CALIFF
“Your dad knew that you were not his, but he loved you like his own till his last breath,” Alexander, her grandfather, said.
“How did you know?”
“He came to me, blaming Sebastien. They fought on that ground. He almost killed your father. Maybe at that time, Sebastien surrendered and admitted his mistake. I never saw your father again, but his body was brought to me.”
“Why Sebastien doesn’t have a family or children?”
“He believes his mate was your mother, considering she was mated to his twin. He has this belief that the goddess gave them one mate to share, but your dad didn’t think that way. His rage had taken him to do what he did. And here you are.”
“How did they meet?” Shadow was so engrossed with the story of her parents from his grandfather that she forgot she had a date today.
“They met here in Italy. Sebastien saw her first, but Samuel had the courage to approach her. Sebastien has been like this- focused, workaholic, uptight, but your dad was the opposite because he knew he would not be the Alpha. They fell in love, and the rest is, you know.”
She sighed and smiled at her grandfather.
“I think your date has been waiting for you, honey.” Alexander touched her head. “I’m glad you’re here. You remind me a lot of your dad and your mother.”
“Glad to meet you too, grandfather.” She stood up and smoothed her white dress.
“Will I see you again?” The old man looked up at her.
“Of course, I’ll come over once I’m not too busy with work. Tell my father I have a date to go to.”
“I believe he’s just down waiting.”
“Bye, Grandpa.”
“You two have fun.”
“My Lord.” I smiled before I grabbed the hand Shadow offered.
She wrapped her arms around me as we climbed down the stairs. “Where are you taking me?”
“Where the current takes us.”
“Wow. Good to see you being this spontaneous, Alpha.”
I kissed her head. “Anything for my girl. I mean, my princess.”
“Your girl is fine.” She giggled. Our lips were merely a thread apart when I felt someone was watching us.
“Sebastien, that’s rude.”
“In my house. How’s that rude?” He threw something at me.
I caught it, and it was a key. “What’s this?”
“You didn’t happen to portal your car, did you?”
Shadow grinned. “You’re lending us your car?”
“Consider that one of the wedding gifts. It’s in the parking lot.”
“Thanks.”
“Now go, and don’t ever kiss her in front of me unless you already put a ring on her finger.”
“Sebastien, now who’s rude.” Her eyes widened at her father.
He swatted his hand. “Just go and have fun.”
“Bye.”
We had the same reaction. We felt like we were brought into a car dealer shop. There were vintage trucks, sedans, limousines, sports cars, SUVs, and four-wheeled.
“Wow. I could have picked that one, though.” She pointed at the white Mercedes convertible.
“Well.” I dangled the key.
“You’re kidding.” She grabbed it from me to check the car logo. “Holy shit.” She was already running towards the car, getting into the driver’s seat. “Oh, my goddess!”
I leaned against the window when she rolled it down as if there was a roof. “Are you coming?”
“I’m driving.”
“No, you’re not. I’m living a dream.”
I chuckled as I rounded to the passenger side and jumped into the seat. “Drive us away, princess.”
As we got to the main road, I couldn’t help but admire her. “I think your father chose this car because it’s perfect for your OOTD.”
“Look at you, Instagram junkie.”
“I’m not, but you look perfect in this car.” I leaned in to kiss her cheek, grabbed my phone, and took snaps of her before I slipped it into my pocket.
“I’m driving. Where are we going anyway?”
“I wanna see the Ponte Pietra Bridge. Then we can have dinner at a restaurant.”
“I don’t wanna eat in the restaurant. Can we stroll around?”
“Whatever you like, baby.” I placed my hand on her thigh. “You’re not hungry?”
“Not really. What’s with the bridge anyway? Any significant memory?”
“I just found it amazing and romantic.”
She burst out laughing. “Did you just say romantic? Alpha being romantic can’t be in one sentence. It’s a bad combination. A curse.”
“Since I found you, my life has changed. Don’t sing it, please?”
She held her laugh. Her face was red. “Fine. What happened to my Alpha boyfriend?”
“You know for a fact we’re more than that.”
“I know, but since we’re here dating, let’s just be human for a change, and you can be a romantic Alpha today.”
“I just want to enjoy it with you. I think I deserve to be happy and go out on a date with you once in a while.”
“Aw, Califf. I can’t believe what’s been missing in your life.”
“Can you be a little more serious?”
She touched my face, and I kissed her hand. “You deserve anything the world can offer, my Alpha. And I’m glad we’re both here. After what we’ve been through, we deserve a day alone to ourselves.”
We parked the car just a walking distance from the bridge.
“Come here, and let me hold your hand.”
Her cheeks flushed as she took my hand. “I like this part of you. I also like the naughty and the alphasshole, aggressive and unapologetic you.”
“I love everything about you, Shadow.” We reached the bridge. There were people looking around- some were tourists, and some were locals. “Germans have destroyed this but rebuilt again. Our relationship started rocky, but we made it to this bridge today.”
“You suddenly have interests in history, huh?” She looked amused.
I picked up the box that had been in my pocket. “The day I saw you behind that revolving door, I thought, damn, I’m not gonna have a rogue mate, but my heart and wolf said differently.”
She already read my gestures even if she didn’t have to read my thoughts. “Califf, what are you doing?”
I went on my knee. “I’d rather die alone than live the rest of my life without you. Are you brave enough to take the risk of being with me throughout our lives? Because I am Shadow Raven Hawks. Will you be my wife?” I opened the box, and I heard gasps around us.
Shadow had her hands on her face as she held her laugh. Her eyes glittered as she shook her head in amusement. “I know there’s something odd about this bridge. Damn. Of course, yes!”
I heard applause around us as she cupped my face and kissed me. “I love you, Alpha Califf.”
“I love you more, Luna Shadow.” I slipped the ring into her finger. Dad and Mom saw it first, and they were happy for us. I pulled her in my arms and hugged her tight. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, my mate.”
“As if you have a choice. I’m not letting you go, Alpha or not. Even if you are a human, I still have my babies with you.”
I laughed out loud and looked at her face. Her eyes were teary with joy. “You’re ready to have kids with me?”
“Maybe after we get married, we can discuss it.”
“Deal. I love you, my love.”
“I love you, Alpha.”