Lea:I walked inside, choosing to ignore the fact that I knew that my Alpha was going to die outside today. I didn’t want to admit it, but it wasn’t something that I was upset about; but I knew for fact that it was not something that I wanted to see.“I am surprised to see you inside,” Luna Claudia said, breaking my attention. My chest tightened and my stomach churned, but I knew better than to move away from in front of the woman. I was afraid that she would end up sending me to her son’s room here and now, especially when I knew for fact that she would be more than pleased to know that the Alpha that died was MY initial Alpha.“I couldn’t handle seeing blood. I was excused by the Alpha.” I said, and she raised an eyebrow.“You are a wolf, are you not?” She asked, and I nodded. “Blood is in our nature. That is no excuse for you to try and give me.”“I was forced to watch my father’s head being hung at the arena as it rotted. And though many would have claimed that I was a fool for no
Diego:Lea hesitated for a few seconds before getting inside the car. I could tell that she seemed to be nervous, but what caught my attention was also the fact that she seemed to hold her breath for a second before forcing herself to release it as she sat beside me.“Do I have to see the man’s head hanging…?”“You were forced to see your father’s. I am curious to understand why you don’t want to see your enemy’s?” I asked, shaking my head. She looked down at her lap as she sat, and I waited, giving her the time to speak up. “I hated seeing my father’s head hanging there for days. I cried, day and night, and the picture kept playing in my head whenever I closed my eyes. Call me sensitive or stupid, but I couldn’t handle it, and I know that I am not going to be able to handle more pain than I already have.” She said, looking away from me. “You got my father’s vengeance, and you don’t know how much it means and meant to me to know that his blood wouldn’t be going in vain.”“But?” I ask
Lea:To say that I froze was not going to be a lie. I didn’t even know what to think of saying at this point, and I knew that Diego understood that.The fact that someone, just one person, was willing to be there for me regardless of the circumstance, was something that I didn’t expect after my father passed away.And the fact that he was my ‘mate’ only made this harder for me to stop myself from admitting to him that he was my significant other. The man that did not even feel our mating bond in the same way that I felt toward him. And regardless of that, the idea of him being willing to help me when he was an Alpha. I was nothing more than an omega, the lowest rank of the pack members, and the idea of that was one that made things all the more special for me.We walked toward the pack door where Zenith growled the second that he saw me. His eyes met mine, and the Alpha wrapped his hand around my arm, pulling me back behind him. I looked at the pack’s beta, knowing that he would be m
Diego:I watched as they hung Stefano’s head on a stake, putting it to rot where I knew Bartolomeo’s head was hanging. His head had been removed a while ago, but the stake’s hole was there.“Anything else that you intend to demand, Alpha?” Zenith asked, walking toward me. His eyes were hard as he watched Lea looking at the hanging head. Her father’s was put in a box.“The fact that you know that I am your Alpha is nice to hear.” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at my hand, and though he knew to submit to me, I could see the hate in his eyes.“What are you going to do to her? You know, Alpha Ryker is yet to punish her for hitting him with a wine bottle. She could have killed him with that blow in the head.” He said, looking at Lea. She shied back, but I knew that she wouldn’t move from behind me. Even bringing her as far here was a challenge, and I could understand why. Everyone around was more than open to killing her.“I am going to be dealing with Ryker myself. She
Lea:If anyone would have told me that the Alpha standing up for me would bring a bright smile to my face, I would have shut them off and told them that they were lying. But I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips, and has been since I got inside the car.“Keep only what you want from the bags, I doubt that you would need much. We are going to buy you new things as time goes.” He said, watching as I opened the door to walk out. Giovanni and the others were in a separate car, and it was only the two of us. My father’s head was in a box, and I knew that I would be lucky to give him the grave that he deserved. “I can’t afford to pay them back. I am yet to get my salary…”“You have a job?” He asked, stopping me. I nodded, and he frowned in confusion. “Experience is important and money is another thing. I took a few weeks off, I could afford that much, after losing my father. But I should be getting back to work in a few days.” I said, and he nodded. “May I ask where I am to bu
Diego:“Sforza?” Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I nodded, pinching the bridge of my nose as I tapped the steering wheel. “Our one and only enemy.” I said, and Giovanni chuckled.“One of them, you mean.” He said, and I rolled my eyes.“The main one.” I said, and he nodded. The Sforza were one of the main big families within the packs. For them to allow their daughter to be with an Auditore only told me that they either saw something special in the man, or that they were trying to get rid of their daughter. And I doubted that it was the second. If anything, they were known for making use of what they got, and they rarely ever did anything randomly too.“What do you plan on doing?” Giovanni asked, shaking his head in question.“I want that pendant, and I want us to be freed of the bullshit that Cosimo is going to be throwing at us. The woman might have hidden the crest in her family’s pack for all I cared, and I am going to be sure to get it. However, I am also going to take
