Mikhail Nikarovich Baranov

I honestly hadn't known. When I arrived here from Moscow, I was only prepared to meet Mr. Nicolai Alfarone and guard his son, who was in danger. When my father Savastian Baranov came to me with the urgent need for me to fly to North Carolina, I was a little shocked. He said that the rogues were causing trouble and since I was a future Alpha of my pack, I was to come fix it.

"Сын, я предлагаю вам пойти и выяснить, почему мошенники вызывают проблемы." He put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to console me and I sighed (Son, I suggest you go and find out why the rogues are causing problems.). "У вас есть вся наша поддержка. Что бы ни случилось, происходит." My father looked me deep in the eyes before converting his speech to English, a trait that was often hard for us to do (You have all of our support. Whatever happens, happens.) "Misha, please be safe. Those rogues over there are trespassing. I'm sure they have changed every single detail about themselves so please do not be stupid. Think with your mind." Savastian explained, a fierce look on his face.

"This job should not last forever, son. Once you make sure that the child is safe and away from harm, you return back to Moscow to take over the role as Alpha." He said. "Don't I need a Luna?" I folded my arms, sighing. This was normal, since I didn't have a mate to spend time with. All the time that I had went towards jobs and actions like that. I had no idea how my father was able to get me a license that stated I could do those things but I wasn't complaining. "It's been too long, son. I'm not sure if there is any hope."

It was true. I was twenty three years old I was supposed to find my mate five years ago. Most of the wolves in the Blazing Rage pack usually found their mates within the same vicinity but that wasn't the case for me. I had just thought I was going to be mateless up until 1 year ago, I started having visions of a man who apparently loved to eat green apples and barbecue chicken. He seemed like he worked around alcohol because his scent was stained with that smell, not that I cared. I could see glimpses of dark brown hair and brown eyes glistened over with taupe skin. He had seemed so beautiful.

Then for the very first time in my life, I had laid eyes on him.

He had stared at me as he sat in his bed at the hospital, a sneer sat on my lips. "Is he mine?!" Amadeo growled from inside, itching to get closer to him. "I'm not sure." I grunted back. "Father did say that it would difficult for me to decipher the mate bond since it took so long." I sighed, hating how hard it would be for me to tell if he was my mate or not. He matched the man in my prophecies but I could never be too sure. "Dad, you can't be serious!" I heard his voice carry throughout the room like the sweetest melody I had ever heard and since then, I had been completely enamored by him. That was, until he insulted me and I wanted to leap across the room and claw his throat out.

"What the fuck is he saying?" The man called Nicca barked at his father when I spoke in Russian on accident. How dare he?! He should have been fucking grateful that I even came all this way out here to guard him with my life and soul. "Ungrateful bastard." I hissed, folding my arms. It was burning need into me to grab this boy into my arms, fucking him until all he knew was my name. I wanted to feel his lips against mine all day long. He created that flame inside of me and I so badly wanted to lessen it but I couldn't indulge in my desires. Such a thing would lead to misfortune.

We had started over from scratch, all insults aside as we looked at each other, shaking each other's hands. Then all of a sudden, there was a burning pain coming from my right wrist. I hissed internally as the smell of burning flesh wafted into my nostrils. After I let his hand go, a sensation filling through my body piece by piece, I looked at my wrist.

"Screw you."

Those words were written in black on my wrist, like it was some sort of tattoo I had never had done. I looked up at Nicca, staring at him with a bewildered expression. My father did say some unusual things would happen if I did happen to find my mate. I wasn't sure if I would find my mate to begin with, since it was five years too late. "This case of yours is not unusual, Misha, your case belongs to one of the prophecies of the Moon." He said to me when I had turned 21 and I was still without a mate. "It is said that if you do find your mate, you won't know until the time is right."

I never understood what he meant, even now I still don't. It was a little depressing because I could've been talking to my mate and not knowing it, which would put me at odds. But what puzzled me more was the fact that I wanted to fuck Nicca with everything I had. I wanted to feel him beneath me, writhing and begging for more. The things I wanted to do were indescribable, could never be said out loud. I felt his dreams, what they were doing to him. I saw his dreams, what they were doing to me. He craved me too and nothing pleased Amadeo even more. Nothing pleased him more than the fact that Nicca wanted me to stay with him because he was having nightmares. He saw me as his protector, even if I was his bodyguard.

