My mouth drops open, prepared to go off on Dom in defense of Luca. Dom is wrong, and I don’t appreciate his harshly-worded insinuation that Luca is selfish. I have seen proof to the contrary, and I intend to make sure everyone knows it.
The words never make it out of my mouth. I freeze as the remainder of Dom’s statement processes. I overlooked the casual use of the word ‘royal’ earlier, assuming I misunderstood the context in which it was used. Now, I’m not so sure.
I spin toward Luca with furrowed brows. “Did he say . . . prince?”
Luca squeezes his eyes shut briefly, before turning a glare on Dom.
My old friend laughs once, humorlessly. “She doesn’t even know who you are?”
I drop Luca’s arm as I reel back. That gets his attention, and he turns to look at me as if I burned him with a match.
“Who are you?” I ask quietly. When he doesn’t answer, I ask again, louder. “Are you a prince? Does that mean the same thing in your realm as it does here?”
“You’re a part of that realm, too,” he reminds me softly.
“Answer my question,” I demand.
“Yes,” he admits with a sigh. “I am a prince.”
“A favorite for the crown, according to the latest rumors coming out of the Kingdom,” Dom adds unnecessarily.
Luca turns to Dom with a sneer. Dom’s uncle lunges between the two. None of them say a word, but there is plenty of growling.
Our welcome has expired.
“It’s time for you to leave,” Senior states the obvious.
“We’re going,” I assure him quickly. I give Luca’s arm another tug—harder this time—and he backs down. One reluctant step after another, I drag him toward the Range Rover.
We are nearly to the door when Dom calls out. “Wait!”
I glance at Luca to silently plea with him to ignore Dom. We just need to get in the vehicle, and everything will be okay. There will be no fight, and no one will get hurt. We will go back to my house, eat our pizza in peace, and talk like civilized people about what went down here tonight.
The forlorn look I see on Luca’s face lets me know that it’s not going to be that easy. I don’t know why Dom is stopping us and I don’t know what is happening now, but I suspect Luca does. The longer his uneasy gaze holds mine, the more I think that I don’t want to know.
“The Bianchi pack looks after our own,” Dom starts. “That includes all living things in our territory. Savannah lives within our border. Her protection is our responsibility.”
Luca turns to Dom with a smirk. “You didn’t even know she was in danger until I told you.”
“We know now,” Dom counters. He glances at his father, who answers him with a nod, before leveling his gaze on me. “I wish to make my intentions for Savannah clear.”
I have no idea what that means, and apparently I’m the only one. Luca chuckles, but the sound is too scary to be funny. I look from him to Dom. The man I see now is not the same mild-mannered kid I’ve known since grade school. This Dom is confident and imposing and a little terrifying.
“You all are my witnesses,” Doom booms as he approaches me. “I formally announce my intention to claim Savannah Prescott.”
“What—” I start, but I don’t get the chance to ask what he means by that.
Luca leaps at Dom. He has more self-control than I thought because he doesn’t hit him. I know he wants to if his clenched fists are any indication, but he holds back. Barely. “No one is claiming anyone.”
“You heard my—”
“It’s not happening,” Luca snarls.
“You have no claim,” Dom counters. “I am of age and free to announce what I please.”
“So go find another she-wolf. You’re not claiming Sav.”
“Do you intend to claim her?”
Luca stands nose-to-nose with Dom. I can’t see his face, but I can hear the smirk in his words when he asks, “What makes you think I haven’t already?”
Dom’s face falls, and everything suddenly goes quiet.
I have no idea what they’re talking about, but I don’t like the way those words sound coming out of Luca’s mouth. I don’t like how any of it sounds, and I definitely don’t like how they’re talking about me like I’m not even here.
Do either of them care to explain to me what is going on? Anyone think to ask for my opinion?
No and no.
I snap.
“That’s it!” Everyone turns to me as kick one of the Range Rover’s tires. “You two keep on puffing your chests out at each other. Toss around insults all night. Kill each other for all I care. I’m not sticking around to watch.”
I stomp across the parking lot and slip into the dark alley. I don’t care that it’s narrow and creepy and smells weird. Nor do I care that I have a good three-mile walk ahead of me to get home. I would rather take my chances alone, on the road, than listen to them argue another minute.
Boys are dumb. I’m dumb for liking one of them and even dumber for thinking there was a chance he felt the same way about me. Clearly, Luca and Dom both consider me a pawn in this game they are both playing. I want nothing to do with it, nor either of them.
“You’re both childish idiots!” I shout over my shoulder once I reach the main road. I turn right, onto the sidewalk, and stomp half a dozen steps before I realize I’m going in the wrong direction. I spin around and start over. As I pass the alley again, I yell, “Enjoy your stupid pizza!”
Chapter 18
Anger fuels my march. Either my hometown is smaller than I thought, or blind rage turns me into an incredibly fast speed-walker. I am outside the border of town in a matter of minutes. The street lights and business signs gradually fade behind me until I am surrounded by nothing but darkness. My shoes kick up gravel and dirt as I trudge along, following the two-lane road that will take me home.
