November 22nd

When Luca arrived the following evening, he wasn't his usual self. He stood in the doorway, his hands deep in his pocket and his shoulders slouched as Leo lectured him.

"Do not leave the house and do not leave her alone, understand?" Leo said in a hushed voice at the door, "It's important."

Leo opened his mouth to continue before he saw me and paused.

"Just don't."

Luca nodded, "Sure. Whatever."

Leo left, leaving just Luca and me in the hallway.

"Luca, thank the Goddess," I sighed, "Somebody to talk to."

"What does the Alpha not speak or something?" Luca asked.

"Not recently," I informed him, "He's been so grumpy recently."

"Doesn't sound uncharacteristic," Luca mumbled, "I can't believe we have to stay here in this fucking house while Mateo is throwing the party of a lifetime. There's three different types of punch, you know?"

I sighed and put my hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry. This is my fault for doing stupid stuff with Elora. But on the bright side, I found a game of twister deep in the basement. Do you want to play?"

Half an hour later we were tangled up on a forever slippy twister mat.

"This is such an unfair game," I replied after losing because I couldn't reach a blue circle with my left hand, "Your limbs are so much longer than mine."

"Yeah, and yours are so much more flexible," he said, "I can't even touch my toes."

To be fair, he had lost quite a few times on accounts of being unable to bend his body in the right directions.

I smiled, "Final deciding round?"

"Bring it on, baby," he said, clapping his hands in excitement.

As I reached my left hand for a blue circle under Luca's torso, he looked down at me.

"You know it's not your fault that we're not at the party. Leo is just being a dickwad as always."

I shrugged, "Whenever I'm with Elora I do something against him. It's a fact. I'm not surprised he doesn't want me around her."

Luca suddenly dropped to the floor, staring at me with his jaw agape.

"I win-"

"Have you submitted to Leo?" Luca asked.

"What? No!"

His eyebrow raised, "You so have. Something is different."

"I haven't!"

Luca narrowed his eyes before looking at his watch, "There's still hours left of the party. If you haven't submitted, you'll have no problem going."

I frowned.

"You heard Leo. He specifically told us not to leave the house."

"And since when did you care what Leo tells us?"

I contorted my face in thought. He was right. I shouldn't care. Leo shouldn't be able to control what I do.

"He won't have to know, will he? We'll be back before him?" I asked.

"Sure," Luca said with a shrug, "And if we're not, what's the worst he could do?"

We looked at each other and paused for a moment as thought again, this time imaging the worst he could do.

"Second thoughts..." I began.

"He won't find out," Luca said, "Come on, Nellie."

"He'll know. He always knows. I think he might be psychic."

Luca got up and scooped up the twister mat.

"Well, I'm going and I'm taking the twister mat with me. You can stay here and stare at the wall if you like."

He had reached the door by the time I finally dragged myself up. Anxiety rested on my chest, squeezing and pressed the breath from me as I followed him out the door.

"Wait, I'm coming," I said, "But just... for like an hour yeah?"

"Sure."

When we arrived at Mateo's house, the music was blaring and Luca was absolutely buzzing. We found Nola amongst the hordes of people first who was delighted to see us and Elora who was even more so. She hugged me tight and dragged us into the kitchen where she found me a beer.

"Why are all those men staring at us?" I asked as Elora popped the caps off three beers with her teeth.

On the other side of the room, a group of four men stood in a circle. They were chatting quietly and seemed to be taking it in turns to side eye us.

"They're Mateo's soldier friends and they know you're not supposed to be here," she replied, glancing over at the men.

Another wave of panic seized and I grabbed Luca's hand.

"Will they call Leo and tell him we're here?"

Elora shook her head.

"Nope because they can't undermine Mateo. If Mateo says it's fine, it's fine."

When she handed me the beer, I took a big swig before smiling nervously.

"Baby girl, you need to relax," Luca said, "Come dance with me."

I spent the next hour boogieing with Luca. He had seized control of the aux and was queuing pure Niki Minaj.

When anaconda came on, I was so busy trying not to pee my pants at Luca's twerking that I forgot all about Leo.

Until Mateo suddenly pulled us both off the dance floor.

"Leo's car just pulled up," he whispered.

"Oh fuck," Luca said, grabbing my hand, "Quick."

He hustled us through the crowd, keeping his head low until we could slip under the kitchen table where a cloth hung almost to the floor.

"The stench of booze and sweaty teenagers is so strong it will mask your scent. We'll be fine-" Luca began before a pair of huge boots appeared, just visible in the gap between the floor and the tablecloth.

