Kalinda struggled to reach out a hand. “Don’t. Silva.”
Violet eyes met Kalinda, and the pain there popped like rubber against the skin. “I have to save you.”
Kalinda tried to shake her head, but she couldn’t move anymore. The wind grew more forceful, forcing her face against the ground and sending electric shocks of pain across her cheekbone.
“I claim hilosnaril.”
The word made the room grow too bright as it filled with golden sparks and vibrating power. The Fae near Silva lowered their spears a bit.
Kieran cocked his head to one side. “The Seelie have no honor to claim such.”
Silva looked at Kalinda. “I will give my blood to bind it.”
Kieran stalked toward her, the wolves keeping pace with him. Kalinda knew, without a doubt, the only reason Silva didn’t fight with everything she had was because there was greater risk of Kalinda being harmed than she could stomach.
The realization made Kalinda sick. The bond between the two of them was a double-edged sword. It may have made Kalinda stronger, but it weakened the Fae Queen.
Always bound to her.
Always to follow.
When Kieran reached Silva, he pressed one nail to her throat and punctured her skin with a slow, deliberate push. Silva gritted her teeth but didn’t cry out. As the blood trickled down his nail, it snaked around his finger before soaking into his flesh.
“Accepted. And in case someone else decides to come to the party …” In a flash, Kieran was at Kalinda’s side.
“No!”
Silva’s scream echoed as fire burned its way over Kalinda’s legs.
Romano …
Chapter Ten
Lorenzo was nothing more than a kid, really. He’d grown up with the Lombardi Pack, and he and Cin were taking the world by storm. With his fiancée’s jewelry and his computer sense, there was nowhere to go but up. The couple had recently moved in together and out of the Community Center apartments Dominic had made in honor of the teens.
If he kept going the way he was going, he’d be Made in no time, despite his mother’s apprehension.
But today … Giuliana wanted to be anywhere else other than at his door. She’d worn her armor, black pants and tank top with her shit kicker boots. Her hair was pulled back in a bun at the nape of her neck, and her weapons were strapped to her. She looked as deadly as she was.
Romano and Dominic favored priceless suits, decadence to hide their savagery, and most days Giuliana wore the top name brands to match them. It didn’t seem right to come to Lorenzo like that.
The only accessory she’d brought was Pasquale, and his quiet presence at her shoulder buoyed her. He was close enough his heat slipped over her skin, but not so much he made her claustrophobic.
“How well did he know Heath?”
“Not long, but it’s how he knew him. Cin and Heath were street urchins in District 17 before Zoey mated Dominic. They lived on dumpster food and by their wits against any danger. Lorenzo started hanging out with them, and Zoey tried her best to watch out for them.”
“Mafia turning to charity.”
“A bit. These kids, though, weren’t here to just take. Cin is the one who makes most of the jewelry the women of Encantado are wearing right now, and Lorenzo has been working on Pack finances to keep our money clean. They are invaluable.”
“They are pups.”
Yes, he was right. Every wolf who’d struggled, who lived by the Code, saw these kids as designers of their own fates. They’d beaten the odds, remained true, and carved out their place in the pack without even being able to shift. Other than Zoey, Kalinda, and Silva, they were the only non-shifter inhabitants of Lombardi Pack land. The placement of their people so close to the inner sanctum was symbolic of what they’d done. The young couple lived a stone’s throw away from Giuliana, and their home had been built by the wolves to suit them.
Just like any member of the pack.
They wanted for nothing, would be provided every wish they could ever want, and all they asked was to be family. It was humbling, that sort of love. That sort of loyalty.
It made it all the harder for Giuliana to knock.
But she’d honor who they were.
Cin, her dark-pink bob framing her chin, answered by the time Giuliana hit the door the third time. She wore red leggings and a white shirt cut to hang off her shoulders. Her earrings were little lanterns hanging from the lobes. She’d changed so much from the skinny girl with the spikey blue hair.
