I wanted to cringe at the pet name, but there was a part of me that desperately needed to hear him call me that again.
My reply was quick.
"No," I said firmly.
" I have two jobs that I work, I can't just leave. Besides, my family would disown me if I left our pack for another-especially yours."
"You misunderstood me," he said. "I didn't ask a question. I told you to come with me."
I scoffed.
"Forgive me for acting upon my rights of autonomy," I told him, sarcasm lacing every word.
My eyes drifted over his shoulder again, landing on the backdoor. Luca followed my gaze and stepped back away from me.
"Don't pretend you don't have a choice here," he said.
"You pick the door you walk through."I began to walk towards the backdoor.
"Okay, I guess this is goodbye then," I told him.
Opening it, I walked through and turned to close and lock it behind me, leaving him to stand out on the patio. As I turned the corner to walk up the staircase, I leaned against the wall and placed my hand over my chest, feeling my heart race.
Breathing deeply, I opened and clenched my fists to try and stop their nervous shaking.
I turned around slowly to peer around the corner towards the backdoor.
Luca had left the patio.
My eyebrows furrowed.
There was no way it was that easy.
Not knowing what else to do, I felt an obligation to go and wake my father. He and Alpha Reid needed to know that Luca was on our land.I slowly tiptoed up the staircase and walked down the hallway towards my parents' room. As I passed my bedroom, I noticed my curtains blowing violently
in the large gusts of wind that blew through the room from the open window. Seeing the rain pour in, soaking my chair and bookcase that sat under the window, I hurried into the room to close it.I tugged and pulled at the top of the windowpane, trying desperately to pull it down but it was jammed. The window shut suddenly, sending me off balance as I had put all of my weight into closing it.
I felt a hand grab my waist to steady me and I immediately turned around.
Luca stood behind me, his rain-drenched body close to mine. I gulped.
"Wrong choice."
Before I could reply, I looked down at his feet and noticed his muddy shoes.
"Oh my God!" I whispered harshly. "You're getting footprints all over my carpet!"
I reached over to turn on the lamp that sat next to my bed, gasping as it illuminated the mud that was trailed across my room where Luca had walked
"What the hell is the matter with you---"
I looked up to see an incredulous look plastered on Luca's face, stopping short in the middle of my sentence as I took in his features that were now fully visible in the glow of my lamp.
Luca's disheveled and damp obsidian-black hair fell in his face, falling just short of slightly arched eyebrows that gave him a stern and focused expression. His eyes were a pale green that reminded me of sea glass; a sharp and piercing gaze made me lean away, feeling as though I would melt under its intensity.
High cheekbones and an angular jaw that was perfectly framed by darkened stubble made for striking facial features that added to his steely demeanor. His golden, honey-toned skin gleamed with rainwater that rolled down his toned arms and off his fingertips.
A gray, rain-drenched t-shirt clung tight to his broad shoulders and lean, muscular torso.
Damn, girl. Breathe.
I had completely lost my train of thought.
"You can ogle me later, amore," Luca said, his voice deep and tone laced with amusement.
"Right now, we need to leave." There it was again.
If he kept calling me that, I knew that I wouldn't be able to put up much more of a fight. I closed my eyes and shook my head, a desperate attempt to rid
myself of the perverse thoughts that were running through my mind."I, um... I can't leave," I said, finally opening my eyes.
"I already told you that."
Drawing in a deep breath, Luca reached out and pulled back my curtain.
"Do you see that truck out there?" he asked, gesturing to the brand-new black pickup truck that sat in the road at the end of my driveway.
I nodded slowly, anticipating his next words.
"You have five minutes to decide whether you getting in that truck is a voluntary or involuntary decision on your part."
Luca turned back to me.
"I suggest you use those five minutes to pack a bag."
Before I could say another word of protest, I heard the creak of an opening door. Luca and I both turned to see my father walk down the hallway, stopping just as he passed my room.
Seeing Luca and I, his expression morphed from one of shock to one of anger.
"What the hell are you doing here, Ronan?"
He looked at me, making sure I wasn't hurt.
I nodded slowly, letting him know I was okay.
"Get away from my daughter and out of my house," he growled, stepping into the room.
"She's my mate," Luca said.
A bolt of lightning flashed through my window and was immediately followed by a crack of thunder that made the floor beneath my feet quake.
"I'm not leaving this room without her."
My father looked back to me and I let my gaze fall to the ground, unable to stand the disappointment on his face.
"Over my dead body."
Luca turned to my father, his jaw clenched.
"If that's what it takes."
The two men squared their shoulders, eyes narrowing in on one another. I saw a momentary flash of fear in my father's eyes and I realized then that he knew he was about to get his ass handed to him.
While my father was a Beta, Luca was an Alpha.
Their titles alone determined the winner of the fight.
