Chapter 6

Nikolai

"I'm sorry." Ava said as soon as she entered the dining room. I didn't expect her to wake up so early, especially after I wore off pretty good last night. If I knew she would be up, all of us would have waited for her.

Everyone were already half way through their lunch when they paused to look at her.

"I'm sorry, Rhazien." She apologised, genuine regret floating in her eyes.

"It's fine." He waved it away as if it was nothing. No one really minded it. They knew she was coming from a good place. I also knew they were worried. A Queen shouldn't loose control so easily and act out like this. But it hasn't been very long since Ava was in a position of power and she's doing splendidly in my opinion.

After lunch was over, we settled in the living room, awaiting an explanation from Javier. I mean I knew he was a strong vampire but the last thing I was expecting was a connection to the Royal family. This isn't even some far away cousin—we were talking about being the son of the King here. Javier had been a Prince before he came to Montana and became an Alpha.

"Josias is my twin." Javier started.

"No shit Sherlock." Dimitri muttered.

Javier ignored him. "I'm the older brother."

Now that's what stunned all of us.

Javier is the rightful King of Voda Kingdom?

"I was going to take over the throne but I wanted to travel the world first before I took on all the responsibilities. I wanted to live as Javier before the world knew me as King Javier of Voda Kingdom. That's when I met Valerie." His voice turned wistful. "I instantly knew she was my beloved. It was love at first sight, obviously, and we mated the same night."

"TMI, dude." Dimitri muttered.

Javier ignored him too.

"She didn't know I was the crowned prince of Voda Kingdom and I didn't know that she was the sole heiress of Montana Pack. We both fell harder because we knew that we liked each other not because of our power but because of whom we were. But reality set in the next morning when we realised who we were and that we had responsibilities."

"Jerome and Mary didn't like me at first sight. They didn't want their daughter's mate to be a vampire. But since we were already mated, there was nothing they could do. However, they placed a condition in front of me—that I stay in Montana if I wanted to be with Valerie. Because there was no way they would let me take her to a Vampire Kingdom. There was also the fact that they couldn't have children, so if Valerie came with me, Montana would be without a leader and the process of choosing a new Alpha would cause mayhem. A lot of blood would be shed and no one wanted that."

"There was no one else who could take over Montana but Josias could step in if I happened to leave. My family was not happy with my decision and told me to choose between them and Valerie. I made my decision and chose to be with Valerie and became the Alpha of Montana Pack." He released a pained breath. "Josias and I were the perfect brothers," his face turned sad, "we were twins, we did everything together, he was my best friend. He threatened me that he will never talk to me again if I stepped out of the palace."

"But I had already made my choice. I knew I would not survive without Valerie." And then he looked at Ava who was sitting besides me and was playing with my fingers. Ava's eyes lowered at his statement. Somewhere deep down, she held the guilt of separating the pair. She knew she wasn't at fault but she thought that she was responsible for it. "The only reason I'm alive after she left us is you, Ava. She left me a piece of her. And I don't regret any of it. I would do it all over again if I have to."

Ava gnawed at her bottom lip as she listened to Javier speak.

A tear splashed down her cheek and she stood up and hugged her father. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Firefly." He hugged her. "I have you. That's enough for me. I love you."

"I love you too." I know by her voice that she was trying hard to control her cries.

"You need to talk to Josias. And make amends." She said after she released him.

"If you haven't noticed, we aren't on speaking terms." He forced a smile.

"An apology never hurt anybody." Jessica chimed in. "He was obviously hurt. He thought you were ditching him."

"I've apologised countless times, kid. He said that my apologies mean shit if I don't do anything about it. And I'm not going back to Voda Kingdom. I've just gotten Ava back." He put his hand around Ava.

I knew he wasn't going to change his mind, not unless he wanted to. There was no point in trying to convince him. He needs to do things his way without our pressure.

"Whatever. Just no fighting." I said and stood up. "Enough storytelling for today. We should get back to business."