Enzo POVThat woman was going to be the death of me. As much as I wanted to keep her at arm’s length, I felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame. And it was only a matter of time before she would burn me. I had been seconds away from kissing her once again. Seconds away from taking her in my arms and claiming her as my own in every way. Hell, I had even considered marking her and making her my mate, but there was no guarantee that a human would survive in my world. “She might look like the princess, but she’s not,” Elijah had firmly reminded me when I had told him about my urges. “You’re just projecting your feelings onto her because of the resemblance.” But I wasn’t. I didn’t like her because of who she looked like, I liked her because of her witty comebacks and the way she melted in my arms whenever I held her, as if she were made to be there. I listened carefully for the door to open and close as Kat left the hotel room, and only then did I let out the sigh I had held back as I
Enzo POVShe was dressed in a little black dress which was far too short and far too revealing for my liking, as she gripped the man’s arm as if she were nervous to enter the club. I was a second away from charging over to her and dragging her out of the club when Eli’s words stopped me. “What the hell is one of your soldiers doing getting friendly with two Milano women?” Eli asked angrily, his eyes narrowed. It was only then that I recognised the man that Kat was with as being Fabio, a soldier a few years older than me that had more muscles than brains. And on the other side of him, giggling prettily as she pressed tightly against him, was a woman with long dark hair that I had never seen before. “Who is the other one?” I asked Eli cooly. He downed what was left of his brandy in one gulp before he responded. “That’s Giulia Rossi, Milano’s favourite whore. At least, she used to be. I hear he likes them a lot younger so she’s probably too old for him now.” My eyes fixed on the tri
Kat POVI felt as if someone had tipped a bucket of ice cold water over my head, instantly cooling the flames of desire which had captivated me just moments ago. I dropped Enzo’s hand as if he had burned me, and walked toward Fabio and Giulia. “Why?” I heard myself asking, but I already knew the answer. Fabio had been seen being intimate with the enemy, and had been disciplined for that. The hypocritical bastard had ordered that Fabio be beaten, while he freely toyed with me - and I was as much an enemy to the Castellos as Giulia was. The beaten man’s face had become nothing more than a pool of blood, his lip split in multiple places, his nose broken and his eyes already swelling shut. From the way he stood clutching his side, I was sure he had cracked a few ribs too. I glanced from Eli to Enzo, catching the look which passed between them as if they were having a silent conversation. In a heartbeat, Enzo moved to Eli’s side and was handed a handgun, which he cocked. Giulia screame
Kat POVI didn’t go back to Mother’s house. The thought of seeing that terrifying woman in a rage after learning that her favourite prostitute had run away sent a shiver down my spine. The events of the evening spiralled in my mind, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. I changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that Giulia had left in Fabio’s apartment, using a hairpin to clip the waistband tighter so that the pants wouldn’t fall down around my ankles as I walked. “The last thing I have left of her,” I sighed, running my hand over the slightly baggy shirt. I glanced around Fabio’s flat before I closed and locked the door behind me, pocketing the key. The flat was Castello’s property, so I would have to give the key back to Enzo when I had managed to sell the furniture - not that I was in a hurry to see the man again. In fact, if Fabio and Giulia hadn’t needed the money desperately, I would have told each piece off at leisure, just to inconvenience Enzo.I sighed a
Kat POV“It’s done,” I announced as I shut the door to Enzo’s hotel room behind me with a bang. Enzo and Eli jumped, looking up from a piece of paper they were inspecting on the desk. Eli looked a bit uncomfortable and picked up the paper, folding it and slipping it into his pocket before he made a rather smooth yet hasty retreat out of the room. “I’ve delivered the blasted envelope, now give me the next one and I will leave,” I said coldly, still furious at Castello for the whole Fabio fiasco. He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he watched me. His face seemed to be marred by the signs of a sleepless night, and I wondered if I looked as bad as he did. I had crept into the house in the early hours of the morning to change my clothes, and left as quickly as I could without being seen by anyone. From there, I snuck into the house of Milano's most terrifying enforcer to deliver the blasted envelope. The man was built like a tank, fueled by steroids and the blood of innocen
Kat POV“Sofia is too soft on you girls,” he roared as he pulled his belt from his pants, cracking it like a whip. “I’m going to teach you your place, once and for all. No one betrays me!” I felt the buckle of the belt hit my cheek, causing me to cry out as my vision blurred from the pain. He raised the belt again and I shielded my face with my hands, only to have the buckle slam into my forearm. “I am your master, you worthless bitch,” he screamed, pulling me away from the wall to kiss me hard, his lips bruising mine as he grabbed my breast painfully. His hands grabbed at my shirt, tearing it down the front as his eyes devoured my chest hungrily. Milano licked his lips pushing me back against the wall, my head slamming back against the bare bricks as he undid the button of his pants. He was going to rape me. That was almost certain, and then he was probably going to kill me for my betrayal. My scream was cut off by his fist as it connected with my cheek, and the tears pricked at
