Siel felt her chest aching over what she just heard.

Suddenly it was so hard to breathe, and she wished she could erase everything that she had recently seen and heard from her mind. Besides that, her regret at showing up at the bar to look for Jonah is numbing her emotions completely…

As it was, she was already in bad shape before she even arrived at the pub.

Girl, he's left us at the ice cream parlor! And we don't have a ride. He said he'd be back, but it's already more than an hour, and the twins are falling asleep on their chairs! He said he'll be over at The Peacock but I don't know where that is!

She read at least twenty messages with the same theme and mood, along with about 10 unanswered calls, as she checked her phone back at the medical floor of Silvercrest skyscraper. All of them were from Nella and her panic level was on extreme red alert. She had no choice but to tell her counselor that she was needed elsewhere because of an emergency with her kids.

"I promise to be back tomorrow for my check-up, Alexia. Please, I just need to go now because my babies are stranded, and they need a ride home."

Thankfully, Alexia gave her a signed medical certificate which she can use so she wouldn't be penalized for leaving early. Anyway, she hoped to explain everything to V as soon as she had fixed everything and was a little less panicky. 

But it seemed that it wasn't even necessary anymore… And she didn't want to ask any more questions either.

"Elena, it's not what you think…" V said, now standing up and trying to reach out to her.

She pulled back, "I heard you say it. That you wanted to buy me, and my kids…"

"Yes, I did say that, but it was only as a response to what he earlier said…"

Jonah's smirk was now even wider. With his back against the bar, he stretched his arms out to grasp the top of the bar's wooden ledge just so he can enjoy the view. He's had practice with destroying Siel's friendships before, especially with her past male friends, and now this scene was his pièce de resistance.

And he intended to thoroughly enjoy it.

"Stop using him as an excuse, V! The evidence is right there on the bar!" yelled Siel as she picked up the check behind her boss and then stared at the figure written on it. "And you think this is how much WE COST?!"

"No, absolutely not Elena, but…"

"But you still wrote this amount, V! Damn it, I told you before, and I will say it, again…"

She took the check and ripped it up, a tear for every word she uttered. "WE. ARE. NOT. FOR. SALE!" then threw the pieces of paper in his face.

V felt his heart shatter as he heard the pain in her voice and saw it in her eyes. He knew that he'd been played, but he realized a little too late, that explaining what just happened wouldn't make it all better.

It actually made things worse.

"Alright, I admit I did say all that and did write that check. But it's only out of concern for your safety and your twins and…"

"I'm sorry, V… Sir… I'm still sore over last night, I haven't had any decent sleep yet, and this is the third time you've overstepped your boundaries with me. So, it's final, I don't want anything from you. Don't bother buying any more gifts

for your Christmas angels because I won't accept them!"

"Elena… please… it's for the children!"

"Yes, and they're still MY children… and HIS. Let's go, Jonah. OUR kids are waiting."

As V stood still trying to gather his thoughts, yet still reeling from the emotional pain that he and Roth felt, he watched helplessly as his beloved mate left the pub with her ex. Jonah even placed an arm around Siel and then looked back…

The cunt's eyes were jubilant, and his smirk had now turned into a sadistic grin.

Suddenly, V's fear for his mate's safety overshadowed everything else that he was feeling. When they were already gone from view, he called his wolf to come out of hiding.

Roth, we've got no time to feel sorry for ourselves. She's our mate, and she's more important to us than even our own lives. I need to get the Gamma's complete report about that asshole along with his wife's findings, so we know how to win the next round. Good thing I already received the Beta's report via email.

As he walked back to his Roadster, he was already contacting everyone he needed to talk to via mobile. He's never been known to back out from a fight, nor has he ever been viewed as a quitter.

He wasn't about to start now. Oh, hell no!

I might have lost this battle, but by the Goddess, I have no intention of losing the war. For her sake, I will come out the winner. Mark my words…

* * *

Ma'Heron woke up in the pack hospital, wearing a patient's gown and nothing else. He was a little confused for a while until the memory of the previous night hit him like a ton of bricks.

Di… damn it. She's probably somewhere here, too, with that bastard bro of mine. Well, looks like my wounds are all healed. I swear, I'm not done with Aaron just yet… Wait, is that my mobile buzzing?

