Aaron was sure that Ma'Heron would kill him. Well, he almost did.

And now he was in one of the pack's hospital rooms. Beside him was the reason why he was brought there in the first place, and he didn't care about that. What was important is that his mate was with him. And she planned to stay, too.

No regrets, though…

But for Di, it was another matter entirely.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Di kept repeating while checking on the head wounds of her mate.

"It's not his fault, you know?" soothed the still-weakened Beta. "I understand him. I mean, if it was my own little sister and she ends up with a guy like me, I would kick his ass too."

"Aaron, look. I know you're not exactly a saint, but neither am I, and that goes for him too! What I don't understand is why you wanted to tell him personally when you know he'd be upset enough to do this to you."

"Because you're my mate! The only female in this world who would deserve proper and decent treatment from me. As it is, we did start off a little too fast, and I shouldn't have let that happen. The right thing that I should have done is to let your big brother - who happens to be my "bro" - know about it first."

"Well, your "bro" behaved like a damned lunatic. I can't believe he did all that to you despite you and he being friends and being Beta and Gamma, and…"

"That should tell you how much you matter to him, cupcake. As a matter of fact, when you finally get to know everything that he knows about me… I just hope you don't reject me."

"If I ever do that, Aaron, then I know I will never be able to forgive myself…"

* * *

Despite the recent rejection, Siel had V's attention. And he, along with Roth, couldn't believe what they were hearing…

"I think the biggest problem I have is that I have a hard time forgiving myself… and now, with the babies, Jonah will be the mistake that I may never ever forgive myself for. And I truly believed, even before he came along, that nobody could love me. When he became my boyfriend, he made sure I never forgot that nobody else can love me… like he does."

What the fuck…

"He enjoys playing with my mind, telling me 'Jokes' that made me feel unsure of myself. He would say, 'Are you sure you should be wearing that?' 'Oh, nothing, I just don't think he's a good friend to you', or 'You know, my ex called me the other day offering to ride me until I come cause she knows you don't do that to me.' And my all-time favorite, 'Of course I love you, and you'll never find someone who will love you as I do. No one!' And he'd make it sound so sweet and real… Well, his kind of real…"

"So basically, he's saying he loves you 'differently' from the rest," V huffed, in an ironic low tone that she wasn't supposed to hear.

But she did…

"Heh, I guess you're right," Siel responded with a sad smirk. "He convinced me of all that. I lost friends, and, just… changed. It was worse when I met his parents. They were new money, or at least they thought they were rich. They had a booming business, savings, and got him used to getting whatever he wanted. When I visited for the first time, his mom couldn't stop talking about this other woman he dated before. Silly me, I thought of how much I wasn't like her instead of thinking why a catch like her was no longer with him. And I found out right after our wedding…"

He felt her flinch as he turned the towel around and started using the other side. Later, he would realize that she probably wasn't even grimacing because of the cold compress.

="He started hitting me in places where nobody would see, like my ribs, back, even my chest. My parents didn't find out, so they were ok with him. They were surprised though that I suddenly stopped seeing certain friends, became more conservative with my clothing, and even in the way I talk…"

Vince felt his free hand curl into a fist upon hearing the words, 'hitting', 'ribs', and 'back'. His knuckles went white when he heard the word 'chest'…

"Anyway, the moment I got pregnant; I told him I didn't want to be with him unless he saw a therapist. He promised me the world once again but faked therapy sessions while showing me some sort of improvement. However, I soon found out that he was sleeping around during those sessions. Some "therapy" those were! When I finally asked him about it, he beat me up so much that I ended up in the hospital."

MOTHERFUCKER! V! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! SHIT! HOW COULD HE?!

The Alpha found himself gritting his teeth while his jaw was almost locking painfully in place. Worse, he was finding it almost impossible to hide the fury in his eyes. As a matter of fact, it was taking all of his effort and self-control to keep his wrath at bay and Roth wasn't helping…

ROTH! PLEASE! STOP ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HELP HER FIRST, DAMN IT!