Lea: “It was done,” Diego said, making me frown in confusion as I tried understanding what he was referring to. He showed me a picture, and there, in the middle of the cemetery, was my father’s grave alongside my mother’s. It barely had anything on it to identify who was buried by her side, but the words Bartolomeo Auditore and Isabella Auditore made my stomach churn as my air tightened. “You can visit him when you want to. The two of them, actually,” he said, and I nodded in thanks as my lips quivered. His mother, Luna Claudia, was standing by the stairs as she looked at the two of us, and it took everything in me not to cry. However, I was thankful for the woman who walked toward me, her eyes softening as she put her finger under my chin. “It is good to let them out while you can. There would come a time when mourning would be harder and you are going to be tired and exhausted because you chose to block your pain in when you had the chance to let it out.” She said, her voice t
Diego: It took everything in me not to claim the woman as my own then and there. “You are ONLY making it harder on us,” my wolf, Ares, said. “Shut up,” I said, glaring at my desk. My office was the one place that I could think of going to. I needed to clear my head, and I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do so with the woman being in front of me. She was here because I needed to free my pack from my father’s hold. And the last thing that I was going to do was put my mother in a situation where she was going to feel like she was at risk of him hurting her at any given moment. The man has done enough damage to her, and that wasn’t something that I was going to allow anymore. “You can always claim her, and with the allies that you have, her own bloodline, fight the man.” Ares suggested. I rolled my eyes, knowing that he was not making any sense. Had that been an easy thing to do, I would have done so. But the consequence that came with it was one that I did not want to find m
Third person point of view: “You are not going to call him to your side, Diego.” Luna Claudia snapped at her son, knowing that he was going to call the one man that she did not want him working with. The one person who she saw as a threat to him since he was born. The main reason why she believed that her eldest died. “He is an acquaintance, mama. The two of us share the same cause, and you know that very well.” Diego said, looking at his mother whose eyes were wide at her son’s statement. She shook her head, refusing to hear her son out, not wanting to listen to what he was going to tell her. Lea, his wife, who was sitting pregnant with their first child, put her hand on her stomach, knowing that this was going to grow intense. They were going to have to convince the Luna who she knew wouldn’t listen. She couldn’t blame her. When she heard who this acquaintance was, even she was surprised that her husband was willing to work with him. “That acquaintance of yours is your threat, D
Lea: Flashback: “Will you marry me, Lea Auditore…?” Diego asked, looking me in the eye. His eyes were filled with love, and though I didn’t even know how to respond at that moment, too perplexed, compelled, and surprised to find a proper response, I couldn’t help the tears that fell from my eyes at the sight. I took a step back for a second before he spoke, knowing that he took me off guard. “I know that I came out as sudden as I did, and I know that this was the last thing that you would have expected after the short period of time the two of us spent together. But Lea Auditore, I have never been so sure about anything else.” He said, keeping his eyes on mine as he spoke. “I realized when we were in Rome that I was never going to be able to live my life without you. That I knew that I would be incomplete without you by my side, and that is something that I knew to value. It cost a lot, and I know that the two of us were broken in many ways that would crush a person’s soul. But I k
Diego: I smiled as I saw my beauty looking at me, walking down the aisle with her brother holding her hand in his. The smile that was on her face was one that I knew wouldn’t leave my thoughts, and the way she walked, confidently, was something that I couldn’t but admire. I knew that it was her brother’s presence by her side, and I knew to value the man more by the day for what he was doing right now. Their eyes met for a moment, and I could swear that my mate’s smile was going to rip her face. The happiness that I saw in her eyes was one that made my world stop. For once in my life, something felt whole. Everything in my world felt whole. Flashback: “I want the two of you to know that this is not a game that you are playing,” Mario said, looking Lea and I in the eye. The two of us were in their pack as Lea chose to want to speak to the man. She wanted to be the one to tell him about the engagement, and though he was already aware that I wanted to propose, I was thankful and ha
