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

Eliana POVI watched as the old man threw his head back and laughed, insanity shining in his eyes before he slunk into the darkness of the forest. The eerie feeling that he was familiar plagued me.“What are you staring so intently at?” I heard Luca ask from behind me. I whirled around, clutching my chest as my heart hammered against my ribcage. “Did you see that?” I asked, pointing to the treeline.“See what? All I see are trees.” He looked down at my face and took in my stricken expression. “There was a man in the forest over there. He looked straight up at me and then laughed,” I heard the panic in my own voice.“Babe,” Luca said gently, placing his hands on my hips. “I think those painkillers are a bit strong and they're messing with your mind.” I darted a glance back to where I'd seen the man, but he was long gone. Maybe Luca was right. Maybe it was all in my imagination. Maybe I'd seen the man in my dreams and that was why he was so familiar. “Maybe you're right,” I replie

Eliana POVI looked down at Luca, his emerald eyes shining brightly as he proposed. “Yes, of course!” I responded happily, capturing his face in my hands and kissing him. It was like in a movie, the sun setting over the ocean, throwing orange, red and yellow hues into the air as Luca and I kissed. He opened the little box he'd carried with him and pulled out a beautiful ring, slipping it onto my finger. “It reminded me of your eyes,” he said softly as I looked at the tanzanite surrounded by clusters of diamonds. “It's perfect,” I whispered, kissing his cheek. He passed me a glass of champagne and lifted his own for a toast. “To our long future together.” “Cheers!” Taking a sip, I remembered my own little box I'd put in my clutch bag. Fishing it out, I passed it to him. “A little gift I've been looking for the perfect opportunity to give to you.”He opened the box carefully to reveal the gold cufflinks I'd bought over Christmas, the engraved wolf prominent. “Enzo has a pair li

Eliana POV“Do you, Eliana Castello, promise to serve your pack with honour and dignity. Do you promise to put the pack and its people ahead of all personal desires, to serve them above all else?”The ancient old man who had performed Luca and my wedding ceremony spoke slowly and carefully, his voice quivering ever so slightly. I looked out over the crowd of people, both friends and pack members filling the garden below as I stood on a platform along with Luca, the elder and Valenti. My mother sat in the front row of seats reserved for distinguished guests, dabbing her eyes as Carnera draped his arm over shoulder. The man looked so proud with his broad, cheesy grin - as if he had personally raised me for the last twenty-four years instead of hiding out on his island.Cassie and Yvonne sat on the other side of my mother, Vasilios sitting directly behind Cassie, his face like thunder. I hoped she had been treading lightly around him, but I was pretty sure she was continually poking the

Luca POVI looked down at Eliana's sleeping face and chuckled slightly to myself. The sun was already high in the sky, but my sleeping beauty made no move to arise from her alcohol induced coma. Usually, I'd have dragged her from the dance floor the moment I could see she was getting a bit too free, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to ruin her fun. I don't know if it was the attempt on her life, or if it was the pure joy I could see on her face, either way, I didn't interrupt. And I was pretty sure the hangover she was about to wake up with would be punishment enough. Deciding to leave her to her dreams and hunt down Vasilios instead, I dressed quickly and left the room, striding down to the room I knew my mother had put him. I didn't bother knocking, Vasilios was an early riser like me, a habit we'd both learned from waking up at dawn to run drills. I was pretty sure he would be up and dressed, doing some deal or another with someone on the opposite side of the world.