Luca POVI was used to people kissing arse whenever they wanted something from me. Hell, it was a normal occurrence in my life. But the gratitude Eliana showed at finding her brother took me off guard. The man was a bloody mess, yet she wasn't angry that it had taken time. She wasn't demanding retribution for his mistreatment. Sure, Nico was going to be tasked to search for the arseholes who tortured Elijah and do to them what he does best, but Eliana didn't know that. “Get ready to see the best place on earth, Snowflake,” my idiot brother called from the front seat as the car turned through the ornate gates which marked the entrance to the backhouse property. Dense forest pressed up against the driveway, blocking the house from the sight of any who may drive past. Although, if I were to be honest, the driveway was rather long and even without the trees it wouldn't be an easy task to spy on the packhouse. I nodded my head to the two guards who stood out of sight in the shade of th
Eliana POV I'm not sure what I'd expected of Luca’s family and home, but it certainly wasn't this. The kitchen was loud, filled with Valenti and her six sisters - whose names I would never be able to get straight - all talking at the same time, yet somehow understanding each other in the ruckus. “You get used to it,” one of Luca's aunts smiled at me, squeezing my hand. They were all preparing a massive spread of food, enough to definitely feed half of the island. In some way, the chaos actually made sense and slowly I could tell the dishes coming together. While I was peeling potatoes - my assigned task - Luca and Enzo entered, causing another flurry of activity as each aunt went to greet them and make one or another comment. I smiled at the interaction, my eyes meeting with Luca's as he hugged one of his aunts. I quickly looked away, not wanting him to think I had been watching him - only to meet the gaze of his mother, a slight smile tugging up one corner of her mouth. Luca q
Eliana POV I pressed the button and instantly there was a mechanical grinding sound. I jumped backward, scared that I had triggered a trap or something along those lines. Instead, the bookcase moved an inch toward me. “And this is how we die,” Ayla muttered under her breath as I pulled on the bookcase. It swung aside like a door, without difficulty as if it was attached to well oiled hinges. I stepped inside the passage and pulled out my phone, switching on the torch to light my way in the darkening tunnel. “Did you not pay attention to those scary movies we watched as teenagers? Lesson number one, don't go down the dark tunnel of death,” Ayla practically shouted in my mind.“Shush, Ayla. It's not like we're going to meet a vampire or ghost down here. Those things only occur in horror stories,” I replied irritated with her irrational fear. “Yeah, just like werewolves are so not real,” she mocked with a roll of her eyes.I ignored her and continued down the tunnel until it split i
Eliana POVI didn't see Luca at dinner. Enzo said he hadn't returned from his run, but that there was no need to worry.“He's probably just checking out everything on the island. He hasn't been around for a few weeks so he needs to make sure I haven't run the pack into the ground.”He said it as if it were a joke, but I could tell by the edge in his voice that he was dead serious. Dinner was loud and an absolute sensory overload. I was actually grateful when I was able to slink back to my room, telling everyone that I had a headache so couldn't stick around for the after dinner entertainment. Yet, even as I closed the bedroom door behind me, I could hear the opera performance coming from the lower floor. “Looks like that headache is about to become a reality,” Ayla muttered as the performer missed the note and screeched her way through the last chords. “It would have been worse if we'd stuck around,” I replied, burying my head under the pillow. I must have fallen asleep, startling
Eliana POVIt was the best sleep I'd had in years, and I told myself that it was because I was no longer worried about Elijah. I refused to acknowledge that it might be because I'd had the most mind blowing sex I could ever dream about. I pulled myself out of bed, wincing slightly at the tenderness between my thighs.“The price we pay,” Ayla sighed in my mind and I wanted to slap her. “It's not like you're feeling this. You could have made me stop, you know,” I grumbled back. I was rewarded by her wolfy smirk which told me she definitely could have stopped the whole thing, but chose not to. “Arg! How am I going to face him now?” “The same way you always do. Head high. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”I guessed she was right. I hadn't done anything wrong, and I wasn't going to act like I had. Knocking on the bathroom door before I entered, I locked the door leading to Luca's bedroom before I went through the paces of my morning routine. I could hear soft snores coming from Luc
Eliana POVOf all the places in the world they could have gone, why did they have to be in Isolda di San Pietro? “Hello Stacey,” I replied politely to her before greeting the other two girls who stood just behind her. “Lacey, Tracey.”Tracey smiled at me and started lifting her hand to wave at me before Lacey smacked it back down and glared at for a brief moment before turning her frosty gaze my direction when she saw the smile slip from Tracey's face. “You didn't answer me, peasant. What are you doing here?” Stacey said slowly, flicking her bleached blonde hair back over her shoulder. “I'm here with a friend,” I said truthfully, only to have the three girls erupt into laughter. I'd purposefully been avoiding them at university, sitting as far as possible from Lacey in our Economics lectures and turning in the opposite direction whenever I saw any of them on the campus grounds. Even though I'd tried to make myself invisible to them, I'd always hear their laughter and jibes when I
