Alpha Luciano's POV"I think it's high time you killed Arabella. She has outlived her usefulness. Vitalio has been declawed and is busy fighting off the government with the last of his cash to keep himself out of jail. We have no use for her anymore."I ignored Uncle Vitalio. He seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. He wanted me to kill Arabella now that she was no longer carrying my child. And somehow he felt that I would go with it?I browsed through Mikah's report on the activities of the Creoles. It was too quiet and I had learnt to be wary of the quiet before the storm. "Luciano, I'm speaking to you.""I heard you." I raised my eyes to meet him. "I just don't feel like wasting my time on pointless arguments. Arabella is my property. She will live as I will.""It is not your place to interfere with your Alpha's affairs. We all saw what happens when I let you try it. That's how this entire Creole mess started anyway. So mind your business and find a fucking h
Arabella's POVWhen I woke up, I was chained up with silver and gagged. I was also on the forest floor but it wasn't the same forest that I had lost consciousness in. That Emery had knocked me out. That bitch!How dare she? What exactly was her plan? She couldn't hurt me, Luciano would have her hide. Not because he cared about me but because in his twisted mind, I was just a property which he owned, meaning only he could decide on my life and death.Or could he be in on this?"I'll give her to you as long as you promise me that you will kill her and Luciano will never find out that I had anything to do with this." That was Emery's voice. Who was she giving me to? I tried not to make too much noise so that they wouldn't notice that I had woken up already. I twisted my neck and head slightly. I could see Emery talking to a cloaked person some yards away, her voice low and conspiratorial. The voice that replied was low, sweet with a tang of sarcasm."Do you think I answer to a lowly
Arabella's POVI hurt all over from the multiple beatings I had taken. My back and my stomach were bruised and I was sure that I had cracked at least one rib. After beating me up on Anastasia's command, they proceeded to dump me in this wooden storage unit. It was musty and smelled like mould. I could hear their conversations going on outside. I had to escape from this place.When I had been depressed about losing my child, I thought a lot about dying. It wasn't like I wanted to end my life. I just wanted the pain to end. But now the last thing I wanted was for my life to end.I never understood how Luciano felt violence and death were the answers to every problem until after finding out that Emery and Anastasia had masterminded my child's death. I was angry. I wanted revenge with a ferocity that bothered me. But first I needed to escape. My hands were still chained in front of me. My legs were free, however. There had to be a plus side to this. I couldn't slam my body against the w
Alpha Luciano's POVNo, she couldn't be dead. I laid her down on the forest floor. She looked serene. If not for the bullet marks and the blood on her lips, I would have thought her asleep. My wolf howled within me and I felt the twin feelings of rage and pain cloud my vision. There was once a time that I wanted Arabella dead. That I saw her as nothing more than a means of getting back at Vitalio. A time when revenge was all I was. All I needed to be.When I detested this bond between us that stopped me from harming her. A time when I was lost and somehow somewhere something had begun to shift and I denied it. Fought it with all of me because I didn't want to suffer the way my parents had. Their love became a weakness. Seeing the other half of her die had killed my mother before those men had even touched her. I'd wanted no one to have that hold on me and I had been successful. Sex was impersonal for me. It was merely satisfying my needs, scratching an itch so to speak.After findin
Alpha Luciano's POVArabella was still unconscious and I was losing my mind. Once Mikah was done with his report, I would talk to Uncle Tommaso and go to the hospital. Once I reached there, the doctor would update me on her condition and I would–"Alpha?" Mikah inquired. I startled out of my musing to see Uncle Tommaso and Mikah regarding as though they had been speaking to me for some time.I nearly sighed. I had been spacing out a lot recently. Every time I spent away from Arabella was telling on me. Now I wondered how I had managed to stay disconnected from her for so long. "Yes, Mikah?""What reply do we render?"I nearly growled in frustration. "Be bloody clear, Mikah. Did I tell you I now have the ability to read minds?""I apologise, Alpha." Mikah bowed. "I was speaking of the apology the Creoles have sent to us. They have also withdrawn from our borders. Word has it that they have also been reprimanded by the Espositos for their actions which might have played a role in the
Emery's POVI knew I was fucked the moment I caught sight of Luciano bringing Arabella back. I had waited in my room in the haren waiting for the arrest order. When it didn't come, I prayed to the goddess and thanked her for saving my life. It was all that bitch Anastasia's fault. If she hadn't engaged me in a conversation when I was handing off Arabella to her, Arabella would have never seen my face. But she had and the look on her face when she realized I was behind her child's death was chilling. When she woke up, she wouldn't hesitate before telling Luciano about me.Then I heard about how serious her case was. I had been so happy and prayed fervently for a miracle. For her to die on the operating table. That way I wouldn't be punished by Luciano for trying to kill her. However, she'd survived. And that quickly I was in trouble again. She seemed to do that a lot. It was as though she had nine lives or something."I heard her case is extremely sensitive. The only thing that can
