SWNOVELS Chapter 19 Chapter 19
The next morning,
I woke up in the comfort of Leo's arms for the first time in far too long. His bare chest was warm and soft and his scent was lingering on his skin in all its sweet-smelling glory.
He was still fast asleep with his lips parted slightly and his hair messy and tousled. I kissed him on the cheek, got up and walked into the bathroom for a shower. The house was still deadly silent meaning it must be before 6 am. My children seem to have inherited their father's habits of getting up extremely early.
After my shower, I just had time to get dressed before Leo began to stir.
"You're up early,” he said in a deep morning voice.
"After breakfast, I'm going to go and visit Milly," I said brushing my short hair in the mirror.
"No, you're not," he grumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow.
“Yes, I am."
"I said no," he repeated sitting up and sending me a glare.
"And I said yes."
"After you ran away from me for three months, do you really expect me to allow you to leave my sight?”
"You can come with me if you like, but you can't stop me,” I said tying my hair into a ponytail.
I saw his eyebrow raise in the mirror as he lay on the bed.
"You think?"
"You shouldn't stop me," I sighed. "Whether you believe that there is anything supernatural about her or not, she is still a thirteen-year-old girl being brought up by three older brothers. I bought her her first bra and helped her through her first period. She needs a woman for stuff like that and I am all she has. I haven't seen her in three months and I really need to check that everything is okay.” I explained. "Please, Leo." He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Go now and take Luca with you. I will stay and look after the kids,” he said after a few moments of thought. "And just so that you know, the border security is ten times tighter than it was when you first left and if I found out that you have even considered-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I replied. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Ella, come here," he said as I stepped towards the door.
I made my way back to the bed and kissed my mate softly on the lips. "Thank you, Leo," I said placing my hand on his cheek.
"Be back before 8," he said. "Any later and I'll be out hunting you down."
I nodded and left before he had the chance to change his mind.
As I made my way down the stairs, I dialled Luca's number. He took a while to pick up but that's because, knowing Luca, he was probably still asleep.
"Hey, are you up?" I asked once he had answered his phone.
"Of course. It's 5:50 am. Why on earth would I be anything else?” He grumbled sarcastically.
"Oh sorry, did I wake you?" I said knowing full well that I definitely did. "Don't worry about it. What's up?" he asked as I put a piece of bread in the toaster.
"Do you remember all those times that I asked you to babysit whilst I visited someone?"
"Yes," he replied. "And you told me to just agree and not ask any questions and definitely not tell the Alpha.”
"Precisely. Well, I need to visit them again but Leo won't let me go alone so I was wondering whether you could pick me?"
"Sure," he agreed immediately. "I'll be there in ten minutes.”
When we arrived at the Megestanis house, Luca agreed to wait in the car whilst I went to the door.
"You can't come in," Miles, the youngest brother who was now approaching 19, stated after unbolting the wooden door.
"Fuck off,” I snapped stepping into the house anyway.
"My house. You fuck off," he replied.
"As much as I enjoy your company, cousin, I am here to see Milly," I said walking into the hallway and towards the stairs.
"You can't. She's out of control. Just give me the amulet and go."
"I don't have it right now."
"Then you should leave," he replied although slamming the front door closed defeatedly.
"Once again, fuck off," I added making my way up the stairs to Milly's room anyway.
"Whatever," he grumbled giving up.
Miles was always the brother that didn't really care about anything. Mattio was the sarcastic one, Mason had the temper and Max was just a horrible concoction of all three. They must have inherited it from their father because Milly was the sweetest girl I had ever met. She was kind, thoughtful, generous, humble...I could go on. She certainly didn't deserve this.
"You have to leave," Milly said as soon as I entered her little attic room. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Milly, what is wrong!?" I asked as I saw the thirteen-year-old curled up in the corner of her room.
"I don't know what is wrong with me. It's getting worse and I can't stop it," She sobbed.
It was only then that I noticed the carnage in the room. Every piece of furniture was misplaced and on every wall was singe marks.
"There's a storm coming. I can feel it. And I am going to be the cause of it. People are going to die because of me, Ella! So many people,” she howled looking frantically at her hands.
"You have to calm down," I said remembering what happens when she gets worked up and emotional.
I hurried towards her but she only screamed more.
"No! Don't touch me, I will hurt you!" she exclaimed causing the shutters of the window to fly open letting a gust of wind sweep into the room cause every door in the house to slam and swing.
I stepped back, totally shocked. Things had changed in three months. A moment or so later, Miles burst into the room. He marched through to his sister and withdrew a needle from his pocket.
"Miles, no! Please,” she begged as he pulled up her sleeve and held her arm still. "It hurts!"
"What is that?" I questioned as he injected Millie with the clear liquid. "Wolfsbane," he replied as her little body went weak and floppy. "You're giving her wolfsbane?!" I exclaimed rushing forward. "You could kill her!"
"If she had carried on that way she would have killed herself and everyone else in this village," Miles snapped. "It is the only way to calm her down."