They were black boots with steel caps and heavy-duty laces – the shoes Leo wore when he was working. Luca's hand gripped tightly around mine as we both fell silent.

"I can see you both," Leo's pissed off voice said a few moments later.

I shuffled further under the table and closer to Luca.

"Who are you, mysterious man? We don't know you," Luca replied, putting on a voice that if you were VERY imaginative you could interpret as a Russian accent.

"Luca, get out of there now and bring my Luna with you," Leo growled.

"I don't know a Luca," he said, still in his 'Russian' accent, "I'm um..."

"Ernesto," I blurted, "Ludwig... Weasley-SquarePants."

Those were the first names that came to my head. Luca mouthed to me a 'what the fuck?' and I grimaced.

"Ernesto Ludwig Weasley-SquarePants?"

"Double barrelled," Luca confirmed, "But you can just call me Ernie."

"And why are you under the table?" Leo asked, "Anyone would think you're hiding."

"Because Luca loves it," I said before slamming my hand over my mouth as Luca kicked me.

"Luca is just a pet name for my... tapeworm," Luca said.

Now I wasn't the only one grimacing.

Could this get any worse?

"We like to treat him from time to time," Luca added.

Even in this situation, he didn't fail to make me laugh. I let out a snort just as Leo crouched down to look under the table.

I met his stern eyes for a quick second before quickly looking to the floor.

"Oh, hey Alpha," Luca said. "We thought you were someone else."

"Get outside now," Leo said, his tone turning dark.

The two of us gingerly emerged from under the table, only to meet an absolutely fuming Leo. Luca took one look at him before practically taking flight. He glided over the kitchen counter, burst into the living room and shot through the dancing crowd with Leo in hot pursuit. Just as Leo was catching up, Luca leapt over the sofa to where Nola was. He was over a foot taller than her but he ducked behind her, using her as a human shield.

"Help me, Nol," he said as Leo reached them.

Luca successfully dodged Leo's grasping hand a few times as he ducked behind his youngest sister but eventually, Leo caught him by the scruff of his collar.

"What did I say just before I left?" Leo growled, pulling him onto his tiptoes.

By now, there was quite the audience. Someone had even pulled the plug on the speaker, leaving silence to fall on the room.

"Bye?" Luca replied, his voice slightly strained.

With that, Leo dragged him towards the door. I went to follow but Mateo stopped.

"Let him take his anger out on Luca before you go anywhere near him, Nels. I don't want you getting hurt."

My lips parted as I frantically shook my head.

"What?! No! We can't let him!"

"Luca is tough. He can take it," Mateo reassured, ushering me away from where the open front door allowed a clear view of what was happening on the driveway.

In the kitchen, Elora slipped her hand into mine as Mateo placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I tried not to listen to Luca groaning outside as the sounds of Leo's fist filled the air. At long last, it stopped and Leo marched back into the house.

Without a word, he reached for my arm but I recoiled away, closer to Mateo and Elora.

"Don't touch me while you have your brother's blood on your hands," I snapped, looking down at his crimson-soaked knuckles.

Every pair of eyes in the entire room fell on Leo. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth could crumble and he shook with fury.

"Don't you dare defy me," he said, seizing my arm and snatching me from Elora and Mateo.

Wrapping one arm around my waist, he prized me from the ground and strode back out of the house. In the car, I hugged my knees tight and tried to keep my eyes off his bloody fists, feeling sick to the stomach at the sight of Luca peeling himself off the driveway.

When we got home, he carried me straight upstairs where he slammed the door so hard the house shook. He put me on the ground and let his angry eyes bore into mine.

"Are you going to beat me up too?"

"I wouldn't hesitate if you weren't my mate," he said, stepping forward and pushing his hand into my hair.

He gripped tightly and pulled my head back until my neck was exposed and my lips parted.

"But fortunately for you, you are," he said, eyeing my mark.

"It's great to hear you draw the line somewhere, but your brothers still don't fall into the 'don't beat up category'. You are a man with great morals."

"If you are trying to wind me up. Congratulations. You succeeded in that an hour ago so unless you want me to completely flip my shit, shut up."

I was pretty sure the shit has already been flipped so I opened my mouth. But he pressed his finger over his lips.

"That mouth has better uses than pissing me off," he said before he pulled me closer with my hair which he still gripped.

He kissed me hard, his tongue invading my mouth and taking over.

The adrenaline and fear within me instantly turned to excitement as he pushed me down on the bed and lay over me, pinning my hands to the mattress and kissing me more.

