Luca With The Lid Off Novels & Stories

fragrance line. I stood in the spotlight, wearing a backless silver gown. I was no longer just the jilted Luna. I was Elara, the genius Perfumer celebrated across the continent, an idol to countless young she-wolves. My scents could not only soothe an Alpha’s rage but also heal the souls of those shattered by the loss of a Mate.

Luca brought the stop at the side of the road, opposite the underground parking lot they had used the previous time. He brought out a 9mm from the glove compartment and raised his brows to her, "Will you protect yourself with this?" Linda scoffed and unlocked the door, "I'm natural, CEO Luca. Keep the human toy" He shook his head and laughed, "You never change" Luca strafed outside the window and voiced out, "This might take longer than expected. Be patient, just like the stalkers" She nodded and said, "Are you going to kill them?"

All of them. Eli asked if Claire would agree. Luca said he would talk to her. Claire came over that afternoon. Luca told her his idea. Claire was quiet for a moment. Then she said yes. Derek would have wanted it that way. We drove to the bank. We took the box. We drove to a field outside the city. Luca poured gasoline on the box. Eli lit a match. The fire rose. The USB drives melted. The videos turned to ash. We watched until nothing was left.

Luca stood alone in the dimly lit attic, dust motes dancing in the single beam of light from the small window. He had come up here looking for an old toolbox something practical, something to keep his hands busy so his mind wouldn’t spiral. But his fingers brushed against a small, faded cardboard box tucked behind a stack of old photo albums. He knew what it was the moment he saw it. His hands trembled as he pulled the box down and sat on the dusty floor. The lid came off too easily.

It held. Luca let out a breath, low and steady. “We’re done.” The words sat there, heavy, like they needed a second to make sense. I stared at the vial. My fingers twitched. “We’re done?” I repeated, like an idiot. Luca gave the smallest nod. “Almost.” Almost? Before I could open my mouth, he reached for something else. Another vial. Different. Not like the others. Not plant-based. Not chemical. Something other.

Luca motioned for Arlen to guard the door as he entered the forbidden room. "Are we here to steal something?" Arlen hesitated. "I'm borrowing a text for a few days," Luca clarified. "Yeah, without the knowledge of the monks." "Be vigilant. I won't take too long." Luca had to move swiftly if he wanted to stay unnoticed. Arlen dutifully remained by the clay door, periodically checking for any approaching figures. Meanwhile, Luca ventured further into a chamber filled with scrolls, stacked in a special arrangement. One bad pull and everything would fall off their burrows. Luca had to skillfully locate the specific scroll he was searching for, and when he found it, it took twice the patience and

Luca signed, grabbed the bag, and bumped my shoulder with his on the way back down the hall. We ate on the kitchen floor because neither of us wanted to sit somewhere respectable. Greasy boxes. Cold soda. Bare knees. It felt like a secret picnic. “By the way,” Luca said, mouth full, “I’m deleting the doomscrolling apps off your phone tomorrow.” “What? Why?” “Because you read headlines instead of sleeping,” he said. “And because I like you rested.” He licked sauce from his thumb. “You make better noises.”

She couldn’t disguise the distress looking at the condom. “As much as I want to take you bare, but I want to feel you when I get to take you with Hugo. Don’t think for a second that I don’t want you, but...” Luca closed his eyes for a while before opening them again. He pulled Caterina to sit up for a while.

Luca lets out a low, rough laugh that sends a strange shiver racing down my spine. The sound is dark, almost amused, and far too intimate. He turns off the gas. Then, without any rush, he hooks his thumbs into the strings of the apron behind his back and unties it, and then he hooks his thumbs into the strings around his neck and slowly pulls it up and over his head. The movement is unhurried, almost lazy, and I try…

“Then it makes chocolate gelato automatically. Problem solved.” From the kitchen came Luca’s voice, rich with amusement. “I heard that!” He appeared moments later, sleeves rolled up, a dish towel thrown over his shoulder. The years had deepened the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, but also broadened the sense of ease in his presence. He carried himself like a man who had once been forced into battle but had chosen, deliberately, stubbornly, to lay down his sword and build instead. “Chocolate gelato fixes everything,” Luca said, swooping Noah into a hug. “Maybe we should patent this invention.”