"I know you must be wondering why I am so rich and my father so average." Luca finally asked the question that was burning a hole in my head. His voice was low and hesitant."Not at all," I lied. Of course, I want to know. Every fiber of me was burning to know, but I pressed my lips shut in a faint smile.Luca was testing me. He drove in silence with a smile on his face. Amusement flickered on his face when he gave a quick glance at me."Feel free to tell me if you want," I chuckled."My father sold my wolfless mother to the higher council," Luca said as if it didn't matter. As the betrayal was nothing more than a transaction."Still does not explain why you are the one with the money and not him," I stated, my eyes on his beautiful face, tracing the outline of his jaw, his controlled profile."I was about your age when one of the royals at the higher councils traveled through these parts. The man could not take his eyes off my mother. There was no love between my father and her, so when the offer came for her, she agreed, but only if the prince paid her a monthly stipend. So he paid my father a sum, and he match that sum every month for my mother. She needs for nothing, so it goes to me. Her only child.""Do you miss her?" I wondered. The words slipped from me before I could second-guess them. My curiosity betrayed me with the truth behind my question. I know I miss my mother even though I have no memory of her."I visit her often," Luca smiled. It was not his usual flirty or mischievous smile. It was fragile. Fordable. The fondness for his mother clearly displayed on his face."I wish I had a mother," the confession slipped past my lips before I had a chance to smother it. Longing made my chest twist. It was a truth I've never spoken out loud to anyone."You mean you wish you knew your mother," he corrected me gently. There was no judgment in his tone. He was peeling away my layers without effort."Something like that," I said with a smile that trembled at the edges."Let's first find your sister, then we start the search for your parents, ok?" Luca said with determination."Why would you do that for me?" I asked."I think you are my twin flame," Luca chuckled shyly. "I know you said you felt such a connection with someone before, but I know what I feel." His eyes were focused on the road as if looking at me might fracture his confidence."I meant you, silly," I declared, almost making him drive off the road. I blurted out the truth. It felt good that my tongue finally caught up with my heart.Luca pulled to the side of the road and grabbed my head with both hands, and pulled me in for a kiss. The kiss was deep, eager, needed.We kissed for the longest time. Eventually, he pulled out of the kiss. "The wolfless are not going to feed themselves takeaway."We drove around from one takeaway to the other picking up food. His sports car was full."I hate to break it to you, but this is not enough to feed all of them," I chuckled when we picked up the last takeaways."We will make a few trips. I won't stop until they are all fed," Luca promised."What hold does Xan have on you?" I dared to ask."You picked up on that, huh?" Luca chuckled. His tone was that of a person who didn't want to share."You don't have to tell me. Forget that I asked," I said when I saw that it was a touchy subject."I will tell you another time," Luca said, pulling up to the wolfless area."Is it safe for me to get out?" Luca chuckled nervously."Probably not," I warned him and got out of the car."You back again?" A wolfless walked up to me."Help me take the food out," I told him. Soon, many wolfless joined."Are we supposed to fight for it?" One noted that there was not nearly enough for everyone."I won't do that to you," I assured him. "We will be back with more."The wolfless started to cheer. Now it was not like the wolfless was not fed. As I said before, the Lycans fed us to keep us alive so that they could make us their slaves. But note the part where I say they fed us to keep us alive. So just enough not to die of starvation. Just enough to make us want to get caught. Just enough to make us want to be slaves."I need a shower," I stated, walking into his apartment in the human area after a long day of going back and forth to treat the wolfless with takeouts."Makes two of us," Luca said and pulled his shirt over his head. I felt my heart beat faster at the half-naked sight of him. His body was well-defined.I followed him to the shower, both of us undressing on the way.With water running over us, we re discovered each others bodies. I didn't know when Xan would ruin it for us, but at that moment, I was happy, content, and safe."I have a gift for you," Luca said when we were both lying on his bed. He got off the bed and left the room, returning with his pants that he had worn earlier, pulling something from the pocket."A watch?" I chuckled. I don't know what I was expecting. "When did you get this?" I wondered since we were together all day."Matching watches, actually," he said and showed me both. "I am a hybrid. I move fast," he chuckled and slapped the one onto my wrist, making me feel like a salve again. He placed the other one around his own wrist. "It is already set up," he explained, turning his on to show me."Tracking and a direct line. It even monitors your pulse and vitals," Luca showed me."Tracking?" I questioned, not sure how I felt about it."Yes, look," Luca said, swiping on my watch. "You can see where I am at all times.""And you me," I said quietly."It will make it easier for me to find you in this big, bad world," Luca chuckled."We are together most of the time," I stated."I have to go back to Xan. I will stop by daily," he cupped my face and kissed me deeply."What hold does she have on you?" I demanded to know."Ok, so you know how I said that I've only made a promise to you?" Luca started to tell me. "I kind of lied.""What promise did you make her?" I wondered."That if she dies, I die," Luca uttered."Why on earth would you make such a promise?" I asked in total shock."She tried to end her own life when she caught me with another woman," Luca told his truth. "I didn't know our relationship was as serious as it was to her," Luca explained. "When I found her half bled to death, I realized that I love her. I told her I can't live without her."The regret of his promise to Xan was plastered on his face as he continued. "She asked me to promise, and I promised that if she dies, I will end myself. I kind of just said it so that she won't try to kill herself, but now she's been using it to keep me in my place.""Any other promises I should know about?" I asked hesitantly."A few pack loyalty promises but nothing that will result in burning for eternity," he chuckled. I loved his laugh. Every time the vibration hit my core.I fell back onto the bed with a sigh. "How did we end up being fated mates, and how do we undo it?""I think you can reject her, but it is a done deal for her unless you die," Luca said, falling down next to me. "She claimed you, so it can't be undone for her.""I don't know what she did, but I can't reach her mind anymore," I stated, wondering if she could still hear mine. Was she listening in on mine right now? Does she know about the passion that transpired between the two of us?"A shaman could teach you to block others out," Luca said, propping himself up on his elbow before extending a finger, tracing the bridge of my nose all the way to my lips."Why don't you mind link with her?" I questioned, remembering that he does not mind link with her. What secrets does he have? I studied his face as if the answers were written there for me to find.
