Alpha Luciano's POV"I think it's high time you killed Arabella. She has outlived her usefulness. Vitalio has been declawed and is busy fighting off the government with the last of his cash to keep himself out of jail. We have no use for her anymore."I ignored Uncle Vitalio. He seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. He wanted me to kill Arabella now that she was no longer carrying my child. And somehow he felt that I would go with it?I browsed through Mikah's report on the activities of the Creoles. It was too quiet and I had learnt to be wary of the quiet before the storm. "Luciano, I'm speaking to you.""I heard you." I raised my eyes to meet him. "I just don't feel like wasting my time on pointless arguments. Arabella is my property. She will live as I will.""It is not your place to interfere with your Alpha's affairs. We all saw what happens when I let you try it. That's how this entire Creole mess started anyway. So mind your business and find a fucking h
Arabella's POVWhen I woke up, I was chained up with silver and gagged. I was also on the forest floor but it wasn't the same forest that I had lost consciousness in. That Emery had knocked me out. That bitch!How dare she? What exactly was her plan? She couldn't hurt me, Luciano would have her hide. Not because he cared about me but because in his twisted mind, I was just a property which he owned, meaning only he could decide on my life and death.Or could he be in on this?"I'll give her to you as long as you promise me that you will kill her and Luciano will never find out that I had anything to do with this." That was Emery's voice. Who was she giving me to? I tried not to make too much noise so that they wouldn't notice that I had woken up already. I twisted my neck and head slightly. I could see Emery talking to a cloaked person some yards away, her voice low and conspiratorial. The voice that replied was low, sweet with a tang of sarcasm."Do you think I answer to a lowly
Arabella's POVI hurt all over from the multiple beatings I had taken. My back and my stomach were bruised and I was sure that I had cracked at least one rib. After beating me up on Anastasia's command, they proceeded to dump me in this wooden storage unit. It was musty and smelled like mould. I could hear their conversations going on outside. I had to escape from this place.When I had been depressed about losing my child, I thought a lot about dying. It wasn't like I wanted to end my life. I just wanted the pain to end. But now the last thing I wanted was for my life to end.I never understood how Luciano felt violence and death were the answers to every problem until after finding out that Emery and Anastasia had masterminded my child's death. I was angry. I wanted revenge with a ferocity that bothered me. But first I needed to escape. My hands were still chained in front of me. My legs were free, however. There had to be a plus side to this. I couldn't slam my body against the w
Alpha Luciano's POVNo, she couldn't be dead. I laid her down on the forest floor. She looked serene. If not for the bullet marks and the blood on her lips, I would have thought her asleep. My wolf howled within me and I felt the twin feelings of rage and pain cloud my vision. There was once a time that I wanted Arabella dead. That I saw her as nothing more than a means of getting back at Vitalio. A time when revenge was all I was. All I needed to be.When I detested this bond between us that stopped me from harming her. A time when I was lost and somehow somewhere something had begun to shift and I denied it. Fought it with all of me because I didn't want to suffer the way my parents had. Their love became a weakness. Seeing the other half of her die had killed my mother before those men had even touched her. I'd wanted no one to have that hold on me and I had been successful. Sex was impersonal for me. It was merely satisfying my needs, scratching an itch so to speak.After findin
Alpha Luciano's POVArabella was still unconscious and I was losing my mind. Once Mikah was done with his report, I would talk to Uncle Tommaso and go to the hospital. Once I reached there, the doctor would update me on her condition and I would–"Alpha?" Mikah inquired. I startled out of my musing to see Uncle Tommaso and Mikah regarding as though they had been speaking to me for some time.I nearly sighed. I had been spacing out a lot recently. Every time I spent away from Arabella was telling on me. Now I wondered how I had managed to stay disconnected from her for so long. "Yes, Mikah?""What reply do we render?"I nearly growled in frustration. "Be bloody clear, Mikah. Did I tell you I now have the ability to read minds?""I apologise, Alpha." Mikah bowed. "I was speaking of the apology the Creoles have sent to us. They have also withdrawn from our borders. Word has it that they have also been reprimanded by the Espositos for their actions which might have played a role in the
Emery's POVI knew I was fucked the moment I caught sight of Luciano bringing Arabella back. I had waited in my room in the haren waiting for the arrest order. When it didn't come, I prayed to the goddess and thanked her for saving my life. It was all that bitch Anastasia's fault. If she hadn't engaged me in a conversation when I was handing off Arabella to her, Arabella would have never seen my face. But she had and the look on her face when she realized I was behind her child's death was chilling. When she woke up, she wouldn't hesitate before telling Luciano about me.Then I heard about how serious her case was. I had been so happy and prayed fervently for a miracle. For her to die on the operating table. That way I wouldn't be punished by Luciano for trying to kill her. However, she'd survived. And that quickly I was in trouble again. She seemed to do that a lot. It was as though she had nine lives or something."I heard her case is extremely sensitive. The only thing that can
Arabella's POVLuciano was asleep. We were in a bed that I had never seen before. It was much larger than Luciano's bed and had larger elaborately designed bedposts. The duvets were also extremely heavy and I tried to wriggle out of them feeling extremely weak and sweaty for some reason.The duvet wrapped around me tightly. Except this wasn't the duvet. It was Luciano's arm. Wow. If I had known the way to his heart had been through getting shot, I would have done that much earlier. Ha. Only I had and I couldn't remember him being this clingy then. He'd merely informed me that I wasn't allowed to participate in that sort of activity ever again.I needed to pee. Badly. I finally managed to heft his body off my mind, then I hunted for the bathroom which was surprisingly close by. I took care of my business lamenting the lack of toilet paper. Men.The water was running thankfully so I ran a bath for myself. I smelt weird. Like drugs, hospital air freshener and illness. And my hair felt gr
Alpha Luciano's POVWhen I woke up, my mate was asleep in my arms. My mate. Arabella. It felt like a dream. One I didn't want to wake from.I lost count of the number of times we'd woken up and gone at it again like a couple of bunnies unable to keep our hands off each other.I was sated and my wolf for once was calm and settled within me. I wrapped my hands around her tightly and buried my head in her hair inhaling her sweet scent. I was at peace.Looking back on it, I wondered why I had waited so long to mark her and truly bond with her but I knew the truth. The truth was that if I had done it earlier, it wouldn't have had as much significance as it did to me now after everything we had been through together. I couldn't believe she had forgiven me so quickly after all I had done to her. It went a long way to reinforce the belief I had of her being a good person. I couldn't believe I'd once put her in the same category as her father. One thing life had taught me was the fact that he