Eliana POVChilling, gut wrenching screams echoed through the entire building, making the hair on my arms stand up. A nurse rushed into the reception area, obviously having been told by the receptionist that we had arrived. “Thank goodness you're here, Beta,” she looked frazzled, her brunette hair in wild disarray under her nurse's cap. “We've just managed to get hold of the Alpha and he's on his way, but perhaps Miss Eliana will be able to calm Mr Elijah. He's started trying to attack everyone who gets close.”She ushered us down the hallway to the room where Elijah had been put, the doctor looking worriedly from the doorway with a deep frown on his face.“Thank you for coming,” he said seriously. “He seemed to be doing fine, he even ate some jelly this morning and was talking to the nurse about his music. The next thing we knew, he was lashing out at everyone. We managed to get the handcuffs back on him, but he bit one of the guards quite badly in the process. He's chewed open the w
Eliana POVThe doctor came to see me that afternoon, apologising that he had been delayed at the clinic by a sick pup.I tried to tell him that it was okay, but my words came out sounding as if I were Kermit the Frog's great grandmother. With every word hurting my throat, I resorted to hand signals to communicate. “Your larynx - the voicebox in layman's terms - has been bruised. Luckily, you're a werewolf. With your accelerated healing, you should be fine in two to three days and the bruises on your neck should be gone just after that.”I nodded and gave him a thumbs up, feeling like an absolute dork. “Don't stress too much about your brother. If he's got what I think he has, the council has a remedy. He'll be right as rain, although I'm afraid that the emotional scars he has sustained may be with him for the rest of his life.” The doctor's expression changed and it seemed as if he were reminiscing as he said, “some things haunt you for the rest of your life. I pray that he is stro
Chapter 2Cassie POVI ignored the feeling of being watched, knowing that it was too late to run now. There was no running away from someone like Vasilios. Even the first time had been a bitch of a task, and I'd had Eliana and Yvonne's help to do it. Now, I was as good as alone and there was no fucking way I'd manage it. “Whiskey, neat,” I heard his voice like silk, as he gave his order to Jessie. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he leant casually against the bar, his eyes glued on a pair of ladies who were dancing seductively against each other. “Yes, sir,” Jessie replied, and I swear she used her arms to push her gigantic breasts together, trying to entice him. Only the Vasilios I remembered was impossible to entice. He was practically a walking, talking statue, trained from the moment he turned eighteen to be the alpha he was born to be. Not that he was alpha yet - although, a lot can happen in three years, so perhaps he had in fact become alpha in the time I was away.
Chapter 1Cassie POV“Show me your tits!”The creepy middle-aged guy shouted again at me as I swung around on the pole. He picked up a shot and downed it before he slammed the glass down on the table, running his hand over his shiny bald head. I ignored him, like I always did. The more wasted Gerald was, the more he'd shout and the quicker he'd get kicked out. “Come on, sexy! I came to see your tits!” He shouted again, and I hid a smile when I watched Ms. Ho summon the bouncer. Cue the shouting in three, two, one. I flipped upside-down into the “Russian Layback” pose and held it as Gerald started shouting about the lack of flesh in the club. “Third time this week. I don't know how many times the guy has to be told that he's got the wrong place,” Glitter said as she passed my podium with a tray of drinks for a corner table. She was right about that. What he was needing was a hooker, not a stripper - especially not a stripper in a bikini bar where flesh was served tastily clad in b
Eliana POVThe giggles of the little girl filtered through the house, bringing a smile to my face. It seemed as if it were yesterday when I had told Luca that we were expecting a baby, and now we were about to celebrate that little baby's second birthday.“Papà!” Gianna squealed just as the two of them burst into the kitchen, Luca holding the toddler on his shoulders. “You're wrinkling up her dress,” I warned him with a stern expression plastered on my face. He shrugged nonchalantly, eliciting more giggles from Gianna. “So? She's two, no one is going to expect a perfect outfit from a two year old. Just wait until she gets her hands on the cake.”I guess dressing her up in a satin white dress wasn't the smartest idea, but I had wanted her to look like the little princess she was - at least to her father and myself. “Are your parents coming?” Luca asked, lifting Gia from his shoulders and setting her firmly on the floor. “They will be late, as always,” I responded, handing him a tray
