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Cassia did as he said and sat at the table. She reached for her glass of wine and brought it to her lips, watching as Julian moved with grace, making quick work of slicing the pizza.
“I must admit. That is one beautiful pizza.” The delicious scent of tomatoes and bread filtered throughout the room and her mouth watered at the sight of the simmering cheese pie.
Julian placed it on the table and slipped into the seat across from her. She smiled as he slid the spatula underneath and lifted a slice, dripping with cheese, and set it on a plate in front of her.
“Every ingredient is of importance. The flour is imported from Naples, Italy. A few times a year I make and can the sauce. And the cheese…the very best mozzarella. I always keep some stocked in my freezer.”
“That is impressive. I’ve never met someone quite like you.”
“I’m not always at my different homes but time has afforded me the ability to learn many things. I don’t spend more than a few months of the year in one place, but I make the most of life. I try anyway.”
Cassia detected a hint of sadness in Julian’s eyes. “I know what it’s like to have to move all the time. Do you ever feel like making one place home?”
“Yes and no. I’m rogue, so the very nature of that is I have no pack.”
“Are you lonely?” Cassia bit her lip and averted her gaze to her plate.
“Maybe for the first hundred years, but you’ve got no choice. My sister was too young. She had to be protected.” Julian shrugged. “Then you get used to it … I guess. You make it work. You find company in strangers. The world is an interesting place.”
“Home is where the heart is.” The warmth in Cassia’s heart blossomed and she warned herself not to develop any feelings for the Alpha. Don’t do it Cass. He’s a wolf. He’s an Alpha. He’s too dangerous. He’ll move on. You’ll move on.
Julian smiled and gestured to her pizza. “Come on. Let’s eat. You first. Let me know what you think. Tell me the truth. Don’t break my heart now.”
Her smile reached her eyes as she reached for the slice and bit into the cheesy goodness. “Oh, yeah. This is ...” She held up a finger and chewed and swallowed her bite. “Oh my Goddess. So good. No, seriously. I haven’t had pizza this good since … I don’t know … New York City. Naples. Both. This is…” She took another bite. “Really awesome.”
“All right then. Mission accomplished.” Julian lifted a slice to his lips.
“So, you’ve seen me shift.” Guilt threaded through her knowing she hadn’t told him the entire truth. “What about you?”
Julian laughed. “What about me? I’m a wolf.”
“Yeah, yeah but what color are you? I don’t remember…that day in the woods.”
“I’m black. I’m told my eyes sometimes change color but you know, not that many people have seen me.”
“Ah, part of that whole rogue wolf thing you’ve got going on.”
“Something like that.”
“So do you see your sister a lot now? I would love to see my family. One day.”
“Maybe once this is done …” Julian took another bite. “She lives in Wyoming now. Not too far away.”
“Maybe once the hellhounds stop chasing me … I want to see my family too. You must have seen so many things in your travels.” She changed the subject. There was no use lingering on her grief over not seeing her family.
“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in this world. Things change, but they don’t. I want you to know that that touch of whatever you sensed from me. It’s not mine. I was in a fight down in central America. Demons were chasing my sister so I helped lure them back to Hell. And it’s just that sometimes … well, it’s Hell for a reason. You almost start to lose sense of time. I don’t think I can go back again…it’s doing something to me,” he confessed.
“What?”
“I don’t know. Something with my magick. I’m feeling off.”
“You probably need a cleansing. I can help with that. But a good witch might be able to help both of us.” A corner of her lips tugged upward. “Or maybe there’s a reason we’re supposed to be together.”
His eyes lit with both amusement and passion. “Maybe. I’d like to think so. Or maybe you were in serious need of a good pizza.”
“Seriously though. My visions … they are usually a warning for just me. I’ve never seen anyone else. That night up in Idaho … when you saved me.” Her heart pounded in her chest, reliving the moment, sliding down the mud, gunshots ringing in the air. “Someone sent for me … got me to go there. I think they were going to kill me. I don’t know who they were. I mean, I’m a chameleon … so my blood, my spirit …”
“Your ability,” he finished her words. “Someone wanted it.”
