CHAPTER ONE.
ADIR’s POV.
Year: 2014.
Time: 2:45AM.
I am pretty sure my screams are going to wake up the whole of New York at this point as the chains dig into my broken skin, leaving blood splattering all over the place. Today makes it two hundred and fifteen days that he has me under lock and keys and I don’t see it ending anytime soon. He doesn’t want to kill me but he wants to break me to the point that I will never be able to face anyone again like killing my parents was not enough for him. I still remember that day like it was yesterday, the way he massacred them. The way he held my father’s beating heart in his hand and tore it into a million pieces.
My mind drifts back to the present as one of his men pulls me by my hair which is dripping blood and I see his lips curl into a mocking smirk.
“How does it feel?” He asks in mockery, “you think you can become the alpha of the pack at this rate?” He asks again, this time in a more intense and angry manner, “a man like you can not lead an army like us, Adir” he says again, “how can a man like you lead us? What the hell was your father thinking wanting to make you the alpha of his pack?”
He shoves me back and the chains clatter with a huge noise, my back sting and my wolf howls in pain.
“He has ordered us to finally kill you” another rat faced man chips in, pulling out a gun from the back of his pants, “you should be happy that he has decided to put an end to your misery and..
“Why don’t you get it over with?” I grit in anger as blood continues to pour over my body, “you should be tired of me by now. I mean it isn’t easy taking care of someone like me”
“Even until the end, you are still sharp tongued right?”
I don’t bother to answer him and close my eyes. At this point, it will be better for me to die!
“Then why are you still waiting?” I ask, spitting blood out of my mouth. The last time I looked in the mirror, I looked like a fucking monster. My hair grew so long, my nails were long and dirty. I was like one of those monsters Hollywood liked portraying in their movies.
The door jolts open, bringing me back to the present and she steps in. His daughter, his eighteen years old daughter.
“I thought my father said to kill him,” she says.
“We are on it, ma’am” one of the men answers, flashing her a toothed smile.
“This is the end of the road for you now, Adir!” She says again, “I refuse to let you become the Alpha of the packs you are not even one of us”
“Have a safe journey to the moon goddess”
Just as cruel as her bald headed father!
PRESENT DAY.
JANUARY, 2025
I wake up with a start, my whole body covered with sweat, my alarm beeping on the bedside table. This dream has become my regular companion for the past eleven years, accompanying me every night like it has become a part of me.
Eleven years ago, I witnessed hell and when I mean hell, I mean the deepest part of it
I let out a sigh and pull my huge body out of the bed, catching my frame in the huge mirror in front of me. I look so different from what I used to be eleven years ago. Eleven years ago, I was just a lanky little boy who was born to an American father and a Nigerian mother. Her family migrated to the United States when their country was at war and they settled down here, becoming citizens after a long time. She met my father in high school and the two got into a relationship. Unknown to her, father was not who he claimed to be and she found it hard to accept when she eventually found out that he was the son of a wolf and therefore a wolf himself. It took months of convincing before she finally agreed to continue the relationship with my father but one night, one of the pack members lost control and bit her. She became a wolf by default. My grandfather died and father became the alpha of the pack, they got married and she had me but died on my birth bed. Maybe she didn’t want to behold the outcome of their taboo. Life was good, I had everything because my father owned almost more than twenty percent shares in every thriving business in the United States and he also owned Mirage, the biggest gaming company in the country alongside his partner, Lucas who was also his beta.
*****
Now I am standing at over 6 ft 1 with a bulky build, I look so different from the Adir of eleven years ago. I got my silver colored eyes from my mother, at least that’s what dad told me and I have always been a fan of low cuts, it’s kind of my signature thing alongside my olive skin which I think my two parents contributed to. Well, thirty four years also looks good on me.
My phone starts to ring, jolting me out of my thoughts. It is Edward on the line, my assistant.
“How many times have I told you not to call me so early in the morning, Edward?” I ask the moment I press the phone against my ear.
“An offer came in, boss” he says excitedly from the other end, “this new client wants to hire a bodyguard for his daughters”
Eleven years ago didn’t break me even when he left me for dead. Now I own one of the biggest security agencies in the country even after he stole everything that belonged to me.
“Who is that?” I ask, making my way towards the in-house gym.
“Lucas Festilio” Edward responds and I stop right in my tracks.
“What?”
“You are surprised, right?” I can already imagine him smiling like a Cheshire cat. That lad is good, he has proven himself over the last five years when I returned and set up the company.
“Should we accept his offer?”
“Send me his details”
“Yes, boss”
After ending the call, I fling the phone on the table before getting on the treadmill. Lucas Fistilio, how fascinating. He wants a bodyguard for his daughters? Interesting.
My phone chimes with a message but I don’t bother to check it, I continue with my morning exercise. After I am done, I take a shower and get dressed in a pair of black pants and a crisp button down shirt which I neatly tuck into my pants. My housekeeper made me breakfast but I opt for a cup of coffee before making my way out of the house and in no time, my Aston martini zooms off the premises into the busy streets of New York.
Edward is waiting by the driveway and his face lights up the moment I pull in front of him, he looks really excited.
“Good morning boss”
“Why do you look so excited?” I ask, tossing the keys to him.
“Well, business is about to get good”
“It has always been good,” I tell him.
