Last to Love

by Alexa Whitewolf

  “Mamma...”

  “Take care of yourself,” she whispers and leans in for a kiss on the cheek.

  I pull her into my arms, and Matteo, inhaling their scents for the last time. I’ll never have dreams of them, only memories that will fade with time. And that kills me. But I wasn’t born a coward, nor a wuss, and I will stand by them. If this is the best thing for them, I have to accept it. No matter how much it kills me.

  One last sob, one last kiss, and Mamma backs out of my arms. Matteo looks up at me, fear all over his face. I force words past my numb lips. “You’ll be good, fratello. It’ll be a new life. A better, safer one.”

  He nods, and whispers, “Don’t forget me, Luciano.”

  “Never,” I whisper back.

  Mamma takes Matteo’s hand, and they step towards the river. She leans in first, cupping some of the water in her palms and giving it to him. Matteo sips at it, his gaze never wavering from mine. I force a smile. “You’re the bravest, Matty.”

  Then Mamma drinks, too, and waves my way. “Be happy, Luciano. For both of us.”

  Their smiling faces are the last thing I’ll remember. A moment later, their forms shimmer a bright silver, and trickle down into the river, disappearing in its depths....and taking my heart with them.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  ∞ Dolore ∞

  “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”

  -C. S. Lewis-

  Lucas

  After the last of their essence, of their soul, is gone, my legs fail me. I drop to the ground, head bowed and fists clenched. I’d felt tired in my father’s mansion, even hopeless. But here, right now, despair fills me to an extent I’ve never experienced.

  I throw my head back and roar at the black sky, then slam my fists on the ground hard enough to make it shake. None of it helps – nothing will bring them back, not now. But the raw pain in my chest won’t let up. And the chimera, more than ever before, demands retribution. Demands blood.

  As does my wolf. While before he’d been at the back of my mind, now he’s right there with the chimera. For a lupo mannaro, family is everything, whether it’s a chosen pack or blood. So why in hell would I be called lord of death, pack alpha, when I cannot protect those I love?

  Failure rolls over me in waves, weighing my shoulders. None of this feels right. And none would have happened if I had killed Alessandro, rather than try to outmaneuver him.

  “Who goes disturbing the peace of my souls?”

  My glassy eyes lift to find a man in the distance. He must have entered the Lethe sanctuary quietly, as I did not feel his presence. Now, he’s standing a few feet away from me, watching me with an arched eyebrow. Black hair streaked with silver falls to his shoulders. Stormy blue eyes meet mine, and he’s dressed in a simple tunic and dark pants. When I try to stand, he lifts one hand and I find I am unable to move.

  Yet though he controls my body, he cannot stop my glare. He circles me, inspecting me assessing me with a gaze that grows ever more speculative. “Hmm. I thought your kind were extinct, chimera.”

  “We are,” I grit out. “My mother just drank from Lethe.”

  “I see.” One more glance at the river, then he drops his hand and extends it to me instead in a shake. “I am Hades. Welcome, son of Francesca.”

  I find I’m able to stand then, and do so without touching him. “Great. I need to get going.” There is nothing left to do but get out of here, and return to Alessandro so I can have my vengeance. Shaking hands with a god is not nearly a priority when compared to that.

  Dimly, I remember Alessandro asked me to take Charon’s staff, but I plan to do nothing of the sort. Not unless I need the blasted piece of wood to get out of here, but otherwise, it’ll be the chimera he gets back, in all its fury.

  Hades’ rich laughter follows me. “Not so fast, young wolf. You come here seeking something for your father, no?”

  I freeze. “What makes you say that?”

  “Nothing goes in my realm unnoticed. Nor has the fact your friends followed you here.” I turn back to him, slowly. The fire in his eyes reminds me I’m standing in front of the lord of the Underworld, and that alone deserves some respect. With Finn’s gift, I can sense the power emanating from him, coupled by a rich annoyance.

  “Three lives have followed you here, easily disposed of if you dare to remove anything that is mine,” Hades says and pauses. “That includes another life. Remember that.”

