(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
Drive to the human townTalia observed the scene between Luciano and Cassie, and she was not sure what to think. Why did Alpha Luciano treat Cassie coldly? Did they have an argument? Or maybe Cassie offended him somehow.Just based on the last minute, if Talia didn’t witness the scene in the kitchen of Cassie clinging to Luciano’s arm, Talia would think that Luciano doesn’t like Cassie. But if he doesn’t like her, why would he allow her to stay in the packhouse and call herself his Luna? And the way Cassie looked at Luciano definitely insinuated intimacy that goes beyond holding his hand.It didn’t make sense.This solidified Talia’s opinion that Alpha Luciano is extremely unstable.In a way, it made Talia feel better because now Talia knew that she was not the only one to be treated inconsistently by Alpha Luciano.If Talia was not so terrified of him, she would recommend him to see a psychiatrist because his behavior can’t be normal.Everyone around Alpha Luciano is on pins and need
Drive to the townTalia observed the scene between Luciano and Cassie, and she was not sure what to think. Why did Alpha Luciano treat Cassie coldly? Did they have an argument? Or maybe Cassie offended him somehow.Just based on the last minute, if Talia didn’t witness the scene in the kitchen of Cassie clinging to Luciano’s arm, Talia would think that Luciano doesn’t like Cassie. But if he doesn’t like her, why would he allow her to stay in the packhouse and call herself his Luna? And the way Cassie looked at Luciano definitely insinuated intimacy that goes beyond holding his hand.It didn’t make sense.This solidified Talia’s opinion that Alpha Luciano is extremely unstable.In a way, it made Talia feel better because now Talia knew that she was not the only one to be treated inconsistently by Alpha Luciano.If Talia was not so terrified of him, she would recommend him to see a psychiatrist because his behavior can’t be normal.Everyone around Alpha Luciano is on pins and needles wh
Mrs BlakeLuciano glanced at Talia to confirm that she didn’t react when the man called him ‘Mr. Blake’, and Luciano took that as her approval. Yup, she definitely didn’t mind using his last name.There was a time when werewolves didn’t have last names. Even in modern times, they identify themselves by the first name, pack they belong to, and their position.However, since they are coexisting with humans, each werewolf family has a surname. It helps them blend in.Of course, prominent werewolf families are an exception, because their last name also signifies status, and the surname Blake is like royalty in the society of werewolves from the time before Luciano’s grand-grandfather.When Travis was setting up Talia’s appointment with the nutritionist, he asked Luciano what surname to use because Talia told him that she doesn’t have one when he was writing down her personal information. Actually, the lack of Talia’s background went beyond just her last name and it told Travis how neglect