Samuel started laughing too. “I guess they deserve it.”
“They do.”
The medics shouted from the plane. “We’re ready.”
Alexander nodded at them, then opened his arms to take the girl from Samuel.
The angel carefully transferred her from his embrace to Alexander’s. “She’s still in shock.”
“Okay.” Alexander rearranged the weightless heap in his arms, his paternal senses making him regret he hadn’t inflicted more pain on the werewolf.
Once inside the plane, he placed the girl on the seat next to his. “Luisa, don’t worry. We’ll make sure Raphael is okay and you too.” He caressed her short hair and wished he could do more for her.
“Ready?” the pilot shouted over the engine’s noise.
Alexander fastened his seatbelt and arranged the girl so she was protected, then placed one hand on her back and massaged her from above the layers of thermal fabric. He soon began talking to her about his day, the same way he did with his kids. The nonsenses were meant to soothe them, but the river of words soothed him too. “And then we finally found you and Raphael,” he ended his recount and looked down, only to realize the girl was awake and looking back at him.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Her voice was broken and her eyes haunted, but she had spoken.
“How do you feel?” Alexander moved in his seat and helped her up and against the seatback.
She shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”
Her impassive statement broke Alexander’s heart. “Not anymore. I won’t permit it.”
She stared at him with her big, green eyes, and she shook her head. “How?”
“I’ll find a way to make it better for you. We, my friend and I. We won’t allow anything bad to happen to you ever again.”
She sadly smiled and shook her head. “You can’t promise me that.”
Alexander wanted to protest, but he knew she was right. And yet, he would have said that to his kids and believed it. “I’ll do everything in my power to help you. Is that better?” He raised a hand to his heart and slightly bowed to her.
Her smile widened. “That would do.”
He grinned back. “Good. Now, regarding Raphael—”
Her face darkened once again and Alexander inwardly groaned, but before he could say anything, she uttered, “Rico plunged something into Raphael’s neck. I couldn’t see what it was, but it must have stung Raphael because I saw that he touched the spot with his hand before Rico hit him. Raphael collapsed on the ground a moment later.” Her eyes panned to the stretcher lying at their feet with the young werewolf still as a statue, his long chestnut hair spilling to the side of his face.
One medic raised his head in acknowledgement. “I heard,” the man mouthed to Alexander.
“Curare?” Alexander asked. The boy’s catatonic state reminded him of victims of that poison. Both Ravenna and Marcus had experienced the curare’s effects firsthand, and Alexander knew it produced paralysis.
The medic’s mouth flattened into a line, but after a moment he nodded and answered, “It might very well be curare. Every species reacts to it in a different way, but it is one of the few poisons that can knock out a werewolf in his prime like that.” The man turned to Luisa. “Thank you for telling us. It makes our job easier. Now we know that whatever keeps Raphael in this suspended state was injected.”
Alexander patted Luisa’s hand. “The Tiberina Island facility is the best.”
“I heard.” She looked outside at the dark night, now illuminated by white flashes of lightning that revealed the pelting rain had become a full-fledged storm.
Alexander noticed the bitter tone in her words and realized a renegade like her would have only known about the state of the art medical facility as the Tiberina Island Hospital, but most likely would never visit it once in her life. That too had to change. The paranormal society had to shift its view of the renegades.
“Rico—” Luisa started, then closed her mouth and shook her head as her eyes went once again to Raphael.
“The werewolf will pay for his crimes,” Alexander said. “You’ll never see him again.”
She shuddered. “He would’ve let the vampires kill us.”
“Why?”
“As a payment of sort. He screwed up a vampire blood shipment and blamed it on Raphael. Tancredi—”
“Who’s Tancredi?”
“The Red’s alpha. He ordered Rico to make it right with the vampires or else.”
“So he thought of bringing them dinner to appease them.” Once again, Alexander felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to ask more, but Luisa had snuggled closer to him, her head relaxing on his arm, and he let her rest instead.
The flight only took a few minutes before they reached the small island nestled in the middle of the Tiber. The pilot landed under the bridge connecting the hospital to the mainland and moored it to the jetty. There, nurses and doctors waited. Raphael’s stretcher was placed on wheels and immediately rolled inside through the lower level of the hospital that opened under the bridge.
One of the nurses brought a wheelchair for Luisa. “We’ll go upstairs to the Women’s Ward to take a good look at you, what do you say, sweetheart?”
Luisa hesitated before looking up at Alexander.
He thought the girl needed a lady with her at the moment, but he was her only choice and said, “I’ll come with you. Don’t worry.” He watched as relief crossed her face, and he placed both hands on the wheelchair handles, pushing it toward the ramp leading up to the ground floor level.
“Thank you.” Luisa grabbed the two blankets and raised them to her face as if she didn’t want people to see her.
The nurse who had offered her the wheelchair, walked alongside them, asking Luisa questions. “Are you under the influence of any drug?”
“No, I’ve been clean for a while,” Luisa whispered.
Alexander couldn’t help but be pleased by the girl’s answer. Then the nurse’s questions became more personal in nature, and he did his best to tune out and give Luisa some privacy despite his proximity.