To each side of me, trees and shadows. I try not to think about the fact that every time I find myself alone in the wilderness, something attempts to kill me. After a few moments of trying not to worry about it, that is all I can think about.
The darkness that surrounds me creeps closer, and the air grows heavy. My skin prickles and I get the uncomfortable sensation that I am being watched.
I stop to take a calming breath and realize how dumb I am being. Then I swallow my pride and turn around to go back.
I slow when a vehicle approaches, bathing me in its headlights. The disadvantage of living in a small town is that there is a pretty good chance that the driver is someone who knows me—or my dad. I keep my head down, hoping they will drive by.
I’m not that lucky.
The vehicle skids to a stop in front of me. I’m blinded by the lights in my face, but I instantly know who it is. My nerves spring to life and my spine tingles as the driver’s side door swings open.
“Get in,” Luca demands.
“No.” I turn my back on him and keep on walking.
“Sav . . .” He runs after me and snags my elbow. “I was going to tell you.”
“Tell me what?” I rip my arm out of his grasp.
He shoves his hands into the pockets of his shorts, and mumbles, “Who I am.”
“Who exactly is that, Luca?”
“Prince Caspan, the Kingdom’s golden boy on a fast track to the crown,” he mutters sardonically.
“So it’s true? Dom was telling the truth?”
“It’s not that simple,” Luca says. “He doesn’t know—”
“Are you royal? Yes or no?” I demand.
“Yes, but—”
“Someday you will be King of this . . . Kingdom you told me about?” I press.
“Not exactly,” he says. “We have unique traditions you wouldn’t understand.”
“Will you be King, or not?”
“I don’t know,” he tells me, louder. “I don’t want the crown. It just . . . I’m here. Or there. This is happening to me whether I want it to or not.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Luca tells me. “Who I am, and who I will be, isn’t important right now. All you need to know is that I wasn’t hiding it from you. I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
He shrugs. “Once you knew everything you need to know.”
“Do I know everything now?” I read the answer written all over his face, and I’m not surprised. “I don’t.”
He confirms my suspicion with a single shake of his head.
“Now is your chance,” I say. “Tell me everything, whether you think it matters or not. I don’t want to be blindsided again.”
“I didn’t mean for that to go down the way it did,” he says.
“Did you know?” I demand. “Is that why you wanted to order a pizza tonight, to get close to Dom? Was this your way of checking on the people in my life?”
He closes the distance between us with two big steps and peers down at me with a clenched jaw. “You think I would knowingly put you in that position?”
“I don’t know,” I admit with a shrug. “There is so much I don’t know about you, how am I to know what you would or wouldn’t do?”
“How could you—” Luca cuts himself off with a sharp shake of his head. “Of course I didn’t know.” He shoots an accusatory glare at me. “I had no idea you were friendly with Bianchi’s son.”
“We graduated together,” I explain hastily. “If I had known he was a shifter, I would have said something.”
Luca grunts something unintelligible.
“What do you want from me?” I shout. “A list of every person I have come into contact with over the past year? Five years? Since birth?”
He doesn’t respond.
“I can’t read your mind, Luca,” I add, calmer. “You need to meet me halfway. Tell me what I can do to help because I have no idea what I’m doing. Tell me what I need to know.”
I study his face for a reaction—any reaction. He doesn’t give me much, and that only infuriates me more.
“Talk to me,” I plead.
“I told you before that I would tell you whatever you want to know,” he says. “All you have to do is ask.”
“And I told you I don’t always know what questions I should be asking,” I remind him.
I wonder if Luca will ever be completely honest with me, or if I will have to continue dragging answers out of him until all of this makes sense. When his gaze drops to the ground without volunteering anything more, I decide it’s up to me.
And I know exactly where I want to start.
“Luca?” I wait for him to look up before I ask, “What were you and Dom talking about earlier?”
He stares at me, in no hurry to answer.
“You told me you would answer my questions,” I remind him.
He looks away with a small shake of his head.
“Luca?” I press.
“It doesn’t matter,” he grumbles.
“You nearly tore each other’s throats out back there,” I say. “The conversation had to do with me, and I want to know what it was about.”
He looks at me and shrugs. “Dom wants to claim you.”
“I heard that much, but I don’t know what that means.”
“He wants you to join their pack,” Luca explains quietly.
I recall Luca’s reaction. “And you don’t want me to do that?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Luca gapes. “You want to join the Bianchi pack?”
“That’s not what I said,” I argue defensively. “I’m trying to understand why you reacted the way you did.”
Luca stares at me, silently grinding his teeth. Finally, he grits, “If you accept Dom’s claim, you will not only be a part of the Bianchi pack, but you will be his. Only his. Forever.”
I blink. My mouth opens, but nothing comes out.
“That’s how it works,” Luca continues. “To claim another shifter is to make them your permanent mate.”
“Mate as in . . .” I blanch.
“It means the same thing in both realms.”
