(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
A heavy sleeperTalia was sleeping, and she was not sure what she was dreaming of, but she knew it was pleasant, and she didn’t want to wake up.There was a tickle on her forehead and her eyebrows twitched in a feeble attempt to remove the source of that subtle sensation.The tickle moved over her temple, and settled on her cheek, expanding into something warm and cozy and Talia leaned her head in that direction.She took a deep breath and smiled as the scent of the forest and dark chocolate entered her system.It was novel, yet familiar, and definitely relaxing.Talia’s smile froze when she heard a deep chuckle.“You are a heavy sleeper.”Talia’s eyes snapped open, and she met Luciano’s unfathomable blue eyes.She swallowed hard. Oh, God! The warm and cozy thing on her cheek was his palm!Why the heck was she sleeping on his palm as a pillow!?No, no… wrong question!“Why are you in my room?”, Talia croaked before ducking under the cover completely.Luciano thought that she was adora
Clothes make a womanLuciano arranged the underwear in the drawer and turned to his right.He blinked a few times at the sight of Talia who was wrapped in a towel, staring at him without moving a muscle.The white fluffy towel with yellow designs at its edges was wide enough to cover Talia from her chest to just below her private areas, like a super-short mini dress.Talia gripped the towel with both hands until her knuckles turned white, unknowingly pushing her breasts higher and making her cleavage stand out more, and Luciano was not sure where to look first.He really wanted to yank that towel out of the way.Luciano smirked and spoke in a deep voice, “Talia, are you here to seduce me?”Talia’s face exploded in blush and Luciano’s sly smile increased when he saw that even her ears were red.Will she pass out? He would give her mouth-to-mouth anytime.Talia clutched the towel tighter. “Clothes… I didn’t get… I need… clothes…”, she struggled to speak coherently. Alpha Luciano was to