He couldn’t help but think of his Arianna, so little now, but she would grow up and become a teenager, and he would have to deal with unpleasant topics. Somehow, he had gone through it already with Cherry. But Cherry had lived in different times, and her care had been trusted to her lady’s maid. Men weren’t involved with raising daughters. In the circles Alexander had frequented, not even the mothers were much involved in rearing their children.
Times were different now, and he would have to get comfortable with talking to Arianna about boys and—he couldn’t finish that thought. His stomach clenched and he felt like throwing up.
“Mister Drako?” The nurse gave him a clinical look.
He raised one hand from the wheelchair’s handle. “I’m fine. Long day.”
Luisa craned her neck to focus on him and she smiled. “Are you okay?”
Alexander smiled back and patted her shoulder. “I will be soon.”
By the time his friends finished their errands and arrived at the hospital, Raphael had woken. His blood tests confirmed he had been injected with curare, but he was young and strong and would be ready to be released in a few hours.
Ravenna told Alexander to invite the two kids for the party, and before hanging up, she added, “I’ve had a long conversation with Barnes regarding their future, and I’ve already prepared two guest rooms for them here.”
Alexander smiled at the idea of having the two street urchins under foot. “You read my mind.” He blew a kiss to Ravenna. “I love you.”
“I love you more.” She laughed. “Bring them home, I can’t wait to meet them.”
Epilogue
Eventually, Samuel decided to drive back to his apartment to retrieve the small velvet box he so much wanted Martina to open on that special night. By the time he reached Alexander’s, it was already officially Valentine’s Day by several hours.
While Marcus drove back with
him since he had left his car by Samuel’s, the rest of the group had called for cabs. The four of them, plus the two kids and a wheelchair wouldn’t have fit in his SUV in any case. Barnes was invited at the last moment. The archangel was still working when Samuel called him and reported they had just delivered the Red named Rico into the capable hands of the enforcers stationed at Regina Coeli. Alexander had already asked Quintilius to join them, under the premise that more was always merrier and no one should be alone on such a day.
Since he was already home, Samuel changed into something more elegant than jeans and checkered flannel shirt. Martina loved that outfit and told him once that he looked like a big lumberjack, rather than an angel in it, then proceeded to unbutton it and made love to him. Since then, that flannel shirt had become his favorite garment too.
But tonight, he needed to look proper for his queen. He knew she would be ravishing in the simple sheath dress she had bought for the party. Ravenna, Malina, and Diana had taken her shopping at one of the twenty-four-hour boutiques down at the Promenade. He had encouraged her to get out of the house and have some girlfriend time while he, Marcus, and Alexander watched the kids.
While searching for a blanket to cover her while she slept, he had discovered the small bag with the Valentino logo. Rummaging in the linen closet, his fingers had caught the stiff paper of the bag and he pulled it out of the shelf, only to put it back between the sheets and the quilts when he realized it was supposed to be a surprise. He didn’t know how the girls had managed to convince Martina to buy a fashion designer piece, but he was happy she had.
Staring at his image in the mirror one more time, he straightened his gray tie before exiting the apartment. He carried the small box safely tucked inside the inner pocket of his black custom made, suit jacket. Samuel wouldn’t fit in triple X sizes and had hired the paranormal tailor who worked for the Italian Rugby team to sew his entire formal wardrobe. He’d have to breathe carefully all evening, feeling he would release his wings at the least opportune moment and shred the fabric to pieces. The first time the tailor had taken Samuel’s measures, the man had looked at him from over his glasses and said, “If you were green, I’d mistake you for the Hulk.”
He did feel like the Hulk at the moment and nervously tugged at his collar.
Wearing fancy clothes wasn’t the reason for his nerves. During the entire ride, he rehearsed his speech. He would drop to one knee, take her hand, and while gazing into her beautiful eyes he would proclaim his undying love for Martina. The more he rehearsed, the more anxious he got. On his way to Alexander’s, he was so distracted, he was pulled over.
An angry policeman, patrolling the empty streets of Rome at four o’clock at night, didn’t look particularly amused about it. The fellow appeared at Samuel’s window, flashlight in hand. “Do you know how fast were you driving?”
Samuel shook his head, only capable of thinking he was already late.
“Is there any reason you’re flying through Rome without stopping at lights?”
Samuel looked up with a frown. “Lights?”
The policeman tilted his chin over his shoulder, pointing at the light at the intersection Samuel had just driven through in a flash. “It was red when you passed without even slowing down. Good thing there’s no one around.”
“I apologize.” Samuel hoped the man would hurry and write the ticket already, so he could reach Martina before dawn. Between driving to Regina Coeli, waiting for Raphael to be discharged from the hospital, and making the detour to his apartment, only an hour or two were left before the sun would rise.
“Where are you going in such a hurry anyway?” the policeman whispered while checking Samuel’s driver license.
The velvet box weighed over Samuel’s heart and he couldn’t help but answer, “To ask the woman I love to marry me.”
