Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(66)

“If I have to—”

“Let’s open presents!” Lauren suddenly announced, glaring at both her husband and his twin, then at Luka.

Whatever she had planned for this night, it wasn’t going the way she wanted.

Dinner forgotten, they all headed back out to the living room, all except Luka who went to a back bedroom, Natasha following behind.

Despite what had happened at the table, and how his touch still lingered, she counted every second he was gone. But instead of just sitting there, she went over to pick up the presents she had bought and passed them out.

Lauren was first, Mishca, even Klaus, and another for Amber. Luka’s, she just left in the spot where he had been sitting.

From Mishca and Lauren, she got a pair of very amazing shoes that she remembered particularly asking for when she and Lauren had been talking. Klaus, surprisingly, got her a rather fashionable ring that doubled as a weapon—that was her favorite so far.

Luka and Natasha emerged from the back, Luka carrying the gifts he’d brought. Natasha kept her emotions carefully concealed.

Luka tossed Alex a box covered in gold wrapping paper, a glittery ribbon of the same color tied around it. It was quite bigger than the box he’d thrown over to Lauren, but surprisingly, he didn’t have one for Natasha. Call her selfish, but Alex was kind of happy with that fact.

There was a tag tucked into the ribbon, and when she turned it over, she was expecting it to have Luka’s name inked on it. She laughed softly when she saw three hastily drawn words.

You’re f*cking welcome.

While everyone else was busy, Alex untied the ribbon, delicately unwrapping the box. A name of a company she had never heard of was printed along the top, and she was curious about what was inside.

She tipped the top up, taking a peek inside and immediately slammed it back into place.

This wasn’t something she wanted to share with everyone in this room, not because it was inappropriate, but because of what it meant to her. No one, not even her family, had bought her a pair of pointe shoes. Of course, the school she had attended normally provided them for a while, but if she'd wanted a special pair, she had to buy them herself.

Not caring whether anyone noticed, she carried the box to the room where her coat was, opening it back up once the door was shut. She ran her fingers over the delicate satin of the shoes, letting the ribbons slip through them. They were beautiful, simplistic, and reminded her of a life that had meant everything to her at one time.

Only Luka would think of getting her this, something that meant more to her than all the shoes in the world.

Returning to the living room, Alex picked up her glass, watching the ice cubes floating inside swirl around.

Lauren handed out her gifts next, saving Mishca for last. His was the smallest of the lot, but if the look on his face was any indication, he didn’t mind this fact. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile, urging him to open it up. Untying the ribbon, he pulled the lid off, his eyebrows shooting up as he lifted the USB-style key from the velvety interior. His ensuing smile promised things that Alex really didn’t want to think about.

Luka, who happened to be walking behind him as he tossed his own present at Lauren, looked down at the key. “Oh, SLR McLaren? Someone has good taste.”

“Go near my car, Luka, I will skin you alive.”

“Why so serious? It’s Christmas. Take that stick out your ass, Mish. Now, open my gift and say, ‘thank you Luka, you’re so generous. We love you more than the angry mercenary.’”

“You’re stereotyping me and I don’t like it,” Klaus complained.

“The three of you fight more than any girl I know,” Alex said rolling her eyes.

It didn’t go unnoticed that Mishca and Lauren were in a private, heated discussion, and it was more than clear that Lauren was winning whatever point she was trying to make. When they finally came to an agreement—and realized that everyone had noticed their small argument—they looked toward them.

Lauren and Mishca stood in front of the Christmas tree, the latter looking pensive, but Lauren looked rather excited making Alex wonder what was going on. It was beyond obvious now that whatever they were about to share was important.

“Get on with it,” Klaus said dryly. “You’re keeping us all in suspense.”

Lauren glared at him, and from the way she was looking, it seemed Klaus already knew what was about to be said. Weird.

“We thought it was important that you all knew that…well, what I mean to say is, I consider you all family and it’s…okay, no—”

“Lauren’s pregnant,” Mishca blurted out.

Alex was taking a sip of her drink when he said that announcement, and she coughed, nearly spitting it back out. Like most of the others in the room, her eyes immediately dropped to Lauren’s stomach, though there was hardly any evidence of a pregnancy. This also explained why her clothes were so loose fitting.

Lauren’s eyes grew round as she looked at her husband, obviously not happy with the way he had told them, but no matter how it was said, Alex was sure that everyone would have been struck speechless still.

“That’s a little selfish, isn’t it?” Luka asked, breaking the silence after their announcement. “Is that my gift then? Your pregnancy? Can I at least keep the baby?”

Alex hid her smile behind her hand, coughing when even Klaus started shaking with laughter.