ChiaraThe heat was going to burn us.So I pulled my lips away from Alessandro's for a moment to take a deep breath.We both gasped, and he hugged me tightly before putting his nose on my neck.That simple gesture almost undid me.“What just happened?” I asked out loud.Alessandro laughed and sat up, making me fit between his legs, and I could feel his erection. At that moment some modesty returned to my body, but the look in his eyes turned me on again.“We didn't do anything wrong, or, well, you didn't do anything wrong because you kissed me,” Alessandro said before giving me a kiss on my forehead.“I don't know what it was that—”Alessandro put a finger on my lips to silence me.“You don't have to say anything; let me enjoy this moment a little longer, please,” he whispered before resting his nose on my neck again. “Kissing you has been much more pleasurable than in my dreams.”I swallowed saliva, and then Alessandro saw me.His eyes were golden, and for the first time, I wasn't af
ChiaraI tried to distract myself with a horror series.It was a completely failed mission because I was too restless for my own good.A visceral part of me needed Alessandro's scent at all costs; it was like a drug I couldn't get enough of, and I didn't understand where this irrational need was coming from.“This is crazy,” I whispered as I tried to calm down.The truth: it was painful to be without Alessandro's scent.It was as if my nose was unable to function properly. I couldn't be that far away from Alessandro for that long, and I didn't know if it was Stockholm syndrome or something to do with his wolf. Either option was too bad because it represented a connection I did not intend to have with Alessandro.Inescapably, I saw it as having chains on me.However, after that kiss he and I gave each other, it was obvious that we didn't just feel attraction; there was something else that I was afraid to admit. And that was dangerous to my heart. I could stand many things, but in my m
Chiara“Are you okay?” asked Loreta with concern.Since Alessandro had moved away, a kind of depression had consumed me. I didn't understand why it was happening, but I didn't feel well. I just wanted to keep him close, and it had been three days since he had told me he was going to Rome.I felt like I was in the pit of a pit.Loreta was restless and worried about me.The only thing that had helped me get out of bed was having a video call with my grandfather and calming him down. The old man had noticed my energy slump; however, I knew how to redirect the conversation so he wouldn't worry. Of the rest, I had left a mess on the desk that Loreta had gotten so I could work better on my novel.“I'm fine,” I told Loreta calmly. “Let's just say I'm just having an energy slump; haven't you ever had that?”I tried to be funny, but that made Loreta frown and cross her arms.“It's a serious issue, Chiara,” Loreta said. “You don't want to get out of bed, you don't want to eat anything, and you
ChiaraAlessandro stopped kissing me and smiled.“Why am I going crazy for you?” I asked him fearfully.I couldn't play dumb and deny what was happening; the reality was simple: I had developed an absurd need for Alessandro.“I'll explain, but after I eat breakfast,” Alessandro said, and I frowned. “I promise. We'll go to the woods.”“Why go to the forest?” I asked curiously.“Because I need to shift, my beast has been restless and wants to be with you,” Alessandro said, and I smiled.He helped himself to his breakfast, and I finished eating what was left on my plate.A pleasant silence reigned in the kitchen, and I felt a peace that I hadn't felt before.It was as if something inside me finally calmed down because I had Alessandro so close, which turned out to be completely out of place.In no time at all he and his beast had really sunk deep inside of me.“Was everything okay in Rome?” I asked carefully.“I worked out most of the kinks,” Alessandro said sincerely. “How are you doing
ChiaraThe beast knocked me to the ground in excitement, and I laughed.The wolf howled with joy and ran around until he saw me.I understood perfectly what he wanted, so I played with the huge wolf as if nothing more important existed. I ran, jumped, rolled, and even dived into the river to cool off.All of that I did without hesitation or fear of the beast.I realized that whatever I felt for the animal, it was something much more primal than I could have suspected. I didn't give the matter a second thought, so I just enjoyed sunbathing with the wolf on a large rock in the river.The sun was at its ideal point, and I fell asleep.I didn't know how long I lay there, but I felt the wolf licking, and when I opened my eyes, there was a blanket on the ground, and on it was food. I raised my eyebrows, surprised by the detail, and hugged the animal.“Thank you, Gregory,” I said his name softly, and the wolf licked my face.I laughed at how affectionate he could be, so I sat on the blanket.
