“We will try after lunch,” she said. “Now, tell me how you met and about your trip so far.”
An incredible smile spread across Nick’s face as he told his aunt our story. He gave her the abridged version and we talked about our trip and plans for the following day. We wanted to see the castles in the area and the ancient Roman remains in the city.
After lunch, we went back to his nonno’s house to try and talk to him. Liliana went to the backyard where he was gardening and told him we were there. We could hear him yelling in Italian. When Nick heard him say “demon dancer” he had enough and went storming through the back door. I decided it would be best not to follow.
I had never heard anyone use a derogatory name for a witch before and it surprised me. I got very protective of Nick anytime someone used the “dog” insult. It was as if they were using racial slurs.
I could hear Nick actually swearing at his grandfather in Italian. To say I was shocked is putting it mildly. Not that I had never heard Nick swear before, but to hear him swearing at his elder that way, I was taken aback. Liliana was defending me as well. Insisting that I was a sweet, young girl who couldn’t help what I was. I felt so awkward. I didn’t know if I should sit down on the sofa in the living room or continue to stand in the doorway just inside the house.
Nick finally came back in, grabbed my arm and tugged me out the front door. “We’re leaving,” he said matter-offactly. “I won’t stay another second in this house. He disgusts me.”
“Uh, should we say goodbye to your aunt?” I asked.
“She wants to meet us for dinner later. We’re finding a hotel for the night.” Before we made it all the way to the car, his grandfather came to the front door, yelled out “daughter of darkness” and spat at the ground.
~Chapter Eleven~
Nick instantly shifted forms and ran at his grandfather. Massimo shifted as well and they were in a standoff in the front yard. “Holy hell, Liliana! Can’t you stop this? What if someone sees?”
“No one will see. Our home is very isolated and we rarely get visitors,” she shouted over the growling.
“Do something,” I shouted.
“I can’t,” she answered. “I won’t get in between two Alphas.”
I felt completely useless. It didn’t even occur to me to use magic to make them stop. I was so startled by the entire thing that I froze in place. I couldn’t believe Nick would act this way to his elder. I watched in horror as they circled, snapping at one another.
Suddenly, Nick leapt in the air and landed on top of his grandfather. He growled in his face and bit down on his shoulder. “Liliana! He’s going to kill him. Do something damn it!”
“No, he won’t. He’s expressing his dominance. He’s not biting hard enough to do any permanent damage.” She continued to stand in the doorway, watching them like it was no big deal. When Massimo finally whimpered, Nick let go of his shoulder, stepped off him and shifted back to human form. As a last act of defiance, he spit at him while he lay there on the ground unmoving.
I stood there with my mouth hanging open in shock and Nick came over and opened my car door. I got in slowly and tried to calm my breathing. He got in, started the car and pulled away from the house. “What the crap just happened?” I stuttered.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” was all he said.
“Explain please.”
“You heard what he called you, not just once, but twice he insulted you. You’re not only my wife, but my mate. My true mate. That is unforgivable to weres. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.” He continued to look forward at the road as we drove closer to town. I didn’t know what to say to that so I stayed silent for awhile, hoping Nick would calm down.
He pulled up to the first place we saw, a darling bed and breakfast. As he turned off the car, he sat there silently for a minute. I waited quietly for him to speak first. “I know you probably think that was unacceptable. In our Italian culture, it’s extremely disrespectful to stand up to your elders. Like when you yelled at your father,” he looked at me. “But you have to understand something about weres. It’s different. I’m an Alpha. I may be way younger than him, but I’m still an Alpha. And in two different instances, we challenge each other. One is when we are fighting for dominance. It is a fight to the death, or until one bows to the other and accepts defeat. The other is when our mate is threatened.”
“Are you going to get in trouble though? Will Aberto be upset with you? It’s his father after all.”
“It may be his father, but he will completely understand. That’s just the way things work for us. I am really sorry though that you had to witness it.”
“I was worried you might…”
“I wasn’t going to kill him. I was in complete control. Not like the times I’ve attacked Ky,” his chest rumbled softly. I was surprised he said his name. “This was different. He wasn’t trying to steal you from me.”
“Will he ever speak to you again?” I wondered.
“Probably not. But I honestly don’t care. I don’t want anything to do with someone who would treat you that way.” He sighed deeply. “I should probably call Babbo tonight to tell him what happened before Nonno does. I’m sure his version wouldn’t be the correct one.”
We got out of the car and went into the bed and breakfast. They had one room left and we checked in for the night. Nick got on the landline right away to call home. It would be cheaper to charge it to the room than use his cellphone. I was already annoyed that I would have several charges just from the few texts that Jack sent me.
I decided to take a quick shower before dinner while Nick was on the phone. When I got out, he was lying back on the bed with his eyes closed. “You asleep?” I whispered.
“No, just thinking,” he said, still lying there.
“About?” I asked as I got dressed.
He sat up and looked at me, “Everything. It’s so stupid that people are still acting this way.”
“If you recall, we were acting this way a few months ago,” I reminded him.
