Theft of the Heart Ch. 02

First of all I would like to thank Axelotl for his editing, both on this chapter and the previous one; don't know what I would do without the comma's ;). Also thanks to everyone who read, commented and voted on the 1^st chapter. Hope you enjoy this chapter and please don't forget to leave a comment and vote.

*****

"Ok let's make it first one to ten. I didn't warm up properly." Zavagne said pleading to her sister.

Chella laughed out loud at her sister. She always made excuses when she lost. "Well neither did I Zanny," she replied. "Besides, you're three points down already, the longer we play the more thorough your beating will be."

"It's not really a fair game though, you and Nicholas play all the time. I haven't played in months." Zavagne responded with a pout.

Chella and Nicholas played almost every weekend, while she only played with them once in a while. She never let her small stature hamper her game, and even though they were the same size, Chella was always more skilled at the game than her sister. In Zan's view that gave Chella an unfair advantage over her and she wasn't going to stand for it.

Chella took a break from bouncing the ball and looked at her sister. "I haven't played since the last time you and I played sis."

"Really?" Zavagne asked, slightly surprised by that. "So you and Nic found something else to do with your time than play this silly game?"

Chella turned around to take a free throw before responding. "Well I haven't spent a weekend with him since the club opened, haven't even seen him since then."

Zavagne was shocked. Chella and Nic used to spend almost every weekend together, if she hasn't done that since the club opened, that would mean it's been more than three months since she's spend any time with him. After herself, Nicholas was the only other person Verochelle really spoke to. She has another friend, Jessica, but as far as Zan knew, she didn't stay in the same town any more. She's never been away from Nic this long since they met. This really worried Zan.

"That was three months ago Chella, are you avoiding him or something? Did you two have another fight?" Zan asked her sister seriously.

The last time the three were together, Chella and Nic had a small disagreement over something; well at least that's what Zan had thought. Now it seems like there might have been more to their little argument than she had thought.

Verochelle turned from her sister and walked over to pick up the ball she just dunked. She didn't really want to talk to her sister about this, or anything for that matter. She was tired of talking; that's all Zan and Nic wanted to do, and she was tired of it.

She wasn't a child, she felt she could deal with her issues on her own and all she wanted was to be left to do that. "I'm not avoiding him Zan, but that doesn't mean I have to see him every damn weekend, he has his life and I have mine."

Since they had no idea who was born first, Chella always acted as the unofficial older sister. She took that role too seriously sometimes. She never wanted to burden Zan with anything, including the nightmares she has been having since their brother died six years ago. Zan knew about that, but had let her be because she knew that at least she was talking to someone.

"Chella," she said seriously, waiting for her sister to look at her again, "You know, the only reason I let you get away with not talking to me is because you talk to Nic. You can't just stop and expect me to continue to ignore this sis. You need to talk to someone sweety."

"Until when Zan? It's not like talking has helped me with anything so far!" she snapped. "I'm not going to spend the rest of my life talking about something that's obviously not going to change. I'm tired of it Zan, I don't want to talk anymore. I'm tired. Please." She said the last part in a pleading whisper.

"Fine, I'll let it go this time," Zan said, "but we are still going to talk about this Chelles."

Verochelle smiled with relief. She really didn't want to do this with her sister and even if she did, this was not the place to do it. She went and stood in the middle of the court getting ready to make another free throw. "If I make this shot,you go out with Grant." She said deviously, before taking the shot and scoring.

***

Aleks was livid. He couldn't believe anyone had the nerve to break into his house. He could still sense the intruders. With the way he was feeling, they probably wouldn't make it out of the house alive. He hoped it wasn't the wolves, because there is no way in hell he could let this go.

Not even their alliance with Nicholas Ferris could save them. This was his house, his sanctuary, and no one had the right to be here without an express invitation from him.

Aleks made his way further into his house, fury blazing and almost forgot about his leggy companion. Now he was regretting having her here. He would have to take care of this little issue quietly and swiftly.

