Make Me Kneel (Savage Kings of Tessari #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Alessio

Tessari, Italy, is full of wolves, and tonight those wolves howl and gnash their teeth against the bones of their enemies without hesitation.

There’s no time to run and hide, as if I even would.

I have to remain stone cold for the sake of my family.

I can’t let my temper get the best of me.

Even if the man standing in our makeshift board room is the last man on Earth I want to see.

Eivor Fiorelli. He should be dead. He should’ve been dead weeks ago, but Carmine insists on trying to make a deal with him.

A deal that our father had attempted to make before he died. Now, months later, it’s still ongoing. After weeks of deception on Soren Fiorelli’s part—and now Carmine is shacking up with the man.

“I’m not sure why this can’t be settled by the marriage of Carmine and Soren,” I say from my place at the table. “After all, they’re willing and happy to share a bed with each other.”

“Don’t discuss them in front of me,” Eivor says with a twisted look on his face. “It’s enough that I have to see them.”

“We’re right fucking here,” Soren reminds him.

I look over at my brother’s boyfriend with a disinterested look. Frankly, we wouldn’t be here if they’d just let me kill Eivor weeks ago. I can do it; I know I can. I’ve killed before and I’ll kill again. The problem: They want to make a deal, and I don’t. Not really.

I’d rather end the feud by taking Eivor Fiorelli down. Then, Soren would be in charge and everything would be settled. Eivor is the last person we should be making a deal with.

Yet.

“Regardless of their relationship, I don’t intend on making a deal based on the two of you.

You have betrayed me twice—no, three times—over,” Eivor says to all of us.

Myself, all of my brothers, and Soren. There are several guards around the room making sure this meeting doesn’t turn into a fight to the death.

“What are you willing to make a deal based on?” I ask him, my eyes glued to him. I don’t trust him. One of my hands is on my hip, the other is on the table as I lean closer to him.

“How nice of you to ask,” he smirks at me. “It involves you, Son.”

I glare at him. “I’m not your son.”

“Alessio, at least listen to him,” Carmine insists. I glance at my older brother. We look so different, despite being born only a year or so apart from the same parents. His light hair a stark contrast to my dark brown locks. His skin paler and freckled. My skin tanned and olive.

We share facial features that remind me of our mother and height that mimics our father but not much else.

“Why do I have a feeling you already know what his stipulations are, Carmine?” I ask, voice low and suspicious.

Carmine sighs and looks between us. His expression is hardened but I can see past it. I can see the hesitancy there. “It’s for the best, I assure you.”

“What is it?” I narrow my eyes.

The room is silent.

The tension grows thicker.

“Don’t be shy, boy, tell your future brother-in-law,” Eivor breaks the silence.

I blink. “What?” Had Carmine and Soren gotten engaged and hadn’t told us? Was Eivor lying about taking their relationship seriously?

“What’s going on here?” Tommaso, one of my younger brothers asks, his voice laced with irritation. “Just get it over with.”

“Tommy, do not make me ask you to leave,” Carmine threatens him.

I look straight at Eivor again, tired of the delay and the drama. He shouldn’t even be here.

“He’s right. Tell me and get it over with, whatever it is.” I keep my eyes locked on the man I had threatened to kill only a couple weeks before. The tension in the room is thicker than ever.

“Eivor has agreed to ally with us, if we join as families by marriage,” Carmine explains. I glance at him and wait for the catch.

“The marriage of Rosalie… and you.”

I blink at him as I process what he’s saying. “Excuse me?” I ask him.

“It’s already been decided. It’s the best option for this family, their family, and to combine our families together would prevent what could be a war.”

“Will be a war, if you don’t hold up your end of the deal,” Eivor insists.

“No one thought to ask me about this?” I narrow my eyes. “Or perhaps, Tiberi, Tommaso? The other brothers that are readily available. Why me?”

“Tiberi and Tommaso weren’t the best choices. You were. You’re second oldest.”

“Second in command,” Eivor says with a smile. “Only the second best for my niece.”

My jaw tightens, and I feel the heated emotion rising up into my chest. I tamp it down, trying not to let it explode from my chest or out of my mouth. I need to play things carefully. Carmine is serious, not like weeks ago when he was out of control after our father’s death.

He’s taken on a genuine roll of the leader of his family.

