24. Pedro #2
“And that means?” Luca grabs Alin’s hand, pulling her attention back to him as he asks, though it seems like an excuse to touch her in front of everyone.
He gives her that sly grin of his. Hold on to that grin, brother…
“She took Bay’s blood to create the Doomsday Elixir,” Alin replies, sending a smile in his direction in response to his gesture, though it’s clear her smile is forced.
“And, again, before you ask, it’s an elixir that, when consumed, will kill everyone in the bloodline it’s connected to in an instant.
And with them, the entire city of Mal-El…
” She struggles to explain, her voice heavy as she exhales, and any trace of the fake smile she had vanishes.
“Wait, I don’t understand... Are you telling me that at any moment, you could die because of this?” Luca now rises from his seat with a loud roar. Yeah, that’s pretty much the reaction I expected.
I can hear Cora swallowing hard, even though she’s seated two chairs away from me.
“Yes,” Alin answers, clearly afraid to meet his gaze.
His fist slams against the table, rattling it. “I hope you’ve brought a solution because I’m not about to sit here and wait for this to happen!”
Alin grabs his arm, trying to calm him down.
“If anyone can find a solution, it’s my mother.
She’s working on it now. We have some time.
This is a potion that takes at least a month and a half to make—at best,” she explains, and I don’t envy her for being so close to him right now.
I know all too well what it feels like to be the reason his temper flares.
Before he can respond, she adds, “It’s not just me. It’s Bay—” she swallows, “and Pedro.”
Ding, ding, ding. Surprise. I release another sigh .
We’re getting the news delivered, and I’m definitely not ready to take the reins from her just yet. My brother looks like he’s clinging to every ounce of self-control he doesn’t have to avoid exploding right now.
Now everyone turns to me in unison. “Pedro? What does Pedro have to do with your bloodline?” Mariano is the one brave enough to ask the obvious question.
I lift my hand, showing them the moon symbol scarred into my right palm.
“Isn’t that the Mal-El lineage mark?” Luca’s voice is lower now, his gaze travels back to Alin. I hope Alin has told him about her own mark’s location because I really don’t want to start imagining how he found out it was under her tongue. Nope, definitely not going there. Yuck.
“Yeah. It’s the Mal-El’s mark, and I got a new pair of eyes with the package deal,” I answer before Alin can, remembering how freaky I looked in the car’s mirror, “I’m now part of their bloodline until death, from what I understand.” I raise an eyebrow toward Alin, seeking confirmation.
“Yes. My idiot brother-in-law here was brave enough to try and stop a spell to protect Bay, and now he’s got this mark on his hand. And that’s not all,” she explains to everyone’s confused faces around the table. “He also gained powers, and apparently, the tail is sticking with him too.”
Luca shoots a questioning glance at me. At least it’s not his angry stare. “You’re telling me my brother—”
“Turned into a fish?” Mariano finishes Luca’s question, rising from his chair and moving closer to Luca’s working desk. “I’ve got to see this.”
“At least until we find a solution,” Bay adds, clearly sensing the pressure building in my chest from hearing that fact again.
“So not only did you put my wife’s life in danger, along with her entire family, but you joined them?
And now I have to deal with the fact that I could lose my wife and my brother at any moment, and there’s nothing I can do except wait?
” Luca vents his frustration, dragging our attention back to him as he tries to process everything that’s been thrown at him.
That’s pretty much sums it up, “Yes,” I nod, feeling the pressure in my chest intensify. “But that’s not all—” I start, but before I can finish, water pours over my head. I quickly turn around, only to find Mariano towering over me, an empty glass clenched in his hand. Oh, come on, not again.
The fabric of my pants rips as my blue tail replaces my legs and I curse under my breath.
“Fuck,” Mariano blurts out when he realizes we weren’t joking. “What in the name of—”
“And here I thought I had a hard time processing things,” I sigh and glance at Alin for help. I might actually need her to teach me how to get my legs back.
He spins my chair to get a better look at me. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this sh—”
“It’s not fair! I want a tail too!” Cora interrupts him this time, now poking at my tail like I’m some zoo exhibit. So this is how Alin and Bay feel every time? I can definitely see why Alin kept it a secret.
“You don’t want anything to do with tails until we sort this out,” Alin quickly runs her hand over my tail, returning my legs.
“Oh no, my eyes!” Cora playfully covers her eyes, but bursts into laughter when Mariano frown his eyebrows at me, like it’s somehow my fault. Idiot .
“Yeah, it’s not exactly an easy sight to bear,” Alin quips, tossing her own jab as Mariano slips off his pants and hands them to me, leaving him in just his boxers.
“Cocky. My legs are way more muscular than yours. What are you so proud of?” I retort, chuckling but grateful all the same. I’ve lost every shred of masculinity I’ve ever held onto in a single day.
“In your dreams,” Cora defends him, standing proudly by his side.
“I’ve got to agree with Cora, he does look godly in those boxers,” Bay chimes in, eyeing him up. A strange surge of possessiveness washes over me again.
“Eyes off!” Cora and I shout in unison, while Bay dissolves into laughter.
“Relax, it was a joke,” she says, barely holding back a laugh. I quickly pull on Mariano’s pants, already feeling the burn of Luca’s glare on my back. I’ve crossed the line with him, and there’s no turning back.
“You don’t get to look at any other man like that,” I lean in and whisper a low threat into her ear. She exhales heavily against my neck, and I can feel her body tense. I’m wrapping this thing up with Luca today, or this tension is going to kill me.
“Aren’t you going to tell him the bigger news?” she quickly tries to change the subject, pulling away from me.
“Bigger news?” Now Cora’s curious, raising an eyebrow at Alin. Yep, let Alin be the one to break it to them. I’d rather it come from her.
