by G. K. DeRosa
The priest raised his hands and began in Latin, “In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.” Maddie and Maks kneeled on the pew in front of the altar and the sacred ceremony began.
When the doors of the chapel opened Celeste raced behind the newlyweds, eager to throw the rice she gripped in her hand. Outside, a crowd of spectators had gathered to see the bride. “Bacio, bacio!” they all chanted, hoping to get a kiss from the radiant bride and groom. Maks took his new wife by the waist and dipping her low, gave the audience exactly what they wanted. The crowd burst into applause at the passionate display as Celeste looked on laughing. Glancing over the group of strangers gathered, she suddenly noticed a familiar round face within the masses. She grabbed Roman’s hand and squeezed it, trying to get his attention. He had been clapping and chanting with the rest of the excited Italians.
“Marco’s dad is here,” she whispered with a slight head nod in the general direction.
Roman followed her gaze and found his face in the middle of the crowd. “I guess he doesn’t take no for an answer.”
Seconds later, Mr. Caccia was weaving through the enthusiastic onlookers to make his way to Celeste. Shoving Roman to the side with an exaggerated apology, he squeezed himself in between the two of them. “Why didn’t you tell me Maddie was getting married when we spoke yesterday? This is such a wonderful occasion.” Though he said the words, Celeste could tell he felt entirely the opposite. The genuine smile she had always associated with him didn’t quite reach his eyes today.
“How did you know this was where we’d be?” asked Celeste. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell Marco about the wedding.
Mr. Caccia winked at her. “This is my city, Celeste. There isn’t much that goes on here that I don’t know about.”
Celeste giggled politely, but she had a feeling that he was being absolutely sincere.
“What are you doing here?” snapped Maddie as she made her way over from the middle of the crowd. The spectators had begun to dissipate, and she had recognized Mr. Caccia from far.
Celeste always had her suspicions that something bad had happened between her aunt and Mr. Caccia, but even she was surprised by Maddie’s tone.
“My apologies,” he said politely. “I certainly did not mean to intrude on your happy day. I simply wanted to extend my best wishes to the bride and groom.”
“I bet,” she responded sarcastically.
Maks had joined the circle midway through the conversation and grunted at Mr. Caccia’s insincere congratulations. “If you don’t mind, we have a celebratory luncheon to get to,” Maks said icily.
“Of course,” he replied. “I wouldn’t dream of keeping you on your special day. I merely need a moment with Celeste.”
Roman gave her a questioning glance, and she nodded back in confirmation. “I’ll meet you at the car in a second,” she said. He stalked away with a grimace.
As soon as Roman left, Mr. Caccia took Celeste by the arm. “Everything go as planned with Alek?” he whispered.
She furrowed her brows at him. “How did you know about that?” She knew that he and Dante were close, but she didn’t think he would tell him about this mission.
“Who do you think brokered the deal with Alek?” he retorted.
“You?”
“I told you this is my city, and I know everything that goes on here.”
“How did you get him to agree, and how do you even know him?” she asked, pulling her arm out of his grasp. She had found Mr. Caccia’s behavior very peculiar lately, and she wanted nothing more right now than to get away from him.
“I have my ways.”
Celeste had a feeling she wasn’t going to get any real answers, and she was anxious to get back to her aunt and the celebrating. “Everything went fine,” she answered finally. “Alek gave me the potion so we’re all set.”
“Good,” he said. “I want you to know that I will always look out for you, Celeste. You can trust me and come to me for anything.”
“Thank you. And I hate to be rude, but I really need to get going. They’re all waiting for me.”
“Of course, I understand.” He took her hand and kissed it. “Have a safe journey back home, and I hope to see you here again soon with Marco.”
Celeste smiled uncomfortably and walked away. As she headed toward the parking lot to meet the others, she glanced back and caught Mr. Caccia’s gaze still intent on her. It made her skin crawl.
The long drive out to the Tuscan countryside was well worth it when Celeste finally stepped out of the cramped vehicle. Stretching her legs, she took a look around her at the gently rolling hills and landscape highlighted with radiant yellows and oranges of the setting sun. There were miles upon miles of vineyards dotting the lush hillsides surrounding the quaint stone cottage they stood in front of. Maddie and Maks waved them in from the door of the restaurant as a man spoke to the couple, animatedly waving his hands in the air. As Celeste neared, the plump Italian man turned to her with a bow, removing his tall chef’s hat.
“Benvenuti! Welcome to my restaurant.” He flashed them a toothy grin and extended his hand. “I am Stefano, and your wish is my command—when it comes to the food that is.” He chuckled loudly at his own joke and led the group through the eatery and out back to a florid terrace. They were seated at a white linen circular table with a spectacular view overlooking much of the beautiful verdant landscape they had seen upon their arrival.
“This place is amazing,” said Celeste, finally tearing her eyes away from the scenery to admire the bright fuchsia bougainvillea climbing the trellis surrounding the patio.
“Maks and I found it when we first moved to Rome and fell in love with it right away,” said Maddie. “When Maks proposed, I knew this would be the perfect place to celebrate.”
