Luca POVThe guard yawned and slid lower on his chair, any lower and he would be sitting on the floor. With a sigh, I looked at my watch and wasn’t at all surprised that it hadn’t even been five minutes since the last time I checked it. It had been the same the last fifteen times already – time was just dragging.I huffed and stood up, pacing the small waiting room outside the Council chambers. I was ready to burst past the guard (not that it would be hard to do so) and announce my presence to the grumpy old men who thought that their word was higher than all else in our world. Only the king had any stand against them, and they still looked down on him because, at fifty, he was still half their age. There was a rustling just inside the doorway and I watched with amusement as the guard suddenly shot to his feet, looking oh so useful the moment the door handle turned. “Alpha Castello, please come in,” a croaky voice called to me as the door opened to reveal a weathered old man.I nodd
Eliana POV“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked Cassie as she packed the last of her belongings into the suitcase she had bought. “I don't have a choice,” she said softly, her heartbreak evident in her voice. “If he loved me it would be a different story, but he doesn't. I can't stay with a man who doesn't love me.”I chewed on my bottom lip, nervous for my best friend. In fact, my lip had started to crack from the amount of abuse it had received in the last forty-eight hours. I'm not sure who looked worse, Cassie or myself. The front door opened and closed with a loud click as Yvonne entered the apartment from her assigned mission. “Okay, my guy did his best and I'm pretty sure these will be able to get you to America. Your flight has also been booked under your new name so at least Vasilios won't be able to track you there,” Yvonne said as she tossed a brown envelope onto the bed. I reached across and pulled out the passport, noticing the golden American emblem on the gre
Eliana POV“Hey, I'm here. The flight was long and shit, so I'm going to go to find the real estate agent, get the key to my place, and crash. Love you guys.”Cassie's voicenote played loudly in the silence of the apartment, and I felt the wave of loneliness wash over me. I'd listened to her voicenote a few times already, but playing it seemed to make the place seem less empty. It had only been three days since Yvonne and I helped her pack up her belongings and waved goodbye to her, but I quickly discovered that I was not one who enjoyed their own company. In fact, I found myself rather boring. I'd even considered asking Yvonne if she wanted to move in with me, but that would be a dead giveaway to all observers that Cassie wasn't around anymore.I played the voicenote again and sighed, reading Cassie's texts saying that she was settled and that she would call me on the weekend. Luca's name popped up on my screen as the ringtone I'd set specifically for him played. I quickly picked u
Eliana POV Pain shot through my skull, a stabbing pain that seemed to engulf my whole body even though a part of me knew that it was only my head that had been injured. I slowly pried open my eyes, my vision blurred for a few moments before it settled and I was able to take in my surroundings. It looked like I was lying in someone's garden shed - bags of fertiliser and compost stacked against one wall with an assortment of plant pots and an ancient lawnmower against another. I was lying on a pile of empty sacks and it made my skin crawl to think of how many bugs were probably hiding in the crevices of the shed. Pushing myself up slowly, I managed to sit up as my head swirled and I fought the dizziness which threatened to overwhelm me. A tickling feeling on my cheek made my hand fly up, the thought of the bugs setting me on edge. Feeling something wet, I pulled my hand away and looked at it in horror as my brain processed the red liquid as being blood - my blood. “Fuck,” I swore un
Eliana POV Hours passed and I could tell that the sun had set, the light which had slipped through the cracks around the door had disappeared and the shed was plunged into darkness. After finally succeeding in getting the collar off of my neck, I'd spent a few hours trying to pry out the screws which held the door's hinge in place. It was a pointless task and I only succeeded in breaking all of my nails, the tips of my fingers now raw and bleeding. Cassie would have been appalled at the state of my nails, but desperation held fast. I knew that there was no way that Luca would be able to track me down. He would be looking for Marco, not a lowlife like Wilson.The threat of the greasy, rotten toothed man forcing himself onto me made my stomach knot. It was something I didn't even want to think about, and yet it kept recurring in my mind. “Honey, I'm home,” I heard cold laughter outside of the door as the lock on the door was opened noisily and the bolt was unlatched. I swallowed the
Luca POVBuzz buzz buzz.I groaned and opened my eyes, barely lifting my head from my pillow as I groggily looked around the room for the irritating buzzing noise. Buzz buzz buzz. “What the fuck…” I muttered, pulling myself into a seated position. Buzz buzz buzz. My cellphone slowly vibrated across my bedside table, Federico's name flashing across the screen. I sighed and dragged my hand across my face, trying to wipe away my drowsiness before I answered the call. Federico was nothing if not diligent with his reports on Eliana, and while I appreciated knowing what she was up to, the reports were getting to be a bit much. “Federico,” I answered lazily, stretching my neck as I spoke.“Alpha, there is a problem.” His words forced me to sit upright, my voice turning commanding as I asked, “what do you mean that there is a problem?” I heard Federico's voice shudder a bit as he spoke, his fear evident. “Alpha, the Luna has disappeared. She was in the exam room when all of a sudden, st
Luca POV“Elijah, what can I do for you?” I asked my brother in law as he entered my office. “Make it quick, I have a flight to catch.”The man's purple eyes shone at my words and he put a clenched fist on my desk as he spoke. “I know my sister is in trouble, and I'm coming with you.”I was a bit taken aback. Eliana had alluded to the fact that she could feel that her brother was alive when we were all pretty damned sure he was lying dead in a ditch somewhere, so I guessed it was feasible that he was feeling something through their twin bond. He took my silence as hesitation and quickly launched into a monologue. “Listen, I know I've been a pain in your arse since before we even met. I've done stuff I'm downright ashamed of and I know that everyone is secretly waiting for someone to whistle and turn me back into their personal attack dog, but I need to help my sister. She never gave up on me, even when I had given up on myself. I don't have any right to ask you for this favour after
Eliana POVI ran as fast as I could away from the shed, not daring to look back, not caring that my lungs burned with every breath and my legs felt as if they were going to turn to jelly. I was desperate to put as much distance between myself and the garden shed which housed Wilson's corpse as I possibly could. I didn't know where I was running, I just knew I had to. Ayla was spurring me on. I could feel her wanting to take control, but I couldn't risk it. Since the “dog attack” news had broken, it seemed as if every rural farmer armed with a gun was patrolling, shooting any stray dog they came across. So instead, my two little human legs ran as fast as they could - through fields of heather and into a wooded area.About an hour into the run - which couldn't have been more than ten kilometres - before I felt like I couldn't run anymore. Eventually, I broke through the trees and found myself blocked by a cattle fence, four strands of wire running parallel to each other and secured to