Enzo POVKat fell asleep within fifteen minutes after we left the city, her head pressed against the window of my car. She looked so peaceful that I didn’t have the heart to wake her up, even though she would probably wake up with a sore neck if I left her like that. “She probably didn’t sleep either,” Amarok grumbled, obviously feeling sorry for the woman. The moment I had seen her standing in the hallway, blood splattered across her pale face, I knew that something bad had happened. I initially wondered if it had something to do with the envelope I had given her - the threat inside meant for the consigliere of Milano. Milano wouldn’t have taken the threat on his advisor well, the older man being his number one support in the family of cut throats. I hadn’t suspected that Kat would take the fall for Guilia’s disappearance, nor that she would be expected to take the older woman’s place. But my thought returned to what Eli had told me about Milano preferring younger women, and I imm
Enzo POV“I hope you eat pasta a la disaster,” Kat laughed, placing some of the pasta I had made onto a chipped plate and passing it to me. My brow shot up as I surveyed the dish. “This is a disaster?” It looked appetising enough, even if it was served on a broken plate. The pasta was slightly clumped together, but the pieces of salami and sundried tomatoes seemed to salvage the appearance from being particularly bland. Kat shrugged, “Elijah seriously needs to update his cookware. Half the pasta is still glued to the bottom of the pot.” I could feel her eyes glued on me as she watched as I took a big mouthful of the food and forced a slight smile. It tasted as if I had licked a rock on the beachfront. Salty, dry and slightly gritty. “Mmm, delicious,” I tried to say with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Her eyes lit up and she beamed with pride, as if she had somehow achieved something she was desperate for. I may be the big, bad Mafia man, but I couldn’t crush her spirit, so
Kat POVWaking up to Jurgen standing in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee was certainly not what I had expected when I stepped out of the bedroom.“Jurgen!” I squeaked, pulling my dressing gown tighter around me to cover the fact that I was naked beneath it. He bowed his head slightly, but the faint blush on his cheeks told me that he had seen more than I had hoped he would. “Good morning, my Princess,” he said, turning to place his mug on the kitchen counter. “I hope you slept well.” “Very well, thank you,” I responded and glanced around the small home. “Where is Enzo?” Jurgen smiled slightly and nodded his head toward the door. “He’s out on the training fields. He has realised how unfit incarceration has made him, so he decided to put in a few extra hours into his training.” “Oh,” I replied, still trying to figure out what on earth Jurgen was doing in my kitchen at 7 o’clock in the morning. “I hope you’re already packed,” he said casually, and I blinked a few times as I tried
Enzo POVI bolted upright in bed, beads of sweat trickling down my forehead and my breathing harsh as my heart beat loudly against my chest. “It was a dream,” I whispered to myself, a vain attempt to convince myself that I hadn’t witnessed the secret meeting between Anka and the last person on earth I would have suspected to be in collaboration with the Council, and yet my eyes could not have deceived me. The warm hand which brushed against my back almost sent me bolting for the door, but Kat’s scent wafted toward me and I remembered where I was and who I was with. “Are you alright?” she asked sleepily as she sat up and wrapped her hand around my arm, kissing my shoulder gently. I nodded, stroking the back of my hand down her soft cheek. “It was just a bad dream,” I told her. “Go back to sleep.” She yawned as she grabbed her pillow and hugged it as she lay back down again, falling asleep almost as soon as her eyes closed. I watched her for a few moments, a strange sense that the
Enzo POVI sat on the sofa and stared at the glass of whiskey in my hand, watching the way the fading sun turned the amber liquid into fire. Soon, it would be time to go to sleep - and then the nightmares would start. It was always the same; me tied up and struggling to break free, blood dripping from my chafed wrists as men with hoods covering their faces took turns abusing Kat. When they had first started I hadn’t even known her, she was merely Princess Katerina, the woman I knew was my mate just by the connection I had felt through a computer screen. But now, she was my Kat, and the emotions which surged through me each time her screams rang out were what kept me awake. “There you are,” Kat grinned as she made herself comfortable on my lap. “I thought you might have slipped out for a run by yourself. I know I hold you back.” I chuckled and tucked a strand of her golden hair behind her ear. “Yes, you do,” I admitted with a wink, “but I still prefer running with you than running al