"Stay here." He said to her in a tone that left no room for question. He didn't even look back to see if she would stay.

He walked further into the house with purpose, but something was throwing him off, and he couldn't quit put his finger on it. There was something about one of the scents. It was a sweet strawberry scent and it stirred him in a way no other had before. He followed the scent all the way to his basement.

Aleks froze as he saw possibly the smallest woman he had seen, make a free throw from the middle of the court and score. Even he had to admit to himself that it was pretty impressive, especially for someone so tiny.

He couldn't help the smile that was now tugging at his lips. He had to remind himself that the impressive little thing had actually broken into his house and violated his personal space.

She had to pay somehow, he couldn't allow anyone to think it okay to intrude on his life like this.

From where he was standing he had a perfect view of her delectable ass as she bent over to pick up the ball she just threw. His body immediately responded to the sight.

***

Chella giggled as she went to pick up the ball. She knew her sister would never go out with Grant. He was really not her type, but maybe talk of it would distract her from anymore talk of her going out with him.

Chella picked the ball up and was ready to get on her sister's case, she froze on the spot as soon as she turned.

She found herself staring at the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. She stood transfixed for a moment before it occurred to her that she should actually be panicking.

*

Aleks finally got a good look at one of his uninvited guests. She was stunning, with a youthful face and the most adorable brown doe eyes. But adorable is not the adjective he would use to describe the rest of her body. It was womanly and curvaceous but shapely, and her light caramel skin was absolutely perfect.

He knew he couldn't just keep staring at her. He had to say something at some point.

"Nice shot," he said, his deep voice almost echoing in the large basement.

Zavagne turned around with a fright and stared at who she assumed would be the owner. She had never seen a picture of him even when she did her research on the place. She muttered a curse under her breath. He was huge, if this guy didn't kill them, then Chella would definitely end her life.

"Hmmmm... Twins; interesting," Aleks said, crossing his arms on his wide chest.

"While I do have a fondness for twins, I prefer to be the one who actually invites them into my house." He continued in a bone chilling tone.

His voice sent a shiver down Chella's spine, and she took a sharp breath at the sensation. Her body was having an unexpected reaction to him that she didn't understand. Something about him terrified her and mesmerised her at the same time.

Aleks stalked towards the pair. He noted that while identical, there were some differences between them. Most noticeably was the hair, while one girl wore her hair natural in a large curly afro, the other sister had hers straightened and tied in a tight pony tail on the top of her head.

The one with the straight hair was the one that had Aleks' attention though. There was something about her. Something that called to him, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

*

Chella quickly made her way to her sister. Just like she did when they were young, she took a protective position in front of her. Not that it would help much. If this guy wanted to hurt them there wasn't much she could do deter him, considering he was more than a foot taller than both of them.

"I'm sorry Chella," Zan whispered to her sister.

"Not yet you're not," she whispered back to her.

"Do we run?"

"No." Chella replied in a harsh tone.

The only way out of the basement was past the large man who just entered the basement. Running now may confuse the guy as to who to go after, but Chella was not going to risk him going after her sister. It was not time to run yet.

If they ever made it out of this mess, she was going to give Zan hell for the rest of her life.

*

Aleks didn't show it, but even from as far as he was, he caught the entire conversation. Now he had a name to put to the face that had him so captivated. 'Chella'. Lovely. He wondered briefly what it was short for.

He came to an imposing stance in front of her, and spoke. "You are trespassing." His tone was hard and dangerous. He waited for a response from his two intruders but they said nothing. "Have you nothing to say?"

His question was greeted by more silence.

When Chella didn't answer him he looked at her sister and tried to get a response from her. "Do you speak little girl?" he asked now in anger. He hated to be ignored.

When neither answered him, he made a move to get in front of the other sister. But before he could get to her, he felt a sharp pain in his groin, enough to make him double over. Chella had kneed him. 'That bitch!'

