Until Death (Despairful Love, #1)

Seven

I feel amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Like I'm dancing on top of a fluffy cloud with a unicorn. A unicorn with luscious jet black hair and piercing emerald eyes. The glorious animal scares me a little bit but in a strange way, it also excites me. It makes my heart pound viciously with anxiousness and...something else.

Lust?

Is it wrong to lust after a unicorn?

Whatever. My dream. My rules.

The unicorn and I float into the night sky, allowing the darkness to envelop us. I should be afraid of the darkness, but I'm not. The darkness soothes my shaky muscles and relaxes my pounding migraine.

".......al"

Wait, a migraine?

"....alentina."

Why do I have a migraine?

"Valentina, wake up!"

Blinding light infiltrates my dream as I struggle to open my eyes. I groan out loudly, squinting my eyes as I attempt to identify my bearings.

"Jesus, could you yell any louder?" I whimper, bringing a hand to my pounding head.

"Oh, thank God. You're awake." a familiar deep voice sighs with relief.

"Raphael?" I moan, attempting to sit up on the bed, but promptly falling back down.

Wait bed?

How did I get on a bed?

Where am I?

"Just lie down and rest Val. You're safe now." I hear my father say.

Safe?

Why wouldn't I be safe?

What's not safe about Santa Monica, California?

"I had a really really weird dream." I yawn, attempting to sit up again, but failing miserably.

God why do my bones feel like jello?

"Val, I really think you should just lie down and rest." Raphael says, worry etching his voice.

"I'm fine, Raphael," I reply, rolling my eyes. "Anyway, I had this weird dream that Mama and Papa were forcing to marry Alexander Cavanaugh. Can you believe that? I mean the dude is really sexy and I have no doubt our love children would be models because of his fantastic genes,  but he was a total condescending asshole in my dream, so that's a hard pass. I'm so glad that was a dream and we're not actually in Chicago."

"Sorry to break it to you, princess. But that wasn't a dream." a familiar husky deep voice says, amusement dripping from his tone.

Oh, God.

It wasn't a dream.

"Oh shit." I moan miserably, covering my arm with my eyes. It's official. God has it out for me.

"Really sexy, huh? I didn't know you were so fond of me, sweetheart." Alex laughs.

"Shut it, Cavanaugh. Why are you even here?"

"Don't you remember what happened at the casino?" he inquires. His dark brows furrow in confusion.

"The casino?" I ask.

Flashbacks of the man at the bar floods my mind immediately like rushing water breaking through the walls of a dam. He drugged me! That's why my water tasted so weird!
I sit up on the bed quickly in a panic. I immediately regret it when agonizing pain rushes to my head, causing me to cry out and grasp my head.

Hm. Maybe I should've stayed down like Raphael suggested.

"Valentina? Are you okay?" My father's concerned voice fills the room.

"Just fine." I grit out "Did someone try to kidnap me?"

"We believe so," Raphael replies "Alex found you passed out in the arms of some guy. It looked like he was trying to drag you out the door."

Oh shit.

That sounds bad. Really bad.

"Did the man say anything strange to you?" my father asks "He's either some rapist asshole or one of the soldiers of our enemy."

"I remember him saying something in a language that sounded foreign. Maybe French or Russian. I don't know. My mind was really foggy at the time." I supply. "What happened to the guy?"

A pregnant pause fills the room as my brother and father glance at each other nervously.

"What?" I ask timidly.

"Alexander took care of it." my father finally replies with a sigh. "You don't have to worry about that man anymore. I nervously glance over at Alex.

"Y-you killed him?" I stutter.

"Yes." He replies simply as his eyes hardens coolly. The deep frigidness in his eyes are enough to pierce the deepest bowels of my soul, evoking a shuddering feeling of pure fear through my bones.

It was the look of a cold blooded killer.

Alex killed a man tonight.

And he doesn't  seem the slightest bit remorseful.

I swallow hard and try my best not to shrivel up into a tiny ball under Alex's intense stare. It's as if he's...expecting something from me.

What that 'something' is? I have no clue.

"Nikolai has to be one behind this," my father sneers. "That motherfucker. I knew he would make a move on my family eventually, I just didn't anticipate it would be this soon."

"Who is Nikolai?" I ask. I've never heard my father mention that name in my life. But judging by the pure malice and contempt laced in his voice when he uttered Nikolai's name, It was safe to assume my father had no kind feelings towards this man.

"Nikolai is the leader of the Russian mob," my father replies with a sigh. "For over two decades, he has been feuding with not only me but the Cavanaugh's as well. It wasn't until recently that his attempts against both our families have become bolder."

"Has he ever personally targeted one of your family members?" Alex asks.

"No. This is the first time he has attempted something like this, which only raises your father and I's concerns on where his ulterior motives lie."

My father sighs and runs his hand through his hair.

"Seamus and I have been talking, and we think it would be best if we...move up our plans to ally our families. It would enable us to not only appear as a unified front to Nikolai but to also find a way to destroy him quickly."

Alex immediately tenses as his eyes narrow on my father.

"What exactly do you mean by "move up" your plans?" he asks slowly.

My father takes a deep breath. "We're moving up the wedding."

My chest immediately tightens as my brain swirls with shock and disbelief. I find it painful to breathe air into my lungs and push a question out of my throat.

"When?" I croak out. "When is the wedding?"

"In two weeks."