Page 35 of Claimed By the Werewolf Boss
Nicky slowly stands up from his chair and starts to strip. I scramble back against the bars. If he touches me, I’m going to rip his dick off. I will fight and claw and kick until my last breath. My fingers curl into fists when he takes his pants down. I look at Luca, his nonchalant pose in the chair unmoved. Have they done this before? Do they take women and assault them for fun? Why would Valentino be friends with someone like this?
There’s a glint in his eyes when Nicky crouches down in front of me. The hairs on my arms stand upas something cracks. His body jerks frantically as hair bursts from his skin. Bile rises in my throat when his body grows and creaks like a leather handbag. I’m going to be sick.
His teeth turn sharp, a muzzle where his mouth should be. My lips tremble as terror fills me. Finally, the swishing of a tail is the only sound I hear before my vision starts to fade on the pale grey fucking werewolf in front of me.
I know if I pass out it will be for a few seconds, but maybe I’ll hit my head and get some sense knocked into me.
Chapter thirteen
Valentino
What I thought would be a ten-minute wait slowly rolls into thirty and then sixty minutes. There’s giving a woman space and then there is walking from one side of the villa to the other in my underwear to see if she’s okay. I’m slamming through societal dating goalposts with Cheyenne. I even know that she may be pissed with me come the morning when she realises what I did and do. But more than anything, I know we are meant to be together, and she’ll see that too.
It’s time to tell her everything.
A few of the boys whistle at me from the kitchen because honestly it’s fucking weird seeing me walking around this undressed with no plans to shift. Nonna would kill me if I got hair all over her house, so clearly,I’m up to something unusual. It’s not like I’m sporting a tent in my pants at the moment, but with the way gossip spreads in this family, everyone’s going to think we’re having some kind of lover’s spat.
Outside Andrea and Junelle’s suite, my nephew talks quietly on the phone.
“What do you mean he’s gone?” he growls, shoulders tensing as his emotions start to run higher. “He’s on the fucking schedule for security tonight.”
Nobody fucks with Andrea’s schedule and gets out of it scot-free. Christ alive, whoever fucked up is going to regret it. He throws his hand out to stop me on my quest to Cheyenne’s room, though. What could be so serious about a no-show that he needs my help?
“Keep calling him until he answers. I’ll check his suite.” He lowers his phone, looking at me like I’m some kind of fucking alien. “What the fuck is going on tonight? No shirt, no shoes, no service.”
With how hard my eyes roll, I’m surprised I can still see the smirk that forms on his face.
“Who’s the no-show tonight?” I ask instead.
“Nicky. He was scheduled to do twelve hours today, but he just disappeared after dinner. I’m going to go check on him to make sure he’s okay and then threaten to put him with Ugo for the rest of the trip for being a pain in my ass.”
“Maybe he’s having a hard time since Cristina and all that.”
Nicky’s a good kid most of the time, eager to move up the organisation and prove his worth. We’ve not had issues with his work ethic before, but he’s definitely been off since his long-term girlfriend very publicly and loudly broke up with him a few months ago after she was promoted and he wasn’t. From what I recall, Cristina wasn’t his mate, so it was for the best anyway that he ripped that band-aid off sooner rather than later.
“I’m really happy for you, Uncle Tino.” Andrea’s smirk softens, that wistful in-love look coming back over him. Such a fucking lover boy, like his dad used to be.
I’m at a loss for words, awash in memories of my older brother and how much Andrea has grown up to be like him. I pull him into a hug, silently trying to express the well of grief and hope bubbling up inside of me. Today has been a vision of the future, with all of us happy, mated, and together. All I want to do now is wrap myself up in my girl and sleep knowing that our worlds are a little more right than they were before this vacation.
We break apart and start walking in the same direction. While I know where Cheyenne’s room is, the rest of the coordinating has been up to Andreaand Nonna. They laid out the villa to be tactically the strongest and most amenable to everyone’s needs. That apparently means that Nicky and Cheyenne were placed right next to each other.
While Andrea knocks, I plan to simply open my girl’s door. It’s locked though, which isn’t right. If she’s not feeling good after everything that went down today, I want to make sure she’s okay. If she’s feeling a bit smothered, I want to discuss that. Whatever’s going on, I need to know.
I force the door open with my shoulder. Her room is dark, the window open. And it reeks of Luca. Behind me, I hear Andrea force his way into Nicky’s room too and then shout in frustration. Something very wrong is happening.
My nostrils flare as my vision starts to turn. Knuckles cracking and teeth growing, I can’t force down this rush of anger like I did yesterday. Why the fuck does it smell like him in here? He’s supposed to be in Naples.
Where is my mate? I blink twice until the outline of her room becomes clear. Her bed is torn to shreds, but her suitcase is shoved into the corner. The dress she wore tonight hangs on the back of the bathroom door.
Her phone is on the ground.
The change takes over, the fear and rage pushing my body to explode until I’m panting and snarling.My claws clack against the tiles as I stalk around the room, sniffing and searching for an explanation until I’m standing in front of the open window. A howl rips through my throat, a long call into the night to signal to all who hear it.
Andrea crashes into the room and stares at me. It’s not long until more of the family is crowded around the door. My mate has been taken, the rat’s nest uncovered.
“Everyone search the grounds,” I bark. “Ugo, take Dino and a few others up to the hunting cabin. Kill anyone in your way but bring me Luca.”
“What’s going on?” Junelle asks, tears forming in her eyes as she sees the carnage. A few of the other human mates look at me with fear.
