Emma. Heather and I walked by the beach in our bikinis. Humans and werewolves were present on the shore, and they lusted after us. Heather had a beautiful blue two-piece bikini on while I was still wearing my two-piece white bikini. I had taken off the orange net blouse I had over it. I knew my skin would get a good tan. I tried to keep Luca out of my mind and have fun with my friend. I wondered what Luca was doing, but I knew he was probably with Aldo doing whatever he wanted to do. We had checked on Kyle in his room, and he was sleeping. I did not want to bother him, so I let him be. We walked to a beach bar. I had my card with me, which would be the first time I used it. We ordered drinks and some guys came to sit with us. I did not bother to chase them away; there was no use. As long as they kept their hands to themselves, I was alright. "Hello, beautiful ladies," one of the guys said. He was blonde, and it was apparent his pearly whites were fake. He looked like he had some wo
Luca. I knew Emma wasn't joking when she requested to be my mistress. I was hoping it wouldn't come to that, but it had. I could see it in her eyes. She was battling her emotions just as I was. I wasn't angry at her when I walked away. I was mad at myself for putting her in a situation she would think so low of herself. Aldo sensed something was wrong, but I hid it from him. When Teressa approached us, I was surprised, but I chose to pass away the time by hearing what she had to say. She claimed she saw us by accident, but I knew my mother was behind it. My mother wanted me to start courting Teressa immediately, and I was mad at her. Teressa told me that Emma and her friend were partying with some men, knowing how easily I got jealous. It got to me, but who was I to get jealous? As much as I wanted to go to where she was and drag her away from the men, I knew she would be free to do as she liked in a couple of months. I also knew that my reaction to her request was what led her to do
Emma. The words came like a knife to my heart. A deep cut that I knew would never heal. Luca stood before me with tear-filled eyes and said he was letting me go. "We still have four months," I protested, and he ran his fingers through his hair. "We wouldn't if those bastards had succeeded and you had died. Please understand, Emma. You have to leave. I am cutting off from you, and I will make a public show of it so they will know you are no longer connected to me, and they will stay away from you. This is my cross to bear alone, not yours," he said, and against my better judgement, I began to cry. I knew I promised to close my heart, but it was easier said than done. I couldn't. My emotions were all over the place. I cursed everything. We shouldn't have gone on that vacation. If we had remained home, nothing would happen. "Luca, I will stay indoors. I won't go out. Please don't do this," I pleaded. I was desperate. I knew he needed me just as much as I needed him, and his heart was
Luca. I roared with all my might. My pain was real, my heart was broken, and my soul had been ripped from me. Why was I doomed? Emma was everything I had ever wanted in a woman; perfect in every way. She was my soulmate, and I had to let her go. I had to let her go, so I do not lose her. There were two many unknown people after me, and she wasn't cut out for this life. My heart was bleeding. Images of her crying in the car reeled in my mind. All I had to do was change my mind, and all this pain would be gone, but I knew the pain would be worse if I let her stay and she got killed. She bared her heart out and pleaded with me; little did she know I was more in love with her than she was with me. Why did I have to do well in the family business and rise to the top? I was ambitious, and look where it got me. The one thing I wanted so much, I could never have. I knelt on the floor in my bedroom and wept. Usually, she would hold and try to console me, but now that it was over, who will do
Emma. I cried so much that I couldn't breathe. On our way to Celio, I had several panic attacks, and Gerald had to stop the car to calm me down. "Take me back to Ashfield!" I protested, and Gerald could not say anything. He felt sorry for me. I never knew I could feel this hurt in my life, but here I was, hurting, deep to my soul. It felt like part of my soul had been taken from me. It felt like hell. I had never experienced this level of pain before. A pain that had an impossible cure: Luca. All the emotions rushed through me like fire, and I wailed. "How dare you, Luca. How dare you do this to us? How dare you say I can't handle your lifestyle?" I screamed to no one precisely. He had broken both our hearts. I swallowed my pride and pleaded with him not to do this, but he did. Did he have a knack for suffering? I hugged myself and wailed all the way to Celio. When I entered my father's house in Celio, I went straight to my room and did not say a word to anyone. I locked the door,
Luca. I thought I was living in hell until Emma left. I had never experienced so much pain in my life. I could not think straight anymore. I closed myself off from everyone. Barely saw my friends and couldn't stand company. I was a mess. Maybe I should have held on and damned the consequences. The pain I felt was worse than losing a loved one; there was a void in my heart that could never be filled up. I was dead from the inside out. My parents and Catalina had left my house because of my hostility. Usually, Emma was always there to calm me down, but she wasn't anymore, and everything around me was falling apart. I knew I was slowly becoming a monster, but there was nothing I could do. A huge part kept telling me that what I did was for the best. It had been a month, and there had been several attacks on my life. All of which I sustained minor injuries and survived. The attacks let me know I did the right thing by letting Emma go. Hopefully, she would find someone worthy of her and
