AlessioTime stops. For a whole moment, I have to remind myself to breathe because it seems that the whole world heaved a great exhale.Chiara stares back at me, her eyes reflecting the busy bright lights. Her palms go up from my shoulders to my neck, and she smiles softly as she curls her fingers on the back of my neck.Every part of my body comes alive with her touch. As I stare at her in awe, all I can think about is how strange it is, to feel like we’ve been apart for so long but at the same time never apart at all.I cup her face, tracing my thumbs over her delicate chin.I want to apologize to her. For the night of the full moon, the party, the way we met . . . everything. But the emotions beating in my chest won’t allow me to utter a single word. They’re all just screaming for one thing and one thing alone.I collapse in her embrace.I hold on to her tightly like she’s my lifeline, an automatic response I didn’t expect. How long I hugged her, I don’t know, but by the time I bre
ChiaraEverything is hazy and I have no idea what is happening.I feel like I’m hiding behind a veil, helplessly reaching out to things and people that pass by me but never making contact. The last thing I remember is being injected with some kind of liquid that instantly made me feel like I’m floating on a cloud.At first it was good. I was actually . . . liberated in a way. I know it’s just the chemical doing something to my brain, but it felt nice to escape from reality, even if it meant being in a constant state of floating.But then, this veil starts to lift a little, giving me glimpses of what’s happening on the other side. The only problem is, I don’t know if this is real.Because what I see right now is a very blurred image of men pointing guns at me.Somehow, Alessio also made his way into the hallucination.I can recognize his icy blond hair, his dark gray suit, and his mask. I will know that image anywhere. I can also catch a faint whiff of his woodsy smell, penetrating thr
ChiaraMy mouth falls open at Alessio’s words. I stare at him, waiting for the punchline, but it never comes.“So what you mean is,” I say slowly, choosing my words, “I will die if I stick with you?”“No.” He frowns. “Who said anything about dying? What I said is, I’m being hunted and you have nowhere to go, so we have to stick together.”I close my eyes and massage my temples. I don’t feel particularly well already, because of all the drugging and the fire and god knows that else, but he’s making it worse with all these remarks.If I open my mouth, I feel like I’m going to scream. So instead of saying anything, I just pull the musty blanket over myself and stay quiet, watching the flames of the lamp dance in the dark.Alessio’s eyes flicker in my direction, and soon enough, he’s already making his way toward me. He sits on the couch and reaches for my shoulder, but I just slap his hand away.“Don’t touch me.”He recoils. “I’m sorry.”Something about his apology feels almost . . . sof
AlessioSeeing Gio’s face makes me falter, loosening my grip on him. Only when he tries to scamper away do I snap to my senses and hold him down much harder. He gasps for air, but he doesn’t claw at my hands like I expected him to.“It’s just me, Master,” he chokes out. “I’ve been following you--”I grit my teeth and tighten my grip. “And now you’re here to get me fucked over again?”Gio shakes his head. “No.” He coughs and gasps. “I’m alone. I swear, Master. I didn’t bring anyone with me and no one knows that I found you. . . .”He trails off, his face going purple. His limbs start to look more jelly-like as he still tries to struggle. Chiara jumps out of hiding and screams, “Alessio, let him go!”I was going to do it anyway, but her voice spurs me into action. I drop Gio, and he sinks to his knees, retching and coughing into the patch of dry leaves.“Gio!” Chiara rushes over to him and gently rubs his back. “Oh, god. . . .”A pang of jealousy zips through my chest as I watch her. Sc
AlessioShock reverberates in my body. I stare at Gio's Grandma, not knowing what to say, just staring at her in the hopes of seeing something on her face that will get my memory started.The only problem is, I have ended the lives of so many people.I hate myself for this. It's not something I'm proud of. It's exactly why I escaped my life from the pack, but I didn't know that the only way I could continue living in the human world was to kill.But no matter how hard I look now, I still can't see anything on her face."I'm sorry," I whisper, slowly backing away. "I didn't . . . I didn't know that was the case.""Master, don't take her that seriously," Gio tells me under his breath. "She has dementia."Chiara looks at the old woman nervously. "Does she accuse everyone of killing her husband?""Well, no," he admits. "But it could just be. . . ." He trails off and shakes his head, taking his Grandma's arm. "Grandma, let's just go in and talk about this inside, okay? I told you about not
AlessioTension is hanging in the air, and I can feel myself getting sucked into it when Chiara looks into my eyes and starts to meet me halfway.I thought there was going to be a change in what I felt. I thought I would be hesitant. I thought that the fear that I felt when I first saw the fear in her eyes when she first saw my wolf form.When her lips touch mine, I know immediately that nothing changed. My heart beats fast and slow at the same time, making me take a deep breath as her lips begin to move. Her scent fills up my nose, making my whole body tense against hers.She lifts her hand against my cheek and touches me softly, sending goosebumps all over my skin. She threads her fingers in my hair, pulling me close. The warmth and the sweetness of it all whirls inside me until I’m reduced into a hungry mess in her hands, wanting more. . . .But Chiara pulls away.I blink the haze of the kiss away, trying not to look too confused. But it seems that I’m still too obvious about it, b
