Chapter 19 Luca
CHAPTER 19: LUCA
Luca leaned back on Cal’s Ducati where they’d just parked and took in the pack house he’d grown up in. He’d always loved the soaring windows and black cladding, but it no longer felt like home. Rubbing his chest, he looked over at Cal standing next to him and smiled. That was his home right there. In the heart of his water wolf. He intended to spend the rest of his life curled up safe inside that den.
“No regrets?” Cal asked softly as he held out a hand to help Luca off his bike.
“Only that I didn’t find you sooner.”
“We found each other when we were ready, baby. I’m so proud of you.”
The praise filled him with warmth like always, and the bond they’d completed three days earlier only made it better. Now he could feel the emotion behind Cal’s words, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Cal wasn’t trying to manipulate him and he didn’t think Luca was weak. His big, protective mate was genuinely proud of him .
“I love you,” Luca said, letting himself revel in the bond a moment longer.
“Ewwww. Why’d you have to go and catch feelings?” Aria called from the house nearby.
Just for that, Luca leaned in close and drew Cal into a filthy kiss, flipping his sister a middle finger behind his back as he did so. She just laughed.
“Haven’t you done enough of that already?” Silas teased, and when Luca finally looked up again, all his closest family was approaching.
Marco was the first to wrap him in a hug. “I’m so happy for you, cousin. Love looks good on you.”
Luca watched in amusement as Cal stiffened in surprise when he got the same treatment, Marco embracing him like the family he was.
“Welcome to the pack, Cal. Luca said you’ve been running self-defence lessons in your back rooms. We’ve cleared one of our warehouses near the shelter if you want a bigger space and you’ll have plenty of volunteers from the pack to help. The building’s only ever been used for the legal side of our operations. No links to anything you wouldn’t be comfortable with,” Marco said.
Luca could’ve kissed his cousin. He knew Cal was still wary of being drawn into their illegal dealings. With his words, Marco had made it clear they understood and no one was expecting him to be involved in the family business.
“I don’t know what to say, Alpha. Thank you,” Cal said, pulling Luca into his side like he needed an anchor in the sea of packmates welcoming him. His use of Marco’s title was the final piece of the unspoken negotiation of their relationship between them.
Luca was smiling so hard his cheeks ached. He’d learned to love being taken care of by Cal, but he still appreciated that it went both ways. He would always be there for his mate .
“Guess I’ve got another brother now,” Aria said, reaching out to clasp Cal’s hand.
Glancing around, Luca saw a familiar face lingering on the outskirts of their family like he wasn’t sure if he belonged anymore.
“Emmy! When did you get back?” he cried, pulling away from Cal to go to his cousin, Uncle Gio’s son.
“Last night,” Emilio said, still holding back with an enigmatic expression.
Luca wasn’t having any of that. “Come meet my mate,” he said, wrapping an arm around Emmy’s waist and all but dragging his cousin with him.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want me around after Dad…” Emilio said.
Luca turned back to his cousin and stared into his eyes, needing him to see the truth of his words. “You’re not responsible for your father’s actions, and I don’t intend to hold a grudge against him beyond the grave. Nothing he did takes away from the fact that he also saved me. And nothing he did affects how I feel about you at all. I still love you, cuz.”
Cal pressed a kiss to his temple as he finished talking, and Luca took a deep, shuddering breath. He hadn’t realised until he spoke the words that they were how he felt. He was so angry at what Gio had done, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still grateful every day for what the man had been and done for him.
Emilio nodded, but Luca could see he didn’t really believe him. That was okay. One day he’d realise he meant the words. He couldn’t blame his cousin for his wariness. He’d noticed the way some of their packmates were watching his cousin like they thought betrayal was inheritable. Like Emilio was somehow supposed to know Gio was a traitor from halfway around the world when none of the rest of them had seen it when it was right in front of their faces .
They spent the rest of the afternoon on the lawn bordering the pack’s forests, drinking and talking. Children tumbled around them in human and wolf form, and Cal and Luca even managed to sneak off for their own private run, tails wagging as they nipped and chased each other in the failing autumn light until they found the perfect spot to lie on the grass by the river and make love in the shadows of the trees.
Knowing looks and teasing words greeted them when they returned, but Luca was too happy to give a shit.