ChiaraI looked longingly at the canapé I had managed to steal from the kitchen.I sighed before popping it into my mouth and slowly chewed the salmon roll.What I thought might be a relief to my hungry stomach turned out to be a huge disappointment. It was the most tasteless damn canapé I had ever tasted, and it was the only thing I had been able to ingest that day.“Shit,” I whispered in disgust before taking a sip from my champagne cup.If before I was annoyed at being forced to play the role of the dutiful daughter of Lorenzo Moretti, capo of the 'Ndrangheta, at that moment I was completely furious at not being able to eat something decent.I checked my phone, but the battery had died.The situation couldn't get any worse.I was not only hungry, irritated, and overheated; I was also bored.I had only been in Italy for a few weeks, living in an opulent and dangerous world that my mother had kept me away from. That night, at the Greco mansion, I understood why my mother had made tha
ChiaraBile rose in my throat once my brain processed Alessandro's proposal.Marry him? The idea was as absurd as it was humiliating.“No way am I getting married!” I exclaimed with absolute indignation.My words caused the other capos to rise from the table; at that, my brother squeezed my arm to get me under control, but I ignored Luca and immediately looked at my father. Lorenzo Moretti's look, to my surprise, was one of annoyance.“Alessandro,” my father said in the same firm tone of voice he used to deny me something, “with all due respect, your proposal is unacceptable. Chiara is my daughter; she is worth more than any deal. She is a treasure that I will not hand over as if she were a bargaining chip.”Seeing my father's upright and defiant posture, I felt relief at hearing his words. I knew very well that he had been decisive. However, my father's response caused Alessandro's smile to widen, and he raised an eyebrow.I didn't like that at all.“Lorenzo, you are one of the most
ChiaraThe three days after the Greco party were a silent hell.After returning to my father's mansion in Milan, he decided that I should have no interaction with the outside world, so he confiscated my passport and my electronics; he didn't even trust me to leave my Kindle.I struggled to get my things back, but his response was to give me another hard slap and tell me a curse in Italian that I would never forget.“Maledetto sia il giorno in cui ti ho generato! (Cursed be the day I spawned you!),” my father shouted so loudly that his face turned red.Luca dragged me out of his office and led me up to my room.“I told you not to leave the room and give me time to find a solution, but you don't cooperate either,” Luca said with annoyance.“I don't cooperate?” I asked angrily. “You are holding me hostage!”“It's for your own good, Chiara,” my brother said with a sad expression. “One of the reasons my father brought you to Italy was to protect you. You don't understand because you've nev
ChiaraThe beast knocked me to the ground in excitement, and I laughed.The wolf howled with joy and ran around until he saw me.I understood perfectly what he wanted, so I played with the huge wolf as if nothing more important existed. I ran, jumped, rolled, and even dived into the river to cool off.All of that I did without hesitation or fear of the beast.I realized that whatever I felt for the animal, it was something much more primal than I could have suspected. I didn't give the matter a second thought, so I just enjoyed sunbathing with the wolf on a large rock in the river.The sun was at its ideal point, and I fell asleep.I didn't know how long I lay there, but I felt the wolf licking, and when I opened my eyes, there was a blanket on the ground, and on it was food. I raised my eyebrows, surprised by the detail, and hugged the animal.“Thank you, Gregory,” I said his name softly, and the wolf licked my face.I laughed at how affectionate he could be, so I sat on the blanket.
ChiaraAlessandro stopped kissing me and smiled.“Why am I going crazy for you?” I asked him fearfully.I couldn't play dumb and deny what was happening; the reality was simple: I had developed an absurd need for Alessandro.“I'll explain, but after I eat breakfast,” Alessandro said, and I frowned. “I promise. We'll go to the woods.”“Why go to the forest?” I asked curiously.“Because I need to shift, my beast has been restless and wants to be with you,” Alessandro said, and I smiled.He helped himself to his breakfast, and I finished eating what was left on my plate.A pleasant silence reigned in the kitchen, and I felt a peace that I hadn't felt before.It was as if something inside me finally calmed down because I had Alessandro so close, which turned out to be completely out of place.In no time at all he and his beast had really sunk deep inside of me.“Was everything okay in Rome?” I asked carefully.“I worked out most of the kinks,” Alessandro said sincerely. “How are you doing
Chiara“Are you okay?” asked Loreta with concern.Since Alessandro had moved away, a kind of depression had consumed me. I didn't understand why it was happening, but I didn't feel well. I just wanted to keep him close, and it had been three days since he had told me he was going to Rome.I felt like I was in the pit of a pit.Loreta was restless and worried about me.The only thing that had helped me get out of bed was having a video call with my grandfather and calming him down. The old man had noticed my energy slump; however, I knew how to redirect the conversation so he wouldn't worry. Of the rest, I had left a mess on the desk that Loreta had gotten so I could work better on my novel.“I'm fine,” I told Loreta calmly. “Let's just say I'm just having an energy slump; haven't you ever had that?”I tried to be funny, but that made Loreta frown and cross her arms.“It's a serious issue, Chiara,” Loreta said. “You don't want to get out of bed, you don't want to eat anything, and you
