Eliana POV “Please, have a seat,” he gestured to the deck chair facing the ocean. I sat down and stared up at him, his jaw clenching and releasing in the moonlight. His body was tense, his hands gripping the bannister as he leant against it in an attempt to look casual.“Are you okay?” I asked after a few moments of silence passed.“Yes, this is just not my forte. Unlike Vasilios, I do not have a way with words and women. And I'm struggling to piece the two together.” A frown creased his forehead.“Alright, take your time then,” I replied, leaning back in the chair and crossing my feet at my ankles.He huffed in frustration and hit the bannister with a fist, causing it to vibrate with the impact.“Listen, I don't want you as my mate, Luna, or wife, but I have a business proposition for you.” He studied my face carefully before he continued, although I'm not sure what he hoped to see there. “Your brother will need assistance to reintegrate back into society. He's been through a lot a
Eliana POV“An incident? What's happened?” I asked, suddenly frantic with worry. Luca looked at me, a thoughtful expression on his face as he probably was contemplating whether or not to tell me information about the situation. After what seemed like hours, he shook his head and bent down to pick up and pass me my panties. “You might want to put them back on,” he said unemotionally, his eyes not meeting mine. “We're going to the clinic.”My stomach felt as if it had rocks in it, hard and heavy rocks. Was it Elijah? Was he okay? Had the blood results come back? I pulled on the panties, not realising that they were the wrong way around until we were sitting in Luca’s SUV. He drove like a maniac, and I'm pretty sure the vehicle left the ground a few times. We parked in front of the clinic, Luca cutting off the engine and opening the door as soon as we arrived. He didn't wait for me as he rushed indoors. You would think that I would have quickly pulled off my panties and put them ba
Eliana POV“No,” Ayla barked as my hand reached for the book which hid the entrance. “What if the person in there is dangerous? It's clear they're not wanting to be found out, so they'll probably hurt you if you startle them.” I stopped, knowing she was right. “Someone is spying on Luca and I feel that the least I can do for him is find out who it is,” I told her.I could almost see her as she sat down and cocked her head to the side. “How about you tell him about the secret passage and let him deal with it. He's the alpha after all. Or you could hide somewhere in the library and see who comes out.”That sounded like a good plan, so I found a good hiding spot and waited. And waited. And waited. Only, no one came out. Eventually, I gave up and went back to my room. “There must be another exit,” I told Ayla grumpily. “Yeah, but we can already guess who is doing the spying,” she responded casually. “Who?” Ayla rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. “Come on! Who has a reason to spy on
Luca POVI wasn't entirely shocked when Eliana told me about the presence of the tunnels. I always knew about them, but didn't know where they were. The story was that some eccentric ancestor of mine had put them in, feeling the need to have an escape route in case his family turned on him and tried to kill him. My grandfather had sealed them up, although my father had once told Enzo and myself that he'd found one or two of the tunnels as a child. We were never sure if he was telling the truth or not, though. He'd been completely drunk when he'd told us, and we both knew how he liked to embellish the truth to his liking. “Show me,” I told Eliana roughly, exhaustion making me sharp tongued. She nodded solemnly and walked ahead of me, pushing the door to the library open and heading straight to a bookshelf with archaic books. Pulling one out, she pushed on a button and the bookshelf creaked as it swung aside. “I wasn't meaning to spy, I was just curious,” she said softly, her strang
Eliana POV I opened my eyes and the first thing that popped into my mind was, “not again!” It seemed like people thought I was just the perfect person to kidnap and keep captive in a tiny room with no windows - scratch that, there was a window, it had just been boarded up from the outside. Luca was going to be pissed.It wasn't as if I'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. No, these guys came out of nowhere while I was working in my room, the two of them managing to overpower me and hit me over the head. I had a faint memory of being put onto a boat and then being hauled into a car, so where I was being held was anyone's guess. I pressed on the sore spot on my head, quickly removing my hand when pain jolted through my body. “Fuck, Elle. What did you do now?” Ayla grumbled and I sighed with relief knowing that she was still with me, and that I clearly hadn't been given wolfsbane. I shrugged off her comment and struggled to my feet, heading to the window. A small sliv
Eliana POV “Eliana?” The man who looked so strangely familiar looked at Lorenzo, his purple eyes burning with unbridled anger. “What is she doing here, Lorenzo?” The older man barked. Lorenzo looked startled, his face turning pale as he took a step backward. “I… I…” he stammered, looking from me to the older man. “Don Carnera, I had no idea. I'm sorry, this was a mistake.” The two men who remained at the fireplace stared at me as if they were dissecting every inch of me with their critical eyes. “What is the meaning of this, Luigi?” The man with a Scottish burr asked, scratching his chin through his messy beard. Luigi Carnera? My mind mulled over the name, feeling as if it were important for some reason. Luigi Carnera… Car-ne-ra… Butcher? “Oh my…” even Ayla was at a loss for words as I slowly pieced together the information. “Out!” Luigi shouted, the two men at the fireplace jumping in fright at the anger in his single word. Like scared sheep, the men filed out of the room,
Eliana POVI wouldn't have imagined that it was possible for the temperature in a room to drop so suddenly- but it happened. The moment the words “sister” were out of Luigi’s mouth, I felt Lorenzo turn to ice. “Wh…wh… what are you saying?” I stammered, my hands gripping the armrests on the chairs until my knuckles turned white. Lorenzo’s hands slipped from around my neck and he walked to the other side of the room as if he were trying to get a bit of space between us. I couldn't see what he was doing, but the frigidity of his attitude couldn't be missed.“I'm saying that you're my daughter,” Luigi responded in a far too blasé manner. It was almost as if he hadn't just up and disappeared on my mom before she even gave birth to us! He didn't have a single iota of remorse for not being part of our lives. Apparently the look on my face was enough to warrant him giving an explanation. “Your mother was young and innocent. I couldn't understand why the fates assigned her to be my mate, bu
Eliana POV“Ah, you're awake,” Luigi’s gravelly voice startled me as my eyes fluttered open and I bolted upright in bed, clutching the covers to my chest. “What are you doing here?” The words shot out of my mouth before my brain could process the situation. The man sat on the foot of the bed, his observant eyes taking in every move I made. “Well, I was waiting for you downstairs but I'm not a very patient man. Your mother always used to chastise me about my impatience,” there was a hint of a smile on his lips but it vanished as quickly as it came. “When you did not appear when the rest of the men came for breakfast, I presumed you were still hiding out and I came to check on you.” “I was sleeping,” I said, stating the obvious. He chuckled, his purple eyes lighting up with his laughter and he instantly became handsome - somewhat like a younger version of Elijah. In fact, if I removed the moustache, he'd be the splitting image of an older Elijah. I'm not sure why I didn't notice it
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