Chapter 007

Luca

I clenched my hands into a tight fist when I heard Leo's words. The smirk on the corner of his lips annoyed me even more and I felt like punching him on the jaw but I held back.

It's just because Nathan and my father were around that made me hold back.

“I’ll say this once,” I told him, my voice steady but carrying weight. “You stay away from Nathan.”

Leo didn’t move. Didn’t blink. He just stood there with his hands in his pockets like he had every right to exist in Nathan’s shadow.

That alone pissed me off.

“If you drag him into your mess again,” I continued, stepping closer until we were chest to chest, “you will have me to deal with.”

My dad had informed me of Leo's scene last night and how Nate had to take him to the healer.

He let out a quiet breath. Almost amused.

“You?” he said lazily. “You think you can keep me from him…my own stepbrother?”

I felt my jaw tighten.

“I don’t care what connection runs between you two,” I said, my voice dropping lower. “I’m his beta and his best friend. I stand at his right hand. I take the hits meant for him. I make sure no one touches him without consequence.”

His eyes darkened slightly at that.

I smirked.

“People like you,” I went on, “come around when it’s convenient. When it suits you. I’ve been here long before you showed up.” I warned.

“And I don’t care if you’re his loyal little shadow,” he replied, his tone calm but edged with something dangerous. “ The next time you decide to threaten me..”

He paused, then he took in a slow breath.The corner of his lips curved into a smile that annoyed me even more.

“You won’t like how that ends.” He said through gritted teeth. He executed some power when he said the words.

My brows pulled together, not backing down, just measuring him.

“Try me,” I muttered.

For a moment we just stood there, like two wolves locked in silent calculation.

“I’m not asking,” I told him finally. “You keep your distance from Nathan, that’s not a suggestion.”

His smirk widened.

“You forget something, Luca.” His voice dropped, colder now.

“I don’t take orders from you.”

Even though I'm yet to find my wolf. I could tell that his wolf was more powerful than a normal wolf. However, that was less of my concern right now.I don't care how powerful his wolf can be. As long as he stays away from Nathan , there will be no trouble between us.

"Luca! We're running late!"My father called out, his deep voice pulling me back to the real world.

Nathan turned around and looked at us.

“Is everything okay?”

I unclench my fist immediately.

“Yeah,” I replied. Nathan watched us both for a second longer than necessary. Then he got into the back seat. I follow right behind him and Leo slides to the front with my father.

My father starts the engine.

“What was that about?” Nathan asks flatly.

“It was nothing,” I answered quickly.

I could see the faint curve forming on Leo's mouth.

The car pulls off immediately.

Nathan and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. We grew up in Crescent Moon Pack together, from reckless little pups who couldn’t control our shifts to the young men we are now.

I watched him grow from a stubborn, hot-headed kid into a young man everyone instinctively steps aside for.

He still has that same stubborn streak, though. Still crosses his arms when he’s annoyed. Still glares when things don’t go his way. And damn it, I can’t help the small smile that pulls at my mouth every time he does it.

I’ve seen him at his worst. I remember the day he lost his mother. I was also young, the same age as him but five months older. He was seven years old, trying to stand too straight for a child his age, refusing to cry in front of the pack after we lost our Luna. Those were the darkest days Crescent Moon had ever seen.

But Nathan endured it, He always does, Alpha blood runs in his veins, strength stitched into his bones. Even when he breaks, he does it quietly.

We went to the same school outside our territory. It was my father’s and Alpha Matthews’ decision. They wanted us to be exposed to the human world, to learn strategy beyond claws and teeth.

It was never dull with Nathan around.

He has this presence that is steady and grounded. You feel it when he walks into a room.

I remember the time I fell sick during winter training. Fever burned through me, and I hated every second of being weak.

Nathan stayed at my place for three days.

He cooked, it was bad at first, but he learned quickly because I wouldn’t eat otherwise. He sat on the edge of my bed, forced me to drink herbal broth, and glared at me when I tried to sit up too fast.

At one point he lifted the bowl to my lips himself, muttering that I was impossible.

I remember staring at him while he did it.

The way his jaw flexed in concentration. The way his blue eyes narrowed when I smirked at him.

I told myself it was just gratitude.

But deep down, I knew it wasn’t.

He slept on the couch in my room those nights and refused to leave. Said he wasn’t going anywhere until I was back on my feet.

That was the moment I knew I was in trouble.

I’m strong and I can take a hit without blinking. I’ve broken bones and walked it off.

But when it comes to Nathan… I unravel.

There’s this instinct in me, older than reason, that makes me want; to stand between him and anything that even looks like a threat. To be the wall at his back. To be the one he leans on when the weight of being Alpha gets too heavy.I tell myself it’s loyalty, and it's part of being his beta.

Maybe it is.

But it’s also more.

I remember one night he fell asleep on the sofa in my room after we argued about patrol rotations. His arms were folded across his chest even in sleep, like he was still guarding something.

I stood there longer than I should have.

Studying the sharp line of his nose. His thick eyebrows, he has beautiful features I must admit, and the slow rise and fall of his chest.

He looks peaceful when he's asleep, less burdened. I remember thinking selfishly that I could watch him like that forever.

But I also wanted him awake. I wanted to hear his voice. I wanted to see those bright blue eyes lock onto mine and hold.

We’ve shared too much history to count.

Training injuries. Late-night runs through the forest. Getting disciplined when we skipped patrol to sneak into town. My father and Alpha Mathews never went easy on us. Not once.

We’ve fought too, really fought, and gone

days without speaking. But we always found our way back to each other.

We always do.

That’s why Leo unsettles me.

He’s reckless and careless. He's known for trouble and bad decisions. And I don’t trust the way he looks at Nathan like he’s testing him.

Like he wants to disrupt something.

“Does he know you have feelings for him?”

Leo’s words still rings in my head, I clench my fist at the memory, my jaw tightens until it aches.

“Luca, you good?”

Nathan’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I turned to him and forced a smile. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Nathan frowns slightly. He always sees more than he lets on.

Leo looked at me with raised eyebrows and I didn't miss that smirk on his lips.He knows damn well that he's the reason why I was pissed off.I think he was enjoying it because the smile never left his lips.I really hate him! I shot him a look sharp enough to draw blood.

He just looked amused.

My father caught my reflection in the rearview mirror but didn’t say anything. I gave him a small smile just to let him know that there was nothing to worry about.

How was I supposed to tell Nathan the truth?

How did Leo figure it out, he just joined the pack less than a week?

Have I been that obvious?

I don’t even know when it started.

Maybe it was the night he stayed by my bed.

Maybe it was years before that, all I know is that I’ve been carrying these feelings for longer than I can measure.

I keep telling myself they’ll fade. That one day I’ll wake up and he’ll just be my Alpha. My best friend, and I will be his right hand man, his beta.

But I knew better, they don't fade, they grow, everytime our hands brushed during training, every time he grips my shoulder after a successful patrol, every time he pulls me into one of those brief, firm hugs that last just a second too long.

Does his heart race too?

Does he feel that spark when our skin touches?

Or am I the only one standing this close to the edge?

But I know no one can answer that except Nathan, and I hate that I’ve never been brave enough to ask, hell I don't even know if he's gay, he has never shown it, but I guess. I'll never know until I try.

Maybe it’s time.