LORENZO

I sighed to myself as I ran my hands through my sopping wet hair in irritation, quickly shutting Lily's laptop shut after sending the last of my emails. I tilted my head back against the living room couch, allowing my heavy eyelids to fall shut.

"Are you done?" a voice came from beside me, causing me to jolt. My eyes snapped open to reveal Lily standing above me, her brow raised and hand on her hip.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," I replied, rubbing at my eyes before passing her the laptop, noticing how she cocked her head at me, a question lingering at her lips. However, I shook my head at her, sending the message that I wasn't in the mood to talk about my thoughts and feelings.

"You disappeared into the woods alone and then spent almost an hour in the shower. Something is on your mind, Lorenzo."

I placed my palms on the rough leather of the couch, pushing myself up to a standing position, gulping as I looked at my Beta, her face masked with concern.

"I'd rather not talk about it," I said huskily, squeezing past her, ascending the stairs, making my way towards my room. But, I stopped, leaning against the cream coloured walls of the hallway, my fists tense.

I could hear Mia shuffling around in her room, and guilt overcame me as I remembered her face when I had stormed out of my office earlier.

Hearing about what the scientists had done to her sent my wolf into overdrive, and I was surprised that I hadn't shifted. Leaving the room was the best thing to do.

I knew that if I couldn't control myself, it was best not to be around my mate, especially since she wasn't one hundred percent trusting of me yet.

I made a mental note to myself to speak with Margot, wanting to hear if there was anything that I needed to know about Mia that I didn't already.

Gazing at my mate's door, I sighed, knocking on it gently, half expecting her to ignore me or direct me away. However, the harsh creaking sound of the door opening caused my eyes to widen slightly, and I watched Mia poke her head out, her eyes looking surprised.

"Can I come in?" I questioned, offering her a smile as she opened the door wider, allowing me to enter. My heavy footsteps caused the floorboards to groan underneath my weight, and I scanned the room, noticing how neat and tidy Mia had kept it. There wasn't a hair out of place.

"Margot was looking for you before she left," spoke Mia, fiddling with her fingers nervously, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear.

I nodded, my tongue clicking as I thought. "That's fine. I'll give her a call to rearrange your next session with her. I mean, if that's what you would like?"

I watched as my mate dropped eye contact, her brown eyes fixated on the grey rug splayed out in the middle of the room. She looked indecisive, and I slowly made my way towards her, taking her small hands in my own. "Mia, if talking about it is too much for you-"

"I don't think it's me that it's too much for," she responded quickly, which caused me to mentally recoil, surprised at her comment. Guilt wracked through my body, ashamed of my reaction in the office.

Mia's eyes held just a glint of humour, and I huffed in laughter, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry for my reaction," I said, watching as my mate nodded once, gulping, "I thought I was ready to hear what they did to you, but I don't think I was."

"It's okay," she said, giving my hand a quick squeeze in reassurance. "I don't blame you."

"Of course you don't," I chuckled, shaking my head, hooking a finger under her chin and gazing into her eyes lovingly, my heart skipping a beat as I studied her.

I leaned forwards, allowing my eyes to close and my lips to press against hers, my hands making their way up her face to the back of her neck. I gripped it gently, pressing her against me.

She gently moaned into the kiss, so muted that I barely even heard it, a part of me wondering if the desire that fogged my brain had fabricated it.

Suddenly, Mia was pushing on my chest, and I immediately pulled away, worried that this wasn't what she wanted and I had overstepped a boundary of hers. However, she continued to press on my chest, forcing me to take a few steps backwards until I hit the bed.

Raising a brow at my mate, I sat down, watching in satisfaction as Mia clambered onto my lap, straddling me, and slowly wrapped her arms around my neck.

I smirked, biting my lip as the feeling of Mia's body close against my own caused my heart to race, and a problem to appear down below, which I was sure Mia could feel against her.

"Sei così bella," I muttered, pressing my lips against her shoulder, trailing kisses all the way up to her neck. I smiled against her skin as she wiggled under my touch, her fingers pressing into my shoulder blades sharply.

"Lorenzo," she breathed seductively, tilting her head slightly, allowing me to connect our lips once again. My tongue gently entered her mouth as I gripped her waist, growling in pleasure as she rocked against me in an attempt to get more comfortable.

My breath hitched in my throat as pleasure wracked through my body, my wolf losing his mind from within me, eager to rip Mia's clothes off and make love to her for the rest of eternity.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated from within my pocket, causing Mia to jolt from shock, pulling away from me, her cheeks flaming red.

I groaned, reaching into my pocket, pulling my phone out, squinting my eyes as Lily's name appeared on the screen.

"Answer it," said Mia, offering me a small smile, hopping off my lap, settling down on the bed next to me.

"Hello?" I answered, frustrated that Lily had decided to interrupt something that I was very much enjoying with my mate.

"Are you ready to go? You just stormed off upstairs."

I ran my hands through my hair, shaking my head. "Go where?"

"To the lab. You said we were going?"

I blinked a few times, attempting to break myself away from my bliss stricken state, my mind cloudy. "Oh, right, yeah. Let's just do it tomorrow, Lily."