My mind strayed from reality for a second. Nicca had told me that his driver Adrian Fontaine was indeed Emiliano Capaldi, one of R's right hand men. The only reason we knew his identity is because before he was converted into a Deathrow member, he used to be a FBI agent. It was a little suspect because he should've been someone who found it easy to capture the leader of the Deathrow, someone who went by R. The reason I knew his identity as Emiliano Capaldi was because he was a rogue and I recognized him as as one of the lowly wolves that were trespassing around the woods a few days before the explosion.

What pissed me off was the fact that he had the audacity, the nerve, the unmitigated gall to hurt what belong to me. He raped my precious Nicca and that thought made my blood boil so hard, made me so fucking livid. "When I get my hands on him, I'll destroy him." Amadeo howled, the urge to shift into my red wolf slowly increasing. I hadn't been on a run since Nicca almost caught me that night. The only reason I was able to play it off was because I sensed him coming. I sensed his fear. I was sure I would get the chance to once I figured who Felix Denisov was. That name sounded so familiar, like I've heard it before. I don't know. Once I found out who he was, I was going to kill him and the other two who dared to lay a single finger on my precious cargo.

"That's fucking right, those пидарасы." Amadeo let out a fierce growl as he stretched, wanting to be let out. I willed myself not to let my claws be released as I took a deep breath, letting out small sighs.

My eyes widened as Nicca demanded for Jose to bring him a container of fresh green apples, something about fulfilling his cravings. Nah, it can't be. "Mikhail, what's your favorite food?" He asked, looking at me with something hidden in his eyes, something I couldn't quite point out. "I like beef stroganoff, the kind my mother makes." I nodded in reply to his question, thinking about how much I missed Svetlana Baranov. She was the one who told me to have faith in the fact that I would find my mate. She was sure that I would find him or her. I had always dated girls but I was open to the idea of dating guys.

"I have to go to the hospital. Something about filling out the rest of your оформление документации." I stated absentmindedly as he looked at me with a confused face. "Sorry, sorry." I corrected myself, noticing that my Russian crept through my words without me realizing. "Your paperwork has to be finalized and I'm not sure you're in enough condition to do it yourself. Besides, you're on strict orders to stay home." I demanded, folding my arms as I looked at Nicca with a stern expression. "Who said that?!" He stomped his foot, wincing at the burn of his wounds and I hissed, feeling my foot burning as well. He had to be, there was no doubt. There was no other way to explain why I felt his pain and his emotions. There was no other way to explain how he could see the tattoo on my wrist. No other way. "I said so. Now good day." I growled, pushing the covers back up on him, ignoring his hateful expression as I left the room. I wanted to push him down and kiss him as deeply as I could, but right now was not the time.

  * * *

"Ah, look who we have here. My little boyfriend's bodyguard." I held back a sneer as my nostrils were invaded with scents of deceit and hatred. This man was wearing them on his fur like it was a medal to be proud of. I don't know why but I hated this man with a severe passion, never minding the fact that he raped Nicca along with two other men I knew he had to have been working with. "I guess that would be me," I tilted my head down, a fierce glare in my eyes. "Mr. Bardlow." I finished with a hiss enlacing my tone.

"What are you doing here?" Steve folded his arms, a smart look on his face and my wolf wanted to slice him up into twelfths and then throwing the pieces to the wolves. "I'm sure Nicca can't be left alone, huh?" He smirked coldly, an underlying meaning seeping through his words and I knew from that second that he had something to do with why Nicca ended up in the hospital. "I'm positive Nicca will be able to handle himself if I'm not there." He has Jose and Kaiden, who was some sort of agent of some sort. He was nice to get along with. "What are you doing here?" I raised an eyebrow, daring him to challenge me, an Alpha in the making. He was just a mere rogue without a title, trash if you must.

"I thought Nicca said you were coming over earlier. He isn't here, so why are you here?" I tilted my head condescendingly, knowing he would take the bait because he was too stupid to read between the lines. I knew how he operated so his moves didn't mean anything to me. "Ah, just visiting an old friend is all." He clicked his teeth, staring up at me with an unknown look in his eyes. He had many things to hide and from the many scents on his body, I could tell. "Ah, may I ask who this old friend is?" I asked, sniffing his aura to realize that he had the familiar scent of someone who was trespassing in the woods that surrounded Nicca's house a few days ago. Somehow, it resembled the scent of Emiliano but I was sure he told Nicca he didn't know his driver. "Ah, it's not of importance." He waved a hand at me, his hands in his pockets as he moved to walk around me and my eyes flickered through different shades of colors, recognizing who he truly was.

"You think you're so slick, huh?" I smirked, watching as he tilted his head back, revealing his freshly turned red eyes, a smug grin sat on his lips.

"Raymond."