Mated to the Capo (Mafia Wolf Shifters) (Encantado Shifters Book 1)

by Georgette St. Clair

  A small sound emanated from Cin. She was crying quietly. Andrea walked over to her and knelt next to her.

  “I’m sorry,” Cin said, her voice watery with tears. “I shouldn’t have let him visit us. He isn’t part of our world. I just liked him, you know? And when he talked about you, I’d pretend you were my mom too. But you aren’t. I don’t have a family. I don’t deserve a family.”

  Andrea blinked hard and stared at Cin as if seeing her for the first time. “It’s not your fault. Of course, you deserve a family,” she said. “If your old family left you behind, they don’t deserve you.”

  Cin cried harder, and Andrea pulled her into a hug.

  “Hey, can I get in on that?”

  Everyone looked up. Lorenzo stood in the doorway, battered and bruised, leaning on Dominic. Romano was right behind them. Lorenzo’s eyes were blackened, nose swollen, and lips split, but he was alive. Cin shrieked with joy, Andrea burst into tears again, and everyone ran over to hug him. When they crowded around him, he cried out in pain. Giuliana elbowed them out of the way.

  “Everyone back off!” she yelled. “Let me work my magic. Hugs can wait.”

  Lorenzo’s knees gave way, and he fell into Dominic’s arms. Romano scooped up Lorenzo and carried him off, and Giuliana walked with them, her hand on Lorenzo’s arm. As long as she touched him, she could heal him. Andrea, Stewart, and Cin crowded around them as Romano headed to the clinic.

  Dominic and Zoey were alone in the room now, standing a few feet apart. Zoey folded her arms defensively across her chest. Dominic had shed his suit jacket, and his white button-down shirt was splattered with blood. His movements were a little stiff, but he didn’t seem to have any life-threatening injuries. Not for him, anyway.

  “I am glad to see you made it back in one piece,” she said frostily.

  “That’s what I do,” Dominic said. “I live through things.”

  There was a weary, bitter tone to his words, along with a hint of haunted guilt. Zoey might have questioned it if she hadn’t been simmering with fury.

  “I’m having your stuff moved here, by the way,” Dominic added.

  “I see.”

  “And you’re pissed at me.”

  She raked him with a furious scowl. “Using Lorenzo’s life to blackmail me was a low, despicable move.”

  Dominic met her gaze, unblinking. “I did what needed to be done.”

  “Excuse me!” Ottavio’s harsh tone made Zoey jump. He stalked through the door. Carlo bustled along behind him with his usual expression of dull, unfocused anger.

  Ottavio fixed his icy gaze on Zoey. “I have been told you are now permanently living on pack property. Have you come to this house of your own free will?” he demanded.

  Zoey returned his icy glower. “Yes, I have.”

  “And you know that, because of the wolf’s bite, this may be your final month on this earth and you are not required to be here yet? You are granted that final month of freedom to say farewell to your loved ones if you so choose?”

  Nice way to sugarcoat things.

  “I am aware I am not required to be here.”

  Ottavio put his hand on her arm and led her across the room. Dominic watched, his eyes glowing with anger.

  Ottavio leaned in and lowered his voice. “Did he coerce you? You didn’t want to be here before, and now you do.”

  “I volunteered,” Zoey said, shaking his hand from her arm. “Should you be touching me in front of my mate?” She flashed a poisonously sweet smile, and Ottavio’s self-confident demeanor faded. He licked his lips nervously and glanced over at Dominic.

  Dominic stalked across the room and maneuvered himself in between Zoey and Ottavio.

  “No, he should not. He will not do it again. And I can hear every damn word you say, Ottavio. I may not be a born shifter, but I am a shifter nonetheless, and I’ve got shifter hearing. We’re finished here.”

  Ottavio let out a threatening growl. “We’re finished when I say we are.” He returned his attention to Zoey. “You are a magic-blood. What are your powers?’

  “None of your business.” Dominic stepped between her and Ottavio. “She is my mate. She is here of her own free will. This conversation is over.”

  “It is absolutely my business. I need to know everything about her before I decide if she is permitted to stay here. Arturo’s safety is my responsibility.”