“Yes, I know that but do you know how many millions of dollars we will make if we take this job? I have already requested Sasha to bring a list of all the capable bodyguards we have”
“No need for that” I tell him as we both make our way into my private elevator.
“Why?” He suddenly looks alarmed “are we not taking the offer?”
“I have said more than enough this morning”
None of us say anything again until we enter my office and I settle down on my reclining chair, Edward standing in front of me, his gaze expectant.
“Boss!”
I don’t answer him, I only pick up the files in front of me and go through it. He has two daughters. One is twenty nine and the other is seven. How is that even possible?
“How can that old man have a daughter who is seven years old?”
Edward’s face immediately lights up as he plops down on the chair opposite me, “that’s what he wants the public to think. I did some research and I found out that his daughter is a divorcee. She got divorced five months ago so since then, he has taken his granddaughter as his child. No one knows how it is possible for him to have a young child at this age but no one is asking. Apparently, his daughter’s husband left her to be with another woman even after she begged and begged. All this news, I got it after digging deep. Not anyone can find this out.
“Interesting!”
I pick up her picture which is on the table and I take in her features. I remember this face. She was there a couple of times, her father brought her. He showed me to her, he told her I was a sin which should be eradicated. He told her I was not fit to become an alpha after my father. And now she is a fucking divorcee? What the heck!
“We will take it” I finally tell Edward, whose smile intensifies.
“Okay boss, I will…
“I will do it” I drop the bombshell and the look on his face falters.
“What do you mean? We have more than a thousand employees. Why would you demean yourself in such a way?”
“I am doing it and that’s final. Don’t you have any other work?”
“Boss….” He looks skeptical, “how…
“You will be in charge for the meantime”
“But how can you just agree? You have never..
“I like her” I drop the bombshell and his mouth drops to the floor.
“What?”
“Evanthe, I like her”
“Okay but Mr Lucas asked to meet with you before you start work officially. I can…
“Text me the address”
Without waiting for his response, I pull myself off the chair and grab my keys which he had dropped on the table earlier and I make my way out of the office.
Half an hour later, I pull up in front of the house and my eyes drink in the sight. I remember I used to come here when dad was alive, it was like my second home but now I only feel hate and disgust towards everything.
“Good morning sir” an old lady says as she walks towards me.
“I am here to see Lucas” I tell her and a look of uncertainty appears on her face.
“I am the new bodyguard for his daughter”
“Oh, I see” her eyes travel over me towards my car and she lets out a knowing sigh. I know exactly what’s going on in her mind but I genuinely do not care.
“This way please”
We both walk into the house in silence and there I meet him in the living room, he is on a call with his back turned to me. Will he recognize me as the boy he tortured eleven years ago? The thought of it makes adrenaline rush through my body and I can not wait.
“Good, I will call you back” He ends the call and as soon as he turns to me, I see a slight frown creep up on his forehead.
“Good morning, Mr Lucas” I greet, “I am Adir, the new bodyguard for your daughter”
His eyes travel over me, he looks somewhat skeptical and confused.
“You look vaguely familiar, have we met before?”
“I doubt that” I tell him, “we are not in positions to meet each other”
“Hmmm, I see. You look like someone I have known for a long time”
“I see”
“Take a seat”
He ushers me to one and I make myself comfortable, my gaze not daring to leave him even for a moment. He still looks confused and I loved that, how I want to pop a bottle of champagne right now.
“Tell me about yourself, Adir”
“I work with nighthawk security”
“Oh, I see. What more? If I am going to let you protect my daughters, I need all the information I can get, young man”
I lean forward, my gaze not leaving him. I bet he no longer remembers the man he killed, the alpha he killed and stole his pack.
“If you didn’t trust us, you wouldn’t have asked us to guard your daughter, sir. And I am entitled to some sort of secrecy when it comes to my identity. If you do not trust me, you are welcome to ask my boss about me. So what will it be sir?”
I hear a voice from the stairs and I look up to see her. Our gaze meet and I see a look of confusion flash through her face. Evanthe Festilio. She looks different from eleven years ago. She has grown into a beautiful woman at that. My gaze travels down her body. She is putting on a jumpsuit which hugs her figure perfectly. She wasn’t so rounded the last time I saw her. What marriage could do.
“Hello” her face breaks into a tiny smile, “are you my new security guard?”
“That depends” I tell her, “your father doesn’t seem convinced enough to hire me”
“I like him” she blurts out and her old man’s eyes almost bulge out of their socket, “I want him to be my guard”
“You don’t even know anything about him,” Lucas cries out.
“I trust your judgment, dad” Evanthe says, “I have an important meeting later, I want him to accompany me”
This is getting more interesting than I even thought it would be.
Lucas’s eyes travel back to me and he lets out a sigh, my eyes catch the ring on his finger and I ball my hands into a fist. That ring belonged to my father and as the heir to the pack and his empire, it was supposed to belong to me. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to steady my anger. Not now, not now!
“Fine then” he finally says, “I trust your agency but best believe that I will have your balls on the table if anything happens to any of them”
“You have more to worry about”
With a smile, I pull my body off the couch before my focus to the lady who is still standing in front of me.
“You said you have a meeting, right?”
“Hmm”
“I will grab my bag”
I watch her make her way upstairs again while Lucas remains glaring at me. No matter what’s going on in his head, I am one step ahead of him.