Chiara
"So this is his daughter?"
"Yes, Master. She went home because of her father's request."
"Perfect. Did you search her belongings?"
“We did. But we didn’t find anything other than costumes and wigs, Master.”
The two male voices talking in whispers pull me out of unconsciousness.
My eyelids feel sticky. My limbs feel like they're a hundred pounds heavier. I try to get up, but then I feel a strip of cold leather strapping me down. I realize that I'm bound to something hard and cold, like a steel bed, through my neck, wrists, and ankles.
I blink repeatedly, trying to get rid of the haze in my vision.
Slowly, the room I am in starts to loom into view.
Dark red walls. Bare, except for the array of weapons that are displayed in cases. Knives, swords, axes . . . even what looks like teeth. Sharp, big, animal teeth.
Chills run down my spine. I try to move but I'm plastered in place. I want to scream, but something is slapped right in my mouth, preventing me from making a single noise.
I can't move my head or I will choke. I can't move my arms and my legs. All I can see from my view is the display of weapons and those big teeth.
Where am I? What am I doing here? The last thing I remember is coming home to Dad after his news, which now I know is a stupid thing to believe in. He had some “friends” over, people who are shady and have tried to hurt me. . . .
He got himself in trouble again, didn’t he? That must be why I’m here. Those friends of his are people he must have owed money to, and now they want it back. This won’t be the first time, but this is definitely the first time I would get involved, because before, he would always tell me to get out of the way.
So why did he call me home?
It’s highly unlikely, right? As shitty as he is, he made sure I was alive and away from his fuck-ups.
Maybe this is my problem. Maybe I’m the one who brought this to myself.
What if it’s the man from Monamour? What if he wanted to take revenge on me?
The sound of heavy footsteps suddenly erupts above me. I struggle against my bonds and whimper under my gag, then I feel a cold hand on my forehead.
A shadow looms over me, then a man.
A man whose face is covered with a black mask.
His stark white hair is sticking up in waves. The mask is stuck in a permanent small smile. And his eyes. . . .
His eyes are bright gold. But there's no warmth there. It's the kind of eyes you will see on predators. Sharp and focused. Angry.
Something uncanny. Something dangerous.
"Hello, Chiara Castelli."
I whimper under my gag, trying to get out of my restraints, but I’m bound very closely to the metal bed and the straps seem very secure. . . .
Or at least, most of them are.
The strap on my right wrist is quite loose, and I can tell that it’s from heavy misuse. Which means that I’m not the first person who was ever here.
The man continues to stare at me, and there’s just something chilling about his face, especially his eyes. It’s almost like he’s staring deep into my soul, but also consuming a part of me that I can never get back.
“I assume you already know why you’re here,” he says, his voice deep. Like a smooth rumble. It’s almost like darkness can talk. “This can either be fast or slow. And it would be entirely up to you.”
With that, he takes out a small golden knife from the inside of his all-black suit. The blade glimmers under the lights, wickedly sharp.
I start to sweat profusely.
I’m shaking from head to toe. I have no fucking clue why I’m here, and I try to communicate that to him by shaking my head, but he just stares at me from behind that emotionless mask. For some reason, I can perfectly tell that he’s smiling, finding some sort of satisfaction from my fear.
He trails the sharp knife up and down my abdomen, and I know that he will gut me here and now without hesitation.
I need to get out of here. I need to call the police.
But to do that, I have to know who took me.
I try to edge my hand out of the leather band. It’s grazing against my knuckles, pulling on my wrist hard. I can hear my bones creaking. Pain is twisting up my arm. I know I should stop before I break something, but he’s too distracted staring at my face.
“We didn’t find anything on you, so now I have to personally . . . search you.”
I try to scream, but the gag in my mouth completely shatters the sound. The man lets out a low laugh as though amused, and with that, he slides the knife deeper into me, puncturing my jacket.
Millimeters away from my skin.
