“Oh.” “Little jealous are we?” Luca smiled at me before he kept going on his beard. “Where is this spot?” “In a safe room in the basement.” Luca seemed unphased by this. “What do you want?” “I mean, I would like to go down there and punch her.” Luca shrugged. “So do it.” That threw me off. “Just like that?” I was trying to wrap my head around this. “Just like that. I might suggest you change.” Luca looked me up and down. “Though, I do love seeing you in my shirt.” Glaring at him, I stomped to my closet. The phone vibrated in my hands again.Lucy: I’m wearing that outfit you like.So, I replied. Luca: Be right down.Lucy: I’ll get myself ready ;) Rage burned in me as I ripped off his shirt. Finding a sports bra and leggings, I just grabbed my tennis shoes and put them on when Luca walked around the corner. “I take it we are going down there?” “Yes, sir. Apparently, she is getting ready for you.” Luca nodded and walked to his closet. By the time I came out, he was in tighter
“Come on, let’s go to the gym.” Luca walked off down the hallway. Looking back at the front doors, my feet slowly followed Luca down the hallway. He was waiting for me at enterence. “Where do you like to start?” “I usually jog a mile before I move on to any weights.” Luca nodded as he got onto one of the ten treadmills. Getting on one next to him, he immediatly started on a slow jog as he turned the T.V. on. “Do you prefer music or a show?” “Whatever is fine.” Actually, I prefered complete silence when I worked out. It was a place that I used to think about something. Lifting weights was almost theraputic. Many of my problems found solutions there. “It doesn’t matter to me.” Luca looked over at me. I had just begun my five minute warm up. “I’m going to be ignoring whatever you pick, so it really doesn’t matter.” Luca turned the T.V. off and set the remote down before speeding up. It wasn’t uncommon for me to work out next to people, but surely Luca didn’t think we were going to
“Little thing? I’m not five.” Heath put his arms down and moved back next to me. “You probably weigh 100lbs soaking wet. Shit, I could curl you with my finger.” “First off, I would love to see you try. Second, I weight 130, thank you very much.” The strange thing was, I never felt awkward around Heath. He didn’t make me feel uncomfortable or like he was overstepping in any way. I was suprised how comfortable I felt around him. Like a brother that I could go to for help or guidance. We fell into a comfortable silence as we were finishing our last mile. “Can I ask you something without you telling Luca?” Heath looked down at me and frowned. “He’s my alpha and I make it a rule to not keep secrets from him.” My heart sank a little. “Okay.” He was quiet for a five minutes before he spoke again. “As long as it doesn’t affect the pack or something like that, I’ll keep your secret. However, mates shouldn’t keep secrets from each other.” “Just forget about it.” I waved him off as he st
Well shit. I forgot it was there. Pulling it out, it was a message from Alpha Hunter. Dad: Why is Lucy in the cells in lingerie? I was left feeling a little conflicted. Luca said I could respond to Lucy, but that differed from his father. Still, I figured his answer would be the same. Me: She texted this morning, asking for sexI hit send and waited. The three dots appeared, for they disappeared a few times before an answer was given. Dad: Got it. Luca said I could go through his phone, but honestly, that isn’t what I wanted to do. Instead, I pulled up the text messages between him and Nora. Nora: Please, Luca. I want to talk to her.Luca: She will call when she wants to. Let me soothe things over. Nora: How quickly you threw us under the bus! I thought you were on our side. She is your mate!Luca: I didn’t toss anyone under the bus. She figured it out because she is that smart. Plus, I’m not about to lie to her. She is mad at me too. Do you really think this is how I wanted to
“How much time do you need to get ready?” Luca asked as he walked out of the bathroom.“I’m ready.” Setting the straightener down, I use a little dry shampoo and I was ready. Just needed my shoes.“Perfect.” Luca was putting his wallet in his pocket as I walked out. “There is a breakfast place I want to take you to first.” Grabbing some sneakers, and my purse with my phone, I was ready to go. I figured we were walking too much to wear sandals. “Sounds good. I like trying new places.” “We don’t have a ton of restaurants, but I try to eat at them all at least once a week.” Luca put his hand on my back as we walked out.“Well, if the alpha doesn’t support them, who does?” Luca nodded but didn’t add anything as he shut and locked our bedroom. The pack house was starting to wake up. People were looking like zombies as they walked around, but they were awake. “I need to stop by my office real quick.” Luca made a sudden turn, jogging towards his office. Not feeling the need to follow him
“What do you think so far?” Luca folded his arms and leaned against the glass as I stood in the middle of the sidewalk.“About what?”Luca shrugged. “About this pack? Us?”I mean, it’s been two days. What did he want me to say? “I’m loving the pack. It feels like my childhood did. Toddler ran around the kitchen naked from his mother. The eyeballs in the forest at night. The smell of the trees.” I took a deep breath with my eyes closed. “I love the forest.”“What about us?”“I’m not sure what you’re wanting.” “Just your honest opinion.”“I mean, I feel like this is a business transaction. We have sex because our bodies and the mate bond are telling us to. You’re fucking sexy as hell, sure. After finding out the truth, I’m having a hard time trusting right now. Especially when you send your beta to do your dirty work.”I didn’t get much reaction from Luca in the mate bond. “That’s why I sent him to talk to you. I knew you weren’t open to me.” “You can’t blame me for that.” Luca smirk
