Page 71 of Marked By the Devil

“Yes.” He sat up, regarding me after a yawn. “Carina, though. She is it. Seeing her give me a daughter…” Another sigh left him.

I patted his back. “I’m happy for you.”

He raised his brows at me. “It doesn’t seem like it’ll be long before you find out what it’s like.”

I huffed. “I think I already have.”

His eyes popped open. “You already knocked her up?”

“No!” Then I sobered and shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think so.”

It wasn’t like we were using protection. The one time I suggested a condom as a joke, Wren protested and said she never wanted to have the second-best thing to feeling me bare in her.

“Just a matter of time, then, huh?”

I shrugged again. “I think I already know what you mean otherwise, though. About realizing how different your life is. Wren has become essential to me.” I rubbed my chin, musing over how strange it felt to admit that out loud and not just think it. None of us were really the kind to talk about feelings much. Especially not Alexei, but Maksim seemed to be in a chatty mood and I didn’t mind it. He didn’t act like a typical big brother like Adrik did. Maksim could be more relatable sometimes.

“I can’t imagine not having her in my life.” I raised my brows. “Know what I mean? It’s like you think back to what life was like before and it’s just empty.”

He nodded.

“It startles me. How powerful the sentiment can be.”

“It sobers you, too,” he replied. “Because once you realize how much they matter, you have to embrace the fragility of life, the responsibility of never losing them in any way.”

I obsessed over that constantly. But I wondered if I was so sensitive about losing Wren because she’d come to us as an enemy, as an outsider. She had come to be here at all because I kidnapped her and forced her to be here.

I hadn’t been all that good at enforcing that, though.

It seemed like we’d clicked and connected almost instantly once I realized she wasn’t lying or bluffing about not having answers for us about that fateful night or about any bribes. Since then, she’d gone above and beyond to help us seek those answers.

“If I can give you a word of advice, though…”

I raised my brows at him. “What’s that?”

“Don’t take it for granted.”

I scoffed. “Don’t take Wren for granted? Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“Don’t take the gift of having her in your life in the context that she came to be here.”

Now he had my attention.

“I’m speaking from experience,” he said, almost like he needed to backtrack and give me a disclaimer. “I’ve gone through something similar. Like when I was arranged to marry Carina.”

“I know. But even that’s different. You and Arturo had an arrangement.” While it was an outdated concept, it still applied. As a matter of fact, I could’ve sworn that the old Pakhan of the Konstanov Family had wanted to arrange one of their daughters to us.

“Ha. At this rate, none of us will be available for an arranged marriage anymore.”

He nodded, smiling wryly.

Within one and a half years, in the recent past, three of us were taken. I was bound and determined to be the fourth.

“Nah.” He shook his head. “Alexei will never marry.”

“Nor would Nikolai,” I added.

“He’ll marry if he has too,” Maksim said. “But I doubt he’ll settle down with just one woman, married or not.” He rolled his eyes.