by Marian Tee
Beside her, the professor chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, startled.
“Everyone here can smell your anger, little chick.”
Oh.
Her cheeks flushed in mortification, but even so she lifted her chin. “Good. I think it’s not nice to be so rude.”
The professor didn’t answer, but the way he squeezed her hand spoke of his approval.
When they reached his family, the professor’s sisters surged forward in unison, showering Kassia with kisses and hugs. After, the professor introduced the two other men in the group. “This is my twin Alejandro.”
Alejandro’s smile was all wicked flirtation. “Hello, beautiful.”
Alessandro’s arm went around her waist. “Do not flirt with her.”
Alejandro laughed. “Relax, brother. I only wanted to see how possessive you are with her.”
The professor ignored this. “Kassia, this is our older brother, Domenico. He’s the heir apparent of our pack.”
Kassia gulped as she found herself face to face with Domenico Moretti.
During the ride to Lyccan Hall, the professor had explained to her about his older brother’s position and how he had once been the most respected warrior prince of their race. She had thought then she would be ready to face Domenico Moretti, but seeing him in the flesh made Kassia realize that wasn’t possible at all. There were no words that could prepare any human being for their first meeting with the eldest Moretti prince, especially when one knew that he wasn’t human like them.
“Hello, Kassia.”
Crap, Kassia thought nervously. It was like hearing God speak. “Happy birthday, sir highness.”
Silence.
And then Kassia realized what she had said. “Oh my God.” She turned to the professor in horror. “Please tell me you have the power to erase my memories.”
It was Domenico who answered her, his eyes gleaming with laughter as he said apologetically, “That unfortunately is not one of our, err, powers.”
Alessandro was also tempted to laugh, but then Kassia turned to him, wide-eyed and lips trembling. She obviously wanted to cry, and it made her so cute and irresistible that he couldn’t stop himself. He bent down and kissed her again.
Around him, Lyccans started to whisper, and the malice in their voices couldn’t have made their thoughts any clearer.
Alessandro Moretti, kissing a human girl in public, when in the past the only times his emotions were apparent was when he was furiously beating another Lyccan for insulting his future pack leader.
Clearly, Alessandro was following in his older brother’s footsteps.
Clearly, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
When he ended the kiss, Alessandro’s gaze met Domenico’s over Kassia’s head.
“Don’t do it,” Domenico said tightly, his voice so low only Alessandro and other Lyccans within earshot would hear him, leaving humans like Kassia unaware that he had spoken at all.
Alessandro didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
When he kissed Kassia again and drew her to the dance floor, it was answer enough for Domenico. Alessandro was doing this because he loved, and because Domenico loved, too, he knew that there would be no stopping his brother.
****
“Kassia?”
“Mm?” She could stay like this forever, Kassia thought languorously. It was heaven, dancing in the professor’s arms. When they were this close, her head against his chest, his heart beating against her ear, she felt like nothing else existed except the two of them. She stopped worrying about what the other Lyccans would think of her. She forgot about whether she was right to let herself fall harder and deeper for the professor when she wasn’t even sure she could trust him again.
When she was dancing in the professor’s arms, she only existed to love.
“Kassia, listen to me.” The professor’s voice sounded rough and uneven, penetrating her daydream and making her lift her head in bemusement.
“What is it, professor?”
“I have something to tell you.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he spoke. “I love you, Kassia, and I want to spend forever with you.”
Her breath caught. “Professor—”
“But the only way we can have a future is if we’re completely honest with each other.”
She stilled, which forced the professor to stop, too.
“You’re making me nervous,” she whispered.
His chest constricted. “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t say anything, but her eyes pleaded with him. Don’t say anything that would make me stop loving you.
He took a deep breath. “Remember I told you Domenico married a human girl.”
She nodded.
“They were in love…” From a short distance away, Domenico’s sharp intake of breath reached Alessandro, Lyccan hearing making it possible for almost everyone in the ballroom to listen in to his conversation.
Alessandro knew this, but he didn’t let it stop him from doing what he had come here to do.
Looking down at Kassia, he said tautly, “I believe my brother and his wife would have stayed together if he had told her the truth first.”
Kassia bit her lip hard as she realized where this discussion was going. “A-are you telling me you lied t-to me?”
Forcing himself to meet her hurt gaze, he said harshly, “Yes.”
Kassia started to take a step back, but he was too fast, pulling her back close to him. “Listen. Please. Just please give me a chance to tell you everything.”
Even as she mentally beat herself up for being so weak, Kassia couldn’t help but take comfort from the strength the professor’s presence provided. Why, she thought miserably, couldn’t she stop loving him even when the professor couldn’t stop hurting her?
Her hand curling against his dress shirt, she whispered, “I don’t k-know if I want to listen to the truth, Professor.”
