Theft of the Heart Ch. 03

"And who do you plan to call, Chella, Nicholas Ferris?" he asked resentfully. For some reason, he didn't like the idea that Chella knew Nicholas. He wondered about the kind of relationship the two had. He would find out.

Chella was baffled by Aleksander's sudden change in mood. One minute he was a condescending asshole, the next, he was all angry. 'Is it Nicholas that upset him?' she wondered. 'How does he know Nic anyway?' She really hoped he didn't do business with each him, she didn't want this to effect Nicholas' business in anyway.

"No," she said cautiously. "My sister has a friend down at the station. I'm pretty sure she'd rather go to him before involving Nic in this."

Aleks regarded her for a while, before moving to his office to retrieve the said phone. He handed it to her without a word.

Chella looked at him for a while before scrolling through her sister's phone. She found the name she was looking for, pressed the dial button and waited. She didn't have to wait long.

"Hey Zan!"

"Hello Grant, it's actually Verochelle," she responded, without taking her eyes away from Aleks.

She listened to the man on the other side of the line fumble his words before finally forming a coherent sentence. "Uhm...hey Chelles, I mean Verochelle," Grant said, remembering that Verochelle didn't really like being called 'Chelles.' Her sister and Nicholas were the only ones who got away with calling her that.

"How are you? What's up?" he mumbled some more.

"I'm fine thanks, I need a favour," Chella said, cutting to the chase.

"Sure, anything. What can I do for you?"

"My sister is on her way to the station. I need you to tell her that I'm fine, and she doesn't need to get help anymore."

"Uhm, why would she think you needed help? Are you in some trouble?"

"No trouble, just a little misunderstanding that I've just sorted out. Tell her I'll give her a call tomorrow, and that she shouldn't worry. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, sure, I can do that. Are you sure you're ok though? I could come get you, wherever you are."

"Yes, I'm sure. My sister knows where I am, if I don't come back, she'll know where to look for me," she said, staring at a smirking Aleks.

"Uhm, ok I'll let her know," Grant responded suspiciously.

"Thank you, bye Grant," Chella said, before he could continue, and promptly hung up.

"So what now, Aleksander Novak? What questions do you have for me?"

"Well, let's start with something simple, shall we, Verochelle Winters?" He gestured for her to have a seat on the same armchair she had been cuffed to not so long ago. "What were you doing in my house tonight?" he asked, as he prepared two glasses of whiskey for them.

'Wow, that is an easy question,' she thought. 'Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she thought.'

"We were in the middle of a burglary," she answered sardonically. "I thought that would have been kind of obvious."

Aleks stopped what he was doing and glared at Chella. He was surprised to see her glare back at him defiantly. There weren't many people, human or vampire alike, who could look so determined when he had that look on his face. It was amazing how much confidence she possessed now that her sister was not in his house anymore. He expected her to cower like so many have at his feet. He had to admit, he was impressed by her show of tenacity.

He smirked at her before he spoke again. "Perhaps you and your sister would have succeeded if you had not been so easily distracted by some balls."

A small frown marred her perfect features. That was rather asinine of them. Had they not been so distracted by "some balls," as Aleks put it, they may have been able to avoid this entire situation.

She shrugged at that, and didn't respond. It wasn't a question after all, and the only reason she agreed to stay was so she could answer his questions. Or at least, that was the excuse she made to herself.

"And why did you choose my house specifically?" he asked, continuing his task.

"My sister thought the house was empty and she found out from a reliable source that there are some interesting pieces here."

"And you just went along for the ride?"

"In a nutshell, yeah," she said, shrugging.

Aleks crossed his arms over his chest, Chella could see the muscles straining beneath his black dress shirt, and had to stifle a moan by biting her lips.

"Who's your sister's source?"

"I don't know, you'd have to ask her. Unfortunately, you didn't have enough cuffs to keep her here," Chella said, smirking at Aleks. Her smirk fell away when she noticed his roguish sneer, like he knew something she did not.

"Tell me about your sister."

"The only thing you need to know about my sister is that she is none of your business," she responded defensively.

"I think you are forgetting our agreement, Verochelle. I ask questions and you answer," he said patiently, before handing her the glass of whiskey.

