“Vince, stop!” someone shouted, but he didn’t respond. Instantly, the wolves entangled in a blood curdling brawl.
Remi tore Vince from off him and Vince’s back slammed against the ground. His wolf cried out and I winced, feeling a sharp pain shoot through me.
“Remi!” someone else called out, and I jerked around, shocked to see Sasha standing at the kitchen door, next to a naked black man. A look of horror was plastered over each of their faces.
The wolves continued their brawl, slamming into the counter, splintering the wooden cabinets and cracking the marble tiles. Vince sunk his teeth into Remi’s back, and his head tilted back with a deafening howl.
I tore my eyes off the fight and saw Loveless in the middle of the floor, right next to the brawling animals.
“Remi Moretti, if you don’t stop this madness right now...” Sasha’s face twisted. “I’m out of here,” she threatened. “I’ll leave and I’ll go back to Miami, and it will have nothing to do with my sister.”
That made the green-eyed wolf pause. It ripped away from its brother and padded to the corner of the room, as if it had been placed in time-out.
Vince’s wolf was still on the ground, bleeding and huffing. It turned its gray eyes to me, but I looked away.
Sasha stomped into the room, and approached her wolf, which hung its head. “Shift, Remi,” she demanded folding her arms over the modest bulge that was her stomach.
The wolf obeyed. As menacing as it had been a few seconds before, now it was as harmless as a house pet. Fully transformed, Remi stood before my sister, their eyes locked on one another. An intense green ring encircled his pupils until they assumed a more human appearance.
“Roman, get yourself and your brothers something to wear,” she commanded.
The black man nodded and rushed out of the kitchen.
Sasha glowered at Remi. “Remi, what in the entire hell is going on?” she demanded. “I asked you for a snack – the way I do every night – and the next thing I know, I feel and hear you down here about to murder your own brother.”
Remi’s eyes were both hard and soft as he stared at my sister. “I am doing what I promised you I would do,” he muttered. There was no shame in his tone. Only determination.
“And what is that?”
“Protecting you,” he replied, “protecting us.”
“From your own brother?”
“Yes,” he confirmed, and then he cast his eyes to me. Once again, they glowed with unspeakable rage. “And from her.”
Sasha’s stared at him for a second. “Shenique, what are you still doing here?”
“Still doing here?” My eyes dimmed with rage. “You knew that I was here all along?”
“With the racket you made at the front door three days ago, the whole of Tuscany knew,” she said, slamming her hands on her hips. “Vince said he was going to get rid of you!”
I didn’t get a chance to respond.
Vince’s body cracked and creaked until he was back in human form. “Do not fucking speak to my mate in this way,” he whispered, glaring at my sister.
“Your mate?” she parroted with a twisted grimace.
“My mate,” he established, taking limping strides towards me. “And before you ask, I was here protecting her from my brother. The same way he is bound to protect you, I am committed to defending her.” Vince extended his hand to pull me close, but I flinched away.
He frowned. ‘Carina...’ he thought to me, but I ignored him and took a step back.
“You were planning to get rid of me?” I whispered peering at him.
He flinched and moistened his lips. “No, I...” his jaw stiffened. “When we met at the door, I told your sister and my brother that I would do this, but I never intended to.”
“So you lied to me?” Sasha snapped at him.
I shot a heated glance in her direction. “Don’t... talk to him like that,” I warned her, totally conflicted.
Her eyebrows arched, and Remi released a low snarl.
Vince took my hand into his, but again, I jerked away from him. Immediately, his anger filtered into me, combining with my own. “Shenique, what is your problem?”
“I don’t have any problems,” I retorted.
“You are riddled with problems,” he countered, “problems which have caused you not to trust anyone, including me.”
Sasha frowned. “What are you talking about?” she asked him.
Vince turned to stare at her. “I’m talking about the fact that your father raped her for seven years,” he revealed. “He abused her, and the entire time she endured it so you wouldn’t have to.”