  My newly reckless temper chooses that moment to poke its head. I take a step forward, already preparing for an argument – and then light clapping echoes around us, and we’re bathed in a light almost too bright.

  The scent of cinnamon assaults my nostrils, and I frown, squinting towards the illumination. “Ileana?”

  Hades arches an eyebrow until the brightness dims, leaving behind Dominic’s godmother. She glances around the Underworld but says nothing, her expression odd – almost longing.

  “Che... What are you doing here, Ileana?” I ask.

  She shrugs, and smiles. “Paying a little visit to an old friend.” To my surprise, she inclines her head towards the lord of this place. “Hades, good seeing you.”

  “And you,” he murmurs, though his voice is different now. Huskier, richer – the kind you use for someone you know and care for. “Is your presence gracing me for business, or pleasure?”

  Ileana laughs, her twinkling sound as annoying as it is beautiful. “Oh, you can wish, my mercurial god. But no, I am only here to put this lost wolf on the right path.”

  “Indeed,” Hades says and returns his attention to me. “I do believe you were about to attack me, were you not?”

  I hesitate, torn between logic and feelings. Logic finally wins, and I mutter an apology. “Scusi. My head is not...thinking clearly.”

  “Forgive him, Hades. For old times’ sakes. Surely you remember what losing loved ones feels like?” When the god remains silent, Ileana’s sunny eyes meet mine. “Dominic needs you, as does your mate. It is about time you stop fooling around.”

  “Monica’s here?” The thought both elates me and infuriates me, though I ignore Ileana calling her my mate. I told her to stay safe, to keep my wolves safe, and she couldn’t even do that! And Dominic... Hades had mentioned three. “Did Lucrezia come, too?”

  “Of course,” Ileana says. There is a warning somewhere in those words, and in the way she tilts her head to the side, almost as if subtly pointing in the direction away from Hades. I sense an odd urgency in the air around her. “Shall we go and find them?”

  That, more than anything, moves me from my trance. If my wolves are here, I owe them safety – and getting them out the Underworld. There is no time to wallow in self-pity, to cry over Matteo and Mamma. Those few moments, before Hades interrupted, are all I’ll ever have. They are gone, and it is for the best – for their best. I lost them once, and survived. All I have to do is take these memories and shelve them in my mind, closing the chapter for good. And, this time, the chapter will remain closed.

  Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Doesn’t mean I have to forget them. But I do have to move forward... And get the three people who risked their lives back to the world of the living.

  Once that’s done, I can have my vengeance on Alessandro. The thrill of it brings life to my frozen limbs, and I take a step forward.

  Ileana rolls her eyes and grabs my arm, pulling me onwards faster. “Nice seeing you, Hades. Until next time!”

  To my surprise, he does nothing to stop us. And yet, we’re barely out of the garden when his voice carries over. “Remember what I said, wolf.”

  When I check over my shoulder, he’s gone, and the reply to shove it dies on my lips. I follow Ileana in a daze, lost between the realm I’m leaving, the possibility of seeing Monica again, and wondering why in hell Dominic would follow me.

  “I am sorry about your family,” Ileana whispers.

  I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. “Is there anything you don’t see?”
/>   She laughs. “Some things do escape me, yes, but not many.”

  “Claro. So you and Hades...?”

  “Childhood friends.”

  I shake my head at the impossibility. “He’s a Greek god. You’re a Romanian immortal. Scusi, but what’s the link?”

  “Immortal school,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes.

  I give up on trying to figure it out and instead say, “Where are they?”

  She points to a path. “Straight up ahead. And I do believe your help will be needed. The sooner, the better.”

  I move away from her, then stop. “You wouldn’t happen to know how we get out of here, period? Once all the fighting is done, I mean.”

  Ileana smiles. “You already know – follow the marigolds.”

  “Marigolds? Surely not the ones I saw in Elysium?”

  “No, that would be pointless if you wish to remain alive,” she says. “There are many paths in the Underworld, but only one with marigolds that leads to the living world.”

  Despite my confused frown, she adds nothing else, so I change my line of questioning. “Is there a particular reason you didn’t want me to go in depth on Luz’s powers, back there?”