“Can I get the meat omelet, please? With a side of salsa?” “Of course! What would you like today, Alpha? We are trying a new casserole recipe.” “I’ll try that. Thank you.” Taking Luca’s menu, I handed them to her. She smiled and walked away from us. An awkward silence fell between us as I sat back. Luca finished messaging with my phone before he slide it over to me. “I put Nora and everyone in there.” “Thank you.” I was surprised to see the background was a picture of Nora and myself. “What is our next stop after this?” “Nothing specific. I just wanted you to know what is all here, so if you wanted a day off or just to go walk around, you knew the area.” Luca looked like he was having an enternal battle. “What’s up?” I gave him a look, questioning his feelings he knew I could feel. “Just thinking about your fighting style.” “What about it?” “I liked it. You were right, though, about submission. You are too tiny to do that. Plus, it’s not like you would be by yourself if we go
“I’m not a doll you can toss around!” Backhanding his shoulder, he just looked at me and smiled. “You are mine to toss around.” Reaching over, he took my hand as he pulled out of the parking spot. Now that Luca was opening up and being more flirty, I was feeling a whole different set of feelings. I didn’t have butterflies in my stomach when I was around him… until now. Now I wanted to crawl under his arm and lick his…If it wasn’t for the wind, he would be smelling my arousal. “Am I going to get pissed at this surprise?” I needed to change the subject. Luca’s mood instantly sank. “Probably.” “So, surprise isn’t the right word.” Scrunching up my face, I just looked at him. Wrapping my other hand around his forearm, I just felt like I needed more comfort from the sparks before I was faced with whatever was behind this door. Luca looked at my hand, but didn’t say anything about it. “Just know that I have nothing to do with it and I am actually annoyed this is even happening.” Taking
Heather and I looked up to see a man with deep green eyes and a jet black man bun on top if his head. His beard was longer, but his neck was still showing the tattoos that wrapped around it. The deep blue suit did little to hide every muscle that threatened to pop the seams. With his hands folded over his chest, I just watched as he glared at Chase. The authority coming off him was making Chase fight something internal. “I’m having a private conversation.” He said through a clenched jaw. “It doesn’t seem like Demi would like to speak with you anymore. Maybe you should walk away before you cause a scene?” Glancing over, Luca was walking back. There was so much anger, but also a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Chase, just go. This is a moot point. Go home and fix yourself.” “I’m not leaving until we can have a real conversation. Let me explain things to you.” He pleaded with me. “You have some balls coming over here, dear brother.” Luca’s icy voice made Chase stand up straight. Lu
Everyone clapped and went back to their conversations as the servers brought out food for the buffet style. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it smelled like a BBQ. “Do you want to get some food?” Luca leaned down and whispered in my ear. Amelia and Veronica had already taken off for the food. “Sure.” I wasn’t sure how hungry I actually was. However, the bourbon was making my face feel hot, so I might not be a bad idea to get some food in there. We got in line behind a couple that was being extremely touchy. Not that I minded it, but it almost felt like Luca and I were not acting like mates. He had her blonde curly hair messed up with loves bites down her arm. His hair was too short for her nails to really change the look. However, his collar had a few red lipstick smears on it. Losing her balance, she stepped back and bumped into me. “Oh! I’m so-” Her eyes got wide she they realized who we were. “Luca!” A wide smile spread across his face. Instantly dropping his mate, he he
There was a knock on the bedroom door. “That would be the men.” Nora smiled as she walked towards the door. I had just finished putting on my jewelry when Luca walked in. He looked me up and down before he slipped his hands around my waist. “So beautiful.” He whispered before he kissed me. “Don’t ruin her makeup!” Nora yelled at us. “I’ll do what I want,” Luca growled at her, but he let me go. He looked at me in the eyes. “Are you okay to go down there?” “She has had a lot of liquid courage.” Amelia came over and handed me my glass. Luca raised an eyebrow at me. “Started without me?” He took my glass and downed half of it. “Rude.” Amelia took the glass from Luca and emptied what was left of the bottle into my glass. “Ready?” Rook was waiting for us. “Yeah, I’m good.” Nora pinned the front part of my hair behind my ears, allowing the diamonds to really shine with my necklace. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Chase ended up coming tonight with Alpha Dylan and Luna Callie.” Rook looke
