(A thief in the kitchen)Talia blinked herself awake and the first thing she noticed was the darkness.It was definitely past dinner time, but Talia didn’t mind.She buried her head deeper into the pillow, indulging in the softness and warmth that came with the scent of the forest and dark chocolate.Talia paused and took a few sniffs to confirm that her nose is not playing tricks on her.Talia looked around to ascertain that she was on her own.She was confused. The room didn’t smell like Luciano before she fell asleep, but now it did.She liked his scent; it was a mix of her two favorite things: forest and a sweet treat. Talia wondered if Luciano came to check on her while she was sleeping.Talia shook that thought away. Why would a scary Alpha come to check on her?It’s more probable that Stephanie or Maya brought something that had Luciano’s scent on it. But she couldn’t see anything different.Talia decided to stop thinking about it. It doesn’t matter.She listened carefully, and
(Broken trust)Seeing that Talia was not responding and that Luciano didn’t react, Cassie was emboldened.“Answer me!”, Cassie hissed at Talia and spoke to Luciano without removing her gaze from Talia. “Is this how your Omegas are acting? You really need a Luna to teach them some manners. Sneaking in the dark and stealing food, and then they even refuse to respond…”“That’s enough, Cassie!”, Maya said sternly from the door.Maya’s heart cracked when she saw Talia’s submissive stance. It’s not that Cassie had any aura, but Talia was a broken soul who needed supportive environment.Maya walked to Talia and asked softly, “Are you OK?”Talia nodded faintly, but Maya knew that Talia was lying.Maya narrowed her eyes at Luciano and spoke through the mind-link. ‘Is this why you brought her here? I thought you promised her protection and not another type of hell.’“Come, let’s get out of here…”, Maya said to Talia while wrapping her arm around Talia’s shoulders.“We are not done here”, Cassie
(Missing)In the kitchen…Luciano pried his arm free from Cassie’s hold and her eyes widened in surprise.Why did he back away? Why was he frowning? Things were going well, damn it!She composed herself and called sweetly, “Alpha Luciano, do you think I was out of line?”“Cassie, you accused a teenage girl of being a thief. Do you really think that my pack members have a need to come here and steal food?”Cassie pressed her lips into a line, feeling wronged. “But she was in the dark which is proof that she was up to no good. How could she see anything with the lights off?”Luciano took a moment to process what Cassie said, and he realized that Cassie was right: Talia was in the dark.The light in the kitchen was off and so was the one in the hallway. The visibility was close to nil.Werewolves have enhanced senses, proportional to the strength of their wolf.Cassie is a weak werewolf and the boost her wolf provides her is negligible when compared to other werewolves.However, Talia wa
(Back in the room)A sky-piercing howl shook all the windows in the packhouse of the Dark Howlers pack, threatening to shatter them. The powerful sound echoed far into the distance, stirring every pack member with the might their Alpha possesses.“Will Luciano be OK?”, Maya asked Caden while blinking at the dawn which cracked through the windows.They heard four rapid thumps when Luciano landed in the garden after jumping from his balcony on the third floor.“He will be fine.”, Caden assured Maya and pulled her closer to him. “The border patrol just notified Luciano that they found Talia.”Maya wanted to ask for more information, but Caden was snoring softly already, so she gave up.Normally, warriors and patrols can’t contact Luciano through the mind-link. That is reserved for Caden, Maya, and Stephanie, and even those three know not to disturb him unless it’s important.Warriors, scouts, and other pack members follow the chain of command which allows only a handful of people to cont
(Restless uncertainty)“Oh, before I forget…”, Maya stirred the conversation the other way. “Don’t tell anyone that you are from the Red Moon pack. The official story is that you grew up with your grandparents somewhere North and that after they passed, you came here with the goal to find a pack and we bumped into each other accidentally. Do you remember the gas station where Alpha Luciano went out to purchase snacks on his own? It’s the stop where you switched places with Caden.”Talia nodded.“That’s where we met. Feel free to fill in any gaps about your background.”, Maya said and observed Talia who was listening intently with a hint of confusion on her face. “Do you know why this is important?”Talia shook her head, indicating that she doesn’t.“If Alpha Edward suspects that we took you secretly, he might accuse us of kidnapping or stealing.”Talia’s eyes widened. “I agreed to come with you.”“You did, but Alpha Edward is not on friendly terms with Alpha Luciano, and he might use
(The devil himself)Between sparring sessions, Luciano was contacting Maya through the mind-link, reminding her to take Talia shopping, but Maya told him that Talia was sleeping and that she shouldn’t be disturbed.‘Talia is sleeping. Considering her wounds, it’s important that she rests. We can shop tomorrow.’, Maya tried to reason with Luciano.‘No. Do it today.’, Luciano was not relenting.The truth is that he felt guilty.He knew that Talia left because of the incident in the kitchen, and he thought that if Maya takes her shopping, Talia will feel better and not try to leave again.The thought of Talia leaving was creating knots in his stomach.She nearly escaped, and next time, he might not be so lucky to find her sleeping in the forest.It was late afternoon when Luciano finished training and returned to the packhouse.His shorts was sticking to his body, and his bare chiseled chest and abs were glistening due to all the sweat and he was itching for a shower.Luciano heard Maya’
Bossy LucianoSeeing that Luciano was looking at her grimly from the door of her room, Talia didn’t dare to provoke him.Talia didn’t have the faintest clue what caused his current mood (or what that mood was), but she decided to play it safe, and she lowered her head.“I apologize, Alpha Luciano.”, she said in a small voice.‘BAM!’Talia jolted when the door closed loudly, and she inhaled sharply at the realization that Luciano was only half a step away from her.It took him only a second to cross the distance between them.Luciano grabbed her chin with his index finger and thumb and forced her to lift her head and look at him.“What did you call me?”He was leaning above her, and his angry words splashed on her face. Talia blinked rapidly, unsure what he was getting at.Seeing the horror in her eyes, Luciano let go of her chin and put his palm on her cheek.“I told you to call me by my name. Luciano. Just Luciano. Say it.”His tone was much gentler, but his gaze was unwavering.“Lu
Different than othersTalia found her first experience of shopping for clothes overwhelming.Dresses, tops, shorts, pants, skirts, shoes, hats, boots, jackets, cardigans. Everything looked good and she didn’t dare make any requests.Bryn took Talia’s measurements and determined the right size for her undergarments, so Talia only needed to pick style and color from the catalog that Isi brought. Talia picked a conservative style in light tan color, and Isi slipped into the pile white, black, and blue undergarments of the same type.Bryn was expertly removing clothes from Talia and putting new ones on, and Isi would go out to get the right size or color when needed.When Isi came out of the dressing room the second time, she changed the sign on the door to ‘Closed’ and locked the door, so that new customers don’t come. The two of them were committed to serving Talia, convinced that would please Luciano.“This green dress goes great with your hair!”, Isi exclaimed.“This silvery top is cu