Luca would kill him and my father knew it. When Luca took a step forward, I felt my heart drop to my feet."Stop. let out the breath I had been holding.
"Stop," I repeated.
I turned to look at my father.
"I'm leaving with him," I said, feeling a knot form in the back of my throat. "Please, just let us go so no one has to get hurt."
My father looked at me with eyebrows knit together in confusion. Even Luca seemed surprised.
"Just let us go," I said again, this time my voice barely above a whisper.
When neither of them made another move, I leaned down and pulled out my suitcase that I had packed with clothes from my apartment and placed it on my bed.
Quickly, I grabbed my backpack and threw in my paint supplies and went into the bathroom to toss in my toiletries as well.
Sighing, I realized I still didn't have a damn toothbrush. I walked back into the room, the tension between Luca and my father still heavy.
"I'm ready," I said, throwing the backpack over one shoulder. Luca grabbed my suitcase from the bed and walked over. Noticing how I eyed the sheet-covered painting that was leaning against the wall, he grabbed that too.
I turned to my father and stood on my tiptoes to hug him.
"Love you." I said.
"I'll see you soon, okay?"
He said nothing as I pulled away, still glaring at Luca.
I moved past him into the hallway to see my mother standing in her bedroom doorway, clutching her robe around her.Seeing her, I felt the tears that I had been so diligently holding back begin to fill my eyes.
She looked over my shoulder and saw Luca leaving my bedroom and I saw the realization hit her. Whether she recognized Luca or pieced everything together, I didn't know.
Reaching forward, she grabbed me and pulled me into a hug so tight that I felt the air leave my lungs.
"Please be careful." she whispered into my ear.
I gulped, nodding as she pulled away.
"I love you," she said. "Promise me that you'll call whenever you get where you're going so I know you're safe."
I nodded again, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "I will."
I turned away from her and went down the staircase, trying to keep from completely falling apart.
Luca followed me into the foyer, watching as I opened the front door to the sheets of rain that were falling outside.Looking over my shoulder, I saw my parents standing at the bottom of the staircase, my mother trembling as tears fell and my father shaking with rage.
Turning to Luca, I saw the determined expression he wore.
"Go," he said, nudging me gently out the door. Letting out the breath I was holding, I stepped out into the rain. Luca followed me closely. I could hear his feet splashing on the sidewalk as we ran out onto the end of the driveway where his truck was waiting.
He ran out in front of me and quickly opened the back door and put my painting and suitcase into the backseat. Running around the truck, he opened the passenger door for me.
Just as I was about to climb in, I heard my father's voice calling out from the front porch.
"You'll regret this, Ronan!"
I turned to look at Luca, whose attention was still on me. I could still hear my father's taunting as Luca nodded at me to get into the truck. He placed his hands on my waist to hoist me up into the seat.
"You won't get away with this!"
Luca closed the door as I sat down, running around the truck to get in.
He pressed the ignition and the truck roared to life. I pulled my backpack off of my shoulders and placed it at my bare feet.
As we drove away, I looked out my window to see Mady's house as we drove past it. I wished then, more than anything else, that we had never gone to Las Vegas.
Why did Luca Ronan have to be my mate?
Please support my books here in Goodnovel, thanks!
An eerie, early morning glow settled over the fog that fell on the acres of rolling farmlands outside my window.We made it over the Oregon border into Washington after a few hours had passed and neither Luca nor myself had spoken a word.I kept my head turned towards the window for most of the ride so he couldn't see the slow, silent tears rolling down my cheeks. I already missed my family and Mady.There was also the issue of the fact that I was exceedingly uncomfortable-not just because I was somewhere I didn't want to be and alone with someone who I only knew to be a murderous tyrant, but also because my hair was still damp from the rain that had also soaked through my shirt and pajama pants.My bare feet were freezing, despite the heat being on in the truck. When Luca noticed me fidgeting uncomfortably in my seat, he sighed."We'll stop when we get to Spokane," he said. "You can change there."I turned to look at him with eyes that were red and swollen from crying."Where are we
After driving around for a few minutes, we stopped next to a water tower that was so tall it peaked over the tops of the trees around us.A man was standing under a tree at the base of the tower, waiting for us. He was tall and of an athletic build. His skin, a rich shade of brown, was a stark contrast to the white t-shirt he wore. His shirt was tucked into cargo pants, which were held at the waist by a thick belt that holstered a gun. Hair shaved to his scalp, I could immediately tell he was of the no-nonsense types.Luca drove up next to him and rolled down his window to hand him my phone."Carrie, this is Lincoln," Luca introduced.I smiled and he nodded curtly.Never saying a word, Lincoln took the phone from Luca and turned to walk back towards the tower. He opened a door at the base of it and went inside."He works inside a water tower?" I asked."It's not a water tower, it's an office. He's my chief officer of information and technology. He runs a team out of IT guys out of the
