Alpha Luciano’s POV
When I woke up, Arabella was sleeping next to me. Her black hair was mussed from sleep and she pouted as though she was arguing about something in her sleep. Knowing her, the probability wasn’t so far-fetched.
We spent a lot of time around each other recently. It wasn’t just sex although the sex was phenomenal and spontaneous. I recalled how Arabella had jumped me the moment I had walked through the door last night. Having a hormonal pregnant mate definitely had its perks. It was also about the strange conversations and arguments we got into.
I shook myself awake. Was I simping for Arabella? No way.
I went to take a shower. The strike on the Creoles was tonight. I would crush them like the insignificant bugs that they were. When I came out, Arabella was already awake and yawning.
“Where are you going to?” She asked and I began to answer her then hesitated. Since when did I explain my whereabouts to anyone?
Arabella seemed oblivious to my mood and beckoned to me. “Come back to bed. It’s still night. You are so used to going to the office early that you didn’t even check the time.”
I pulled on a shirt. “You should return to your room. I will not be back tonight. I have a drug run to get to.”
Arabella froze. She was probably remembering the fact that she had stolen my drugs from me once upon a time.
“Will it be dangerous?” I was shocked by her question. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked me that sort of question. I was the danger that people ran away from so it was weird to find someone who was so worried about me.
“No more than my usual drug runs. Don’t worry, it will be concluded quickly. Watch a movie or something. I’ll be back before you know it.” I turned only to bump into her. I hadn’t realized when she had moved so close. “What’s up with you?” I asked her.
Arabella embraced me and I froze. “Please be safe.” She whispered.
I patted her back awkwardly, not that she seemed to mind.
I wondered if this was how it felt to be normal, to have someone who cared and worried about you. It was a strange feeling but it wasn’t completely unwelcome.
*******
Arabella’s POV
It had been three hours since Luciano left and he still wasn’t back yet. I know he said that he wouldn’t come back tonight but I was nervous. I tried to sleep but I couldn’t. I had pretended to fall asleep so that Margaret would leave and get some sleep. She worked so hard to keep me happy.
Sometimes, I felt that she was more excited about the pregnancy than I was. She was already suggesting which of the rooms we should use as a nursery. We would need to repaint and redecorate it. She had told me. But that would only come after Luciano announced my pregnancy to the pack.
Luciano told me that he just wanted to get some things in place before he did that. I wondered if the drug run he had gone for tonight was one of the ‘things’ he wanted to take care of.
I didn’t know when I fell into a light sleep when I woke up, I was in pain. My chest burned but when I checked it I had no injuries or burns. I didn’t consider it much at first thought. Stranger things happened but as I checked the time again to see how many hours had passed since Luciano had left, I paused.
If the pain hadn’t been mine then… could it have been Luciano’s?
What if he was hurt? Badly? I was out of bed before I thought too much about it. I pulled on flannel pyjamas. And a large coat just in case. I didn’t want anyone suspecting the fact that I was pregnant as I headed to my destination, the last thing I wanted was to anger Luciano.
The person I visited seemed even more surprised to see me than I was to see him so informal.
WithTommaso regarded me with a mix of curiosity, disgust and surprise. He wore a large shirt and some shorts that exposed his hairy legs and made him look less official.
“Arabella Bianchi. What brings you here? ” Elder Tommaso cocked his brow at me.
“Please, I wanted to ask you about Luciano and his run today.”
Elder Tommaso unmatched the lock of his door.
“Come on in then and be fast about it.”
With trepidation, I entered the house and allowed the door to slam behind me.
Elder Tommaso didn’t offer me a seat. He took a bottle of brandy from his bar and poured himself a cup.
“Arabella Bianchi. What do you want?”
“The drug run today, have you heard from Luciano since he left?”
He stopped pouring and looked at me as he downed the contents of his glass without flinching.
“So Luciano told you about the run.” He huffed and sat himself down to pour himself another drink.
“Do you expect me to believe that you are worried about Luciano?” He laughed darkly. “Luciano might have started thinking with his other head but mine is still screwed on tight and my memory is as sharp as ever. Do you know you look like your father? I bet your mannerisms aren’t all that different. You want something for Luciano that’s the only reason you are here.”
“Look, Elder Tommaso. I just want to make sure he is okay. I know you don’t like me because of my father, my family, my former pack. I’m not going to ask you to believe me, I just want to know if he is fine. His number isn’t going through and I am just worried about him.
Elder Tommaso huffed and sipped from his alcohol again. This was going exactly nowhere. I moved to leave the old man to his alcohol when his voice stopped me.
“I raised Luciano since he was a child single handedly. I know him inside out. I know everything about him. I know him better than he knows himself. That is why I know that you are bad news for him.”
“Whatever spell you have woven to entrap him will break because you didn’t account for something. He doesn’t have a heart. You can’t control him emotionally. If you think you can control him with the child, you have another thing coming. He doesn’t care about you or the child. He only needs an heir. After that, your usefulness will disappear.”
I remembered the look on Luciano’s face when he told me that I was pregnant, and the way he spoke to the baby religiously.
“Maybe you don’t know Luciano as well as you think you do.”
I left the house.
*********
I returned to the pack house and decided to sleep in Luciano’s bed. Maybe inhaling his scent would help me fool myself into falling asleep. It was morning already. I needed to rest.
When I entered the room, Luciano was back.
He reeked of blood and his dark clothes concealed the blood stains.
“‘Luciano!” I almost ran to embrace him but he seemed darker than usual and signified for later.
He entered the shower and I waited on the bed impatiently for him, tears nearly flowing from relief.
When he came out in his towel, I noticed a large injury on his arm that was already healing. So some of the blood had been his after all, maybe that was what I’d felt from the bond.
I allowed my tears that I didn’t understand to begin to flow.
Luciano squatted near me to wipe my tears. “Hey don’t cry, I thought I asked you to go to bed, why are you still up?”
“I thought I told you to stay safe, why do you have such a large wound?” I wiped my tears. “Why are we so stubborn, Luciano?”
He regarded me seriously. “So that we can bother the hell out of each other.”
I laugh cried and Luciano embraced me. “I’m fine Arabella. I’m good.”
“I know.” I sniffed. He was fine but I was far from it. I was just realizing that my feelings for him had gotten much stronger without my permission.
I pulled away and drew him close to kiss him. He reciprocated and my mind finally stopped thinking about uncontrollable feelings and just felt.