The Bear Chef Luca Novels & Stories

The voice of my warning echoed through the room, "We can't go any further. The bear is nursing her cubs up ahead. If we intrude, it'll see us as a threat and attack." "Kate, you're too timid. What's there to be afraid of? This is a rare sight. Of course, we have to capture it on camera. Right, Damon?" "This is why we came, after all. We can't miss it." ... Upon witnessing the "truth," everyone stared at the two of them on the bed, unable to believe their eyes. The sympathy they had once felt turned to incredulity, like they were looking at fools. "Damon, you're a seasoned wildlife photographer. How could you not know this basic common sense?"

A part of me hoped the drugs would work perfectly and I would be rid of the plague as I termed it now but a part of me knew the likelihood of that happening was low Soft footsteps behind me startled me and I turned behind me in time to see Luca standing behind me with his hands in his white sweatpants and wet hair. He looked so casual that it felt weird to see him that way. “Alright. Let's start”, he muttered switching on the lights and going behind the counter and pulling out a chopping board and vegetables. “What do you wanna make?”, I asked, sitting on the counter stool while watching him as he placed the vegetables and started chopping them skillfully.

“I heard you didn’t eat all day. You need to eat something.” “I’m not hungry,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. He stepped closer, his presence looming. “Stop being stubborn, Lucia. Sit down and eat.” He turned to Maria. “Set the table.” Reluctantly, I sat at the farthest end of the table. Lorenzo took his seat across from me, watching my every move. Maria served the meal—roasted chicken with vegetables and freshly baked bread. The aroma was enticing, and despite myself, I picked up my fork and started to eat. The food was delicious, and I realized how hungry I truly was.

A small, humble hope lit his eyes. I asked Ivy to bring him a bowl of hot soup. "Drink it and leave," I said. Luca took the bowl. His lips moved, and at last he forced out one word. "Okay." He drank too fast, as if afraid I would change my mind and take it away. When the bowl was empty, he handed it back and whispered, "Aria, can I-" "No." I took the bowl and went back into the house. Later, Luca rented an old warehouse across the lake and turned it into a place to live. Every morning, he watched from a distance while I watered the plants or carried Mia into the sun. Sometimes he left chopped firewood, repaired pipe fittings, or a baby rattle outside the fence.

Luca explained to a man who just wanted to sleep some more. And so he left for roughly fifteen minutes, waiting for the food to be ready. Luca made a few extra orders to make this meal special and insisted on carrying it up himself. He walks up the stairs carefully and makes it to the room. Luca then placed the food on the small center table and went inside to get his mate. Beaumont sensed distress the second he walked into the bedroom. At once, he grabbed the hilt of his sword, but the intruder was fast enough to hold his omega hostage, pointing a dagger to his neck.

hand on luca’s knee under the table. head on marco’s shoulder when i laugh. asking dante to cut my steak. letting nico help me with my coat. i’m making a point. these men are mine. victoria tries to steer it back to business. luca doesn’t answer. he’s watching me. when she gets up to go to the bathroom she stops at me. “you’re playing a dangerous game, chef.” “i’m not playing,” i say. “i’m claiming.” she walks away.

“I’ve seen your photo with Xavier on social media. You and Xavier really are a perfect couple. Mr. Greco will use you as a bargaining chip until Xavier agrees to hand over what we want.” Her breath caught tight in her throat, and for a second, she couldn't swallow. God, she was wrong. Terribly wrong. This man wasn’t Xavier’s henchman. He was a subordinate of Greco Volkov, the leader of Italy's second-largest mafia and the Vanderbilt clan's sworn enemy. Damn it! Were they targeting her just because they thought she was Xavier’s girlfriend and his weakness? “You’re wrong… I’m not Xavier’s girlfriend; there’s no point in doing this to me,” Anna said between gasps of pain.

“She ran a bakery in Naples. Taught me everything—about food, discipline, loyalty. I owe her everything.” The air shifted again. Amara felt the walls around her soften. He wasn’t just a billionaire chef. He was someone who got it. Who knew the sleepless nights, the worry, the quiet strength it took to show up every day and hold everything together. Before she could respond, one of the kitchen staff rushed over. “Chef, the vendors just delivered frozen sea bass instead of fresh.” Luca sighed. “Excuse me.” He walked off, already barking orders in fluent Italian, the commanding force of him reemerging like a tidal wave.

He had been a man possessed, a man who didn't care about mergers or French dinners. Luca’s gaze shifted from Sophie to me. For a heartbeat, the mask slipped. I saw the jagged edges of his panic, the raw, frantic calculation of a man caught between two worlds. He looked at my pale face, my trembling hands, and then he looked back at his fiancée. "The soufflé was perfect, Sophie," Luca said, his voice a low, steady rumble. "A bit overdone on the edges, maybe, but the chocolate was... exceptional."

Mom said, but she didn’t sound convinced either. “I’m not being dramatic. I’m being realistic. There are psycho bears out there.” Luca’s thumb stopped moving on his screen. Just for a second. Then he went back to scrolling like nothing happened. But I caught it. That tiny pause. “It was just one bear,” I said. “One bear that that almost mauled my daughter.” Dad snapped. “Bears don’t usually get that close to campsites. If Luca hadn’t been there—” “But he was.” I looked at Luca’s reflection in his window. He was staring back at me now. “He scared it off.”