"My sister has nothing to do with this deal, if you want to know about her, then you can ask her. I'll answer any questions that relates directly to me, but my sister is none of your business, Novak," she reiterated.

Aleks took a seat behind his desk, directly opposite Chella. He knew she was protective of her sister, he just didn't realise how much. "Very well, tell me about your relationship with Nicholas Ferris."

Chella mulled over that question for a bit, before deciding how to answer. Her relationship with Nic was complicated. He had taken in Chella and her sister, and had taken care of them both during one of the worst times of their lives. He could have turned them in when he found them in his house ready to steal from him. But he didn't, instead he showed them so much kindness it broke through her sister's grief and came very close to breaking through her own.

Without Nicholas Chella was certain she wouldn't have survived. If he hadn't come into their lives when he did the two sisters would have most likely ended up in jail, or worse. Nic was the father they never knew, the mother they didn't remember and the brother they lost all rolled up into one devastatingly handsome package.

Aleks saw the obvious affection in her eyes at the thought of Nicholas Ferris and it pissed him off. He didn't like the fact that she held such emotion for him.

"Nic is family," she said with clear adoration.

"Family?" He asked sceptically.

"Yes. Family doesn't only have to mean people you're related to by blood you know. Sometimes people come into your life and plant themselves so firmly in your heart that the only way you can describe what you feel for them is 'family'. I'd do anything for him as I would for my sister, so yes; he is family."

"And how did earn the privilege of being claimed as 'family' by you," he inquired resentfully. His dislike for Nicholas Ferris increasing by the minute.

"That's a long story."

"Good thing you're here all weekend," he said pleased with himself.

"Nic earned mine and my sister's trust and loyalty through his humanity and benevolence."

Aleks threw his head back and laughed at that statement. He's heard a lot about Nicholas Ferris, but the words 'humanity and benevolence' have never been used to describe the elder vampire."I've heard a lot about your Nic," he said with a certain level of contempt. "But humanity and benevolence?"

Chella was taken off guard by Aleks' apparent dislike of Nic and naturally rose to defend him. "Well obviously whoever told you about my Nic doesn't know him. Since he happens to be my best friend and I know him better than anyone else, I think you'd be better off taking my word over whoever it is that told you about him!"

Aleks scoff at her as he drained his glass. He had no idea why he was getting mad. Why should her relationship with Ferris matter to him? So what if she loved the other vampire without really knowing him? Logically he knew that he shouldn't care what the little human does with her life or with Nicholas; but he did. Her relationship with the elder vampire bothered him. Subliminally he had a theory as to why the relationship bothered him, but he was not yet ready to admit it to himself.

As much as vampires and other supernatural being were considered myth among humans, some supernatural being had things they too considered myth, one of them being the concept of a 'true mate'. There are plenty of mated vampires, but he always figured it was based on mutual fondness, as in the case of humans, instead of some external 'higher power' that decides the fates of each individual on the planet. He had lived far too long to believe that the gods spent their time picking the mates of every living creature.

"You know him better than anyone else?" he asked with mocking sneer. "I'm pretty sure I know more about Nicholas Ferris than you do little girl. Things that could make you re-evaluate that little declaration you just made."

"Really? And what would that be?"

"I can tell you with absolute certainty that he is a very bad man," he said with a mocking smile. "While he may have showed you a more humane and benevolent aspect of his character, I can assure that is not who he really is. He's just like me, except he hides who he really is."

Chella fear filled scent assaulted Aleks' nostrils once again. She had started to feel comfortable in Aleks' company until just now. The urge to go back on her word and try to escape beat down on her consciousness, but she callously shoved the urge away.

"I don't think you and I are talking about the same Nicholas Ferris," she said with more confidence than she actually felt. "Like I said, I know Nic well and he is nothing like you, after seven years with him I'm pretty sure I'd have known if he were a complete asshole."

"Are you fucking him?" he blurted out. That isn't what he wanted to say. What he wanted to do was actually end this conversation and head to bed to rest; but her defending of Nicholas was really grating on his nerves. Why would she defend someone like Nicholas, what is it about him that' making her put him on such a high pedestal? And if she knows everything about him why does she not know what he used to do to his own kind?

