Chapter Five

N I C C O L O

“You’re not going anywhere...mate.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, strange energy fills my body. Something hot is coursing through my body and I’m sure it’s not anger.

It’s lust. Desire. A strong need that wants to take over every inch of me until I give in.

I didn’t know it at first. I thought she was just some random woman who happened to have trespassed my territory. I had her imprisoned for the sole purpose of executing her and keeping the secret of my pack, Ombra Nera. But I already felt something odd when I saw her get taken into the cells, something I have tried to ignore for the three days she was here.

And when I saw her earlier, I just knew it.

Even before she called me mate.

She’s my better half. She’s my Luna.

Only the gods know how badly I have been looking for my Luna, how hard I have been seeking her my whole life.

But only I know that I’m not looking because of love or because I want to feel whole. Only I know that I’ve been yearning for my mate because of my people, because of the pack that I have fought for and almost died for.

I stare at Florence. Her name is as beautiful as her face. Bright red hair, wild and almost untamed as they frame her delicate heart-shaped face, a stark contrast against her kind brown eyes. She looks like she has just walked out of a fairytale, a warrior princess who still longs for a prince...

And it does hurt me that I can’t give her that, especially now that she is staring at me with fear in her eyes.

I want to assure her that I won’t hurt her, but my thoughts are getting lost in her eyes. I try to look away but I end up seeing the tears on her shirt.

Or at least, the skin that the torn parts are exposing.

Instantly, the initial feelings of desire start to stir, rearing their hungry heads and sniffing around as though looking for a prey. Looking for her.

And I just know that I want her. I need her.

I know I have to control myself right now but it’s as though she has her own gravity and it’s calling to me.

As I move my hand away from her face, I start to think about what she would look like against me, looking at me before I lean in and make her all mine...

“Alpha Niccolo?”

The voice on the other side of the door snaps me back to my senses. I whip around and open the door and in comes my Beta Hardy and my Gamma Taylor.

“Where’s the prisoner?” Taylor asks, and I have to quell the annoyance I feel at that term prisoner. “Shall I take her to the high-security cells now?”

Florence stands up and backs away. “You are not taking me anywhere!”

Taylor looks like he just got punched in the face. “You should shut--”

“Stop.” I hold out a hand and look at them back and forth. “My Gamma Taylor will take you to one of the guest rooms upstairs until we come to an agreement. Is that good?”

Florence looks like she wants to protest but in the end, she just nods. I signal Taylor to not attempt anything as he leads her away, and once they’re gone, the monster of lust inside me decides to behave.

Sighing, I sit back on my chair and grab a cigarette. I press it between my lips but I end up throwing it on the ashtray.

Meanwhile, Hardy is watching me with wary eyes as though I’m a rabid dog who will snap any moment.

“What?” I demand. “What do you need?”

“Well, an explanation.” He sits on the spot where Florence just sat. “I didn’t know that the plan is to treat that intruder like an honored guest. Taylor is right. You are acting crazy.”

I rub my temples and let out a small laugh. “I am, I know. And you want to know why? Because that intruder is my mate.”

Hardy’s face turns pale. “You’re not serious.” When I just stare back at him, his shoulders sag. “Oh, dear. She’s your mate? Someone who trespassed our territory and angered the shadow beings?”

“That’s her.” I shake my head, remembering the night the shadow beings went haywire because of her. “All my life I’ve been looking for my Luna. I searched far and wide and . . . there she is. Just walking right inside our territory.”

Hardy chuckles, but then his eyes darken. “What are we supposed to do now? Does this mean we will be free from the...curse?”

The word makes my whole body tense up.

I was so into my head that I almost forgot about why I have sought my mate that intensely in the first place.

The Moon Goddess’s curse.

The memory of it is still fresh in my mind, even after all these years. My heart breaks just thinking about it, as though it just happened yesterday.

Only my mate is supposed to take all the pain away. Only she has the power to bring the pack back to where it used to be. Only she can take away the nightmares and soothe all our souls.

But would I really do what it takes to achieve that?

Even if it’s at her expense?

“This means we’ll be free again!” Hardy says, and I look away from him, not wanting to see his excitement. “We have her now. It should be smooth-sailing from there. All you have to do is to mate her and--”

“It’s not that simple and you know that,” I mutter, closing my eyes and seeing Florence’s beautiful face. “I can’t just mate her against her will. She has to want it. That would bring more bad energy to our pack.”

His face falls. “Then what should we do?”

I stand up, pacing the floor and weighing my options.

“I have to make her fall in love with me.”