EMMA TWO YEARS AND SIX MONTHS LATER. It wasn't easy living without Luca, but my heart had somehow healed itself. My family was a tremendous support, and I did not know how I would have survived without them. They supported me through it all. I was heartbroken throughout my pregnancy, and there were times that I was tempted to go to Ashfield and confront Luca. Still, I would hold back whenever I remembered what Tevin told me about him moving on. It was a contract, and I wasn't supposed to get my heart tangled in a mess, yet I did. I had come out badly bruised and injured. I was still picking up the pieces of what was left of my broken heart, and I thanked the goddess for helping me through it. There were times that I sit up in bed thinking about Luca, but they were fewer now than in the past. I moved out of my father's house when Katya, my daughter, turned one. We needed our space, and thanks to my bakery business, I could afford a small place. It had two rooms, a living room with th
Luca. "Where is Deigo Gallo?" I said and punched the bastard in the face. My white shirt was bloody, and I had taken off my tie. I wasn't tired. If the bastard didn't give me what I wanted, I might just beat him to death like I did the others before him. "I don't know, boss," the bastard said, and I punched him hard on the cheek. I wasn't his boss, and that was the wrong answer. "Sources said you housed him three weeks ago in Barlo. How dare you insult me in a territory that I own? You know I am looking for that bastard, and you chose to house him." I said and sent another punch. "Alpha, please," Gerald pleaded, and I growled at him. "Leonardo Badalcci has rubbed me the wrong way." I snarled and walked away. "Lock him up in silver chains, his sons and wife too," I said. "Please, Don Luca, my wife is innocent in all of this," the bastard said. I could not believe he had the effrontery to speak after his beating. "Does it look like I care?" I asked him, and the coldness in my so
Luca. Leaving Emma at home with the women, the rest of us decided to have the last meeting at the packhouse before everyone left. For the first time, Luciano joined us. He was hurt to learn of his brother's betrayal, and he later admitted that many things made sense to him now that the truth was out in the open. We also found out that they were able to get Perez and the other three families based on Mario's cooperation. They had promised the idiot the alpha of Ashfield, and he had taken it. To think my family disliked the Russos because of betrayal was ironic because Mario had just betrayed everyone who cared about him and his well-being. It was a shame and hard to fathom why he would do it, but the bottom line is he did it and almost succeeded in helping them to wipe us out. Deigo's death was a sweet victory. I had carried out my anger for Roberto and Emma on him. As for my brothers, I could see why Emma was not afraid of them. They were feeble-minded and gullible. Because of what
Lacy. I had my heart in my mouth all through the night. I prayed to the goddess to keep them safe. Mathias and his wife were with me in our house, but I couldn't focus. Knowing that there would be a fight and Theo and my son would be there scared me. I was mad at Emma for following, but I knew she would not agree to remain as I did. I just had to hope that the goddess would make it easy and they come home to me. Katya had fallen asleep on the couch, and I linked Miranda to take her to her room. Every time Mathais or Leonard's phone rang, I was on alert. I could hear the pounding beat of my heart. I was afraid, and I dreaded the worse happening. I prayed to the goddess to protect them and bless them. I promised to be more forgiving and quick to let things go. I promised to express myself a bit more if she brought them home to me safely. Leonardo's phone rang at ten in the night, and my brother had to keep the suspense high by walking away from the living room to answer the call. I knew
Luca. We arrived at the venue by six in the evening. I was eager to get it over with. I wanted it to be over. Hopefully, it wasn't a trap, and we succeeded. I wasn't happy that I was to spare the lives of the two creeps there who were my half brothers, but a deal was a deal, and I did not plan on going back on my word. As terrible as the Motzaretti clan were, they had united all the families. Having one enemy and fighting for survival made all of us realise what was best. I hoped we won the fight tonight and kept the lessons that Johanna Wallace helped impact on us with his ruthless ways. Before we came there, we researched and realised the guy was a nobody. I could easily take him, but I had to be careful. I turned to look at Emma beside me and touched her thigh. ''You have to promise me you will be out of that place once Marco and Randy have been bound with Silver. We do not know their strength level, but I need you to be safe so I can focus and end this guy." I told her, and she