"Run Zan!" Chella shouted. They needed to get out of there, while they had the chance.

*

If Zan hadn't been so scared she would have stopped to chuckle at the hot guy hunched over in pain, but fear and adrenalin took over and she found herself moving faster than she ever did before.

Zan was the first one to make it to the door. She wanted to wait for her sister to get closer, she wanted to stop to see if she made it out of the basement ok; but she knew Chella would not thank her for it. It would only infuriate her further, but she couldn't help it, she had look back just to be sure. She was relieved to see her sister was right behind her.

"Don't look back, just run!"

*

It didn't take long for Aleks to regain composure. He did so before the twins even made it to the door, but it was the shock of what that little woman had done that kept him rooted to the spot. 'She has some balls,' he thought to himself. In his thousand-plus years of living, no one had ever done that to him, not even when he was still human. He was torn between being completely furious and being mildly impressed by being caught so off guard. He obviously underestimated his intruders.

He would have to teach her a little lesson when he got her back.

***

Joshua Auris got off the phone with Nicholas Ferris and sighed with relief. It was good to know that they wouldn't be getting any trouble from their vampire neighbor. Now the pack could fully settle into their new environment.

He sagged back in his chair with relief. The pack had been getting agitated, not being able to roam around or go for a run. But as Alpha he couldn't allow his pack the freedom to go for a run before he could guarantee their safety.

He was just about to go look for his brother and second in command when the big guy burst through his office door.

"You know you really ought to knock sometime Danny," Joshua said to his brother.

"Yeah I really ought to, but we both know it's not going to happen, unless of course you find a mate, in which case I might consider it." Danny replied with a smirk, then continued, "but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."

"A mate? I don't see that happening anytime soon. The pack needs my undivided attention right now, we don't need more change at the moment."

"Yeah whatever, man. You and I both know it would be a blessing for the Alpha to find his mate no matter when it happened."

"Well obviously Luna doesn't agree with you. Maybe I'm just not meant to have a mate. I wouldn't be the first, you know." Joshua said in response to his brother. "Speaking of mates, where is Lizzy?"

Joshua knew one way of diverting his brother's attention from almost anything, and that was to bring up the love of his life. His plan worked perfectly. Danny gave him a toothy smile before explaining that his mate was in the pack hospital stitching up some pups that had been playing a bit too rough with each other.

"They need space to run, Josh. They're just going to keep getting hurt, all cooped up like this, you know?"

Josh smiled, he finally had some good news to share. "Well, I just got off the phone with Ferris. He spoke to Novak and we have the all clear. You just need to show the pups the borders of our lands. I don't want them straying on to that vampire's land."

Danny beamed. "That's fantastic news. I'll get to that first thing in the morning. Tonight I think I'll take Liz for a run. She's going into heat soon, we need some practice, you know?"

Joshua threw his head back and laughed. If his brother had anymore practice, he and Elisabeth would never leave their room. "Sure, just stay within our lands.It's too early for you to go causing trouble."

"Yes Alpha, no trouble from me...For tonight anyway," Danny responded, then left before his brother could say anything more.

***

Chella and Zan ran out to the back where they had parked. When they were young, their brother had always told them to split up after doing a job, "It makes it harder for the chaser to choose who to go after," he would say. Thank goodness they came with different rides to the mansion. Hopefully the confusion would cause him to pause a bit and give them a bigger lead. They separated as soon as they stepped out the kitchen and got to the back of the house.

Aleks could have caught both of them before they even made it to the kitchen door but they would have surely realised that something about him was different. Since he no longer had any intention of killing his intruders, it wouldn't do to expose his secret to them, but they would not be getting away from him, especially not Chella.

Chella was obviously the more protective of the two. If he caught her sister he wouldn't have to catch Chella, he had no doubt she would come to her sister's rescue.

Aleks followed the other woman's scent and grabbed her by the waist just as she was mounting a motor bike she had parked around the side of the house. He knew he couldn't get to her sister without exposing himself, so he reached into the Zan's pants and fished out her phone and shoved it at her. "Call her!" he demanded.

