A/N: Hi, Guys :) Happy to see me again? I'm terribly sorry for the long pause. Here is the new chapter. More exciting chapters are ahead. Love you all. Don't forget to vote and leave a comment. Thanks.

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Bella's eyes fluttered open as she heard a fierce knocking on the door, but a heavy and strong arm was holding her down which tightened around her waist and pulled her to a hard chest.

"Mason fucking King!" Ben's loud shouting could be heard in the room even though a closed soundproof door. Suddenly the door slammed open and Ben walked in. "Are you dead? Cause you never ...." he paused and whistled. "heyyyyyyy! what we have here?" he said smugly and leaned on the door frame with his legs and arms crossed and smirked at the couple in bed.

"Ben, get the fuck out of my room." groaned Mason lowly and Bella would've swooned from hearing his raspy husky morning voice if her heart was not beating miles a second and her face was not heated as hell. She grumbled and hid her face under the covers.

She tried to get out of bed but Mason kept her in her place. "No!" he growled and glared at the smug-faced Ben. "Ben, get out before I kill you."

Ben raised his hands in surrender and shook his head. "Okay, lover boy." he said and smirked at him. "I'm heading down. Everyone would be ecstatic to hear the news." he added quickly before rushing out and closing the door behind himself just as Mason's bedside clock hit the door.

"Dork!" groaned Mason annoyed and become more annoyed when Bella used his distraction and sat up, but he sat up quickly and snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap before she can leave the bed. "Where do you think you are going?" he said and turned her on his lap to face him.

A new wave of heat rushed to her cheeks when she realized their position. She was straddling Mason's lap while his arms were around her waist and her hands were on his solid chest. She saw his glorious bare muscled body in the daylight. His sculpted abs were on show.

Mason chuckled under his breath and kissed her forehead. "Good morning, love." he whispered with a husky voice which sent shivers down Bella's spine. "Like what you see?"

"Don't flatter yourself." said Bella and hit his chest playfully. Her eyes softened when she saw his eyes shining brightly. She ran a hand through his messy morning hair. "Did you sleep well last night?" she asked softly as Mason closed his eyes in bliss. He made a sound between humming and purr in response and Bella chuckled. She leaned down and pecked his lips but as she pulled away, Mason's hand cupped a side of her face and brought it down for a long kiss. He deepened the kiss and a growl rattled in his chest as he felt Bella's delicate fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

They pulled away breathless after some minutes. Bella giggled suddenly. It was contagious for Mason began to laugh after a few seconds as well. His laughter was the most beautiful sound that Bella had ever heard in her life.

She looked down at his content face. Power and dominance could be seen in his face which looked hard, serious, and authoritative even when he was laughing. You could see the power radiating from him. He was born to be a leader and the fact that he doubted himself last night disturbed Bella. "Mason," called softly and caressed his cheek. "promise me one thing."

"What?" he asked and kissed her palm.

"Never, ever doubt yourself." said Bella seriously, and Mason stared at her. "Believe me when I say that you are able to bring the world to its knees if you want and no one can stop you. No one deserves the title of leader more than you. I believe in you. I believe in you and your abilities."

Mason stared at her for a few moments. Relief washed over him at hearing her words and he felt powerful and confidant more than any time. "Thank you, my Bella. Thank you." he said and pecked her lips one more time. "Let's go down before Ben can make a disaster." he said.

Bella nodded. "I want to go to the warehouse to see my mother and Damien if it's alright." she said.

"Of course." said Mason. "I will take you there."

Half an hour later, Bella walked into the dining room. She had worn a light yellow short sleeve sundress that was coming to just above her knees. Her hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail.

Ben, Xander, Hunter, Alison, the little twins, and Marisa was there. Marisa had a pot of tea in her hand and was giggling hard. Everyone looked up at Bella as she walked in.

"And here comes one of the love birds." said Ben teasingly and Bella glared at him and blushed a bit but decided to ignore his comment. "Good morning everyone." she greeted.

A choir of good mornings came from kids and teenagers around the table.

"Good morning, honey." chirped Marisa happily.

Bella walked to the twins and touched Jordan's forehead. "It's good you have no fevere." she said happily and kissed his forehead. "Only a few days of rest and you will be fine again."