  “Let’s just say, for the sake of maintaining status quo, that it would be best if Hades doesn’t know what escaped his Underworld once. And what will a second time.”

  “You mean because Lucrezia is a Solomonar, now?”

  “Among other things,” Ileana murmurs. “Your father is not the only one fond of collecting.” I can tell by her tone it’s as much as I’ll find out, so I quicken my step instead, away from her.

  I don’t have to verify to confirm she’s gone, disappeared wherever it is she usually goes to. As for me... Mamma. Matteo. I close my eyes, then inhale deeply and clench my fists. Morphing the despair into anger turns out to be easier than I thought.

  Monica

  You would think seeing someone develop sort of a split personality would be scary, at least. What it is, is downright devastating. Dominic’s red gaze doesn’t move off us, like he’s ready to tear us limb from limb. His mouth twists in a smirk completely unlike him, and he starts gaining on us.

  “Um, Lucrezia?”

  She shakes her head, eyes wide with panic. “This isn’t him!”

  “Can’t you do something?”

  “No!” she cries. “The only element I have to draw on here is lightning, and I won’t hurt him.”

  “Fine,” I grumble, still backing away. The more we try to add distance, the wider Dominic’s grin gets. “Any idea what caused this?”

  “The river must have done something. Like when he was fighting Radu, and he got drugged.”

  “Who’s Radu?” I say as we keep inching away slowly, as if faced with a rabid bear. Which, Dominic kind of looks like. If we turn tail and run, we’re screwed.

  “Funny you should mention me, human.”

  Lucrezia freezes and turns around. Facing us are three guys, each more messed up than the last, their forms shimmering silver. The one who’d spoken is half-naked, some worn jeans on his hips. His hair is shaggy, eyes glassy, as if he’s on some kind of drug. The one in the middle and the one to his side wear leather top to bottom, which gives a dangerous air to their overall appearance when toppled with cropped hair and mean eyes.

  “No...”

  “Friends of yours?” I whisper to Luz. She looks ready to bolt.

  “On the contrary,” she says. “Enemies I’ve already fought once. Shit.” She glances between them and Dominic behind us, and we try to position ourselves to keep an eye on both groups. Which, sadly, means we end up having the Styx at our backs.

  The middle one grins. “We got some unfinished business, Red. Let’s wrap things up, yeah?”

  Luz snaps out of her daze and narrows her eyes. “I’d like to see you try, Jared.” I’m a bit reassured she’s no longer looking like a panicked doe, but newly scared because we have no way out.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” the last one grins, showing brilliant white teeth. He’d be sexy, with the chocolate tone of his skin and the muscles underneath rippling, if not for the deranged look in his eyes. “I’m Cade, baby.”

  Meraviglioso. Three psychos, all of them who know Luz, and obviously aren’t afraid of Crazy Dom, and all intent on having a piece of us. As if guessing my thoughts, the three men move. The one called Cade heads to me, licking his lips.

  Then he lunges on me, shifting to wolf midair, and I don’t think. I don’t wait to see if they can actually inflict harm, given they’re the souls of the dead. I just do. Letting my wolf take over, listening to her as we roll, avoiding the hit. Cade nearly lands in the river, but instead bumps into Dominic.

  Luckily, Dominic doesn’t seem to differentiate between enemies and he starts going crazy on him, leaving me time to turn to the other two. The one called Radu grabs Lucrezia’s arm, but she holds out her free hand and draws upon lightning.

  It zings from the clouds above, and Radu screams in pain as part of his hand gets charred. Hmm. So they can be hurt. Taking aim, I jump on Jared’s back, my claws digging into his flesh and splitting it open, expecting it’ll do the trick.

  And then...it heals.

  “Merda!” I back away, trying to put some distance between us. Only this time, Dominic is there too, cutting off my escape. “Um, Luz?”

  “I know!” she snaps, eyes darting around for an escape. There is none. We’re stuck on a shore with her mate in some weird altered state, and three ghosts that won’t die. We couldn’t have planned a failed rescue attempt better if we’d tried.