"I almost lost my babies," Siel continued, thankfully unaware of what her story was doing to the man and wolf in front of her. "And that's when I decided to file for a divorce along with a domestic abuse case against him. When the babies were born, he found me then blamed me for the large costs his parents had to put out to get him out of prison. He said it was all my fault since I 'lied' to the police about him. He beat me up again, but this time he was controlled. No hospitalization was needed, just a few days of pain and bruises."

He took away the ice pack from her face as he felt her winding down with her story. It was a relief to know that her maddening tale is about to end, but he was grateful that she finally opened up. He was also thankful that she looked a little better now…

"That's why I didn't call the cops on him when you told me to last night. I'm tired, V, and sadly I've already learned the hard way that the law can't protect me. With the position I had before under Roderick, the many hours I worked, and the money I was making, it was easy for him to threaten me with the possibility of him taking my kids away. He said any judge would give him full custody because he was more financially capable of raising the twins. And it's true… back then before your job offer…"

Siel paused to take a drink of water. She still couldn't look at Vince eye to eye, and what she was about to say would make it even harder for her to do that later.

"It's been hell, but he hasn't been bad with the kids, so I try to find the path of least resistance. And if he's around, that path would definitely discourage me from having any kind of new relationship… with you or with anyone. So I can't continue seeing you. I'm sorry, but… I have too much to deal with right now to complicate my life even more with… a relationship. Please, tell me you understand…"

V sighed as he took out the small bottle he had with him. He opened it, and the pleasant herbal smell spread out swiftly as he dipped his middle finger in it. Slowly and carefully, he applied the cool colorless gel-like substance on her bruises.

"This will help you heal faster. Trust me because I do use it myself."

"You get into that many fights?"

"No, I used to train in some martial arts and got injured quite often," he answered, and it was partly true. "You can keep the bottle by the way."

The other truth was that he had sparring sessions daily with specific pack members who worked in the company. They even had a secret room for that on the gym floor of the Silvercrest building. Also, the rogue attacks were often a problem when he was staying at the packhouse before…

But that part of his life, V chose to keep Siel unaware of… for now.

"Elena," he said after a moment of silence. "You deserve better than this. I repeat, it's more than ok if you don't want to be with me. I accept that, but please, let me take care of you. If not as a man who's interested in you, then as the CEO of this company, and as your boss. I already made that mistake of not noticing your former division head mistreating you and I don't want that to happen to you again."

"Alright, thank you, V… Sir… I mean, I'll accept whatever help the company can give me through you," sniffed the single mom, now overwhelmed by the concern her boss is offering her despite her rejecting him. "But only on a professional level, please."

"Good enough. Let's start by sending you to one of the company's personal counselors right now, ok? You just sit here while I have Myron contact one for you so you can go there ASAP. Promise me you'll agree to accept our company's assistance."

How can I not when you're so nice, protective, and tender… even after what I told you…

"Of course, V. Thank you so much… And I promise…"

V had already moved to his desk. "And remember, no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, ok? Whatever you need, or whatever bothers you, please count on me, alright?"

She took the water bottle to her lips as she nods. It was all she could do so she can stop the tears from falling. Siel finished all of it before finally gaining some semblance of self-control.

"I… Thank you, V. I'm really sorry. You have no idea how much this matters to me. If the circumstances were different,

then maybe… you and I…"

"Well, I'm in no rush…" V interrupted, still with that sad smile. "Whatever has to happen will find its way. For now, I've just called Myron, and you'll need to go see him now so he can tell you the details of your consultation. Best that it's done now, so you have no problem going home to your babies at a decent hour."

Siel was near tears again, and she didn't have any drinking water left to hide behind, "I still don't understand why you can be like this with me after everything…"

"I told you, a bigger mirror and better company. I still can introduce you to some good friends of mine and can definitely order you that mirror and send it to your home. Maybe I can include it with the Christmas sweaters and baby things we bought last night since they're still here somewhere in the building. It hasn't been delivered to your house yet."

