Page 15

The humans had been angling to be a part of the meetings between the heads of the families for years now.

Rocco knew it was a long-running point of contention from comments his family had made.

The mayor was put in place by the Council to smooth things over with the city’s officials and ensure the secret of their existence was maintained, but he didn’t have any real power.

Stewart knew if he didn’t play by the rules, he’d be removed without a second thought and replaced.

There was a reasonable chance he wouldn’t get to keep breathing in that scenario as well.

This mayor, like the mayors before him, was understandably keen to find any advantage he could.

He hadn’t yet learned it was never going to happen .

“That won’t be necessary,” Marco replied.

“For once, we’re agreed. I don’t need humans in my business,” Kyan said, eyes flashing silver.

Gray waved a hand dismissively at the mayor.

“If arbitration were needed, it would be provided by the Council,” she said before turning to Marco, Kyan, and Blaze.

“But if you can’t work together to stop these attacks from being noticed by the humans, we won’t be sending arbiters in; we’ll be replacing you.

You’re lucky I was only ordered to put eyes on the happy couple and confirm your story, or I’d be sticking around to monitor you. Sort your shit out.”

No one spoke for a minute as they all watched Gray stride away to head outside.

“Well, that could’ve gone better. My offer stands.

If I can be of assistance so I don’t have to manage the transition of power to another group of criminals, sing out.

Better the devil you know and all that,” the mayor said.

“Rocco and Emilio, congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I look forward to attending. If you’ll excuse me, I see someone I need to speak to. ”

Rocco inclined his head in thanks, his grip tightening around Emilio’s waist.

“Is your sound shield still up?” Marco asked him once the Mayor left.

“Yeah.”

“We need to get better at hiding these attacks from the Council until we figure out what’s going on,” Marco said, addressing his words to Kyan.

“Will you let my people pass through your territories unchallenged to help?” Kyan asked, eyes sharp.

Blaze scoffed. “We don’t need your help. I’ll get my witches on it.”

“The Council has too many eyes. We need to work together. Luca will be able to deal with any camera footage much faster than anyone else,” Marco said.

“This isn’t the place to discuss it. Make an appointment to meet with me.

And those two aren’t fucking fooling me.

Neither one’s sporting a mating bite. When I get proof they’re faking it, the Council is going to see things very differently,” Kyan said, turning away to leave Rocco’s shielding without another word.

“Fuck, I hate that guy,” Blaze said after he’d left.

“You and everyone else in the city,” Emilio muttered.

“Come on, we could all use a drink,” Marco said, gesturing toward the bar.

“At least Gray bought the engagement, although I could’ve done without the magical foreplay right in front of me. Good job, you two,” Blaze said, clapping Rocco on the shoulder.

Marco smirked. “Count yourself lucky you don’t have the senses to smell the arousal rolling off them. I need a cold shower or a warm body.”

“Fuck off. It’s not real,” Emilio growled, stalking toward the bar.

Rocco let his shield drop and trailed after his fiancé. At least he could enjoy the view while he tried to figure out how to extricate himself from this situation without tipping Kyan or the Council off. It was all starting to feel very real.

“We need to find a way to convince Kyan of your nuptials or this negotiation tomorrow is going to be a shitshow,” Blaze said.

Rocco took in the vision his fiancé made leaning forward to order his drink, tailored pants stretching tight over his ass. “I could always bend him over the bar and fuck him in front of everyone?” he offered, entranced.

Marco, to his surprise, huffed a laugh under his breath at his suggestion rather than trying to kill him for disrespect .

Well, that was cryptic. Shrugging, Rocco positioned himself just down from Emilio, entertaining himself by unashamedly checking out his fiancé while he waited for the bartender to finish making his drink.

“Stop staring at me,” Emilio growled.

“No.”

Emilio shot back the whiskey in his hand like it could actually get him drunk, immediately gesturing for another.

Rocco was so distracted watching his throat as he swallowed and the tendons of his hands where he gripped the glass that he didn’t notice the guy coming up behind him until he already had two arms circled around him from behind.

Adrenaline shot through him as a familiar voice whispered in his ear.

Fuck. This was the last thing they needed at such a public event.

“Rocco, darling. It’s been too long. Have you come to your senses yet? I miss you. No one fucks me like you,” Andy said, breathing into his ear and speaking a little too loud to be a whisper.

The only silver lining to this situation was getting to watch his fiancé’s reaction. Emilio’s gaze narrowed on the spot behind his shoulder, glaring at the human who didn’t seem to realise the danger he was in.

“He’s not interested. Fuck off,” Emilio growled, before Rocco had a chance to say anything.

Andy laughed. Did he think being the Police Chief’s son was protection enough to antagonise a Lunetti? He’d thought Andy was smarter than that.

