When he looked to Kalinda, the rage and sorrow battled in his gaze.
He’d kill Silva because he had to.
And Kalinda would do everything she could to save her.
They were enemies by circumstance.
Life tended to give shit cards, didn’t it?
Chapter Fourteen
All combatants to me!
Dominic’s call blasted through Pasquale’s head and made him shoot up from bed. Giuliana, a constant guest in his home, did the same. They’d barely gotten to sleep after meeting with the Boulder wolves about the Renegades.
Stuffing his legs into his pants, he surveyed Giuliana. She was still trembling, the force of her remembered memories from the night before still holding her in their grip. He hated they’d had to get out of bed so quickly after she’d finally fallen asleep. But they’d been tired from going after Kalinda until Silva completely healed. While Zahara had restored her skin and wings, internally, the magic that tore Silva to shreds had done insurmountable damage. And as a Fae, she didn’t operate the same way a mage would under the witch doctor’s care.
Silva’s full recovery made them all pissed and edgy. Especially Romano. He’d been pacing the grounds, his rage and helplessness sparking a few attempts to go steal back his mate.
All stopped by Dominic, who knew going against enemies they weren’t prepared for would be suicide. At least Kieran sent a daily proof-of-life photo directly to Romano’s phone, but none of them knew how long that would last.
“You think she’s ready to go now?”
Giuliana was dressed in her pants and tank top he’d become accustomed to her wearing. Part of him missed her designer gowns and flowing shirts when she was more relaxed. But they’d all been prepared to fight at a moment’s notice.
“She has to be for him to call all combatants. We’ll be moving out soon enough.”
Giuliana nodded and headed to his door, but Pasquale stopped her. “Hey.”
“I’m fine.”
He pulled her into his arms. If he hadn’t learned anything else in his time with her, he knew Giuliana was not fine when she used that word.
“Just focus on the mission.”
“I’m trying. My dreams … they were …”
She let her voice fade, and Pasquale waited patiently for her to continue. She needed to get it out. She had to share what she was going through.
“They are getting longer, and more real.”
“You said you wanted to remember your past, didn’t you?”
“But it’s all fear and blood. Someone keeps pushing me into a closet to hide, but I never get anything more than a sense of red hair before they’re gone. I’m not closer to knowing who there are or what happened than when I started remembering.”
“It will take time, and it will come. I will be here through it.”
“I don’t like not knowing who I am.”
“You’re Giuliana Moretti, niece of Arturo Moretti and Enforcer to Dominic Lombardi. You are my mate and the owner of Touch of Old. That’s who you are.”
Her gaze searched his for a moment. “You’re right. I just wish I remembered who I had been.”
“A step at a time. For now, we go to Dominic.”
Alone, they didn’t use the term Alpha for Dominic. Their wolves didn’t want to seem to respect it, and it was easier not to fight against them. Pasquale still wasn’t ready to continue and flow more into the Alpha world, but he’d take what steps he could.
A screech made him whirl around and face his mate once more, ready for battle. She was swiping at her arms like a crazy woman.
“What?”
She didn’t answer him, stomping on the floor in a circle.
What is wrong?
Spider, Red answered.
A spider?
She’s afraid of spiders.
Pasquale looked to the ground. The eight-legged creature was crawling away, nowhere near Giuliana. He swallowed a laugh, not wanting her to think he was picking on her. He made a big show of stepping on the spider, smashing it beneath his boot.
“It’s dead, Giuliana. Look.”
Her gaze was frantic, searching.
He lifted his foot and pointed. “See?”
She froze, her chest heaving. “Don’t say another word.”
“But it’s—”
“Not one word.”
Giuliana, we all fear something.
Yeah? I’m a wolf afraid of a bug.
Well, yeah. That was a bit odd. Especially as wolves normally lived in the woods. But she was also a person who had phobias. He could understand that.
“And I’m a wolf afraid to be in cars,” he said allowed. “I suppose I’ll be the one on bug duty.”
She shivered. “Yeah. Anything that crawls that isn’t an ant.”
He didn’t suppress his smile then. “Will I get a reward?”
“Sure, as long as you kill it.”
He stood, waiting and expectant.
She frowned. “What?”
“I’m waiting.”
“What? Now? Are you serious?”
He didn’t move. He liked this side of her, a part of her that needed him, even if for something as small as killing her fear of a crawling insect.
After a moment, she sighed roughly. “Men.”
Her heat seeped into his skin, her scent wrapping around his balls as she stepped into him. When her arms wrapped around his neck, he pulled her closer to his chest, crushing her breasts against him. The soft globes flattened under the pressure.
Silken lips pressed against his, and he sampled what she offered, licked the seam of her mouth until she opened. He took over, licking his way around the damp cavern, mimicking what he wished he could do with his body. Pasquale sucked on her tongue, swallowing her moan.
She was a fire in his blood, driving him to want more, need her closer. Pasquale lifted her off her feet, and her legs wrapped around him in response. They didn’t have time, Dominic was calling them, but he’d make it for them. Give her something for the gift she gave him.
