Eliana POV “Hey, Eli!” I grinned through the video chat with my brother. “Did you see the picture from mom?” Eli snorted and rolled his eyes, “you mean the declaration that she is going to be Mrs. Carnera?” He shoved his index finger into his mouth and made gagging noises. “I won't lie, it grossed me out initially too,” I giggled. “Hey, aren't you meant to be at work?” He shrugged, “for what? The whole campus is closed because of the bloody attacks. My boss said it's pointless even opening since most of the staff and students have either left Cambridge or are holed up in their homes.” “Yeah, I got emails from my lecturers and the Dean explaining that they're letting the police have free reign to investigate. Most of my lectures have been online today, or we were just emailed the lecture notes.” I sighed. “So what have you been doing?” Eli held up his guitar and strummed a few chords. “Just been getting my groove on. Thanks again for the guitar.” “It's payback for all your years

Eliana POV The sun was shining brightly, and it shouldn’t have. In all the movies you watch, it always rained whenever there was a funeral. But on the day of Nathan’s funeral, the sun shone and the birds chirped happily in the trees. It had only been three days since his death, but it was painstakingly obvious that his mother wanted his funeral to happen before Yvonne could be released from hospital. The two women still hadn’t seen each other - Luca and Enzo having prevented Mrs. Campbell from entering the hospital. Luca had even called Alpha Campbell to intervene and keep his grieving wife on a short leash - after putting the older woman in her place, of course. But because of the delicate political situation Luca found himself in, he kept his words gentler than I had imagined he would, effectively diffusing her anger toward me. So instead of taking her anger and pain out on Yvonne like she had initially aimed, the woman decided to make it so that Yvonne wouldn’t be able to attend

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 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“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