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“Wisdom cannot be gained without learning.”
-Democritus-
LUCREZIA
We take Dom’s pickup home, while the guys take off in Lucas’ Hummer. I’ve never seen his car before, and it reminds me of Ty and his.
Dom squeezes my hand as if sensing my wayward thoughts. “What are you thinking about?”
“So many things...” I chuckle, recalling what happened only hours earlier—what I had agreed to. “But right then, I found it weird Lucas has the same car as Tytus. I never pictured him for a Hummer kind of guy, you know?”
Dom lifts one shoulder in a careless shrug though his brow draws together. “This Tytus... Did he ever mention what kind of creature he is?”
“No... But Finn might know. If there’s one thing I can tell you after that trip to New York, is that he’s got loads of mythological information in that head of his.”
We fall silent, and it’s only a few moments later I realize we’re not heading to my place. We pull over next to a small bungalow, and Dom turns off the engine.
“This is me.” His grin is contagious, and he steps out the car, then he’s by my door before I can even move.
He pulls it open and picks me up in his arms, in such a way I have no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist. I try to squirm out of his grip, but Dom walks us over to his house.
We barely get in and he kicks the door shut with his foot, capturing my mouth with his, unforgiving and demanding. I surrender to his skillful tongue, and before long I’m pressing my body against his, demanding more.
The need, the hunger I felt back in the clearing is back full on, and I can’t deny my body any longer. Either Dom’s feeling the same, or he catches my impatience, because he makes our clothes practically disappear in his haste, ripping when fabrics won’t move out of the way like he wants.
Then there’s only me, and him, and bare skin as he slides inside me. One hand toys with my breast, his mouth on my neck kissing, biting, nibbling... I don’t recognize the sounds coming out of me, but before long I’m scratching his back, begging for more.
And Dom, wonderful lover that he is, gives in to my demands. He goes deeper, picking my ass up with one hand to increase the angle. His kiss swallows my gasp of pleasure, moving down my neck again, his powerful body undulating against me.
I throw my head back, powerless to his skills, uncaring of who may hear me. All I feel is Dom, all I care about is him moving inside me, hitting that spot, and then I’m close to touching the stars. So, so close...
“Luz. Look at me. I want to see those beautiful eyes, draga mea.”
With a huge effort, I raise my head, meeting his darkened gaze. His jaw clenches, his every muscle tense with restraint. I lift a boneless hand, cupping his cheek, and brushing my lips against his. “I won’t break. Let go, Dom.”
He bites his lip, his hesitation clear, and I shift my hips against his. Control shatters his expression and he drives deeper inside me, staking his claim in the most primal way there is.
And I love every second of it.
Dominic
Luz is shaking me awake, but I’m having a hard time stirring from sleep after the marathon we just ran together. “You’re a demanding little minx.”
Her laugh shakes the bed—where we ended up for round three, four and then I lost count—but the jostling doesn’t stop. “Dom, wake up.”
I blink, noticing it’s still dark outside. But there’s a light coming from my backyard, and that alone dissipates the remnants of sleep as I sit up in bed.
“Your backyard’s glowing.” Luz’s laughing expression calms my pounding heart, but I’m still wary as I pull on a pair of sweatpants and head out.
Near my tool shed, Ileana is busy sauntering about, her head thrown back and staring at the moon. I groan, running a hand over my face. “Godmother, you have the worst timing.”
Twinkling eyes turn to me, and she smiles. “Te felicit, dragul meu.”
I lean against the house wall, crossing my arms over my chest. “And what exactly are you congratulating me for?”
“You took charge of the vrykolakas, and became their alpha. I could not be more proud.”
“But I wasn’t able to give them salvation. They are still walking about undead. I... maybe I should have gone with them.”
Ileana’s eyes shine brighter. “You did what you had to, and it was the right choice. But make no mistake, your time with the vrykolakas has not ended.” She steps closer, her gaze falling on my bedroom window. “And to think, amid all that, you found your mate. If only the others would do the same...”
I frown, picking up on something in her tone. “Ileana... I don’t think Lucas would welcome your interference.”
She laughs, waving me off, and her expression grows serious. “There is more happening in this little town of yours, things you have not yet seen. I cannot in all due conscience leave you here alone, my godson.”
“So you’ll stay?”
Ileana nods, her hair bouncing about her shoulders. “For a time.”
“What about Făt Frumos?” I doubt her husband—or consort, if you go by certain tales—would take kindly to being left alone. When I point out as much to my godmother, she has on a secret little smile.
“He has someone to watch over, and it is not as if we will not see each other.” Another laugh, another twirl. “Fate has funny ways of bringing people together when you least expect it, don’t you think?”
