The Alpha’s Dark Revenge

Nikolai’s POV

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Liyah also sitting in the backseat of the truck. Before I could react, Eve had jumped forward to drag me by the arm and pull me towards the car.

“Yay!” She squealed. “You’re thirty minutes late but I forgive you. We can get going now.”

“Wasn’t it supposed to be just the two of us?” I asked, but she pretended like she didn’t hear me and dragged mecri the other side of the truck. Sneaky little girl.

The driver at the wheel greeted, then bowed when he saw me, attracting Liyah’s attention. I saw the surprise on her face when she looked up to see me. I followed awkwardly as Eve unlocked the car door and clambered in, plopping herself comfortably between Liyah and I.

I suddenly began to feel hot and I tried to ignore it but it only got worse. This was my car, my house. Why did I feel so uncomfortable and out of place? “Turn on the air conditioning,” I commanded. When he did I began to feel a bit better.

“I thought we were supposed to go together. Just us?” I heard Liyah ask. I tried to act uninterested in their conversation but my ears perked up.

“Well,” Eve said, reaching out to put one tiny hand in mine and the other in Liyah’s. “I thought it would be even nicer to have my two favorite people on earth accompany me.”

I held back my chuckle but I saw Liyah smile. “Whatever makes you happy,” She finally said, and faced her side of the window.

I said nothing more for the rest of the ride. I whipped out my phone at intervals to scroll through social media or check my unread messages that I still hadn’t replied. I did it so many times just to distract myself that I began to feel frustrated. Giving up, I tossed my phone back into my pocket and decided to enjoy the scenery. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken a drive, or a walk, like I used to before. Just for the fun of it… to feel the wind on my skin, drink in the permanently magnificent views and enjoy the peace and quiet. There were a lot of things I quite missed doing.

From the corner of my eyes I could see Liyah and Eve engaged in animated conversation. It was nice to watch as she paid attention to everything Eve said and then she would reply and even ask questions. It was clear to see that she enjoyed Eve’s company. And I didn’t get to see that a lot. Everyone else I had assigned to take care of Eve only pretended to be interested in her conversation and then after a they snapped. But to be fair, nearly everyone was like that with kids, including myself.

It was though I began to see how much of a good person she really was as soon as I found out the truth. And every single time I wondered how on earth I missed it. The thought made my chest begin to ache again and so I faced away and focused on my phone once more.

Liyah’s POVCcontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I don’t think I had ever been in a car ride so awkward. I was eternally grateful when the driver turned up the radio, emitting music. It was a good distraction and it relieved some of the tension in the car. I was also grateful for little Eve who kept me busy with her funny stories. I had had been so caught up in my conversation with her that for a moment I forgot the alpha was seated right there.

I all but jumped out of the car when we finally arrived at the park. Eve had been begging to go to the park for a long time now so she was finally getting her wish granted today. I felt an overwhelming sadness when I learned that she had never been to an amusement park before, even more so probably because I hadn’t either. They had always taken Barbara instead of me, and whenever I went it was just to prepare their picnic and wait on her for whatever she might need.

I laughed as Eve rushed off to the swings, the alpha hot on her heels. I was too tired to join them so I lowered myself onto one of the benches and watched instead. I still did not want to be around him for any reason, but I was doing it for Eve.

I had thought that after everything that happened he would at least act a little remorseful. But all he did was sit there with a stony expression and scroll through his phone.

I scoffed. It wasn’t surprising. People like this would never change anyways. Maybe the other day had just been a show. But why? For who? Or maybe I truly had been imagining all of it.

My gaze fleeted to his huge form gently rocking the swing back and forth while Eve squealed with excitement. Occasionally I would see him smile when Eve started talking, and I wondered what they could possibly be talking about.

I nearly choked on air when I saw him let out a laugh as Eve abandoned the swing and made him put her on his shoulders. I didn’t realize when the smile creeped up my face. He was different around her… calmer, more relaxed, he even gave smiles occasionally. At least she was happy.

“Liyah!” I heard Eve call out from a distance. I looked up to see her beckoning to me. I sprinted to where they stood.

“Having fun?” I smiled, touching her cheek.

She smiled. “Well, the park is even more fun than I thought it would be, and I think I might just faint from all the excitement,” She breathed.

“That’s great!”

“There’s one problem though,” She continued, kicking the sand.

I saw the alpha cock an eyebrow at the same time I did but he didn’t say anything.

“What’s that?” I asked.

She held both our hands, pulling us so we stood side by side.

I sucked in a breath.

“My two favorite people aren’t friends and I’m not sure why. But Uncle says-used to say that nearly everything can be fixed with a conversation. Would you like to talk about it? I would like for all of us to be more friendly. When that happens we’ll be able to have more fun. What do you think?”

I saw his features darken as he backed away a little. “We’re here so you can have fun. Don’t worry your pretty head about anything else, okay?”

She looked at me as if for confirmation and I hurriedly nodded, still feeling my hands shake inside my jacket. I hated all of this. Why didn’t he just stay home?

As soon as Eve turned away to continue playing on the swing, I moved back to my bench to calm myself.