In the dining room, ten minutes ago. Luciano was caught by surprise when Talia left with Stephanie. He wanted to go after Talia, and his wolf agreed, but then Cassie appeared at the door and Luciano paused. If he goes after Talia, Cassie will notice and target her. ‘You were supposed to get rid of Cassie a long time ago!’, Luciano’s wolf growled in his head. ‘Sent her packing and go after our mate!’ Luciano pinched the roof of his nose. ‘Cassie is just a fly. But a fly with a hurt ego and a big mouth can cause damage. Even if she doesn’t know that Talia is my mate, just the fact that I’m treating Talia differently will put a target on her back.’ ‘So, what is the plan, wise guy?’, his wolf asked sarcastically. ‘You will pretend that mate is not here until this annoying she-wolf leaves?’ ‘I can’t act differently. Talia’s safety comes first.’ His wolf snorted in disapproval. ‘How about you go and shag every she-wolf in ten miles radius? In that way, no one will suspect you have a m

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 was 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 favourite things: forest and a sweet treat. Talia wondered if Luciano had come 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 there were no soun

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 think that my pack members 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 was able to move freely in

“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 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 didn’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 this incident to stir trouble.”Talia

Seeing 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.“Luciano”, Talia s