"Fated mates are wolves chosen by Luna herself to be together forever, that whoever tries to break them apart will surely receive a punishment that will torment the evil even after death."

When Aria left three years ago, a part of Cyrus was broken despite the strong conviction of his wolf that his omega mate didn't really leave them on its own accord.

 He knows someone purposely broke them apart that's why through those long years, he pretended to be the naive wolf who believed everyone around him when in reality, he was just making sure that his Baby, his Kiana, his daughter will be safe until the day he has the power to protect his family.

So the  morning after he made love to his omega mate again, he is beyond happy! His wolf is howling in celebration because he knows that his mate is back and he is now strong enough to protect her so they can fight whoever wants to break them apart.

The pure blood alpha was smiling as he opens his eyes because he can feel the heavy stare of his mate.

"Ria...g'morning. Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? Is there---" his words are cut off when his omega shuts his mouth with her  fingers.

"I feel perfectly fine Rus. You really took good care of me last night. I'm sorry for forcing you to---"

"Don't! Baby don't even think that I was forced to bring you here last night. Please don't tell me that it's not just all about the heat." Cyrus sits up so he could cup her face since the omega is obviously avoiding his gaze now.

"Ria, hey look at me." he utters as he lifts the other's face so their eyes could meet.

 Cyrus suddenly got anxious when an ugly thought crossed his mind. 

What if Aria really just let him fuck her the other night because of her heat? What if she really wants Knight now and now he just made things complicated among the three of them? What if---

"Even without my heat, I would've come here with you if you wanted me to. I...I missed you Rus.. you have no idea how much I've missed you." Aria suddenly uttered, her voice so low as if she was scared to voice it out.

Cyrus’s eyes widened in excitement when he heard his mate's words. 

The freshly renewed mark on Aria’s neck is almost glowing against her flawless skin and Cyrus just couldn't help but feel so proud and honored knowing that it's glowing because of him.

"I missed you too Ria, godI missed you so much baby." Cyrus blurted out all of a sudden before pulling the omega close to his body. 

He wraps his arms around the omega's waist while Aria took her chance to wrap her own arms around his neck while straddling him.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before they both started to smile while tearing up when they both felt their wolves howling, their eyes turning purple just like the first time they met each other.

 When Cyrus was sure that his wolf got enough of Aria’s wolf, he leaned closer to his mate and started kissing her waiting lips. 

They shared the passionate kiss as if it's theri first time kissing each other. 

Cyrus is more than euphoric everytime Aria makes the most beautiful sound while kissing him. 

The l mates are so lost in their own world when the house telephone suddenly rings.

Cyrus and Aria both wanted to ignore the phone until the pure blood alpha remembers something. There are only three people who know that the phone in their old house is still working.

 It's only him, Dylan and Felicia.

"Aria baby, wait a minute... I need to answer the call."

 "But Cyrussss..."

"Baby, it might be our little princess." Cyrus replies with a smile when he sees the pout on his mate's still swollen lips.

Aria’s pout immediately vanishes and exchanged with a wide grin upon hearing the possibility that their daughter is on the other side of the phone so he finally let go of him.

"Hello, Dylan?"

"Cyrus...they took Kiana!" Dylan’s stern voice made Aria and Cyrus world collapse right at that moment.

The omega's body was still sore because of the things Cyrus did to her the previous night but the moment she heard Dylan’s voice on the phone, she quickly shoots up from the bed and grabs the phone from her mate.

"I swear to luna Dylan if this is a joke it isn't a good one” Aria’s voice is trembling, her heart pounding while her eyes follow Cyrus’s swift movement.

 The pure blood alpha is quick to wipe the dried cum on his body before putting on his clothes on.

"I'm sorry Aria but can you put Cyrus on the phone. I need to---"

"Dylan! please tell me first, tell me Kiana is she safe...please." Aria begs when she realizes that the older alpha isn't pulling a prank on them.

"I can't promise you anything yet Aria, but don't worry I'm sure Kiana is alive." Dylan tries to be positive even when the truth is he is unsure of everything.

