Arabella’s POV
“Vitalio Bianchi, state your case.” The masked person spoke. Dad stood up. Tears sprang to my eyes at the sight of him. He looked like he had lost a bit of weight but save from that, he looked the exact way I remembered him. Domineering and strong. He looked at me as he spoke, listing all of Alpha Luciano’s many crimes. Kidnapping, Murder, Rape… the list went on and on…
When he finally finished speaking, the hall was filled with indistinct murmurs from the witnesses that quietened down when the masked council member spoke again.
“Arabella Bianchi, step up.”
Inhaling sharply, I moved closer to the council table. My thoughts were in disarray and my mouth was dry.
“Is what your father says true? Were you taken against your will?”
I looked at my father. The man who I’d always wanted his love and attention even though he had been cold to me all my life. The man who’d forced me into an unwanted mating that had enabled Alpha Luciano to kidnap me. The man who was now trying his very best to save me.
I looked at Alpha Luciano, my mate, my abuser, the person who would never accept or love me. The person who was using Margaret as a bargaining chip.
I looked back at my dad. And I spoke.
“No.” I hoped he understood that this would never be my choice. That I had no choice. “I wasn’t kidnapped. I didn’t want the mate my father was forcing on me so I asked Alpha Luciano to rescue me. My bridal escort…” My voice shook, and I stopped. I could still perceive the scent of burning bodies and see their blood. I continued.
“My bridal escort refused to give me up and attacked him. He killed them in self-defence.” Tears clouded my vision at the remembrance of the loss of so many innocent lives but I dared not let them fall because one more life hung in the balance.
“Do you wish to go back to your father, Arabella?” Another masked council member asked.
Yes! I wanted to scream.
But fear clogged my throat. What if Alpha Luciano did something to Margaret despite the fact that I had testified partly according to what he told me? I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.
I could hear Alpha Luciano’s voice low and sexy as hell whispering in my ear.
Do you know what your biggest flaw is? You want to be good. You want to lie to yourself that you are a better person than you actually are. And that is why you will lie for me because deep down you want to be good.
“No, I do not want to. I love my new pack and I love Luciano. I want to stay with them.” Saying just his name felt weird but strangely familiar like I should have been saying it since.
With each word I spoke, I shackled myself even tighter to Alpha Luciano. Even if I escaped now, my father couldn’t take me in.
The council discussed amongst themselves for some minutes before turning to address us.
“Alpha Vitalio, your complaint has been rendered invalid. Alpha Luciano being proven innocent will be allowed to leave here with his partner. Any and all attempts made by Alpha Vitalio to take Arabella from Alpha Luciano by force will result in the loss of pack lands and authority as Alpha. This is the verdict of the council.”
The three of us bowed and while father went back to his seat to rejoin the other spectators, Alpha Luciano carefully escorted me outside the room. I couldn’t even look at Dad because of how quickly Alpha Luciano moved me out of the room.
In minutes, we were out of the house. The moment we were outside, I turned and slapped him. It was so satisfying.
“Fuck you, Luciano Romano. Fuck you.” I was crying. My entire chest felt like it was going to cave in. He moved close to me as though to embrace me. I fisted my hands and hit him on his chest repeatedly. “I hate you. I hate you.”
He hugged me and my head was buried in his chest as I cried. “Keep your voice down. There are cameras outside.”
Of course, he would never comfort me. How could I have forgotten?
The sound of a car engine came from behind me and I knew our driver had brought our car around. I wondered why we were leaving so soon but I didn’t consider it for long. Alpha Luciano opened the door for me and dumped me inside unceremoniously before going to the other side of the car to get in.
“Be quick. We don’t want to get into a fight before we reach our men.”
The driver nodded and increased the speed. Alpha Luciano pulled up the screen between us and the driver. Then he faced me and grabbed my neck.
“You will never do that again,” He informed me, his voice cold and firm. He was referring to the slap. “If you try it again, I won’t be held accountable for what I do to you.”