My whole being is hot with panic now. Slowly and torturously, he rips the front of my jacket, filling the room with ripping sounds. I can feel the tip of the blade on my skin. My mind is whirring with thoughts. I keep screaming even though no one can hear me. And I keep praying to whatever and whoever is up there to let this end. . . .
Then my right hand slips free from the strap.
My body reacts before my mind does. I snatch the knife that the man is holding, but he’s also quick to back away and get it far from my grasp. As a result, I only manage to slap it away from his hand, hearing it clatter on the floor.
He whips around to look at me like he never expected this to happen, but his eyes are devoid of any shock. All I can see there is pure venom, like I’m staring right into a monster’s eyes.
“Learning tricks from daddy dearest,” he mocks, drawing a gun from inside his jacket and pointing it at me.
As a last ditch attempt to do something--anything--to delay my death, I reach out and grab the man’s mask, pulling it to expose his face.
Alessio I slam Chiara down on the metal bed, grabbing her hand that she somehow managed to slip out of the strap. I look around for my knife, but I realize that she managed to swipe it away from my grasp and it fell on the floor. I twist her wrist and slip it back inside the strap, tightening it and making her cry out. I stare at her in anger, breathing hard because of what almost transpired. She shouldn’t have attempted to touch my mask. No one knows who I am and what I am, and it should stay that way. I’ve been protecting myself for far too long and I won’t let some rat’s child get in the way of that. Anyone who crosses me must die. And now, she’s staring at me with her black hair all over her face, her brown eyes wide and crazy, saying something that her muffled mouth won’t let her. That doesn’t make me happy at all. I pull the gag down from the girl’s mouth. Immediately, a scream erupts in the room. High pitched and reedy, like a little girl’s. I almost want to bring the gag
Chiara The man whispers something under his breath, glaring at me. Then his head snaps up and calls to someone in the distance. “Get her out of here and take her to one of the bedrooms upstairs.” The words seem to echo in my head as soon as the masked man says them. I try to look up but that moment of surprise seems to make me forget that I still have a strip of leather binding me to the metal bed, because I end up gasping for breath. The man named Gio shuffles in his spot. “Are you sure, Master?” “I’m sure,” the masked man says in a low voice. “Meanwhile, tell the others to keep an eye on Lazaro. I’m sure he would reveal eventually where he put the money.” “So it’s not with the girl?” “No, it’s not. She’s innocent.” That’s music to my ears. He spared me. He actually spared me. “Are you going to let me go?” I ask, my breath still caught in my throat. “Will I be free to leave?” The masked man faces me again, and I’m once again struck by his eyes. They’re piercing from behind t
Chiara “I’m sorry,” I stammer. “I got scared and I thought I should go out and--” “You mean you want to intrude,” the man interrupts, his voice low and raspy. “I do not take kindly to intrusions, Chiara.” “I really don’t know what’s happening here.” I swallow hard and shake my head. “I heard noises and they woke me up. I was so scared.” There’s a pause in the air. A very charged one, almost like I said something that I shouldn’t have. I clamp my lips together, not realizing how much I’m shaking until I take a step back. But as though to make things worse for me, he takes a step forward to erase the distance I tried to put between us. “Noises, you say?” he asks. “What noises? Tell me.” “Howls,” I whisper. “Growls and roars. From monsters.” “Monsters,” he repeats, then he lets out a low, rumbling laugh. “How did you know there were many of them? What if . . . there’s just one?” I open my mouth to answer, but the man suddenly lunges toward me. A shrill scream escapes my lips and
