ChiaraI take a deep breath, trying hard not to show my fear even though deep inside, everything is coiling in dread. I wait for Rafael's teeth to sink into my neck and release all kinds of chaos.But to my surprise, the woman with him pushes him off me."What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demands, still shoving him farther and farther away from me as he growls deep in his throat and stares at me hungrily. "You just said you could detect Alessio's scent on her. Why would you even dare try to eat her? Besides, you can do that once we get what we want. But please, for now, I'm begging you to behave."Rafael just smirks and wipes his lips as though he just got denied of a delicious meal. Which I guess in a away he was. But then his expression darkens into a deeper level of malice when he glances at the woman."Since when have you become so weak, Savina?" he asks with his nose curled up in disgust. "And I thought your heart was into this mission. Don't worry, though, I won't ea
AlessioBefore I can ask why I'm being searched for, the guard opened the cell door and secured a cuff around my wrists. At the same time, he put a bag over my head and starts to lead me outside.I want to ask if all these measures are still that necessary, but I think I already know the answer. Evelyn just doesn't trust me, and maybe she shouldn't because right now I'm already subcbconsciously thinking of a way to beat the guard up and escape.Meanwhile, Lazaro seems to be shocked that I'm being summoned. He starts to bang and pummel on his cell door, trying to get the attention of the guard.But of course the guard simply isn't having it, because he just says, "Shut up or I'll put a bag over your head and chain you to that fucking wall!"Lazaro is undeterred. "Why am I being left out here? I didn't do anything wrong! I just want to see my daughter, please. . . ."I have to admit that that caused me to hesitate. I can hear the true longing and regret in his voice, and it contrasts so
Alessio“What’s that?” I demand, looking at Evelyn who starts to stare at the door like she’s waiting for death himself to come in and take her soul. “Were you expecting a visitor?”She completely ignores me, stepping back behind her desk and rummaging through the drawers. She finds a slim silver device with a number pad that she punches on with the force of an angry toddler, then she brings it against her ear.“Hello?” Evelyn calls into the device, her face contorted with worry. “David? David, I need you to check what set those alarms. Send me guards immediately and. . . .”Suddenly, she trails off with an even deeper frown, taking the device away from her ear and staring at it like it would explode any time.“No answer, huh?” I remark in a dry tone, even though my insides are twisting at the thought of the possibilities waiting for us outside.I have to wonder . . . is this some kind of a ploy to scare me? I have to say that that is highly unlikely, considering that I’m already unde
ChiaraMy jaw drops. For an entire moment, my world slips right off its axis and suddenly everything is a mess. I find myself just staring into the distance, right over Savina’s head, wondering if I’m crazy or not.But that’s the thing. I’m not crazy. This is real, and I could swear that I just heard the voice in my head and it told me what it is. It’s my Wolf Spirit, and it’s sentient. It has a name.Vega. It’s pretty, and it’s definitely something I haven’t been hearing much before, so that would explain that this is not just me inventing things out of distress--“Why are you still debunking my presence?” Vega suddenly asks and I flinch.Savina grimaces. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”“Are we going to hurt this woman or not?” Vega asks in clear annoyance. “Don’t make me lose patience with you, girl. I can take over, but I’m being considerate of you since I know that this is something you’re not familiar with. However, if you don’t say anything now, I will have to let you deal wi
AlessioI’m immobilized, perfectly stupefied in my spot like a statue. When my eyes lock with Father’s, everything around me just starts to crumble. The colors, the shapes, the people. Suddenly I’m not in the hallway of Evelyn’s mansion. Suddenly I’m back at the Cavaliere Ombra Pack as a teenager, looking for my mother.“Where is she?” I remember myself asking him one night when I had enough and barged into his study. This was well after my initiation on my birthday. Strangely, he hadn’t punished me for letting the boy--who I know now is Gio--get away. But I hadn’t seen Mother since then. “What did you do to her?”Father looked at me then, and with a dark twinkle in his eyes that I had come to know very well, he smiled gently at me and said, “Your mother is . . . resting.”That’s when I knew that she was gone, and it was time for me to leave. Since then I have felt true freedom. With the Nightlock Crescent people, the family I found in the mafia, and finally with Chiara, even if it wa
AlessioAs soon as Father is out of sight, I hurry out the door and leave. I find Lazaro cramped into a sports car with Evelyn, and still on autopilot, I climb in and off the car goes.Evelyn drives like a maniac, and I can feel myself lurching forward and getting plastered on my seat one too many times, but the only time I manage to snap myself out of it is when we stop in the middle of nowhere.“What now?” Lazaro suddenly asks, and to my surprise, even Evelyn is staring at me expectantly. “We’re well away from the, um, prison.”“We find Chiara,” I say after a beat, unfurling my hands which have been clenched on my lap all this time. “I can retrace her if we go back to the village.”As soon as I say this, uncertainty kicks in and suddenly I’m fully aware of the fact that I don’t in fact know where to start. But having one focus that somewhat makes sense is better than going around aimlessly.And I want to go back for Gio.I turn to Evelyn. “You should find your other men. You need th
Chiara My insides feel hollow as I look at Gio’s face. The small exhale that leaves Alessio’s lips breaks my heart, because that one little sound feels like a collective release of sadness and despair. I swallow hard, trying to hold it back in but the more I look at Gio, the heavier I feel. Alessio sinks to his knees, and in a gesture that completely breaks me, he reaches out and touches Gio’s hand. “I’m here now. I’m sorry I didn’t arrive sooner. . . .” His voice cracks. I crouch close to him, but I can’t bring myself to reach out to him. I just watch as he slowly unties Gio’s body from the tree and lay him down on the grass. Alessio’s breathing becomes unsteady and shaky, but he still runs his palm softly over Gio’s face to close his eyes. “I’m sorry,” Alessio whispers again, and this time I’m not able to hold back my tears. I don’t know why this hurts me so much, in a way that makes me cry like this when Alessio himself is keeping his composure. He just rips a piece of cloth f
ChiaraWhen the silver arrow suddenly materialized midair and starts to sail towards me, I have to admit that I panicked. The first thought that comes to mind is to duck and hide, but Vega is the one who snapped into attention and decides to take care of things.With no warning whatsoever, she slides through the surface and used my body to snatch the arrow midair.Alessio steps back in shock, but I don’t think it’s from the fact that someone tried to shoot me. I’m pretty sure that my little feat is the thing that scared him the most.As though to prove that, he looks at me with his face slack and asks, “How did you do that?”I drop the arrow like it’s scalding hot, like it would undo what I did and push Alessio back in the dark. But he’s already staring at me with a hint of suspicion in his eyes and it’s making my face hot with panic. I open my mouth to tell him that I don’t know, but that’s when another arrow comes shooting straight towards me.This time, Alessio seizes me by the wai