Page 6 of Sandro

They walked right up to us, and when one of them reached for the man in my arms, I hissed without a thought. He pulled his hand back before his evil glare focused on me.

“You will know pain unlike you ever have if you touch him,” I warned as I pulled the man behind me.

Another pushed his arm against the first man’s chest, and I finally picked up on the fact that they were feline shifters of some sort.

“Mi scusi. Lo portiamo a casa.”

“No,” came a muffled reply from behind me.

I shrugged. “He says no. I have to agree with him that he’s not going with you,” I said. I tinted my eyes a bit, and that had all three of them taking another step back.

“Whatever reason you might have had,” Rio said as he took a step forward, “is now gone. Any thoughts you had are gone. He will be joining us, and that is nonnegotiable.” Rio raised an eyebrow. “It is, is it not? He’s what I’m believing with your possessiveness?”

I nodded.

Rio looked back at the others. “If whoever needs to discuss things to sort out about responsibility, tell them that they should contact Vincent Vittone. He’ll be happy to explain how we do things in our…family.” Rio smiled, and it was pure mischief.

The reaction at the mention of Master Vincent’s name from the other three was completely expected. Color drained from their faces, and they took another step away, and then another, before they all three turned and started walking away swiftly. They gave several glances behind them as they walked, but Rio and I simply stood where we were and watched them leave. One pulled out his phone, and by the time they were several yards from us, he was rapidly talking to someone on the other end of a call.

That left us with the little one that had plowed into me who hadn’t let go of my arm since. I looked down into those brown eyes and smiled. “Come ti chiami? Lei parla inglese?” They had called out Leonardo, but was that actually his name?

“Leonardo,” he told me. “Most call me Leo though. Yes, I speak English. My mom taught me. Why? I do not understand.”

I smiled again and nodded. “I’ll explain that in a bit. Do you know what we are to one another, Leo?” I asked.

Rio cleared his throat, and I wanted to glare at the warlock, but I had no doubt that he was absolutely correct in getting my attention.

“Perhaps we should take this conversation off the street and back into the apartment? The two of you can discuss things in private, and once everything is decided, I can send you off onto…what was it that Abel likes to call it?”

I sighed and looked down at my beloved. “Matemoon. Yes.” I gestured toward the alleyway that would lead us to the apartment. “Shall we? You will be safe. I swear it on my life.”

Leo nodded. I absolutely wasn’t prepared for a beloved. I was broken in more ways than I could count, and the last thing I wanted right now was an obviously energetic, young, and possibly in trouble feline shifter for a beloved. Apparently, I didn’t have a say in the matter, though, because that’s what the fates decided I needed at the moment. Or perhaps, what both of us did. It was at least promising to not have him running away at the first mention of Master Vincent’s name. But would he be willing to be a vampire’s beloved?

Chapter 4

Leonardo

Ireally should have more self-preservation instincts. I normally did. But when the amazing-smelling man promised me that I would be safe, I took him at his word. I knew without a doubt that he was my mate, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was a good person. Especially with the way that I saw Gianni’s and Carlo’s faces pale when someone named Vincent Vittone was mentioned. I didn’t immediately recognize the name, but I wasn’t really involved in anything with the pride beyond being the charity case that they couldn’t get rid of, so they abused me.

I followed the men without hesitation, but I did keep my eyes open to look out for any others from the pride who might be nearby. It wasn’t like any of them to give up so easily. Especially not when an order came directly from Alpha Franco.

We entered the alleyway, and when we came out from the other side, I immediately noticed several more from the pride waiting. I made a noise as I tightened my hold on the arm of the sexy man, which of course grabbed his attention.

“What is wrong?”

I nudged my head toward the group. “They’re from the pride,” I whispered. The other guy with us looked behind us, and when I did the same, I wished I hadn’t.

“Them too, huh?” I nodded. My mate wrapped his arm around me, and the other guy moved in close. “Hang on” was the only warning I got before my stomach rolled over, and I suddenly found myself in the middle of a very nice room. There was a pair of sofas and all of the other normal furniture you had in a living space.

“I’ll put in a call to Marcello to let him know to be on the lookout. Since we entered the apartment this way, they won’t know where we went, and it shouldn’t be an issue for any of them to come and go as they please. I don’t think it’s entirely safe for the two of you to be down on the streets though.”

“Who are you guys?” I asked. I pulled away gently, and without hesitation, my mate let me go. I took a step back and wrapped my arms around my stomach, which was still protesting a little. “Why did Gianni’s and Carlo’s faces pale when you mentioned this Vincent guy?”

There was a groan from my mate, and at first, I thought he was in pain, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He had his hand on his face, and when he wiped it down, I could tell he was frustrated.

I looked at the other guy. “He seems frustrated,” I said. That earned me a smile. I glanced back at my mate, who still appeared to be…yeah, frustrated. I shrugged and walked over to the other guy.

“I’m Leonardo, but everyone calls me Leo,” I said as I held out my hand.