Before I can answer, she disappears, and I shuffle back inside the house. Luz is sprawled over the bed by the time I get in, but she scoots to make room for me. “Everything all right?”
I nod, kissing her bare shoulder and pulling her close. “It will be.”
Lucrezia
The next day, after a quick breakfast, we head over to the shop. I see Lucas, Finn and Tristan already gathered in the garage, and head over to my usual spot. Dom tugs on my hand, shaking his head.
“You’re with me, today.” Bemused, I follow him in the garage where we greet everyone.
Once we’re there, Lucas nods and shifts so he’s facing us all. “Today, we’re closing up shop. We need to go up in the woods and clean up after the fight.” He meets my gaze, grimacing. “This’ll be disgusting as hell, Lucrezia, I won’t lie. But if we leave those bodies out there and humans fall upon them, there’s no telling what will happen.”
“You mean because of bacteria?”
Tristan laughs at what I deem a perfectly good question, and I glare at him until he shuts up. But it’s Finn who explains further. “Partly, yes. But also because any hunter that falls on those wolves will realize they’re not regular ones. It might start a witching expedition, and we try to avoid those at all costs.”
Dom’s hand tightens around mine, and I glance up at him. “Ileana told me last night there’s more in this town we’re not aware of.”
“Then it’s a good thing Luz is now been initiated into the pack. Whoever they are, they would have to be stupid to attempt anything—on any of us.” Lucas seems sure of this, his gaze steady on Dom’s.
His certainty is enough to calm my mate, at least until Tristan opens his big mouth. “What about the guy Luz was with?”
I scowl. “Tytus doesn’t pose a threat, he’s harmless.”
All eyes turn to Finn for confirmation, and it’s the first time I see him struggle with something. He won’t quite meet Lucas’ gaze, nor mine for that matter. After a long, tense moment, he nods. “I agree with Luz’s assessment on this one.”
“Yet you won’t tell us what he is?”
Finn shrugs, moving to grab jugs of gas and flares. “I would if I knew it.”
Something tells me Finn is not being a hundred percent truthful, but I bite my tongue. Lucas calls us back to order and instructs us how to proceed. It’s a good thing it’s supposed to snow again tonight, which will cover the currently bloody snow. As for the carcasses, well, Lucas’ instructions are pretty clear.
I team up with Dom, Finn with Tristan, and we head out in three cars—Lucas takes his Hummer. By the time we get to the mountain, it’s mid-morning and the air itself feels stifled with the stench of death.
Dom sees me wrinkle my nose and laughs. “Imagine what this feels like to us.”
When you put it that way...
We put on rubber gloves and I push past my disgust, bending down and helping Dom with the carcasses. On Lucas’ orders, we pile them up in front of the cave the vrykolakas were hiding in. He thinks because of the wind's direction, it’ll be easier to have a bonfire of charred meat and not attract any of the locals.
Our paths intersect with Finn, Tristan and Lucas as we work, but for the most part it’s done in silence. Once we’ve picked up the carcasses from up the hill, Dom and I leave the remaining ones to the guys and head into the cave.
I know Radu’s body will be in there, but I don’t expect seeing it quite like that. In wolf form, he has the same white stripe Dom has, but it’s under his belly. It’s now matted with dry blood, and he has cuts and lacerations everywhere on his body.
His jaw is hanging open, eyes staring lifeless ahead. But most telling of all is the jugular, ripped apart by powerful canines. I glance at Dom out of the corner of my eyes, knowing this was his work, and am surprised to see him staring at me rather than Radu.
“Scared yet?”
“Of you?” He nods, and there’s a wariness in his eyes I don’t like seeing. So I move closer until I can wrap my arms around his neck, tugging him closer. “I knew what I was getting into, Dom, and though this is the first I see of your handiwork, it won’t be the last if we're being real.” A muscle ticks in his jaw, and I move one hand to trace it. “Our worlds are different, but I understand what governs yours: survival of the fittest. So no, I’m not scared of you, or anything here. I love you, Dominic Konstantin, and will go wherever you go. The only thing I fear in this new world is losing you.”
Dom buries his head in my neck, inhaling my scent and kissing my skin. Then he moves up to my mouth, drawing kiss after kiss from my lips for long moments, as if to put salve on his wounds.
When he lets me go, his blue eyes are shining. “I love you, Lucrezia San Marco. And I swear you will never lose me.”
We turn to Radu and pick up his body, moving him out of the cave and throwing him on top of the others. Finn brings the jugs of gasoline nearby and pours them over the bodies while Tristan lights up two flares.