Cassie POVLong after Yvonne had gone to her hotel room, Vasilios had disappeared to his own apartment and Enzo had crashed in the spare room, Luca and I got a chance to finally be alone. “It seems like I cannot let you out of my sight without you getting into some sort of trouble,” he sighed as he fell back onto the bed and yawned.“It's not my fault I'm a magnet for weirdos and creeps,” I grumbled, wrapping my robe tightly around me. Luca raised himself up on his elbow and watched me through hooded eyes, “I'm hoping that my mere presence will be enough to chase those types away. I'm going to be the only man to touch that gorgeous body of yours until death do we part.” I giggled and joined him on the bed, fitting into his arms as if I belonged there - and I guess I did. “Who would have thought, that night when I messed coffee all over your table, that we would be where we are now?” I said softly, my fingers threading through his hair. He chuckled with a smirk on his face. “In my
Eliana POVLuca passed me a cup of tea as I curled up on the couch of his London flat, waiting for news from the hospital about Elijah’s surgery. Vasilios had made sure that the top surgeon on his payroll was part of the surgery, not trusting the council's doctors in the least. “He will be okay,” Luca said softly, reassuring me for probably the thousandth time.Vasilios grunted from the other side of the living room, as if disappointed that I didn't trust his man. Well, either that or he was still angry at me that I refused to tell him where Cassie had gone. Probably the second option.There was a knock on the door seconds before it was flung open and Enzo waltzed into the apartment as if he owned it, Yvonne close on his heels. “If you wanted to give up your alpha title, there are easier ways,” he told Luca with a whack on the back. Luca shoved him playfully, “I thought it would be more fun this way.”Yvonne rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the couch next to me, gripping my hand
Luca POVA scream ripped from Eliana's mouth the second we heard the explosion, before her screams turned to heart wrenching sobs. I pulled myself up and tried to move toward the door to see what had happened, but she grabbed my hand, fear shining brightly in her eyes.“I'm just going to check out what has happened,” I tried to tell her reassuringly. “I'll be right back.” “I'm coming with you,” she clambered to her feet. “I'm not staying behind in this house for another second longer than I have to.”Gripping my hand, she followed me outside, through the kitchen door and into the small, enclosed courtyard. I could smell the blood before I could see it, the metallic scent unmistakable. “Stay here,” I commanded Eliana, not entirely sure what I'd discover when I walked through the arched doorway into the garden a few metres away.She clung to my arm, seemingly not registering my words. Slowly, I pried her fingers from my arm and forced her to sit down on an ancient looking rocking chai
Eliana POVMy head pounded like I'd been beaten severely, and I struggled to pry my eyes open. There was laughter echoing in my head and making the headache a thousand times worse. With a groan, I pushed myself up into a seated position as my vision became more clear and I could see what seemed like an extremely old kitchen. Extremely old and extremely dirty.“Ah, look who has decided to join us,” I heard Marco laugh before he kicked out at Luca's outstretched legs. “Guess I'll be able to start my fun sooner than I thought.”Luca growled and launched himself forward, only to yank the table we were apparently tied to with him slightly. “Nah ah ah, alpha. I'd hate to have to waste more tranquilliser on you. Your little stunts at my warehouses have left my stocks rather low,” Marco huffed, folding his arms like a sulking child. “Why are you doing this, Marco?” I asked, desperate for answers.He laughed and shook his head. “Oh, dearest Eliana. You missed my big confession to my big brot
Luca POV The moment I felt the ground shudder under Bruno’s paws, I knew we had fucked up. The bastard knew we were coming and he was ready for us. And then I heard his laughter, that maniacal laughter that could only come from the mouth of a mad man. “Welcome to my humble abode,” he laughed, circling the cage cautiously. Elijah’s wolf was frantic, launching himself at the bars again and again until I was sure that blood would start to pour from his snout at any moment. He continued until Marco slammed his hand against the cage and shouted. “Enough, you mongrel. Didn’t you learn the last time you were in a cage that it is pointless to fight it?” It didn’t work though, and Elijah continued to launch himself at the bars until Marco went into a shed and returned with a gun, aiming it at the other wolf. Eliana’s wolf panicked and tried to grab Elijah’s wolf by the scruff of its neck, but he was too strong and threw her off of him with ease. Marco aimed the gun and pulled the trigger,
Eliana POV“I won't rat out my friend,” I said for probably the thousandth time in the last twenty-four hours. Luca raised his eyebrow at me in the rear view mirror before he sighed loudly and turned to my brother in the passenger seat.“Has she always been this stubborn?” He asked.Elijah chuckled and nodded, “pretty much so. She was the challenging child when we were growing up.”I huffed and folded my arms, ignoring the two in the front of the car. “Vasilios is going to find her one way or another, so all you'd be doing is reducing his anger at her when he does find her,” Luca said, changing tactics slightly. It didn't work. “He'll be angry either way, and if I said something she'd be angry with me instead,” I said boldly. “Now can we drop it? I'm not going to tell you where Cassie is and that's the end of the story. She's safe, she's happy and that's all you'll ever hear from my lips on the matter.” Luca shook his head in disbelief before he fixed his eyes on the road ahead a