The Don. His word stands just as much as our father’s did—but only because he’s the oldest. This fact doesn’t please me in the slightest. If I had been born before him, or even we had been twins, it might be me that was standing in his place, forcing him to do as he said.

“How does Rosalie feel about this?” I ask.

“She will do as she’s told,” Eivor insists.

I look to Soren. As if to ask with my eyes, you could really do this to her?

“She wants to end this conflict as much as the rest of us,” Soren agrees. “The most important thing is that we keep all of this under control.”

I clench my jaw. I disagree, but I don’t say it. I can’t say it. Not in front of all of them. It’ll only make me look like a whiny little fucker.

I straighten the collar of my pale purple dress shirt and clear my throat. “I can’t say that I’m a bad choice,” I tell them. “But I’ll only do this if Rosalie is serious about it.”

“You will do it regardless,” Carmine snaps at me. “But she is. She is on her way here from her apartment to go over the details with you.”

“She’s not been staying with you, Eivor?” I ask him, though I already know the answer. I simply feel like watching him squirm.

His face twitches as he struggles not to frown. “She is not captive to my home. She can stay wherever she pleases.”

Where she pleases since his stunt of trying to hold her, in fact, captive in his home when Soren refused to kill Carmine and take over our family, is anywhere but the Fiorelli Estate.

Nevertheless, I haven’t seen her in awhile, and we haven’t ever spoken much. Here and there, but she is a stubborn woman who doesn’t show much interest in my brothers and me.

How they got her to agree to this is beyond me.

“So, if I marry Rosalie Fiorelli, what does this mean for the two of us?” I ask slowly. “What is the exact agreement that’s being made?”

“When you marry Rosalie, our families will combine. Our staff, employees, and those who have joined us whether as guards, guns, or a need of protection, will be shared between our families. Our estates will be welcome to both names. Our club. The safe houses. We will share our armory and resources. There will be no struggle for power against each other,” Carmine explains.

“This is what Don Fiorelli has agreed to.”

I glance between them. “Are you certain you trust each other?” I raise a brow.

“I trust no one,” Eivor admits. “But I don’t have much of a choice, do I? You’ve made it clear that your family is stronger than mine, and I need our combined power to gain my own.”

“You’re saying you still plan on going up against others?” I ask him.

“As do we,” Soren replies. “Not in as violent a manner as Eivor would choose, but we do need to gain a tighter grip, and we can’t do that via friendship alone.”

“I thought you wanted to focus on allyship, Carmine,” I say pointedly. “What happened to that?”

“Allyship can only get us so far,” he says while straightening his shoulders. “I’ve agreed to take on overthrowing a couple families for the sake of strengthening our own with Eivor.”

“Killing families for the sake of our own then,” I snap at him. “Not that I disagree.” I grin with all of my teeth that I can, clenched, and try to ignore the knot forming in my stomach. “But I thought you wanted to avoid it.”

“I do. As much as I can I will avoid hurting the innocent. But sometimes it’s necessary,” Carmine’s voice raises. “Now, this is about the union of you and Rosalie. It is not up for debate. You will meet with Rosalie and discuss your wedding and honeymoon.”

I hear a snort from the side of me, it’s Cassian. Our youngest brother. He’s been quiet this entire time.

“Do you have something to say, little brother?” I ask him with a glare. “You’re nearly eighteen yourself, perhaps they have an idea of your suitor.” I look to Carmine and Soren. “Or, are you not going to force all of your siblings into marriage?”

“Arranged marriage isn’t uncommon in this world and you know it,” Soren hisses at me. “Fall in line or find out what happens.”

“Oh, but not for the two of you, right? You get to be together regardless.” I take a step back and laugh softly.

“Is there something else you need to say, Alessio?” Tiberi asks. “I would happily marry whoever was asked of me to continue to protect this family.”

I nearly bite my tongue. “If you’d like to step in and marry Rosalie, I’ll have no objections.

” I wave a hand. “But don’t you dare suggest I won’t do what it takes to protect this family.

I’ve killed for us, and I’ll kill again, but springing this on me without so much as a discussion is something I would expect from our father.

Not you, Carmine.” I look to him as I take another step back.

He blinks at me. “I won’t apologize. We thought it for the best. Your reaction tells me I was right.”

I shake my head. “Maybe you were,” I say as I take a slow breath.

“Where are you going?” Carmine asks me. I’m headed for the door of the room.