Maybe it was because she still had subtle explosion rocking between her legs. Maybe it was because she wanted to taste his mouth once more. Or maybe it was just because she was used to fighting against men who seemed to have her best interests at heart, but it only happened to satisfy them. Whatever the reason, Giuliana didn’t let it go.
“So you’re deciding for me?”
He frowned. “You don’t want this mating.”
“I am so sick of everyone telling me what I can and can’t do. It’s my life.”
“You said it yourself, Giuliana.”
“Um, yeah, before you went exce-fucking-llent between my legs with the juju works. I should have the choice to have more of that if I want it.”
“Exce-fucking-llent juju works?”
He smiled again, and it stopped her heart just like it had the first time. She liked him, or at least the small hints of who he was that peeked out when he didn’t have to hide it. She wanted to know more of that side of him.
You want his cock.
That too.
Mine!
Let’s not get carried away. I just want to jump his bones when I want to.
Mine!
Okay, you’re turning into an annoying bitch, and I don’t like it.
Technically, I am a bitch, by definition.
I hate you.
Love you too.
Irritation at her wolf notwithstanding, it was still true. She just wanted the choice. That’s all.
Pasquale watched her for a moment. “Do you always make faces when you talk to your wolf?”
“She can be annoying.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Your wolf talks back to you too?”
“Presently he’s telling me to bend you over, and I’m trying to explain to him the intricacies of human affairs.”
“How’s that going for you?”
“He’s feigning snoring at the moment.”
She blinked. “You talk to your wolf like it’s a person too?”
Pasquale’s ears went pink. Most wolves, from what she’d learned, communicated with their wolf in single words or reactions from the wolf only. It wasn’t typical to have conversations. Yell in a losing battle against a stubborn wolf, yes, but not actually talk to them. She’d never met anyone else who could.
“He’s my best friend.”
The sentence was low, but she heard it. Heard the story behind the words, even if she didn’t know the details. Loneliness, separation, pain. The same reasons she’d created such a bond with her wolf too.
Giuliana slid off the table and stayed still long enough to make sure her knees wouldn’t play hokey pokey and turn themselves around before she lifted her chin.
“How about this … We let this happen.”
“Come again.”
She rolled her eyes even as her thighs clenched. Cheeky bastard. She motioned between them. “This thing between us.”
He looked down his body at the raging hard-on between his legs. “It is still between us.”
He had jokes. This stoic, quiet man who was always silent except to address the danger of a situation, had jokes.
She liked that too, and even more so because she was the only one really seeing it.
“Mating.”
At that, he clammed up. “No.”
“I don’t mean right now, as it may never happen, but we don’t have to walk around each other like we don’t know what’s going on.”
“I thought that’s what we just established. We know we want each other, but we know we can’t.”
“And I’m saying we’ve probably let life make too many decisions for us. We won’t seek it out, but if it happens, it happens.”
His eyes glittered for a moment, and she sucked in a breath. “There is no ‘if’ with my wolf. If I let myself go, I will claim you.”
Okay, I can also add loving when he goes growly to the sexy list.
“Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m just being honest, bella. I take what I want.”
“And I’d fight you if it’s not something I want to give.”
They glared at each other, two strong souls clashing without moving a muscle. A battle of wills and intent. He may be strong enough to be an Alpha, but she was the niece of one and the Enforcer of another.
In essence, no punk bitch. Snort. Bitch.
Don’t start, wolf.
I finished already, thank you.
Said wolf flicked her tail, showing her ass, and stalked off.
Sometimes Giuliana wished she could strangle her.
You’re messing up my badass moment.
There was no reply, of course, and Giuliana shook her head.
“We find Heath, and if things happen, we take the battle when it comes. Deal?”
Pasquale only stared before he shook. Everything … changed. He grew larger—it was the only way she could describe it. His essence swelled, making his shoulders impossibly broad, his legs strong as oak trees, and his head cocked to the side. The press of his power nearly forced her to her knees, and she had to fight to keep on her feet. Canines burst forth in his mouth. Hers did the same in response.
“Be sure of your choice. It could mess up everything in our lives. It could mean losing your pack … again. It would mean learning things that could change everything you ever thought you knew. I am not a man to be played with, Giuliana. If I become serious about claiming you, there is nowhere you can run.”
She swallowed against his threat, knowing he was giving her the last chance.
But he’d sealed his fate. He did the one thing no one else had ever fucking done.
He gave her the choice.
“Deal. So when do we leave to go after Heath?”
Chapter Four
“I’ve tracked Heath out of Lombardi Pack lands.”
“I knew that. So why does that sound like a death toll now?”
They hadn’t left immediately after her declaration of war. And it was a war. Pasquale had closed in on himself, probably arguing with his wolf even as Giuliana did a celebratory dance with hers. It wasn’t a mating or anything yet. That wasn’t what they’d agreed on, but it could most definitely be the end result. The whole thing made Giuliana itch, but she couldn’t deny the way they came together was electrifying.
