To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (31 page)

            Misty stiffened.

            Dio glared. “That was in the past.”

            “O-of course,” Aurelius said hastily. “You know how senile we old people can be.”

            Excusing herself, she headed for the restroom, saw Matilda, and made a quick detour.

            “Hey, Mist --”

            “I need to talk you,” Misty mumbled, dragging her friend outside the Hall and all the way to a private corner at the back. Looking straight into her friend’s eyes, she said, “Tell me the truth, Matilda. Have you been hearing rumors that my husband has been recently seen with the woman he was supposed to marry before?”

            Matilda avoided her gaze. “Honey, it’s not --”

            “No lies, Matilda.” Misty shook her head and her friend fell silent.

            The other woman looked as beautiful and feisty as ever, in a cocktail dress that was just an inch away from looking more like a sexy piece of lingerie. Matilda was notorious for her lack of tact, and the fact that she was trying to spare Misty’s feelings was more worrying than reassuring.

            She said shakily, “Please, Matilda, the truth.”

            Matilda sighed. “
Yes
. I have heard rumors about your husband and Rafaella being seen together but they were just that –
rumors.
If it is true, it’s only because her father has long been a Moretti ally and I’ve heard that they’re the two leading our defense against the vampires.”

            Misty slowly made herself relax. Matilda was right. The Hernandez and Moretti packs
were
long-time allies, so it wouldn’t be surprising if people did see Domenico and the Hernandez princess together. She had to trust Domenico, for what was love without trust?

~~~

            “Are you heading home straight away?” Ricardo asked as their plane landed.

            Domenico nodded. “I miss my wife,” he admitted.

            “I’m afraid you’ll have to miss her a bit more,” Rafaella said, joining them in a nude-colored one-shoulder gown that emphasized her slim figure to perfection. “Today is Foundation Day. Have you forgotten? We promised to report our findings to the other pack leaders.”

            Domenico frowned because he
had
forgotten about it.

            Rafaella laughed outwardly when she saw the expression on his face even though inside, she was incensed at the thought that Domenico was so affected by the time he had spent apart from his wife he had forgotten the most important occasion in Lyccan history. How could he bear to choose an inconsequential human – and a poor and unrefined one at that – when he could have her, whose lineage was as pure as his?

            “Has marriage changed and weakened you so much that you’ve gone back to who you were before? Does duty mean nothing anymore?” Rafaella taunted, knowing that the words would remind Domenico of how his father had once taunted him similarly as well.

            “Rafaella!” Ricardo growled.

            He stiffened. “Foundation Day slipped my mind, but now that you’ve reminded me, I will, of course, drop by Lyccan Hall first.”

~~~

            When Misty rejoined Dio and Aurelius, a sense of excitement had swept through the crowd. A new group of guests had apparently arrived, creating a sensation.

            And then she saw Domenico walking into the room with a woman at his side.

            Their eyes met.

            She saw shock and something else in his eyes that she did not want to think about.

            Misty forced herself to smile. Nothing was going on between them. She had to believe that.

Domenico disentangled himself from Rafaella as quickly as good manners permitted and went to Misty.

            “It’s not what it looks like,” he said fiercely.

            She looked into his eyes and believed him.

From across the room, Rafaella saw the love shining in Misty’s eyes. Oh, no. That would not be there later on. Domenico was hers. She bided her time, waiting for the two to separate. Of course they would --Domenico was a famous figure among them. When he was taken away by other council members, she swiftly crossed the room and stood in front of Domenico’s wife.

            Misty’s smile froze when she realized who was standing before her. She said softly, “Hello.”

            “You know me then?”

            “Of course. Domenico’s told me about you.”

            Rafaella smirked. “I’m sure he did.”

            Misty chose not to say anything.

            “You do know that Domenico married you just to spite his father, don’t you?”

            “It was mentioned that was a possibility, yes, but it doesn’t matter now.” Misty did not hold it against Domenico. Their marriage might have began with the wrong reasons, but now it was fine because they loved each other.

            Incensed that she wasn’t getting the reaction she was hoping for, Rafaela tried to look for another way to hurt Misty. “When you serve your purpose, you know he’ll drop you like he dropped me.”

            Lifting her chin, Misty said, “No, he won’t.”