M reached for his phone, which was shaking on top of the bedside table. He checked out the messages that he's missed, finally getting to the latest text he received. His mouth twisted in agitation as he realized that he was severely delayed with his reports to the Alpha.

He decided to set aside his own personal demons at the moment so he could focus on his own responsibilities. Especially now that he sensed an urgency in Vince's messages, it was obvious that the Alpha needed his full attention at once.

Still wearing the hospital gown, he strode swiftly to his own apartments located a couple of floors above the pack's medical area.

Even as he dressed up in a classy dark gray business suit, he found himself listening to his wolf, Lyon, who tried to talk some sense into him over what happened last night.

Look M, I know you're a workaholic, responsible, driven, very loyal, and dedicated to your pack duties. But just because your Beta isn't as consistent as you are, that doesn't mean you should see him as undeserving of your sister! You know how one finds a mate, right? It isn't even really just their choice, after all.

All Lyon got was a grunt of irritation from his human. He continued, nonetheless.

Ma'Heron, be reasonable. Your bro might be nicknamed "The Charmer" and had bedded pretty much every single female in the pack, but that doesn't mean he's not a good match for your sister. Besides, even if you have been very protective of Di, you should accept the fact that it's her life and you can't stop her from doing what she thinks is right. She's no longer a child!

Ma'Heron huffed again as he entered the limo that will bring him to the Silvercrest main headquarters. He looked out the window to distract himself from his wolf's continuous monologue.

Besides, if you can't trust Aaron when he says that Di is his mate, you can definitely trust Di since she was even a man-hater for a few years, right? And she even defended the Beta against you by shifting to a werewolf! Tell me, when was the last time she transformed? She even ignored her fear of being naked just so she can stop you from hurting Aaron! I think that's enough reason for you to believe that your bro is really and truly her mate!

Thank you, Lyon, but I think that's enough 'input' for today. I need to focus on our Alpha's present problem, so let's set aside the issue of my sister's mate for a while, shall we?

Very well, but I'm not yet done with you.

Neither am I done with Aaron…

The meeting will be held in his V's office, and he's glad that there seemed to be no sign of Aaron anywhere. It wouldn't do the guy any good to go through round two with him while in front of Vince, no matter how close they were to each other.

The secret elevator stopped on a certain floor. Alexia stepped in, looking gorgeous and sexy even if she was wearing a doctor's long coat.

"Well, hello, husband. So, it seems you will be part of the meeting with the Alpha?"

"Yes, wife. And I'm so glad to see you. I've been missing you terribly."

They took one deep sigh in unison,and longing look at each other…

And the next second, they were already kissing each other hungrily… savagely…

Alexia's hand hit the Emergency Stop button as Ma'Heron lifted her up against the wall, her legs tightly hugging his hips.

Meanwhile, on the top floor, Myron answered a call from security, "Sir, they're at it again. Shall we cancel the stop and just let the elevator go up while they're uhhh… busy?"

Myron looked at the security monitor near his desk, viewing the specific square grid that displayed what was happening in said elevator. He sighed then answered the caller's question. "Let them be. I'm sure they'll be done in five minutes, as always. Just wait for them to call you."

"Alright, Sir. whatever you say."

* * *

It took a while before Siel, Nella, and the twins could get back home due to heavy traffic. The single mom was totally relieved that she accepted her ex's offer to ride home with him. She seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who originally asked to bring the twins to the dentist and then take them home.

"Imagine the gall of that guy, wanting to buy you and the kids from me! Well, I didn't give in to his offer. You saw how much I turned down for you, right Siel? That's proof of how much I love you… and the twins, too…"

Siel could hear Jonah talking, but the more she listened, the more her chest twisted into a painful knot. She knew she should be taking his side by agreeing with him or even venting her anger against V…

But she couldn't.

All she could do was remember how shocked V looked when he saw her behind her ex and how unhappy he was while she shouted at him. As a matter of fact, the more she heard Jonah harping about how awful V was, the more she felt her unexplained pain intensifying.

And she couldn't understand why…

I should still be angry at him. I mean, Jonah is right. I shouldn't be sorry for him. But why do I still want to talk to him? Or even just see him? I should be hating him now, but why am I wondering how he is? Damn, what is wrong with me?

Then as she unlocked her front door, entered her house and turned the lights on, she immediately felt that something was wrong…

"Siel, the Christmas Tree! It's gone, and so are the gifts!" exclaimed Nella.