Gun To My Head, Stake To My Heart

28

Dante was taken aback by my directness. The other two men reprimanded me for my lack of respect. Apparently, he should be referred to as Mr. Ricci. Wow, and here I thought Alec was the one with the ego trip. Nicolo went to deescalate the situation, but I held my hand up to stop him.

"I meant no disrespect. As you can tell, I'm not from- well, I technically am from here, but I didn't grow up here." I made sure I had all the men's attention. "I didn't have the opportunity and privilege to grow up here. I was supposed to live here, but the war..." I paused to gather myself. I saw Dante's features soften in understanding of the trauma the war with the vampires have caused. "The war took my dad from me... and left a widowed mate to fend for herself in a world where she was hunted down. Her only chance of survival was to plead with a witch to bind her child's werewolf side." Dante's features began to widen in shock. "And she grew up protected by guards who pledged loyalty to her late father. And she's now figured out her heritage and has returned." Tears were falling from my eyes while tears lined Dante's. "So here she is. Hoping that you'll accept her... uncle."

The moment I said the last word, Dante jumped out his seat and embraced me in a tight hug. He rubbed my back as I cried into his chest. I clutched onto my uncle.

"Welcome home, my beautiful niece." His Italian accent soothed my heartache. He pulled back and looked at me with such love and admiration. "Ha! My niece has returned! Prepare a feast!" He commanded the guards.

"Uncle, these three men brought me here." I pointed at Nicolo, Mateo, and Gianni.

"Then they shall be handsomely rewarded and recognized. Please, join us in feasting as well." He clapped their shoulders.

"Mr. Ricci." A guard called out to him. "What should we do about the vampire?" He pointed at Lara as she played with the snow globe on his desk.

Dante looked at where he was pointing. When his eyes connected with Lara's, his eyes shifted to gold with flecks of silver. Before she had time to react, Dante's hand was around her throat, slamming her into the wall.

"Pureblood!" He raged.

"I could refer to you as the same thing."

"You killed my father and brother!"

"I did no such thing. That was my father's doing. Not mine."

"Please, uncle." I held his arm. "She's my mate." A collective gasp was heard around the room.

"Well, I was expecting we'd just tell him privately but..."

"How can this be?" Dante lowered his arm and released his hold.

"I don't know, but she is. I was attacked in America, so we decided to travel here. But, we knew you wouldn't believe us so we stayed at the residence in France while Matt talked with you. We waited for the signal from Matt to tell us it was safe to come. We were going to leave, but then the king came and imprisoned me. She helped save me and bring me here." I rushed out an explanation.

"We want the same thing, Alpha." Lara addressed my uncle. "We need to end my father's reign once and for all." She stated with an edge to her voice.

"Why should I trust you? You are cunning and manipulative."

"I agree I can be a cunning little cunt, but my soul is bound to your niece and I will see to it that my father never harms a hair on her head." She spoke with such vindication.

"Very well. We'll just have to take you at your word." He then turned to me and smiled. "Enough with the heavy mood. It's a glorious day as it marks the return of my niece. Let's eat!"

I was worried about Matt and my friends, but my uncle assured me they were safe and on their way. In fact, they'd be joining us for dinner. About 10 minutes later, my friends arrived. Matt explained that Taemin had texted about our escape. My friends were positioned deep in the Alps to rendezvous with us, but our surprise departure caught them off guard. They also didn't know where I went, so it took them a while to search the mountain.

Zayn had caught my scent and they followed it south. They felt hopeful and their fears diminished when they realized I was in Amalfi. My uncle thanked them for their loyal service and promised to reward them heavily and recognize their actions.

I felt content and happy to be with my family. I turned to see Lara smiling at me. She was radiating happiness at knowing my excitement to being reunited with my family. My uncle's wife, the current Luna, greeted us and was ecstatic at my return. I also had a chance to bond with my cousins and other aunts and uncles.

"No food for you, vamp?" My uncle addressed Lara, who just shook her head and continued drinking the red wine. My uncle thought for a moment before his eyes widened in shock. "You can't have food." His statement ceased all chatter in the air. Lara looked at him with a quirked brow. "That means you're a powerful pure blood. More powerful than your father since he consumes food with no discomfort." Lara's eyes narrowed as she poured another glass. "You could've beaten your father if you wanted to, but you chose not to. He's no competition to you." My uncle clenched his teeth. "Why didn't you fight him?!" He slammed his hands down on the table, causing me to jump.

"Relax, love. Werewolves have trouble controlling their anger." She looked at me. "As for why I didn't annihilate him right then and there, something that I'm regretting to be honest, is because I didn't want Amelia witnessing my dark form." She placed the bottle down and sipped the drink in her glass.

"Dark form?" I questioned her.

"You know... like that man." She spat. "Abyss colored eyes and white hair." She avoided my eyes.

The rest of the dinner proceeded more amicably. I could tell Lara wanted to be anywhere but here, yet she stayed for me. I was grateful for her support. I don't know how'd I handle everything if she wasn't with me. Everything's been so overwhelming, but she's helping me adjust.

My friends and I lit a bonfire and chatted. Lara sat next to me and ignored the hateful glares from my friends. We told each other the different events that happened since I was whisked away to France.

Matt had told the agency that he was going undercover with Jade and Zayn. They were extracted since they claimed their covers were blown. They did conclude that nothing suspicious was happening at Cobalt Enterprise and that the investigation should be closed. I thought the good news would get a reaction out of Lara, but she was clearly somewhere else mentally since she didn't even react. The only thing I got out of her was the origin of the company's name. Apparently, cobalt is the color of her family's coat of arms.

We spent a couple more hours before I called it a night. My uncle showed me to a private residence on the property. I thanked him and took a much needed shower. I don't know how Lara put up with my stench. She had clearly slipped out earlier to take a shower since there wasn't a speck of dirt on her.

After I finished, I jumped onto the bed. Lara smiled when I laid my head on her lap. She closed her book and put it on the side table as she combed her fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes and hummed in satisfaction.

"May I tell you a brief history of my family?"

I jerked at her question. I looked into her eyes to see a pained expression.

"Y-Yes."

"Okay." She paused. "If you and I are to become one someday, then you must know everything about me. The good and ugly." She took a deep breath. "Let's begin with the first patriarch of my family."