Chapter Thirty-Six

N I C C O L O

"Who are you?" I demand, looking at the man with the laurels and meeting his eye. I didn't mean for it to come out as mean as it did, but I find myself not caring.

Something about him is rubbing me the wrong way and I just can't help but try to assert some kind of strength in the situation.

I expect him to start explaining himself, but he just smiles at me pleasantly.

"Florence's father is supposed to be the Alpha of this pack, is he not?" I ask, still staring him down. "What happened?"

Florence opens her mouth to answer, squeezing my hand as a warning, but the man just steps forward and squares his shoulders confidently.

"There has been a change of management, let's just say," he tells me in a gentle tone. "I am Alpha Isaac. I have been a long-standing ally in the pack. My son is the one who catalyzed for you to meet your mate, I must add."

I frown at Florence.

She clears her throat. "His son is the one I tried to rescue in the Sacred Grounds. That's how you found me."

For a long while, I don't say anything. I just look at Alpha Isaac to figure out if he's angry about this or not, but his face betrays no emotion. He's just looking at me with this polite expression that I know is masking something else. But the mask is effective, because I can't tell what he's thinking.

"I suppose my dear son could come to the wedding?" he jests. "Maybe he will be your ring-bearer."

He lets out a light chuckle, but neither Florence nor I laugh with him.

There's just something off about this man that I can't explain.

"Well, then." Alpha Isaac claps his hands together after his laughter peters out. "Come with me, Alpha Niccolo. I haven't had the chance to meet you properly, and I have to apologize for ordering my men to keep you here. I wish to discuss tonight's matters with you."

He beckons me to follow him as he turns around, but I don't move. "You ordered your men to keep me here? You?"

He wheels back around to face me. "What do you mean by that?"

"I thought it was Alpha Amos who ordered me to get away from his daughter." I try to sound as calm as possible, but my indignation is piercing through. "I don't understand. She just told me she got poisoned. It's common courtesy to welcome the mate of someone from your pack, and in this case of emergency, it shouldn't have been no question. Why wasn't I let in properly?"

"Because you hurt the people here." Alpha Isaac steps forward and meets my gaze, and this time the mask cracks. I can see a hint of anger, maybe even a bit of fear. "You posed a threat."

"Only because they attacked me," I insist. My anger is coming through stonger. "I was here because I sensed danger. I was treated like I was the threat."

Alpha Isaac smiles softly. "And you proved yourself to be exactly that."

That was it. The line. He just crossed it by saying that, and my range shoots through the roof. I can feel power coursing through my veins, and I know it won't take long for me to shift.

And a part of me wants to shift. I want to attack him for getting in my way when my mate was in danger. I want to show him the exact threat he wanted to see, but I back off instead.

Florence squeezes my hand again and looks me in the eye; instantly I feel calmer.

I face Alpha Isaac again. "I have the right to refuse an invitation if I feel that I wasn't welcomed properly."

"I will be aware of that next time."

"There is no next time," I tell him flatly, pulling Florence closer to me. "I'm going home, and I'm taking her with me."

Alpha Isaac just stands in my way, glancing at Florence. "I'm afraid you can't do that just yet."

"Niccolo..." Florence looks at me. "I promised Dad I will stay for at least a week."

My stomach drops, but I bring myself to nod. "Very well. Then I request shelter and a messenger for my pack."

He smiles. "Consider it done. And I expect to see you in my home next time I call for it."

* * *

I don't want to stay here. I feel so unwelcome and foreign.

On our walk to the cabin that Alpha Isaac begrudgingly afforded us, everyone stared at me. They all whispered things, muttered among themselves. I know they were talking about the incident.

A part of me feels guilty, but talking to Alpha Isaac about it makes me feel like I've been set up to do that.

But maybe I'm just wrong.

Right now, I'm sitting by the desk near the window writing a note to Hardy. I don't have it in me to contact him through mind-link, and I don't want to risk being rejected. I figure it would be best if there's an impartial messenger between us.

"I'm with Florence at the Blood Moon Pack, and I know that our prominence will wake our people from their terrors," I say in the letter. "I will entrust the place to you for now. I know everything will be taken care of."

For a second I debate whether or not to add an apology, but I just sigh and fold it, handing it to the messenger waiting outside the door.

By the time I come back inside the cabin, Florence is already out of the shower. She smiles at me as she unfurls her long hair from the towel. "Did you send the letter?"

"I did." I smile at her and sit down on the bed with a sigh. "Do you want to rest?"

"Not yet," she whispers, then she sits on my lap and wraps her arms around me. "It feels like I've gone too long without you."

I close my eyes and rest my chin on her hair, inhaling deeply. "It does feel long without you. I love you, Florence."

She looks up and me and holds my face in her hands. "I'm sorry all of that happened."

"You're the one who got poisoned," I point out. "I don't think I'm the one you should be worried about."

"I know. But... I found out that the poison wasn't found in my bloodstream." She shakes her head. "I know it's strange. It looked like poisoning from all the signs, but there's no proof. The medics just believe I got sick from something."

"That sounds alarming," I mutter. "Maybe we should sweep the whole place and..."

I trail off when I see her laughing. "What's so funny?"

Florence shakes her head. "I'm not worried. I have you here with me, and I know I will be safe. Let's not leave each other's side, okay? You're the only one I can fully trust here."

I smile back at her, but her words twist my heart. I open my mouth to tell her everything—my lineage, who I am, and my curse. I just want to come clean about everything, even though it's too late.

But before I can get a word out, Florence straddles me, taking my face in her hands and capturing her lips with mine.

I inhale at the sudden contact of her lips, and all of my walls begin to crumble. I find myself completely entranced and engulfed in her, needing her closer to me. I grab her waist and pull her towards me, and she mirrors my move by grinding on my hardness, making me groan.

With that, she breaks our kiss and traps me in her gaze.

"Make love to me, Niccolo."