He stepped in front of his Alpha, and domination and control immediately washed over him. The tight, puckered skin of scarring on his face itched. He gritted his teeth, trying against everything to stay on his damn feet with a ton of bricks weighing down on his shoulders. Submit. Submit. Alpha. His wolf was snarling and biting, warring against the human side of Romano. His wolf didn’t understand what he was doing, only that he should never stand up against his Alpha.
Chill the fuck out, man. I’m trying to stop a bloodbath here.
Of course, that was much harder when he was down on one knee between two of the most powerful men in Encantado. It was hard enough just to catch his breath. But he held firm, forcing his gaze to meet Dominic’s and keeping his head straight instead of exposing the soft area of his neck.
Romano’s voice was a barely contained snarl. “I’m all for power play, but normally I’m on top, so could you calm down long enough to see this epic shit here? Only happens once in a lifetime.”
Dominic’s gaze flashed, his pupils dilating and filling up most of the iris around them. His wolf was close to the surface. “Move, Romano.”
Another blast of power made Romano’s insides twist viciously.
That’s going to hurt in the morning. “Zoey.”
One second. Two. Nothing changed, and yet everything did. Dominic’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, and his jaw wasn’t so tight, the muscle working double time instead of triple.
“Zoey,” Dominic repeated.
“Yeah, and she’s in danger. Maybe we should focus on that?”
Dominic glared at Arturo as he put a hand on Romano’s shoulder and released his power on him. Romano breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“We’ll discuss this later,” Dominic promised.
“Yes, I’m sure we will. We won’t have a choice. But all the players aren’t here for that one, and I want you focused where you need to be,” Arturo answered.
“I’m not your concern any longer, Arturo. I have my own pack now.”
For the first time, Arturo looked … soft. As soft as rock can appear smoothed over by years of wear and tear. Romano got to his feet stiffly, joints cracking as he realigned. He never wanted to face challenging the Alpha power again. But everyone had eyes on Arturo, and Carlo even went as far as to step closer to Arturo.
“You have always been my concern, Dom. It was not always just because you were a wolf of my pack or my right hand.” He paused. “You know I had a family once, yes?”
Dominic nodded slowly. “Yes.”
No one said the rest: they were murdered and who murdered them was never found. To speak of Arturo’s family meant death, and he didn’t often bring it up himself. When he did, it was during quiet moments with Dominic in attendance and Romano at his side. Romano kept silent, knowing this.
“Then trust me when I say, we will speak on this later, Dominic. This is the one time I am speaking as a father instead of an Alpha. My men are already on their way to your lands for added protection. We have less than a month to figure out a way to say no to the Trinity or prepare for war with them. Let us focus on that.”
Dominic only nodded, and Romano couldn’t blame him. What exactly could you say to a man who always chose derisive and violent action instead of sentiment but had chosen to show emotion and care in this instance? Romano and his Alpha remained silent until they got into the elevator to leave.
“Well, that was just fucking weird,” Romano commented.
“You couldn’t last three minutes without saying something, could you?”
“What? It was awkward, and I don’t do awkward. It makes my balls shrivel.”
“I hate you. I really do.”
“Yeah? Love you too, douche.”
“How shriveled are your balls after saying that?”
“Microscopic. Want to see?”
“Why in the shit … you know what? Never mind. Let’s just get home.”
What else could they do?
Chapter Thirteen
“You have to visualize what you’re wanting to happen, Kalinda, or it won’t work.”
It had been a week of hell. Kicks, flips, muscle straining, a whole lot of sweating, and mental exercises. Silva was a damn workaholic, and since the moment she’d been put on “whip Kalinda into shape” duty, she’d been a tyrant.
“Kalinda!”
“If you say my name one more time, I’m going to send you to the floor screaming. I swear.”
Silva, the minx, only smiled before sticking out her tongue. “You can try.”
Challenge accepted.
