Chapter 4 ~Unwanted Attention~

 

~Luca~

Luca Akrim—the infamous billionaire CEO. Mysterious, powerful, and untouchable. No one knew the true source of his wealth, but everyone knew he was filthy rich.

Because he wasn’t human.

He was the Alpha of his werewolf kingdom, heir to riches beyond human comprehension.

I stormed into my mansion, rage burning in my veins.

“Where have you been?” a stern voice cut through the air.

I turned slowly to find my stepmother, Visha Arkand, standing in the corner. A newspaper was folded in her hands, her expression unreadable.

“Nowhere important. I just came to grab my keys,” I said casually, turning to leave. “I have to head out again—”

“Don’t tell me these murders have anything to do with you, son.” I froze for a moment, lowering my head slightly. My jaw clenched. “I had to...” I muttered.

“Christ!” Visha’s voice rose in anger as she flung the newspaper at me. “You can’t just go around killing humans because they piss you off, Luca! What will your people think when they find out their Alpha is slaughtering humans for no reason? Chaos will break out!”

Just then, Elijah stepped in. “Sir, the car is ready.”

Elijah—my personal assistant in the human world. But in my kingdom, he was my most trusted Beta.

I tossed him the keys. “Start the engine.”

He nodded and walked out, leaving me alone with Visha. A tense silence hung between us. Her voice softened. “Tell me what’s wrong, Luca.”

 I exhaled sharply, rubbing my temples. “I marked a human girl the other night.” Visha’s face went pale. Then, she screamed.

“What?! Tell me this is a lie!”

“No, it’s not,” I admitted.

She pressed her hands to her head, eyes wide with disbelief. “My God, what have you done?” “I’ll fix it,” I said firmly. “I will.”

Before she could say another word, I strode out of the mansion. The last thing I needed was a lecture.

**********

“This is where she lives sir.” Elijah said pointing to a house just by the corner. A short distance away from where our car was parked.

“And is she home?” I asked curiously.

“NO one is. The house is locked and the lights off.” Elijah answered sharply.

“Okay. Then we'll have to wait for her.” leaned back, resting my hand to the passenger seat. “Sir, may I ask why you're at Aria’s house and waiting for her?”

I sighed. “Okay. The other night, after I saved the girl I met up at the party, I got caught up in the moment and marked Aria as my mate... “

“What?” Elijah's voice shut up, his tone lace with disbelief. His eyes flung wide open.

“Sir. You know what this means. You've put her life in danger as she's now marked by an Alpha.” Elijah explained.

Once an Alpha marks his Mate, she becomes detectable and therefore a target for other kingdoms and packs.

“I know Elijah. Don't you think that's why I'm here.

 But, for now my feelings detect she's still safe, so I can wait here atleast until she's back.” “But for how long?” Elijah asked.

“I don't know. There is only one way to stop all this.” I said.

Elijah understood immediately.

“So what would you do?” he asked.

I gritted my teeth's against the other. “I have to take Aria to my kingdom. That's the only place she's safe.”

~Aria~

It was late, the streets outside had gone dead silent.

The restaurant was alive with its usual chaos, and I was in the middle of it all, moving from one table to another and taking in orders.

But... I couldn't complain could I? I've grown up with this, and for me it's just like every other day.

The Green Palace, Mom's restaurant. It wasn't fancy as others but it was ours.

Working my socks off here was the least I could do to help out

“Here’s the veggie lasagna,” I said, placing the plate in front of the older woman at table six. I smiled as she thanked me, then turned to the man across from her. “And the grilled salmon for you.”

I barely waited for their usual compliment before I turned away and headed back toward the kitchen.

My feet ached, and my arms felt like they were burning up, but I didn't let that faze me. It's not like I didn't know what I signed up when I volunteered to help Mom.

“Two soups for table three and the chicken special for table five are up!” Mom’s voice rang out from the kitchen.

She looked focused as always when she was in the kitchen the hot steam from the boiling meat covered her face.

She caught my glance and gave me a small, encouraging smile.

I grabbed the bowls of soup from the counter, carefully placing them on my tray as I made my way back maneuvering through a few bodies to reach table three.

A mom and her daughter sat at table three.

“Here you go.” I gently placed down the dishes on their table.

 “Thank you miss.” the soft and kind voice of the little girl whistled to my ears. “It's all right.” I answered wearing a smile on my face.

Walking back to the kitchen I took a quick glance at the wall clock hung at the kitchen entrance. 8:00 pm.

Finally. My shift was over.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief and made my way back to the counter, where Mom was stacking plates.

“ Aria you've outdone yourself today. You can start heading back home for the night, sweetheart” she said, her voice warm despite the exhaustion etched on her face. “... and don't wait up to long for me.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I replied, pulling off my apron and hanging it on the hook by the door. As much as I would love to stay back and help Mom out, I as well needed a rest.

I grabbed my purse from a corner of the kitchen, and walked to the back exit.

As I stepped outside, the cool night air hit me, crisp and refreshing after the warmth of the kitchen. The streets were quiet, the noises of engines became scarce.

Our house was just a few minutes away so I decided to walk it.

I walked softly through the tarred road. The streets was dimly lit and only a few flickering streetlight illuminated. I held my purse over my shoulder, glancing around from left to right. The night always carried a certain restless feeling.

Ahead, I heard the low growl of an engine.

From a distance I spotted a black BMW, it's windows tinted.

I glanced at it briefly, my pulse quickening, something just didn't feel right.

Why would a car be parked out here in the middle of the night.

I wanted to turn back and take another route, but it would be useless, they could still reach me regardless.

Then, in an instant, the car sped up—racing ahead of me before screeching to a stop just a few feet away.

“Oh no.”

Panic shot through me.

 The driver’s door flew open, and two men stepped out. Their movements were quick, purposeful.

They were coming straight for me.

“Hey!” My voice wavered as I turned to run.

I didn’t get far.

One of the men grabbed my left arm, but I continued to struggle, but it was no use, he was way

stronger than me.

"Let go of me!" I shouted, kicking and twisting, but the other man grabbed my other arm, pinning me between them.

The man holding me growled, “Shut up,” as they dragged me toward the car.

The other man opened the car’s back door, and together they forced me inside.

I fought with every ounce of strength I had, but it was all fatal. Soon my full body was in and the door slammed shut. Immediately the driver ignited the engine and drove off.