A few waiters dressed in white suits appeared from the kitchen and began lighting the candles on the table and the lanterns around the terrace. The soft glow of the candlelight along with the vivid hues of the setting sun created the perfect romantic atmosphere. Once the servers had left, Maks pulled chilled champagne out of the ice bucket and began to pour.
“Thank you all for being here with us today,” said Maddie raising her glass. “This day couldn’t have been more perfect.”
“Cheers to the bride and groom!” everyone shouted happily.
As the multiple course meal began and everyone lapsed into hushed conversations, Roman leaned over to Celeste. “Are you all right?”
She hadn’t said much since her conversation with Mr. Caccia, not wanting to ruin her aunt’s special day with her supernatural drama, but apparently the expression on her face had given her away. “I just can’t get what Marco’s dad said out of my head. I knew it was too weird that Alek was helping us, and now to find out that it was Mr. Caccia who arranged it all. What could he have over Alek that would give him that much power?”
Roman frowned. He had been thinking the exact same thing, but hadn’t wanted to bring it up. “Whatever it is, we’ll find out.” He put his arm around Celeste’s bare shoulders and rubbed her arm lightly.
“Celeste, will you come with me to the ladies’ room?” asked Aunt Maddie as she rose from the table.
“Sure,” she replied. They were in between the fourth and fifth course of pasta and Celeste wasn’t sure she’d even be able to stand up with all the food she had so far eaten.
As soon as they were inside the bathroom, Aunt Maddie turned to Celeste with a fiery look in her eye. “What did Mr. Caccia want?”
Celeste was surprised by her venom-laced tone and said nothing for a moment. “It’s nothing important, Aunt Maddie. We can talk about it another day. This is your special day and I don’t want some silly drama to spoil it.”
“It’s not silly. Now tell me what he said.” Her aunt gave her the same look her father used to give her when he meant business, so she conceded with a sigh and recounted the conversation.
Once she finished, Celeste looked up and saw Maddie’s face was
as red as a tomato from the caprese salad. “Ugh! That man really makes my blood boil. I can’t believe he had the nerve to show up at my wedding to tell you that,” she shouted.
“Aren’t you surprised that he was the one that arranged the deal?” asked Celeste.
“Not really.”
“Are you ever going to tell me why you hate him so much?”
“Yes,” Maddie replied with a long exhale. “You deserve to know the truth. I should have told you when I found out when you were here last.”
Aunt Maddie led Celeste out of the bathroom and then to a quiet table at the rear of the restaurant. Through the back doors, Celeste could see Roman, Maks, Nico, and Stellan taking celebratory shots of Russian vodka and smoking cigars on the patio. At least someone’s having fun.
“I guess I should start with my dad, Dieter—your grandpa,” began Aunt Maddie. “He and Mr. Caccia were really close, as were all of the Wilders and Caccias back through the decades. It was common back then that hunter families joined together to strengthen the bloodline. Well, my dad was all about strengthening the bloodline. He and Mr. Caccia decided when we were just infants that I should marry his oldest son, Matteo.”
“Marco’s brother, Matteo? The one who’s married to Clara?” Celeste interrupted.
“Yup, that’s the one.”
“So obviously you didn’t listen to your dad,” began Celeste.
“No way! We weren’t living in the 18th century where my dad had a right to sell me off like cattle. And anyway, I was in love with Maks.”
“Okay, so now I understand why there’s hatred between you and Mr. Caccia, but what does that have to do with me?”
Aunt Maddie looked down at her hands as she fidgeted nervously. “I’m really sorry, Celeste. This is all my fault. I swear I never knew anything about this until a few months ago when I found you at the Caccia’s home.”
“Found out about what?”
“I guess when I reneged on the arrangement with Matteo, my dad thought he could make it up to Gianpaolo by offering his granddaughter instead,” she explained, finally lifting her gaze to meet Celeste’s.
Celeste scrunched her brows trying to make sense of it all. “But Matteo’s way older than I am—and already married. I don’t get it.”
“The agreement is for you to marry Marco.”
Celeste’s eyes shot open as she leapt to her feet, bumping the table on her way up and knocking down a few glasses. “What?” she yelled. Roman’s head spun toward her, having heard the outburst from all the way outside. She signaled to him that everything was okay and sat back down trying to get a hold of her herself. “My grandpa, whom I barely knew, arranged for me to marry Marco? How is this even happening?”
“I’m really sorry, Celeste, and I hate to be the one to lay all of this on you. I know it’s completely unfair. But I’m guessing that’s why Mr. Caccia has been so involved in your life as of late.”
“Well, this is just ridiculous. There’s no way I’m marrying Marco because of some deal that was made when I was just a baby. And did my dad know about this? Did he want me to marry Marco too?”
“I have no idea,” Aunt Maddie answered. “Like I said, I just found out a few months ago. If he did know, your dad never said a word about it to me.”
“Well, sorry, but grandpa is gone so the only person that can enforce this now is Mr. Caccia, and I certainly don’t plan on letting that happen.” Celeste ran her hands over her face and took a deep breath. “Wait until Marco hears about this.”
“I’m pretty sure he already knows, Celeste.”
“What? No way! He couldn’t have known all this time and never said anything to me. He wouldn’t do that.”