“But I have to tell you, sweetheart.” Tension made his voice curt and his body stiff. “Lies have the power to tear people apart. I’ve seen it happen, and I don’t want it to happen to us, knowing I could have prevented it.” She didn’t answer, and Alessandro knew that was all he would get from her. “My brother and I used to fight a lot. We didn’t see eye to eye on certain things and because of this, I had all this pent-up anger inside me that I could only release by fighting.”
“I don’t understand,” Kassia whispered. She couldn’t imagine how the professor, who was always the perfect gentleman in school, could be involved in any kind of fight.
“I beat people up, Kassia.”
She stiffened. “You beat up…anyone?”
“Never without provocation but…” His lips twisted. “Even though I know someone doesn’t stand a chance against me, I don’t let it stop me. There were times when the rage completely took over me and I knew I could have killed any of them – and I might have, if Domenico or Alessandro wasn’t there to stop me.”
Kassia didn’t know what to think. His words painted a horrible picture, but on the other hand, it wasn’t enough to make her hate him. “Is t-this what you lied about?”
Her heart broke when he answered, “I’m afraid not.”
She fought back tears of frustration. “Then tell me!” His chest heaved at her words, but even so, she couldn’t make herself take it back.
Alessandro closed his eyes, knowing that once he spoke his next words, there would be no turning back. “Domenico wanted me to stop fighting because he knew it was only a matter of time I would end up dead or I’d kill someone. He also knew, however, that reasoning with me wouldn’t do any good. He promised me something I wanted, something that would make me stop fighting if I could find a woman I could fuck for thirty days straight.”
The world around Kassia started spinning a little too fast for her. “Are you saying that I’m t-that woman?” Her voice shook. “Are you saying that y-you chose me because of a b-bet?”
Sl
owly, the professor nodded.
A cry escaped her, one filled with so much pain it had Alessandro flinching. She tried to wrench away, but he had already expected her to, and his arms tightened around her the moment she tried to escape.
“I’m telling you this because I know the truth always has a way of coming out, Kassia.” His voice was tight and strained. “I’m telling you because I want you to know that even though I chose you for the wrong reasons, I kept wanting you to stay for the right ones. I want you in my life because I love you.” He paused, looked at Kassia, and the truth stared back at him from her eyes. This was the girl he would always love.
And so he took the plunge.
“That’s why I told you everything about me, Kassia. My weaknesses, my secrets, everything, even the fact that I’m not human.”
Everyone in the ballroom went still at the words, the silence only broken by the soft gasp of horror that came from his sister, Esmeralda, followed by the sound of Domenico cursing under his breath and his twin Alejandro demanding an explanation.
And finally, there were footsteps, all coming from the other end of the ballroom – soldiers of the Lyccan Council intent on reaching Alessandro.
Any sane man would have made a run for it, but the thought didn’t even cross his mind. He only had eyes for Kassia, his heart only beating for her. “Look at me, baby.” Tightening his hold on her, he implored tautly, “See the truth in my eyes.”
Sobs clogging her throat, Kassia told herself that the professor had to be lying again. He kept blowing hot and cold, kept playing with her heart like it was a cheap toy. When would she ever learn?
Without meeting his gaze, she whispered painfully, “The only truth I know is that I’d be a fool to believe in you again, Professor.” She closed her eyes, and tears burned the back of her eyelids, begging to be released. “No other man might ever make me happy the way you could, but I don’t think anyone can hurt me the way you keep—”
“Please, Kassia.” The hurt in her voice lashed at him, and Alessandro knew that no matter how long he would live, he would never be able to forget how defeated Kassia sounded now. “Believe in me one last time. Please.”
But Kassia only shook her head. “I just feel like everything’s a game between us, Professor, and that…the first time I told you about my feelings, you made a bet with me, and then when I won the bet, you slept with another woman. Now, when I think I’m almost…” Pain ripped at her as she thought about the professor’s newest lie. “You tell me you made another bet, and that to you I was just some girl you could—” Unable to continue speaking without breaking down, she choked out, “Please just leave me alone, Professor. Please.”
Alessandro’s hands fell, and the moment she was free, she spun around and walked away, never looking back, leaving the professor without knowing that with every step she took, she was unknowingly pushing him closer towards the execution block.
The truth about Lyccans could only be revealed to humans who were either future mates or bound by blood oaths, and it was clear for everyone to see that Kassia was…neither.
****
“Let her go,” Alessandro said grimly when he saw his brother taking out his phone. He knew how Domenico’s mind worked. Threats to any member of his pack would be dealt with swiftly, and as far as his future pack leader was concerned, Kassia Summers was a threat. She had been so the moment she turned her back on Alessandro without any promise to stay silent about their existence.
Domenico reluctantly released his phone and let it fall back in his pocket. Before Alessandro could thank him, his twin joined them, and he found himself flanked by his brothers. The reason for this became clear when a moment later, soldiers of the Lyccan Council reached them.
“Prince Alessandro, you are invited by the Council for questioning.”