"How much have you had to drink?" he asked, spreading my legs apart.

"Two beers. Are you going to be mad about that now too?"

"No," he said, unbuttoning my pants and ripping them off, "I was making sure I'm not about to take advantage of you."

He spat on his fingers before delving them between my legs.

I arched my back as his fingers ran over my sensitive parts.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" he said, watching me moan and squirm.

"Yes," I said without hesitation.

"Take your shirt off."

As I wriggled out of my shirt and bra, he unbuckled his belt and ripped off his shirt. When he thrust inside of me, the entire bed hit the wall so hard the light shook and flickered.

He gripped my hair again and with his other hand roughly squeezing my chest, he began to thrust over and over again until I was screaming his name. When he came, he stayed inside me knelt up right and catching his breath. Usually, he would kiss me and we'd cuddle after sex but he barely even looked at me before heading into the shower without a word.

I lay on the bed for a few minutes until my breathing returned to normal before I started to feel incredibly alone and naked. I got up and followed him into the bathroom, slipping into the warm stream of water beside him. He looked down at me as I took his hand and rubbed at the last of Luca's blood on his knuckles.

"Can we pretend this didn't happen just for the rest of the evening?" I said, kissing his now clean hand.

He nodded and pulled me against his warm chest.

"Okay."

As I was brushing my teeth later on, I kept glancing in the mirror at Leo sitting on the bed. He was deep in silent thought and hadn't moved in five minutes. I dragged my eyes away when my phone vibrated on the bathroom counter and Luca's profile picture appeared on the screen.

"Hey, I have an important question," he said once I'd answered.

It's not going to be important.

"Which bananas does Leo buy?"

Told you so.

"Why?"

"Because they are so good."

"But a banana's a banana, right?"

He let out a monstrous groan.

"Oh, Nellie. How simple-minded you are."

"How drunk are you, Luca?" I asked.

"After Leo punched it six times, my face was in agony and everyone knows vodka is better than aspirin," he replied, "Now I can't feel anything except how much I'm craving bananas."

"You aren't in the grocery store right now, are you?" I asked.

"Why else would I be asking Leo the species of banana he buys?"

"It's midnight, Luca, and you are way too drunk to be out. Go home," I said.

"Not until I find the onion to my bhaji or the wibble to my wobble. I need those bananas, Nelda."

I couldn't help giggle.

"Nelda, this is a serious matter. Stop laughing!"

"Okay okay! I'll go downstairs and see what fucking bananas he buys," I said, walking out of the bathroom.

A minute later I was back in the kitchen and heading straight for the fruit bowl.

"They don't say a name," I told him eventually.

"What?!" he answered, "Describe them to me."

"Well... they are yellow... straight with a slight bend... they just look like average bananas, to be honest."

"Again with the simple-minded attitude! They aren't any old bananas," he replied. "Do they look more like Musacu... minatas or... musa... balb... isanas?"

"No fucking idea, Luca."

"We are between a rock and a hard place here, Nellie."

"Why don't you buy a bunch of each?"

"Because I only brought a dollar," he said.

"You went to a grocery store, at midnight, with one dollar, to buy bananas?"

"That is correct."

I rolled my eyes.

"I guess you will have to choose and hope for the best."

"Can't you just ask Leo?" he said, "Pretty please."

"Not two hours ago he beat you up. Do you think he's going to help you buy fucking bananas, Luca?"

Luca let out a heavy groan.

"I am begging you. I'll owe you one."

"One what?"

He paused for a second.

"You know, just one."

I sighed, "Fine but I can't promise he'll want to help you."

"It was just a party!" he exclaimed.

When I got back into the bedroom, I pressed the phone to my chest and set my eyes on Leo. He was still sitting on the end of the bed thinking.

"Which specific bananas do you buy?" I asked after a deep breath.

"What a normal question," he said, glancing up at me, "What makes you ask?"

"Luca."

He nodded, "Ah, of course."

"So...?"

"Pass me the phone," he said.

I handed him the phone and he pressed it to his ear.

"Hello, Luca. It's Leo. If you want to know the exact details of my grocery list, maybe you should have thought about that before disobeying direct orders."

He hung up the phone and handed it back to me.

"I deem that punishment enough," he said.

"Do you strive to make everyone's lives miserable, Leonidas?" I asked, "All he wants is a fucking banana."

He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Watch who you are cursing at, Nelda. And I thought we agreed to leave any further conflict until the morning."

I bit my lip before grabbing my pyjamas and going to change. Exhausted, I didn't have it in me to stand there and argue any more.