Alessio “Tell the servants to leave,” I tell Gio, massaging my temples as I draw the curtains closed over the darkening sky. “I need them out of the mansion before the sun sets completely.” He nods, but he doesn’t leave the study immediately. “And how about the prisoner, Master?” I pause. That very nearly slipped my mind, but I can’t say I blame myself since it has been a busy day trying to find Lazaro and capturing his daughter Chiara. It’s supposed to be the full moon tonight, and I nearly forgot to make preparations for what will inevitably happen. I can already feel the pull of the moon, calling to the other side of me that I want to drown. “Just keep her there, don’t move her anywhere else,” I say, slumping onto my seat. “I don’t think she will be roaming around tonight.” “Of course, Master,” Gio replies. I expect him to leave and get at it, but he stays in his spot. I arch a brow. “Is there anything you need?” “No, Master.” He bows deeply. “I just want to know if I shoul
ChiaraAlessio . . . So that's his name. Sounds harmless and innocent, but the person is the opposite. Panic seizes my heart like a fist, but I force a smile and turn to Marie and Kana with a smile. "Of course."They both smile as though this is the answer they're waiting for, but I can't shake off the feeling that I didn't have a choice either way and their invitation is just for formality.I get up, expecting them to drop the things they got and leave me alone, but they just point at the door in the corner that I didn't notice the night before."Here, Miss Chiara," Kana says happily. "We shall prepare you for the Master.""What do you mean prepare?" I linger by the door while Marie opens it, revealing a beautiful bathroom with tile mosaics and a claw-foot bathtub. "You can just leave these things and wait for me outside. . . .""Master's orders, Miss Chiara. We are to assist you."The sudden firm tone in Marie's voice makes me stop. It feels like these women are mandated to follow v
AlessioEvery single fiber in my body tenses as I stare at Rafael. It’s been more than a decade since I’ve seen him, but the effect he has on me is still the same: overwhelming repulsion and a deep wish to uninhibitedly violent.I can’t believe he found me. I can’t believe that years and years of hiding and concealing my identity has been for nothing.But still, I knew this day would come eventually. It’s only a matter of time.As Rafael advances towards me, I just take a deep breath, get back in the car, and step on the accelerator.Only to have Rafael stop in the middle of the road and put a hand on the hood of the car, stopping it completely.Sighing, I turn off the engine and get back out. “Congratulations, you finally found me. Now kindly fuck off.”He shakes his head and clucks his tongue, leaning against the hood of my car. “I must say, I never expected to find you that easily. I thought you’d be better than this, brother.”“Half-brother,” I correct him. “Let’s not leave that t
ChiaraThe last thing I expected to see roaming around the halls of the mansion is Alessio, and the last state I expected him to be in is bloody and wounded.Everything just slips out of my head. The fact that he’s a mafia boss, a possible murderer, and the very person who spared me but kept me captive anyway. All I’m seeing right now is a man who needs help.So without hesitation, I rush over to him and touch his chest, feeling the blood squelching in his shirt.“Come on, tell me where I can take you,” I mutter in a shaky voice. “Or maybe we have to call the--”The rest of my words get cut when Alessio grabs my wrists and stops me from touching him. His eyes are flashing from behind the mask, wide with what looks like shock.“Are you hurt?” he asks me. “Are you alright?”“What?” My heart drops to my stomach in confusion. “I’m . . . okay. But you’re not. Should I tell the others to call an ambulance?”“No,” he hisses, dropping my hands and staring at me intently. “Why are you not hurt
ChiaraI stare at Alessio, wondering if he’s serious or if he’s just playing with me. I wait for him to tell me the punchline, but he just holds my gaze with his hand under his chin.At that moment, I would have given everything I have just to take that mask off and see his face.As though sensing where my thoughts are going, Alessio huffs and says, “Well, what do you want? I don’t have all day.”I swallow hard, blinking rapidly to shake off the daze that seems to have been put upon me by his eyes. “I . . . want to be free from here.”“You know I can’t do that.” He laughs, getting up and gathering his bloody clothes. “Besides, what are you going to do while you’re out there?”That completely stumps me. What am I going to do out there? Go back to the strip club and earn measly money to hope that one day it would accumulate well and give me a chance to start over?“I’ve always wanted to go back to college,” I whisper. “I had to drop out before.”“Then I’ll send you to college,” he says
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,