 He does not have any idea where the pup might be and most especially they have no idea who took the little girl since the security guards they assigned to guard the little girl and her nanny don't know what really happened since there was no CCTV footage that they could use to trace what really happened.

Aria fell to the floor the moment she heard those words, Cyrus was quick enough to catch the phone and talk to his cousin before they ended the phone call.

"Ria, baby don't worry we'll get her back. We'll get our daughter back." Cyrus whispers in his mate's ears while releasing calming pheromones because the omega was already a crying mess.

"Why did this happen again? Rus...just why?" Aria mumbles on her mate's chest before Cyrus starts to help her put her clothes on.

A few hours ago

"Knight, are you okay?" Felicia asked the pure blood alpha who suddenly froze in front of Cyrus’s bedroom.

She can sense the stress scent he's suddenly giving off and at first she thought it's about the fact that they couldn't open the door until he suddenly covers her mouth with his hands and drags her back into Kiana’s room.

Felicia’s eyes widened and she's about to scream when she heard people outside the penthouse. 

It was only then when she realized that Knight was trying to protect her when he pushed her into the closet.

"No matter what happens, do not come out until I open it for you. Don't make a noise too. Call for Cyrus or anyone he trusts." Knight hurriedly whispered to her before he carefully close the door from the outside.

 Felicia could hear his footsteps going out of the room.

The old woman tries to dial Cyrus’s number again but to no avail, he is still not answering. 

She thought of calling their guards but a part of her mind tells her that it's useless already since Alex already found out where they are. She was about to cry in hopelessness when she remembered Dylan Ross.

She was about to dial his number when she heard the commotion inside. 

And since she was so scared that someone might hear her voice, she turned off her phone and ducks her head in between her knees while uttering a silent prayer.

The older woman knows there are more than 3 persons outside based on the different voices and scent she heard and smelled. 

She couldn't recognize any of them until a very familiar voice made her eyes widened.

"Oh look who's here. What a surprise to see the Prime Minister's only son inside my son's home." Julius Carter says as he  takes a glance at his gold plated wrist watch to check the time.

It's almost 3 AM and he didn’t know he'll find pure blood in Cyrus’s penthouse.

"Mr Carter, I actually received a message from Aria. I came to pick her up but it seems the little family went for a stroll outside because there was no one here when I arrived." Knight quickly made up a lie hoping that Julius would buy it and leave.

The old man looked at him with critical eyes before he threw his head back and laughed.

Knight swallows.

 He knows he's a pure blood alpha and he could take down all Julius’s men around them if they fight fairly but he saw that they all had guns. 

He is trained to fight but he is scared that Kiana and Felicia might get hurt once he fights with them.

"I can't believe you even thought of fooling me inside my son's house Mr Ashbourne. How could the Prime Minister choose you as his successor if you can’t even make up a good lie?" Julius mocks.

The  pure blood gritted his teeth when he realized that he couldn't fool the older Carter. 

He knows there's no other escape anymore.

"What do you want, Julius?" he asked, not even pretending to be polite anymore. 

Even the goons beside Julius flinch when they hear his alpha voice.

The older alpha's eyes immediately turned crimson red when Knight used his alpha voice. 

They glared at each other as if they're both ready to attack each other despite the obvious danger on the younger's side because he is outnumbered.

"This is a family matter, Knight, you don't have to meddle in it. In fact, I actually have a bright idea. Why don't we just hold each other's hand and help each other to achieve our  goals? I know you don't like politics so why don't you tell your beloved father to give up his seat to my son? In exchange for that, I'll help you get rid of that little pup so you can have the omega. It will be a win-win for the both of us, it's like we both hit the jackpot!" Julius’s eyes are shining with mirth while Knight feels nauseous because he could not believe how he easily said those words as if he's not talking about his own family.

"W-what do you mean by getting rid of the pup?” he decided to ask even though he already had an idea how evil the older alpha is.