Arabella's POVLuciano was asleep. We were in a bed that I had never seen before. It was much larger than Luciano's bed and had larger elaborately designed bedposts. The duvets were also extremely heavy and I tried to wriggle out of them feeling extremely weak and sweaty for some reason.The duvet wrapped around me tightly. Except this wasn't the duvet. It was Luciano's arm. Wow. If I had known the way to his heart had been through getting shot, I would have done that much earlier. Ha. Only I had and I couldn't remember him being this clingy then. He'd merely informed me that I wasn't allowed to participate in that sort of activity ever again.I needed to pee. Badly. I finally managed to heft his body off my mind, then I hunted for the bathroom which was surprisingly close by. I took care of my business lamenting the lack of toilet paper. Men.The water was running thankfully so I ran a bath for myself. I smelt weird. Like drugs, hospital air freshener and illness. And my hair felt gr
Alpha Luciano's POVWhen I woke up, my mate was asleep in my arms. My mate. Arabella. It felt like a dream. One I didn't want to wake from.I lost count of the number of times we'd woken up and gone at it again like a couple of bunnies unable to keep our hands off each other.I was sated and my wolf for once was calm and settled within me. I wrapped my hands around her tightly and buried my head in her hair inhaling her sweet scent. I was at peace.Looking back on it, I wondered why I had waited so long to mark her and truly bond with her but I knew the truth. The truth was that if I had done it earlier, it wouldn't have had as much significance as it did to me now after everything we had been through together. I couldn't believe she had forgiven me so quickly after all I had done to her. It went a long way to reinforce the belief I had of her being a good person. I couldn't believe I'd once put her in the same category as her father. One thing life had taught me was the fact that he
Alpha Luciano's POVI sat outside the surgical ward as they took the bullet out of Arabella.Uncle Tommaso sat next to me and we were silent for a time."I'm sorry." He began."Me too."I was sorry about a lot of things. I was sorry for the way I had treated him, he was my uncle. The man who had raised me. He deserved better.I was sorry about the way I had treated Arabella in the beginning when she had been as much of a victim as I was. Vitalio Bianchi, may his soul rest in peace had never betrayed my family. Instead, he had been betrayed by his own family."I shouldn't have kidnapped her… you were right. Vengeance is a blade that cuts both the wielder and the person who is cut."I was silent. In my head, I was replaying the scene from earlier on. Seeing Arabella shoot down the man who she had thought to be her father until just seconds ago. I should have felt cheated out of my revenge but I couldn't help but feel like she was the one with a larger claim to it. I wondered what it w
Arabella's POVI was shocked. My father was using me as a human shield? Surely there was a mistake. A misunderstanding because what parent would use their child as a shield?Luciano paused in his tracks but his uncle looked like he could have cared less. As long as he was able to kill my father, he didn't care who else had to lose their life in the process. Luciano raised his hand to stop his uncle, his jaw was clenched and his blue eyes burned an unholy silver."Vitalio, would you really threaten your daughter's life just to ensure your own escape?"My father laughed, his chest vibrating behind me and a chill swept through my veins. "Father?" There was a mistake. There had to be. Maybe he just wanted to use me to escape. He would apologise any minute now and tell me that this was the only way for him to escape with his life. He would tell me–"Shut up you dumb slut." He said his gun digging into the back of my skull. I froze in that moment realizing that I might not know my father
Alpha Luciano's POVThe first thing I did after seeing the warehouse was to mind-link my men. It was on the outskirts of the city. By the time they got here, the fight would be almost over but I wanted them here anyway in case Uncle Tommaso decided to play a fast one on me. That way Arabella would be safe. The limo zoomed off behind us and we entered the building. The moment we entered, gunshots went off. I dropped to the ground and rolled. Before they could begin shooting on the ground, I was already hiding behind some boxes. I pulled out my gun. Vitalio Bianchi did not follow the unspoken terms for the meeting. He had brought in his men. It wasn't like I hadn't expected it. It was Vitalio after all. It was just that I was having a problem connecting someone who was as despicable as him to someone like Arabella.The shots continued to go off but I didn't scent Uncle Tommaso's blood so I knew he was alright.I followed the trajectory of where the gunshots were coming from. One, two,