“Did you find him?”
“May I come in?”
“Oh … oh gods, Giuls, no.”
Cin was the only person in the world who dared to call Giuliana by a nickname and live, but she crumpled now. Giuliana grabbed her before her knees could hit the floor, lifting the young woman off her feet and carrying her farther into the home. Cin curled into her, fisting her shirt as she sobbed.
Giuliana believed Cin may have loved Heath, in her own way. In the way friends can fall in love slowly and never realize it. In the way you wake up one morning and realize you can’t be without the other. But Lorenzo had appeared and changed everything—some inferno she couldn’t get free of—and she found something real.
It wasn’t easy on any of them. Life was never easy, but they’d found a way, and Heath stayed beside them.
More than anything, it pissed Giuliana off because the wolves who’d taken him from this group had made Cin and Lorenzo believe Heath had done it on his own.
Cin exhaled roughly, sucking in her tears as Giuliana lowered her to her bright-pink couch and sat beside her.
“Where is Lorenzo?”
As if Giuliana summoned had him, Lorenzo walked through the door and slipped a gun from his waist before setting it on a table, all without looking up. It was on the tip of Giuliana’s tongue to chastise him about being unaware of his surroundings when his gaze met hers.
He’d been absolutely aware someone was in his home before he entered, and he’d also assumed it was a friend. The darkness in his gaze disappeared as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Where is the body?”
In that moment, she couldn’t have been prouder of a young pack member finding his way. He may have been clumsy and not battle-hardened. He may have been afraid of Dominic’s Alpha call, as he wasn’t shifter and couldn’t fight on the same grounds, but he was a member of the Lombardi, and it showed.
“We don’t have it,” Giuliana answered.
“Is it retrievable?”
“I would have brought him home.”
Lorenzo nodded and crossed from the foyer to where Cin wept quietly in a pillow. He pulled her into his arms and sat so she could balance on his lap and tuck her face into his neck. His large hand soothed her with easy, soft strokes down her spine.
He pressed his lips to her ear. “Why don’t you go work on the piece for Zoey?”
He was quiet— not enough her shifter hearing couldn’t pick it up—but Giuliana acted like she didn’t hear it anyway.
“I can’t work right now.”
“This is the best time for you to work. You know that. How much did you make when Heath went missing?”
What a difference a disappearance had made. It surprised her, really. This wasn’t the young boy shaking with fear when he’d come to Kalinda and she’d been called to answer his fear Heath had been taken. This wasn’t the Lorenzo she remembered wanting to swallow his tongue when he thought Heath would be killed.
Growing up fast always hurt the most, but it sometimes brought steel where weaker wood had been.
Cin nodded and got up. “I’ll talk to you later?”
The question was directed at Lorenzo, and Giuliana understood what Cin was really saying. You’ll tell me what you can, right?
“Yeah, babe. Always.”
Assurance taken, Cin left the room with only a backward glance in Giuliana’s direction. After a moment, Lorenzo sighed. “Tell me.”
“We found his blood i
n a clearing in the Greenwald and the scent of wolves. I didn’t find his body, but there was enough there to tell me he didn’t make it.”
Lorenzo swallowed before raking his hands through his dark hair. “The wolves weren’t … ours?”
Giuliana shook her head. “No. Dominic never gave the order to execute him. He kept his word on finding him first and questioning him.” She reached out and touched his knee. “There is more.”
Pasquale shifted, and Giuliana went quiet. This was his part of it to tell. “They were Bianchi.”
Lorenzo and Pasquale were on their feet, Pasquale beating Lorenzo to his gun at the door.
“Your people?”
Lorenzo may have not made it to his weapon, but he made up for it in fury. He balled his fist and swung at Pasquale’s face. The wolf dodged the blow enough he wouldn’t break Lorenzo’s fingers, but he took the brunt of it.
“Yes.”
“And you come into my home?”