"Can we go and see mum and Damien?" asked James hopefully. "Everyone here wants to go."

"I see no problem but you should ask Mason." answered Bella.

Just then, as if on cue, Mason walked in talking on his phone. He was in a navy blue suit with a matching tie and white shirt, handsome as ever. His eyes found Bella and she blushed under his intense stare that eyed her up and down. "Okay I will call you later. Make sure that the files are on my table once I get there." he said and end his call and watched everyone staring at him.

"And here comes the second one." chirped Ben under his breath.

"Mason, can we go with others to base and see Mum and Damien?" asked Jordan pleadingly.

Mason walked and stood beside Bella and grabbed her hand. The action brought a smile to Marisa's face. "Yes, you can. You can go with others." he said. The twins yelled happily and ran to their room to get ready. Mason then turned to Bella. "Let's go. I will drop you there before going to the company's office."

"Hey, what about me?" whined Ben and stood up.

Mason gave him a death glare. "You can run there for all I care." he snapped at him and then dragged Bella out of the room with him.

"Ouch! That hurt." said Ben and made a hurt face and dramatically put a hand on his heart. "My baby is all grown up and leaving me for another one."

Marisa squealed happily and clapped her hands. "Oh my goodness." she cried happily. "We are going to have a wedding soon. I love to go shopping for weddings."

"Ugh, Marisa!" said Hunter and scrunched his nose while Xander and Alison chuckled. "Don't you think you are exaggerating? They have only met each other for a few days."

Marisa squinted her eyes at him and shook a finger in front of him. "Uh, uh, young man." she said. "My experienced eyes see things that you can't. I can distinguish a true love when I see one." she then looked at the door and smiled warmly. "I know Mason for all his life. I have seen him grow up and I have never seen him act like this or look at any girl like that."

Alison looked at the door where her sister had just walked out with Mason. She smiled softly remembering their intertwined hands. But she couldn't help the fear that crept into her heart and faltered her smile. The events of yesterday had bad effects on her. She had not slept well last night and had seen bad nightmares at the few hours she had slept. A small question was at the back of her head all the time. Was everything going to be fine ever again?

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One week passed. Eva and Damien had returned home. The house had been repaired and everything was looking normal other than the constant fear in Alison's heart and the tension that was in the house all the time. Albert, Mason, Rich, Tony, and Ben were working constantly to prepare everything for the mafia gathering that was going to happen in one week.

Mason has changed. He still had his emotionless mask in front of everyone, but he was home every night and everyone knew it was because of Bella. Bella had managed to calm him down in the hard days he was going through. They were now sleeping with each other every night. Once Ben had teased them in front of everyone to merge their rooms to decrease their misery that caused Bella to blush and leave the room and Mason to throw a string of profanities at him and leave after Bella.

Gray wolves were helping the Kings greatly. Alex wouldn't say anything to Alison but she knew he was working hard as well. He was seeking comfort more than before and wanted her in his arms most of the time. He was more tense and would snap at anyone who dared to step on his way and the only one who could calm her down was Alison.

But Alison had found another trouble as well. Her friends, Ed, Logan, and Ashley were slowly getting suspicious of her. She still couldn't go out with them and couldn't give them reasonable answers for avoiding meeting them and when they would suggest to come and see her at the mansion, she was always denying them in fear of their lives. She couldn't forget the attack at the house. Logan once had accused her of changing and distancing herself from them and that had made her sad. She couldn't tell them the truth and it was annoying her to no end. They had every right to know what was going on in her life. They were her family, her rock.

So here she was, standing at the door of Albert's office at home. She raised her hand and knocked. A few seconds later Ben opened the door. His serious face lighten up with a smile as he saw her. "Alie!" he said and step to a side. "Come in."

Alison nodded for him and walked in. She saw Albert sitting behind his table looking through some papers. He looked up when she entered the room. "Hi, dad." she greeted with a smile.

"Hello, princess." answered Albert and pointed to a chair. "Have a seat."

"Um, no I'm fine." said Alison. "I won't take your time so much. I'm just here to ask for your permission."

"Permission for what?" frowned Albert and laced his fingers on the table in front of him.