ChiaraI tried to distract myself with a horror series.It was a completely failed mission because I was too restless for my own good.A visceral part of me needed Alessandro's scent at all costs; it was like a drug I couldn't get enough of, and I didn't understand where this irrational need was coming from.“This is crazy,” I whispered as I tried to calm down.The truth: it was painful to be without Alessandro's scent.It was as if my nose was unable to function properly. I couldn't be that far away from Alessandro for that long, and I didn't know if it was Stockholm syndrome or something to do with his wolf. Either option was too bad because it represented a connection I did not intend to have with Alessandro.Inescapably, I saw it as having chains on me.However, after that kiss he and I gave each other, it was obvious that we didn't just feel attraction; there was something else that I was afraid to admit. And that was dangerous to my heart. I could stand many things, but in my m
ChiaraThe heat was going to burn us.So I pulled my lips away from Alessandro's for a moment to take a deep breath.We both gasped, and he hugged me tightly before putting his nose on my neck.That simple gesture almost undid me.“What just happened?” I asked out loud.Alessandro laughed and sat up, making me fit between his legs, and I could feel his erection. At that moment some modesty returned to my body, but the look in his eyes turned me on again.“We didn't do anything wrong, or, well, you didn't do anything wrong because you kissed me,” Alessandro said before giving me a kiss on my forehead.“I don't know what it was that—”Alessandro put a finger on my lips to silence me.“You don't have to say anything; let me enjoy this moment a little longer, please,” he whispered before resting his nose on my neck again. “Kissing you has been much more pleasurable than in my dreams.”I swallowed saliva, and then Alessandro saw me.His eyes were golden, and for the first time, I wasn't af
Chiara“Damn it,” I whispered through the throbbing headache I had.It felt like someone had hit me several times with a hammer on my forehead.My eyes were hard to open, my body was heavy, and my tongue was parched.The last thing I remembered from the terrible night I had had was drinking whiskey with Alessandro by the pool. That idea felt unnatural, but after my father had beaten me, I understood exactly why I would accept a drink from the devil.Shit, I thought, horrified at the stupid things I might have said.I didn't control my tongue with alcohol in my system.I avoided drinking anywhere because it made me unbearable. I could say anything; it was like my tongue took on a life of its own and couldn't keep up with my brain.It was horrible.Someone knocked on the door, and I threw the quilt over me.Anyway, the person came in, and I knew immediately who it was.“You must be feeling pretty bad,” Alessandro said. “I brought you something for your headache and some soup to help wit
ChiaraIt was the first time I had ever seen someone confront my father and come out unscathed.I looked at Luca with fear, and he immediately realized what was happening.My father stood up so furious that I feared he would do something, so my brother calmed him down while Alessandro led me away.“Where is your room?” asked Alessandro, and I led him away; there he turned on the light and checked my cheek. “Fucking Moretti! Your cheek is swollen.”“I'll be fine,” I said calmly. “What's going to happen now? You've defied my father, and he's never going to forget it. He wouldn't hesitate to set aside the alliance just to get revenge on you.”And that was a great truth.“I don't give a damn about Lorenzo,” Alessandro said confidently. “You're going to have to understand by hook or by crook. The best thing to do is leave right now.”Alessandro pulled out his phone, typed a couple of messages, and after that we went downstairs to go straight to the limo. Nicola arrived a few moments later,
Alessandro“What the hell was that?” asked Nicola as I approached him and watched Miller like a hawk.He was a troubled billionaire who laundered money for various mafias except mine. He wanted me to put my money through his companies, but I was too smart a man to realize how much trouble that could mean.I would manage the money myself rather than some foolish thief.I don't like that scum around Chiara, Gregory said with annoyance.And as if fate fulfilled the will of my beast, Miller walked away.The man couldn't dance with Chiara for half a minute; he left her alone on the dance floor, and that made Luca approach her. My wolf growled happily, and I smiled.I stayed calm and let the brothers dance to see if that would settle their differences.The only one who had really shown the will to protect his sister had been Luca, and for that alone I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.“Alessandro, that threat to Miller was unnecessary; the man just wanted to be the fool who dares to
ChiaraThe day of the engagement party arrived.My heart was pounding.I was nervous; I didn't know how it was going to go, but what tormented me the most was the fact that an engagement party made everything so much more formal. That night I would be marked as the future Signora D'Amato.I felt like throwing up, but there was a knock on the bathroom door.“The stylists are here,” Loreta said. “I'll let them come in and get all the things arranged.”“Okay,” I said immediately.I washed my face and came out of the bathroom to find four women chattering in Italian incessantly. Loreta was scowling at them all, and I noticed she stayed in the room.“Do they speak English?” I asked Loreta in a whisper, and the woman denied it. “How am I to communicate then?”“They speak very little English; that's why I'm here, to bridge the gap between the two, although they have some suggestions Alessandro made to them about the hairstyle that would look good on you and the kind of makeup that would brin