Sure, he loved how her body was, her mind, even the way she fought him at every turn. She was so serious he needed to pick at her just to give her something to lighten up about. But he knew a life with him in the world he lived in wouldn’t be easy. Though the Lombardi Pack had changed a lot of their ways, they were still violent and bloody. Sometimes, people had to die, and they were the ones to do it.
Since his promotion, Romano was Dominic’s right hand, and what job Dominic didn’t do, Romano did. Kalinda didn’t live life like that. She was light and beauty, a businesswoman and entrepreneur carving out her place in the world. As his mate, things would be different.
Yes, she’d still have her business, but if they were at war, or there were problems, how she ran her business may change, if she could even be there in person. Serving and being in the middle of potentially dangerous situations would not be accepted.
Romano had a feeling telling Kalinda any of that would only start a war he’d be desperate to win. But did he want her? God, yes. He would never deny that, and his wolf howled at the chance of even getting her. But moon-bite? That was permanent on a level he hadn’t even thought they could get to yet.
“Can it be done now?” Dominic clenched his phone to his ear. “Good. Whatever it takes, and I’ll owe you one … yes, I know what that means. I know better than anyone.”
When he hung up, Romano shook his head. “I will owe him one, not you. I didn’t mean for you to give that sort of promise, and you have Zoey to think of. Pups.”
“It is what it is. You saved my life, and now I’m helping you. End of story. Zahara!”
Zahara poked her head back into the room. “I’m right here. It’s not like I didn’t hear it all anyway. And you should tell him what you promised to give in return for this favor. He deserves to know.”
“That is pack business, where it will remain.”
“Dominic—”
“I said end of story.”
The power of an Alpha permeated his words, sending shards of pain into Romano’s head. He stumbled under the pressure, and Giuliana, already weak from Kalinda’s magic and fighting it, passed out on the floor. Romano nodded his head, exposing his neck in a sign of submission.
He and Dominic, well, their bond went deeper than perhaps blood could have ever made them. It wasn’t just about Dominic pulling him out of the Chaos Realm. He’d been there, tearing through ranks and proving himself when Dominic’s world had turned to shit.
When his mother dishonored their pack and walked away from her mate and never looked back. Romano had been thrown into a maelstrom, and the upstart Made Wolf helped him get through. He’d follow Dominic to the end of the earth.
Even thinking about the way the pack had dealt with them, the pity in their gaze pissed him off. His mother had forsaken her wolf and family. Something must be wrong with any children from someone like that, right? Dominic never saw it that way; he just accepted Romano and walked beside him.
Would Kalinda do the same, or would she be like his mother, denying what the wolf told them? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t have the time to examine that fear too closely. Saving her was paramount.
“Now,” Dominic explained, “Arturo is owed a boon because he exposed what Benedict was doing with Ottavio. This boon can be used to request an immediate audience for assistance. He will use it for the Lombardi Pack to meet with the Council about Kalinda with her presence as a stipulation, along with yours.”
“You are smart, young Alpha,” Zahara complimented.
“Are we planning to snatch her?” Romano could completely get behind an idea that involved him releasing his wolf to go crazy.
“We wouldn’t make it out of there alive. They would never allow enough wolves in there to fight them, and their level of magic would be too high. No, what you’re going to do is bite Kalinda as soon as you get her close enough to you. The bite must be enough to produce a possibility of her shifting by the next full moon.”
“That could kill her!” Just the thought of hurting Kalinda made Romano’s chest seize.
“Yes, but it also makes her your mate and will give you time until the full moon to do a moon-bite. As a mate, and in danger of not surviving the bite, you will have to be there for assistance.” Zahara stated it like a foregone conclusion, and Romano didn’t know if he was ready to accept it.
“It is a good plan and just may work. You will just have to get within biting distance,” Dominic explained.
Yes, it may be the only way, but allow her to face potential death? A Born Wolf, like Romano, didn’t have to worry about what the First Shift would do to him. They were born to be shifters and may even spend the first few months of their lives back and forth between pup or human baby as their bodies grew and got used to the changes.
A Made Wolf was much different and not as easy to navigate. Most Made Wolves didn’t survive through their First Shift. Zoey had survived, thanks to a no-shift potion made for her by Warlock Cyrus, but the strength of Dominic’s bite still gave her amplified sight, hearing, and smell. She was nearly as strong as some wolves without the ability to shift. She was a special case.
Kalinda would have no access to the no-shift potion and would face the danger of not making it through shifting.
“And what about her magic shifting so much? Will that cause a problem?” Because Romano didn’t want to add unnecessary danger.
“We don’t know, but it may be our only shot. If we wait until trying to see them on the full moon, even with Arturo’s boon, we may risk them not even letting her close if they know what could happen. Hell, they might even know it’s a risk now. We have to take what we can get.”
“Fuck!” Romano wished he had an enemy in front of him, his gun in his hand, or claws to rip through anything right now. This entire situation was getting out of control, and they still didn’t know what the Viscount Pride had to do with it, even after looking into it for three days. They needed to know why the pride was on Kalinda’s trail in the first place and who put them up to it. The obvious answer was the Council, but no evidence led to that.
What was happening to Kalinda? Why did the Viscount Pride try to take her and what did they know? Why did the Council want her on the team? And would she survive?