  “He is our Alpha! It’s the entire pack’s responsibility! Do you imply his safety is not my first priority?” Dominic’s ears went pointy and furry, and dark claws shot from his fingertips.

  Ottavio’s lip wrinkled in a snarl. “I imply nothing. I openly state you have been making many questionable decisions which weaken the pack.” He looked at Zoey as he spoke and twisted his lips into an ugly snarl. “We can take it outside.”

  “Gladly.” Dominic’s eyes glowed.

  “Enough!” A wave of power rolled into the room, making Zoey’s hair frizz. She felt as if she’d rolled in static electricity.

  Arturo strolled in, big and imposing. His cold blue gaze swept the room, and he looked Zoey up and down slowly. “Welcome to our house.” He glanced at Ottavio. “Biting Zoey was a decision Dominic’s wolf made. I do not expect to hear you bring it up again. As for her staying here, I can sense her powers. She is an Earth witch of low-level magic abilities. She is no danger to me, and my herb garden will enjoy the benefits.” His lips quirked in a brief smile. Then he gestured at Ottavio and Carlo. “Come with me. I require your assistance.”

  Ottavio and Carlo followed him out of the room, shooting dirty looks over their shoulders.

  Zoey waited until they were gone before she spoke to Dominic. “I said I’d stay under this roof. I didn’t say I’d stay with you. I would like my belongings moved into my own room.”

  Dominic’s expression turned bleak, but he nodded. “As you wish.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  T he gardens surrounding Arturo’s mansion were a patchwork of miracles.

  Some of the land was xeriscaped with cactus and other succulents, stone arrangements, and statues of wolves. However, there were enormous sections of lush, tropical landscape with a cluster of rain clouds hanging over them. It only rained at night, and it always rained just the right amount. Arturo would have needed a full-time upper-level weather witch on hand to maintain that, which would be ungodly expensive. There were citrus fruit trees and pomegranate trees and pineapple trees. Waterfalls gushed into crystal ponds.

  Arturo had “requested” Zoey’s friends stay as guests in his mansion for the time being because he didn’t want the Bianchis to be able to use them as collateral again. Nobody turned down Arturo’s “requests,” so there they all were. Danielle, Zoey, Andrea, Cin, and Stewart had just finished a late afternoon snack of coffee and biscotti served to them in a gazebo.

  At the moment, though, Andrea was blind to the beauty surrounding them. Her attention was focused on Lorenzo, who was leaning on his crutches and talking to Dominic.

  He’d suffered shattered ribs, a fractured arm, and broken nose and cheekbones at the hands of the Bianchis, and he was still recuperating. Giuliana’s healing powers had saved him weeks of healing time, but he was only human.

  Cin was in a funk too.

  She’d confided her woes in Zoey. Lorenzo used to hang on her every word, and now all his attention seemed to be laser-focused on the Moretti Capo. She was happy Arturo had relocated the rest of her homeless friends back to the Moretti territory, moving them into a motel where they were provided with hot showers and food. He’d even given them all jobs—painting over the vacant buildings they’d spray-painted. But she apparently hadn’t realized how much she’d taken Lorenzo’s feelings for her for granted—until he started ignoring her.

  Zoey had no idea what Dominic and Lorenzo were talking about, and she wasn’t about to ask him. She’d spent the last three days treating Dominic as if he were a troll with full-body herpes. She couldn’t get past the fact Dominic would have let an
innocent teenager die if she’d refused to stay with him. Dominic didn’t deserve Lorenzo’s hero worship, but telling Lorenzo would have been pointless.

  “I’ve lost him,” Andrea said miserably. “How can I compete against a Moretti Capo? He’ll join the pack and get himself killed.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that. Lorenzo’s not Moretti material,” Zoey said, then winced. That hadn’t come out right. “I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just saying he isn’t physically big enough that anyone would allow him to be bitten by a warrior-class shifter. He would never survive the turn.”

  “They must want my son for something. Why else would Dominic have been talking to him?” Andrea wiped tears from her cheeks. “They’ll use him as cannon fodder.”

  Andrea had to be right. Dominic didn’t do anything unless he had something to gain.

  “If they do that, I’ll never talk to Dominic again,” Zoey said, eyes blazing.

