Luca was still seething.I sat in silence, unable to wrap my mind around Johnathan's words and nearly giving myself a headache trying to decipher the riddle I felt like he'd given me.Getting out of the bug, I followed Blaine, Bates and Luca to the door at the base of the tower. When we walked inside, my eyes took a moment to adjust fromthe bright sunshine to the darkness.The entire structure was just level after level of mesh, metal flooring with desks of computers and monitors occupied by people wearing headsets and headphones. A tall spiral staircase shot up from the center of the floor.I followed Bates, Blaine and Luca all the way up to the top, passing each floor. When we reached the top, I finally caught a glimpse of daylight through the window that ran the entire circumference of thebuilding, allowing me to see the men who circled the outside of the water tower and surveilled the land below.Lincoln was standing behind a desk, looking at a digital map when Luca walked up to

"We've got to stop."I leaned against a boulder, trying to catch my breath."How much farther?" I asked breathlessly.Luca turned to me from where he stood a few feet in front of me on the trail, thumbs tucked under his backpack straps."Less than half a mile," he answered."C'mon, we can rest at the top."I could tell he was annoyed.Clearly, I didn't have the stamina to climb a mountain in less than an hour, much less keep up with someone who did."I hate hiking," I admitted, taking a gulp from my water bottle."That would have been nice to know before we got more than halfway up a mountain," he said sarcastically."I was just trying to be a good sport," I admitted, standing straight to continue walking."You've done a terrible job at it," he laughed, walking next to me."I could still see where we parked the truck behind you when you started complaining.""This view better be spectacular," I wheezed, feeling my side cramp."It'll be worth it."Luca took my hand in his and basically

I woke up, hours later, to the bright sunshine in my eyes. Squinting, I sat up as I realized it was early afternoon. I looked around to see the room was empty, noticing the blood stains all over the sheets and duvet.Remembering what had happened, I was suddenly wide awake. I lifted my hand to my neck and felt the scab that had formed over the wound. Getting off the bed, I walked into the bathroom to inspect it further.God, I'm a mess, I thought, staring at my wild hair and the dried blood caked along my neck and shoulder. I took a washcloth and rubbed at my skin with warm water, exposing the scar and the bruising around it.The mark looked more like a bite than I had anticipated it would. Every mark I had ever seen looked more like a pale, mouth-sized ring. But then again, I had never seen a mark left by an Alpha.Their canines were longer and more prominent, meaning the bite was deeper and left behind more scar tissue.While a mark didn't technically ward off offending males, it w

I woke up the next morning on top of Luca, my bare chest pressed against his. Feeling the breeze of the ceiling fan on my back, I shuddered- realizing soon after that the chills I felt came from the long traces up and down the length of my back by Luca's fingers.They ran up to the base of my neck and down the curvature of my spine to the last vertebrae, stopping just above my panties."Good morning," he said, his deep voice still hoarse with sleep.I hummed.After laying there for a few moments, I finally placed my hands next to his body and pushed myself up."Don't move," he told me, putting both hands on my hips. I gave him a hard stare as I felt his boner pressing against my thigh."It's morning," he said defensively, despite the slight smile on his lips.Pushing myself off of him, I rolled over to get out of the bed."You're one sexy ass woman," Luca told me, watching as I walked to the bedroom door.Blushing, I opened the bedroom door quickly to go upstairs and change into cloth

Although Luca suffered several heart attacks in the passenger seat on the way there, the McLaren and I both made it to the store in one piece.He made me park in the very back of the parking lot, where no one else was parked."It's a bit ridiculous to walk this far," I told him, walking through the parking lot."I'm in heels.""Cushion protection," he explained.When we walked inside, we made our way over to where the party supplies were and we found the plates and napkins with relative ease."I'm going to get a case of beer" he told me."I'm sure Mom didn't get any.""For an eighteenth birthday party? Probably not," I said sarcastically.I followed him over to the aisle where the alcohol was stocked, standing behind him as he looked over his options. I turned to see a group of college-aged girls standing by the spiked seltzer, staring at Luca. They were giggling, holding their hands over their mouths as they gawked.I rolled my eyes.You don't see me standing right here? I thought."