Ezra: “What are you doing here?” I asked, shaking my head at Renata who was staring into space. His eyes met mine, she sighed, shaking her head. “I am going to watch the man that I love marry the woman, an omega who came to the pack, and ruined everything for me. What do you expect me to do aside from watch?” Renata asked, looking down at her feet. Her eyes welled up with tears and the woman shook her head as she wiped them. Her heart raced, and I could see that she was doing her best to hide how she was feeling. “Did you ever put in consideration that maybe you and Diego were not meant to be? I mean, not as meant to be as you believed that you were?” I asked, and she scoffed, shaking her head. “Up until the woman entered his life, the two of us were never having trouble. Even when we were, we always managed to solve them. Yes, I understand, I made a mistake, I cheated on him.” She said, and I stayed quiet, allowing her to let out what she was feeling. I had no right to judge her
Lea:Diego wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to his chest as the two of us walked around the pack grounds. It was a while into the afternoon, and the sun was setting. It being winter, the sun was setting a little earlier than usual. I didn’t mind though, I loved it when winter came. It was one of my favorite seasons. “What are you thinking of, neonata?” Diego asked, catching my attention. I smiled and shook my head in response. I wasn’t thinking of anything, actually, I was embracing the moments of us being together, happy, content, and proud. At least, I knew that something came out right after everything that we’ve been through.“There is a lot going on in my mind, but I am guessing that the main thing right now is me being with you.” I said, and he smiled, shaking his head at my vague answer. In truth, I had nothing in particular that I was thinking about. There was my father, who I still tried to understand until today.How he had worked with the devil himself? How di
Diego: I had to admit, it was hard to enter the pack without Giovanni by my side. The pack was already aware of him passing away, but I still found it difficult to face them when they looked at us, clearly hoping for the news to be false. I wished that it was. “Diego,” Renata said, approaching us. She looked at me with tears in her eyes, and I shook my head before wrapping my arms around her, pulling her in for a hug. Lea didn’t say a word, nor did she react, if anything, she purred in response, assuring me that she understood the pain that the woman was in. We all grew up together, Renata, Giovanni, and I. When we left the pack, it was done together, but now… “How?” She asked, pulling away, shaking her head in question. “How did it happen?” I held my breath. I didn’t even want to think of what happened. The man was doing his part to ensure that the area was well guarded, that she would come alone only to end up being a victim. A victim, my beta, who died to keep me safe. And to m
Lea: “Welcome home,” Diego said, smiling at me as the plane landed. I smiled and took his hand in mine, gently squeezing it, knowing that he still needed my assurance as his mate after what he’s been through. I didn’t know how he felt, how he truly felt, after losing Giovanni and coming home without him. The smile on his face told me that he was okay, but I wasn’t blind; I knew him well to know that fire was eating him from the inside as he knew that he wouldn’t see his best friend by his side in his home again. His room was to be a reminder, the pack grounds were too, but I knew that this was a life circle. We lived, we grew, we passed away. Some died children, others as young adults, and only a few got to make it to living a long life. It just depended on how we lived our lives. This was what was going to make the difference, and that was something that I knew my mate understood after losing his beta. “It feels good to be back.” I said, looking out the window as the door opened
Diego: “What did you and Ezra talk about?” Lea asked, laying on my chest as we sat in our bedroom. I chuckled and shook my head at my mate’s curiosity. It was one that I loved, and I couldn’t help but smile as I leaned in to connect my lips with her temple. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” “Sometimes, there are conversations that my woman is not aware of. You know, we spoke as two men, and I chose to speak to him about a few things just as he gave me his opinion about others.” I said, and she pouted but nodded. I ran my finger over his shoulder, gently massaging it before looking out the window where we could see most of the city. “You know, I am going to miss this place. Regardless of what we’ve been through, but it is the place that had me knowing you. A part of me would be left here as well,” I had to force myself to keep my eyes away from my mate as I was referring to my best friend. I didn’t know how I was going to go home without him. I never imagined being away from hi
Ezra: “Are you sure that you’re okay, Ezra?” Lea asked, and I took a deep breath. I wasn’t okay, but I knew that there was nothing that I could do about it. The woman, my mate, was an enemy. I didn’t understand why I was chosen for this, but I was sure that there was a reason. “Would it make a difference if I said no, Lea?” I asked my sister. She looked down at her feet, avoiding my eyes. The two of us were close to the hotel, but I didn’t have it in myself to go inside the room. And Lea was being kind enough to stay with me, supporting me with what she could. “At least I would know what you are thinking, brother. I don’t know you enough, and you know that very well. I cannot blame you for that, but I am trying to understand you.” She said, and my eyes softened. I took her hands in mine and gently kissed her knuckles. She was a reminder of my mother. When I was a child, mom would speak to me the way that she was right now. “I am tired, and I am angry. But I know that I don’t have