Captivated Desires

34

"Any updates?" he asked Azar, his voice serious again. Azar gave a slight shake of his head. "Not yet," he replied, his attention shifting from the kids to Reign. "How is Reina?"

Reign's expression darkened slightly as he thought of me. "She's resting for now," he said, his voice quiet. "This whole thing is taking a toll on her. She's trying to be strong for the kids, but I can see she's terrified."

Azar nodded, a look of understanding and concern on his face. "It's a lot for her to handle," he agreed. "But she's strong, and she loves those kids more than anything. She won't back down."

"I know," Reign sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "But I don't want her to have to be strong. I don't want any of us to have to live in constant fear. We need to end this, once and for all, before anyone else gets hurt."

Azar nodded emphatically. "And we will," he assured a steely edge in his voice. The kids, sensing the serious tone, quieted down a bit, though they were still blissfully unaware of the true gravity of the situation.

"I've got my best people working on it," Azar continued, his gaze hardening. "We'll find out who's behind this, and we'll make them pay. No one threatens our family and gets away with it."

As the doorbell rang, signalling their arrival, the kids started to squirm with excitement. They looked up at Azar, who gave them a small nod, and the next moment they were up and running to the front door.

Azar smiled at their enthusiasm and rose from his armchair, walking over to the door just as the kids swung it open. On the other side stood Olympia, Valerie, and Darius. The kids were immediately all over them, hugging their aunt and cousins tightly. Olympia, Val, and Darius all laughed at the reception, their exhaustion from the long journey not enough to dampen their enjoyment of the kids' boundless energy.

"Looks like we've been missed," Olympia commented with a smile, extricating herself from the little bodies clinging to her. "We sure have," Azar agreed, reaching out to give his wife a quick kiss on the cheek. Valerie and Darius were both equally swamped by the smaller kids, but they didn't seem to mind.

"Alright, alright," Azar tried to calm the kids down, though his voice held a hint of amusement. "Give Val and Darius a chance to breathe."

As the commotion died down, it was impossible to miss the slight bump in Olympia's belly. She was clearly pregnant, her condition probably around four months along. She noticed the direction of everyone's gazes and chuckled, placing a hand on her stomach. "Yes, yes, I know, I'm huge," she joked, though her expression held a hint of exhaustion. 

"Nonsense, you're beautiful," Azar assured, wrapping an arm around her waist affectionately. The kids seemed even more fascinated now, staring at Olympia's belly with wide eyes.

"Is that a little baby in there?" Lionel asked, tilting his head curiously. Olympia chuckled. "Yes, sweetie, that's a baby," she confirmed. "He'll be joining us soon."

"Wow," Lionel breathed, his eyes still fixed on Olympia's belly. The other kids also seemed captivated, asking questions about the new baby with excited voices.

"He'll be here in a few months," Olympia explained, still smiling. "Then you guys will have a new little cousin to play with." The kids seemed more excited at the prospect, chattering among themselves about all the fun they could have with the baby.

The sudden crash of glass shattering echoed through the house, the room going silent in surprise. The kids froze, their eyes wide with shock, while the adults tensed, immediately on high alert. 

Azar and Reign were the first to move, both of them immediately striding towards the stairs. They knew immediately that the sound had come from the direction of the bedroom, and they were not messing around.

As the two men ran upstairs, they found the bedroom empty. But one thing captured their attention instantly - there was blood on the sheets. They froze for a moment, a mixture of confusion and dread filling them.

"Reina!" Reign yelled, his mind going into overdrive. Where was she? What had happened? As he looked around the room, his eyes finally fell on the open window. Cold fear gripped him as he realized that she must have gone out that way.

"Azar," he said urgently, his voice sharp. "Check outside. I'll look around here."
Without waiting for a response, Reign whipped around and began scanning the room. Azar wasted no time, immediately moving to the broken window and climbing out. His eyes raked the darkened surroundings, looking for any sign of me or whatever had caused the commotion.

As Reign searched the room, his eyes caught sight of a small piece of paper on the floor, almost like it was purposefully left behind. He kneeled and picked it up, his heart sinking as his eyes scanned the contents of the note.

The message was short and to the point. "We have your wife. Don't try to find her or things will get messy." No signature, no explanation, just a simple statement that sent a chill down his spine.

He crushed the note in his hand, anger and fear warring within him. They had me. All his worst nightmares were coming true. But he couldn't panic, he wouldn't. He had to stay calm and think strategically.

He took a deep breath, trying to control his racing thoughts. He had to find me but he had to do it carefully. Running off half-cocked and without a plan would be suicidal. He needed to call in Azar and the others to get their input on this. But most of all, he needed to keep a level head.

He walked over to the window and called down to Azar, who was still searching the surroundings outside. "Azar!" he yelled, his voice sharp. "I need you up here, now!" Azar looked back up at the sound of his name being called. He could hear the urgent tone in Reign's voice and he knew something was wrong. Without wasting a moment, he scaled up and climbed through the window.