Chapter 15: The Ice-crystal pack.

LUANA'S POV

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured, his voice low and raspy. “Then I’ll stop.”

His breath brushed against my skin as his tongue traced my shoulder.

I didn’t like it when he did it before—back when he bit me—so why did it feel good now?

This was crazy. We shouldn’t.

My head screamed, but my body betrayed me. He moved to my ear, nibbling it gently before biting down.

A moan escaped me, and that was all he needed.

He pulled me in again, and this time, I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him back.

He was gentle and slow, playing with my tongue and teasing my lips.

Another moan slipped from my mouth, startling me.

He was such a good kisser—it made me wonder how many women he had kissed before.

My chest suddenly felt tight.

He tore his lips from mine and placed soft, sweet pecks along my neck.

“Is this your first time? Kissing, I mean,” I asked between breaths.

He looked up at me, smiling as he caressed my cheek.

“You’re my first, Emerald.”

\~~~~~~~~~~~~°°°°~~~~~~~~~~

RICCARDO'S POV

“Are you sure you’re ready for this? It means war—and going against your own grandfather,” Harry asked.

We were in my study, going over routes to take to travel to the Ice-crystal Pack.

I adjusted the sleeves of my shirt.

“The prophecy must be stopped. I don’t want to commit endless murder for nothing. I accepted my fate before, but now I believe I can change it. I’ll deal with Grandfather later.”

A smile spread across his face.

“As expected, sire. Come, the carriage is ready.”

\~~~

The ride to the castle was quiet. I didn’t expect Stefano to come with us, but here he was, sitting with Luana while I sat with Harry.

Luana.

God, I couldn’t explain what she did to me.

Our kissing session had been on replay in my head—her scent, her moans, her body. They all did things to me I couldn’t explain.

It made me feel uneasy when she told me, after we got out of the pool, that we should just be friends. Really? After kissing, you say we should be friends?

But I didn’t blame her. She was probably just as confused as I was and wanted to take things slow. I mean, what did I even want us to be—couples?

Friends was fine. I just hoped I could control myself around her. But she wasn’t helping.

She wore a black shirt tucked into black pants, paired with black boots. Her hair was in a high ponytail, which made her eyes stand out even more.

She was beautiful. Goddess-level beautiful.

I kept stealing glances at her as she talked to Stefano. The guy was a real talkative.

“So, how is Mrs. Margaret?” Stefano asked.

Her eyes widened.

“You know her?” she asked.

“Not really. I just know of her. My friend told me about her.”

“You have a friend in Witchesville? Let me guess—Cara?”

“Nope.”

“Thomas?”

“Nah.”

“Nathan?”

“Close, but not him.”

“His brother?”

“Yes. It’s Dante.”

“Really? He was always so quiet and reserved. He never talked to anyone.”

Stefano laughed, then placed a hand around Luana's shoulder.

My fist balled.

“He never talked to anyone, but he knows everything about all of you—and he told me everything.”

“Oh yeah? Let’s see.”

“Try me.”

“Who’s Sokka?”

“The tallest in your class.”

“Mirabell?”

“The cutest and shortest.”

“You're really good. Cassandra?”

“The devil incarnate.”

Luana let out a laugh—real, genuine.

“Is that what Dante describes her as?” she asked between laughs.

“Yeah. He said she’s always doing mean things and throwing herself at boys.”

Luana nodded, still laughing. “Classic Cassandra.”

“He also told me that once, when they were little, there was a student who was always getting the dorm in trouble.

The person kept sneaking out at night, and when the Headmistress came to do a headcount after hours, the person was nowhere to be found.”

“They called the mysterious person ‘The Bunny Ninja’ because they always wore a bunny hat.”

Harry chuckled.

“Hey! Bunnies are my favorite animals, you know.” She folded her arms and pouted.

“It was you!?” Stefano asked.

“Yeah. I learned teleportation really fast, so I was always going places. That’s why I have friends almost everywhere,” she said.

“Well, that’s amazing! Even I have a friend in the Ice-Crystal Pack.”

“Really? Is it—”

“Are we there yet?” I asked Harry, cutting her off. I was tired of hearing them talk about things only the two of them knew.

“Yes. We’re here now,” Harry said, looking out the window.

Thank Goodness.

We got down from the carriage and made our way to the gigantic castle of the werewolves. It was grey, with thorns wrapping around the edges.

“We should be prepared for anything. We aren’t exactly going to receive a warm welcome. I didn’t inform them we were coming either,” Harry said, scanning the area as we walked.

“Oh boy,” Stefano said.

I rolled my eyes.

I saw Luana walk over to Harry’s side.

They were saying something I couldn’t hear. It was probably about what we were offering to the werewolves.

I took a deep breath as I looked up.

“Papa, please help me today,” I muttered.

My father was such a good and great king. I couldn’t even compare myself to him.

As we reached the gate, Harry knocked lightly. A head popped out—a guard.

“Yes, how can I help you?” the man said.

“We’ve come to see Alpha Raffaele,” Harry said.

“Huh? Haven’t you heard? No visitors. The Alpha’s cubs are seriously ill.”

“Ill? What happened?” Luana asked.

“They were poisoned with wolfsbane.”

Luana gasped.

“For how long?” she asked again.

“Since last night,” the guard said.

“We need to heal them immediately. Please open the gates,” she begged.

“Huh?” he asked. He looked half-awake, half-drunk.

“Hurry. We can save the pups’ lives,” Harry said.

“Please allow us,” I said, stepping forward.

The guard flinched back immediately.

“And why should we do that, Demon King?”

The gates suddenly opened, and there he stood—Alpha Raffaele.