ChiaraFor the first time in what seemed like a month, I was finally having great sleep. Fia’s old lumpy bed is a far cry from the dirty floors of that warehouse and the flea-infested couch in the cabin in the woods, and my comfort was enough to make me forget about the awkward kiss.Or maybe I’m just going crazy.Either way, I should have known that the bliss was too good to be true.Because a couple of hours into sleeping, I find myself shaken awake.“No,” I groan before I can even open my eyes, thinking that my disruptor is Fia. “Please, let me--”“Chiara,” a man’s voice says. “Please wake up.”I finally pry my eyes open, still sticky with sleep. In the dim light, I see two faces looming over mine. Gio and Alessio, with Alessio kneeling beside my bed.“What?” I ask in a daze. “What’s happening?”“No time for questions,” he says urgently. “You need to get up and come with Gio, okay?”That statement is enough to shock me awake. “What do you mean to come with Gio? Where?”“The mob is
ChiaraFear freezes me in my spot. My first instinct is to scream and call for help, but it seems that the man knows this because he presses the tip of the gun harder on my side. It's digging into the side of my ribcage and I gasp, but he shoots me a stern look with his lips locked in a fake smile. "I wouldn't call for help if I were you," he whispers. "I'll make sure you're on the floor dead before you can even get the word out. Understand?"I don't say anything. I can't. Hell, I can't even breathe or nod or do anything. My mind is racing in panic and my body has gone completely immobilized.However, the man takes my silence for a yes because he drapes his free arm around my shoulders and slowly lead me to my feet. The gun is still fixed against my side, and it looks to me like he's not planning to shift it away from position too.We pass by the desk where the old owner is, but he just briefly glances up at us and immediately turn back to the magazine he's perusing.Tears are starti
ChiaraDays pass. Then weeks. Before I know it, a whole month passes, and when I wake up with this realization, I just feel like a gigantic weight has been lifted off my chest. Life goes on, I realize. No matter how bad the situation is, my life still goes on. And so do the lives of others. The past month proved that. Since the war between Cavaliere Ombra and Arcieri Luminari ended, so many things changed. Not only in the world of the Wolves, but also in the world of humans.Evelyn was the saving grace during the first week, when what we needed to do in the most urgent sense is to make sure that none of the humans are convinced or even remotely suspicious about the existence of humans that turn into monsters. She asked Gio’s family for help, and they were happy to oblige.She had to jump through hoops and use her connections just to get all the news outlets to convince everyone that it was just some kind of bomb exploding in Milan by an armed vigilante group. All the videos that c
ChiaraWhen Alessio tackled Alpha Salvatore all the way down, I felt so helpless that I immediately considered jumping down to his aid.But as I look down from above, I see Dad crawling on the ground, trying to get upright. That strengthens my decision. Instead of going down to the chasm where the two men are, I back away and remain at the edge, kneeling beside my father and touching his face.“Dad!” I say in a shaky voice, feeling his skin getting cold. “Dad, hold onto me.”He turns around and I see that there’s a big bleeding gash on the back of his head too, an injury that he must have acquired somewhere else.To my horror, his body looks ruined. Mangled. The fall that he took crushed him. My eyes well with tears. “Dad, come with me. Let’s get you to safety.”“No.” He tries to shake his head and blood comes out of his parted lips Miraculously, he manages to get to his feet. “No. You help your mate. Help him win. You can lend him your power. I will be right behind you.”I swallow ha
Chiara As quickly as I can, I get to my feet and intercept Alpha Salvatore before his claws can come remotely close to Alessio. I pull him out of the way, flinging him to the side where he cannot be touched, then I turn to Alpha Salvatore and try to deliver the strongest kick I can muster aimed at his chest. He steps back just in time and avoids my blow. That simple motion alone makes me realize how fast he can go. He ends up pressing himself against the wall, smiling at Alessio and me. Alessio positions himself in front of me, determined to put me away from harm as much as possible. This time, Isaac doesn’t seem all that interested in stabbing or wounding us. He’s just observing us from his spot, that smug expression prominent and his growing smile chilling. My skin gets covered in goosebumps. “I suppose I should be proud of you, Alessio,” he suddenly says, his voice a soft croon, the tone someone might use to refer to someone they are especially fond of. “After all, you’re my gr
