“Get out of here. I know what you’re doing.”
They both did, but it worked. The small smile dancing on her lips was enough for him. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head before going back toward the front door.
“You know I’ll be out of touch, but I’ll send messages when I can. What’s the rule?”
“Never ask details, and remember that if you’re contacting, you’re all right.”
“Good girl. I’ll see you soon.”
He closed his door behind him, the smile disappearing from his face. The land given to the former Bianchi was on the outskirts of the lands, near the top of the portal city barrier that kept them inside. The high, slightly shimmering magic was just visible on the horizon. It was a message as well as protection—they were not exactly accepted, but they were being given a chance to prove they’d have the pack’s back.
He understood it and didn’t fault Dominic for the move. It was up to Pasquale’s people to make the difference. But they were too scared, too abused under oppressive former leadership, and they no longer had a voice. Nearly half of them hadn’t joined with the Lombardi Park, and he couldn’t find the wolves who’d left. For all the strength in his nose, they’d alluded him, and it made him edgy. Encantado may have been a massive city with nearly a million or more people packed within it with new influxes, but that didn’t mean it was so large they should have been able to disappear from his nose.
Where were his former packmates, and why did he fear what their disappearance would mean for those who remained behind? He wasn’t so sure, but he could see the truth in what his sister said in their eyes. The ones who were waiting for him, hovering outside of his home to protect Fabiana … and him. Their Alpha, their nucleus.
For a moment, he let his power unfurl, grow, and swell under his skin. It drank from him as a man parched, exploding into the open space and sending wolves to their knees.
“Protect her while I’m gone.”
Pasquale didn’t have to shout for his command to reach them. They bowed their heads, but he shook his. He ripped his Alpha call away, locking it deep inside. He was just like his father, demanding when he should ask.
“Please.”
Wolves stood to their feet, shaking their heads in confusion.
Fuck, he was no good at this. At ruling. At leading. He didn’t know how.
Frustrated, he left.
And those outside watched him lope off. Hope shone in their eyes. He didn’t know if he could shoulder it, but he’d try his best.
Chapter Six
“Fastest way to cover ground would be to travel through Greenwald Park and directly to Scorched Earth from there.”
He was talking, and she should have been listening, but all Giuliana could do was smell.
Fresh snow and … fucking powder. It was feminine. Not a scent she expected to be wrapped around her mate. She stepped closer to him, pulling the scent deeper into her lungs. It was familiar, but she couldn’t place from where.
Didn’t matter though; it wasn’t her scent.
We can disembowel her. I’m all for that.
For once, she was in complete agreement with her wolf.
“Giuliana.”
How fucking dare he! They may not have claimed each other, but they had at least agreed on seeing where things could go. And the bastard thought he could come at her smelling like another woman? He wanted his head between his legs, no longer attached to his freaking neck.
“Giuliana.”
She saw fucking red. RED.
Mine?
What do you think, sister? He’s here smelling like baby ass and you still want to claim him.
Well … yes. But only after we go wacko on the chick. Then we can make him give all the pleasure we want until we rip his head off too.
