Second Best (Volkov Bratva 1)

It was rare for him to want to talk to someone like my wife. I imagined it was down to the peace treaty that he broke protocol. Then again, Ivan never followed the traditional brotherhood of the Bratva. He paved his own way. Fulfilled his own path.

With my wife before him, he stood, and I had no choice but to press Aurora into the chair that had been left in the center of the room.

“Leave us,” Ivan said.

The soldiers each left, one by one, filtering out. Sergei had followed us in, and I made him aware he was to leave too.

His gaze landed on Aurora one last time, but he didn’t save her.

Instead, he left.

“Aurora, you’re looking good.”

“Thank you.” Her hands rested on her thighs. I saw the slight shake in her body.

I couldn’t resist reaching out to her. I placed my hand on her shoulder, not that it gave her any comfort. If anything, it appeared to make her more nervous, which only served to piss me off.

“I had nothing to do with this, I swear.”

“The man you saw, he was in employment with your father, correct?” Ivan asked.

He dragged a chair over, and I felt Aurora try to jerk back.

“Yes,” she said.

“Aurora, when you married Slavik Ivanov, you swore your loyalty to him, and in doing so, you gave your life to me.”

She nodded her head. “Yes.”

“Anything you know, anything you believe your father has done, you will have to tell me.”

“And I would,” she said. “I only recognize him. I don’t know if my father removed him, or if … I don’t know. I swear.”

I believed her.

“But your loyalty, it is to me and your husband?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Then it’s time you graced the mark,” Ivan said, standing.

He snapped his fingers, and that was where I saw Mark, the tattoo artist. There were times Ivan would punch his brand into the flesh of his subjects with a hot branded iron. This was far more subtle.

“Hold out your arm.”

Aurora cradled her arm against her chest. “I don’t like needles.”

“It will hurt, but this will guarantee your safety. You’re pledging your life to mine.”

“You’re removing me from my family,” she said.

Ivan sighed. “Aurora, we both know they’re not your family. I’m very much aware of what your father thinks of me and my organization. He’s willing to put your life on the line. Now, if what you say is true, if you bind yourself to me, to us, to your husband, you will never have to be questioned after an attack like that, again.”

He was talking total bullshit and yet, I had a feeling he meant what he said.

“Now, I can either make this as painless as possible for you or you’re going to hurt for several days, if not weeks.” He moved over to the small firepit he had burning and held up the branding iron. In response, my wife held her arm up as if offering to the gods.

I stifled a smile.

I had no choice but to stand perfectly still as Mark touched my wife. The design was wrapped around her wrist. The wives were always given the ink around their wrist. It was an easy part of the body that was seen. People would know who they belonged to.

The world would now see that Aurora Fredo, now Aurora Ivanov, was my property, but also the subject of Ivan Volkov. Even as he marked her flesh for loyalty, in doing so, he’d also sworn to protect her.

This I found interesting.

I didn’t know why he was doing this.

Mark kept on working, and Aurora winced. He’d stop, and she’d signal him to continue.

I left her side and walked toward Ivan.

“You wanted to question her,” I said. “Why the branding? You could have done this on our wedding night, but you chose not to. Why?”

“I don’t have to answer to you.”

“As one of your brigadiers, I have no choice but to ask why. You can keep the information from me, but to protect you, I need to know the truth.”

Ivan smiled at me.

“Did her father send those men?”

“No,” Ivan said. “Before you got here, I ran the information. The men had been let go before the wedding with Aurora. It would appear your wife had a little … following.”

“Excuse me?”

“The moment her father gave her to you, it set a ripple running through his soldiers. First, they were suddenly going to have to follow the peace treaty, but it would also seem your wife has a reputation for being … liked and respected.”

I glanced back at Aurora.

She was different from the women in our world.

All I’d seen were people who couldn’t seem to stand her.

“We all know her father gave me her because he didn’t want to waste his beloved daughter on a piece of shit like me.”

Ivan smiled. “Yes, I know. We got the waste of space. The insult. It would seem to a lot of people, she is second best. She’s not as beautiful or as charming. But those who clearly got to know her, they become … besotted.”