"What?" Chella asked almost choking on her drink. She had never thought of Nic in that way. While she could appreciate that Nic's looks were certainly way above average; he was family in every sense of the word and even though they weren't connected by blood sleeping with him would still be tantamount to incest, in her opinion. "Not that it's any of your business but no! Nic is family."

"Family and yet you don't really know what he is, what he has done," he said stalking up on Chella. "Do you have any idea the kind of things your Nic did to his own people? His own family?"

Chella had stood up and backed away from Aleks until she found herself against the wall with nowhere else to go. Oh god what have I gotten myself into? She thought to herself. He mind was frantically searching for a way out off this situation she found herself in. But she literally felt like trapped prey and Aleks was the predator. The way he was looking at her was extremely unsettling, but she did her best to contain the dread that was bubbling just beneath the surface.

Aleks would have been fooled by her calm exterior, if the scent of fear hadn't eclipsed any other scent in the large home office. He had to invade her personal space by bending down and sniffing on her neck to get even a tiny whiff of her strawberry scent.His close proximity both excited and terrified her at the same time. Her reaction to him was so confusing it was disconcerting.

Her brain was telling her to move but her body had different ideas. Her soul felt safe even though the situation didn't really allow her to.

"Do I frighten you Verochelle?"

"Yes," she whispered breathlessly.

Aleks growled at that. The way she said 'yes' made his cock stir. He wished she were saying that to him in his bed, in the throes of passion.

"Does Nic frighten you?"

"No."

Aleks lifted his face from her neck to look into her light chocolate eyes that had gotten slightly glassy. He could hear the rapid beat of her heart and could clearly scent her fear and confusion. Part of him wanted to take her in his arms tell her everything will be alright.

But he was angry and spiteful and couldn't bring himself to comfort her. Instead he brought his large hand to her neck and began to close it around her."Well he should Sweetheart; like I said he and I are exactly alike," he said with a sneer and extended his large fangs and allowed his brilliant green eyes to bleed black.

"Oh god," she whispered before she lost consciousness.

**********

Danny followed his brother and Alpha to the pack hospital. He had fucked up this time, and he knew it. The last thing the pack needed was attention from the town. If this woman saw Liz shift, she would have to be turned, and if she has family that could mean investigations. Investigations that the pack could really do without.

"Where is she?" Joshua barked.

"In the west wing, Liz thought it would be better if she was kept in a separate part of the building, as far away from the rest of the pack as possible. She didn't want her presence to upset them."

"Well at least someone is able to use their brain instead of their fucking hormones, maybe she should be my second instead." Josh knew he was being cruel, but he really couldn't believe his brother had gotten them in this mess. Between this and his Julia situation, his evening really couldn't get any worse.

"I said I was sorry Josh, it's not like I went out there looking for trouble, man. Shit happens."

"Yeah, shit always happens where you are concerned."

"Damn it, Josh, I said I was sorry, I don't know what more I can say! You being an asshole about this whole situation is not going to help anyone!"

Joshua let out a deep growl and turned to face his brother. "Watch it, Danny, I am still Alpha here. The next time you speak to me like that, I will take it as a challenge. Got that?"

Danny lowered his gaze and bared his throat in submission. He didn't want to challenge his brother, and he sure as hell did not want to be Alpha. "Yes Alpha."

"Good," Joshua said, as he made his way into the building. "And Daniel, I'm sorry too, I was being an asshole. There's no one else I would rather have as my second than you little brother, we'll fix this."

"Yeah, I know. Let's face it, your life would be boring as hell without me," Danny said with relief, knowing his apology has been accepted. His brother could never stay mad at him.

The pair made their way into the building through one of the back doors. As soon as Josh walked through the door his wolf perked up and became restless. Subconsciously he knew what it meant when his wolf stirred like that but he couldn't allow himself the hope for fear that it wasn't really his mate in the far room of the hospital.

His wolf would not be silenced though, he trusted his instincts more than Josh did and he knew.

Josh opened the door and immediately his wolf mentally projected the most important word known to his kind through the minds of his entire pack. "MINE!"