Page 16 of Broken Wolf Heart
A glimpse of red hair draws my eye. I watch as Mia kneels first, but then, one by one, every member of the Giovanni pack drops to one knee. Even the Diavolo crowd, including Rocco, Alvaro, and Charlie. Then Vincenzo himself, though his reluctance is clear.
When he refuses to lower his eyes from mine, my wolf nearly goes for his throat. I don’t know how I manage to hold her back. Maybe it’s the silence or the sort of violent reverence of it all. A quiet room decorated with the blood of my enemies.
It’s disgusting.
But my wolf seems placated by it.
Slowly, Vincenzo rises again and steps forward, his expression unreadable as he surveys my wolf—his new alpha. I growljust so he knows who the fuck he’s dealing with. Just in case Franco’s dead generals aren’t enough indication.
He doesn’t challenge me, but I can see him warring with the desire to try. When he speaks, his voice rings through the auditorium like a death knell. “Lexi Giovanni is the new high alpha of the Mafia Pack.”
And just like that, I am no longer a girl caught between two warring families.
I am the alpha wolf at the head of them all.
4
GREY
Waiting alone for Lexi’s alpha vote results is a more excruciating experience than the war I fought with the Black Moon Pack. Worse than being beaten by my father. Worse than that moment when I watched Lexi disappear through the church doors, clutched in Santiago’s grip. At least, then I believed I’d done the right thing to secure her future. In the quiet of this room with only my doubts to fill the silence, I have no idea if my crazy-ass plan worked—or if I’ve only hastened the inevitable for us both.
And if I’m wrong, it’s too late. Because she’s already inside the auditorium, surrounded by wolves who will either offer her salvation… or demand her execution. And I can’t do a goddamn thing to help her.
Not without exposing everything.
I pace the length of the small office tucked off the main lobby. Dust clings to the edge of the desk shoved into the corner, and the only light comes from the hazy dusk bleeding through the blinds. Even with my wolf hearing, I can only hear murmurs—low voices rising from the hall where they’re holding the vote.
If I step one foot into that room, they’ll know.
Know what I’ve become.
Know the power that pulses just beneath my skin like a second heartbeat.
Franco’s power.
And a Diavolo with Franco’s strength in his veins?
That’ll get me and my pack killed before I can even explain that I don’t want Franco’s title for myself.
My phone buzzes. Unknown number.
I answer, expecting maybe Dutch or Razor checking in.
Instead: “Miss me?”
Ramsey.
His voice drips with that same confident drawl I remember from childhood. But there’s something colder now. Detached. Like the last shred of familiarity between us has been scrubbed clean.
“Where are you?” I ask.
“What? You can’t sense me, alpha?” His voice twists with cruel humor.
“No,” I admit.
“That’s because I’m free,” he says simply. “In more ways than one.”
“You left the pack.”
