4. Leonardo #2
I hesitated but only for a moment. “I’ve been planning on leaving as soon as I had enough money saved anyway.
My parents both died last year while they were out of the house.
They had a bad auto accident, and since my father was human, his body couldn’t quite recover quick enough, and he died shortly after.
My mom, they said, died later on that night in the hospital.
” I shrugged. “At least, that’s what I was told the next morning.
” I sighed and started playing with my fingers to distract myself.
“I’ve never really been fully accepted by the pride because my dad is human.
And after my parents were gone, I’ve basically become the pride’s servant who isn’t treated very well.
I was saving to get away. Today just happened, and I ran. ”
“What exactly happened?” Sandro asked as he reached out and placed his hand on top of mine. “I’m not upset at all that you ran into me, literally. Surprised, but in a positive way. But why are they after you? You had mentioned they would kill you. What is it that you’ve done?”
I winced but knew that I owed them an honest response.
Sandro was my mate, and it wasn’t as if I could hide things from him forever.
Especially not if he claimed me. “I was scrubbing the floor. Alpha Franco loves his white tile. But it has light-colored grout. And they poured red wax all down it, starting at the other end of the house. It stained the tile and the grout, and I knew Alpha Franco was going to blame me. I just broke, and after all of the abuse they’ve given me since I was a teenager, I just…
” I shrugged again. “Something inside of me snapped, and I screamed and leapt onto Pietro as he was laughing and walking away. My claws came out, and I sliced his cheek open, and probably the top of his head too.”
“Did you really?” Rio asked. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of pride in his voice.
I nodded. “Alpha Franco got me off his brother, and I just ran. I don’t know what happened after, but I know I’m in trouble if I ever go back or they catch me.”
Sandro gave my hand a squeeze and then stood. “They’re not going to catch you, so you don’t have to worry about that.” He looked over at Rio. “You said you could take him to the station to get his things?”
“I can. Or if you’re overly concerned for his safety, I can retrieve his things for him. I just need to know where the locker is.”
I stood and pulled the key out from the chain around my neck.
“It’s at the station.” I gave him the key, and when he handed me his phone, it was open to the notes app.
I typed in the information and handed Rio the phone back.
“Thank you,” I told him. “It’s just a backpack.
It’s all I have right now. I’ll need to find another job, hopefully one that pays me better. I’m a hard worker.”
He smiled at me. “I’m certain you are. But that is something you and Sandro will need to discuss.” He patted me on the shoulder. “I’ll be back in just a little while with your bag.”
He gave Sandro a look before he walked out of the room, then disappeared completely. I wondered what it would be like to have that ability.
“I guess we should discuss some things. Mainly us.”
I looked at Sandro and shrugged again. It seemed as if I was doing that a lot. I was completely out of my element. I hadn’t ever thought I would find my mate, but here I was, standing in front of a sexy vampire that was supposed to be mine.
“We can, I guess. I’ve gotten the impression you’re not exactly happy with who you were gifted. Or maybe it’s just that you were gifted a mate in general, I’m not sure.”
Sandro still had my hand, and he pulled me up from the couch before he led me through the apartment and toward a door.
I could see a bed inside and had to assume it was his bedroom.
“I was not expecting a beloved. There are things we should discuss before we even think about claiming each other though.”
Sandro quietly closed the door behind us, and although I wasn’t against having sex with the man, I hadn’t really expected things to progress quite so quickly.
“Uh…okay. What is it that you wanted to talk about?” I asked as I nervously looked toward the bed. It had been made but looked as if the covers had been pulled up quickly. Or perhaps someone had lain on top of them?
Sandro chuckled. “I’m not going to claim you now, Leo. You do not have to be so concerned.”
I blinked at Sandro in relief. “I mean, I would,” I told him. “You’re sexy and all, and I’m sure you know how to do things in the bedroom.” At least, I sure hoped he did. I knew some, but probably not nearly as much as he did.
Sandro’s chuckle turned into a smile while he shook his head. “Yes, I guess one could say that. I would hope so since I’m just over two centuries old.”
Oh, wow. I figured he was older than me, but not quite that much older. “Oh,” I said. “I guess it makes sense when you said you were older.” What could I possibly have in common with him? Why was he paired with someone my age?
“I am, yes.”
There was a loud noise in the outer room, and immediately, my first thought was that they’d somehow found me and had broken into the apartment. But then I heard what sounded like a baby crying before there was someone talking.
“That is why I brought you in here. I assumed that Marcello would bring the others back to the apartment early, despite nobody from your pride knowing they were connected with us. Yes, Marcello and Naldo are vampires, but there are several vampire covens here in Italy. I wouldn’t put it past your pride to possibly target any of them. ”
“Oh. So they’re supposed to be out there?” I asked. The thought of them being just on the other side of the door was terrifying yet reassuring.
“Yes. I thought we could discuss a few things that I feel are most important before we take anything even a bit further. I want you to know that not even two months ago, I was almost dead. I was held captive by someone who doesn’t exactly get along with my coven family.
I was stabbed and shot several times, and truly, I shouldn’t be standing here talking to you today.
I am, and although I still feel as if everyone around me would be better off if I wasn’t here any longer, I’m still here. ”
Sandro ran his hand down his face again. I could tell he was probably frustrated, but damn. That was a whole lot to drop on someone minutes after meeting them.
“Yeah, so that’s…I’m sorry you went through that,” I said. “What can I do to help? Do you need anything? Are you all better now?”
Sandro chuckled and shook his head. When he looked at me again, his eyes were a little red, and honestly, it was a bit creepy.
“I do not need anything from you, but I appreciate the offer. I am healing still. Some wounds were quite horrific. A lot of magical power was used to help me heal, but there are still pains. Some real, some phantom. It can cause discomfort if I walk too much, but I don’t do a whole lot as the coven’s doctor.
Especially now that the coven has Rio to cover for me in my absence. ”
Oh. So he was a doctor? Seriously, how did he get paired with me? “It sounds a bit like you’re trying to discourage me. If you don’t want—”
“I never said I didn’t want you,” Sandro said, cutting me off.
“A vampire’s beloved…you are quickly going to understand just how precious they are to us.
And how possessive we are of them.” Sandro pulled me close, and without even an ounce of hesitation, he lowered his head and sucked on my lower lip.
I couldn’t keep in the whimper, even if my life depended on it.
That was by far the sexiest thing that anyone had ever done to me, and he’d really not done much at all.
My cheeks heated, and when I finally opened my eyes, he grinned, and I saw those really sharp fangs.
“Very possessive. It just might be that the fates knew what they were doing when they sent you colliding into me, little kitten.”
I blinked up at Sandro. It took a moment for his words to register, and when they did, I should have been upset. Only I wasn’t. What was up with that?