"She is in enough pain, Miles. There are other sedatives you could use.” "Why don't you have the amulet and where is my brother?" he asked changing the subject as he lifted Milly onto her bed and placed a pillow under her head. "Max said in a letter that you would have it and return by the end of the week."
"Well, things changed. We bumped into our delightful second cousin, Luciano, and it got complicated. He took the amulet and called the Alpha, who proceeded to drag me back here. Max and the amulet are still in Venice," I explained.
"Then get your ass back to Venice and get them," Miles replied.
"It's not that simple. Leo, has stripped away my freedom and the security of the borders is insane. I'll never get there without getting caught first."
"Then I'll go," he said.
"You'll never succeed. You don't know your way around the building, you don't know how the mafia operates, you don't have a magical paralysing knife. Milly will just end up with two brothers being held captive on the other side of the world and still no amulet,” I said in despair.
I didn't know what to do and the situation was only getting worse. Without that amulet, people will lose their lives and what will that do to Milly if her power hasn't already killed her?
"Then persuade the Alpha. I don't care how. Bring him here, show him Milly, let me talk to him. Whatever just do it," Miles said.
"He won't listen. If he sees Milly like this, I dread to think what he will do. He thinks the amulet can only bring evil and we might not like his alternative solution.”
"Then we will have to smuggle it in," he concluded. "You will have to at least try and get you off territory and on your way to Italy so that you can post it back or whatever without the Alpha finding out,” He concluded.
"And how do you plan to do that?"
“I'm a trusted member of this pack. When I cross the border the guards hardly check me at all. You hide in my truck, I drive out and claim I'm going to visit a family member off territory, easy peasy lemon squeezy.” "And what if we get caught? Leo would very possibly have you executed for that,” I replied.
"I can't sit here and do nothing whilst my sister goes through this. In my eyes it is worth it,” he replied.
I looked down at Milly who although now was completely unconscious, still had an exhausted, pained expression on her face.
"Okay," I said eventually. "You are right. We have to try."
"Text me when you have a chance and I will pick you up,” Miles replied setting out the basis of a plan. "Then I will drive you to an airport before getting back, hopefully before he realises that I am gone too.”
I nodded.
"I'll see you soon then. And please for the love of the Goddesses, find something that isn't wolfsbane,” I said looking at the needle still in his hand. "Have you ever had that stuff injected into your bloodstream? It hurts more than childbirth...not that you've done that either..." I added before leaving the room and heading back to Luca's car.
I got home before to the sounds of children's screams and voices were echoing through the house.
"Dadda, can we play a game?" I heard Cato say to Leo as I made my way up the stairs.
"Not right now, Cato," Leo replied. "I'm feeding your sisters."
"Please, Daddy, pwease, pwease, pwease,” he nagged.
"When Mommy gets home, we can go to the park, okay?" Leo said with a sigh. "But your sisters need their breakfast first.”
I walked into the twin's nursery to find Leo trying to bottle feed Francesca as Cato clung to his leg and Marie attempted to climb out of her cot.
"Mommy's back! Can we go to the park now?!" he squealed.
"You can't go to the park in your dinosaur pyjamas,” I said lifting him off Leo's leg. "Why don't you go and get dressed and then help your brothers too?"
He nodded and raced out of the room and down the hall. I then lifted Marie out of her crib and picked up her bottle from the side.
"You weren't gone for very long," Leo pointed out as I sat on the rocking chair behind him as I fed Marie.
"Well," I began. "Milly is not exactly in the best condition. Miles had to sedate her."
For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.
"He wouldn't have had to if she had the-" I began
"You should know that I will not change my mind," he said. "Don’t even try and persuade me to allow that wretched thing into my pack.”
"It's not wretched. It could save her life and maybe even your pack members. She says that there's a storm coming because of her powers and people are going to die if she can't control them.”
"Then maybe I should exile her from my pack,” he snapped. "I don't want to hear another word about the amulet ever again. Understand?” I narrowed my eyes and looked away.
"Ella," he said sternly. "Do you understand me?"
"Maybe if you actually explained why you resent it so much, I might be able to begin to understand why you can't bring yourself to help a thirteen-year-old girl in your pack from excruciating pain,” I replied. He sighed and paused for a moment.
"You don't need to know," he said eventually.
"Then how can I ever understand you?" I replied just as Cato came running in with his t-shirt on inside out and back to front and his shoes on the wrong feet.
"I'm ready for the park!" he announced.
I smiled at Cato before looking over to Leo who was looking vacantly into space.
"Come here, baby," I said. "You've got your shoes and your shirt on wrong. How are you meant to see the lovely dinosaur on the front if you've got it inside out?"
"Mama, it's not a dinosaur. It's a dragon,” he corrected as I lifted his shirt off.
"Silly me," I said touselling his blond locks.
"Leo, could you go and check Silas and Mathias are ready?" I said noticing that he had finished feeding Francesca.
"Sure," he said with a nod before getting up and leaving the room without another word.
"What's wrong with Daddy?" Cato asked as I put his top back on.
"He has a lot to think about, that's all,” I replied. "Don't worry, bambino."
He nodded before switching his shoes around and helping me get his sisters ready for the park.