  “But my son would be dead.” Andrea’s voice was flat and hopeless. Lorenzo’s head was tipped up, riveted by whatever Dominic was saying, his head bobbing with eagerness. “I’m going to my room. I can’t watch.”

  “I’ll go too,” Stewart said, standing with a sigh. “I’ve got a chair to finish.”

  Arturo had provided Stewart with woodworking tools, and he’d even commissioned multiple pieces of hand-carved furniture from Stewart. Under other circumstances, Stewart would have been over the moon, but Andrea’s misery weighed like a dark heavy cloud on everyone. They were all worried about Lorenzo, who was young and impressionable and so desperate for a father figure, he’d make poor decisions.

  “Yeah, me too,” Cin sighed. “I’m going to go work on some jewelry.”

  “About that,” Zoey said. “I never apologized for thinking you’d shoplifted the jewelry. I’m really sorry.” She was wearing a bracelet that Cin had made for her.

  Cin managed a wry smile. “Why would you think anything else of me?”

  “Cin, you’ve got to value yourself more than that. You should have told me off, and I would have deserved it.”

  “It’s no big deal.”

  After Cin left, Zoey nudged Danielle with her elbow. “Go on. Your turn to complain. Everyone else is miserable.”

  Danielle stood. “Nah. Arturo’s chef, Tony, taught me how he makes coffee. In case you haven’t noticed, this particular variety is the nectar of the gods. I’m actually in a good mood for the moment.”

  “The hell you say?” Zoey bugged her eyes wide open in fake astonishment.

  “God’s honest truth. Now, when I leave here and no longer have access to the imported coffee beans and the bomb-ass coffee maker, you can expect to hear weeping and wailing from morning to night. You’ve been warned.”

  “When you talk about the bomb-ass coffee maker, are you referring to Tony, or the equipment?” Zoey pinned her friend with a questioning gaze.

  “Shut up, that’s what. I need more coffee, and Tony promised he’d teach me his mother’s secret recipe for espresso. Oh damn, I’ve said too much. I’m leaving, I’m leaving!” Danielle got up and ran out of the room.

  Zoey began wandering the grounds, instinctively drawn to drooping flowers and plants. They perked up as she trailed her fingers over them. Yay. At least she was able to make something feel better today.

  A patter of footsteps crunching on gravel made her spin around defensively. Giuliana was coming her way. As ever, she was dripping in Versace and Prada, and her pretty face was pinched in a scowl.

  “Oh, hold on.” Zoey reached into her pocket and pulled out a canister of pepper spray. She smiled at Giuliana without warmth. “Now we’re good.”

  “That was hilarious. So funny. I nearly died,” Giuliana said flatly.

  Zoey turned down a side path and kept walking. Giuliana caught up with her.

  “Thank you for not telling on me,” she said grudgingly.

  “Whatever.” Zoey shrugged. She wasn’t going to tattle on Giuliana, but she also hadn’t forgotten Giuliana’s attempts to bully and threaten her.

  She walked faster, but Giuliana easily kept pace.

  Zoey shot her an annoyed look. “We both know you don’t like me, so this isn’t a social visit. What do you want?”

  “You’re ignoring Dominic.,” Giuliana said, sounding aggrieved. “It’s been three days. His wolf is going crazy.”

  “Huh. I remember some crazy she-bitch stalking me and threatening me to stay away from Dominic. Oh wait, that was you,” Zoey said. “And now you’re pushing me toward him? I thought you wanted him for yourself.”

  “You thought I wanted him?” Giuliana’s face scrunched in horror. “Ew. He’s super old. He’s like thirty-five or something. I mean, not as bad as the other people my uncle was thinking of pawning me off to, but still, definitely not my dream wolf. I threw myself a little party when I found out I didn’t have to be his mate.”

  Zoey stopped walking and stared at her, baffled. “Then what was your problem with him choosing me as a mate?”

  “I thought you bewitched him or something.”

  “You thought I bewitched him? Why? How?”

  Giuliana lifted her narrow shoulder in an uneasy shrug. “You have magic. I can smell it on you. Some kind of witch’s charm. And lots of women would give their right tit to be a Capo’s mate.”

  “But his wolf moon-bit me.”