Alison took a deep breath. "I want to tell everything about the family business to my best friends." She said and continued quickly before Ben or Albert could stop her. "Please. I trust them with my life. They won't tell anything to anyone. Our secret is safe with them, but my friendship with them is in danger because of me acting strange. They think I'm distancing myself from them because I don't love them anymore, or because I'm turning into a spoiled brat. We don't know when our problem with Volkov will end and I seriously can't effort to lose them."

"Wow," said Ben. "You sure can talk fast."

Alison's eyes were fixed on Albert who was looking at her. "Please!" she pleaded. "I promise they won't say a word to any soul. I promise."

Albert leaned back on his chair. "Okay. You can tell them." he said finally.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." squealed Alison happily and jumped up and down a bit.

"Ben, send a few of guards with he..." Albert was cut off by Alison.

"Oh no it's not necessary." she said quickly. "Alex can take me. I'm sure you can trust him to take care of me."

Albert sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, do as you wish." he said defeated. "But at least come back before nightfall."

Alison ran to him and gave him a hug. "I will. Thank you." she said and kissed his head and then ran out of the room after kissing Ben on the cheek as well.

Albert chuckled under his breath and shook his head and picked up his papers.

"Man," laughed Ben. "These girls have the two most feared and strongest men of the world wrapped around their pinky fingers. Damn, they have all of us wrapped around their fingers."

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Alex was more than happy to take Alison to her friend's house where she was supposed to meet her friends. Alison was going to Logan's house. Ashley was going to come there so they can talk in private as Alison had asked.

To say Alison was nervous was an underestimate. They were going to freak out and scold her for sure. She knew them for many years after all. What if they won't understand her excuses? What if they wanted to stay away from her? What if they hate her? What if ...

"Alison!" Alex called firmly and grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "They won't be going to hate you. If they love you as much as they claim, they will understand."

"Did I say it out loud?" asked Alison embarrassed.

Alex chuckled. "You were chanting the what-ifs like a mantra for the past five minutes." he said and looked at her with a smirk. "And by the way, I found out another cute habit about you. You twirl your hair around your finger when you are nervous and deep in thought." His smile faltered when he saw her serious and nervous face. "Alie, Seriously, everything is going to be fine."

Alison looked at him. She leaned and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Alex." she said with a smile. "For coming with me and giving me courage."

"Well, that's the least I can do for my queen." he said and smiled at her. He then pulled over and stopped the car. "And here we are."

Alison looked out and sure, they were standing in front of Logan's house. Alex looked at the house suspiciously. "Are you sure your friend Ashley is here too?" he growled and narrowed his eyes that turned a shade darker. "I don't like the thought of you alone with two boys in a house."

Alison rolled her eyes at his possessiveness. "Alex, they are like my brothers." she said. "We had sleepovers regularly till a month ago. If they wanted to do something they had done it a long time ago.

"Ugh." gagged Alex. "At least don't mention at my face."

Alison chuckled. The beautiful sound of her laughter made Alex smile. He leaned forward and captured her lips in a chaste sweet kiss. "You sure you don't want me to come in with you?" he said after he pulled away while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes!" answered Alison. "It's going to be alright."

Alex nodded. "I'm right here in case you needed any help." he said as Alison opened the door and got out of the car.

She took a deep breath and walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. A moment later Logan opened the door. They both couldn't help the smile that crept into their faces.

"Hi, L." greeted Alison and waved her hand. "Don't you want to let me in? Where are your manners?"

Logan rolled his eyes but his smile grow wider. He opened the door wider. "God, I'm angry as hell with you." he said. "But You are my little Alie. What can I do?"

"Don't slaughter me on the doorstep." said Alison as she walked in. "I'm here to explain, remember?"

"Is that your asshole of a boyfriend?" growled Logan and Alison turned and saw him looking out with an angry face. Alex had stood out of his car and was leaning on it. He was glaring back at Logan but his eyes softened as he saw Alison and nodded for her. Alison smiled at him but jumped starlet and blinked several times when Logan suddenly slammed the door shut.

"God, you are grinning like a fool. I hate him." groaned Logan and grabbed Alison's shoulder. "Come. The others are waiting."

Alison gulped as Logan guided her to the kitchen and she saw Ed and Ashley sitting there. Here goes nothing. she thought as she entered the kitchen greeted with her friends warmly.