"Oh come on knight, you see you can’t even get a simple statement. You know in politics you have to be strong. You have to be firm and you have to be smart. You should be powerful because in this world, weaklings are only prey for the strong ones. I'll give you a choice right now and you decide whether you want to be the powerful predator or the weak and useless prey" Julius said while walking closer to the door where Kiana is.

Knight on the other hand is calculating everything. 

He has never been so scared in his life but by merely looking at Julius, he suddenly feels so little. If he was only thinking about himself and his survival, he knows he could survive and escape the building unscathed but the thought of Kiana and Felicia getting harmed is really making him weak.

"So what now? Do you want to make a deal with me or you'll be like your very useless self-righteous father?" Julius even had the audacity to mock the Prime Minister.

Knight closed his eyes and let go of the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. 

He knows his father is a righteous man because he always believed in the goodness of mankind but he is definitely not useless. 

He remembers how his father became one of the most powerful men in their nation. 

But contrary to what Julius said, his father believes that powerful and stronger men shouldn't prey on the weak. His father instilled in him that the stronger the person is, the bigger his power to protect and help the weak. 

When the pure blood alpha opens his eyes, he's met with the portrait again. 

The beautiful doe eyes of the little boy, the adorable nose scrunch and the cutest smile that resembles a bunny...right, he has seen those features.. the memories are slowly fading in his mind but at that moment one particular picture flashes on his mind.

'Kay….. squealed his little brother while he was playfully chasing him on the sand. It was the last memory he has of him before they lost him on that same day when they were playing on the seashore.

Knight’s eyes turned crimson red. He is not entirely sure yet. But the thought of Cyrus not being the real son of Julius keeps flashing in his head because there's no way a good pure blood alpha came from an evil one. 

He clenched his fist when he heard one of the beta punching in a code on Jungkook's bedroom door.

"Get away from the goddamn door or I'm gonna rip your head off." Knight gritted his teeth as he shoved the man away making sure no one got inside.

If he is right about the boy in the portrait, about Cyrus not Julius’s real son... then Kiana, the little princess of  Aria is not just an ordinary pup to him because she might be his niece from his long lost little brother. 

With the newly found knowledge, Knight had the urge to protect Kiana...at all cost even if it means he has to bare his own life for the pup.

Knight swallows. 

Julius smirks while watching him guard the door. The old man raised his left hand and with a single wave of his hand, two alphas jumped on the pure blood alpha. 

Good thing that Knight has had a lot of self defense training in the past because Justin used to drag him with all his training. 

He quickly managed to dodge the bulky lpha who tried to kick him while he successfully landed a forceful uppercut to the shorter one on his side.

Julius watched the pure blood alpha fight with his men.

 At first he was not interested in watching him because all he wants to do is to have leverage to use against his son. 

And with the pure blood alpha's reaction he's almost so sure that Kiana or Aria might be inside the room. 

He's about to side step the fighting scene so he could finally open the door when Knight managed to bring all  4 of his men down in a swift attack and he finally unleashed the pure blood in him.

Julius’s eyes widened when he saw Knight’s sharp claws and teeth covered with blood of his men.

"I never thought I would ever see Ashbourne’s little pup bare his claws let alone rip someone's head. You did all this mess because of that filthy Omega? Unbelievable!" Julius spat with disgust written all over his face.

"No wonder you could easily destroy his life... he is not even your blood!" Knight is panting. 

Rage is written all over his face while lot's of cuts and bruises are scattered on his body. The four wolves manage to hurt him too but he is a pure blood and he is stronger than them so he remains standing even when his clothes are almost ripped too.

Junseo's eyes widened the moment he heard him.

"What nonsense are you spewing?! You're really like---" Julius’s eyes widened when Knight’s clothes fell off, revealing his silver necklace with a pendant that is too familiar to him.

The Ashbourne crest Necklace

Knight seemed to notice the older man's reaction so he lifted his hand to touch the necklace he was wearing. 

It's his great grandfather's necklace and he's sure that there are only two people who have the same jewelry. 

He already got one and the other is forever lost when they lost his little brother.

