The Prophecy

|| Chapter Nineteen ||

By the time Bea pried her eyes open, the room was bright and she was alone in the large bed. She could hear soft murmurs from the other side of the door and a tentative sniff confirmed that breakfast had already been delivered. She rolled over to try and take in the view of Naples in the light but felt warmth spread across her cheeks when she spied the light imprints of her bottom and Alexander’s large hands on the glass. 

Feeling cheeky, she traced a finger over her mark, down her sternum, making sure to detour briefly over her erect n*****s, before traveling further south. Her fingers delved over her belly and between her legs, smoothly tracing circles over her lips and the surface of her increasingly damp core.  

As if on cue, the bedroom door blew open and Alexander marched in, eyes ablaze with lust. He closed the door silently behind him and in one swift motion, pounced onto the bed, caging his little tease of a mate beneath him.  

“Morning,” she greeted, kissing him on the tip of his nose.  

He squinted his eyes at her before returning the greeting, pecking her lightly on the lips, “Is there something I can help you with, mate?”  

“Mmm, yes. But we have a packed itinerary today.” She grinned cheekily and attempted to roll out from under him but he was too quick, catching her and rolling onto his back so she lay flush over him.  

“Responsibilities can wait,” he growled. Alexander ran his hands through her hair and down her back, slipping under the sheets to stroke her skin.  

She lay her head on his chest and breathed his scent in, closing her eyes and wishing for this moment to not end. But she knew they had to go see Ricci today and maybe they’d be one step closer to finishing this whole fiasco. She’d finally be able to avenge her father and all those other lives lost, then maybe she’d be able to settle down and enjoy her new mated life.  

As if he could sense her thoughts, Alexander stopped stroking her back and pushed against her shoulder for her to sit astride him instead. His eyes had reverted back to the brilliant blue she’d come to find comfort in and this time, they shone with understanding.  

With a sigh, Bea pushed off of Alexander and rolled herself off the bed. “Later, ok? We have to see Ricci.”  

“That’s a promise. Ricci is sending a car to pick us up in an hour so get dressed and let’s get you caffeinated. We don’t one these wolves to be victimized by morning Bea.”  

He chuckled at her indignant look and quickly ducked in to kiss her on the lips. 

--- 

Aside from the obvious physical advantages that werewolves and Lycans enjoy, they are also blessed with more acute senses than the average human. Ordinarily, this would be something to be grateful for but when it comes to blending into the human population and trying to live amongst them, these attributes aren’t as welcome.  

Pollution comes to mind with the various assortment of smells constantly assaulting the senses of every wolf but the real issue stems from the noise. Humans are loud and can’t seem to really appreciate silence. No appreciation of bird song, no appreciation of hearing the rustle of the leaves when the wind comes past. So, it’s really no wonder that most wolf packs set up their bases deep in what the humans would class as wilderness. 

Giulio Romano, who introduced himself as the Beta of Occhio del Lupo, had tapped on their door exactly an hour after Alexander left Bea to his own devices. He was tanned, tall, and built like every other male wolf but sported a head of curly hair and a mischievous glint that rivaled Jasper. He was accompanied by pack warriors and the entourage split evenly between two Jeeps with dark tinted windows.  

They’d driven swiftly out of the heavily populated city and were soon driving down a winding dirt road flanked by tall trees. 40 minutes later, they crossed the invisible boundary line of the pack, and wolves burst from the tree lines to run alongside the cars as if escorting them to the packhouse. 

The sprawling villa that appeared over the horizon was reminiscent of a typical Italian country house; red brick walls, large wooden doors with matching window panes. Where most pack houses had multiple floors and were tall rather than wide, the packhouse of Occhio del Lupo was wide with a large courtyard in the back that was teeming with activity. Similar structures could be seen in close proximity but were dwarfed in size.  

Inside, the ceilings were high with tasteful wood accents. Where Dark Moon’s décor was a modernised Downton Abbey, this packhouse makes one think of Sunday dinner at grandma’s house.  

Ricci was in the back courtyard, engrossed in a conversation when he spotted them. Smiling widely, he excused himself and walked into the house, greeting Bea warmly with a kiss on her cheek.  

“Alpha and Luna Knight, welcome to Italy!” He shook Alexander’s hand and nodded towards Jasper and Matthias. He gestured towards the crowd in the courtyard who were beginning to settle into seats along a long wooden table laden with food.  “Sunday lunch, it’s a tradition here. If you’re available on Sunday then you come here and let the pack nonnas feed you. Although to be fair, Sunday lunch is probably a permanent fixture on most people’s calendars.”  

“We have something similar back home. Picnic at the village markets. Some of our members offer up the most amazing produce and the cooks do tend to stock up the pantry on the weekend.” Alexander replied, following Ricci through the doorway. 

Ricci lead the entourage through the courtyard, nodding at the curious gazes of passing pack members. They walked further away from the courtyard towards a winding path, leading towards a smaller house just over the hill. “Many years ago, the Elders built a library to keep and study the history of our pack. All our artifacts can be found there. Now, the Elders insist they’re the keepers of our history, and most actually moved in to reside within the library. Workaholics,” he shrugged.  

“You’re telling me you can get away from your work, Alpha?” Matthias called out from behind them. Giulio sniggered and Ricci raised his hands in defeat.  

