Alpha Luciano’s POV
“Vitalio has gotten acquitted of all the charges against him.”
Naturally, my wonderful mood had to be ruined by news of Arabella’s father roaming free.
How had he gotten out of the red tape so quickly?
“How much money did he lose buying the police off? How many assets did he liquidate?”
“Almost, ” Mikah looked at his phone. “50 million US dollars worth.”
I massaged my temples. How on earth was Vitalio still seeing so much money to bail himself out of these sorts of situations? At this point, nothing he did had the ability to surprise me anymore.
“Keep an eye on him and any other ventures he might put a hand in to recuperate his losses.”
Mikah bowed.
“What has Emery said? Has she broken down yet?”
“No, Alpha. She insists that you are the only one she will speak with. That she will tell only you the truth regardless of the amount of torture she gets.”
I nearly rolled my head to the back of my skull. A prisoner and still making demands. I sure knew how to pick my women. Or at least I did. Now I had only one woman. The woman who I couldn’t wait to finish at work to go back to.
“Torture her some more. She must not understand that the pain can get worse. I refuse to go to a prisoner, a traitor who commands me to attend to her.”
Mikah bowed, his face the serene epitome of obedience.
I really needed to get him time off with his fiance so that they could finally tie the knot. I relied on Mikah a lot, I didn’t think that reliance would ever be completely fulfilled but I had to learn to live without him as a crutch so that he could live his own life.
“Mikah.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Mikah looked at me.
“You should take some time off. Do right by your woman.”
Mikah was startled. With the number of times I had startled him recently, he might develop a health defect.
“But Alpha, there is still so much left to do. The timing–”
I waved away his concern. “Before you rose to be my spymaster and erstwhile confidant, I survived just fine without you. I can survive a month or two in your absence.”
“A month or two?!”
Mikah looked like I had handed him a punishment instead of a vacation. He would get mated and enjoy a much-needed downtime. The kind of downtime I needed, alas an Alpha’s work was never done.
“Just accept the break and go before I extend it to six months.” What wouldn’t I give to spend six months alone with Arabella?
I would spoil her with anything she wanted, travel with her, and stay with her.
Mikah’s jaw dropped open. “Thank you, sir.”
As Mikah was about to leave, a knock came in and it was Uncle Tommaso.
“Come in.”
*******
Elder Tommaso’s POV
I was angry. Angry at Luciano for letting that girl come between us. After my brother and his mate’s death at the hands of Vitalio Bianchi, I thirsted for vengeance. Luciano would never understand how it felt knowing you had failed your people. Knowing that I had come too late to save even Luciano.
He had been halfway done with the men already when we arrived. Looking back at it now, there was no way I could have stopped it. I had analyzed it for over a decade with no answer in sight but that didn’t mean I stopped blaming myself. Anytime I saw Luciano smile as rare as that was I recalled my brother.
Only Luciano would never be as weak as he was. He would never fall prey to attacks, he would prey on others instead. That was the way I moulded him. Even as a child, he deferred to me. My opinion had always been important to him. As he became an Alpha, my Alpha, I accorded him the respect he was due. When he commanded or spoke authoritatively to me, it was his due as Alpha.
Our dynamic had been stable. His bloodlust, ruthlessness and dominance had been equivocal.
The world was a chess board and we were the ones who made the rules. My nephew and I. Until that day I informed Luciano about Arabella Bianchi. In hindsight, I should have killed the bitch myself.
Luciano liked to act as though I were blind or oblivious to the situation around me, that I didn’t know he set his dog, Mikah, on me. I let it happen because that was how I had wanted him to be. To be distrustful of anyone and everyone. That way he would stay alive unlike his father, the advocate for peace who had died precisely because of the peace he pursued.
I loved my brother but he had been too idealistic. Too many radical ideas. He wanted to stop the interpack skirmishes. He wanted to stop the drug business, the mainstay of the pack. To survive on what? Vineyards? For his valiant efforts, what had he gotten in exchange? A stab in the back.
Good people were not long for this world. And I raised Luciano as best as I could to be the complete opposite. It helped that he was already permanently scarred because of his parents’ death. I just had to encourage his excesses and enforce discipline.
Arabella Bianchi. As the daughter of Vitalio Bianchi, I didn’t expect her to live this long in our captivity. She had stayed alive longer than the two months Luciano had proposed when he initially spared her life.
I have no feelings for her. Not even lust. She disgusts me but I will not let that derail me from my revenge. I will use her to hurt Vitalio and nothing more. I will not forget our vow to eradicate the Stonecold pack and Vitalio Bianchi.
Now I no longer had faith in what Luciano told me. He rarely listened to me these days and he spoke to me however he pleased. It had only worsened with the entire Anastasia fiasco which Luciano had blown out of proportion. If he had mated with her as planned, we would have had an in with the Espositos and afterwards, we could have planned a small accident for her. How could she steal our lands and power if she was dead?
To compound matters, my people informed me about the way he had rushed out gun blazing to rescue Arabella from Anastasia. Could Luciano have fallen for her already? There was no way that was possible. He had options. Options with less bad blood and far more pleasing bodies.
Maybe you don’t know Luciano as well as you think you do.
Arabella’s words came back to me. I stapled my fingers together in deep thought. She was out of commission and her words didn’t hold water for me. The only thing that bothered me now were the secrets Luciano was keeping from me.
“Come in.”
I entered and saw Luciano, a mirror image of his father, he looked a little different and his scent… was out of place and off but I couldn’t put a hand on what exactly was wrong with it.
“Luciano. I came to speak with you about Vitalio.”
“Of course, Uncle, sit.”
Although his voice was warm and welcoming, his bearing was tense. He was hiding something from me, but what?
“What are your plans for him? Shall we organize something for him? He has been a thorn in our flesh for far too long.” Maybe if he saw Vitalio, he would remember all the terrible things Vitalio has done and remember all the hate he should feel towards that girl.
Luciano hesitated then spoke. “For now, we wait. Vitalio deserves a drawn-out punishment.”
His point was valid. But the way he said it…
I looked at him.
“Has Arabella woken up?”