesy goodness just fucking melts on my tongue.

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