Luca used a PIN pad that was attached to his door handle to unlock the door before opening it and letting me walk past him. I noted it was the same four numbers that were used to open the gate.When I walked in, a large laundry room was to my right with windows that overlooked the driveway. To my left was the entrance into a kitchen that was bigger than my old apartment.White cabinets sat along the lower and upper part of the walls with a wide window along one wall where the sink was, letting in ample amounts of daylight. A large soapstone-capped island was sitting in the middle of the kitchen and was lined by six countertop chairs on one side.I had never been in a kitchen that big.Natural hardwood floors ran the length of the kitchen and into the dining area that it opened up to where a long wooden dining table was placed under a simple iron chandelier. To the right of the dining area was a circular staircase that led up to the second floor and down into the basement.Further on w
"So what else do you do besides build houses and run a pack of over five thousand people?" I asked, backing away from both his gaze and the awkward tension."I don't have time for much else, I'm afraid."We were both quiet for a moment before Luca cleared his throat awkwardly."Speaking of the pack, I have a few things I need to see to. You're more than welcome to look around. If you need me, I'll be in the apartment that's over the garage. I typically utilize that space as an office."I nodded quickly, glad that I would get some time to myself.Luca walked back into the house and disappeared.Immediately, I felt like I could breathe normally again. I slumped into the couch that was beside me, trying to figure out what to do next.It wasn't long before I felt my eyelids begin to get heavy. As I tried to wake myself up, it occurred to me that I had been awake for over twenty-four hours. I hadn't slept since our only night in Vegas.As soon as I came to this realization, I felt a wave o
I woke up the next morning to the sound of birds singing. My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the bright sunshine that seeped into the room from the windows behind the bed.A gentle breeze created by the ceiling fan softly brushed my hair into my face, causing a chill to sweep over me. I pulled the comforter over my shoulders and sighed in contentment. My eyes opened again as I remembered what had happened.I had been in Heat.I hadn't realized it in the moment, likely because I was blinded by the sudden onset of pain. But I knew almost instinctively that's what had happened.Heat was rare-it occurred only after twenty-four hours had gone by of mates meeting each other and not consummating their bond. Most people didn't make it to this point. The fact that Luca and I did, however, was probably due to our unfortunate and unusual introduction. I couldn't imagine sleeping with the guy right after he'd kidnapped me, no matter how much I wanted to.I sat up in the bed.Feeling a cold breez
I sat down on the bed, my dirty laundry still in my hands. The last time I'd been on that bed, I had gotten off it to throw up. There was a similar feeling in my stomach at that moment.This relationship is doomed, I thought.While there was a part of me that was extremely jealous that Luca hadn't waited for me to have sex for the first time, there was another part of me that sympathized with his reasoning.It was true that most people waited for their mate to have sex. It was rare to come across someone who didn't. But those people who I knew that didn't wait were those, like Luca, who didn't meet their mate until they were much older.My mother was one of them. She would always tell me that there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that told her she would never meet her mate. I could imagine Luca probably heard the same voice.That was something to sympathize with.The more reasonable parts of me, however, understood why people waited for their mate. After being around you
I glanced around me at the grocery bags that I would have to carry inside in the pouring rain. Looping as many bags as I could around my arms, I took a deep breath before opening the car door and making a run towards the house.Thankfully, the door wasn't locked and I made my way inside to the kitchen with relative ease. Placing the bags on the countertop, I made another trip to the truck, running through sheets of rain that fell from the sky. After a few trips, the truck had been completely unloaded and I was soaked to the skin.As I wiped the rainwater from my face, the lights in the kitchen flickered off."Wonderful." I mumbled.I looked out the kitchen window to see the trees outside swaying in the heavy wind. I could hear the pounding of rain against the side of the house as I stood there and listened to the storm.Beginning to take the groceries out of the bags, I blindly stocked the fridge and the pantry. As I emerged from the pantry, I saw the shadowy outline of Luca standing
I don't remember putting the rest of the groceries away. But, somehow, when I returned to my senses, I was standing alone in the kitchen with empty grocery bags in my hands and the power had come back on.I don't remember what else Luca had said to me before he walked away. I just remember watching his lips as they moved and recalling the way they felt pressed against mine.Even after the several minutes it had been since he'd left the kitchen, the taste of Luca's mouth lingered on my tongue, leaving me longing for more.I found myself reminiscing about the feeling of his hands on my face, wishing he hadn't pulled away from me. The racing thoughts added weight behind the pull I felt towards Luca.The imaginary rope I felt tethered to earlier that day had just become shorter and now tugged me backward, forcing me into a test of strength and self-control. I wanted nothing more than to leap into his arms and let him kiss me for the entire rest of my existence.I knew that it was nothing