“We weren’t anywhere near this bad.” He pulled me onto his lap. “Especially not after that first kiss,” he reminded me. I felt butterflies in my stomach at the memory and couldn’t help but smile. Nick leaned in and kissed me softly.
We left and met Liliana at a restaurant in the main square in town. She apologized profusely all throughout dinner, but Nick was still upset. He changed the subject whenever she would bring it up.
After dinner, as we walked through the square back to our hotel, I asked him what Aberto said about the incident with his grandfather.
“It was like I said,” Nick shrugged. “He completely understood and agreed with me. Actually, he was rather proud of me for acting like a true Alpha. You’re not still freaked out about the whole thing, are you?”
“No, I get it. I mean it’s weird to me, but I understand now. And thank you for standing up for me. No one has ever called me any kind of name before,” I was still a little astounded at the crude things Massimo had come up with.
“Do you mind if I go out tonight?” Nick asked. I knew he needed to shift. It had been awhile and it was almost as if the woods started to call to him.
“Of course not. Are you going back up to the mountains?”
“Yeah. There was plenty of space and tree cover up there.”
“Please don’t do anything stupid,” I added.
“Like?”
“Go back to confront your grandfather again.”
“I want nothing more to do with that man,” he seemed disgusted.
I didn’t wake when he finally came in that night, and the next morning we were up early to explore the town and surrounding sights. It wasn’t a very big town and most of it was surrounded by mountains and ski lodges. Our people tended to live in smaller areas.
We drove back to Ventimiglia that afternoon and spent the rest of the evening with my grandparents. I called Nat’s grand-mère to let her know we would be stopping by the next
day. She was excited we were in town and promised to make madeleines for me.
Nonna cried when we left the next morning and made Nick promise to bring me back to Italy sooner rather than later. “When are you coming to Arizona?” I asked her. “Mamma misses you. Even Gabriela and Pietro are coming.”
“As soon as you have my great-grand baby,” she answered with a smile. I had no words. I felt nauseous just thinking about it, but I smiled softly and nodded.
We spent the morning in Menton just on the other side of the border in France. There were so many things to see that I was worried we wouldn’t be able to do it all. We saw the museum of the artist Jean Cocteau, bought jams at the Maison Herbin, visited the history museum, had lunch at a fabulous boulangerie and saw a few churches before heading to the Gagnon’s house.
The delicious scent of baking wafted through the screen door as we walked up. I let myself in, calling out for Violette. Nat’s grandparents didn’t speak any English either, but both Nick and I spoke fluent French having grown up with our friends.
“Bonjour ma belle Sofia!” she shouted as she threw her arms around me and kissed my cheeks. She looked at Nick, but asked me, “Parle-t-il francais?”
“Oui, many members of my pack are French,” he answered in French. “Tres bien,” she said, hugging and kissing him as well. “Now come in to the kitchen. I have baked for you.”
We followed her and sat at the table where madeleines and hot chocolate were waiting for us. Thierry, Nat’s grandpère came in from the backyard. He welcomed us and asked us about our trip so far.
“Rosaria has told us a little about you both, but tell us your story,” Violette asked in French.
Once again, we relayed the story of how we came together. I excitedly told her about the prophecy that was in Nonna’s book and she shared my enthusiasm. We spent the night catching up and talking about Nat and Jack’s upcoming binding ceremony. I didn’t realize that they were planning on coming to the States for it.
We spent the night and drove to Nice the next morning for our flight. I decided that the worst part of vacation was being on an airplane or in an airport for an entire day. Nat and Jack were the ones to pick us up Wednesday night when we landed.
“I figured you would be doing wedding stuff,” I said as I threw my suitcase in the trunk of Jack’s Camaro.
“Are you kidding? And miss hearing every single detail of your trip on the way home?” Nat said. Jack kept the radio off the entire ride back so we could tell them about everything that happened.
“OMG, have you told your mamma yet about the prophecy?” she asked excitedly.
“No, it’s too expensive to call overseas. And I already have to pay for Jack’s texts,” I said.
“What were you texting Sof about?” she turned to Jack.
“Uh…” he stuttered.
“Oh crap, my bad,” I said, not realizing Nat didn’t know about the ring yet.
“What already?” she practically shouted. Nick was laughing beside me in the backseat.
“Nothing you won’t find out in a couple of days,” I answered. “Now, more about our trip.” Nat frowned at me but let it go.
When I got to the part about Nick attacking his grandfather, she shouted, “Shut.Up!”
“Seriously,” I said. “I was totally freaking out.”
Nick butted in, “You have to understand something about weres. We’re very protective of our mates.”
“Oh, that’s so cute. You called her your mate,” Nat interrupted.
“That’s what she is. And you should’ve heard the things he called her. It was disgusting.”
“What did he say?” Jack asked.
“He called her a demon dancer and a daughter of darkness,” Nick answered, abhorred.
“Oh snap, I woulda kicked his ass too,” Jack said.
“Did you just say, ‘oh snap’?” I laughed.
“I’m telling you, you girls are rubbing off on us,” Nick smiled.