Even beyond climax-of-the-century addled brain, she could see how they could work … maybe. But it was nice to allow things to just go without a definite choice from the outset. The sequence of events was enough to make her feel like she’d been tossed up in a tornado, but at least she had some control now and that put her back on solid ground.
Pasquale’s hesitance to tell her about Heath worried her though. She didn’t want the young man to die because he’d made a stupid mistake, but even she couldn’t change things if he’d made too many. She looked to Pasquale to clarify how fucked they were.
Not enough.
Shut up, wolf!
“It’s in the direction of Scorched Earth.”
Holy. Shit.
Scorched Earth was an example of how dangerous portal cities could be. While each had their own breed of shifters and paranorms that lived alongside mages, they consistently weren’t all gold and glittery. Encantado was known for their wolves, with only a small group of lions—now even less—and phoenix shifters. They also housed some daywalkers, but mages held the largest number. The mages couldn’t stand against the shifters if things went south because, while they had numbers, they didn’t have many battle capable mages of high level.
Scorched Earth was one place all sides feared. Closest to the portal out, it was protected heavily by shifters and mages alike in case another monstrosity wanted to come through to destroy. The name came from the destructive damage a wayward dragon had created before it was annihilated. It was twenty square miles of charred land many only went near to sightsee.
“Why would he go there? Heath grew up on the streets of District 17. He knows the ropes better than any of us.”
“No one guards Scorched Earth from people going in. Their eyes are only on the portal itself and the area surrounding Customs when people come in from the outside. Too much land to cover.”
“It’s a death sentence there. Nothing grows, no amenities. Nothing. Why run there?”
“I don’t know. But he didn’t travel down south where the Moonstone Pack runs the entertainment section, nor is he close to Trinity Council lands.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“The moment Kalinda alerted me of a missing pack member, I went searching before clues got lost. I could only travel so far before being summoned, but I know our heading.”
“He bypassed Greenwald Park.”
Greenwald was a wolf’s dream. Filled with trees, it had open space to run and ran from the west to east side of Encantado. It served as a barrier as well, standing between Moretti and Lombardi Lands and the side of Encantado typically reserved for upper-class mages. They resided near the more touristy location of the south. They didn’t mind being so close to the more cultured southern wolves. It would have been easier to disappear in Greenwald.
Pasquale nodded. “I would have done the same thing too.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t go where anyone would be fine to follow you.”
Giuliana paced in her living room. “Then you feel like he left on his own choice.”
“I never believed he left under any other way. The reason may be unknown, but that doesn’t change what happened. The why isn’t something we can deal with until we know more or find him.”
“Agreed. So how are we going to do this?”
“We’re going to follow the trail, that’s how.”
It made sense to him, of course. For her, she’d only seen scenters work from afar. They typically stayed to themselves, their nose giving them more information than others were willing to share. And other times, their nose could be what hurt them. Ciro, for example, could handle being in her shop with her old stuff because she kept it spotless and free from dust. But when she first opened, he couldn’t walk in without going into sneezing fits.
Pasquale stayed away from the inner circle’s mated pairs unless called. Giuliana wondered if it messed with his nose like Ciro’s.
First, she needed to understand what “following the trail” actually meant.
She sighed and leaned against the wall. “Explain for the non-scenter in the room because that just sounded like a cheesy cop line.”
Pasquale chuckled, and her lady bits started acting stupid. Was everything about him supposed to make her want to jump him?
Um, yes. Mate. Hellloooo.
What if I shift underwater next time?
You wouldn’t.
Try me.
“Sorry. Old habits die hard. We’re going to pack light for several days and travel on foot to follow where the scent leads. Once we find him, we can call in for pickup, but it’s easier and less obvious if we travel through Greenwald as our wolves until we reach Scorched Earth.”
“Weapons?”
He frowned at her. “We’re wolves.”
Giuliana rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know. But we’re still expected to work with the Family. If we reach Scorched Earth without some appearance of our business, they’ll wonder what’s up. The shifters there on guard would think we’re deserting our pack or up to some shit.”
“Are the border lands so harsh?”
It was her turn to frown at him. “Have you ever been? Of course, they’re like that. Being caught there without authorization is the same as leaving a pack. It’s not that leaving a pack is wrong, but trying to run from a portal city is illegal.”
“Politics.” He turned the word to a harsh curse.
“Yes, but belonging to a pack with grease all over the place could help. No one will question why wolves from the Lombardi Pack are in Scorched Earth.”
“The pack’s that strong?”
“Yes and no. The alliance with Moretti has strengthened us, and now there is Kalinda …”
She let her words trail off. Okay, so she was entertaining possibly having a mating with him and dealing with him long enough not to want to rip his head off, but she was still an Enforcer for Dominic. That meant other than what may be common knowledge, she wasn’t going to share what Dominic had not.