Kalinda practiced what Silva had showed her: picturing her magic in her mind. She associated colors with the skill. Red for anger, blue for calm, purple for manipulation, white for force, black for fear, and … well, the gold really liked Romano and caused orgies, so she figured that was all about sex.
“Totally not focusing,” Silva teased.
Kalinda’s face grew hot. Whatever. She focused on Silva and pulled her magic close, swirling it from the air. She didn’t know why she chose to view it that way, or use it like that, but it seemed to work for her. Each time she attempted to do it with traditional methods, it sputtered and flickered out, but literally pulling it out of thin air worked best.
Sort of. Everybody feels these things, right? Must be residuals just hanging out here.
The more she focused, the more a purple haze appeared around Silva. That was new too, as she’d learned better control with her magic. Kalinda couldn’t make it happen instantly just yet, but she could see her magic with the naked eye.
Silva wasn’t smiling now.
“Okay, turn off the twisting-my-insides thing.”
“What’s that? I don’t hear any screaming.”
Not that she really wanted to make Silva hurt that much, but her word was her word.
Romano came into the clearing, Zoey trailing behind him. “The roses, Zoey. We’re growing roses not daffodils.”
Zoey scoffed. “And what’s wrong with daffodils?”
“They’re pansies, that’s what. The roses had thorns and took a chunk out of Giuliana’s ass. That makes them the first line of defense, so we grow those.”
Distracted by hearing Romano, Kalinda lost her concentration. She found herself looking over at the man of her wet dreams. The week hadn’t been total hell. He made sure to massage away every ache and pain and even gave her some more in the best of ways. For seven straight days she’d warmed his bed, and he slid into her soul.
Scarred inside and out, Romano found a way to smile at every moment, joke in the face of anger, and make her feel like her world wasn’t completely on the upside-down curve.
He’d taken to also working with Zoey to grow a cage of defense around the pack land borders. In order to do that, they had to be pretty close. The open space, cleared for visibility against invaders, became their practice zone.
“Shit.”
Kalinda refocused on Silva, who, while not screaming and withering on the ground in pain, was most definitely feeling something. Her cheeks were flushed, her thighs tense, and she shifted from one foot back to the other.
“Stop looking at him when we are training! Every damn time, you get all weepy between the legs and then you have to make me suffer for it.”
“I am not!” Kalinda argued.
“Yeah, whatever. It’s the only magic you’ve got that can push through.”
They’d found out, with practice, that while Silva wasn’t largely affected by Kalinda’s magic as a Fae, she could still feel residuals depending on how much work Kalinda put into the power.
“It’s because my sex healed her,” Romano called out. “Do you know what this means? I’ve got magic sex.”
Kalinda wanted to punch him and take back everything nice she’d said about how he made her feel good because, in two seconds, he’d ruined it.
“I am not going to tell you again that your sex is not magic.”
“Kalinda, it’s okay. We can let them i
n on our secret. Your magic really likes me … like … a lot. And it’s fine. We all have addictions sometimes, and yours is just me.”
She tried, unsuccessfully, to throw some serious pain his way, and her magic, the fickle horny bitch, immediately went for ‘let’s play ring-around-the-wolf-cock’ instead.
Romano’s answering growl only made her panties damp. She really hated that he was right. Whenever her magic was directed at him, all it did was leave her horny and him ready to give her everything she wanted.
While that was amazing, it was embarrassing.
“It’s been a week, Silva. I can’t do anything.”
“Actually, you’re wrong. You can make a Fae feel some of what you’re doing, and that’s no small feat. That’s part of why we like being out here; the other wolves won’t feel it,” Silva argued.
Kalinda turned on Romano. “You said it was because of the Miracle Grow.”
Zoey groaned. “I’m really tired of being called that. Can’t we choose another name, like Tornado of Growth or Hurricane Power?”
Kalinda snorted. “Those aren’t any better, Zoey. Just thought I’d mention it.”
“Fine, take his side against the poor pregnant woman who can’t even see her ankles.”