“Mariano, Luca, I suggest you both sit down,” Bay adds, raising the tension, while the familiar burn in my hand starts up again, tiny sparks crackling. I’m not sure how our capo is going to take this news, and I can’t even imagine how he’ll react.
Bay grabs my hand tightly, trying to calm me down, and like she’s the only cure to my problem, the burning sensation instantly fades. I glance around quickly, relieved no one noticed, and I don’t let go of her hand.
“Just spit it out already,” Luca growls through gritted teeth, staying where he is. Patience has never been his strong suit.
Alin swallows hard before letting out the truth that sends a wave of silence crashing over the room. “We found your mother.”
“What are you talking about?” Mariano finally reacts after a minute that felt like an eternity, looking confused.
“Your mother is in our city, and she’s... not exactly dead,” Alin clarifies.
Luca grips the gold necklace around his neck tightly, his body tensing. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the capo at a loss for words.
“Luca?” Alin asks, concerned, holding his arm.
“They’ll be fine, they’re grown men,” Bay whispers to me, sensing the tension in my body. I’d forgotten she was still holding my hand—it feels like a second skin at this point. She quiets the storms inside me as fast as she knows how to stir them. What am I supposed to do with this woman?
I turn to look at her. “I know, but it’s still not easy news. They spent years searching for her, and they didn’t even get to bury her properly,” I whisper back the painful truth. I feel so comfortable letting my guard down around her. Fucking hell. I’m really done for.
“She’s alive?” Luca finally manages to ask, and we all turn to him. Even Cora is holding her breath now, afraid to make a sound. The tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife.
“Yes and no,” Alin answers with one of her frustratingly vague responses. He’s about to explode.
“I’ll explain everything later but think of it like she’s been in a coma for nearly three decades. She’s not dead, but she’s not alive either, and she’s marked just like Pedro, connected to our royal lineage,” Alin quickly adds, realizing now isn’t the time to hold back any information.
“Have you ever seen potions like the one I gave Pedro with your mother?” she asks when Luca doesn’t immediately react, his chest rising and falling in heavy breaths like a beast wrestling with its demons to stay in control. That’s right, the queen mentioned she took some weird potion too.
He shakes his head, his gaze fixed on some invisible point on the wall. I recognize that look—it’s not the time to drop any more bombshells on him. I stare at Alin, and she knows what to do immediately.
“Come, I’ll explain everything,” she says, taking Luca’s hand, and his body follows hers quietly out of the office.
“What about you? Did you lose your voice too?” I ask Mariano, who seems to be handling things a bit better, though still in shock, as the door closes behind them, separating us.
“I was only a year old when it happened. I don’t remember much about her.
But I do remember all the times over the years when Luca would listen to her recordings, and the crushing disappointment every time he hit a dead end trying to find her.
I don’t know how he’s going to handle this news,” he answers honestly, sinking onto the couch in front of Luca’s desk. Cora immediately sits beside him.
“Her recordings?” I ask, surprised, momentarily pushing aside the emotional weight in the room. Luca has recordings of his mother?
“He had this lion stuffed animal as a kid, a gift from our mom. There was a recording device hidden inside. Every night, she’d record the stories she’d read him and their conversations before bed,” Mariano explains, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
He’s just as scared that this news might break our capo. We can’t afford that right now, not with the problems breathing down our necks with that unknown woman, the snitch and we still have to help the family in Vegas.
“I had no idea he had those recordings,” I admit to Mariano, suddenly finding some comfort in knowing that my brother has this softer, more human side too.
It’s not a side I’ve often seen in my life.
I respect him, I trust him with my life, and I’d die for him.
But imagining him sitting there listening to recordings of his dead mother like a lost child? It hits differently.
“Why would his mom record that?” Bay suddenly asks, raising an eyebrow in curiosity toward Mariano. Bay didn’t grow up in our world; it’s no surprise she doesn’t understand.
“When you grow up in the mafia, every day could be your last. You prepare accordingly,” I explain as if this information didn’t surprise me as much as they did her.
She looks at me now, shock taking over her glowing eyes, which are wide open.
“So, you’ve made preparations too, just in case today was your last?” she asks, swallowing hard, revealing the real concern bothering her. Her eyes show a deep worry that sends my heart pounding in my chest as I nod.
“We’ve all made preparations for when that day comes,” Cora quietly adds, and no one dares to say another word, so I shift the heavy mood toward some lighter news.
“Bay got her powers back,” I announce with a forced grin, while Bay offers a small smile in return.
“Really? What are your powers?” Cora asks, her excitement a sharp contrast to the tense conversation we just had.
“If I remember correctly, from what Alin told me before, it has something to do with gems?” Mariano turns his gaze toward Bay, seeking confirmation, and she nods.
“She’s a literal walking ATM!” I blurt out, still amazed by that.
“What’s an ATM again?” Bay asks, and Mariano chuckles. Cora, on the other hand, is frowning in confusion—Bay really does have a lot to learn about the human world.
“I’ll explain later. But first, could you show them what you can do?” I quickly ask her, eager to share her abilities with them.
She smiles and nods as I grab a water bottle from Luca’s desk, open the lid, and hand it to her.
Bay performs the same trick she did in the ocean before, gently swirling her finger. A small amount of water rises from the bottle, and within seconds, a perfectly cut, shining pink gem drops into her lap.
“Oh my God, this is the most brilliant gem I’ve ever seen!” Cora exclaims in excitement, immediately snatching it up. “Can I keep it?”
“Of course, I can make as many as you want,” Bay replies warmly, sending Cora one of those innocent smiles that I damn well wish she’d save just for me.
Cora stares at the gem in awe, but Bay looks back at me, her brow furrowing. “Now… what’s an ATM?”