"Are you going somewhere?" wondered Mia, clearing her throat. I could tell that she felt self conscious about what had just happened, and was trying to distract me.

"I was supposed to be, but I don't have to," I said, which caused Mia to shake her head, offering me a smile.

"No, if you have plans, please go."

I contemplated for a few seconds, clicking my tongue as I thought.

"I really don't mind," Mia encouraged me, smiling.

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute, Lily," I said, standing up, shoving my phone back into my pocket, knowing full well that my manhood was still overly excited underneath my black jogging bottoms. "Lily and I are heading out to the lab. We need to go and destroy any remaining evidence of our existence that anyone could find, but I'll be back soon. I promise."

My heart skipped a beat as I noticed Mia's eyes quickly dart down to the waistband of my joggers, and I knew I had to leave now or else I wouldn't be able to.

"I'll send Caspian to keep you company, but you don't have to stay stuck up here sweetheart. Go downstairs and watch some TV or grab a snack if you'd like," I said before pressing a quick kiss to her head, exiting the room.

As I descended the stairs, I noticed Lily's impatient expression, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, tight at the back of her head.

"Don't give me sass," I muttered as I grabbed my car keys off of the hook, making my way out of the house and across the clearing towards the large iron gate. We nodded at the multiple guards who stood by it, their heads bowing at us in respect.

"Send Caspian to the house," I ordered them as I pulled open the door to my black jeep, hopping in, waiting until Lily did the same.

"So what if there is any left over evidence of our existence at the lab?" inquired Lily as the guards opened the large gate for us, allowing us to exit.

"We destroy it. We don't need anyone finding it," I replied, pulling onto the dirt road, pressing my foot down on the accelerator. I just wanted to get this over and done with and get back to Mia, worry filling me after leaving so quickly, especially after things had unexpectedly got so heavy.

"Most of it will be gone. Not a lot can survive explosives."

I nodded, zooming around the corner, the trees becoming more and more scattered as we exited our territory.

The thought of visiting the lab again made me feel physically feel sick, and I had to take a few deep breaths in order to calm myself.

Images of Mia's blood covered frail body being carried towards me by one of my warriors caused my stomach to drop again, my wolf becoming angsty as the memory resurfaced.

"What was up earlier?" muttered Lily as she fiddled around with the car radio, attempting to make the conversation casual and non-intrusive.

"I don't know," I replied, sighing. "I'm just trying to be strong for Mia, but she's been through so much."

Lily nodded in understanding, taking a deep breath. "She's doing so well though. I really don't know how she's done it. She really is Luna material."

"Yeah, she is," I agreed, pride overwhelming my body, my heart feeling warm at the thought of my mate officially becoming the Luna of my pack. I was more than excited for the day. "I want to thank you though Lily. You've been amazing with her."

"Of course," she said, smiling.

"Natasha has been great too. I can tell that her and Mia get on really well."

Lily nodded. "She loves her."

I smiled, gazing through the windscreen at the icy road in front of me, the winter sky above us dark and gloomy.

"Turn left here. It's quicker," said Lily as she pointed, leading me down another dirt path, leaving the main one.

I switched on my headlights as the sky grew even more dull above us, manoeuvring the car up the hill as we reached the clearing where the lab was located.

I cut the engine, hopping out, taking in the now dismantled laboratory, piles of rubble surrounding the broken building, half of the side wall missing.

"I trust the guards disposed of all the bodies? We don't need anything looking suspicious."

"Of course," I said, striding across the grass, gently pushing the thick black metal door open, the smell of  bleak chemicals hitting my nostrils, causing me to grimace.

Stepping in, I was careful as I moved, shuffling over any flooring that was cracked slowly and avoiding opening doors that were supporting the crumbling ceiling.

"I'm going to check in the office," said Lily from beside me, disappearing down a corridor, leaving me to sift through the drawers of the desks that were placed in a few of the rooms. But I found nothing but stationary tools and useless receipts.

Glass crunched underneath my feet, and I gazed over at the reminiscence of a holding chamber, the bottom corner of it being the only surviving part.

Scowling at it, I turned away, winding down the corridor towards Lily's whereabouts, sticking my head round a corner to see her crouched down in the corner. She was fiddling with something under the main desk, groaning as she mumbled to herself.

I chuckled, bracing my arms against the doorway above me, allowing it to take my weight, satisfied that this part of the building wasn't going to cave in on us. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to remember the code to the stupid safe," growled my Beta in annoyance, cursing to herself. "I swear I saw Melissa enter it a few times."

"Why do you want what's in the safe?"

"It's where they would put a lot of their research. It was forbidden to be taken out, so if I can get in here then I'm pretty sure all evidence of werewolves will be gone from the premises."

"Just break it," I suggested.

"I can't. It's made of silver. The dile isn't though, so if I can just remember the code, then I'll be able to get inside."

I nodded, straightening myself up and dusting my hands off, gazing around the room. "It doesn't look like much else survived."

"Got it!" cheered Lily.

I watched as she swung the door open to the built-in safe, reaching her hand into it, careful not to touch the sides of it, growling to herself after a few seconds of feeling around.

"What?"

"Lorenzo, it's gone."

•••

Translation:

Sei così bella- you are so beautiful

Thank you all for reading!