Chapter 4
1389 Words
Luciano Remus
Luciano Remus returned to Rome carrying the weight of exile on his shoulders.
Four long years spent abroad had carved scars across his heart — and left him with a guilt that never faded. He blamed the Romulus clan for the deaths of his mother and beloved sister. The memories burned inside him, turning grief into fire, pain into purpose.
Luciano had never known a world without war. From his youth he had been taught to be strong, cold, merciless — the perfect heir to his father, the former Alpha. Now he was young, but already hardened — a leader forged in blood and betrayal, determined to ensure that no one from the Romulus pack would ever rule Rome again.
He looked at the city as if it were a chessboard — every hill, every street a potential battlefield. The neutral territories were his first target. Around him, he gathered the most loyal, the most ruthless, those who would follow him into the storm. Tonight, they would begin the campaign that would shake the balance of power in the Eternal City.
But beneath the armor of the Alpha, there was still a man — wounded, restless, driven not only by vengeance but by a thirst for justice.
And tonight, victory deserved to be celebrated.
Dario had suggested the club L’Equilibrio. They sat together in the dim glow of the bar, the bass pulsing through the floor. People were laughing, dancing, losing themselves in the night.
“That’s it, Luciano!” Dario grinned, raising his glass. “The neutral hills are ours now. The Romulus bastards won’t dare to step foot there again.”
Luciano smirked, swirling the whiskey in his glass.
“Don’t celebrate too soon, Dario. Just because we can’t smell them doesn’t mean they’re asleep. Romulus never surrenders without a fight.”
“You’re always so damn serious,” Dario teased. “Take a breath. We’ve earned this.”
“Rest is for the weak,” Luciano replied, his tone like steel. “As long as I breathe, Romulus will know — their days are numbered. I won’t let them dictate the rules in my city.”
Dario laughed.
“That’s the spirit! Your mother and sister didn’t die for nothing. We’ll make them pay in full.”
Luciano’s jaw tightened. His fist clenched around the glass.
“This isn’t revenge,” he said quietly. “It’s justice. And tonight is only the beginning. These neutral hills belong to us now. Tomorrow — the whole of Rome.”
The air shifted. Beneath the music and smoke, something in the room changed — a scent, faint but familiar.
Luciano froze.
The smell of a foreign wolf — unmistakable, unwelcome. His lips curved into a cold, dangerous smile.
“Do you smell that?” he murmured, his eyes narrowing toward the entrance.
Dario followed his gaze, frowning. Moments later, a few men walked in — confident, silent, carrying the power of wolves who had no fear.
Luciano rose to his feet, his movements sharp, predatory.
“So they came after all.”
The fight broke out instantly — fast, brutal, unavoidable.
The club erupted into chaos. Music shattered into noise. Fists, claws, the stench of blood and adrenaline. Luciano fought like a storm — fast, merciless, precise.
One of the Romulus wolves tried to escape through the crowd.
“There!” Dario shouted, pointing.
Luciano moved in, his pack close behind. The boy never stood a chance. The beating was swift and cruel — a message written in bruises and blood.
When the enemy finally dropped to the floor, gasping for air, Luciano crouched down beside him. His voice was calm, almost quiet.
“Remember this well. From tonight on, these hills belong to Remus. Tell your Alpha — we’re done bowing.”
He stood, and with one clean strike, sent the man crashing several feet away — straight to the bar.
And that’s when he saw her.
Their eyes met. Time stopped.
In the midst of chaos — the shouting, the smoke, the broken glass — she was there. Calm. Proud. Beautiful in a way that made his heart stutter.
In her gaze, he saw a challenge — and something else, something ancient. Recognition.
It hit him like lightning.
He couldn’t look away. The noise of the club faded, leaving only her and the pounding of his heart.
Luciano felt something he hadn’t felt in years — not anger, not hunger, but a pull. A bond.
Who is she? What power hides behind that face? Her beauty was sharp as a blade — the proud tilt of her chin, the defiance in her eyes, the quiet command in her every breath. She wasn’t merely a woman. She was a force.
A wolf.
Just like him.
But then — confusion. Her scent.
There was none.
He inhaled deeper, searching, testing. Nothing. No trace of a pack. No trace of the wolf. Only the faint, human heartbeat.
Impossible.
Every instinct screamed otherwise. She felt like a wolf. Every movement, every look carried that untamed fire. Yet by scent… she was human.
Why?
Is she hiding it? Or has her wolf not awakened?
The questions only fueled his obsession.
Who are you, beautiful creature? And why does my wolf recognize you… as his mate?
He knew it with a certainty older than memory — she was his. Not by logic, not by choice, but by instinct. The kind that came from blood and fate.
Luciano didn’t believe in fated mates. He never had. Until now.
And she — the way she held his gaze, unflinching, regal — she knew it too. Even if she didn’t understand what it meant yet.
She rose and walked away, leaving him frozen in place, his pulse hammering in his throat.
He sat back down, his friends laughing and talking as if nothing had happened. But his world had already changed.
A few minutes later, she returned to the bar.
He watched her — the graceful movements, the calm confidence of a huntress who knew her power. She didn’t look at him, but she knew he was watching.
He signaled to the bartender. A glass of red wine. A silent apology. A test.
She turned — and their eyes met again.
It felt like a current between them, charged and unstoppable.
She didn’t look away. Her gesture was slow, elegant, as if she were a queen accepting tribute. And then that smile — soft, knowing, dangerous.
She’s playing.
But Luciano could play too.
He lifted his glass in response, his stare never breaking. The world narrowed to just the two of them.
She didn’t drink. She simply let the moment breathe — and then, like a whisper of fate, she stood and stepped onto the dance floor.
Luciano followed her with his eyes, every muscle tense. His friends joked, oblivious. He couldn’t hear them. All he could see was her — the rhythm of her hips, the shimmer of her hair, the pulse of her freedom.
He felt something inside him snap.
Enough.
He rose. His steps were slow, deliberate, predatory. People instinctively parted — the wolf had chosen his prey.
He came up behind her, close enough for her to feel his breath.
“You like to tease,” he murmured, his voice low, rough silk against her skin. “But are you ready to be caught?”
She turned to face him — calm, fearless. Her lips curved.
“Are you sure you can?”
He leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear.
“I already have. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
And then, the game truly began.
They moved together — not just dancing, but circling each other like predators, testing, daring, burning.
His hands found her waist — confident, commanding, but gentle. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she leaned into him, her back against his chest, her heartbeat matching his.
The world disappeared.
There were no packs, no clans, no war. Only the fire between them.
He knew he should stop. She was a stranger. Maybe even an enemy.
But his wolf didn’t care.
She was his.
And she… she felt it too.
In that moment, two souls collided — hunter and prey, Alpha and Luna — and neither of them would ever be the same again.
- Writer