Kalinda couldn’t help but laugh, and it felt good. Zoey was nowhere near as big as she made it out to be. In fact, while she had a gentle swell to her stomach, one may not even notice she was pregnant if they didn’t know better. But she was going to make the wolves around her know just how “miserable” she was and how they had to spoil little ol’ her every chance she got.
Not today.
And besides, Kalinda knew what she was doing. “Don’t change the subject. Why lie about coming out here for training?”
Zoey shrugged and mumbled something Kalinda had no chance of hearing.
“What was that?”
Yep, that wasn’t any better when she murmured it again.
“Zoey, come on. Don’t tell me you’ve gone scared after living here. What is it?”
“Fine. Every time you and Romano have sex, the whole pack has to get their freak on too. It’s been really exhausting for everyone as a whole to be up screwing all night, so you coming out here is a break for them.”
“Th— Wha— Oh my God!” This was not happening. “Zoey, you’re lying.”
Zoey cringed. “I wish I were. At least Dominic and I have gotten to know my pregnant hormones really well, so thanks for that.”
“Are you telling me I’ve been turning the pack into one mass screw party?”
The smile on Romano’s face made her want to punch him. His next words made her want to claw his eyes out. “I personally think it’s awesome.”
Of course, he would.
“No one asked you how you felt about it. It’s all your fault.”
His smile went wolfish—the only thing he was missing was the hanging tongue. “Don’t be mad that you need me, baby. It happens to the best of us. You’re not a bad girl because the old coots are getting frisky. Grandmas need love too.”
Kalinda wanted the ground to open up and swallow her in one swoop. Now she understood all the weird looks and snickers behind hands when she walked by. She’d thought it was just because she was Romano’s mate, and new, and … well, constantly threatening him with bodily harm because she didn’t know how else to deal with him sometimes. Now she realized it was because they knew for a fact when she had him between her legs because everyone else got to enjoy the magic of the show too.
Maybe she should start charging a subscription for the service. Just ten dollars a month for Kalinda Kitty Kicks. The fact she imagined a name so quickly, one which also tied in with her branding for Kalinda’s Katering, pissed her off even more.
“So you’re sure it has nothing to do with practice of the Miracle Grow?”
To prove their point that, nope, it was about her magical share the love, Zoey and Romano gripped hands. Vegetation exploded around them, but it was different this time. Zoey used her free hand to direct growth, sending a path of pretty purple flowers growing to twice their size before she pulled them back to normal.
“We kind of got the hang of it a while ago. The day we got you out the Council mansion was the only time it flared so dangerously like that. As long as we’re calm, I can feel where my magic wants to take me,” Zoey explained.
Romano, the oaf, was still grinning like a damn loon. “It’s all about the magical c—”
“Don’t you say it,” Kalinda warned.
“Magical c—”
“I said no.”
“What? I was just going to say magical conflux.”
She stared at him, really hard.
“But you’re thinking about the other word, aren’t you?”
She wanted to scream as much as she wanted to kiss him.
“All right, all right, jokes are over. It’s time to get back to work,” Silva ordered.
“I can’t think like this. You can’t expect me to focus. We’re coming back tomorrow.”
Things had calmed down since Romano and Dominic had returned from meeting with Arturo. Romano didn’t tell Kalinda much, but she knew they’d at least removed the Viscount Pride as a threat and knew why the bastards had targeted her. She felt much better for that … barely.
It didn’t change the fact they were no closer to finding out how to get her from under the Council’s thumb with the death sentence, what her powers really could be, or figure if she’d turn fangy in a few weeks. Not that she wasn’t afraid of the Trinity—potential death could really cramp a girl’s style! She knew she could decide to save her life by simply joining. Turning into a wolf was still dicey business, one she was still pissed at Romano for, no matter how good his sex was. He may have helped with a temporary stay of execution, but he could have just compounded her issues.
Besides, would she be mage, shifter, or magifter. That’s soooo not cute to make up words, Kalinda.
