To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (78 page)

“I see.” Luka’s head dipped.

I wished he did. I wished he didn’t. All I knew was that I was hurting more right now.

“I’m sorry, Caylie,” he whispered. “I failed you.”

I wanted to scream at the defeat in his eyes. I wanted to run after him, to hold him in my arms and tell him it was all a lie. But I couldn’t. Because I loved him.

Luka walked away swiftly.

Inside the living room, I heard Luka apologizing to our families as he announced the end to our betrothal.

Luka’s voice was tight as he said, “I apologize for being unfairly selfish. I should have considered how my position could present a danger to Caylie and your family if we were to be betrothed.”

A week had passed since I last saw Luka. Every day, I waited for the Invisa to visit me. Every day, I waited for Luka to call. But neither happened and I felt like I was slowly going out of my mind with waiting.

Sabina and Ever invited me out once again, and this time I took them up on their offer, knowing if I stayed another minute inside my house I would likely do something really crazy. We decided to meet up in a Caro-owned boutique mall, with every store selling a special catalog for our race.

It was just my luck that Emilia Moretti happened to be there, too.

She was dressed all in black, her long-sleeved blouse and skinny jeans making her look tough and chic at the same time. Next to her, I felt almost silly in my halter summer dress.

“Finally,” she snapped when our eyes met.

I came to a halt in front her, stunned at her angry expression. She already had Luka. What else could she be mad about?

“I hope you’re happy,” she snarled. “Luka’s facing charges for treason in your beloved Brethren because of you!”

I paled. “Wh-what did you say?”

Emilia frowned, her voice reluctantly hesitant when she asked, “You don’t know?”

“It’s my first time to come out of my room in over a week.”

“And you haven’t watched any news since then?”

I shook my head.

She muttered something in her language. “God, what a mess.” She took a deep breath. “Luka isn’t defending himself because he wants to die. He thinks it’s better than turning vampire—”

“He can’t turn vampire!” I protested sharply.

“Of course he fucking can when you broke his heart!”

My hand itched to slap her. “Are you blind? Luka’s in love with you. That’s why I broke the engagement. So he doesn’t need to feel guilty about me and he can have his fucking happy-ever-after with the girl he loves—”

“And that’s you!”

I stumbled back.

Emilia laughed bitterly. “You’re right in guessing I loved him. I’ve loved him since my brother first brought him to our home. But even then, I knew he would never be mine. He talked about you all the time and everyone in our family knew about you even before any of us met you. When I got the chance to work with him, I fought my brother for it, even though it would put me in jeopardy. I fought for it because I wanted a chance to make him fall in love with me.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, couldn’t let myself hope that it just may be true. I whispered in a faltering voice, “But he went to the monastery—”

“He almost killed you three years ago. My brother had to tell me when I was about to demand an alliance between our families.” Emilia flushed. “I thought I could make him love me in time, if we were married.”

I watched her struggle not to cry, and this time I could find it in me to feel bad because I knew—oh God of Caros, I knew how she felt because that was how I felt, too.

“Domenico said it wouldn’t be right to form an alliance with one who could turn into a vampire…and that’s what Luka fears he’d be if he can’t have you in his life.”

“But he stayed away from me for so long…”

“He trained. There is a way to control the instinct to turn, but it’s not something everyone can do. The price is too high.”

There was so much to take in that my head was whirling. But one thing remained clear, and I asked anxiously, “Luka? Where is he now?”

“He’s at the Brethren, awaiting sentence.”

* * * *

Old fears haunted me as I ran towards the Brethren.
Déjà vu,
I thought as a shiver went up my spine, and the feeling intensified when I found the doors locked against me once more. I pounded on it. “I’m here for the trial of Luka Georgiades!” I called out.

No one answered.

I pounded harder. “Please.” I fell to the ground when after so many heavy knocks my knuckles were all bruised, no one still came. “Please open the door. Let me save him. I love him—”

Slowly, the doors creaked open.

Tears still trailing down my cheeks, I pushed myself up and crossed the threshold. There was still no one around, but somehow the once-locked doors had opened. I followed the sound of restless murmurs from the crowd until I found myself in the Brethren’s vastest courtyard. Here was the entire army of Brethren, their faces bleak as they gazed ahead.

When I followed their gaze, I cried out, never thinking I would see such a sight.

Luka was unkempt and dressed in the last pair of clothes I had seen him in—the night he came to my home to ask me to marry him. His eyes were wild and feral, his nails had sharpened into claws, his hands cuffed behind him.

Beside him were Stefan, Riyu, and even Domenico Moretti himself, all of their faces harsh and cold as they listened to the monotonic review of Luka’s case.