“I have popcorn and bourbon!” Amelia held them up. “I just came for a good time.” Peggy shrugged. “Ditto.” Nora was putting on a movie. “I grabbed the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. We can watch it and smoke.” They were all wearing the same lounge set as I was, just different colors. “How very nice of you all.” I couldn’t help but smirk as I sat down. They moved the chairs and pillows near the balcony and had the doors open. The cool rain air was refreshing as Veronica handed me a cigar. “Here is your cake and bowl of popcorn.” Peppy pushed it towards me. “The most important part… bourbon.” Amelia handed me a tall glass, completely filled. No one spoke of the packhouse or questioned me about how I felt. Instead, they focused on smoking, eating and drinking. If this isn’t how a group of friends is supposed to cheer you up, do you even have a group of friends? The door flew open. “I’m sorry I’m late!” Lilith looked devilish as she ran in. Carrying a large bowl, she almost tripped over
I wasn’t even sure what to say to her. Heath put his hand on her shoulder and she instantly followed him out to the car. Luca didn’t try to touch me. Instead, he just stood beside me, letting me work through my emotions. “This is now a historic landmark and we won’t be able to rebuild on it.” I wasn’t sure why I said that, but it was true. Even if I wanted to, there is no way to make sure the rest of the ground is safe without thorough examinations. That might take years to complete. What was once a private territory for wolves could turn into a tourist attraction. “We would have to know where this comes out of and where it starts. Whatever you did find, it could come out down there.” “Or have sunken to the bottom to be gone forever.” Luca nodded. “It could be. Demi, I had to pull you out when I did or we would have both ended up in the river.” I wasn’t sure why I was mad at him for that. Logically, I knew he was right. I knew he saved my life. Only, my heart didn’t understand. M
“This is straight bourbon.” I had to cough a few times since I wasn’t prepared for that.Luca laughed and took it from me. “She did tell you it would keep you warm.” He took a long swig from it before he handed it back. “Let’s climb down and see if we see anything in there.” “Seriously?” I was shocked. Taking my own drink, I tightened the cap back on and set it down. “Let’s go!” Luca wrapped his arm around my waist, keeping me from running away. “Listen here.” He muttered. “You need to be safe and not go all Indiana Jones on me when we get in there.” “Indiana Jones? If I had a whip, I’d whip you for saying that.” “I know that.” Luca rolled his eyes. “I meant that if there is treasure, you need to be smart about this.” “Yeah, yeah. I heard you.” Luca let my waist go and walked beside me as we came up to the crane. I watched as Luca went up to the operator and spoke with him for a second. The crane operator nodded, and Luca stepped back. As Luca walked back to me, the crane moved
“I like it.” Amelia nodded and pointed her fork at me. “That’s the spirit.” “That’s the spirit?” Nora looked at Amelia like she grew three heads. “Don’t you think she should be laying low and seeing how things unfold?” Amelia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that is what a weak alpha would do. She is a female alpha. The only one in this world today. If she doesn’t make a statement, then what? Plus, this isn’t about popularity. This is about getting even. Are you going to tell me that you would roll over if your family was killed?” She raised her eyebrow at Nora. “That is what makes her an alpha and you a luna.” Nora didn’t appreciate that comment. She sat up straight and looked at Jared. “What I think Nora is meaning is that she just wants Demi to be happy.” It was Veronica’s turn to look at Nora. “Demi won’t be happy until she finds out the truth. Just like everyone else here. If this would have happened to any of us, we would be doing the same thing. Laying down and being happy is for pe
She wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t have a response to that. Instead, we fell into an understood silence as they kept working. Jared ended up joining us. Nodding his head towards me, he stayed on the other side of the group. The entire morning was just me standing there as they removed piece by piece. The mist became heavier at one point and all that was left were Luca and myself. We were completely drenched, but I didn’t care. Luca didn’t complain once as the water dripped down his chin, landing on every single muscle showing through his shirt. If I wasn’t torn up, watching the place I grew up with being burned, I would have been turned on. “It’s still watching us.” Luca finally muttered as lunch time was approaching. “Probably will all day. This is new and a change to their environment.” “Demi? Luca?” Peggy walked up to us. Her hair was stuck to her face, telling me she hadn’t went in any shelter that was placed up. “You are soaked.” I commented before turning back to my home. She
“Aren’t you going to stop her?” Heather whispered as I shut the door on them. I didn’t hear what Luca had to say to her. “What are you doing?” He asked, slightly curious. “I saw movement. What if it’s that creature again? We should name him.” “Name him? He isn’t our pet, Demi.” Part of me wanted to slap him through the mind-link, but I wasn’t sure how. “Are we going to just call him the creature? There are a lot of creatures out here. No one even attacks at night. All the more reason to think it was them who took my pack down.” Luca didn’t respond right away. “Freddy.” “Freddy? Like Freddy Krueger?” I crept along any open path. It didn’t look like anything had been disturbed but something was in the trees behind it. “Just because he comes out at night?” “I mean… it fits. See anything?” Luca seemed rather calm. “Something is in the trees, but it isn’t coming out. It doesn’t want me here.” That sent warning bells to Luca. “Maybe come back now?” “I’m assuming Heather is freakin