Theo The day of my initiation had finally come, and I noticed Karolyn was uneasy. She was better now, and I was glad I could get her meds. She looked nervous, and I knew she was worried. I had assured her that Luca would spare our sons, so I did not know what her problem was. "Why are you looking worried," I asked her, and she looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I am worried about how tonight will play out. I have never been in a fight before, and my uncle is cunning. What if he kills my sons to teach me a lesson?" She asked, and I understood her fear. I remembered the note he sent her along with her meds, and I knew the guy was a heartless man. He was ready to let her die the most excruciating death simply because she did not give him the kind of information he needed to be successful. Karolyn was supposed to be his niece, yet he treated her like something he could use and discard. I understood her fear because the man had no regard for life, family or bonds. He was a monster. It
Emma, Luca told everyone what Theo had told us, and they were excited and shocked at the same time. We had all been waiting for this break and finally had it. "I say we make an example of those traitors and kill them most excruciatingly," Mathias said out of anger. He did not seem like the type to handle betrayal lightly. We had been living in hell for a while now, not knowing where the problem was coming from; instead of those two workings against them, they decided to drink the cool aid. Mathias was mad. "This makes a lot of sense now. Every effort we have made to get the cult has been futile. They have been one step ahead of us all the time. I now realise that Mario Russo was the issue," Mathias said, and I knew his pain because we had a few general meetings with Marco Diaz and all our plans had no headway too. They were smart to recruit one person on each side. "We can't kill them. We do not want to create a problem for ourselves. It is still based on speculation. We need proof
Luca, A week had passed, and my father was still yet to get to the bottom of the matter. The woman was a tough bitch to crack. Mathias told me my father had called to ask him for money and that it would be nice for me to reconcile with my father. I knew all of them thought the fight between us was real, and I could not wait to end the pretence. The investigation wasn't getting anywhere, and it seemed the people were getting comfortable in the packhouse. Slowly it was beginning to seem like we would be in Celio longer than expected. I did not know what to do. My mother had pleaded with me to tell my father to abort the mission, and slowly I began to agree that if another week should pass and Karolyn didn't crack, I would ask him to come home. I would rather have him with me than far away sleeping with the enemy. I sat in my home office going through some reports when Emma walked in. She had dark circles, and it was partly my fault. We had not been sleeping. We tried to stay awake as m
Theo, I sat in the house a bit impatient. I wanted to call Luca to find out how Lacy was doing, but I was being careful. I needed to keep up my pretence just in case I was being watched. I remained in the house doing all I would have typically done when I believed Karolyn had cancer. I decided to make some calls to ask for money. I knew she must have bugged my phone by now; I couldn't wait to stop the pretences. She returned later in the afternoon looking sad, and I wondered what was up with her. I was honestly getting impatient and did not want to linger with her anymore. Her mood was down, and she looked sick. She walked passed me and went to the bedroom. I tried to look at her as she moved, and it looked like I was admiring her, but I was just curious. A few minutes later, she entered the room, popped her head through the door, and smiled at me. "Aren't you coming?" She asked, and a grumble almost escaped my lips, but I held it. I smiled and followed her. How could she switch
Lacy. Why would Theo do this to me? I was only trying to make him suffer before taking him back. I was honestly relieved that he did not send that message and that he did not leave me for her. I guess she played her cards well. The bitch. If I had not received that message, I wouldn't have sent him horrible messages, and he would have just checked on her and come home. Karolyn had complicated our lives for her selfish gain. I doubt if she loved him. She was just using him. I was mad at Theo for risking his life like this. I knew it was a good cause, but the price was steep. I knew I could not be crying and moping about my room. I had to make decisions that would aid his cause. I sat up in bed and set aside my hurt. I locked my room because this was a crucial moment for me. Every decision I made now would determine the outcome of things. I needed to find a way to aid Theo from afar. Emma had knocked on the door a couple of times. She had also brought Katya to knock on the door. Emm
Luca, It had just been a few hours, but I was uneasy. It was almost afternoon, and I was still waiting to hear from my old man. I knew it would not be like magic, but I was hoping he would get there, get what we needed and get out, but it would not be that way. I knew he would have to work on the bitch. She had been masterful and played him for so long that it would be only befitting if he did the same to her. My mother was hurting. She had not been alright since she learned what had happened, and I feared for her health. The moment Emma left her, she locked herself up in her room and wept. I waited for Castelo and Aldo to return before sending for my uncle and Emma's brothers. I wanted us to meet at my house before we went to the packhouse and give them a fictitious task to perform. We needed whoever their mole was, if any, to always have a report to provide the cult with, so my father would be successful. I prayed to the goddess to keep him safe. My uncle wasn't far behind, and w