“Time to say goodbye to our family and head home?” Cal murmured into his hair as they left the pack house after dinner.
His strong arm was wrapped tight around Luca’s waist as his thumb snuck up under his shirt to trace tantalising circles against his skin.
Luca smiled up at him, pausing to take in the image of his mate under the moonlight. “You said our family. I like that. A lot,” he said.
Cal leaned down and brushed a kiss over his lips, his tongue flicking out and leaving a trace of wetness that buzzed against his skin with the familiar touch of his magic. Luca shivered and chased his mouth as he pulled away, pushing his half-hard erection into Cal’s thigh and whining.
“No fair. I want you too much. I’m going to be aching all the way home,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Be a good boy and we can play later,” Cal whispered into his ear, biting down on the lobe.
Grabbing Cal’s hand, Luca tugged him toward where they’d parked the bike. Chuckling, Cal followed after him.
The darkness was edged with the chill promise of the coming winter as they drove home, but Luca had never felt warmer as he pressed tight to Cal’s back, the Ducati’s motor purring between their thighs. His mate reached down to squeeze his leg .
This was the life.
As they passed the entrance to the club to park behind it, Cal’s security looked up from checking IDs to wave to them from the door, smiling. It wasn’t just Cal who’d gained a new pack when they’d mated. Luca hadn’t spent much time getting to know the club’s staff yet, but he would make the effort just like Cal was with his pack because this was it for him.
As they headed in through the garage entrance, Luca grabbed Cal’s hand, pulling him away from the stairs up to the penthouse and toward the club instead.
The noise and scents were just as overwhelming as the last time he’d come, but this time it was Cal who had to deal with the unfamiliar sensory overload. A cheer went up from the bar staff as they entered and his sweetly clueless mate froze in surprise.
“How the fuck do you keep getting sexier, Cal? Welcome to the family, Luca!” the bartender Eve called.
Luca knew Cal had worried about whether his staff would still accept him now he was a shifter and tied to the Lunetti Pack with a bond that could never be broken. His mate hadn’t said anything, probably hadn’t even realised how he was feeling, but it had been obvious from the way he’d been delaying coming back here.
Cal had nothing to worry about. He’d earned his staff’s respect and love long ago with the way he looked out for them all. They would follow him wherever he led. Luca could relate.
Sensing Cal was still processing, Luca pulled his mate out onto the dancefloor before spinning around to grind his ass against Cal’s groin. As the beat of the music shifted to something primal, Luca reached back to tangle his fingers in Cal’s hair as he danced .
“Remember the last time I did this?” he murmured, knowing Cal would hear despite the background noise.
The reassuring sense of Cal that was ever-present in his mind now throbbed with desire.
“How could I forget? You came untouched. It was beautiful.”
“Maybe I’ll put on another show for you sometime,” Luca said, eyeing up the floating platforms where Cal’s dancers were driving the crowds wild.
Cal growled. “Only for me.”
“Once we close,” Luca agreed. Cal let go of his grip on him and Luca whined in complaint. “What are you doing?”
“Calling Ben to get him to start turning people away.”
Laughing, Luca spun and stole Cal’s phone from him before heading back toward the bar. “Don’t ruin everyone’s fun. You’ve got forever to watch me dance.”
“Holy shit,” Cal whispered.
“Only just hit you, huh, boss? We’re all glad you’re going to be around for a long time to come. And now you can finally try our signature shifter-strength whiskey,” Eve said, pouring him a dram. She was a lion shifter. One without a pride except for the one Cal had made for her at the club.
“The pack’s got a good supply of shifter-strength Chianti if you ever want to branch out,” Luca chimed in.
“That so? Sounds good to me. We could use a bit of variety,” Eve said.
“Is that okay? I promise the source is above board. We pay sales tax and everything,” Luca said, looking up at Cal. He knew his mate was still adjusting to his new connection to the pack.
“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, baby. I trust you,” Cal said, running his scruff over his neck and deepening their entwined scents.
“I trust you, too. ”
It was a higher compliment than anything else he could say. Luca was Cal’s. And Cal was his. As they sat and joked with Eve, he could see a future that was as bright as the blue of Cal’s power shining in the bar. They would build something even more beautiful here—together.
As partners. As equals. As mates.