Anastasia | +18

Aleksandr

As the strokes accelerate, I can feel the frustration ebbing and the adrenaline rising. It's been a month since Anastasia arrived, and I'm like an animal tied to a leash, yanked back every time I dare give in to my instincts. She's done nothing but drive me to the edge. Her pajamas, her little see-through tops, the way she ties her hair, the way she looks at me; at night, in the early morning when she thinks no one is watching, wearing nothing but panties and a thin top that clings to her like a second skin.

I slam my fist into Matvei's jaw again, the impact jolting up my arm. Sweat rolls down my neck, dampening the collar of my shirt. My heartbeat pounds faster, but I barely register it. This fight is nothing, just movement, just instinct. And my mind ?My mind is elsewhere. 

On her.

 Matvei and I box often, and these past few weeks, I've needed it more than ever.

"You're angry, aren't you?" he says, dodging my next punch. He wants to smile, I can see it, the challenge, the amusement. He's waiting for me to snap. I throw another punch and miss.

"I didn't come here to hear you talk," I reply, and this time, my fist connects with his face.

"What happens the day you crack?" His jab is quicker, sharper, but his voice is serious now.

"Nothing's going to happen," I say, knocking him to the ground. I wipe the sweat from my neck and offer him a hand.

"You're not fighting. Not against me, not against Simon. You let me hit you at least five times." He studies me as he readjusts his gloves. "And in a month, a dozen of our men have died."

I remain silent. He's right, and we both know it.

"If you can't handle her, you'll have to find a way. We can't afford to lose."

"We're not going to lose. I'm not some desperate twenty-year-old looking for a hole to sink my dick into," I mutter, wiping a small cut on my forearm.

Matvei exhales. "We won't be safe. Least of all with her."

I don't respond.

"Anastasia is my sister," I say after a pause, my voice even. "But she's also my Aline."

Matvei's expression flickers, he's always known, hasn't he? But my comparison to Aline makes him glance away, his breath unsteady.

"How?" His voice is quieter now. "This war is lost before it even begins. What are we going to do?" He meets my gaze. "I've seen Aka. She knows what's coming. If they find Anastasia, they'll take her. They'll make you watch as they do unspeakable things to her." His jaw tightens. "And they'll make sure you become the monster they need you to be. Aleksandr...Simon knows she is here."

I clench my jaw. Simon knows, yes, and he knows exactly what I could become if he touches her. That's why I gave myself to him for five years, to stop that from happening.

"I won't let anything happen. Not to her, not to anyone." I place a hand on Matvei's shoulder. "You have my devotion and protection. Until I die."

His eyes widen slightly. I've never said that before. I've never even considered death as a possibility. I've always been immortal in my own mind. But if they so much as lay a finger on Anastasia, then yes, I will die for her.

His hand rests on my shoulder for a moment. "Till death do you part, Chief."

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Today, I welcome the men who work for me. They're divided into different families, Germans, Russians, Romanians, but I don't give a damn. They are just here to answer me.