He held on to my neck for a second longer to emphasize his point. When he finally released me and I choked on my breath, I realized just how much I hated him.
Goddess, I hated him.
I refused to look at him after I got my breathing back under control. Instead, I looked out the window. He was on a call.
“I want the men on the highway. I don’t trust any of those motherfuckers to not try to off us once we are off council property. I left immediately after the hearing. Didn’t want to give them a chance to be more prepared to ambush us.”
So that was why we left early. To avoid Alpha Luciano’s enemies. Maybe if he tried to be a better person, he wouldn’t have so many enemies coming after his life. I rolled my eyes hard.
Alpha Luciano got off the call and started another. I was almost drowsing off when I saw the shadow of something at the window then our car went out of control.
It spun and spun before slamming into a tree. My vision was blurred and my ears rang. Then my door was opening and Alpha Luciano was pulling me out of the smoking car.
“The driver?”
Alpha Luciano pointed towards the steering wheel where the driver lay with his head on the wheel, a bullet in his head. I gasped. They’d actually come for him. The only problem was that I was here. Why couldn’t they have attacked him when I was absent?
“Come, we need to get out of here.” Alpha Luciano took my hand and I followed him only to come to an abrupt stop as we were surrounded by armed men in black wearing ski masks and toting guns.
Alpha Luciano pushed me to the ground so that I was flat on the surface and not a moving target for all the guns. Then he moved. Faster than I had ever seen him move. Like he was in a partial shift but he wasn’t partially shifted. He got to one of the armed men, disarmed him and used him as a body shield while firing at the other men. I crawled back to the safety of the car.
This was not my fight and I wasn’t planning on dying for Alpha Luciano. I hid behind the car and closed my ears to the sound of their gunshots. I particularly shifted my hands to claws to protect myself just in case.
The rapid fire of the guns continued and I shook uncontrollably behind the car. After some time, it stopped and I carefully peeked my head out. Was Alpha Luciano still alive? If he was gone, what would these men do to me? I didn’t want to find out. Alpha Luciano had abused me but at least he’d kept me safe from all other men.
Alpha Luciano was the only one left standing. He walked with a limp. He must have gotten shot in one leg. I raced out from behind the car to go and join him so we could leave this place when I suddenly felt a knife at my throat. One of the men must have been left behind and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity.
I froze.
“Let her go.” Alpha Luciano said, his blue eyes were almost completely silver.
The man ignored him and moved the knife closer to my throat to show Alpha Luciano who was in control. Seeing him distracted, I slashed at his hand with my claws and moved out of his hold. He cried out. Before I could go far, however, the man caught me by my hair. He yanked me back and lifted his hand to stab me.
Alpha Luciano was there suddenly and caught the knife in the air with his bare hand before it could reach me and his blood dropped on my face. I looked at him shocked that he would save me. My assailant pushed the knife deeper into Alpha Luciano’s hand perhaps hoping to slice off his fingers. Alpha Luciano’s grip broke the knife.
The man moved to run away but Alpha Luciano was on him, he punched him until his lights went out and then some.
Alpha Luciano stood up from the man’s prone body swaying blood all over him.
“Alpha Luciano…”
“Are you alright?” He asked me as though I was the one who had caught a freaking knife midair with my bare hands.
“Yes.” I said slightly in awe of him.
He nodded, and then he collapsed to the ground.
“Luciano!” I crouched in front of him and checked his pulse. He was still alive. But he had so many injuries. The knife had been coated with wolfsbane and the bullets had been silver. If he didn’t get treated, he could die of poisoning.
I looked around in the middle of a road-turned-battlefield. Apart from Alpha Luciano, there were at least twelve to fifteen other bodies. There was no one stopping me. I could run away now. Away from Alpha Luciano, away from this dirty life. I didn’t even have to go back to Dad. I could just keep running and none would find me.
I looked at Alpha Luciano. If he died here, surely I would be free. Blood on my hands, I stood.
The sun began to set.