Both Sasha and I gasped. Her gasp was because of shock.
Mine, because of outrage. It had taken everything in me to share my dark secret with him. How dare he report back to my sister, without my consent? Fury took over my body. I cocked my hand back and slapped his face.
His head flung to the side so that his brown hair covered his bruised cheek. After a second, he pulled his quivering eyes back up to mine.
I jabbed my finger in his face. “I had fewer problems before I met you,” I spat. “You wanna know what my problem is, Vince? My problem is that I actually trusted you. I trusted you with my secrets. I trusted you with my heart. Obviously, I should never have done either.”
Vince’s throat bobbed. “Do not say this, Carina. You know it is not true,” he pleaded.
I shook my head, denying his claims. “Your brother is right. You’re not ready to be anyone’s mate, and especially not mine!”
Out of nowhere, the black man returned holding robes, but nobody took them. Instead, the brothers stood in the middle of the kitchen completely naked. Both literally and figuratively.
Sasha’s eyes quivered and glistened. “Shey, I had no idea – ”
I shook my head. My neck felt as stiff as cardboard. “That was the fucking point,” I spat. “You weren’t supposed to have any idea, but thanks to Vince...” My mouth wrinkled as I stared at him, but he was glaring at Remi.
“What did you tell my mate?” he demanded limping in his brother’s direction. His claws shot out. All of his emotion bombarded me: shame and anger; fear and love.
My body ached in confusion, and I was tired of it. I didn’t want to care about anything Vince was feeling anymore. In fact, I never wanted to feel anything related to him, or anyone else, ever again.
Bile rose in my throat and I looked at the amulet, which was still lying on the ground. I pushed past the warring brothers and tore Loveless off the floor. The thick, purple liquid jolted inside of the amulet.
Suddenly, Vince stumbled in my direction. “Carina, what are you doing?”
“I need to end this Vince,” I muttered.
For a second, he froze and his eyes dropped to the potion in my trembling hands. When our eyes reconnected, his were wide with fear. Quickly, he reached me and attempted to pull me into his embrace, but I moved away from him. “Sweetheart, wait,” he whispered. “I can hear your thoughts. I know what you’re thinking...” He shook his head. “Carina, I apologize.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“Whatever mistakes I have made,” he answered promptly. “I will fix them. I will do whatever it takes.”
It was too late.
His jaw stiffened. “Shey, I do not know what my brother has said, but I know, for certain, that I am ready to be your mate,” he tried to convince me. “Whatever I don’t know, I will learn it.”
I continued to stare at Loveless, unfazed by his empty words. The truth was now evident. Vince wasn’t enough for me, but it was more than this.
I wasn’t enough for him.
For a split second, I had actually believed that he’d be able to make everything right, the way he said he could. For the first time in years, I’d opened myself up to someone and allowed myself to become vulnerable, but it was all a farce. I thought I had found love, but the truth would not be ignored.
I was loveless.
I was Loveless.
I would never be able to be more than that.
I turned to Vince, and our eyes fastened.
His eyes shimmered. “Carina, please no,” he begged, stumbling over to me. His hand thrust forward to snatch the amulet out of my grasp, but I tore away from him.
In a crazy daze, I twisted off Loveless’s cap. My hands shook, but this time, I wouldn’t drop the amulet. Hastily, I pitched the cap to the ground, and before Vince could stop me, I tipped the purple liquid into my mouth. It slammed against the back of my throat and burned my chest as it slid down at the speed of molasses going up a hill.
Vince cried out in horror, followed by the thunderous sound of his howling wolf.
Remi’s and Roman’s eyes jerked open, until they were as wide as saucers, and Sasha covered her trembling mouth.
All sound filtered away, and everything around me blurred.
Except Vince.
Now, it was just him and I in the room. He stared at me, eyes wide with horror, mouth agape.
