Page 38 of Broken Wolf Heart (Mafia Pack #3)

LEXI

T he funeral reception seems to last forever, the last guests lingering so late I wonder if I’m supposed to offer them a room or kick them out. Elena makes the choice for me, not-so-subtly shooing them out. Finally, sometime after nine p.m., the house is empty again.

In my room, I sit on the edge of the bed and kick my heels off, trying to work up the motivation to shower. A quick glance at my phone reveals Grey still hasn’t sent any new updates since the last one two hours ago, when he texted: She’s here. Settling in. Thank you.

I set the phone aside and try not to give in to the urge to ask when he’ll be back. He deserves this time with his mom. She needs him more than I do right now.

My phone vibrates on the nightstand, and I grab it only to deflate when I see it’s just another text from Andy.

She and Mia have sent a barrage of updates over the last hour, including a schedule change for the patrol unit on duty tonight, a written report from the gate guard about all activity over the last three hours (none of it threatening), and a heads-up about Charlie’s guard assignments .

I ignore them.

For one second, I want to pretend I’m not the high alpha.

That I’m just Lexi Ryall, a girl who isn’t struggling to survive but also isn’t in charge of anyone but herself.

The door clicks open, and I already know it’s him. I feel it before the sound. The way the air thickens. The shift in gravity.

When I look up, Grey stands in the doorway like he’s braced for war. But his eyes… fuck, his eyes are soft. Tired. Hollow.

“Hey,” I say.

He closes the door behind him and crosses the room in three long strides.

I stand just in time for him to catch me. His arms come around my waist, and I bury my face in his shoulder.

“You’re back,” I whisper.

“I’ll always come back, princess.”

We stand like that for a long time. It’s the first time I’ve felt steady all day.

He pulls back just enough to look at me. His thumb brushes my cheekbone.

“How’s your mom?” I ask.

His throat works once before he answers. “Safe. She’s staying at the house until we can find something more permanent. She left his pack. Said she’s not going back to him.”

“Good.” I press my forehead to his. “I’m glad she got out.”

His palm cups my cheek, his thumb stroking the corner of my mouth. “You did that. You gave her the way out.”

I shrug, but my chest aches. “I thought maybe… if she had the chance, she’d take it.”

“You were right. And I—” He swallows hard. “Thank you.”

A beat passes. Then I ask, quieter, “Does that make up for letting someone else know about the house? ”

A small, wry smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. “Yes.”

“Even though Razor also now knows where our private sanctuary is and probably won’t ever give us a moment’s peace there?”

He snorts. “That asshole’s never given me peace anywhere else.” His gaze darkens, not with anger but something else. Something predatory.

I blink against the sudden sting behind my eyes.

“You okay?” I ask him.

His brows furrow. “Not completely.”

“Grey…”

He shuts his eyes and opens them again. They’re clearer now. “But I’m better when I’m with you.”

The words hit me like a heartbeat I forgot I was missing. I lean in and kiss him—soft and lingering.

When I pull back, his hands find the zipper on my dress.

I don’t stop him.

“I missed you,” he murmurs as the fabric slips down my shoulders.

“I’m right here.”

“You were amazing today.” He kisses the curve of my neck. “A true leader.”

“I couldn’t afford to fall apart.”

“You can now. If you need to.”

I grip the hem of his shirt and tug it up.

He lets me, his skin warm under my fingers. He cups my face as I lean in, our lips brushing again and again until I can’t remember what air tastes like without him.

We move toward the bed in a slow, reverent tangle. My wolf is quiet for once. Soothed by his scent, his touch.

We climb into bed, half-dressed and half-drunk on each other. His hands are on my hips, mine in his hair, and our breathing turns shallow .

We talk between kisses. Fragments of our feelings. Fears. Dreams. As much as I don’t want to talk about Vincenzo while we’re naked in bed together, it’s where the conversation inevitably leads.

“He accused us of murdering Alvaro,” I whisper. “On camera. In front of the press.”

Grey’s jaw tightens. “Let him. It’s not like we didn’t do it.”

I snort. “That’s not comforting.”

“I talked to Crow.”

“How is he?” I ask.

“He’s trying to figure out where he goes from here. What’s left for him besides his anger.” He pauses, then adds, “Vengeance isn’t very fulfilling.”

“He needs hope,” I say quietly. “We all do. But your father?—”

“Will not win.”

I start to say something else.

Then the door bangs open.

We break apart like guilty teenagers.

Andy stands there, out of breath, still in her funeral dress. “Sorry,” she says quickly. “But you need to come downstairs.”

