Chapter 31

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height




LORENZO




My heart started to hammer against my chest and I cursed under my breath, watching my sister delve into the cavern. She disappeared into the musty darkness for a few minutes, eventually reappearing, pulling a limp blood soaked body across the floor, her face glum.

"Who the hell is that?" Caspian muttered next to me, panic evident in his voice, his hands beginning to shake.

"Please don't be," I whispered to myself, repeating the words over and over again, bouncing up and down subtly in angst, praying that the woman that Martina was dragging over to us would be either alive, or someone we had no connection with.

"She's heavy," muttered Martina as she reached us, dropping the hand of the woman she was pulling, leaving a blood trail across the grass all the way to the cavern. It meant that if the witches were to re-visit, they would know that the body had been taken.

Kneeling down next to the pale older woman, I pressed my fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse, but coming up empty.

Her body was freezing, indicating that she had been dead for a little while, the majority of the blood dry and crumbly, her eyes closed and almost peaceful looking.

"Do you know her?" Caspian asked and I shook my head.

"No, but Mia might," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose, cursing to myself.

If this deceased woman was Mia's Mother, I really had no idea how I was going to tell her that we had found her Mother dead. The thought of Mia breaking down in front of me caused my heart to shatter.

"Nobody mention this to Mia," I ordered, Caspian and Martina both nodding, looking sheepish. My sister's eyes tried to avoid the corpse, the smell strong and pungent, burning our nostrils. "I don't want to tell her until I am certain that this is her Mother."

"What do we do with the body in the meantime?" asked Martina, and I sighed, chewing on the inside of my cheek, contemplating. I didn't want the body to start to decompose until we had successfully identified the woman.

"Search her, and then place her back into the cavern, Martina," I said, huffing. "It's cold in there so hopefully it will preserve her body for a little longer."

"I'll get asking the other men if they've found or seen anything, and then we'll head back," Caspian stated, shifting into his wolf, turning to me to give me a nod as I turned to also shift.

"Caspian!" I called after him as he began to disappear into the trees. "Keep an eye on Martina. She's not trustworthy yet."

I heard my sister scoff as I shifted into my large wolf. I padded through the forest, the thought of seeing my mate spurring me on, eager to hold her and forget all of the stress of today.

Would Mia be upset with me if she found out I hadn't told her about the lady? I didn't want her to think I was keeping things from her, but I knew that if she did know, she wouldn't sleep for the next however long, anxious and uneasy until she was able to see the lady for herself and confirm whether it was her Mother or not.

The fact that Martina had reappeared was also stressing me out, but I knew how to handle her and I didn't feel bad about shooing her away if she messed with Mia or I again.

I wouldn't have her anywhere near my mate. She was useful to keep around for now since she was the only one who could step foot onto the premises of the cavern, but I would be an idiot to trust her.

I eventually reached the pack, shifting and pulling on some spare clothes hidden in the bushes. Although nakedness wasn't a big thing for us wolves, having to see each other nude all the time, I was sure that Mia wouldn't appreciate me strolling around with everything on show for other females to see.

I jogged into the house, smiling as Mia's cautious face peeped over the couch, her eyes bright once she realised it was just me.

"Ciao principessa," I said, making my way up to her and hoisting her up in my arms, twirling her around, causing her to laugh.

"I've been bored without you," she laughed, and I planted a kiss on the side of her cheek, nodding in agreement.

"And I missed you very much," I spoke, setting her down, walking over to the fridge and pulling it open, inspecting the contents of it.

"Did you find anything?" Mia questioned and I tensed up, gulping, mumbling a quick 'no' into the back of the fridge I hoped that she heard me, but guilt wracked my body for lying to my mate. I knew that it was for the best right now though.

Grabbing a slice of pizza, I munched on it as I made my way back over to Mia, settling down on the couch next to her, offering her a bite, but she declined, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"What is it?" I asked, concerned.

