Eliana POV “Jason! That’s Jason!” Cassie practically screamed, reaching across me to replay the last part of the clip. “And he mentions Perry,” I added, feeling a knot in the pit of my stomach. “I wonder if Thomas and Marco are involved too.” Cassie paled, her hand shaking slightly as she faced me, wide eyed. “Remember I told you about the game they were playing where they were capturing monsters and killing them? What if it wasn’t a game?” I just stared at her, the repercussions building up in my mind. “Fuck, what if I caused Nathan’s death by being with Marco?” Cassie whispered as if to keep Luca and Enzo from overhearing her - fat chance with their hearing abilities though. I shook my head at her slightly, not wanting her to dig herself into that hole. “No, you’re not responsible for any of their actions.” Enzo coughed slightly, drawing our attention to him. “Sorry to interrupt this… moment,” he said awkwardly. “But do you know where those guys you just mentioned live? We n
Eliana POV “Guys, this is my sister and her friend - Eliana and Cassie,” Eli introduced us, not picking up on the tension in the room. Jason and Perry shared a look as they got to their feet, an unspoken message passing between the two. “We've met,” I said blandly, turning back to Eli. “Their friend used to date Cassie… but I think it's safe to say that is over now.” Jason threw back his head and laughed, like it was the biggest joke he'd heard all week, while Perry had the grace to look a bit awkward. “Really? Well that's too bad, I was hoping we could all hang out some time. You know, watch a movie or something,” Eli sounded so hopeful that I couldn't tell him that would never happen. “Yeah, that would be awesome,” Jason smiled, sending a shiver down my spine. “It's just too bad you're on the wrong side of this war.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a clicker - the type dog trainers use. Clicking it three times, he looked expectantly at Elijah… and all the piec
Eliana POVMy head spun as I tried to open my eyes, the splitting headache making me feel nauseous. I put my hand out and felt cold metal bars spaced barely an inch apart. Breathing in and out slowly, I was able to stop the room from spinning as fast and was able to open my eyes to see the horror which was my surroundings. Cages. I had seemed to have woken up in the very same scene from my dream - in the dim room I could see the cages lined up, some with occupants and some empty. It sounded like a van had pulled up outside, the intermittent beeping signalling that it was reversing. That certainly hadn't been part of my dream. I groaned as I pulled myself into a more comfortable position, causing movement in the neighbouring cage. “Shhh, you don’t want them to hear that you’re awake,” a voice whispered. “They have a special interest in you.” A metallic sound like the unbolting of a door echoed through the warehouse, causing whimpers and moans from the cages. The door swung open an
Eliana POV “Wakey, wakey, sunshine.” Marco’s voice taunted me, almost as if he enjoyed seeing me in a tiny cage - which he probably did. “Stick her with the cattle prong!” Jason suggested as he laughed, A few seconds later, a sharp object pierced my leg and an electrical current surged through my body, tearing a scream from my lips. I lashed out against the pain, striking my hand against the bars of the cage only to have the sadistic fucker shock me again. “Ah, you're awake,” Marco laughed. “So nice of you to join us.”He slammed his hand onto the top of my cage and Thomas passed him a ring of keys, Marco’s eyebrow knitting together as if he was annoyed that his minion hadn't automatically passed him the correct key. “What do you want me to do with these?” Marco grumbled, throwing the keys back at Thomas.Thomas mumbled a “Sorry boss,” as he rifled through the keys until he found the right one, slipping the key into the lock and twisting it with a solid click. Beside me, Maggie
Eliana POV “So, where should I start first?” Jason grinned, running the cold steel of the pliers against my collarbone. “The toes? The ears?” I felt physically sick, forcing myself not to show the fear which bubbled inside of me. These men were deranged. No normal person ever took pleasure from the pain of others. “No blood, Jason. Castle will kill you if you get to draw first blood,” Perry warned, going to stand next to Thomas who leaned lazily against the plastic covered wall. Jason sighed loudly and threw the pliers to the floor, the chains hooked on his jeans rattling with every movement he made. “Fine, I'll have to use my fists then.”His blow came out of nowhere, connecting with my torso with a loud crack and I could immediately tell that he'd broken my ribs. I screamed, not able to hold it in as the pain wracked my body. “Not so tough now, huh?” Perry sniggered from across the room. I kept my breathing shallow to try and stop the pain which shot through my chest with every
Eliana POV“Cassandra, you were kidnapped a few hours ago, so you'll excuse me if I don't want to have you out of my line of sight,” I heard Vasilios grumble from Cassie's room in Luca's apartment. She had insisted on staying at Luca's place instead of Vasilios's, even though it was right next door, saying that I needed her close by. But instead of Vasilios caving in to her request and letting her have her way, he decided that the only way she was going to stay there was if he shared the room - and subsequently the bed - with her. She had, for obvious reasons, fought him about it. And lost.“Come,” Luca said softly, lifting me into his arms as he carefully carried me to our room. “I can walk, you know,” I told him teasingly, and he laughed, nuzzling my ear. “I know, but for some reason I don't want to let you go. You seem to disappear whenever I do,” he teased back. Luca laid me gently onto the bed and pulled the duvet up, tucking me in like a child. “When will Enzo be back?” H
Luca POVMy idiot brother stood in the doorway, his face an awkward shade of red. “Yes?” I asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction. Enzo shuffled his feet together and looked at me, avoiding Eliana's gaze entirely. “No sign of Castle, but the guard will continue to look. Both the King and the council are on alert and have sent out messages to all alphas to watch for missing werewolves or anything suspicious. They've got a plan to flush him out, but I'm not privy to the details.” Dammit! I'd really hoped the motherfucker would be caught and strung up by his testicle in some dungeon somewhere… preferably one belonging to Vasilios. Instead, he was roaming free, getting to live another day doing fuck knows what. “Thank you for the update,” I responded civilly, even though I was fighting the urge to destroy half the room in frustration. “When do we fly?” Enzo asked, his eyes darting to Eliana before returning to me. I felt her stiffen beside me and I squeezed her hand in mine.
Eliana POVDriving up the long driveway to the packhouse on Isolda di San Pietro gave me the feeling of coming home. It was a strange sensation, having never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Valenti was waiting on the steps as we pulled up outside the gigantic white house, one of her assistants hovering behind her. “Ah, cara mia,” she gushed, wrapping her arms around me in a protective gesture. “If I ever meet il malfatore, the bad man who hurt you, he will be sorry!” She shook her fist in the air, looking rather threatening. And I'd probably believe that she was a real battle axe of a woman if I didn't know her history, and if I didn't know about the years of abuse and torture she had endured at the hands of the man who was meant to love her. It just proved that sometimes fate does make a mistake when it comes to picking out mates. Luca let his mother guide me inside, a slight smile on his lips. I was fully aware that his eyes were constantly on me though, and the butterflies