Kat POV“What’s wrong?” Enzo asked, taking my hand and guiding me to the empty chair before standing behind it. Everyone seemed to ignore his question; Eliana fiddling with the fold in her skirt, Luca preoccupied with something outside the window, Jurgen - who I was surprised to see in Vasilios’s home in the first place - was drinking some sort of fruit juice from one of Cassie’s ‘I heart NY’ tumblers, while Vasilios and Cassie seemed to be having a staring competition.Apparently the pair were actually having a silent argument as Cassie threw her hands in the air and sighed dramatically before she turned in her chair to face us. “Elle and I went to town today to get some party stuff for Theo’s birthday,” she paused, a strange expression flitting across her face before she continued. “We saw Damian there, and something is definitely not right with him. He completely forgot Theo and thought I had a daughter.” “That’s really strange,” Enzo agreed, and I could feel the tension through
Cassie POV“We’re not going to be long, I just have to get the party things and then will be right back,” I told Enota, the teenager who babysat Theo whenever I was desperate. “Are you sure you’ll manage with the two of them?” I looked from my tiny terror, who sat in the living room gnawing on the coffee table while Gianna, Elle’s sassy four year old, sat on the other side with her crayons and a colouring book. Enota laughed and patted my arm in a way which bordered on condescending. “You do know I’ve done this before, right?” Of course she had. She had been a life saver the night of Enzo’s trial. “Call me if there are any problems and we’ll come right back,” I said again, bending down to kiss the top of Theo’s head. Gia waved to me as she coloured in sweetly, an absolute angel - or so she seemed. I secretly would bet all I owned that she would manipulate Enota into doing something her mother refused to let her do. “All set?” Elle asked as she walked toward Gia for a goodbye hu
Kat POVI shivered as frigid tendrils wrapped themselves around my body, clinging to my skin. It took me a few moments to realise that I wasn’t dead, although the memory of the pain that I had endured was still at the forefront of my mind. Groaning, I forced myself to sit up as the cool wind seemed to seep into my damp pyjamas. I had no clue how I had got to the tiny island in the middle of the lake, but there I was, thankfully alive. “Of course you’re alive, silly,” I heard a voice and I jumped, looking around me. “Did you really think I would let you die in the place we first met?” Staggering slightly, I managed to stand even though my limbs felt as if they were on fire. I looked about, realising that the night didn’t seem as dark as it had been when I left Enzo’s house. “Hello? Who is there?” I called out, steeling myself for some old hag to jump from what seemed to be ruins… or maybe it was just a pile of rocks. But instead, laughter as clear as day echoed in my head. “Oh, yo
Kat POVIt was as though the darkness had awakened something in me, images flashing through my mind - horrible images which made me yearn for the darkness once again. Only, the darkness didn’t return and I was forced to painfully watch the images with no escape until it suddenly clicked in my mind that they weren’t just images, they were memories. Two men dragged my body as I pretended to be unconscious - at least if they thought I was unconscious they wouldn’t hurt me again. I was grateful for Aurora who took most of the pain into herself, but I could tell that the wolf was weakening and I didn’t know how much more she could take. “I thought she was meant to be stronger than the rest,” the one man snorted, his British accent standing out in my mind. “Castle said she was special, but I guess he didn’t mean stronger. He’s going to be disappointed though. He was hoping to have some fun with her when he gets here, but at this rate there won’t be much left,” the second man laughed, a f
Kat POVI stood in front of the mirror in Enzo’s bedroom and stared at the reflection illuminated by the pale moonlight which poured in through the open windows. I had thought that being marked would be something magical - fireworks and butterflies all rolled up into one. I had expected to be instantly reunited with Aurora as Enzo and my souls became linked. None of that happened.I turned slightly, inspecting the red mark on my shoulder which would soon fade to a muted silver. It had hurt when Enzo’s teeth pierced my skin, and Aurora’s howl filled the air before her ears pricked up and she darted through the courtyard, past the guards at the main gate and into the forest. “What’s wrong?” Enzo asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around me. “I could feel your pain from outside.” He ran his fingertips against the mark, and sparks of electricity ran through my body at his touch while at the same time, the burning heat from the mark instantly cooled. “I’m not sure,” I said
Kat POVThe flash of pale fur crashed into the executioner who stumbled backward, dropping the heavy broadsword as he struggled to keep his balance. And then, absolute chaos ensued. Some of the young members of the Council leapt to their feet and I heard a chorus of swearing and curses from their lips as they realised what was happening. “Get the sword, you fucking idiot!” I heard one of them shout at the rather stunned executioner who fumbled for a moment before he found and picked up the broadsword, gripping it as if his life depended on it. Aurora stood between Enzo and the executioner, her teeth bared as she growled menacingly at the man. There was no doubt in anyone’s minds that the wolf would fight to the death to save her mate - just like I should have instead of going along meekly. Guilt pulsed through my veins and before I knew what I was doing, I was on the platform beside her, a wordless threat. If he wanted to get to Enzo, he would have to kill the heir to the monarchy