"Are you serious? She's escaping a robbery and you think she's going to answer her phone?"

"Call her!" he repeated more severely.

"Fine, but you should know she doesn't take calls when she's driving. It's illegal in this state you know?" Zan responded. She prayed her sister wouldn't take the call.

*

Chella got the call just as she got to the end of the drive way. Her heart nearly sank when she heard the special ring tone reserved for her sister. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking hell, fuck!" she cursed before pressing the answer button.

"You left something," she heard on the other side of the line.

"Shit!" she said as she slammed on her brakes.

*

Aleks didn't have to wait long for Chella. As he predicted, she came to her sister's rescue in record time. 'Surely she doesn't believe I would hurt her does she?' he thought to himself. Well if that's what she was thinking he would let her keep believing that, it could make her more obliging.

"Do you have anything to say now, little girl?" he asked Chella.

"Yeah, call the cops."

"What?" Aleks asked in disbelief. 'That's not what burglars usually say when they are caught, is it?'

"The cops, as in the police, you know, 911?" Chella stated tautly.

There was something about this guy. Sure he was impossibly handsome and masculine, but there was something in his eyes that unsettled her. They were intense and other worldly, piercing right into her. He seemed to look at her with voracious hunger.

Frankly she would rather be in a jail cell than to be standing here in front of him like this. Jessica was back in town, she would bail them out and Nicholas would never even have to find out. Then she can kill her sister for putting them in this situation.

Aleks was confused for a moment, then he smelled it--fear. His favourite aroma, or at least it used to be his favourite. Now he found himself developing a liking to Chella's sweet strawberry fragrance. He was impressed that she could appear so calm even though her fear was reeking up his entire kitchen.

He cocked his head to the side in amusement. This is certainly not what he expected to hear.

"No."

"What?" Chella asked in shock.

"No, you and your sister will be punished by me, not the police."

"You can't do that, you don't have that authority."

Aleks gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and Chella's fear escalated. He moved one of his hands from Zan's arm and put it around her neck. "I have your sister's neck in my hand, I think you'll find I have all the authority I need," he said as he squeezed Zan's neck a bit to emphasize his point.

He could no longer scent Chella's sweet strawberry. The fear had eclipsed it and Aleks wasn't sure if he liked it.

"Follow me," he said as he turned to walk out the kitchen.

Chella was almost paralysed with fear. Once again it seemed one of her sibling's life depended on her. She knew that this was not her fault but she couldn't help but blame herself. She should have refused to come here, should have listened to her gut, but she didn't and now her sister's life was at risk.

Aleks didn't have to look back to know that Chella was not following. He squeezed Zan's arm painfully until she let out a little squeal. It was enough to snap her sister out of whatever it was that kept her from moving.

**

Tiffany had enough of waiting for Aleks by the door. How dare he do that to her? No man treats her that way. She was sure he would have been ripping her clothes off as soon as they made it through the door, but he just gave her an order and disappeared. 'That son of a bitch,' she thought to herself, just before heading to look for him.

*

Aleks led the girls to his library. He needed to figure out what he was going to do with them. For the first time in his life he had no idea what he wanted to do. He knew he would not call the police, but what was the fitting punishment for breaking into his house?

"Car keys," he said holding out his hand to Chella.

"What, no, why?" Chella responded nervously. If they ever got out of here they would need the car. They were several miles from town, he would catch them before they even get out the drive way if they didn't have keys.

"Because my dear, you are a woman, and I'm sure you double parked or something," he responded with a laugh. And for the first time since finding the girls, he smelled something else besides fear. Anger. He decided he preferred that to fear.

'He's such a dick,' Chella thought.

"And I'll take your phone as well, thank you," he said eyeing Chella with some amusement.

Chella dug in her pants for both her phone and her car keys. They were just going to have to find a new way to get out of this mess. She would think of something, she always did.