Chapter 8 : Trust Me

(Power hungry ex-es)

“Drive safely.”, Stephanie said to Caden when he started the car.

The trio would save a lot of time if they went with a helicopter or a plane, but werewolves like to feel the ground below them and won’t fly unless it’s necessary.

“Be back in three days.”, Stephanie added meaningfully.

Caden paused while thinking about his and Luciano’s schedule. There was nothing that would require their presence for at least one week. Any work that was pending could be done via phone, email, or video chat.

“What’s in three days?”, Caden asked.

“Cassie is coming.”, Stephanie responded with an unhappy face.

Caden stifled a laugh and Maya grimaced.

“What? Why?”, Luciano asked dejectedly.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him. “You should ask her and not me. Cassie wanted to come today, but I told her that you would be out for a few days on business, and then she changed her tune to how she would go to New York for three days and come here after that. Make sure you are back by then. I don’t want to entertain girls who think they are my Luna.”

Luciano nodded obediently. “I will keep you informed about our schedule.”

Before Stephanie could say anything, Luciano slipped in the back seat of the car and mind-linked Caden, ‘Drive, NOW!’

“See you in a few days, Steph!”, Caden shouted through the open window and drove away.

“Not a few! Three! Did you hear me!?”, Stephanie shouted after them and shook her head helplessly. Kids.

In the car…

“Man, you should tidy up your loose ends.”, Caden said to Luciano teasingly.

Luciano groaned in frustration.

If not for Caden setting him up with that blasted date, Luciano wouldn’t even know who Cassie is.

Cassie was one of the bride candidates. About three years ago, Luciano went to meet her, and they met. Intimately.

Luciano didn’t know it was her first time; not that it would make any difference.

Luciano deflowered many girls, she-wolves and humans alike, but after Cassie, he made a rule to stay away from virgins.

Cassie is a spoiled young lady, the daughter of Alpha Richard, and Luciano wonders if she has marbles instead of a brain.

Luciano rejects her many times, but she refuses to accept it and walks around telling people that they are planning her Luna ceremony. The woman is delusional.

Since their one night together, Cassie shows up at the Dark Howler's pack occasionally, demanding that Luciano marry her because she gave him her first time.

Luciano would probably imprison her or maybe make her disappear if that wouldn’t risk a war with the Steelbite pack.

The Steelbite pack on its own is not a problem. It’s one of the smaller packs in the Southeast. But Alpha Richard has many connections, even among the Elders, and Luciano doesn’t want to give them more reasons to target him.

To Luciano, Cassie is a temporary nuisance, and just like many she-wolves who are throwing themselves at him, Luciano can tune her out.

Cassie comes about once a month, spends two to three days making a ruckus, and when she gets tired, she leaves.

As much as Luciano can ignore Cassie and block her attempts to crawl onto his lap or sneak into his bedroom at night, Stephanie feels like snapping Cassie’s neck whenever she hears Cassie saying how she is the Luna.

For Stephanie, there was only one Luna of the Dark Howlers pack and she perished ten years ago. As Stephanie sees it, every time Cassie shouts she is Luna (and tries to act like one), and Cassie is tarnishing the image of Luciano’s mother, the late Luna Violet.

Stephanie is aware that one day Luciano will find his Luna, and Stephanie hopes that the girl will be at least half as good as her deceased best friend. Cassie is not good enough to clean Luna Violet’s shoes which have been sitting boxed up for the last decade, and taking Luna Violet’s position is out of the question.

Luciano exhaled sharply, releasing his tension together with his last thoughts about Cassie. With any luck, she will not come, and he won’t need to deal with all that drama.

Women like Cassie enforce Luciano’s conviction that having a woman in life only brings trouble. He already has so much to deal with. Managing the pack, balancing the relationships with other packs, alliances, deals, concealed enmity, and all those damned Elders who are trying to manipulate him.

Other than his mother and Stephanie (and maybe Maya), Luciano didn’t see any woman who could handle her burden. That’s why he doesn’t want a woman in his life. His hands are already full and if he needs to deal with whinnying and pacifying women, he would go crazy.

As Luciano sees it, one-night stands are perfect and there are plenty of women who won’t ask for more from a handsome stranger, especially she-wolves who have a high libido.

Whenever he has time, Luciano goes outside of his pack borders, into areas where no one knows him. He finds a woman, they have fun, and by morning he can go back to his duties without any strings attached.

A clean break after an enjoyable night. Is that too much to ask for?

Unfortunately, Luciano is something like a celebrity, and those few women with whom he spent more than one night, started building expectations and he didn’t want to deal with their tantrums, so he bailed out.

Luciano’s phone rang and his handsome eyebrow arched when he saw the caller ID, “Jade”.

Ah, another of his ex-es (aka bride candidates), but this one hadn’t called him in more than a year, so he decided to see what she wanted.

“Yes?”

“Hi Alpha Luciano, can we talk?”

Luciano hummed in confirmation. This is what he likes about Jade. She doesn’t beat around the bush, and she doesn’t play games.

Luciano remembers when he met Jade for a date, about two years ago. Jade told him that she was into modelling and that she had no plans to abandon her career, but she was not against one night of fun.

“We are already on a date, why not enjoy it all the way?”, she said with a wink and Luciano approved.

In the morning, there were no hugs, no kisses, and no empty promises. Jade just left which earned her a big brownie point in Luciano’s books and that’s why he didn’t block her number.

And now it seems that she has something on her mind.

“Tell me.”, Luciano said.

“I am aware that you are still single, and that Elders are pressuring you to get married more than ever, right?”

Luciano frowned and said sternly, “Get to the point, Jade.”

Jade heard the Alpha’s tone in Luciano’s voice, and she got aroused. She can’t help it. Every she-wolf reacts to a powerful male, it’s in their genes.

“My father is nagging me to quit my job and find a husband and all the other stuff I don’t want to do, so I thought of you.”

Luciano didn’t get it. “Explain.”

“We can help each other. I will stay at your place for a few days, we go out, take some photos, and make it look like we are in a serious relationship. That should pacify my father and Elders for some time. I can go back to my runway, while you do… whatever you do. When they start bugging us again, we will repeat the process. What do you say?”

“You want to be my fake girlfriend?”, Luciano summarized. Part of him thought how that’s a good idea.

“Fake, real, those are just labels, right? We already shagged each other’s brains out, so other than marking, we went as far as possible. This is something that can benefit both of us. If you want, we can sign a contract. I will appreciate it if you don’t meddle in my career and don’t touch my money.” After a brief pause, Jade spoke with urgency, “I need to go. The show starts in five minutes, and I’m the first model. Think about it and let me know. If you have any conditions, I’m open for negotiations.”

The call ended abruptly, and Luciano stared at his phone.

“Will Jade be your pretend girlfriend?”, Maya asked with amusement in her voice.

“I hope not.”, Caden said seriously. “Luciano, remember that once they get in, it’s a headache to kick them out. What if she wants more than pretending? And before you say how Jade is, let me remind you that she is crafty and ambitious. If she is not, she wouldn’t be such a successful model despite her father’s objections.”

Luciano exhaled sharply as he agreed with Caden. All the irritation he left behind was back again.

Women only bring trouble.

Why can’t they leave him alone?