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
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,