She softly giggled, and his mood started to lighten up. He hid a sigh, knowing that her happiness mattered so much to him.

"I'll… go wait for Myron's update at my desk. I'm really sorry… again."

"Don't be. You've done nothing wrong," V finally said, walking her to the door. "As a matter of fact, Elena, you are the most wonderful, courageous, and amazing woman I have met, hands down."

And I will do anything to make you happy even if you don't choose to be with me, he said inside his mind.

She turned to him with a sad smile and slowly stepped out of the office, showing him that she's reluctant to leave.

But right now, he needed to do something on his own.

"Goodbye for now V," she whispered.

"See you later Elena," he replied as he locked his door behind her.

I love you…

He was sitting at his desk when Myron finally called…

"She's gone to the counseling session now, Sir."

"Thank you, Myron. Please call the maintenance staff and tell them to be up here an hour from now."

"Yes, Sir. And of course, I have already ordered you new furniture, appliances, and office equipment. You have a good day now…"

V momentarily stared at his mobile's screen before shaking his head and putting it on his table.

He never fails to amaze me with that unnatural and almost frightening perception of his…

Vince then double-checked if he had already locked his office door…

Before he let himself come undone and completely loses it!

Walls, chairs, glass, bottles, his desk, the decor, the carpet, his laptop, his phone… All of it flew, cracked, crushed, splintered, broke… With his own hands, paws, claws… Scratches and fang marks were everywhere…

YOU'RE A MOTHERF**KING CUNT JONAH! I WISH I CAN HURT YOU THE SAME WAY, YOU'VE HURT HER! MY STRONG BEAUTIFUL MATE ENDURING SOMEONE AS F**KED UP AS YOU?! AND NOW BECAUSE OF YOU, SHE'S SCARED TO EVEN BE WITH ME OUTSIDE THE OFFICE! AND DAMN IT SHE'S MINE! I WANT TO BE WITH HER… PROTECT HER… CARE FOR HER! F**K YOU, THAT'S ALL I WANT TO DO AND YOU'RE IN MY WAY, ASSHOLE! CURSE YOU, DAMN YOU, YOU FILTHY, SHITTY CUNT! YOU F**KING BASTARD! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY! MARK MY WORDS SHITFACE!"

Nothing in the room was recognizable by the time he was done. But he had no regrets as he started to calm down and shift back to his human form.

And this was another reason why he had the whole floor to himself.

* * *

It took a few calls before Nella connected…

"Hello Nella, what is it?"

"Girl, Jonah is here again. And he says he wants to drive the kids and me to the dentist. He probably didn't ask permission again since he says he's the dad and all that crap, so I'm calling you to ask if it's ok."

The babysitter heard the anxious mother's sigh in relief, and she smirked.

Yeah, she probably got nervous that I called instead of messaging her, which I regularly do.

"Alright, Nella, but keep me updated the usual way, ok?"

"I will text you as usual, but are you sure you're gonna let him drive us, girl?"

"Yes, Nel. I might as well agree to avoid more trouble. After all, he really is just being a good dad to his children."

"Ok, Siel. And yeah, I'm going with them cause I'm gonna make sure he's legit with his kids. But can't help hating his bloody guts because of the way he's treating you."

Yeah, I know you heard that you creep! It's so obvious you're trying to listen in to my call while "playing" with your kids.

"I know, but he's still my twins' dad. I can't keep them away from him."

"Yeah, I wish I can keep you away from him, though."

"Thanks for the thought, Nella. Got to go, and thanks for calling me."

"Yeah, sure thing. See you later, girl."

Nella then got the kids dressed and was soon sitting with them in their baby chairs inside Jonah's car. Had she taken the time to turn around as the man's sedan zoomed away, she would have seen two athletic-looking men come out of their hiding places…

And were soon entering Siel's house as if they owned it.