Aunt Maddie shrugged. “Gianpaolo made it seem like he did.”
Flashes of her dream raced across her mind again along with a picture montage of all of Marco’s flirty advances since they had first met. “No,” she said again. “It can’t be.”
Watching Roman stroll into the restaurant and straight toward her put a stop to the fleeting thoughts. “Everything okay over here?” he asked, taking hold of her hand.
“Yup, just some girl talk. We’ll be right out. I know I’ve stolen the bride away for too long,” she answered with a forced smile.
Roman glanced down at her one more time, and she caught the troubled look in his eyes. He always knew when she was lying. He released her hand and continued on to the men’s room.
“You’re going to have to tell him,” said Maddie once he was out of sight.
“I know.”
“And don’t think I haven’t noticed that sparkling new ring on your finger. It looks suspiciously similar to my wedding band,” she said with a mischievous smirk.
Celeste twirled it around her knuckle as she gazed at the shimmering diamonds. “It’s just a promise ring.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Don’t give me that face, Aunt Maddie. I know I’m way too young to even be thinking about marriage. But I’ll tell you one thing for sure, I’m certainly not going to marry someone just because a bunch of old guys decided it was best for the hunter bloodlines.” With that she stood up, and taking Maddie’s arm went to join the party outside where soft music was already filling the warm summer air.
Chapter 10
As soon as Celeste heard the rumble of Roman’s car pulling out of her driveway back in Oak Bluffs, she wrapped her hand around the Wilder key and concentrated on Astor. Moments later, she stood in front of the fountain in the middle of the square. Since the moment she left Rome, the prominent thought in her mind was talking to Marco about this marriage arrangement. There was no way he could have known about it. He wouldn’t do that to me. As soon as they had stepped through the portal and back to Stellan’s, Celeste checked Brazen’s guard schedule and noticed that Marco was on duty. She needed to see him now.
Marching up the steps to the police station, Celeste’s blood was boiling. She didn’t want to believe that Marco could have been lying to her this entire time, but she also couldn’t shake what Aunt Maddie had said. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the rage building inside of her. After passing through the security check, descending thousands of feet into the earth and traversing seemingly interminable corridors, she positioned herself in front of Brazen’s cell door. The guard stationed outside gave her a polite smile and she recognized him as Milena’s son, Dmitri, the same guy she had met the other day.
Celeste flashed her badge across the scanner on the door and it slowly creaked open. Inside, she made out Brazen’s dark figure slumped in the corner of the cell, but she ignored him. She knew that her first thought should have been the opportunity to kill Brazen, but she couldn’t concentrate on that until she had settled things with Marco.
“Ciao bella!” said Marco, rushing toward her as soon as she came into view.
“Don’t!” hissed Celeste, putting her hand up to stop his advance. His dark brows twisted as he looked at her perplexed. “We need to talk now.”
“Okay,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Not here,” she answered, glancing over her shoulder at Brazen.
“I’ll just get Dmitri to cover for me,” he said as he swiped his card against the reader and the door opened again.
Celeste marched a few paces in front of Marco in utter silence as they made their way back up to ground level. She assumed the bunker was covered in security cameras and didn’t want to risk anyone hearing this discussion.
“What is going on with you?” asked Marco, as he chased Celeste down the stairs of the police station and into the bright morning sunlight.
Celeste kept walking without turning back to answer, leading him through a narrow street that led to the lake behind the marble Council building.
“Celeste, please stop,” said Marco rushing to grab a hold of her arm.
She spun toward him her eyes filled with rage. “Did you know?” she shouted.
“Did I know what?”
“Did you know
all along that your dad and my grandpa made an arrangement for us to be married?”
Marco’s face fell as he dropped her hand.
She didn’t need a response. The answer was clearly written all over his guilty face. “How could you lie to me for months?” She shoved at his chest in anger when he didn’t reply. “I trusted you. You—one of my best friends. How could you not tell me something this big?”
He just stood there with a blank look on his face.
“Did you befriend me on purpose back when we met at the Induction Ceremony? Was this all some elaborate plan to get me to fall in love with you?” Celeste couldn’t stop. All of the pent up anger she’d been holding in for months came rushing forward. “Answer me!”
“I’m sorry,” he said finally. “I didn’t know what to say. At first I just wanted to meet you and get to know you. I was a little weirded out by the whole arrangement too. But then I spent some time with you, and I started to really like you. I know how strong and independent you are and that you’d never agree to something like that, so I was hoping you wouldn’t find out. I thought maybe it could just happen naturally.” He shrugged and then lowered his gaze to stare at his feet.
“Well, you were wrong,” said Celeste, taking a step back. “I would never marry you. I can’t even look at you right now. Just go back to Rome, Marco. I never want to see your lying face again.”
Just as she spun on her heel to run away, the shrill blasts of an alarm pierced the tense air and she and Marco both jumped. The high-pitched squeal seemed to get louder and louder with each interval. Celeste clapped her hands over her ears and began running toward the center square, which seemed to be where the sound was originating. Marco darted behind her, struggling to keep up. When they reached the fountain, they found a mass of guards spilling out of the police station.