As they neared the library the sound of breaking glass stopped them in their track. More breaking glass but this time, they could see a window on the second-floor shatter from the inside, sending glass shards towards them.  

Without a second thought, they rushed towards the door. The betas shifted in their step and made their way to the back of the building. Ricci, Alexander, and Bea rushed into the door followed by Jasper who had shifted into his Lycan.  

The pained scream of an Elder pulled them down the hall through another hallway that opened up into a large room with shelves heaving with what looks like priceless books. Bea would’ve stopped to appreciate the absolute beauty of the room but they were drawn to the crumbled body in the corner of the room.  

Bea rushed towards him, kneeling down on the floor to turn the body over. The elder shuddered and his eyes twitched to focus on her face. She gasped at the familiar injury on his neck, a deep gash rimmed with black slowly beginning to ooze green. He patted at it weakly, attempting to stop the ooze he assumed was blood, before his eyes dulled on his hand fell limply to his side. Bea reached out to close his eyelids and stood to join the men.  

“I’ve called for the warriors to get the pack to safety and to send backup,” Ricci said through gritted teeth before running through the doorway towards more crashes and thuds coming from the second floor, Jasper following closely behind.  

Purple shimmers appeared in the corner of her eye and before she could get to her feet, the dark figure shoved her against her chest, sending her flying backward. Her back hit the shelves with a hard thud and she landed on the ground, head-spinning, body aching. Her vision started to blur and just before she lost consciousness, she saw the vampire stalk towards her prone body.  

Blinded by rage at the sight of his mate flying through the air, Alexander shifted where he stood and pounced towards the vampire, tackling him to the ground. It hissed at him before he buried his teeth in the vampire’s neck, ripping open his jugular. Standing up on his hind legs now more Lycan than wolf, he picked up Bea and cradled her in his arms.  

Matthias, Jasper, situation report.  

5 vamps, working on it, Alpha.  

Good. Jasper, get down here, Bea is hurt.  

Yes, Alpha.  

Jasper appeared in the doorway and took Bea in his arms. If he was shocked at Alexander’s shifted form, he didn’t show it. Without a second glance, Alexander ran towards the stairs, skipping over the body of another dead elder. 

It was a blood bath on the second floor. There was blood splatter all over the furnishing of the living area with more bodies scattered about the floor. All the elders were in human form, having been ambushed by this little nest of vampires.  

A vampire was thrown towards Alexander who caught easily in his hands. It hissed and struggled against his grasp, clawing wildly at him but thankfully not catching any flesh. Still enraged, Alexander sunk his claws into the top of the vampire’s head and deftly ripped it off the body.  

There was a howl and Alexander rushed into the next room. Ricci, having shifted into his brown wolf, was standing over the limp body of a grey wolf, while Matthias was growling protectively over an elder. They were both gnashing their teeth and growling at the vampires who surrounded them. At the sight of Alexander, the vampires cackled and as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared in a cloud of purple shimmers.   

--- 

The angry roar shook the walls, jolting Bea awake. The white walls, sheets, and furnishing were jarring and the smell of antiseptic was not exactly soothing but at least the bed was comfortable and the sheets were nice and warm. Her head throbbed and her back was sore but a quick inspection of herself showed no further injuries.  

The door opened and Jasper poked his head in, grinning at the sight of Bea.  

“Hey,” she croaked at her bodyguard.  

“Hey yourself. You look like shit.”  

“That’s on you, Vern, aren’t you meant to be protecting me?” 

“I’m not the one who keeps running into trouble,” Jasper shrugged and settled on the edge of her bed. 

Bea swiveled and gingerly got out of bed. She was glad she hadn’t been changed into a hospital gown and was still in the jeans and shirt she had thrown on this morning. Jasper helped her back into her boots and jacket then held onto her elbow to help her out of the door.  

The packhouse was now empty and mostly quiet save for the angry discussion between the two Alphas. Alexander was tapping his fingers impatiently against the large wooden dining table while Ricci paced angrily, speaking in rapid Italian to his Beta.  

Alexander’s eyes brightened when he saw her come round the corner and rushed to settle her into a seat next to him.  

“Better?”  

“Head hurts like a b***h but nothing I can’t handle. What happened?” 

“No idea, ambush.”  

Ricci sent Giulio away and took a seat across from them. His neat dark hair was rumpled and in disarray and, now noticing, all the men were dressed in matching jumpsuits and track pants, having lost their clothes in their hurry to shift.   

“My apologies. Who knew that vampires wouldn’t trigger the boundary alarm?” Ricci took a long drink from the steaming cup next to him.  

“What now, Ricci? We need to see the volume?”  

“It’s gone.” 

“What?” This time, it was Bea who yelled, “but we came all this way!”  

“I’m sorry, Luna Knight, we searched the library after, and the volume, it’s gone,” Ricci said, apologetic.  

“But that was our only lead, Ricci, we don’t have another.”  

“We do, Bea.” Alexander placed a hand on her forearm, calming her.  

“What do you mean?” 

“We have a survivor, he’s in the pack hospital now and he’s unconscious. But we’re hoping that when he wakes up, he’ll be able to tell us something.” 

Bea buried her face in her hands and rested her head on the tabletop. They were so close but so far, it’s like every time they take a step or two forward, they were pushed back at least three steps. What was it going to take before she could have her revenge? With another sigh, she pushed herself back up and took a deep breath. “Well then, guess we’ll be in Naples for a few more days.”