Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
When it was over, Domenico and Alessandro returned to human form and changed back into their clothes.
“You will ride with me.” Domenico’s words were more a statement than a question. Normally Alessandro would have bristled at it, but now he realized a combination of tiredness and anger had made him almost numb. He only nodded and listened quietly as Domenico followed protocol to ensure that the unconscious Lyccans they were leaving behind them wouldn’t wake up in a human hospital and their blood samples revealing their non-human lineage.
When Domenico finished his call, he looked at his younger brother, saying quietly, “Thank you.”
The words only made Alessandro bitter. “I’ve tried, you know.” He shook his head grimly. “I’ve fucking tried to understand where you’re coming from, but I just don’t see the goddamn point of making yourself look pathetic and weak even when you’re not.”
Regret darkened his brother’s gaze, but instead of answering him, Domenico asked in the same quiet tone, “Is this about Esmeralda?”
Alessandro wondered why he was even surprised that Domenico already knew about their sister’s trouble. “So you know she was suspended because of you?”
“Yes.”
Again, there was no apology, and Alessandro found himself exploding. “Why won’t you fucking fight? Why? Do you love Misty so much that you no longer love your own family? Your pack? Does your own honor no longer matter?”
“It does, Alessandro. It is for my honor that I’m doing this. It is because I love my pack, you and the rest of our family, and yes, it is because I love Misty that I am doing this. I know you believe I was...emotionally stronger before, but I wasn’t. My arrogance, my need for vengeance – all of it made me weak, and it was only when my wife disappeared that I realized the truth. And that is why I’m doing all of this. It may not seem so, but the penance I’ve subjected myself to is also meant to make me stronger.” Domenico’s voice turned steely. “I’m doing this to be strong for everyone depending on me—-”
Alessandro cut his brother off, snapping, “Letting someone spit on your face will make you stronger?”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit.”
His brother didn’t flinch, and the patient expression on his face didn’t change. It was like talking to Buddha, Domenico powerful and resilient in his peace, and Alessandro’s fists clenched in vicious frustration.
Without looking at his brother, he told the chauffeur to stop driving, and only when he was out of the limousine did Alessandro force himself to relax. If Domenico had prevented him from leaving, Alessandro had a feeling the two of them would end up coming to blows, something he was determined to avoid as long as he could help it.
It was only six in the morning when he made it back to Kassia’s dorm room, using his Lyccan speed to escape detection. The room, however, was empty, making Alessandro frown.
“Kassia?” He still opened the door to the bathroom, even though his sense of smell told him that she wasn’t in it. He paused by the doorway as he caught the faintest scent of something terribly familiar. He stepped into the bathroom, and the scent grew stronger. He scanned the room with intense concentration, and his gaze eventually fell on the tank top lying discarded atop the sink.
He picked it up, and that was when he realized what the scent was.
It was the smell of her tears.
Alessandro gazed down at Kassia’s top, and his agile mind fit the puzzle pieces together until it painted a picture that made his face whiten.
Kassia waking up, thinking he would be with her, but again finding him gone—-
Kassia calling his phone, but again finding her calls ignored—-
Kassia crying—-
Fuck.
The thought of Kassia hurting made Alessandro’s fingers close over the fabric, his grip painfully hard as he struggled to stay in control.
He would find her, would do everything to convince her that he wasn’t playing with her. And she would believe him, he told himself. She had to.
Chapter Eight
She sensed the professor even without seeing him. It was as if every cell of her body was programmed to sense his presence, with the way her skin suddenly tingled and her incredibly naïve heart started thumping erratically against her chest.
Kassia stumbled, and beside her Jacob swiftly pulled her back before she could fall. His grip on her hand was firm and gentle, protective and possessive at the same time. “You okay?”
Looking up into his eyes, she found herself nodding, and before she could think of what she was doing, she was already twining her fingers with his.
It was the first time Kassia had done something like it, and Jacob sucked in his breath as he struggled not to lose his cool. He had always had a crush on Kassia, and the thought that something might finally happen between them made blood rush to his groin.