AlessioShock reverberates in my body. I stare at Gio's Grandma, not knowing what to say, just staring at her in the hopes of seeing something on her face that will get my memory started.The only problem is, I have ended the lives of so many people.I hate myself for this. It's not something I'm proud of. It's exactly why I escaped my life from the pack, but I didn't know that the only way I could continue living in the human world was to kill.But no matter how hard I look now, I still can't see anything on her face."I'm sorry," I whisper, slowly backing away. "I didn't . . . I didn't know that was the case.""Master, don't take her that seriously," Gio tells me under his breath. "She has dementia."Chiara looks at the old woman nervously. "Does she accuse everyone of killing her husband?""Well, no," he admits. "But it could just be. . . ." He trails off and shakes his head, taking his Grandma's arm. "Grandma, let's just go in and talk about this inside, okay? I told you about not

ChiaraFor the first time in what seemed like a month, I was finally having great sleep. Fia’s old lumpy bed is a far cry from the dirty floors of that warehouse and the flea-infested couch in the cabin in the woods, and my comfort was enough to make me forget about the awkward kiss.Or maybe I’m just going crazy.Either way, I should have known that the bliss was too good to be true.Because a couple of hours into sleeping, I find myself shaken awake.“No,” I groan before I can even open my eyes, thinking that my disruptor is Fia. “Please, let me--”“Chiara,” a man’s voice says. “Please wake up.”I finally pry my eyes open, still sticky with sleep. In the dim light, I see two faces looming over mine. Gio and Alessio, with Alessio kneeling beside my bed.“What?” I ask in a daze. “What’s happening?”“No time for questions,” he says urgently. “You need to get up and come with Gio, okay?”That statement is enough to shock me awake. “What do you mean to come with Gio? Where?”“The mob is

Alessio The moment I hear the cars roaring in the distance, I knew that this was going to end badly. Or at least, worse than it already is. The sudden surge of strength that Lycus’s attempt of taking over brought is now wearing off, and now I’m fully aware that I just killed Benedetti with my bare hands, and Chiara is on the ground slowly bleeding to death. My heart races with fear and nerves and another emotion I can’t fully name, but my body seems to be working on its own now. Before I can even fully process the whole thing, I already find myself leaning over Chiara, ripping off a piece of my shirt to tie around her middle and stop the flow of her blood. However, just as I finish securing the knot, the cars pull up in the parking lot. I turn around, only to be met with dozens of men with machine guns aimed at me. And without another word, they all shoot. The bullets aren’t silver, which means that I can and will walk away from here unscathed, but Chiara won’t. I take her in my

ChiaraMy heart drops to my chest. I feel like I just saw something private, something I shouldn’t have witnessed.The woman comes with Alessio as he goes over to me, and I take note of her trying really hard to hold onto him even though he’s subtly trying to shake her off. I don’t know if I should feel happy about that or not. All I know is that I don’t want to look at any of them and questions are whirling inside my head.Who is this woman? What is she to him exactly? How long was I out and what made this happen? Are they together?My brain is about to spout more questions but the Alessio reaches me and eagerly sits down on the chair next to my bed. He takes my hand and touches my face, his fingertips slowly grazing my skin. “Finally you’re awake.”The sensation of him being this close is making me feel warm and relaxed, but all these emotions vanish when I see that the woman is still standing beside him. He’s looking at me expectantly, but it takes me a while to think of the words.

ChiaraThe first thing that pierces my consciousness is the gleaming tip of Juliet’s blade, wandering so close to my face that I can almost feel the metal gliding across my cheek.The last second reaction of my insticts is the only thing that saves my face from being sliced open.“What was that?” I demand, gasping for air. “What are you doing?”Juliet smirks. “Teaching you how to fight.”With that, she attacks again, sweeping her leg under my feet to knock me off balance. This time, I’m more prepared. I jump back to avoid her leg, then I raise my sword and take a jab at her chest.She parries my blow, our blades clanging. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but I can feel her trying to twist my sword out of my grasp so I copy her move. When she realizes what I’m attempting to do, she gives me a swift punch on the face.But to my surprise, I catch her hand and use the momentum to redirect her blow, letting her arm bend at an awkward angle until I hear something pop.“Fuck!” she curses