Elder Tommaso's POVI watched the realization dawn on his face that he couldn't do anything, that he was powerless in this situation. Luciano's face twisted with anger and violence as his grip on me tightened to the extent that my vision blurred. Good. This was the fighter I had raised. I suddenly felt a pang of hope. She hadn't completely killed off the Luciano I knew."If you do not tell me where she is, you will not cross the threshold to this office alive. I will dice you up bit by bit until there is nothing left of you.""If you kill me, Arabella also dies." I pried his now loose fingers from my neck. It was pathetic how easily he had given in once he heard her name. "She is in a very volatile location. If you care for your mate even a little bit, you will have to do exactly what I say to get her back."I saw the unchecked fury and disbelief in his eyes and the way his hands clenched into fists. He obviously wanted to pummel me in but because of his mate, he had restrained hi
Arabella's POVWhen I woke up, I was tied to a chair. The last moments of the fight came to me. How I had fought to the butter end. How someone had jabbed me with a needle. And how it had all gotten dark. Yes, I could remember now. What I couldn't do for the life of me was tell you where exactly I was. I looked around. I was in a basement. It smelt familiar and come to think of it, the painting of the room looked familiar.Someone entered the room. It was Luciano's uncle. I couldn't believe it. I thought he was sick so what had happened? After Luciano had told him about us, had this been his reaction? I thought about the timeline. It hadn't been an hour after Luciano left when those men came. There was only one explanation. He had planned it all. Removed Luciano from the equation so that I would be defenceless.Goddess, I didn't know for sure what was going on but I intended to find out. "Arabella Bianchi." He spat my name out like it was a curse. Maybe it was for him. "You kidn
Arabella's POV"Emery!" She shouldn't have been here. She should have been far far away. I shook her awake but she remained passed out on the ground. I needed to take her in and call Luciano. Then– I smelt wolves approaching. I could smell three of them. They could have been the perimeter guards that Luciano had told me about. But looking at Emery's prone body in front of me, I had my doubts. I pulled Emery into the house and locked the door. I backed away and picked up my phone. I had to inform Luciano. I called him. It rang but he didn't pick up the call. I tried it again with the same result. Someone pounded on the door and I jumped.The door would hold. It would– I saw an indent of a fist in the iron. I took my phone and ran for the side exit in the kitchen. There were only three. I could leave out back before they rounded up to the sides. It was possible they didn't know about that exit. I needed to leave now. I ran to the dining area and the kitchen. I pushed open the doo
Arabella's POVAt this rate, he was going to be late to work. Again. I really had to stop trying to assist him with getting ready for work. It wasn't helping either of us.Luciano pushed me against the wall as our tongues duelled for dominance. I wanted him so fiercely as though an hour ago, we hadn't been at it.His hand moved between my thighs expertly fingering me, I gasped into his kiss riding his fingers as I tightened my grip around his shoulders. His phone rang. We ignored it. I was almost there, my orgasm a few heartbeats away. I grabbed at the zipper of his office pants. I needed him inside me now. The clasp gave way under my ministrations. As I slid my hand down the zipper and Luciano buried his fingers so deep inside me that I was sure he could lose his ring inside me if he tried, the bloody phone rang again and again.I groaned in frustration as he pulled away shortly to pick up the call before settling firmly between my legs to continue touching me. I threw my head ba
Emery's POVWhen I opened my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar basement. It had a barely functional light bulb and many knickknacks spread about. Where was I?Last I remembered, I was leaving. I hadn't even gone back to my parents' home. I sent Mom a heartfelt letter containing my apology for being such a problematic daughter, asking for her forgiveness and advising her to take this opportunity to leave that man. To leave the person who couldn't give two shits about us. I refused to keep being a burden to her. I left through the back woods to avoid notice. One minute I was leaving this wreck of a pack behind, the next I felt a blunt object hit the back of my head then darkness. Had Luciano changed his mind about sparing me? No, I didn't think so. Luciano wasn't one to attack from behind. He would have killed me and gotten it over with. He was the Alpha after all. No one would even question him. The door creaked open and Elder Tommaso stepped in. My eyes widened with shock as I realized
Emery's POVMy stomach rumbled in complaint. My strength was waning. When Luciano had told me to wait for my punishment, I didn't think it would take so long. I had no idea of the amount of time that had passed. No one came to give me food or water. I tried to reach out through the pack link to contact Mom to know if Luciano had taken his anger at me out on her. So I sat in my cell awaiting my punishment. What else could I do at this point? I had paced so much that I wondered at how the stone floor showed no signs of wear. I was anxious, tense, tired, and weak. I thought about what I could have done to induce a different outcome. Should I have let Anastasia's man kill Arabella that day? Should I have left when Luciano asked me to leave? My mind spun with the possibilities of what ifs and I must have fallen asleep at some point because I woke up to the sound of the door of my cell opening. Luciano stood at the cell door himself. That wasn't right. If he intended to execute me, he