She snorted, tickled despite the seriousness of it. She didn’t get a chance to laugh much in life, but since being around the Lombardi Pack, she had to admit things were changing. She wouldn’t tell Romano that, of course. His head was big enough as it was—both of them.
“Hey, chick. This isn’t the time to zone off. We’ve still go—”
“Silva!”
Kalinda couldn’t make out what she was seeing. The world slowed, an eerie silence permeating the land, but with that silence came heightened senses. Silva blanched, her face slackening, her mouth wide open, and a ruby pearl of blood slipped between her lips. She took one step, then another before she crumpled to her knees.
Was that a firecracker?
She couldn’t get her mind to work. A loud bang. Romano’s roar, Silva jerking to the side, Zoey’s scream.
Would you shut up for a moment, I’m thinking!
But it didn’t work. Not her normal sense of calm. Not the rapid-fire way Kalinda had become accustomed to dealing with any situation. Nothing.
“Kalinda!”
She blinked, stuck, unable to comprehend. Romano reached for her, even as he pushed Zoey to the ground, attempting to cover his Alpha’s mate even as he gripped Kalinda’s wrist.
No. Silva.
Kalinda ripped from Romano’s grip, power seething, bubbling, burning her insides. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, each thump echoing within her blood. Silva. Kalinda ignored everything else but her prone friend, lying in a pool of rapidly spreading blood.
The metallic tang of it was sharp in the air, making Kalinda dizzy. Warm, slick fluid covered her hands, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was Silva. She pulled her friend to her chest, struggling against Silva’s heavy weight as she flopped, fighting to keep her head clear.
No. No. Nonononononono! Help me, please.
Kalinda reached inside for the darkness, the fires burning deep inside she knew she wasn’t strong enough to contain. She pulled at them greedily.
“Kalinda, let me see her. I can’t help if
you don’t let her go.”
Kalinda whipped her head around, coming face to face with an uncommonly serious Giuliana. “Heal her.”
She didn’t know how her voice sounded so deep, so multiplied, but it raked over the wolf, pushing Giuliana to her knees. Pale and wide-eyed, Giuliana reached for Silva.
“You have to let me in. I promise I won’t hurt her.”
“You do, you die.”
It was a promise from deep within Kalinda. Everyone, no matter who they were, was a threat right now. She’d do anything to save Silva, who’d been by her side, who’d fought to protect her and teach her to help herself. Who’d handled Kalinda’s Katering like it was her own when Kalinda hadn’t been there.
Soul deep, Kalinda knew Silva was too important. Her blood sang with the knowledge. She only let Giuliana move Silva so far, keeping their hands connected. The healer wolf worked fast, feeling her way past a gaping hole in Silva’s back.
“She’s been shot with an iron bullet.”
Zoey sucked in a deep breath. “Did it puncture her heart?”
“What does iron do to a Fae?” Kalinda interrupted. She needed to understand. Needed to save her friend.
“Iron is poisonous to the Fae, like mercury to a human. It takes a large amount to kill them, unless injected directly into the heart. Even then, if dealt with fast enough, it can be survived. But the projectile has been spelled. I can’t pull it out of her. We need Zahara, and quick.”
“Save her,” Kalinda demanded.
“I … I can’t. Zahara is the quickest way, but that may be too late, Kalinda. I’m sorry.”
“I’m calling her now. The alarm has been raised, and scenters are out looking for the shooter. Giuliana, do what you can.”
Kalinda ignored Romano’s voice. She didn’t want his soothing. She didn’t want him to hold her and make everything all right. She wanted to destroy.
Every. Thing.
“Kalinda?”
No. Not anymore. She refused to let someone die. She refused to lose someone else because of magic and the bullshit it created. She’d lost enough, and she wasn’t going to let it beat her anymore.
Mated to the Enforcer (Mafia Wolf Shifters) (Encantado Shifters Book 2) Page 13