Giuliana rose, but she stopped when Pasquale shook his head. “You know what happened with Primo and Dominic.”
Lorenzo, huffing, faced Pasquale. “Of course.”
“Then you know not all of my people joined Lombardi.” Pasquale looked to Giuliana.
“The sect that attacked Heath were Bianchi but not really part of the pack.”
Lorenzo turned to her, but he backed up in a way he’d still be able to see Pasquale and his weapon.
Good pup.
“How is that possible? I didn’t think wolves did that.”
“And yet you struck out at a Lombardi because of his previous affiliation. If you can do it, why can’t we?”
She lifted one brow, and Lorenzo only shook his head before coming to sit back down. Pasquale leaned against the door.
Smart wolf.
“Many don’t know what I’m about to tell you, and it doesn’t leave this room.”
Translation: this part isn’t for Cin.
Lorenzo nodded, and Giuliana continued. “There are wolves who are more like mercenaries. Primo hired them to bolster his strength against Arturo and Dominic. It was these wolves who attacked Heath.”
“Why?”
“That’s what we want to find out, and we will find out, Lorenzo. We swear it.”
“I know. Just … give us some time. He was my best friend … and …” Lorenzo looked to where Cin had gone. “And maybe more for her. We never spoke about it, but we always knew. It was always there.”
“Did Heath ever say anything?”
“Never. I think he knew how she felt, but he just kept them as friends. And when I came around, I think he was relieved. I didn’t notice it at first, and he stayed away at the end, but I think he was trying to give time for that part in her heart to die.”
The wolf part of her understood, and she sniffed, just to make sure her nose hadn’t lied to her about Lorenzo just being a low-level mage. She cut her eyes at Pasquale.
You don’t smell wolf on him, do you?
No. Just pain and anger. He’s got magic, for sure.
She thought so. Still, Lorenzo had a very wolf way of dealing with Cin’s feelings for Heath. Not that many did it anymore, but at one time, females in packs took on more than one mate because they were scarcer. The main mate was bonded to them, but they could accept other pack members to continue bloodlines. Lorenzo reminded her of that.
“Take care of her. As soon as I know more, you’ll be the first I contact. For now, we have to try to get what information we can from other packs. There is so little known about this group.”
Lorenzo perked up. “What’s their name? I may be able to get somethings together.”
Giuliana looked to Pasquale before closing her eyes and covering her ears. She was not about to lose her shit at the mention of them. After a moment, Pasquale’s voice filled her head.
Coast is clear. I’ve also explained a bit of your reaction to the word so he knows not to say it directly.
Thank you.
She opened her eyes and lowered her hands to her lap. She’d have to deal with her memories at some point, but for now, her only duty was being there for Lorenzo.
“I’ll see what I can find. We’re going to the Bianchi wolves next to see what some of them may know about the group of men around Primo.”
Lorenzo’s dark eyes lifted to Pasquale’s face. “What do you know about them?”
“Only that they existed and he used them for his most deadly missions. He liked to keep them away from the pack, of course.”
Do you mean away from you?
Yes. I don’t think he wanted me to have a chance to use them against him if I could afford more than him.
What wolves would know more?
Pasquale sighed in her head.
Fabiana, I’m guessing.
Yes. I don’t know how much he let her see, but she was always right at his side so he could keep an eye on her. She knows more than she realizes.
We go to her house next.
Mine.
She growled at that and had to catch herself. Fabiana was his sister. “I’ll be back, Lorenzo.”
“Yeah, and I’ll get to work. It’s better than wallowing in the darkness.”
“Revenge usually helps with that.”
The emptiness in Lorenzo’s gaze plastered her heart to the floor. “I hope so, Giuliana. I fucking hope so.”
Pasquale’s home was on the edge of Pack lands, closer to the outer wall border, but it still didn’t take them longer than twenty or so minutes to get there at a full-out run, cutting through backyards as they went. The Bian—former Bianchi, she corrected herself—moved out of their way quickly when they saw them coming. Some stifled bows in Pasquale’s direction when they saw her.