Alessandro merely nodded.
“We’ll be going with him,” his twin stated with a nod towards their older brother.
The leader of the soldiers frowned. “There have been no instructions—”
“You misunderstand,” Domenico interrupted with a coldly pleasant smile. “We were not asking for permission nor do we have any intent of stopping you from escorting our brother. There is no law that forbids us from accompanying him. If you persist in thwarting us, be certain you are ready to face the consequences.” And whatever those unspecified consequences were, the menacing glint in Domenico’s eyes made it clear that blood would be shed.
Being no fool, the leader bowed stiffly. “As you will, Your Highness.” Domenico Moretti might have lost much of his social standing in their race, but it was clear he hadn’t lost any of his innate strength and power.
Questioning by the Lyccan Council often took place in one of the cavernous chambers of the Lyccan Hall’s upper floors. But when they were instead escorted to the dungeons, it only meant one thing. The Council had already made its decision, and no hearing or reprieve would be granted to Alessandro.
Three of the highest members of the Lyccan Council were seated on a round stone table, their faces immediately recognizable to the Moretti brothers. When Giovanni, the eldest of them, nodded, Alessandro bowed before taking the seat across them. His brothers remained on their feet, still flanking him.
“My apologies,” Alessandro said politely. “My brothers are ridiculously protective about me.”
None of the Council members smiled.
“Do you deny revealing our most sacred truth to your human companion, Kassia Summers?” This from the man seated on the right, Placido, a Lyccan royal made famous for his shrewd but bland way of talking.
Behind him, Alessandro could feel his brothers willing him to lie, and he almost smiled. But to the Council members, he said simply, “No, I do not.”
Giovanni sighed heavily. “Pray tell me that you have sworn her in with a blood oath.”
“I’m afraid not, Your Highness.”
“Perhaps she is to be your future mate?”
“I am hoping she will be so, yes.”
Giovanni’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you understand what you’re saying?”
Teodoro, the last Council member, spoke up, his tone condescending as he drawled, “Can you not see this is another sad case of history repeating itself, Giovanni? This young man has been influenced by his older brother’s radical views.” A contemptuous glance at Domenico. “He’s fallen for that human, and his emotions have turned him into a dog just like Domenico Moretti.”
The old Alessandro Moretti would have been out of his seat before Teodoro would have finished speaking. The old Alessandro would have had Teodoro by the collar, back against the wall, feet dangling in the air while he debated how to best make him suffer before knocking the other Lyccan unconscious.
In fact, his own brothers expected it, too, by the way their hands had automatically clamped down on Alessandro’s shoulders the moment the balding, middle-aged Council member hurled out his insult.
But that was then.
This was now, and sitting there, listening to Teodoro speak the usual lies about Domenico, Alessandro realized that he no longer gave a damn. It was an untruth, and lies only had the power to hurt when one allowed it to.
As such, when Teodoro finished speaking, Alessandro only nodded before promptly changing the subject, pointedly ignoring the Council member as he said quietly, “I have complete faith in Ms. Summers. She will be my mate.”
Placido grimaced. “Your faith is commendable, but it’s not enough to reassure us. We will give you 48 hours starting now to have her mated to you or bound by a blood oath. If not…” He let his voice trail off, knowing that he didn’t have to explain what the penalties were.
For crimes such as this, only death would suffice.
****
Forty hours before the execution.
Domenico paced the length of his office, impatiently waiting for a call from his younger brother that would let him know there was nothing to worry about anymore. Alessandro had told him he would make sure that
Kassia agreed to a blood oath, but his younger brother had also refused to promise he would say anything about the Council’s threat.
Thirty-six hours before the execution
Fuck it, Domenico thought. His brother’s honor could go to hell. He was not going to stand by and do nothing while Alessandro’s life was on the line.
Snatching his phone from the table, he made a call to Kassia, whose number he had in his possession the moment his security team had discovered her relationship with Domenico’s brother.
Kassia answered on the fourth ring. “Hello?” Her voice was wide-awake and dead at the same time, and Domenico took comfort from it. If she was still bothered about Alessandro’s actions last night, then that was a very good thing.
“This is Domenico, Ms. Summers.”
Kassia jerked up to a sitting position on her bed, unable to comprehend why one of the greatest werewolf princes in the world would have a need to talk to her. Surely it wasn’t to plead the professor’s case?
“I apologize for intruding on your time, but I have an urgent need to speak with you about Alessandro.”
So her suspicions were right, Kassia thought. Strangely, she was disappointed by it. She had thought the professor was better than this. Wasn’t this proof he wasn’t the man she believed he was?
“Ms. Summers?” Domenico asked tensely when the silence lengthened on the other end of the line.
Kassia swallowed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s right that you’re the one talking to me about…us.”
“I know that,” Domenico surprised her by acknowledging. “However, these are special circumstances, and I’m simply not the type to do nothing when a member of my family’s life is at stake.”
