K E I R A

Chicago, USA

A whimper escaped my lips when I forced my eyes open. I nearly collapsed because of the pain in my arms and spine; however, the binding kept me standing. It didn't take long for the memories to come back to me, and the moment they did, I looked around me, frantically searching for Nikolai. I exhaled when I saw him standing next to me, his hands tied above him the same way mine were. Except his head was hanging, and his hair was stuck to his head from what I assumed was blood. If only I was oblivious to the panic poisoning my veins, then perhaps I would've remembered to think and masked my transparency. However, the terror was no longer merely threaded with my heart; it bombarded my brain until the only thing I could see was the scarlet on his shirt.

Hissing, I struggled against my bindings and only stopped when the burning on my wrist became impossible to ignore. I focused on my breathing and looked around the place, not surprised in the least to find it empty and dark. The small bulb on top of us was the only source of light, and from the dusty floors, I could only assume that it was some sort of a warehouse.

When I'd realized that it was a futile endeavor to try and fight these bindings, I looked for a way to loosen them so I could drag myself across the bar, closer to Nikolai. I pushed my arms forward, fisting my hands as I tried to move the rope forward. My neck hurt from looking above me, and the pain in my wrist intensified as the rope chafed against my skin. After trying for what seemed like hours, I was finally next to Nikolai, and I nudged his leg with my foot.

"Nikolai," I whispered, dying to touch him, but the bindings on my hand kept me in place. "Niko," I hit his calf as gently as I could, and if it wasn't for the constant rise and fall of his chest letting me know that he was indeed okay, I didn't think I would've survived.

"Nikolai...." Salt became the only taste on my tongue as I kept on whispering his name, "Niko, please, open your eyes."

My blood was running cold, and running out of options and determination, I did the only thing that would ensure that the boiling rage in my body would just leave. I screamed out his name. It was like my aching muscles, and burning heart had finally just let go. My throat was hoarse from screaming his name, and I could feel the tears rolling down my face. Now, the only thing I could manage was helpless murmurs.

My eyes were drooping, the tiredness catching up to me, and almost when I was unconscious, Nikolai groaned, and my eyes shot open. Tears pooled out of my eyes when he lifted his head, his cloudy gaze settling on mine, and I jerked my hands forward, hissing in pain as the rope dug into my skin. Our feets touched, and our gazes found each other before he grimaced,

"You shouldn't have done that," He tilted his head towards my hands, his eyes narrowed as he flexed his fingers. "Don't look at me like that, little wolf; it looks worse than it is."

"Shut up, Niko." Our noses touched, and I itched to touch his lips with mine, but I held myself back, "I—"

Except I didn't get a chance to finish what I'd wanted to say, my words stolen by Nikolai's lips on mine. He pressed his lips against mine, and when he bit into my lower lip, I opened, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Our tongues tangled, and my fingers came alive like lightning in the stormy sky, and I moaned into his mouth. Nikolai's beard scratched my chin, and the heady feeling of his taste on my tongue was enough to replace the foreboding awareness in my blood with numbing anticipation. As his lips stole away my breaths, I felt the air returning to my lungs.

Our lips were locked, and our hands were tied above our heads, but in his kiss, I could've drowned and come back alive a million times without a complaint ever leaving my lips. Nikolai touched his forehead with mine, his grey eyes whispering secrets that I knew he didn't want me to know yet.

"What aren't you telling me?" I whispered at the same time as he said,

"I'm fine, little wolf."

I shook my head, intending to push him some more for truths, but footsteps broke through our bubble, bursting my haven and throwing me back into the cold warehouse with blood clinging to our clothes.

"Samuel." Nikolai turned, his body covering mine, and I looked over his shoulder at the man making his way towards us.

He was dressed immaculately in a suit, a pair of Oxfords, and glasses perched on his nose. His eyes were a startling blue that went perfectly with his golden brown hair. I inhaled sharply, realizing who he was.

"Nikolai," Samuel tilted his head in greeting, "Keira."

Samuel took a step forward, holding out the bulletproof jacket he was holding in his hands.

"Which one of you gets it?" He looked between the both of us; however, before I could even utter a word, Nikolai had already said my name.

Samuel came closer, and I sucked in a breath, "Why can't we both get one?"

Nikolai and Samuel looked at each other, and when the former shook his head, his lips set in a tight line, I knew he was indeed hiding something. Samuel ensured the bullet-proof jacket was set around me before he took a step back.

"Kyzer will be here in a few hours. Angelo could hardly wait to gloat." Samuel sneered, and I didn't miss the malice on his face, except his disloyalty to Angelo made no sense since he was Angelo's Consigliere.

Nikolai nodded, and Samuel turned around to leave. I could imagine it was dangerous for him to be here if he was indeed my brother's trojan horse, but it made no sense.

"Why?" I eyed Nikolai, who was already looking at me.

"Nothing we should be worrying about," Nikolai answered. "And before you ask me what I'm hiding, it's nothing. Drop it," I opened my mouth to argue, "Please." The desperation in his voice rendered me silent, and I shook my head, facing away from him.