For all intents and purposes, Pasquale was not even a ranking member of Lombardi while he was still establishing his loyalty. Technically, in the pecking order, she outranked him.
The Morettis and Bianchis never got along. The battle between Primo and Arturo expanded into even their Capos and brewed under the surface for years. Arturo had changed his cousins Ottavio and Carlo in the 1950s. Unfortunately, only Carlo appreciated it. Ottavio’s aggravation with Arturo’s accumulation of wealth and power made him jealous. Enough to plan a coup with the Bianchi Pack, while also positioning Primo’s daughter, Fabiana, in a prime location at Dominic’s side.
Had they succeeded, Arturo would have been dead, and they would have had a Bianchi in place over the Moretti Pack as well as increasing their own. Giuliana had lived with it, watching Dominic struggle to handle the expectations on his shoulders even when he met Zoey, the mate of his heart.
As a scenter, Pasquale should have known much more about the workings of Encantado as a whole, especially a place as big as Scorched Earth. How sheltered and controlled had Primo kept his pack? Hell, Fabiana stayed in the house on the outskirts of Lombardi lands with some of the other former Bianchi members. Giuliana had barely seen the girl except in flashes.
Probably didn’t help she’d tried to take Zoey’s man.
Kalinda still wanted to punch her for that one.
But they all felt sorry for her too. Giuliana was getting a better picture of how their life may have been.
Pasquale was making faces, and she smiled inside, wondering if he was talking to his wolf too. It was small, but important at the same time.
“Hey,” she called.
He shook his head and gave her his attention again. “Yeah?”
“How about this? You teach me about being a scenter, and I’ll cover the blanks you may have with the politics of the world.”
“We seem to be making a lot of deals lately.”
“I’m learning you’re not all that you see too. I was taught to hate you based on your name. And I’m sure your pack never cared for the Morettis.”
He didn’t have to answer her; it was written clearly all over her face. Primo and his Capo Luigi had so much to answer for. Too late, as they’d already been removed from the face of the planet, but the hell they’d begun still left ripple effects through them all.
“There are … things I don’t want to speak about. Not yet.”
She could understand that too. Plenty of her life wasn’t ready to be an open book, and her allegiance was—and would always be—with Arturo and Dominic. “We’ll figure it out along the way.”
“I’m not good with this.”
“What? Talking?”
“Sharing.”
Pasquale sat on her couch and leaned back, tucking his hands behind his head. That was … sexy. To distract herself, Giuliana sat across from him, feet wide apart and elbows on her knees. Dominic called it her “power sit” right around the time she did it in a Louis Vuitton dress and heels. She didn’t care how it looked to others, how they didn’t view her as feminine. They needed to see her strength. That she was one of them and not an outsider.
Pasquale sat forward, mirroring her, and the effect was different. All his attention was on her—a single-minded focus she could envy. He placed one fist into the palm of his other hand and waited. In the silence of the room, they stared, two enemies on opposite sides who were forced together by their biology. At least that’s how she should have felt.
“Why do you do that?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Do what?”
“Act like a man.”
She scoffed. “I’m sure you realize I’m
all woman.”
His heated gaze made her choke on her attempt at a joke. “Yes, I’m well aware.”
“Then what are you asking?”
“You can be decked out in priceless jewels and expensive clothing, yet you staunchly try to push away your femininity.”
“I do not.”
Of course, Giuliana ruined that argument by jutting her chin forward and glaring at him with all intents to punch him.
He was right; she just wasn’t going to talk to him about it. “You don’t share, so neither do I.”
“Let’s add to our deal.”
“What’s that?”
“You teach me about the world and yourself, and I’ll teach you about sniffing and myself too.”
Yeah, not going to happen, even if she was really interested in learning more about him. Her wounds were hers, thank you very much, and she’d like to keep them where they were. She was fine with trading explosive orgasms back and forth, not so much on the world of opening up.
“Maybe I’m not good with this either.”
Pasquale only nodded. “Challenge accepted.”
“It wasn’t a challenge.”
He ignored her. “Pack what you need, and I’ll head back to my house and do the same. I’ll meet you back here in an hour.”
She hated being ignored.
“Did you hear what I said?”
He stood instead of answering her and stretched. Joints popped and realigned as he elongated his powerful frame.
Is my mouth watering? No, must be preparation for vomit.
You lie to yourself so well.
Can it, dog.
I know you are, but what am I?
Ugh.
Still, Pasquale didn’t say a word. She stared at him incredulously as he walked to her front door.
“Pasquale.”
He stopped and slowly looked at her over his shoulder.
“I don’t like to be ignored.”
“So you can do it.”
“What?”
He smiled. “Share.”
He was out the door before the table she picked up shattered against the wall where his head would have been.
Careful. Wouldn’t want a splinter.
“Oh, would you shut up already?” Now that she was alone, she’d answer her wolf like she usually did.
Mated to the Prince (Portal City Protectors Book 3) Page 3