SWNOVELS Chapter 10 Chapter 10
We ran along the rooftops of Venice. Leaping over alleyways and jumping various walls and obstacles as if we had been doing it our whole lives.
And I was having the most fun I've had in three months.
The four mafia men in hot pursuit only added to the thrill and exhilarating of the chase. We were gaining ground much quicker than they were and I felt confident that we would escape without a fight. Well, that was until we reached the end of one building and it was at least a six-metre jump to the next.
"Are you fucking insane?" Max hissed grabbing my wrist and preventing me from taking the jump without a second thought. "And do you want to die young?"
"You're underestimating me. I can do it," I reassured before taking a long run up and leaping across the wide alleyway.
I reached the other side with just a few millimetres to spare.
"Your legs are double the length of mine!" I called to Max who was still on the other side. "If I can do it, so can you!"
"Okay, I'm coming!" he called after looking back at the fast approaching men.
He quickly took a few steps back before sprinting to the edge. The men were a mere metre away and the one at the front reached out to grasp my cousin as he neared the edge of the building. His fingers brushed along the fabric of Max's jeans, a split second earlier and he would have got his ankle. I watched as he lept off the edge of the building, arms flailing and guards desperately trying to grab at his legs. He landed with a thud on the next building beside me, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from his brow.
"That was way too close,” he panted sitting up to see the men stood angrily still on the other side of the gap.
"We don't have time to waste," I said. "Get up.”
We made our way to the other side of the building where a set of external steps stood.
"Down here," I said beginning to hurry down them.
We ran for about ten seconds before Max grabbed my arm and hauled me to a stop.
"Wait," he asked. "Do you hear that?"
I strained my ear to hear echoey footsteps coming from the stairs below us.
"Oh shit," I cursed turning on my heel and thundering back up the stairs.
We reached the top again only to be met by the four men, who were originally chasing us, now having all made the jump.
"Double shit,” Max muttered searching for another way off the rooftop. "Triple shit," I added as about five more Mafia guards poured out of the metal stairwell- including the Descendent of Hecate we had first met in Naples.
Did he follow us here?
"You have nowhere to go," he informed us pointing a gun in our direction. He wore an arrogant smirk and strode towards us with confidence and ego in his step. "I've been following you on your journey and we have this entire building surrounded. Did you think you could steal from us and get away with it?" he asked stepping closer to us.
"We did the first time,” I hissed slowly removing the Preaesidium Deae Astra from its holster. The smirk was wiped from his face and replaced with a furious glare.
His upper lip twitched slighted before he lurched forward and grabbed me tightly around the waist with the gun pointed at my head as he snatched the sword out of my hand.
"I think I'll take this,” he said examining it carefully after releasing me. "If it's the book you want then fine, we have no need for it anymore,” I said chucking them the heavy document, feeling kinda relieved that I wouldn't have to carry it with me anymore. One of the guards caught it and stifled a laugh.
"I'm afraid it is not that easy, sweetheart. You messed with us, now we have to mess with you,” he muttered in my ear.
Suddenly, three of the men stood behind us were tackling Max to the floor and seconds later a different three were coming for me.
An exhausting struggle later, Max and I were both knelt on the rooftop with our hands behind our backs, restrained by three mafia men each. "And I believe you still have something that belongs to us,” he said taking my satchel and finding the amulet.
"That doesn't belong to you,” Max spat. "It was a gift from the Goddesses to the Luna of the Stella pack.”
"I don't care for the witches or your stupid pack. As far as I am concerned, this belongs to the Mafia meaning you have stolen from us. Now, who should I go for first?" the descendant of Hecate taunting waving the paralysing tool in his hand.
"The whore who left you on the floor for twelve hours probably,” One of the men holding me said.
“I'm not a whore," I spat trying to free my arms.
He slowly strolled up to me before crouching down and roughly pulling my hair so that I was forced to look at him.
"Oh yeah?" he asked an evil glint in his eye. "You're Alpha Loren’s little whore, aren't you? Bet you let him do all sorts of dirty things to you?" "Get the fuck off me,” I said jerking my head away from him as all seven of them laughed.
I scowled at him and tried to force myself free...again...
"You really are a work of art,” he said grabbing my face again in one of his hands and running his thumb along my lower lip. "What beautiful eyes and sexy lips..."
His finger and eyes then trailed from my lips and down to my neck before hesitating for a moment. He looked me dead in the eye before I felt his hand grab my breast.
I struggled and screamed, but one of the men holding me just slammed his big, gold-ringed hand over my mouth. An amused expression swept over his face as he maintained our eye contact. How can someone get so much pleasure from another's pain? Cynical. Totally and utterly cynical.
After a few more agonising moments and Max growling some things I shan't be repeating in front of my kids, he finally let go and cut a slit in my arm with the Preaesidium Deae Astra.
Blood flowed out of the tiny wound but apart from that nothing.
"Did I forget to mention that it only works when the Luna of the Stella pack wants it to?" I growled as the wound on my hand glistened for a few seconds before healing and disappearing entirely.
He then tried it on Max and the exact same process occurred. The man threw it onto the floor in anger.
"Take them back to the base and I'll let you know when I've decided what to do with them," he snarled. "Maybe we will even introduce them to the boss."
The boss? If he's not the boss, then who is?
I felt myself being dragged to my feet. Without hesitation, I fought against them. I failed to liberate myself but at least I made their jobs much more difficult.
"If you aren't going to come along nicely, I will inject you with enough wolfsbane to keep you knocked out cold for hours. And it won't exactly be painless, sweetheart,” he threatened.
I gave him a sarcastic smile before kicking one of my restrainers in the place it hurts the most. I elbowed the second in the face and kicked the third in the chest leaving them all either sprawled onto the floor or clasping a body part in agony.
Max was having more trouble and just before he shook the last one off
I felt a sharp scratch in my arm and my world went black.