Page 64 of Unbound

Out they slink, one by one, magnificent and terrifying in equal measure. Six in total, all with slightly different markings, all in shades of snowy white, silver, gray. One has striking pale blue eyes, and it walks on silent feet towards the three now immobile Cosca Dons. For the first time, they look truly scared. His eyes still shining, Luca stands among the wolves milling around his legs, so big they reach his waist.

“What the actual fuck?” Donna mutters. I couldn’t agree more. Luca looks over at me and speaks directly into my mind.

Come to me, bella. Meet my new allies.

Wolves? I reply. You’re pals with wolves now?

A hint of amusement crosses his face. Are you scared of the big bad wolf, little girl?

I narrow my eyes and cross the clearing to be at his side. The wolf with the blue eyes glances back at me, lets out a low growl. I should be worried, but somehow, I am not. Neither is my amulet.

Don Luigi makes a lunge for Luca, trying to break out of the circle to reach him. The wolf snaps at his hand, and he snatches it back, snarling in frustration. “What the fuck is this, Luca?”

“This is the way the world is now, Luigi. The way I run it.”

“You have no right to run anything, bastardo!”

He lets off a stream of Italian curses so inventive that I almost admire him.

Luca takes my hand, raises it to his mouth, and kisses my palm. He ignores Luigi, turns his back on him. The ultimate insult for a Cosca Don.

“Rosa,” he says out loud, “meet Sophia.”

A tall, slender woman walks from the tree line. Her dark hair falls to her waist, her skin shines as pale as milk, and her ruby-red lips curve into an appreciative smile. Total supernatural Snow White vibe.

She gazes at Luca in a way I do not like at all. In a way that makes it clear she knows him intimately. I growl, and it immediately gets her attention.

“No need to worry, little malocchio,” she says, patronizing as fuck. “I have no interest in your mate. I have my own.”

The blue-eyed wolf lets out a piercing howl, and I am left in little doubt who that mate might be. Still. The bitch needs to back off. She takes in my expression and actually laughs.

“Can I kill her?” I ask Luca. “Pretty please?”

“I’m afraid not, cara mia. Sophia is our friend.”

Right. Well. We’ll see about that. I know exactly who she is—Vincenzo’s adopted daughter. The one who many expected to take over the role of Firenze Don. Except she’d been exiled to Toronto, and while she was there, she seems to have made a few interesting lifestyle choices.

The wolves circle the three Cosca leaders, snarling and snapping and holding them in place. It’s an intimidating display of pack power, and I have to admit they’re also kind of beautiful. I probably wouldn’t think that if I was one of the three vampires trapped in the middle of them though.

They’re actually holding out okay. Centuries’ worth of arrogance doesn’t disappear that quickly, I guess. There’s some jostling though, some pushing and shoving. I’m wondering exactly how long their unity will last, how quickly one of them will decide that literally tossing one of the others to the wolves would be a good idea. A distraction, allowing them to get away. I notice that Donna has gone to the other side of the clearing, that Stefano and Matteo are also spread out at different points, forming a rough perimeter. They’re thinking the same, and they’re already one step ahead.

“This is outrageous, Luca,” Federico snarls, jumping back as one of the wolves nips his foot. He glares at it, and I wonder who would win that fight. It’s like that horse-sized-duck thing. I decide if it was one-on-one, probably the Old World vamp. But the wolves hunt in packs and against this many? Federico wouldn’t stand a chance.

“What’s your grand plan?” he goes on. “Intimidate us into submission? Make a deal? Bargain with us for territory? You’ve made your fucking point, all right. Now call off your dogs and let’s discuss this like the civilized men we are.”

Luca lets go of my hand. Stares at them, three old men trapped by wolves. Three power-hungry monsters caught by their own greed. Would Luca have done this if they’d been reasonable? Or deep down, was he always hoping they wouldn’t be?

I suspect the latter.

“Civilized men?” he asks, his voice dripping with disdain. “Is that what we are? Is that what you claim to be? Tell me, then, as civilized men … what do you know about the d’Argento family?”

Oh fuck. Here we go. I hear it now, the fury, the barely controlled emotion. This is what he has been keeping hidden from them, from me. Possibly from himself.

Their confusion is obvious, and they exchange bewildered glances. That was very clearly the last thing they expected Luca to ask them about.

“Who the hell are the d’Argentos?” Luigi asks.

“You don’t recall the name?” my man says, stalking even closer. The wolves clear a path, let him through. He is within touching distance of the Dons now.