"I just feel useless," she spoke, her voice quiet. "You're out investigating and in danger while helping out the pack and I'm here just sitting at home. I feel like I'm not that much help around here."

"Mia, you're helping the children at the school," I said, giving her a quick peck on the lips, holding her hand gently. "You're going above and beyond for those kids and everyone is so thankful. Helping the pack isn't just about fighting and putting yourself at risk. You help the pack in so many ways."

"I do love the kids," Mia said, causing me to smile, patting her thigh.

"And they love you, but not as much as I do."

She laughed, the sound beautiful, clutching at my heart strings. I gazed into her glowing eyes, feeling extremely lucky that the universe had blessed me with such an incredible mate. She was everything I could have ever hoped for, and more. I was indebted to her.

"Are the others back yet?" asked Mia, clearly worried about their safety, and I glanced at the clock, biting on my bottom lip.

"I got a head start, but they should all be back any second now. I could hear them behind me on my way home."

"Okay good," said Mia, smiling. "I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Speaking of being hurt, have you had anymore visions?" I asked, noticing how much of a good mood Mia was in, her bubbly and bouncy personality in full swing.

"Not since last night," she stated, shrugging, taking a bite of my pizza, causing me to roll my eyes at her. I was silently relieved that she hadn't been suffering today though.

Suddenly, the front door flew open, banging against the wall, causing Mia to yelp, and I glared at Caspian as he entered, his face pale. He knew better than to make loud sudden noises around Mia.

"Lorenzo, can I speak to you please?" he said lowly, nodding for me to follow him upstairs, Mia looking at me with worry before I kissed her on the top of the head, handing her my pizza.

"It's fine, amore mio. It's just a chat," I said, turning the corner and rushing up the stairs, making my way to my office where Caspian was waiting. He was clutching something tiny in his hands, causing my brows to furrow.

"She was wearing this," Caspian spoke, opening his fist, revealing a small pocket necklace, the bejewelled gold open slightly, a small photo inside.

I took it from Caspian, opening up the necklace even more, my breath hitching in my throat as I studied the photo- a young girl was smiling with her arms wrapped around a much younger version of the woman we had found deceased.

The little girl, was a young Mia.

We had found her Mother.

"Shit," I cursed, my hands shaking, my wolf itching to be let out from within me. "Shit! Mia said her visions stopped last night, so that was probably when she died! Shit!"

Mia had already been through too much, she didn't deserve to now be told that we had found her Mother, and she wasn't alive.

"Calm down," Caspian hushed, and I began to pace, cursing to myself in lengthy Italian. "If you need me to tell Mia, I can."

"Tell me what?"

I sighed, closing my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose, facing away from the door, my mate's voice quiet and timid.

Caspian raised his brows at me, and I shook my head. "I'll do it."

Mia watched in angst as Caspian slid past her, giving her a sad smile before nudging her in, shutting the door behind him, silence filling the room.

"I'm sorry," said Mia, looking shy. "I heard you shout and I was just worried."

"No, it's okay," I said quietly, shuffling my weight from one foot to another.

How the hell was I supposed to do this? My heart was burning.

"What's wrong?"

I took Mia's hands in mine, gazing at her lovingly in the eyes, sighing. "Mia, sweetheart, when we went to the cavern today, we found...we found who we think is your Mother."

Mia's eyes widened, and she looked hopeful, her mouth hanging open slightly. "So my visions were real?"

I nodded, clearing my throat, watching as my mate took a deep breath.

"Is she okay? Is she here? Can I see her?"

I closed my eyes, gulping painfully, guilty that Mia wasn't catching on that her Mother was no longer alive, her enthusiastic questioning causing my heart to twang.

"Mia, she's dead."

•••

Translation:

Ciao principessa- Hello princess

Also, please check out my other book 'The Hunt' if you're enjoying this one! I'm having a lot of fun writing it!

Please don't forget to vote if you enjoyed reading!


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net