I remembered this scene. I had only been twelve years old, but I remembered this scenario. It was like déjà vu. Loveless had been in an amulet, just like this one, and I’d held it up, mesmerized by the purple liquid, and the way it moved in the vial, like heavy waves on a magical ocean. It had entranced me, just like it was doing now.
I remembered everything.
Everything had faded, until the only thing I could see was my mother’s face, twisted with malice and rage. Her mouth was open, she was shouting, but I couldn’t hear anything. Then, I’d lifted the amulet and twisted off the cap. A burst of purple mist ascended, and I swallowed it, waiting to stop caring that my mother didn’t love me.
Within five minutes, the wait was over.
Now, a sharp pain stabbed my stomach, and I bent over in agony, clutching my midsection. The amulet plummeted to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.
Vince crouched next to me, pulling me into an embrace, trying to counter my discomfort, but there was nothing he could do.
I wrenched away from him, preferring to suffer alone, the way I had done all my life.
His face distorted in agony. ‘Carina, why?’ The thought was pained and desperate.
‘Because loving hurts too much.’ I thought back, but the communication cracked with static. I pulled myself to my feet, even though cramps made my body pulse, and moved away from him, but he wrapped his arms around me.
“Shenique, no – wait!” He buried his nose into the crook of my neck. ‘Carina, I need you,’ he professed. ‘Please don’t leave. Do not do this to me, to us.’
The thought faded until I could barely hear it.
Vince’s warmth, the warmth I had come to know and want, it shrouded me, but then it disappeared; and a sudden, cold chill slithered over my body, starting at my head, and dripping down until it settled in the soles of my feet. My body turned rigid. I was about to tear away from Vince, but before I could, he released me and jumped back.
His eyes were round with terror.
“What the hell have you done?” Sasha whispered in shock.
“What I’ve been doing all my life,” I said. “Protecting you, but this time, from me.” My cold eyes scanned everyone in the room. The black man stood gawking. Sasha’s eyes were full to the brim with pointless tears. Remi’s face was creased with concern.
And Vince...
His mouth was slack and eyes wide. His face was blanched and flushed. His breathing was quick and shallow. I didn’t care. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.
The room was completely silent as I pushed past the gawking crowd and marched out of the kitchen.
Vince followed, gripping my arm with an angry force. His fingers wrapped around my heated flesh. “My brother called me selfish, but I am not the one who is. It’s you!” he accused me. Resentment oozed out of him, but the more time passed, the less I felt or cared.
“Which is more confirmation that it wouldn’t have worked between us,” I retorted.
His eyes flashed. “Loveless was not for us, Shenique!”
I thought about the things Julian said about destiny not being fixed. We had assumed that Loveless was for Remi and Sasha, but we were wrong. We had planned the operation down to the letter, but in the end, none of it mattered.
Vince’s jaw tightened and a vein in his temple popped. “You cannot leave me,” he insisted. “I will not let you leave. You are my mate. You belong to me.”
“I’m not your mate, Vince,” I informed him. “I’m loveless, and that’s all I’ll ever be.”
“It’s what you want to be,” he contested. Gritting his teeth, Vince tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck, and the spot in which he’d placed his mark, but then his eyes stretched, and his lips pressed tight. When he looked at me again, his gray eyes glistened with sad emotion. He stepped away from me as if I had been diagnosed with the plague.
I straightened my shoulders and jutted my chin. Then, with nothing left to say to him or anyone else in the room, I departed, not looking back.
Twenty-Five
Vince
‘Chase Her’
We cannot let her leave!
My jaw flexed at my wolf’s angry command. He was right, and I wanted to follow her, but my feet were planted to the ground. I could not move, even if I wanted to.
And I did.
I stared after the path she had taken. Each second that passed weakened me. My heart was being extracted from my chest. My knees started to buckle, and I gripped the cracked countertop to steady myself.
Remi and Roman rushed to my aid, but I jerked away from them. I did not want anyone to touch me. My mind was clouded with confusion and brokenness.
Remi’s shoulders curled forward and he dropped onto a stool. “What are you going to do?” he muttered.