The man looked up from the driver license. “Is that true?”
Samuel nodded.
“You’re proposing at—” He turned his wrist up to take a look at his watch while he pointed the flashlight at it. “This time in the morning?”
“She works graveyard shifts.”
The man’s expression softened. “That sucks—” he whispered.
Samuel raised his hands away from the wheel, then remembered to place them back on it, and shrugged instead. “It’s the way life is.”
The policeman sighed, then scratched his neck with the butt of the flashlight. “Okay, you know what? Just go.”
“I appreciate—” Samuel’s eyes went to the watch on the dashboard.
“Be careful and please respect the speed limits.” The policeman patted the window frame and was about to leave when he lowered his head and said, “And good luck.” He smiled at Samuel and waved at him to go.
Samuel thanked him once more and pulled back onto the empty road.
By the time he reached the Coppedè neighborhood, he thought he would explode in his suit if he didn’t pop the question soon. He left the car in the first spot he found before Alexander’s place and saw the festive lights spilling out of the windows and silhouettes dancing in and out of view. He ran to the front door, his hand raised to knock, expecting Alexander’s majordomo to answer. When it opened, a very anxious Martina stood before him.
“Samuel—” She was in his arms, seeking his lips before he could say anything. “You are okay.”
He leaned away to lock eyes with hers, and put one finger under her chin. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. When you didn’t come back with the others and weren’t answering your cell—” She burrowed closer in his embrace, shivering in the cold night.
“Oh, sh—” he stopped when he saw Marcus passing behind Martina and pausing to wave at him, holding Daniel in his arms “—eep.” He raised a brow at his friend and Marcus made himself scarce, a smug expression on his face. Samuel focused back on Martina. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I forgot to charge my phone.” He took her hands in his and brought them to his mouth for a soft kiss.
“It’s okay. You are here now.” She leaned up and locked lips with his.
He hugged her tight and lifted her into his arms and off the floor. Shadows darkened the landing but lost in Martina’s warmth, Samuel didn’t open his eyes. “I love you,” he whispered to her ear.
“I love you,” she whispered back.
His heart galloping in his chest, he realized he couldn’t wait any longer, and set her back on her feet. She complained when he gently released her from his hold, but he brushed her nose, then slowly lowered himself, one knee bent.
“Martina Colonna—” His voice broke, but he saw how big her eyes were and how still she was and found the rest of the words. “I love you. I’ll always love you. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Somehow, during his halted speech he had managed to sneak his hand inside his jacket and was now presenting her the black box. His big fingers fumbled with the latch, but he opened it.
Martina’s hands went to her mouth, her head nodding as a smile tugged at her lips. After a moment of silence, she nodded with renewed vigor and said, “Yes!”
“My love—” He didn’t even know what he wanted to say, but she kissed him so soundly he thought he heard bells. When they finally came up for air, he slid the ring he had commissioned from the finest goldsmith in Rome on her finger. Then he stood and cradled Martina in his arms, kissing her again.
Behind them, cheers and applauses interrupted the quiet of the night, and soon they were surrounded by all their friends who rushed to congratulate them. Shouts of, “A May wedding!” echoed from several feminine voices.
Before being separated in the crowd, Martina nuzzled his cheek and whispered to him, “This is the best day my life.”
Samuel pecked her lips before letting her go. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.”
Dear Reader, if you liked this book, please consider writing a review. As an indie author, I rely solely on word of mouth t
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Thank you very much,
Monica
If you want to know the story of the two werewolf teenagers in An Immortal Valentine's Day, stay tuned for Raphael, the first title in The Immortal Youth series, coming out soon!
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Acknowledgments
As usual, I must thank my kids and my dad for just being the wonderful people they are.
Claudia, because she is the beta reader any author dreams of.
Lorraine, because she graciously read a very rough first draft of the original story which had a different setting. Both her comments and Claudia's made me decide to write a different book for Raphael.
Katie, Kory, and Angela from my critique group for all their help.
All my friends, who are always very supportive and don't complain when I disappear for days.
The Wolf Pack on Facebook, the most supportive group of readers and authors, who helped me create the cover for this book.
Roberto, because he is the true inspiration behind my heroes.
Persons of Interest
I wrote the book and created the cover
Kathy Lapeyre edited it
Roberto Ruggeri formatted it
You, the reader, hopefully had a good time reading it
Bio
Monica La Porta is an Italian who landed in Seattle several years ago. Despite popular feelings about the Northwest weather, she finds the mist and the rain the perfect conditions to write. Being a strong advocate of universal acceptance and against violence in any form and shape, she is also glad to have landed precisely in Washington State. She is the author of The Ginecean Chronicles, a dystopian/science fiction series set on the planet Ginecea where women rule over a race of enslaved men and heterosexual love is considered a sin. She also published two other series: the futuristic love story across the universe, Elios & Gaia, narrated in two books; and the paranormal romance/urban fantasy series The Immortals set in Rome. Stop by her blog to read about her miniatures, sculptures, paintings, and her beloved beagle, Nero. Sometimes, she also posts about her writing.
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