Hiding the Alpha’s Baby (Layla and Alexander’s)

MASSIMO

Just as I enter my place, my cell phone starts ringing. I roll my eyes, already guessing who it is.

“What?” I pick up the call and press the phone to my ear while walking towards the stairs to get to Ayla.

The little Kitten is punished enough. She should go

to her room and sleep now.

“What did I just hear? I thought you were joking when you said you wanted to marry that Alvarez girl!” Dante’s dramatic voice spreads in the silence.

Cut the c**p. You knew I was serious. “I roll my eyes again as I get closer to my room.

do

He sighs on the other end, beating his craziness down a notch. “I didn’t expect her to be C***n’s fiance. He is kicking a fuss. Everyone knows about it and thinks you stole his woman.”

My lips quirk into a smirk. “Let the w**y cry all he wants.

The girl seemed innocent, Massimo. Don’t use her to take revenge. Women and children shouldn’t be brought into men’s mess. “After a pause, Dante says.

My feet halt outside the door of my room, my gaze lifting to the bathroom in the distance.

Innocent and Ayla Alvarez?

She is anything but that.

Stay the f**k out of my business. “I hiss, losing control for a moment.

Cool down, bro! I am just saying, if you use her to take revenge for whatever the f**k it is that Alvarez did, you will regret it.” He huffs.

I purse, and hang up without saying a word more. Regrets always exist. With or without revenge, I am bound to live with those regrets.

If it’s like that, then I should make the best of my anger and get the sick satisfaction of destroying everything before regretting it.

I throw my phone on my bed and stroll to the bathroom. Her faint scent spreads around me, tinged with a hint of dread.

A little fear won’t kill her but teach her that she shouldn’t spew nonsense when she is around me.

I turn on the lights and face her. Surprise crosses my face as I find her head hung low, and her lips mumbling some incoherent words.

Her body is trembling violently under the cold water which seems like an exaggeration. Wolves don’t feel the cold like humans do.

Then why does she look like she is on the verge of death, cold and pale?

Something inside my chest clenches at the sight of her drenched and shivering body. At best, I thought she would curse me out, get scared in the darkness, feel a little chill, and be okay later.

My feet carry me to her. I crouch in front of her, my hands working on removing the handcuffs.

“Ayla. “I call out, my gaze lifting to the burns on her wrist, blood coating her wounded skin.

My hands pause in the air, as the handcuffs drop and her arm goes limp by her side.

08:33 Wed, 3 Jul MA

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You are overreacting. “I sigh, curling my hands and pulling them to my side.” The wound will heal in no time, and you can not possibly feel this cold. You are an Alpha’s daughter. Besides, didn’t you want to prove how brave you are? How can you be scared of a little dark??

Rising to my feet, I stare at her lowered head, her wet hair clinging to her cheeks as she keeps her eyes down, looking at the tiled floor

blankly.

* Get up

and go

to your

room. “I tell her before turning and walking towards the door.

Even after reaching there, I hear no movements from her side. My brows furrow, anger rising.

Stop putting on the—”

I turn and find her in the same position. My words die on my tongue. A strange emotion flickers across my eyes, and I am drawn back to her.

I crouch down again. My fingers unconsciously reach her cheeks and push her drenched hair aside to reveal her face. The coldness of her skin bites into my fingertips, startling me.

I notice how blue her lips are, and then the burns on her wrist that never heal.

Why is she not healing?

Why is she so cold?

Her lips continue to quiver, mumbling words under her breath. I lean in to hear what she is saying, my mind going numb.

“M—Mommy. Daddy. I—I am so scared. They will—They will hurt me. I am so scared.”

They will hurt me.

I am so scared.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

She repeats the words as if she is stuck in some memory, unable to break free.

Frozen, I stay there, listening to her soft pleas that barely reach my ears. A cold sensation runs down my back, leaving me holding my breath.

This is not Ayla Alvarez.

Alexander’s daughter can not be scared of the dark, beg for Mommy and Daddy like a terrified child, or be so vulnerable. The blood in her veins makes her cruel, cold-blooded, a liar.

I draw my head back, my eyes landing on her face. Her eyes have lost their brightness, and focus, going dull as if she is dead.

“I am so scared. ” She whispers.