“Knowledge of every Brethren hideout is only possessed by an official and unless evidence is brought forth to prove that Luka has not betrayed his race, his involvement will be assumed as based on the principle of worst circumstances of our law.”

The judge continued, “Punishment for this crime may be anything between a life sentence in the dungeons or death.”

“No,” I whispered. “No, no, No!”

I ran towards the platform, pushing myself against the crowd, not caring who I hurt or stepped on in my determination to reach Luka. He couldn’t die. I wouldn’t let him die, not like this, never like this. “Luka!” I screamed, my gaze on his wild countenance as I forced my way through.

Even though his friends’ heads snapped towards me, Luka’s expression didn’t change.

Finally making my way to the platform, I worried for a moment how I could get up before I felt myself being lifted easily and landing on my feet. When I looked up, I saw the legendary Domenico Moretti, a slight smile softening his harshly handsome face.

“Caylie Sonora?”

I nodded, eyes still on Luka, my heart breaking the longer I stared at him and what I had turned him into.

“You’re here to save Luka?”

I forced myself to look away from Luka and found Domenico smiling even though his narrowed gaze was hooded, reminding me of Luka at his most urbane…and at his most manipulative.

I nodded. “I am. I…” Tears stung my eyes when I realized how I was almost late in saving Luka—how I could still be late. “I love him.”

“Then go,” he said gently and stepped away, leaving my path to Luka free.

Luka was down on his knees when I reached him, chained and cuffed like some rabid animal. My poor beautiful Luka! I started to cry, unable to help it, hating myself for being so blind. He didn’t deserve to be treated like this! Even if he had turned into a vampire, he didn’t deserve this!

I went to stand in front of him. “Luka?”

He snarled at me, fangs flashing out. The crowd reacted. Many screamed in fear, others shouted for Luka to be killed. The Brethren army immediately moved to control them, their stances clearly saying where their loyalties lay. They would die first before letting anyone get to Luka Georgiades.

Ignoring the frantic beat of my heart, I went closer and knelt in front of him. “Luka, it’s me.”

His nostrils flared. I thought it was out of recognition until I saw the red rims around his eyes darken. He broke through his restrains and in a second, he started to circle me, uncaring of anything but making me his prey.

“…but due to extenuating circumstances, the Brethren has decided to extend leniency and shall turn him over to the care of the Lyccan council.”

“He’s getting away!”

“They’re letting him kill again!”

“
Kill Him
!”

A large part of the crowd had transformed into an angry senseless mob and they started to push their way towards the platform, fury making them immune to the strength of the Brethren army.

“Take the judge away,” Domenico told Stefan and Riyu and they nodded curtly, appearing at the judge’s side in a burst of Caro speed and leading him away to a safe place.

Domenico scanned the crowd, tall and strong, his stance fearless, his gaze calculating. I was beginning to understand why Luka had so much respect for him. “It will take the crowd about seven minutes to break through the barrier. Your army would do their best to keep the crowd away, but it will be against their own code to hurt the crowd. Can you reach him in six minutes?”

“I thought I had seven,” I muttered without taking my gaze away from Luka.

“We might need a minute to fight the crowd ourselves.”

I didn’t waste any more seconds talking to Domenico. “Luka?” He snarled so ferociously in response I almost jumped. “Luka, it’s me, Caylie.”

“Caylie,” he purred. “Sweet Caylie, you’ll be delicious to drink dry.”

I swallowed. “Try to remember me, Luka.”

“I do remember your scent. It’s sweet like no other and that’s why I must take you.” And in a blink he held me in his grasp, one hand around his neck while another pulled my head back by the hair. He inhaled my scent deeply and shivered, fangs glistening.

“Luka, I’m your most precious bauble. Don’t you remember?” I tried not to cry at the absence of recognition in his eyes, which hadn’t even the smallest trace of amethyst in it.

He ran one sharp nail against my cheek and it started to bleed. He licked it clean, smacking his lips afterwards. “Sweet like I always imagined,” he whispered.

“Luka, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” But the words were empty, his gaze only expressing hunger for my blood and nothing else.

A roar came out from the crowd and in the corner of my eye, I saw the panic-driven Caros breaking through the army and running towards us.

“Caylie, do something now!” It was Domenico’s last command before he turned wolf, claws flashing out and trying to push back the crowd.

“Kill him! He killed my daughter!” Too late I realized that grief was driving these Caros to murder.

Luka snarled, his feral eyes darting every corner as he took in the angry mob that was closing about us.

“No!” I threw myself over Luka when someone suddenly lifted a heavy rock in the air, ready to smash Luka’s head with it. The Caro tried to stop the downward swing of his arms when he saw me in the way, but it was a little too late and it hit the side of my temple.