            “He was supposed to marry me, but then he chose you because you’re the perfect little innocent pawn he could use to shore up alliances with other packs,” Rafaella hissed.

            Domenico suddenly materialized at their side. “Rafaella --”

            Both women ignored him.

            Misty said steadily, “If I’ve been of help to him in any way, then I’m glad. He’s my husband.”

            Domenico felt like he was punched in the gut by those words. He felt like he didn’t deserve them.

            Rafaella threw Misty a look filled with such hatred. She snarled at Misty. “When the war’s over, he won’t need you anymore and then he’ll kick you out. Can’t you see? It’s why he hasn’t mated with you.”

            “Rafaella, stop this,” Ricardo snapped, embarrassed at the scene his daughter was creating.

            “Take care of your wife,” Dio gritted at Domenico.

            Temper already frayed and still raw at Rafaella’s earlier taunt, Domenico gritted back, “I don’t need any advice from you!”

            Dio whitened. “For God’s sake, when are you ever going to let go of the past? I said something evil in a moment of anger and fear. I would give up my life to take it back. What else do you want?”

            Domenico turned his back on his father. He didn’t want to think about his father’s words, didn’t want to entertain a single doubt about the rightness of his decisions – then and now. If he did, it would mean that his entire quest of revenge against his father would have been for nothing.

            He pulled Misty to his side. “Come on, darling. We’ve had enough.” Instinct told him he had to get his wife out of here before something worse could happen.

            In a way, Dio was right. His inability to let go of the past threatened his present, his future. But it was Dio’s fault all this happened in the first place.
Dio’s
fault and not his!

            Rafaella was still screaming obscenities. “How can you stand being a second class wife?”

            Misty had enough. “I’m not a second class wife. He loves me. We love each other. There’s nothing you can do --”

            “Then why did he consider nullifying your marriage when he learned that my father could help him ally with the Caros?” Rafaella challenged.

            She paled. “I don’t believe you.”

            “Ask him!”

            “Cease this quarrel of yours with my wife if you do not want to anger me, Rafaella,” Domenico warned the other woman. He tried pulling Misty away, but she refused to budge.

            “Ask him,” Rafaella screamed.

            Misty shook her head. “I won’t stoop to your level.” It took every ounce of Misty’s self-control not to break down. Rafaella was so convincing. But she had to trust Domenico. She had to. “And just so you know, we have mated.” She lifted her chin. “Every night.”

            Someone in the crowd burst into laughter.

            Misty paled, knowing that laugh was meant for her even if she did not understand why.

            And then Rafaella began laughing as well. “
You!
God, you are so stupid! When we say ‘mated’, we’re not talking about sexual intercourse, you idiot. We’re talking about mating as the true joining of two mates…of you becoming like us.” Rafaella laughed. “But you’re not, are you?”

            She walked away, head held high.

Dear Diary,

I can’t think of a thing to say except…

It’s over.

            “Misty, we have to talk.” Domenico couldn’t believe how hard it was to control the shaking in his voice. His heartbeat was so loud, he was surprised it didn’t drown out his words.

            But Misty didn’t look back. She kept on walking and walking and by the time he caught up with her, they were out of Lyccan Hall, past the front doors and the censure of all the guards in attendance.

            Misty flinched when Domenico’s fingers wrapped around her arm.

            “Misty, listen.”

            She shook her head.

            “Let me explain --”

            “It’s too late,” she cut him off in a whisper. “Rafaella did the explaining for you.” The other woman’s words filled her mind. She couldn’t believe how foolish she had been.

Domenico cursed. “Rafaella --”

            He stopped when Misty flinched at hearing him speak the other woman’s name and he cursed. He turned her around so she could face him and then wished he hadn’t.

            Misty looked broken.

            All the words of explanation he had thought of died in his throat. Suddenly, all he could say was, “Misty, I love you.” His voice was hoarse. “Please…”

            “You may love me, Domenico,” she whispered, “but you don’t love me enough.”

“I was wrong. I should have explained about mating --”

            She flinched again.

            It made him want to punch something. Would he ever stop hurting her? It seemed like everything he had to say was going to cause her pain. “I was hedging my bets.” He swallowed. “I didn’t mate with you because I wanted to be sure of every step I make…that everything I did would help me hurt my father -- the way he had hurt me before.”

