Page 28 of Branded in Love
“We’re gonna get him back,” he says in a low, soothing voice. “It’s gonna be all right.”
I nod as tears glide down my cheeks. I want to believe him. Never has this felt so real.
“I’m meeting my brothers in a moment,” he speaks in my ear, stroking the side of my face with his temple. “Please wait for me here.” His sensual lips press against my forehead.
“No,” I manage, hurting.
He frowns.
I push back until our stares meet. “If you’re gonna talk about Marco with them, I want to be there,” I add.
“Luciana…”
I clear my tears with the back of my hand. “I’m going,” I breathe. “Nothing you can say will change my mind.”
A low growl lingers in his chest. His gaze drifts from me for a minute. And then, he silently agrees.
21
GAVRIIL
We gather in the parlor. I stand in the middle of the room, surrounded by my brothers. The air is tense. Our hatred towards vampires is nothing new; but when one of us is personally attacked by them, then it’s the same as if they’d injured us all. Unity and brotherhood are what make the Ursa Clan strong, and what has guaranteed its endurance across the centuries.
A dozen men, each one the leader of a distinct bear shifter family. Behind each of them, there’s at least a squad of twenty of our brothers. More than enough to beat Andrea Barone and his coven of blood drinkers.
“Three hundred?” I ask Sasha in his ear.
He leans towards me. “Five fifty,” he replies. “When our brothers in Saint Petersburg learned of oursituation, they came.”
“Do you have a plan?” I say. As my Enforcer, Sasha is the head of any strategy.
He purses his lips and nods.
“Gavriil,” someone says. I recognize the voice and it stuns me.
When my head swings to the side, Vladimir Volkov approaches me, fierce silvery eyes fixed on mine.
I start, transfixed. We haven’t seen each other in years. “Volodya…” I mumble, too shocked to say anything else. “I didn’t expect to seeyouhere.”This is an Ursa matter. What business do wolf shifters have in all this?I want to tell him, but he understands my astonishment.
Volodya pats my arm, a subtle smirk tugging the corner of his lips. “I came as soon as I heard,” he says with a stern expression. “My pack is ready to rip some vampire throats whenever you need us.”
I read through his countenance and discover the offer is genuine. After all this time, Vlad remains loyal to the clan. Pleased, I glide my hand on his jawline and give him half a smile. “Brother,” I say, pulling him towards me. We embrace after seven years of separation. Seeing him is like having a piece of my father with me. He cared dearly for Volodya, took him in at a very young age, when he became an orphan, before I was born. My father raised him as his own.
Slowly, Volodya slips away from my arms, widened eyes fixed on the parlor’s entrance. He steps back. I see his breathing race, his pitch-black pupils widen until there’s but a rim of silver left. In a flash, the scent floods my lungs. The blood chills in my veins. And when Vladimir’s countenance turns feral, I have to look back.
Luciana stands in the doorway, radiant in casual ripped jeans and a t-shirt. Long, damp hair ripples over her shoulders. Damp hair...Fuck. She took a shower.
One quick glance at the room and I recognize unmistakable restraint in my brothers’ gazes. They pick up her scent as well. At this point, she’s in as much danger from any of my clan as from the vampires themselves.
Fuck.
I dash to the doorway, grab her arm, and pull her back, closing the doors behind us. Not that it makes much of a difference.
The minute we put a good distance between us and the room, I stop. “Luciana, are you out of your mind?!” I all but hiss, pulse throbbing hard against my ears and in my throat. I take her hand and lead her as far away from the room as possible.
Bemusement fills her radiant visage with the same intensity as lust washes over me at the powerful perfume of her skin. “What is it?” She frowns. “I don’t…”
“Do you realize that room is full of shifters?” I growl, impatient as the bear in me bristles, demanding that I claim her before any of my brothers dares to do it. Fighting my beast with every step, I move upstairs with her. “I’ve not branded you! I’ve not claimed you! They could… They…” I can’t even say it, struggling between dread and feral desire.
