Page 26 of The Mafia Bloodline
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Outside, the night stretched endless and quiet. Inside, the bond hummed between us…alive, electric and undeniable. It thrummed in the space between heartbeats, in every breath, every glance, as if the very air inside the SUV was charged with something I couldn’t name.
Volken’s hand was still on mine, his thumb brushing the inside of my wrist where my pulse beat wild beneath my skin. When he finally spoke again, his tone had shifted, less rough, but firm. Decided.
“From now on,” he said, voice low but leaving no room for debate, “Colt stays with you. Always.”
I blinked, pulling back just enough to look at him. “What?”
He didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. “He’ll be your guard. Wherever you go, if I can’t be there, he will. No arguments.”
I sat back, crossing my arms. “You’re joking.”
Colt’s eyes flicked up in the rearview mirror, a ghost of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “He’s not.”
I shot him a glare. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Volken’s gaze darkened slightly, the faintest glint of fang catching in the dashboard light. “No, you need protection. There’s a difference.”
“I can protect myself,” I muttered, heat rising in my voice. “I’ve been doing it just fine until…”
“Until you nearly got yourself killed!” he snapped, voice sharp enough to make the air vibrate. The SUV went silent except for the steady rumble of the engine.
His chest rose and fell, hard, once. Then he exhaled, forcing his tone softer, steadier. “You don’t understand yet, Runa. When I can’t be with you, I feel it. It’s like a blade twisting under my ribs. If anything happened to you while I slept, I…” He shook his head once, jaw tight. “I wouldn’t survive it.”
The confession was raw, unexpected, it hit somewhere deep inside me. My anger faltered, replaced by a pulse of something dangerously close to tenderness.
He reached out, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch careful, reverent. “During the day, you’ll have a changeling assigned. They’re half-human, half-shifter, immune to daylight, strong enough to protect you from most threats. Gideon trained yours personally.”
My brows furrowed. “You already arranged that?”
“Of course.” His eyes met mine, steel and shadow, unwavering. “I plan ahead, especially where you’re concerned.”
I huffed, crossing my arms tighter. “So, I get a vampire guard at night and a shapeshifter babysitter during the day. Great.”
Colt’s laugh was low and amused. “Sounds like royal treatment to me.”
Volken ignored him, his focus entirely on me. “It’s not a cage, Runa. It’s a safeguard. I won’t clip your wings, but I’ll make damn sure no one tears them off, either.”
The words should’ve annoyed me. They should’ve sounded possessive, controlling.
But instead, they wrapped around me like armour.
The bond between us thrummed again, deep and warm, as if responding to his promise.
I sighed, glancing out the window at the stretch of forest beyond. “Fine. But I’m not promising to make it easy for either of them.”
Volken’s mouth curved into a dangerous smile, his voice dropping to that dark, smoky tone that always seemed to melt my defences. “I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
Colt chuckled quietly from the front. “You sure about that, boss? Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.”
Volken leaned back in his seat, still watching me with that unreadable mix of heat and danger. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
And even as I rolled my eyes, even as I tried to pretend his protectiveness irritated me, I couldn’t ignore the pulse of warmth that spread through me, because deep down, I knew, he wasn’t just protecting me, he was anchoring me.
And for someone who’d been alone for far too long, that terrified me more than anything.
The drive didn’t take long. The Escalade rolled to a stop outside one of the Dragic warehouses a broad, steel structure crouched at the edge of the industrial district, lit only by the cold wash of moonlight and the soft glow of security lights.