It wasn't long until the door started clanking, and loud footsteps echoed against the walls of the warehouse. I stiffened, leaning into Nikolai's side, at least as much as the bindings would allow me. Nikolai stiffened when the lights came on, and Angelo's face became visible.

Angelo was dressed in his three-piece black suit, not a strand of his jet-black hair out of place, and my blood started boiling at the sight of him. I bit my lip to contain my words because I knew he didn't deserve to know the number of pieces he'd left me in.

Angelo sneered at me before his eyes landed on Nikolai, "I should be happy about this development, but I can't risk Mikhail attacking me. I suppose it's a good thing I only need you for a little nudge then,"

He rubbed his shaved jaw, and his eyes went from Nikolai to me, and while I saw the monster in his eyes, I also couldn't help but remember the man who'd played with me when I was little. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he laughed before he came and stood right in front of me. Angelo traced my jaw with his finger before he tightened his grip on my jaw, forcing me to look at him. Nikolai struggled beside me, but I forced my eyes to stay on his despicable face.

"You have your mother's pride," Angelo dug his fingers in my jaw almost painfully, and I bit my tongue, "It was such a shame she begged for death at the hands of—"

"Get your hands off my sister, Angelo." Kyzer's voice boomed, and I could've sagged from relief when he came into the room, his hands above his head. "I wasn't aware you were fond of theatrics," Kyzer smirked, and Angelo stiffened before he nodded at two of his men.

They undid the bindings on my hands, and I fell to the ground; Nikolai followed, our bodies too drained to hold us up. Nikolai grunted, his hate-filled gaze settling on Angelo, who was standing in the middle of the room like a king everyone knew he wasn't.

"I must say I'm surprised you crawled out of your hole, Kyzer."

Kyzer chuckled, and if I wasn't familiar with my brother's penchant for madness, I would have thought he'd gone crazy, "Trust me, Angelo, I wasn't hiding. Don't you remember the message I carved up on one of your dogs?" Kyzer arched his brow, his hands falling on his sides.

"Fine," Angelo's anger was clear on his face, and I knew Kyzer was grating on his nerves, "I suppose it's unfortunate that you're about to be leashed like one of my dogs." Kyzer's lips thinned into a straight line, "And you'll agree to it if you don't want another family member begging you to put them out of their misery and kill them."

All the breath whooshed out of my lungs at Angelo's words, and I sought out Kyzer's eyes, except he wasn't even sparing me a glance. Anything to tell me that whatever shit this bastard was spewing was a lie. Kyzer kept his eyes on Angelo, and Nikolai's fingers threaded with mine.

"Did you know?" I hissed at Nikolai.

"Know what?"

I turned my head towards him, unsure if the surprise in his eyes was indeed the truth or just another lie.

"Oh, Kyzer, you didn't tell her?" Angelo chuckled, rubbing his hands together, and crouched in front of me. "It wasn't my bullets that killed your parents, Keira. Yes, I did shoot them six times each, but the person who really killed them was your twin." Angelo's twisted smile and lack of remorse had my fingers tightening around Nikolai's hands as I warred with myself to keep my tears at bay.

"I don't believe you." I spat at him.

"You don't have to," Angelo looked at Kyzer, who was staring at the scene in front of him with his clenched jaw, and red-rimmed eyes, "just take a look at your brother. I must say guilt looks better on his face than smugness."

"What do you want?" Kyzer asked. The fury in his eyes betrayed the calm in his voice, and I wished I could tell him that it wasn't his fault.

I was angry that he'd kept it from me, fuck, I was livid, he didn't trust me enough with his demons, but I understood him. The ghosts in his eyes were enough to break goose bumps on my skin, and I knew if the roles were reversed, I would've saved him the pain of knowing that our parents were in so much pain that they begged their son to kill them.

Still, the bitterness was omnipotent inside my heart, and the more I dwelled on it, the more I realized this wasn't just fleeting anger. It was a lasting venom in my veins, and I'd never wanted to feel it towards my brother. I exhaled as Angelo went on about some other shit before someone put their hands on Kyzer's shoulder, holding him in his place. A gun hanging casually from his other hand. I looked up to see it was Samuel and eased up a little.

"So, will you marry my daughter Mallory and move to Chicago?" Angelo asked, and from the impatience in his voice, I knew my brother's silence was grating on his last nerve. "Perhaps you need some more motivation." Angelo nodded at Samuel, who brought his gun up and aimed at me.

This couldn't be happening. Wasn't Samuel on our side? My heart hammered against my ribcage as my eyes danced between Kyzer, Nikolai, and Samuel. Samuel pressed the trigger, but someone covered my body with theirs. The sound of the bullet broke through my haze. I screamed when Nikolai's face, twisted in pain, became visible on my lap.

* * *

Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I will update soon, sometime during the next week (I promise!)

Now that you really know how Kiera and Kyzer's parents died, what do you think? 

What do you think about Samuel?

Any other theories?

Thank you so much for reading! Kyzer's book, Between Pride & Fate, is now up on Wattpad, and its aesthetics are up too with the blurb! I'll upload its prologue the day TDDUP ends, until then, you can enjoy the character aesthetics; I hope you like them!

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