My jaw pinched. I did not respond.
Remi looked at Sasha and sighed. “Fratello, I am sorry,” he whispered.
“I do not want your fucking apology,” I barked, jolting myself upright. “Everything that has happened, all of it is your fucking fault.”
Remi’s face reddened. “Part of what you say is correct,” he acknowledged. He paused. “I was only trying to protect you, Vince.”
“Protect me from fucking what?” I demanded.
“From being like our father.”
My neck jerked back. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Remi sighed and jumped out of the chair. He raked his hands through his hair and paced the floor, and I stared, confused by what he was saying.
Finally, Remi’s shoulders dropped and he huffed. “Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, our father was not a good mate to our mother,” he whispered. His eyes shifted to Roman. “I am happy to have met our half-brother,” he said, “but it is obvious that our father was a disloyal man. He was selfish and shameful. I started to see those characteristics in you, Remi. When I returned to Tuscany with my mate, you changed. I did not think you were ready to have a mate. I did not want you to end up like our father.”
My eyes narrowed. “And you said these things to Shenique?”
Remi stalled. “Yes,” he finally answered.
I nodded, neck stiff. I blinked my eyes, trying to reduce the stinging, but my wolf was on the verge of breaking through my flesh. My muscles spasmed, and I gripped the counter.
Remi walked over to me and leaned close to my face. “Fratello, this woman is your mate,” he reminded me. “I saw your mark.”
My jaw jerked. He had seen it before she had ingested Loveless. After she had done this, it disappeared.
Remi continued, ignorant to my internal dialogue. “Even if my behavior caused her anger, she will not leave you. She cannot. That’s not how it works.”
Sasha pressed her hand against my shoulder. “Vince, Remi is right,” she tried to reassure me. “The bond that you have with my sister, it’s irreversible. That’s what makes it so beautiful. There is nothing that can keep the two of you apart.
She may be upset right now, but she will come to her senses, and she will come back to you.”
I shook my head.
These jackasses had no idea what they were fucking talking about. They had no idea how powerful the plan Shenique and I had devised was. They did not know about Loveless.
It was poisonous. It was lethal. Shenique had taken it once, and it had almost obliterated her ability to connect with anyone. I thought I had cracked the code, but I hadn’t. And now that she had taken it again, there would be no hope.
Chase her!
I scrubbed my hand over my face. “I have to go,” I muttered heading for the exit. My heart weighed a ton. I was livid, but in that moment, I didn’t know at who. Quite clearly, the award should go to Remi. He alone was responsible for chasing my mate away. He had made gross assumptions about my personality and fed them to her without just cause.
Or maybe my anger should be directed at Sasha and Roman. They were the ones who had taken my brother’s attention from his livelihood. I had been in competition with them from the moment they had come into our lives. Had they not shown up, I would not have become envious, or spiteful, or malicious.
But Shenique...
Perhaps the brunt of my anger belonged to her. She had consciously allowed Loveless to rob us. She had chosen not to rest in the security of my love. She had ruined me. She had fucking ruined us.
Chase her!
“Where are you going?”
Both my wolf and Remi pressed me, jerking me out of my anguished thoughts.
“Are you going after your mate? The way you encouraged me to go after mine?” Remi called out.
I chortled, thinking about my brothers question. “You were right, fratello. I am not ready to have a mate,” I muttered, before leaving them alone in the kitchen.
I left the kitchen, but I did not go to the front door, the way my beast was insisting I should. He said we should look, smell. It was pointless to do any of these things. Instead, I ascended another flight of stairs and entered my bedroom. Once inside, I pushed the door closed and leaned against it. My eyes sealed shut, and I clamped my hand over my aching chest. My shoulders and back felt like weights had been draped across them. I slid to the ground knees propped, head in my hands. My claws extracted, but I did not care. My beast was on the brink of madness, but I did not care about this either.
Loveless: A BWWM Wolf Shifter Romance (The Alpha Series Book 2) Page 18