  And then, a miracle.

  Something steps out of the shadows. I tense, expecting another enemy – but his face emerges into the dim light and I nearly drop to my knees in relief at the onyx eyes I know so well.

  “Get the fuck away from them,” Lucas snarls. His appearance makes the three wolves stop, and even Dominic seems to hesitate, tilting his head at an odd angle.

  Lucas runs, picking up speed, jumping in the air and transforming to his wolf form. He lands next to me and Lucrezia, and immediately strikes out. His rage comes through in every hit, merciless, ruthless. One paw smacks Radu, clawing at his throat. Cade and Jared jump on his back, but rather than be deterred, Lucas seems to only get bigger.

  And then Dominic jumps on him with a roar.

  “Dom, no!”

  Lucas

  My fucking beta again. In his quest to come get me, Dominic has managed once again to rile up old enemies. Fucking hell, but this never gets easy. It takes all my energy and will to toss him off me without actually hurting him.

  Lucrezia throws me a grateful look, and I yell at her. “Fix him!”

  She nods and moves to Dominic, Monica protecting her back. My raven-haired beauty seems frazzled, but our eyes lock and hold across the distance, for all of a second. So many thoughts run through my mind, but there is no time for any of them.

  Instead, I focus my attention on the three losers facing me. And then, the chimera comes again. Demanding blood, demanding a life.

  I remember what Hades said though – any life I take will put my own pack in jeopardy. I don’t even notice my body getting larger, but I feel the pain, the rage, the loss of Matteo and Mamma fill me up.

  And then my paws are massive, the wolves are smaller. I head to the water and put my paw in it. I could cross it, I know I could. If I get big enough. Channeling Dominic’s strength, Tristan’s ability to morph his body...

  I test it again, this time growing larger still. One glance at Luz shows she’s hugging a normal-looking Dominic, and I’m guessing whatever Sleeping Beauty kiss she bestowed upon him did the trick.

  The three enemies get back up, and I don’t have time for their shit. Rather than let Monica deal with them, I smack them with one massive paw, and they go splashing all over Styx, unconscious. If nothing else, I’m guessing the river will keep them out of my way.

  Taking advantage of the small breather, I allow my body t
o morph back into human. The minute I’m normal, Monica runs into my arms, hurtling into me with such force I step backwards. “You’re alive!” she whispers in my neck, her grip tightening.

  Over her shoulder, I notice Luz help Dominic up. While they talk, I force my attention back on Monica. “Sì, I’m fine.”

  She pulls back at the tone of my voice, her gaze wide. “Where’s your brother? Alessandro said he sent you both down here.”

  A muscle ticks in my jaw. “He did. Matteo...” I look away, swallowing hard to get the lump in my throat gone.

  Monica’s hold on me loosens, and I taste her pity in the air. It’s enough to ignite my dormant anger, and I unclasp her arms from around my neck and push her away. “It’s fine. I’m not a child, nor do I need your pity. I’ve made sure Matteo’s safe, now, and so is my mother.”

  She bites her lip, her emotions all over the place. “How?” she finally asks.

  “They drank from Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, and went to be reborn. My father cannot use either of them as leverage now.”

  Dominic and Lucrezia pick that moment to join us, catching the last bit of my words. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Lucrezia says.

  I nod her way, then hold out my hand for Dominic to shake. “Thanks for having my back down here. Did I hurt you?”

  “This? Pfft, you wish.” Dominic snorts, wincing as the side of his body bleeds again. “Cerberus’ hits hurt a hell of a lot more.”

  “You ran into him?”

  “Yeah,” Luz says, and fear tinges the air around her. “He’s, um, pretty much as bad as all the stories say.”

  I shake my head in disbelief. “How did you even survive him?”

  “Dominic distracted him, and I used lightning to blind him,” Luz says. Her focus flickers between me and Monica, noticing her silence. “We should probably head back, then... To the world of the living, I mean.”

  “Sì,” I nod. “It’s about time. Why did you even follow me down here, when I told Monica you all should head back home?”