They protect him. She wouldn’t have noticed the bows if she hadn’t been looking for it since she knew he was Alpha material. But with the knowledge, she was seeing him in new light. He slowed down near older wolves and gave them a word before continuing. Or he let children race him for a few minutes before they gave up and his laughter trickled over her.
They may have been on a mission, but he took time out for them.
His home, like Dominic’s, was in the center of the space allotted them, and the other wolves milled around in his front yard. Giuliana lifted a brow when they came to a stop.
Pasquale stood tall, letting his Alpha call unfurl. Thank you.
The wolves there stretched before loping away in different directions.
“They listen to you.”
“Yes.”
“As their Alpha.”
“Yes.”
Okay. Back to not giving much in response, so she went quiet.
“I’m sorry. Yes. They answer my Alpha call, and I put them on protecting her while I was gone. I don’t do it often, but I had to release them or they wouldn’t leave. Since you know what I am …”
He’d done it in front of her. She stepped up and took his hand. A smaller wolf that hadn’t gotten all the way to its home blinked at the motion.
Pasquale’s Alpha call whipped out, this time with deadly precision and warning. It slid over her skin like a caress, but she was aware others wouldn’t have felt what she did.
Mate.
One after another, wolves outside and in their homes lifted their heads in a howl of acknowledgment. Pasquale held on for a few beats more before letting his power fade away.
“Well, that was a pissing contest moment.”
“I’m perfectly okay with that assessment. None of the men here need to get it in their head they could meld with Lombardi in other ways.”
Giuliana gasped. “Are you jealous?”
“Territorial.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s jealous in new-age language to try to cover it up. I can run around naked if I felt—”
Pasquale was in her face, teeth bared, and a growl rumbling before she could finish the sentence. “I’ll gut anyone who sees you. Go ahead, play with fire.”
No, she didn’t thi
nk she would. The threat was enough to get Pasquale bothered in ways she sort of wished they had time to explore. He was holding himself in check, but she wondered if he’d have shown her just how he was the only one who’d ever see her naked again if they’d been behind closed doors when she made the offhanded remark.
“Am I supposed to never have sex again?”
I mean, since we aren’t claiming each other.
This time, Pasquale didn’t hesitate to put his hands on her. His heated palms burned her forearms as he curled his fingers around her arm. A brand. A mark. He pulled her against his body until their breaths mingled between them and his lips were only an inch away from hers.
“Who ever said I don’t plan on meeting your every need? Pack business first, but my business later.”
Giuliana swallowed against the sudden aching need spreading through her. Okay, so she’d needed a bit of distraction after the heaviness inside of Lorenzo’s home, and sometimes laughter could really hit the spot. But she was finding desire burned so much hotter. She wanted to see, to have him take her, to feel what it meant to be claimed by her mate.
It was dangerous.
It could fuck them up.
But here, among his people, he wouldn’t have to risk anything if his Alpha power leaked out. If they pushed the boundaries and just didn’t let him mark her as his with the mating bite. If …
She wanted to see if they could.
“Can you hold off the bite?”
Pasquale’s eyes glittered. “The better question is, would you want me to?”
“Pasquale …”
“For you, I would. And for you, I’d give it when you asked.”
He’d let her control the fate. Give her the freedom of choice.
“But you have to understand, Giuliana. The way I’d love you may make you more afraid than ever to accept me.”
She wasn’t so sure. And no matter how many times he tried to warn her away—and she could appreciate him fighting for her—he gave her something she craved more than anything.
The freedom to choose.
“Pack business first,” she agreed.
His gazed stayed riveted on her for a heartbeat before he backed away and headed to his door. She took a steadying breath, smelling him everywhere. The snow. The deep earth. But under it, just barely, was that mark of fresh flowers, the feminine scent she’d picked up before.
Mated to the Prince (Portal City Protectors Book 3) Page 8