I grab her cheeks and pull her head up. “I am here. What are you scared of?”

“I- – – ” Her blank stare meets my eyes before she goes silent.

I wait for her to react, to give me any expressions. But she just stares at me, as if she can’t even see me.

Her silence resonates somewhere deep inside me, reminding me of the time when I couldn’t speak either. It was as if I had lost my voice back then, as if speaking a word would break me into pieces and I will never be able to pick them.

Suddenly, I acknowledge, she is not preténding or overreacting.

Wed, 3

That thought makes my hands freeze. My eyes roam down her blank face, her wet clothes, and her limp arms.

Is it so easy to break her?

Or was I just trying to break something that was already broken?

I can not tell anymore.

So silently, I suppress the strange emotions in my chest and pick her in my arms carefully. She doesn’t move, doesn’t even make a sound as ! carry her to the basin counter and sit her there.

As if working in a robotic mode, I grab the towel and dry her hair before drying her arms and neck. She doesn’t react to my touch and I suppress the urge to react to her state.

Keeping my mouth shut, I grab a T-shirt from my walk-in closet and come back to her. She hasn’t moved an inch from her spot.

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I help her limp body out of the wet clothes and close my eyes when it’s time to take off her bra and panties.

I shouldn’t think much of it, but my body reacts to her proximity violently. Blood rushes south, hardening my c**k.

All my muscles tighten, and my senses tune into her scent and her touch. I grit my jaw and make her wear my T-shirt before opening my eyes.

A hard breath leaves my lungs. I grab the hairdryer and find myself drying her wet hair all the while avoiding looking at her bare legs.

But it’s near impossible for me.

I vowed to not touch her. Even when she submitted to me, spread her legs readily, and pulled me into her, I pulled away and didn’t f**k her.

But I am slowly accepting that my body needs her like it needs air.

A vein ticks in my jaw at that thought. I drop the hairdryer on the counter and bring my clean shorts over. She can not stay without panties

around me. But I am not about to put those up her legs. My shorts are a better option.

D

Closing my eyes, I help her into my shorts, her upper half leaning onto my body for support.

After I am done with her, I pick her up in my arms again.

She remains dazed, oblivious to how hard it is for me to not shake her out of that state.

Frowning, I put her on my bed and tuck her in blankets. She goes down easily, without any protests, and lies there lifelessly.

A string draws me to her, and without giving it another thought, I slip under the blanket behind her. My stiff body lies at a distance as I stare at

her face.

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Snap out of it.” I whisper, my heartbeat escalating at the sight of her.

The longer she stays in that state, the harder it becomes for me to bear it.

In the end, I resort to the extreme measures. She will snap out of it if I touch her. She hates my touch, after all.

I wrap my arm around her waist and turn her in my hold, putting her back to my front.

A groan leaves my mouth as her petite body slips right into my embrace, her curves pressing into my muscles, fitting perfectly like the pieces of a puzzle.

I rest my nose in her nape, inhaling her intoxicating scent. My hand sneaks under her shirt, my palm spreading over her stomach. It sinks

08:33 Wed, 3 Jul M

under my touch, as she holds her breath.

Unconsciously, I run my nails down her stomach, finally drawing a small gasp from her.

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Her back arches, reaching for my body as she grabs my wrist between her trembling fingers. My c**k hardens some more, making it impossible for me to not grind against her, but I hold myself back, enduring the pain.

Mas—Massimo?” She breathes, her body tensing in my arms. Fear reflects in her small voice, making me sigh.

The knot in my stomach eases as I whisper in her ear.” Yes, my Kitten.

My nails continue their venture, dragging up and down her stomach, slowly and gently.

She shudders, her body curling more into me. “I—I hate you, Massimo.’

My heart skips a beat. She should hate me. That’s what I want too. But when she says it like this, it unsettles me.

65

‘I know, Kitten. “I breath against her neck, unable to stop myself from pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

Her grip on my wrist tightens, but she doesn’t push me away. She keeps me there, pushing herself closer and closer as if seeking protection

in my arms.

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Sleep in my bed tonight, Kitten. “I nuzzle into her neck, sucking a deep breath.

She is out of it, and I can’t stop caressing her stomach. She, like the little Kitten she is, melts into my arms, forgetting that she is supposed to be disgusted with my touch.