His Alpha power snaked out, pushing against her skin. Giuliana moaned once more, turning her head until their mouths fit better together. His power danced between her legs, going for fast and hard, tracing what he knew were slick folds ready for his attentions.
Each roll of her hips was a dream. Her cries, a balm to his soul. He wrung her out, dancing on the edge of ignoring the man they both should answer to until she was bucking on him, screaming her climax into the air.
“Delicious,” he murmured against her mouth.
“That was … It was only supposed to be a kiss.”
“And it was, you just didn’t specify which set of lips I was held to.”
She slapped his shoulder as he set her on her feet. “We’ve got to go, dude.”
He blinked, not thinking he’d ever been called “dude” before. “Dude?”
“Shut up and let’s go.”
She was out of his house before he could say anything else. He followed, calling to his wolves who weren’t traveling with him to protect Fabiana and the home. Those who would go with him slipped from the night, surrounding him in silence.
Dude?
Shut up, Pasquale!
Make me.
Ugh.
He chuckled, and as one, the group moved, he and Giuliana at the center. She was the only female in the bunch, not because there weren’t other strong women in the Bianchi, but because Red couldn’t stomach them too close to Pasquale. She was still in mating heat, pushing them to mark each other permanently. They’d been in bed every night, denying themselves to keep from risking an accidental bite that would go too deep, and the wolf was not happy about it.
They slipped from the Bianchi area and onto the main street sloping toward Dominic’s home. Other wolves in human form passed them in cars. Since the moment Giuliana knew Pasquale couldn’t travel like that, she didn’t either. It took longer for them to reach the central area, and by the time they did,
men and women were lined in front of the Alpha’s house.
Some were clad from head to toe in weapons, glittering guns and knives. Others were in their lupine form, ready to rend and tear with their claws. Pasquale’s wolves followed Giuliana and him to the front of the pack before standing at the door to let them continue.
They would protect their Alpha and his mate—from Lombardi wolves if necessary.
He saw the statement and was humbled by it, even if he worried they may trigger the others with their show of force. But no one was concerned about them, and Dominic swung open his front doors.
“In here, now.”
Pasquale growled a warning at Dominic’s biting tone directed at Giuliana but followed him inside.
I am his Enforcer, mate. Cool it.
When he learns to speak to you properly, I will.
Then forget the wolf part. He’s our Capo di tutti Capi. He has earned the right under the Code to speak to me like that.
Fine.
Giuliana’s feminine chuckle filled his head and warmed him. She’d become more accustomed to speaking with him and allowing their relationship to flow. He couldn’t say that didn’t make him happy.
“Silva has healed,” Dominic said.
Romano stood next to Silva. He looked like shit. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair stood on end, and the rumpled slacks he wore with his shirt and tie looked like it’d seen better days. He could barely contain the wounded and angry growls leaking from him constantly.
I would be no better if Giuliana were taken.
“The Boulder Alpha gave some information on the Renegades, confirming what you told me, Pasquale. The leader is Alexi Borgia, and he’s one of the most powerful shifters they’ve seen in a long time. And he’s also old. Old Country and older wolf.”
“Meaning he ties to the old ways,” Giuliana surmised.
Dominic nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets. “He is originally from the Ukraine and identifies as a Cossack. His men who follow him are, too, and are some of the most highly trained combatants in the world.”
“It won’t matter. I’ll kill them all,” Romano vowed.
“And I will help. But we get Kalinda out first. The letter this Kieran left, and his demands since, are all for Silva to come alone and meet him. But he has realized he’s caused an incident by taking a wolf mate.”
Romano rolled his shoulder. “If I feed him his dick, he’ll remember.”
“We will, brother. Silva has agreed to meet his demand, but we won’t let her go alone. Her team will be Pasquale, Giuliana, the wolves from the Bianchi, and Zahara, in case anyone needs healing. The rest will come with Romano and me so we can ambush them if anything goes wrong. Romano won’t focus on doing anything but getting his mate, and we will give him the opportunity to do so.”
The wolves nodded in agreement as Zahara slammed through the front door. “I’m here. The path has been warded as much as I can, directly through to Scorched Earth. I contacted Amalia, and she’s also had it cleared, so we have no interference heading into the area from officials. It seems your mate has them scared shitless,” she added to Romano.
The large wolf smiled a vicious smile. “As they should be.”
“We’ve got everything in order.”
Dominic unfurled his Alpha call, and it raced out, spreading over the land. Pasquale stood tall against it. His own Alpha skill kept him protected from feeling the sting, but Giuliana grunted. Without being mated to him, she wasn’t protected by Pasquale’s power. He pulled his mate closer to him and helped her stay on her feet.
She would kneel to no man.
“Let’s move. I want that location fucking surrounded, like, yesterday. I will remain with Zoey for protection. Don’t fuck this up.”
At Dominic’s order, everyone moved at once. Silva streaked out the door and into the sky, hovering as Pasquale readied on the balls of his feet.
“We can’t run all the way there. We’ll never make it.”
Giuliana’s words stopped him short. He didn’t want to get into a fucking car. He could outdistance any one of them, but … he knew she wouldn’t be able to maintain for that length of time. He cursed under his breath.
