The battle of Portorosso is over, and everyone is healing. Well - almost everyone. Alberto finds himself stuck in the past, unable to move forward, and he isn't the only one with secrets. Mattias is forced to face the family he once ran away from. G...
TW in the description Art by Inkendz and Choo_arts!
Extra post for you guys! This chapter had to be cut in half because of its 18+ness. So I thought I'd post it as well for you guys :) Expect Chapter 6 this Wednesday! Hope you enjoy everyone!
Luca POV
Luca watched until the dark of the night swallowed his mate, and the last of the ripples faded away.
The golden light inside him burned, driving him to stop this separation. Driving him to dive after Alberto and beg him to stay.
But he wouldn't obey.
Because what the Bond inside him didn't know was that Alberto needed this. Luca couldn't heal him, no matter how hard he tried. Alberto needed to find healing on his own, through his own strength.
Yet the Bond didn't understand. And Luca felt a twang as Alberto put miles between them. Luca stood, frozen in place on the beach, staring at the water as though Alberto's head might poke out of it.
But Alberto was already far. Luca could feel every inch of distance.
Finally, the distance grew too great, and the heaviness in his chest too strong.
Luca collapsed to his knees and cried. He cried, his tears mixing with the ocean as the waves lapped at his knees.
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(Credit to Inkendz on Instagram!)
"I'll be back, tesoro."
A distant voice, so far Luca could barely hear it in the recesses of his mind.
"I'll stay strong for you."
The Bond thinned with the distance...
And the mental connection - was gone.
Eshe POV
The wind had a slight chill in the lateness of the night. Eshe didn't know what time it was, only that she had been sitting in the dark for a while. She couldn't leave. Even though Ksenya's voice had long since stopped its song, Eshe was stuck there, leaning against the brick of the Pescheria.
It frustrated her that she wasn't upstairs, holding Ksenya in her arms while Misha curled up with them.
"I'm an idiot." She thought, hitting her fist against the wall.
She then spotted a figure approaching. Her superior night vision meant she saw him long before he spotted her, and Luca jumped at her gaze when he finally noticed.
"You're coming home awfully late." She observed.
Luca nodded, and she could see in his posture something was off.