“There’s no need to be jealous. He always had enough to go round when we were together, and I don’t mind some extra company,” Andy said.

His ex must really be suicidal because now he was sliding his hand down Rocco’s chest. Rocco caught his wrist and held it, doing his best not to get hard at the murderous glint in Emilio’s eyes.

It was everything. Fuck, the violent side of his puppy got him going.

He should probably be responsible, though.

He didn’t want Emilio to think it was Andy causing his arousal.

Holding up his hand, Rocco wiggled his fingers in Andy’s face, showing off his engagement ring.

“Back off. I’m taken.”

“You can bring your fiancé, too. The more the merrier. Just as long as I get a taste?—”

And, yep. That would do it. Emilio’s eyes turned full gold, and his fangs lengthened as he lunged toward the human coming on to him.

Damn. He knew wolves could be possessive, but he hadn’t expected Emilio to lose control in such a public setting.

Stepping into Emilio’s path, Rocco used his power to grip his fiancé’s throat just hard enough to cut off some of his air.

It took all his strength to stay upright when Emilio barrelled into him, but he wasn’t complaining.

He wished he could’ve let his fiancé take him down to the floor.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave. Now,” Rocco told Andy.

“I’m not scared of him. You sure I can’t tempt you?” Andy asked, leaning in to kiss his neck.

Well, fuck. If he hadn’t been using all his focus to hold Emilio back, he might’ve been able to avoid the move.

As it was, he quickly discovered he was not, in fact, strong enough to contain a raging wolf shifter.

He had just enough time to slam a shield up to hide them from view before a thin line of red bloomed on Andy’s cheek where Emilio’s claw had slashed down his face.

Moving into damage control mode, Rocco used his power to remove all the air from Andy’s lungs fast enough to force him to black out. Fuck. The last thing they needed was the Police Chief investigating and figuring out Rocco’s past with his son.

“Emilio, stop!” Marco’s voice cracked through the sudden silence Rocco’s shielding had created as the Alpha stepped through the barrier.

Emilio looked up from where he was poised over the now limp human, snarling.

What the fuck was going on? This was not a normal reaction. Emilio was an expert in blending in and passing unnoticed at these kinds of events. Rocco’s brow furrowed as he looked between his fiancé and the Alpha whose orders he should’ve immediately, instinctively followed.

“Eyes on me, puppy,” Rocco said.

Emilio froze but didn’t step away from Andy, so Rocco shifted tactics.

“You made me so hard going after him like that. You gonna leave me here aching for you, puppy? Or are you gonna come smother me in your scent and show him who I belong to?”

Emilio’s nostrils flared, and he glared up at Rocco from where he crouched, lost to his instincts.

Marco laughed under his breath. “Go mark him up while I clean up this mess, cuz. He’s human enough for a hickey to stick.”

Rocco found himself slammed back against the bar before he had time to blink, Emilio’s mouth latching onto his throat where Andy had kissed and sucking hard. A loud groan escaped him before he noticed they were outside the bounds of his shield now and anyone could hear.

“For fuck’s sake. Get a room,” Kyan growled from somewhere nearby.

How long had the vampire been there? Rocco would’ve felt smug about accidentally convincing Kyan what was happening between them was real, but he was too distracted by Emilio’s hands ripping his shirt open until he could scratch his nails down the bare skin of his chest.

Laughing, he gripped Emilio’s neck and pulled his head closer, encouraging him to deepen the painful bruise forming on his neck.

“For real, though. At least find a restroom,” the bartender said.

Behind the barrier of Rocco’s shielding, Marco had hoisted the unconscious Andy over his shoulder.

Lifting Emilio up into his arms, Rocco let him continue to gnaw on his neck as he followed Marco out, maintaining the shield that kept Andy’s limp body hidden from view.

Luca and Aria emerged from one of the hallways as they made their way to the exit, and Rocco frowned a little, wondering what they’d been doing.

“I’ll make sure he gets home and check what he remembers,” Aria offered, reaching out to take the limp body from Marco.

“My spell will wear off him soon,” Rocco warned.

“I’ll just have to knock him out the old-fashioned way, then. Maybe a slight concussion will help him forget what happened.”

“He’ll keep his mouth shut,” Marco said. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Rocco watched him warily. Something wasn’t adding up here. Marco didn’t seem the least bit surprised at his cousin’s overreaction. Before he could gather his thoughts into an actual question, Emilio shoved away from him and strode toward the exit.

Rocco ignored the other shifters to follow him, calling out before he could go too far. “Let me drive you home.”

Emilio stopped, tension in every line of his body as he drew in deep breaths. “I can’t be in an enclosed space with you right now. I’ll walk.”

And then, in a blur of motion, he was gone.

What the fuck was going on?