Claimed by My Mafia Alpha King

Chapter 198: Chapter 198

Irina’s POV

The heavy oak door clicked shut behind me. The long, dimly lit hallway of the pack house was completely silent.

I wrapped my thick cardigan tighter around my shivering shoulders. The winter air inside the massive estate always felt incredibly cold when Nicholas wasn’t around. My chest felt tight. My heart was incredibly heavy.

Then, I saw him.

Roman was walking briskly down the opposite end of the corridor. His massive shoulders were tense. He kept his dark eyes locked straight ahead. He completely pretended he didn’t see me. He was actively avoiding me. He had been avoiding me for days.

"Roman," I called out. My voice echoed softly in the quiet hall.

He froze. His large boots stopped completely dead on the hardwood floor. His broad back went incredibly stiff. For a long, painful second, he didn’t move at all. He didn’t even turn around.

"Roman, please," I said. I took a slow, hesitant step toward him. "Wait."

He slowly turned to face me. His jaw was violently clenched. His dark eyes were completely cold. There was absolutely no warmth left in his expression. The friendly, protective Beta I used to know was entirely gone. He looked at me like I was a complete stranger. Like I was an enemy.

"Luna," he greeted stiffly. His voice was completely flat. "Do you need something?"

"I need to talk to you," I said softly.

"I have duties to attend to," he replied immediately. He aggressively crossed his massive arms over his chest. "We have absolutely nothing to talk about."

"We do," I insisted. My heart hammered nervously against my ribs. "Please. Just give me five minutes."

Roman stared at me. His heavy silence was suffocating. Finally, he let out a harsh, bitter breath. He didn’t walk away, but he didn’t step any closer either. He just stood there, waiting.

I took a deep breath. My hands were trembling slightly.

"I know you completely hate me," I started. My voice shook with raw emotion. "I see it in your eyes every single time you look at me. I feel the heavy anger rolling off you. And I don’t blame you."

Roman’s jaw twitched. He looked away, staring completely blankly at the wall.

"I know you hate me for what I did to him," I continued. Hot tears aggressively pricked the back of my eyes. "I know you despise me for harming Nicholas. For sneaking behind his back. For running away and leaving him completely broken."

"You betrayed him," Roman stated bluntly. His deep voice was rough and angry. "You violently tore his heart out."

"I know," I whispered. A rogue tear slipped down my pale cheek. "But I need you to know the truth. I desperately want to explain it to you."

Roman scoffed darkly. "You don’t owe me any explanations, Luna. You only answer to the Alpha."

"I am answering to my friend!" I pleaded emotionally. "Or at least, the man who used to be my friend."

Roman completely flinched. The word ’friend’ clearly hit a nerve.

"I was terrified, Roman," I said softly. I took another step closer. I completely bared my soul to him. "I was backed entirely into a dark corner. I was heavily manipulated. I was completely blinded by horrific lies. They made me absolutely believe I had no other choice. They made me believe I was protecting myself."

I aggressively wiped the wet tear off my face.

"I was incredibly foolish. I was weak. But I was utterly deceived," I cried softly. "I never, ever wanted to truly hurt him. I was desperate. I felt entirely trapped. I didn’t know who to trust anymore. I am so incredibly sorry for what I did."

Roman finally looked right at me. His dark eyes were blazing with fierce, protective anger.

"Your fear doesn’t change the facts, Irina," he said sharply. He completely dropped my formal title. "The undeniable fact is that you harmed the Alpha. You plotted against him. You nearly destroyed him."

I flinched completely at his harsh words. But I didn’t look away. I deserved his anger.

"You don’t know what it was like," Roman continued aggressively. His chest heaved with heavy emotion. "You didn’t see him after you ran. He was a complete ghost. He was bleeding heavily from the inside out. He stopped sleeping. He stopped eating. He violently tore this entire city apart looking for you. He almost lost his absolute mind."

A sharp ache violently stabbed my heart.

"He loves you entirely," Roman stated firmly. "He is completely obsessed with you. The Alpha would violently burn down the entire world just to keep you warm. His love for you completely blinds him to your mistakes. He forgave you because he simply cannot survive without you."

Roman took a heavy step toward me.

"But I am not blinded by love," Roman declared fiercely. "I am his Beta. I am his guard. My loyalty belongs completely and absolutely to the Alpha. I swore an incredibly sacred oath to protect him from any threat. And right now, you are the one who hurt him the most. I protect him first. Always."

His words hit me like a physical blow. But I understood. I completely understood.

"I know," I said softly. A sad, genuine smile touched my trembling lips. "And I completely respect that."

Roman blinked in surprise. He clearly didn’t expect me to agree.

"I am incredibly grateful that he has you, Roman," I said sincerely. I looked deeply into his dark eyes. "He needs someone entirely loyal. He needs someone who will protect him, even from me. I don’t want you to stop protecting him."

Roman’s tense shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch.

"I just wanted to explain," I whispered softly. "Because I truly miss you. I miss the friendly times we had. I miss how we used to actually get along. I miss feeling like I had a protector in you, too."

Roman completely froze. The heavy, dark anger in his eyes slowly began to melt.

For a long moment, the quiet hallway was completely silent again. The heavy tension between us finally started to evaporate. Roman let out a long, heavy sigh. He aggressively rubbed the back of his neck.

"I didn’t want to hate you," Roman muttered gruffly. His voice was suddenly much softer. "You were completely good for him. Before all this messy shit happened... I actually really liked you, Irina."

A small spark of warm hope bloomed in my chest.

"We can get back there," I said softly. "I promise you, I will completely dedicate the rest of my life to making him happy. I will entirely earn your trust back."

Roman looked at me. His stiff posture finally relaxed. He gave me a very small, hesitant nod.

"It will take time," he said quietly.

"I have time," I smiled through my tears.

Suddenly, a violent, horrific agony completely exploded in my chest.

It didn’t feel like a normal pain. It was entirely supernatural. It was a massive, brutal shockwave of pure terror and absolute physical suffering. It aggressively tore right through the mate bond.

"Ah!" I screamed violently.

I completely collapsed. My weak knees slammed forcefully into the hard wooden floor. I aggressively clutched my chest. It felt like a massive, jagged silver blade was violently ripping my heart straight out of my ribs.

I couldn’t breathe. My lungs completely paralyzed. Hot, cold sweat violently broke out all over my pale skin.

"Irina!" Roman yelled in pure panic.

He violently dropped his tough facade. He instantly dropped to his knees right beside me. His large, warm hands aggressively grabbed my shaking shoulders.

"Luna! What’s wrong? Is it the baby?" he demanded frantically. His dark eyes were completely wide with fear.

The brutal pain aggressively spiked again. It was heavily mixed with a dark, suffocating wave of pure, absolute madness. It wasn’t my pain. It was his. I could completely feel his absolute fury. I could entirely feel his shattered mind.

I looked up at Roman. My vision aggressively blurred with fresh, terrified tears. My whole body shook violently.

"Nicholas..." I trembled, gasping for air. "Nicholas... he is in danger."