“Ew.” My embarrassment over discovering that Dom sees me in that way turns to horror when I remember Luca’s response to Dom’s proposal. “What a minute. You said . . .”
“Yeah.” Luca grimaces. “That . . . didn’t come out right.”
His insinuation that he had already claimed me? Damn right, that didn’t come out right. Now I understand why those words, coming out of his mouth, felt so wrong.
How dare he?
Unless . . .
There is a significant part of my life that I don’t remember. Luca and I were romantically involved at one time. What if the dreams I have been having are not merely dreams, but memories working their way back?
“Luca?” My voice quivers. “Is there any truth to that?”
“To what?” He looks genuinely confused.
“Have you . . . Did we . . .” I clear my throat. “This really sucks because I don’t remember certain things, and I really want to remember, especially when I know that you do. It’s a real disadvantage not knowing if someone has, or has not, seen me naked, and I hate that I can’t remember—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sav, that’s not . . .” A fleeting grin crosses his face before he looks at the ground. I swear his cheeks tint a faint shade of pink, but it doesn’t last long before the suave and cocky bravado I have come to expect soars back. “As much as I wish I could say otherwise, I have never seen you naked. You’ve seen far more of me than I ever have of you.”
“So what did you mean when you said that to Dom?” I press.
He stares at me for a long, heavy moment before he says, “They were just words, Sav.”
He’s lying. Not about seeing me naked—my instincts tell me he is telling the truth about that. But what he said to Dom earlier was not “just words.” It meant something.
I think about Dom’s question. Do you intend to claim her?
Luca confirmed that nothing like that has happened between us, but does he intend to claim me at some point? Is that what his response to Dom implied? Could that be why he reacted so strongly to Dom’s proposal?
My heart skips a beat. With one look into Luca’s eyes, I know I am on the verge of uncovering something big. Something unexpected. Hidden behind the thin veil of indifference that masks his face is something I never thought I would see. Vulnerability.
I step closer to him, momentarily empowered. “Luca, why don’t you want me to accept Dom’s claim?”
“I told you why.”
“No, you didn’t,” I return. “All you said was that I would be in the Bianchi pack, and Dom’s mate.”
Luca smirks. “Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Why, Luca?” I press. “Tell me why you don’t want Dom to claim me.”
His lip curls up on one side into a snarl.
“You don’t even like to hear me say it. You hate the idea that much.” I inch closer, stepping into his space with a confidence that surprises me as much as it does him. “You can’t bear the thought of me being Dom’s mate.”
Anger flashes in his eyes briefly before they flutter shut. He inhales sharply as if to compose himself. I realize I’m poking a literal wolf, but I can’t stop now. Not when I’m so close to pulling something honest out of him.
“Luca . . .” I touch him—one finger on his forearm. “Tell me why.”
He snatches my wrist and guides my arm to my side with far more finesse than I expect considering the wildness I see in his eyes when his gaze meets mine. His answer is a whisper. “You know why.”
The girly butterflies-in-the-stomach soar. I think I know, and I really hope I’m right. But how can I be sure? If he likes me, why can’t he just say it? Am I reading him all wrong—again?
My confidence slips.
“Because we have . . . history?” I ask hesitantly.
I want him to tell me, no. I want him to say that is not the only reason. I want him to tell me that he wants me. Not becau
se of who I once was to him, but because of who I am to him now.
Dammit, I want him to like me the same way I like him.
He doesn’t correct me. He stares at me, admitting nothing.
“Because you don’t have to protect me, or whatever,” I continue softly. “I don’t expect you to fix the mistakes you think you made in the past. It’s not like I remember them anyway, and I certainly don’t expect anything from you because of it. You can let it go . . .”
“Are you kidding me?” Luca drops my wrist and turns away from me with a roar of frustration. “You are the most bullheaded, stubborn . . .” He stops and whips around to jab an accusatory finger at me. “I can’t decide if you’re truly this blind, or if you’re messing with me on purpose.”
I gape at him. “Me? Messing with you?”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Are you?”
Is he accusing me of playing games with him? The irony is laughable.
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” I scoff.
“Oh, you definitely could.” His jaw clenches as he appraises me. After he finds whatever it is he is searching for, he concludes, “You’re confused.”
“I think that much is obvious.” I rub a hand over my now-throbbing forehead.
“You have good reason to be,” he adds. “There are two of you in your head right now.”
I sigh. “Dare I ask what you mean by that?”
“Your wolf,” he responds. “She’s getting louder, letting her opinion be known. You’re losing track of where your thoughts end and where hers begin.”
“I have a wolf in my head?”
“Your wolf is a lot easier to read than you are.” Luca edges closer. “She’s not afraid.”
I balk. “Well, excuse me if the human side of my brain is a little freaked out by the scary things that have been happening to me lately.”
“I’m not talking about that stuff.” Luca peers down at me with a faint grin. “Your wolf knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to go after it. You . . . are still hiding.”
“From what?”
Shifter Crown: Valley of Truth and Denial (The Shifter Crown Series Book 1) Page 15