  Giuliana looked away. “Yeah. I guess I didn’t believe it was real.”

  “Why not?” Zoey said indignantly.

  Giuliana shrugged. “No reason.”

  “Because … this?” Zoey gestured at herself.

  “Because you’re … wearing polka dots?” Giuliana cast a critical eye on Zoey’s blouse. “I mean, not a fashion choice I personally would have made. I wouldn’t even call it a fashion choice, actually—”

  “No, dork-face, because I’m fat.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Giuliana sounded as if she were genuinely baffled. “You’re full-figured. You’re cute enough. I mean, you’re not my type, but I don’t swing that way. I see guys here checking you out … very carefully so Dominic doesn’t catch them doing it and kill them, but still, they look. So men must find you hot.”

  “Thank you? Or screw you? I’m not sure which.” Zoey started walking again. “But you’re still not answering my question. Why did you warn me away from him if you don’t want him for yourself? Why do you care what happens with him?”

  “Because he’s my friend, and he’s also genuinely a good person,” Giuliana said heatedly. “He deserves a mate who loves him and is devoted to him, and I’m still not sure if that’s you. He’s got a good heart, through and through. Out of all the people in the Moretti Pack, he’s the one I trust the most.”

  “Dominic?”

  Giuliana glared at her. “See, there you go. Judging him when you don’t know a thing about him.”

  Zoey felt like a boiling over tea kettle. “Because he won’t tell me a damn thing! I know he kills people without question when his boss tells him to. I know he’s ordered me to be his mate but tells me I don’t get to know a damn thing about pack business, and he expects me to just deal with it. He’s got mile-high walls, and when I try to get him to open up the least little bit, he acts like a complete ass.”

  Giuliana’s face turned red and she clenched her fists. “He is loyal, he’s protective, he’s self-sacrificing. And if you don’t appreciate that, you really don’t deserve him!” she shouted before turning on her heel and storming off.

  Zoey stalked after her and grabbed her shoulder, and Giuliana spun on her with a snarl, her mouth filled with fangs.

  “You know, for someone who wants people to treat her like a grownup, and who doesn’t want to be seen as riding on her uncle’s coattails, you really act like a tantruming little brat.”

  Giuliana’s eyes flew open with shock. “What did you just say to me? Do you know who I am?” Giuliana’s fangs shot from her gums, and her words ended on a snarl.


  Zoey fixed Giuliana with a scornful gaze. “Yes, and I know who your uncle is. Going to run and tell? Is that how you handle things?”

  Giuliana glared daggers at Zoey. Sucking in a breath, she let it out very slowly. “No.”

  “If you grow up a little and learn to talk to people without threatening, screaming, and then stomping off, people might start to take you seriously.”

  Zoey left Giuliana standing there with her mouth hanging open.

  Zoey headed back to the house, and as she made her way through the garden, she spotted Dominic. It had been really, really hard to stay away from him. She missed seeing him light up when she walked in the room. She missed his smile and the way his gaze warmed her. She missed their back-and-forth sparring. She missed giving him a hard time—both literally and figuratively. She felt pretty and funny and all-around good when she was with him. He made her feel that way.

  When he saw her looking at him, he waved. She sighed and waved back, gesturing at him to come over.

  He instantly stood and hurried toward her, which she grudgingly had to admit was pretty flattering.

  “Um, hello,” she said. “So, oddly enough, Giuliana claims you’re actually a nice person.”

  “She did?” Dominic pretended to look appalled. “Remind me to give her a beat-down later.”

  “You don’t always have to put on the tough guy act.”

  “It cuts me to the quick that you think it’s an act,” Dominic smirked.

  “Ah ha! We’re getting somewhere. I cut you to the quick? I didn’t even think you had a quick. So you do have feelings.”

  He grinned. “Only for you, princess.”

  Zoey rolled her eyes. “Say something real, Dominic.”

  “You look lovely today. When I woke up, I wanted to find you in my arms.”

  “That’s flattery and flirtation. It’s not real.” She started to walk away.

  “Wait!” Dominic said with genuine urgency in his voice.

  Zoey stopped and turned around. Dominic surveyed the area, as if making sure nobody was watching, and then dropped to one knee in front of her.