Grey is already up, pulling on his shirt. “What happened?”

“Dr. Severin escaped.”

“What? How?”

“Some kind of distraction outside his home. The guard was knocked out from behind. And the doc is gone.”

“We should have put him in a cell,” I mutter, echoing Mia’s sentiment since the beginning.

“What about the witch?” Grey asks.

“We’re checking now.”

Grey grabs his phone.

“There’s more,” Andy says grimly, and I brace myself.

“Report came in five minutes ago. A patrol reported movement at Capo. ”

I’m out of bed and rifling through the closet for something other than a dress. “What kind of movement?”

“Patrol says someone was there. Maybe more than one person. And the power’s back on.”

My blood goes cold. “I told them to shut it down.”

Her expression is hard. “Sounds like they didn’t listen.”

An hour later, the SUV carrying me, Grey, Andy, Mia, and Dutch rolls to a stop outside the rusted chain-link gate.

Same gate we shoved through last time. And just like before, the lights are all on.

It’s more noticeable at night too. Fluorescents buzz behind two grimy windows, casting a ghostly glow that shouldn’t be there.

The place was supposed to be shut down. Condemned. Watched.

Instead, it looks ready to welcome us back like we’re expected.

My stomach turns.

Dutch steps out first, weapon drawn. He pushes through the sagging gate. It swings open with a creak that drags across my spine. We follow him single file, boots crunching gravel.

Behind us, Crow and Razor climb out of their car and meld into our group like shadows.

The lab looms ahead like a concrete monolith—same cracked paint, same broken windows.

Andy tests the main door. Unlocked. She glances back, face pale.

“Be ready,” Mia mutters.

We step inside.

And I stop breathing.

Everything is gone.

The rooms that previously contained hospital beds. The medical coolers. The equipment. Even the security doors and swipe pads. All of it—gone.

But the power’s still running. The air hums with electricity. The scent of disinfectant clings to the walls like they just finished cleaning up. Like someone wiped the place down and left ten minutes ago.

Dutch peels off down the left hallway. Andy takes the right. Mia and I move straight ahead, into the central lab room.

And it’s just... empty.

Not just cleared.

Scrubbed.

No monitors. No files. No restraints. Even the shelves have been ripped out of the walls. A steel bracket swings loosely from one bolt above the empty counter.

“What the hell,” Mia whispers.

My wolf stirs. Uneasy.

“It’s Vincenzo,” I say. “It has to be. This is his way of getting what I promised him.”

“Fuck,” Mia says, frustration lining her features. “Where do you think he took it all?” she asks Grey.

He shakes his head. “No idea.”

Andy returns, frowning. “They stripped the data storage room. Backup drives are gone. Server racks. All of it.”

A pressure builds behind my ribs. Tight. Buzzing.

“They were supposed to shut this place down,” I say. “We had a plan in place. Security patrols.”

“Apparently not enough,” Mia mutters.

I round on her. “Don’t.”

Her brows lift. “Don’t what?”

“Make it sound like this is our failure.”

“I didn’t say?—”

“You implied it.”

“Lexi—”

“No.” My voice is lower now. Edged with a growl .

Dutch returns, frowning. “Lower level’s cleared. Not even a fucking bed pan. They took everything .”

The pressure in my chest spikes. My claws scrape the inside of my skin.

“Lexi,” Mia says carefully. “You need to breathe.”

“I am breathing.”

But I’m not.

The shift comes hard and fast.

Pain rips through my arms. My jaw snaps wide. My vision sharpens—and goes red.

My wolf surges to the surface with a snarl, fangs bared, claws out.

Dutch freezes, hands up. “Lex…”

My limbs coil, ready to lunge. I can smell his blood. His pulse. His fear.

I blink.

This is Dutch.

I wrench myself backward, biting down a scream as the shift retreats just as violently. My bones grind. My claws vanish. I’m left panting, sweating, shaking.

The silence is a living thing.

Andy stares, wide-eyed. Mia looks like she’s stopped breathing.

Dutch exhales. “You good?”

I force the words out. “I’m fine.”

Mia steps forward slowly. “You’re not.”

I glare at her. “I said I’m fine.”

“You lost control.”

“No, I?—”

“That was your wolf, not you.” Mia’s voice is gentle. That’s what makes it worse.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Don’t be.” Mia’s voice doesn’t waver, but she’s looking past me, her gaze sweeping the room. “Where’s Grey?” she asks.

No one answers.

I look down at my hands.

Still human.

Barely.

But only because my wolf senses the true threat.