"W-where did you get your necklace?" Julius dumbly asked not thinking that he was just confirming Knight’s wild guess. 

The pure blood gasped the moment he realized Julius’s confused reaction.

"I'm guessing that Cyrus was wearing the same one when you got him. Am I right, Julius? because if I am, that only means one thing... Cyrus isn't a Carter and he's definitely not your---" Knight was too focused on Julius that he didn't notice one of Julius’s men has pulled out his gun and aimed it at him he wasn't able to dodge it when the said goon fired the gun towards him.

BANG!

Knight’s eyes widened.

He felt the hot and solid silver bullet pierce his flesh.

 He gulps when he feels his blood oozing from his back.

BANG! Another fire from the gun with a silencer pierces his lower back too, making him lean on the door .

The pure blood alpha's eyes start to falter...he tries to stand still by the door. 

He wants nothing but to protect his niece but at that moment all he could see is Julius Carter smirking at him viciously. 

He starts to cough with blood as he tried to breathe.

"You see, I'm sorry about that Knight. My man right here got bored with all your talking. I guess I won't be needing you with our deal then. I'd get whoever is inside this goddamn door to make sure my son would get your father's seat. In the end, I'll still hit the jackpot even without your help." Julius laughs manically before he waves at his remaining men to forcefully open the door to take whoever is inside to make sure his son would follow whatever he wants him to do.

Knight tries to open his mouth to say something but he suddenly feels like he couldn't even move a single cell in his body, the blood coming out his mouth also doesn't help.

 He tried to fight the urge to close his eyes only to finally fall on the floor with a loud thud. 

He's screaming in his head but for Julius he's just a dead body who is now useless. 

The older Carter did not spare him another glance when one of his men informed him that they found the little pup inside.

"Take her to the safehouse. Clean the bodies and make sure to delete all the evidence that we were here. Put everything on that Ashbourne kid. 

I'm sure his father would love to handle this." Julius uttered before he finally walks out of the penthouse. 

A part of him wants to make sure Knight is dead but he immediately erases the worries in his heart when he remembers how the bullet pierced from the pure blood alpha's back through his chest.

Julius was about to step into the elevator when one of his men called out his name.

"Sir, we found this one hiding in the closet!" The stout alpha is holding Felicia by her hair, a cloth inside her mouth so she wouldn't be able to make a noise.

Julius squinted his eyes as he stepped closer to squish the older omega's face.

"Look at that... Why do you rats love to meddle with the game of real wolves? I remember your brother popping in out of nowhere decades ago and now here you are again as if you really want to follow him in the afterlife." Julius laughs as he watches Felicia squirm in his hold.

The older woman's eyes widened when she realized what Juilus was telling her. 

He was talking about her younger brother who died with the family of his then boss. 

She begins to cry and tries to get away with the ugly stout alpha who's holding her but to no avail, 

she can't even make the man let her go.

Julius just continues to laugh in her face when he's sure that Felicia understood what he was saying. 

He's about to tell his man to get rid of her too when Kiana suddenly starts to cry while the other Beta is carrying her.

Felicia momentarily forgot her own pain and grief when she heard the little pup's cries. 

She looks at Julius with begging eyes so he would at least let her comfort the little girl even when she knows Juilus does not care at all.

"What a fucking nuisance! Let the old woman carry the child! And you, make sure you won't do anything stupid or else I'm gonna kill all your remaining family and let you be reunited with them immediately!" The old man threatened the omega who just nodded automatically because at that moment all she wanted was to make sure Kiana remained unharmed. 

She is still shaking. She is still trembling with fear for her own life after she saw Knight lying on the floor bathing in his own blood but at that very moment she knows she needs to be strong, she needs to have faith in Cyrus and Aria.

 The older omega ran towards the little girl. She quickly took her from the filthy man as if she's scared that the longer they touch the child, the more she's in danger with them.

Julius waves at her, signaling her to join him in the elevator before they all finally leave the building as if nothing happened.

Felicia is holding the crying little girl in her hands, hoping that Dylan received and read her message before Julius does something to the poor little girl.