Chapter 8 – Facing Luca

I froze. My eyes flicked from Luca to Ethan, who looked outright flabbergasted at Luca’s outright rudeness.

“What?” Ethan asked with gritted teeth, anger now shining through his normally kind features.

“I said…what.the.fuck.is.she.doing.here?” Luca responded, sounding every word precisely. Ethan was stunned like he had never seen his brother behave this way. I haven't met him before, so I would know how he normally acts, but if this is it, he can go straight to hell for all I care. It’s a pity how he is still melting my insides standing so close to him, and my soul is crying to be nearer to him, which I don’t understand at all. He infuriates me already, so why would I want to be near him? It’s like half my body wants to kick him in the face, and the other wants to kiss it…whoa what do they put in the water here?

I realized I zoned out for a moment but snapped to reality when I heard a faint snarl deep in the woods, making me look towards the darkness of the forest. I tried to squint and see if there was any movement from where the snarl came from. I couldn’t see anything, so my attention turned back to Luca, who surprisingly was also looking in the same direction as me with his eyebrows furrowed. ‘Did he really hear what I just heard? I wonder.’

Luca then slowly turned his face back to me and almost grimaced when he saw I was watching him, but then he started reprimanding me.

“Would you like to take a photo? It lasts longer, dweeb!” Luca sneered at me. “What are you staring at? I said go home where you belong!”

“Luca! "What the fuck, man?” Ethan snapped.

I looked at him, tilting my head slightly, wondering what I did to deserve this treatment by this stranger. And even though I tried to put on a brave face, my emotions were slipping through, and I was pretty sure he was aware he was striking my heart where it hurt. Just then he stood up, and yup, he was super tall all right. He was maybe a few inches taller than Ethan, and I had to look up at him when he took a step closer.

Then finally, the next thing he said to me made my head spin and not in a good way. “Fuck off,” he said slowly and deliberately before walking around me and storming off. When he said this, something triggered deep inside me. Not a longing or the attraction I felt earlier, but searing rage.

Unfortunately this little spat was noticed by the rest of the group, and they remained dead silent except for nick who watched him walk away and rushed at me.

“I am sorry, I must have misheard…did he just tell you to fuck off?” Nick asked, but his friendly energy had dissipated with the wind, and in place of it was a cold, dark expression. I couldn’t answer because my blood was boiling from anger, as if I were about to explode.

“Yeah, yeah, he did,” Ethan snapped, still looking at his brother walking off. Nick clenched his jaw and took a step towards him, but without even realizing it, I put my hand in front of Nick to stop him.

“I got this,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Luca. ‘Wait, what have you got? What are you doing Quinn?’ I thought, but it was like my body had a mind of its own. What was happening? I couldn’t control it. My body was stomping at a quick pace towards Luca, and I wasn’t in control at all. Something was controlling me, but what?

Luca, hearing the stomping steps following him, turned around slowly and looked at me mockingly, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets.

“What did you say?” I asked.

“You seem like someone who is a sucker for punishment,” he mocked, stepping closer with a sneer. “For the last time, bitch… fuck off!”

Bitch? Who does this animal think he is?! Before I knew it, my arm moved of its own accord, swinging hard and fast, my fist smashing into his jaw with a force I didn’t realize I possessed. His head snapped to the side, and he staggered back, dazed.

“Oh shit!” Nick and Ethan shouted in unison, rushing toward me. Their hands clamped onto my shoulders, spinning me away from Luca. “Uh, we gotta go,” Ethan stammered, urgency dripping from his voice.

“Why?” I asked, blinking at them in confusion. It felt like I’d just woken up from a dream, my hand still tingling from the punch. I stared down at it, then up at Luca, my heart pounding.

But something wasn’t right. Luca wasn’t just shaken—his entire body seemed to be trembling, vibrating with tension. His breath came in short, jagged bursts, each inhale sounding more labored than the last as if he were struggling with something deep inside him. His muscles strained under his skin, which glistened with sweat as though he were burning up from the inside.

He didn’t look at me, and when he did, it was only for a fraction of a second—just long enough for me to catch a flicker of something terrifying. His eyes. One of them had darkened, a subtle red creeping into the iris that made my stomach churn. It was a flash, barely there, but enough to send my nerves sparking with fear.

“Go,” Luca rasped, his voice low and deep, almost like it hurt to speak. His body was hunched forward now, his fists clenched so tightly that the veins in his arms were bulging, as if he were desperately holding something back.

“Luca, calm down, she didn’t know—” Ethan started, his voice panicked.

“GO!” Luca roared, but the sound that came from him wasn’t human. It was raw, beast-like, vibrating with a dangerous, primal energy. He bent over further, his entire frame shaking violently, as if every breath were a battle against whatever was trying to tear free.

Nick and Ethan grabbed each of my arms and ran me to the car as fast as possible. Nick ensured I got in the passenger seat quickly, and Ethan literally hopped over the hood like a gymnast and got into the driver's seat before I could even blink. Once Nick made sure I was secure in my seat with the seatbelt, he stopped and looked at me.

“Sorry about this. Don’t worry, we all think what you did was super awesome, so we are definitely going to invite you to the next one. I might even pop by and see you sooner than that." Later, feisty Quinny,” Nick said as he smiled and ran back in Luca’s direction.