I ended by telling Nat about visiting her grandparents and how incredible Menton was. She was dying to go visit them, but I doubted they would have money anytime soon with Jack spending his savings on a ring. Knowing Nat as well as I did, I thought she probably would have rather gone on a honeymoon to France than have a ring.
When we got back to the apartments, Jack dropped Nat off with us. She was playing house in their new place, getting everything ready for Jack to move in in a few days.
The next morning, I drove to the store to visit Mamma while Nick went to the restaurant to prep food for the day. It was hard to leave each other after spending every moment together all week, but it was back to reality and we both had jobs.
“Piccola!” Mamma shouted when I walked in the back door. “I didn’t expect to see you today. Aren’t you tired from the flight?”
“I slept most of it, and my clock is all off now so I’m wide awake. It’s later in the day for me still,” I smiled as I gave her a kiss.
“Tell me everything,” she said.
“Did Nonna call you at all?” I asked.
“No. Was she supposed to?”
“No, I just wondered if she told you about the
prophecy.”
“What? You found it?”
“Sì, in Nonna’s book. And she knew it was there all
along,” I said.
“Ah, that’s why she told us to move here, isn’t it?” she
quickly realized. “What did it say exactly?”
I had written it down when I found it since I knew I
couldn’t bring Nonna’s book back with me. I pulled the
paper out of my back pocket to show Mamma. She read it
over twice, just as I had. “A baby,” she grinned widely. I got that sick feeling again and rushed to say,
“Mamma, don’t even go there yet. I’m only eighteen. Nick and I aren’t ready for that step yet. We’re still newly
bound.”
“Oh, I know. I’m just happy to know that it will happen
someday. And she will be such a great leader. I knew there
was something special between you two.”
“You sure didn’t think that in the beginning,” I
reminded her.
“Not true,” she frowned. “When I saw him standing
next to you in our house that day, I knew it. Don’t you
remember?” I nodded.
She was ready to disown me when she and Babbo
found out about us, but when I brought Nick over for the
first time, her heart softened. She was even there to support
us the night of our binding ceremony. And she was the one
to convince Babbo to sit down and listen to us. I owed her
for that. It’s what ended the feud between the local weres
and witches, even if everyone in Europe wasn’t ready to
accept it yet.
I decided to stay and work for the day since I was
already there. As I went in the back to get some candles to
restock the shelf out front, I realized Gia was standing
there.
~Chapter Twelve~
“Oh crap, what are you doing here?” I asked. “You startled me.”
“Mi scusi,” she apologized. “I came to pick up some supplies that Giuliana ordered for Rosetta.”
“Oh, okay. Well, let me help you find them.” It was a little unsettling that she had appeared out of nowhere, but I was determined to give her another chance. I wondered how long she had been in the store though and if she heard what Mamma and I were talking about. I was still hesitant to share my life with a stranger—especially one that was related to Ky.
We found the box right away and Gia excused herself without saying hello to Mamma. “Gia was just here,” I said as I came out front with a box of candles.
“Oh really? What for?” she asked without looking up from the herbs she was sorting into bins.
“She said she was picking up su
pplies you ordered for Rosetta.”
“Oh, yes. She wanted some peculiar things I don’t normally carry in the store,” she said. Something wasn’t sitting right with me, but I wasn’t about to tell her since she didn’t share my suspicions.
Nat showed up later in the afternoon to pick up her dress. Mamma didn’t carry anything nice enough for a binding ceremony in the store, so Nat decided to have her order one that she found in a catalog behind the counter.
The dress was simple, but beautiful. A cap-sleeved, white, Empire-waisted dress that reached the ground with chiffon ruffles on the sleeves and sash down the front. The back had a cool touch with its crisscrossing, satin ribbons.
Nat wanted me in black so I found a satin slip dress with lace overlay. I was a tiny bit jealous. While my prom dress was amazing, it still made me sad that I didn’t get to have my own wedding dress. Mamma’s shift was beautiful and I was so surprised and happy that she gave it to me for our binding ceremony, but it would have been nice to actually be able to plan my own wedding. I still thought of it as the best night of my life so far though.
The flowers were taken care of as well. Each of the flowers she was using in her bouquet had special meanings in witchcraft: irises for promise, blue violets for a promise to be faithful, pink primrose to say you can’t live without each other, and white roses to tell your love that you will be true to their heart. She also decided to adorn the altar with ivy for marriage and lily of the valley mixed in to express that they complete each other’s lives. She didn’t know yet, but I planned to present her with some lavender at the ceremony to wish them luck.
“I’m surprised you weren't here at the crack of dawn to pick it up,” I said. “The ceremony is tomorrow.” I couldn’t believe the day was already here. I was incredibly excited for my best friend to have her dreams come true. She had been in love with Jack since we were fifteen.
“We were moving Jack’s stuff in. The only thing he didn’t bring was his bed. He’ll sleep at home tonight of course,” she added, looking at my mamma.
“Of course,” Mamma nodded with a smirk.
“What’s that look for?” I asked.
“I am not so naïve to believe…” she trailed off.
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