“Just ride with me and stay in wolf form.”
He couldn’t. As a wolf, it would be much easier for his Alpha side to show up now that he’d acknowledged Giuliana as his mate. He shook his head. “I can’t risk it.”
“Get your ass in the car. It’s an order.”
He lifted a brow at her, and she blushed but held her ground. “You’ll pay for that … later.”
He whispered the dark promise in her ear and smiled at her delicate tremble. Yes, his mate loved how he took control.
“For now, let’s just get to Kalinda. We can even take some revenge for Heath while we’re at it.”
She’d changed the subject, but he let it go. He knew finding a way to keep the promise she’d made to Lorenzo meant a lot to her. He’d do everything he could to help her, including get inside a fucking car.
She headed to hers, and he flowed behind her as everyone spread out.
“You don’t seem to be any wolf, little boy.”
Pasquale jerked to a stop next to Giuliana’s car. Zahara was there, almost like she’d appeared out of thin air. Silva still hovered over them, prepared to fly the whole way there.
“Come down into the car, Fae Queen. Conserve your strength.”
The Fae alighted right next to Pasquale. No one, not even Silva, argued with Zahara. They piled in, Silva in front next to Giuliana and Zahara in the back.
“I’ll help with the fear,” she whispered.
How she knew, how she read it in him, he didn’t know. But he was thankful she didn’t blast it to the whole of the wolves behind him. He forced himself to get into the car next to the witch doctor and let the door close before he shifted into his wolf form.
It didn’t matter. His lungs squeezed, and he struggled to suck in a breath.
“Focus on your mate, her scent,” the witch doctor told him.
Silva turned around and stared at him. “What’s his problem?”
“Nothing,” Giuliana and Zahara replied in unison.
Silva’s eyebrows disappeared in her hair line. “Okaaaaay.”
“It’s a state of mind, and you can’t be trapped by that. Focus on what will help you.”
I’m working on it.
But of course, the witch doctor couldn’t hear him.
“Do you know why you’re afraid of the Renegades, Giuliana?”
Zahara’s sudden change of tactics rendered everyone in the car silent. Pasquale didn’t give a shit about his fear anymore. Giuliana’s permeated the car, sending Snow into overdrive.
Protect her. She’s afraid.
There is nothing here.
Protect her!
Pasquale growled at the witch doctor.
“What do you know about my past?”
“I know there was a woman, hair as red as fire. She protected her daughter … so small … the only thing she had left from a mating with a man long gone.”
The car pitched to the side, but Giuliana got it back under control. They flashed forward, her foot heavy on the gas.
“They killed my mother. The Renegades.”
The redheaded woman Giuliana spoke of.
Are you sure it was your mother?
I remember.
Fuck. This changed things … just a bit. But the witch doctor had succeeded in something. Pasquale was no longer afraid of the car. He was too focused on his mate and her flying emotions.
Stop the woman from speaking.
She’s trying to help, Snow.
Snow’s aggravated growl filled Pasquale’s head, but he said nothing more.
“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Giuliana forced out between clenched teeth.
“I didn’t know the woman myself. And I only just picked it up from your man here.”
Pasquale sat back on his haunches.
/> “You are wondering how?”
No, of course not.
He rolled his eyes, and Zahara laughed. “Because I’m me. I healed most of ya, yeah? I been around long enough to tap into the unknown tings. I got the impression, if not the whole.”
“What else do you know?”
Zahara shook her head. “Nothing more than that, chile. The woman was never heard of again, and I was … blocked from interacting much with the wolves after that.”
Pasquale remembered that before she’d been able to openly claim Dominic as her grandson—something hard to fathom when she looked so incredibly young—she’d had to hide it because of a spell she’d put on him to protect the two of them.
“But now your wolf isn’t afraid in the car anymore, and we’ve got a battle to face. Sort of pisses you off a bit more to know the Renegades have something only they can answer for you, doesn’t it?”
There was something deadly about Zahara. Her hazel eyes glittered with rage, and her smile was sharp. She’d shared the info because she’d wanted them prepared for war. She wanted them to join the ranks of vengeance with Romano and Dominic.
Pasquale had already been ready, for Heath alone. Now he had more reason.
Kieran had bitten off much more than he could chew.
Chapter Fifteen
They reached the Scorched Earth entrance en masse.
They may have been chomping at the bit to get inside, but politics still ruled. A Level-7 mage scanned the occupants of the cars with a neutral gaze, his face shadowed by the black hooded coat he wore. Glowing red runes lit up the skin of his hands as they danced around his fingers in a caressing weave.
Guardian.
Giuliana had only heard of the great mages stationed at Scorched Earth prepared to kill any trespassers. They protected the portal cities from threats. Curious humans may be allowed in so far to see the edges of the city—where the pretty homes and sparkling paranorms lived—to make them believe there wasn’t blood and war within. But if they caused any sort of commotion, they’d never be allowed to return home.
They’d been charged with their duty after the dragon had come into Encantado, blazing a trail of devastation. The runes on their skin locked them to their oath, keeping them on the edge of the city, always separate and yet needed.
Mated to the Prince (Portal City Protectors Book 3) Page 12