The minute they were alone, Sonja dragged Luca out of her house the same way he had done to her at his place a few days ago."You lying, scheming, son of a bitch! How dare you invite yourself into my home! Did you trick my daughter into letting you in? Did you mess with her head? What lies did you tell her to worm your way inside?" She seethed at him as soon as they were out of earshot."I didn't have to trick her. She invited me in all on her own. And I haven't even begun messing with her head yet. That time is coming, though. Rest assured!" Luca smirked at her.Sonja was tempted to reach up, gouge his eyes out, and feed them to the crows. She loathed him for what he was about to do to her town. But she resented him even more for the games he planned to play with her only child."Careful, Sonja. You don't want me to take your necklace again, do you?" Luca taunted, subtly letting her know he knew what she was thinking, and he was ready for her and the show she wanted to put on."Stay a

As he paced the living room, Luca kept switching his worried glances between the sleeping form on the love seat and April quietly speaking with Andrew in the corner. Even though their voices were low, he could clearly hear their muted discussion, which only pissed him off. They doubted his ability to lead the clan, and bringing Cadence to the house after almost running her over had intensified their lack of faith in him. They thought he was being sloppy and getting too entangled with the enemy. But what else was he supposed to do? Leave Cadence unconscious on the side of the road?Cadence stirred, and Luca knelt in front of her in a flash.She moaned aloud as she tried to sit up, "Argh!" "Hey, slow down," he tried to gently push her back on the couch, but Cadence refused to comply."What happened?" she asked. Her eyes shone like diamonds in the dim light. Just for that moment, as Luca gently brushed her hair away from her forehead, he was convinced they were the only light he'd ever n

"Mom, I don't blame you; I understand why you all did it. And I'm not angry with you; I wish you'd told me right from the beginning, not because you felt cornered by Luca," Cadence told her mom over breakfast the next morning. They didn't get a chance to talk last night. Her mom had gone straight to her room, claiming she had a headache. This morning, when Cadence walked into the kitchen and found chocolate pancakes—her favourite—laid out on the table for her, she was so relieved. It seemed her mom was just as eager to put their fight behind them, and making her breakfast was her apology. "You do?" Sonja asked as she took a small sip of her chamomile tea."Yes, I do," Cadence told her. To show her she meant it, she left her seat, wrapped her arms around her neck, and kissed the top of her head."I think if I had faced the same choices, I would have done the same thing," she added softly."Thank you, Cade, that means a lot to me," Sonja gently patted her hand and ushered her back to

"I have a boyfriend, so stop whatever games you're playing!" Cadence snapped at him, the look in her eyes hard, her voice firm. But her insides were all shaky. She was quivering from anger, disappointment, and raw hurt."I don't want that Kingston boy touching you. Break things off with him." Luca made demands of his own, ignoring everything she'd said."Now, why the hell would I do that?""Because I said so!""And you think that's a good enough reason?" Her lip curled down petulantly, Cadence scoffed at him, her anger rising in her throat, threatening to snuff out the air from her lungs. "You don't get to tell me what to do. He's my boyfriend.""For now, maybe, but it's not going to go the way he wants. So, cut him loose!"And to prove he was right about everything, he drew her in his arms again and kissed her. This time it was different. He was possessive almost, but still tender and passionate, like in their memory, and Cadence knew he wasn't toying with her now. But, that knowledge

Andrew was livid. They didn't have to be telepathic for Luca to know this. The reckless way he sped through the bumpy dirt roads from the bayou towards the busy city centre said it all. His cousin was okay before they left the house. So Luca could only assume his long chat with Cadence was the real reason for Andrew's sudden anger.Neither Luca nor April dared say anything, let alone ask him to slow down. Leaving him alone was the best thing to do when he was in one of his moods.With nothing to see outside except endless miles of bushes and wheat fields, Luca closed his eyes and listened to April sing along to My Chemical Romance blaring from the stereo, and he allowed his thoughts to drift to Cadence. He knew she loved the band from her large collection of the albums he saw on her desk when he'd snuck in to leave the origami swan. But not as much as she loved dancing. That, Luca knew, was her first love. And like most first loves, Cadence poured all her time and energy into it by wor