Page 83 of Voracious

Chicken shit, he’s scared of her, it’s smart considering she’s more lethal than all of her brothers combined.Keeping my woman tucked to my side, I look smug as fuck walking past them. My shoulder knocks into his chest and I let her go to give my warning.

“If you ever aim in her vicinity again, I’ll make sure your knees match.”

The reminder of his torture doesn’t make him react violently as I expected, the weird cunt smiles widely and teases, “You care about her.”

It’s not a question and I don’t answer.

I always thought it was a combination of Len and Anika that made them all fucking crazy. Their mother wasn’t only theirs; she was the mother of all evil twisted bitches and Len has his own designated place in hell. But Ana is the same as them because Yulia and Anika were the same fucking person, the motherfucker had a type, and it was sadistic bitches who got off on hurting the innocent.

I stand back at the edge of the lounge to watch her have the family she might not have dreamed of but one that will always protect her as Verena waddles over and slaps against my legs, wanting to be picked up. Throwing her in the air, she giggles and slaps against my cheek with her order. “Mwah.”

Kissing her cheek as per her instruction, she settles on my shoulder and twists to look out at her subjects. If there was ever a child made for royalty, it’s this one and she proves it by pointing where she wants me to take her.

If Ana wasn’t a Vartanov, this little girl would be my favorite for pointing in my hellion’s direction as she mumbles, “Nuh, Ana.”

There’s something about seeing my woman interact with a kid, the softness in her features and how all the violence disappears. Verena keeps chanting her name and strokes Ana’s hair, softly whispering. “Pretty.”

Definitely the best kid I’ve met, fucking intelligent as anything and she makes my hellion blush.Ana makes a buzzing noise low in her throat as she brings her finger to her nose and begins to wriggle it. The buzzing intensifies as she wriggles herfinger closer to Verena’s face then presses it against the tip of her nose, forcing a giggle out of the grumpy infant.

I’m too engrossed in watching her that I don’t notice my little-shit sister coming to my side. Katya digs her bony ass knuckle into my ribs and passes the birthday girl to our current shared obsession. I go on alert as she drags me off to the side with more urgency than she’s ever had before. No fucker would have hurt her, she trained with Val and Tali, used to kick the shit out of them for using her stuff when they were kids, but it’s my job to protect my family.

She digs around her bag, and it takes a second for me to understand what she’s doing.

“I know you’re going to bitch about it, but you have to have it after how you just looked at her.”

She has a sad smile as she gently places our mother’s ring in my palm. It’s not the cursed ring that kept her imprisoned to our father, but the only heirloom she didn’t sell to try and get away from the cunt or pay off his debts.

It’s old as fuck, some however-many-greats grandmother managed to pass it down each generation to the first daughter. The only piece our mother kept of her wealth when she lowered herself to marry that bastard. As much as I want to give the sapphire to Ana, I can’t. It’s not my right and the only tradition we have should continue through Katya.

Attempting to pass it back to the stubborn brat, she wraps her arms around my middle and emotion chokes me.

“You were born my brother, but you became my mother and father. I just want you to be happy, Mama would have wanted Ana to have it.”

It’s been over ten years since my annoying little sister has discussed our parents, and the watery eyes are fucking with me. I might be a cunt but she’s still six and clung to my back like a monkey in my head.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head as I get ironclad confirmation.

“You won’t bitch about in a few years when you’ve made me broke from all your fake college courses?”

She avoids my eyes like I didn’t know she’s been talking shit for years and enrolling in courses she doesn’t even attend just so she can live in the city. She needs to get better at hiding if she thinks that Vlad or me wouldn’t be able to check she’s safe, I didn’t even have to tell him since he’d already assigned Mischa to watch her.

THIRTY-THREE

Ana

My excitement mixes with nerves because I could find Nina tonight. She’ll be safe and I’ll have done something good, or tomorrow will be the same with one less place to look. I go into my room that I haven’t slept in since Dima keeps dragging me out of it and he appears out of nowhere, wrapping an arm around my waist doing the same thing. He lifts me off my feet and doesn’t even say anything as he walks into his room. My clothes feel uncomfortable again, tighter as he turns me around massaging my ass.I don’t know how he knows but he does.

Moving his hands up to my back, he looks into my eyes and asks, “What’s wrong, lisichka?”

“You have an issue with food and now my clothes don’t fit me,” I mumble my response as I feel every thread of the fabric touching me.

He looks me up and down as he leans back with a crease forming between his brows.

“You look perfect to me, but we’ll go tomorrow, and you can pick anything you want.”

It’s always we, never anything singular.

If I need to shower,westep under the spray.

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