Page 67 of Bratva Bride

Instead of continuing the path back into the Volkov mansion, I turned left, leading Illayana down a few steps into the yard where the reception was being held. Soon, our guests would begin to crowd around us, ready to offer their blessings. It was a tedious tradition, but tradition nonetheless.

I took a sip of my champagne, not at all a fan of the bubbles but meh. I turned to gaze at my wife.

Fuck. My wife.

"Any regrets?" I smirked.

Her blue eyes landed on me as she took a sip of her drink. "I don't know yet. We've only been married for thirty seconds. Ask me again in a few years,” she winked.

I chuckled, drinking the rest of my champagne and handing the empty glass to one of the waiters walking past.

The first round of guests appeared before us. Dimitri, Aleksandr, Nikolai and Lukyan.

They looked large and imposing, all of them standing well over six feet tall with muscular builds and hard, sculpted faces. If I wasn't 100% sure they agreed with our union, I'd think they were about to kill me. Well, try anyway.

Dimitri hugged Illayana first, whispering something in her ear that I couldn't quite make out, then moved to stand in front of me. He extended his hand, his hard eyes locked on me as he squeezed my hand in his.

"Congratulations," he said emotionlessly.

I thanked him and went to pull my hand back when his grip tightened. Not enough to cause pain, but enough for me to see it for what it was. A warning.

He stepped forward, covering the empty space between us and whispered in my ear."Yesli ty khot' kak-to navredish' moyey docheri, ya tebya zarezhu.” If you hurt my daughter in any way, I’ll butcher you.

The fact he delivered his threat in Russian made it all the more menacing, which I think was what he was trying to achieve. As he went to step back, I tightened my own grip on his hand, halting him.

He arched an eyebrow in surprise, his eyes lit with fire.

I felt Illayana tense at my side but I continued to stare into his eyes, refusing to back down. I've met men like Dimitri my whole life. At the slightest hint of weakness, they pounced. I couldn't show weakness. I refused to.

"I mne vse ravno, yesli vy Myasnik Bratvy, ugrozhayte mne snova, i vam ne ponravitsya to, chto proiskhodit."I don't care if you are The Bratva Butcher, threaten me again and you won't like what happens.

I released his hand and wrapped an arm around Illayana's shoulders, loving the looks of shock on her brother’s faces. Clearly no one had ever spoken to their father that way. Or maybe they had. They just never lived to talk about it.

An uncomfortable silence fell over us until eventually Dimitri smiled. An honest to God, genuine smile. Something I only saw him do once when he was tormenting the Mexican in his basement a few days ago.

Maybe that's what he plans to do to you, that's why he's smiling like a bloody lunatic.

"I look forward to that day, Arturo," he winked and moved along.

Aleksandr, Nikolai and even Lukyan, all gave me a firm handshake and their congratulations before following after their father.

"Are you insane?!" Illayana hissed as they walked away. "No one has ever,everspoken to him like that. Not even me, and he loves me."

I couldn't help grinning at her words. "I gathered as much by the look of horror on all of your faces after I said it," I chuckled.

"If you weren't my husband, he would have gutted you."

"Maybe," I shrugged.

The next guests to give us their blessings stopped in front of us. My mother, father and younger siblings. Alessandro put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a smile of encouragement before moving to Illayana. My mother appeared next, her green eyes sparkling with moisture as she stood up on her tip toes and kissed my cheek.

"Oh Arturo, I feared I wouldn't live to see this day."

I rolled my eyes and patted her on the back. "You overreact, mother."

She slapped my shoulder and tsked. "I do not. My concerns were valid. You never kept a woman longer than a week.”

I groaned. "Can we not have this conversation right now? Or ever?" I mumbled, flicking my gaze to Illayana, who was waiting patiently to greet my mother.

---