Chapter 7 #3
Nico hides his face in my throat, fucking purring for me in front of the entire church. I can see three men standing to his right in dark tuxedos as well, their eyes glued to the priest as if they’re intentionally telling the rest of the world to ignore us as well.
A beautiful man with tanned skin, thick lips, and a goatee seems to be having the hardest time keeping up appearances, and I wonder if that’s Nico’s stepbrother.
“And then what?” I rasp, my voice breaking as tears fall faster down my cheeks.
“We’ll keep her.”
Gasping in a breath, I choose to believe him. So far, he’s tried his damndest to keep his promises to me. Even when it sometimes makes things worse for me.
“Yes.”
Nico returns the veil over my face, and the priest continues the service with an exchange of vows. A box mysteriously is pressed into my hands at the right time, and I mumble the words after the priest when I’m supposed to as Nico and I exchange rings.
Just as the priest is about to pronounce us man and wife, the doors behind us bang open. It didn’t escape my notice the way the obligatory objection question was skipped.
This isn’t a normal wedding.
“Nico, you bastard, I object!”
“Fuck me,” he groans just as the first gunshot is fired. “Too late!”
Picking me up, he throws me over his shoulder because I’m close to passing out as it is.
“Pablo, I’m going to cover you with our brothers. Go get the girl in the hood. She’s important.”
I can’t see anything but the ground as Nico and his brothers disperse, and I curse this dress with every fiber of my being.
If I push it out of the way or move wrong, I’ll fuck up Nico’s aim, something I don’t wish to do.
Instead, I remain still, hanging from his shoulder like a doll, trying to urge Vero to hold on for me through the bond.
Gunshots fly as people scream. Not my father’s family though. They leap right into the fray, shooting back. I get the impression Nico didn’t come with anyone other than his brothers and step brother, because his side of the church is completely empty.
At least it’ll help our escape.
My eyes begin to close of their own volition as I feel Vero getting weaker, and blackness takes over my existence.
At least Nico tried to help me…
* * *
NICO
“Rosa,” I growl warningly, running toward the back door beyond the pulpit with my family.
She hangs limply over my shoulder, completely passed out. Pablo holds Vero against his body as he races for the exit, the SUV parked at the back of the church. His pupils are dilated, and we make sure to keep him sandwiched between our pack.
I have a lot of enemies, and they had no trouble finding me in Savannah. I lied and told people Rosalia wanted to get married to me, despite the contract between her father and I. Instead, even now, I forced her to marry me with the promise to save her bonded alpha.
Goddamn, sometimes I despise myself.
“That dress isn’t going to fit with all of us in here,” Ciro warns as we slam out into the fresh air.
“Cut it.”
My command is followed by the switchblade that comes out of his pocket, and he begins to saw at the material at her waist. I keep her steady over my shoulder, watching as the layers of material fall away.
“Here we go, piccola,” I say, easing her over my shoulder as the doors to the SUV are thrown open.
“Isn’t that awfully cozy,” Ciro mutters, getting into the front seat as I bundle my unconscious bride into the vehicle.
“Shut up and drive,” I grumble, watching as Pablo’s nostrils flare.
It’s close quarters, and I can smell Vero’s blood as it fills the air. It smells like copper, honeysuckle, and pepper. It’s a combination that shouldn’t work together, but Pablo shifts uncomfortably as he whimpers.
“She’s bleeding. I need you to hold the pressure on her wound after you find it or we’re going to lose both of them. They’re a bonded pair.”
“We can’t…I mean—”
Pablo shakes his head violently, making his hair fly as he reaches down to grab a hoodie he keeps in the vehicle for when he gets cold. Opening the cloak, he hisses at the large area of blood on the alpha’s side.
Her tank top is practically glued to her skin and her breathing is shallow.
“Someone was trying to kill her,” he confirms, balling up the material to press it against her side. She whines in pain, even though she doesn’t regain consciousness, and he holds her closely.
“I bet it was her father. The bastard is always trying to hurt Rosa, and this was the final time he felt he’d be able to. I doubt he knows they’re connected,” I sigh. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re holding Verona oddly.”
Dario glances back at us, taking in the bleeding alpha and my bride.
“We need to find a doctor who is willing to help us. After everything you’ve told me, she could be bleeding internally and we’d never know,” he says.
“This is because her alpha is dying,” Pablo rasps, the whites of his eyes disappearing even more as he refers to Rosa. “I hate to be dramatic, but I think something is wrong with me. Why do these women smell… like mine.”
Blinking hard, I lean forward and stare at him. His scent is stronger than ever, and my brothers groan as they cover their noses.
“No, you’re an alpha,” Ciro grunts. “Why do you smell like an omega. What the fuck is happening?”
“Suck it up and find me a goddamned doctor!” I yell, my heartbeat roaring in my ears.
Something is fucking happening that I don’t understand, and there are too many moving parts to keep track of.
“Save the little alpha girl, and then we’ll figure the rest out. Let’s put out one fucking fire at a time,” I snarl.
Dario scrolls through the listings before he finally hits a phone number. I fucking hate that we don’t have connections here. If we were home, it would already be handled.
“Hello, we have an emergency that can’t be taken care of at a hospital. Do you do house calls?”
I work on pulling off Rosa’s veil as I listen to my brother speak, and Pablo makes a small noise that pulls my attention as I toss it to the ground. My stepbrother hasn’t even fully seen Rosa’s face, and he’s losing his shit.
I’m really struggling between my emotions and his, as the bond is wide open. He’s freaking the fuck out, and his side of the bond even feels different.
God, I can smell his slick, and I grunt at how inappropriate it is that I’m getting turned on. Fuck. How is this possible?
My alpha stepbrother…is really an omega and my scent match. Fuck.
“Can’t…help it,” Pablo gasps, replying to the helplessness he feels from me. “There’s something in her cleavage. A vial. I wouldn’t normally stare at someone’s breasts, but they’re currently pushed up to the sky, Nico.”
“They tend to do that,” I grumble, moving my head until I can see what he means. Pinching the vial, I pull it out, holding it carefully. “Please don’t tell me this is poison. Rosa, you’re going to fucking be the death of me, woman.”
She whimpers at my tone and I close my eyes as I force myself to calm the fuck down.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “You can’t kill yourself. Why do you even have this? Is marriage to me the worst thing?”
“You’ll have to ask her,” Pablo mutters.
I blink as I take a shuddering breath, nodding.
“We may need to change locations as well,” I sigh. “That was Isolde’s voice I heard at the church.”
“The scary hitwoman,” my stepbrother grumbles.
She had a thing for scaring him whenever she came over to take a job. I thought it was funny, but Pablo is terrified of her. It’s even worse now that I'm on her shit list.
“I knew she was going to come back and bite us in the ass,” Dario groans, hanging up.
“He’s going to meet up with us. The rental isn’t exactly in our name, but we should move as soon as possible.
I’ll start looking for other options. Unfortunately, this one is under a fake company name.
If Isolde’s pack begins to sniff around, we’re fucked as of now. ”
So many loose ends, and they all dangle from my bad decisions.
“One thing at a time,” I whisper, as much for me, as it is a promise.
I protect my pack, and it seems I’ve gained two extra members.