We move up the hill, far enough from the flames, and at Lucas’ nod Tristan throws the flares on the bodies. Flames blaze from nothing, consuming rotting flesh and charring everything in their path. The wind, as Lucas predicted, carries the smell downhill, away from our town—and our already sensitive noses.
Dominic
Luz falls asleep in my arms after the bonfire, and I relax against the tree. Finn looks at us with a half-smile, but Tristan’s gaze is lost in the flames. I know the recent fight spiked more of his nightmares, but how to help him evades me.
Lucas’s thoughts seem to be running along the same path, as he’s watching Tristan with a frown. After a beat, he speaks. “I think we’re all on the same wavelength here, but just to make sure. If any of you see vrykolakas running free in town, going forward, you report it to Dom or me. They’re Dom’s pack, so it will be his decision how he deals with them. But we will have no vigilante murders, you hear me?”
Heads nod all around, and I shift so Luz leans easier on my chest. “We hear you. What about Jared? Finn, what was your take on it?”
With his uncanny way of catching feelings, he’s always the first to give a report. This time, like many others, Finn doesn’t disappoint. “There’s a lot of resentment from Jared, more so than his usual racist shite. But I doubt we’ll be getting trouble from him. He may be a wanker, but he’s not a nutty one.”
Lucas nods, rubbing the back of his neck. “Grazie, Finn. I thought as much. But his pack is a different story.”
My hold on Luz tightens. “What, you think they’ll try something?”
Lucas meets my gaze, shaking his head. “Not towards you or Luz. But there’s a strong chance the Reapers will rebel against their leader. They saw him get his ass kicked by a human woman, and there’s all the other stuff.” Another frown. “Which reminds me. What was it you told Jared about a deal with a zmeu?”
Oh, that. With my free hand, I rub my chin, trying to figure out a way to explain it. After a few beats, I go with the truth. “When I was fighting Radu, he said Aiden wanted to undermine Jared because of his weakness towards us—letting us settle in—and the recent deal he made with a zmeu. In Romanian mythology, they’re, umm...”
“Dragons.” All eyes turn to Finn, but he keeps his gaze locked onto the flames. “I read about them when in New York, researching your past with Luz.”
Tristan says nothing, only dropping his head in his hands. But despite his evident despair, it’s Finn’s reaction that raises the hair on the back of my neck. Face unreadable, he refuses to look up from the fire, yet his jaw is clenched, as are his fists.
Lucas notices it too, but shakes his head towards me to let it go. I ease back against the tree, tightening my hold on Luz. “Radu may have lied about it.”
My pitiful attempt at reassurance doesn’t fool anyone, so Lucas picks up the thread of the conversation. “Whether there is one or not, we can only wait and see. But as for the Reapers and their potential unfurling... If they do fall apart, the reality is we may have a bunch of rogue wolves on our hands.”
I agree with his assessment, knowing it hits the mark. A deafening silence descends on our group, only the crackling of the flames breaking it.
“If it comes to it...” Lucas meets our gazes above the fire. “We may have to step in, fix things up.”
I glance at Luz, ensuring she’s asleep, before meeting his gaze. “Whatever happens, I’m in.”
Finn nods. “And I.”
We all turn to Tristan, the only one who hasn’t answered. He jerks his head from his hands at the sudden silence and nods. “Sim, claro, me too. You know it.”
“Bene, it is settled then.” Lucas nods, and his eyes drift to Luz. “You made a bold decision tonight, and you have my respect forever. But I swear to all that’s holy, Dom: if you hurt her, I will have your hide.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “As if. She has me wrapped around her little finger.”
Chuckles answer me all around, but I’m too busy staring at my mate to pay attention to their friendly jabs. I got the girl, I got the pack, and for now, everything is quiet. What more could a wolf ask for?
As if the universe hears me, the ring of a cellphone interrupts our little get together. We all turn to Tristan, who snaps out of his thoughts and pulls his cellphone out.
He looks at the number, frowning, then answers. “Yeah?”
Whatever he hears on the other end has him jump to his feet, almost stumbling over and into the flames. “Dani? Where are you?” I watch as his hand clenches around the phone, almost breaking it. “Não se mova. I’ll be there in a few.”
He hangs up, running a hand through his hair. His gaze drifts over us, stopping on me and Luz. “I’ve got to go.”
Before any of us can say a word, he takes off, leaving behind a hint of his agitated vibe. “Do any of you know who Dani is?”
Shrugs all around answer me. But as I stare in the fire, Luz wrapped in the cocoon of my arms, I remember Ileana’s words, and wonder if my godmother was right after all...