Time seems to slow down right before my eyes at that very moment. My breath gets stuck in my throat. I can feel my mouth opening and from it comes a high-pitched scream, but it still takes me a while to realize that it’s coming from me.I collapse on the ground, clutching Dad’s body against mine. Alpha Salvatore just watches me, holding his hand up and freezing everyone around me like he did with me earlier.I know I should keep fighting. I know I should strike back. But seeing Dad bleeding and coughing blood against me is pulling me apart. It’s like my heart is being torn out of my chest, and all I can think about is that time when Dad told me about my mother.Now he’s here, his breathing getting more and more erratic as the seconds tick by. I hold him tighter against me, wanting to comfort him but no words come out of my mouth.But he turns to me, struggling to breathe, and when I look into his eyes, the message is clear.“Get him for me.”That’s when it all clicks for me.Without h
ChiaraThe energy in that side of the area seems to have shifted in an instant. Alpha Salvatore slowly advances towards us, and I can see that the women standing in front of me are all staggering to back away from him like his mere presence is causing some kind of disturbance.And I don’t blame them at all. I can feel myself getting compelled to do the same, to hide and avoid this fight at all costs. There’s something about his gaze that feels sinister, like there’s no single ounce of humanity left behind those eyes. There’s only the monster that he felt he should be like, powered by the spirit that he corrupted.Alpha Salvatore smiles at me, showing his sharp fangs. I couldn’t help but notice how much he looks like Alessio but at the same time how different he is.Chills run down my spine as he leisurely gets close, and even though I’m scared to death right now, I come forward, ready to block him from attacking.However, he just raises his hand as a signal.For a second I thought tha
ChiaraThe moment I saw Dad smiling proudly, my urge to slap someone has never been so strong. It’s like a demon possessed me, and before I knew it, I’m already pushing the others away to get to my dad.But instead of slapping him like I originally intended, I end up pulling him for a hug.Then I settle with slapping his arm.“What the hell were you thinking?” I demand, and to my horror, tears start to fall. I bury my face in his shoulder and reluctantly, he hugs me back, rubbing the back of my neck. “I thought something bad happened to you!”“Hey,” he says consolingly, holding me at arm’s length. He smiles at me and wipes my cheeks. “I wasn’t going anywhere, darling. I just thought that hey, maybe I could help. I mean, I’m the only human in this pack, even with your boyfriend losing his wolf and everything.” He looks at Amari. “I’m sorry for causing all of you this trouble, and I hope I didn’t overstep something by inviting everyone here.”For one tense second, it seems that Amari wi
ChiaraWhen I wake up, it’s like everything is submerged in a lazy, peaceful haze. It’s so warm and so good to be safe in Alessio’s arms after a night of making love that I almost forget what situation we’re in and what we’re supposed to face.I lay there with my eyes closed, purposefully forgetting it for a while.But of course, the world is just simply not built to let me have some peace because as soon as I close my eyes, commotion breaks out from outside the bedroom.There are loud screams and crashes, so loud that even Alessio flinches and sits up in alarm. Still in a groggy voice, he turns to me and asks, “What the hell is happening?”“I don’t know,” I mutter, at first feeling annoyed, but then I hear a blood-curdling scream that sounds like Savina. I turn to Alessio, who’s already handing me clothes.He dresses up as quickly as he can as well, basically wriggling into his clothes. We both burst out of the door at the same time, and that’s when we see about a dozen warriors tryi
AlessioI can feel myself zoning out as I slowly process the things that Savina just said. I stand in my spot, feeling sick to my stomach, propping my hand against the back of the chair to keep myself steady.Denial is rising in my throat like bile, and for some reason my brain could come up with a thousand ways to justify everything. I want to argue with Savina and tell her that Cavaliere Ombra couldn’t possibly come up with such a risky plan, with something so big it has a chance of being foolproof.But the more I think about it, the more my justifications seemed stupid.Of course Father would do something like that. Of course he would want to announce to the world that he’s the strongest, and of course he would do that by invading an entire city.And everyone in that city would be food for monsters.Meanwhile, everyone in the dining hall is starting to speak over each other, covering the fact that they are disturbed with attempts of denial. As I start to slowly emerge out of my rev
AlessioI step back, looking at the kneeling woman before me and wondering what the hell happened exactly, what moments led to this. It’s almost a dream, and I’m not entirely sure I can trust myself enough with this.Savina looks up at me and I see that her eyes are filled with tears. But I can’t hold eye contact for more than a couple of seconds. I look at Chiara and Amari, who are walking side by side heading towards me. Their eyes are both pinned on Savina, and I could tell that they are both ready to attack.Meanwhile I just stand there like an idiot, wondering if this is some kind of elaborate trap that I’m too dumb to see.Because everything just happened so fast. One moment, I was fighting with Rafael, who has turned into this monster human hybrid that didn’t seem vulnerable to any attacks. Then just as he was about to finish me off, he vanished into a puff of smoke because Savina stabbed him.I’ve never seen that before. Ever.So the only thing that I manage to ask Savina is,