            Domenico knew revealing the truth would only cause him to look worse in Misty’s eyes, but he wanted to tell her everything. “I…was blinded by revenge. I did marry you to spite Dio, but it was only at the beginning and…I fell in love with you.”

            Her smile was sad and void of hope. “But not enough to make me your mate in the truest sense.”

            “We can mate now --”

            She flinched.

            “Misty --”

            “No!”

            Domenico whitened.

            Misty swallowed back her sobs. “I don’t want to be mated with you…in any way. I can’t believe you’d still think that I would want to.”

            He could feel her drifting farther and farther away from him with each word she uttered, and it frightened Domenico. She couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t. He wouldn’t be able to survive it.

            He reached for her again, but she took another step back. The movement hurt more than a sword to his heart, and the distrust in Misty’s eyes seared through him like boiling acid.

            He had promised to love her. He had promised to protect her and cherish her and yet here she was, her body shaking at the effort she was exerting to keep her tears at bay.

            Domenico swallowed. “Misty, please. I was stupid back then. I’m not going to hurt you again. You’re my life.”

            “No.” She closed her eyes. “I’m not.” And then she whispered something inaudibly. A strong gust of wind blew into the night, and tension suddenly filled the air.

            Domenico stiffened, expecting an attack. And then he looked at Misty, about to ask her to go back inside with him so they could talk – just talk – but what he saw made him shout.

            “No!”

            She was disappearing bit by bit.

            “Misty, don’t --”

            She was gone.

            “Misty!”

            He fell to his knees. “MISTY!”

~~~

            Misty had been gone for three days now.

He could not and would not forgive himself if something had happened to Misty.

            How stupid, how stubborn, how proud he had been. And right now, with Misty gone, he couldn’t even remember why it was so fucking important to always have a back-up plan.

            They were put in place to help him in case things between Misty and him did not work out. In case he couldn’t make Dio regret his words with Misty’s success.

            Now he realized too late that all those plans meant nothing.

            Dio had regretted his words. He had done so long, long ago.

            And there was no back-up plan. There wouldn’t ever be one again. If Misty was gone - Life. Did. Not. Work. Out.

            Misty’s siblings still lived with him, and Domenico drew comfort from the fact, knowing that it gave him a connection to Misty, tenuous as it may be. He had also apologized to them with utter humility and had revealed the extent of his mistakes to them. They had forgiven him, yet their eyes told Domenico that if Misty ever chose to leave him, they would go with her without question. And if Misty chose to hate him, they would do so, too.

            Their loyalty pleased him, even though it meant potentially losing not just Misty but her entire family in the process. He had truly lucked out with Misty. He had not only gotten a princess without compare but also family members that were a true credit to the pack.

            Someone knocked on his study door.

            “Come in,” Domenico said flatly.

            Kevin entered the room. “You have a visitor. The Castellano pack leader…”

            Domenico shook his head with a frown. “I don’t want to speak to anyone --”

            The younger boy cut him off grimly. “He has a message from Misty.”

            Domenico immediately stalked past Kevin without a word. He saw Aurelius seated in his living room and instantly demanded, “Have you seen her?”

            Aurelius shook his head and stood up. “My son--”

            “The ghost?”

            “-- relayed your wife’s message,” Aurelius finished. He handed Domenico a scroll that sparkled as if it was made of crystal.

Domenico rolled it open.

            Seeing Misty’s brother frowning in confusion and fear, Aurelius explained somberly, “It is a sworn statement that in the event there is a need for a call to arms against the vampires and those who ally themselves with them, the Faeries would willingly end their self-exile from humanity and earth to battle with the Lyccans…in honor of their adopted sister, Misty Wall.”

            “Where is she?” Domenico asked, white-faced.

            Aurelius was suddenly unable to meet his gaze and Domenico felt fear enveloping him. He had faced death countless times, but he had never been this terrified.

            “Aurelius, dammit,” he said hoarsely. “Where is my wife?”

            “With this pact,” Aurelius said slowly, still not meeting his gaze, “Misty says she has fulfilled her obligation as wife to the Moretti heir. With this…she is asking for the cutting of ties.”

            “No!”

            Kevin strode forward. “What does that mean?”

            “It’s…something more permanent than a divorce or annulment, which humans use to terminate a marriage. With the cutting of ties, Misty has sworn never ever to see Domenico again.”

###