Wolf Omega: The Lykanos Chronicles 2

Chapter Thirty

"Dressed like this?" I asked him, looking down at the servant's uniform I had toiled in all evening.

"That won't matter," Duccio assured me.

His gift was in town, and he requested we leave by carriage at once if I was not too tired.

The day's exertions had left me exhausted, and couldn't imagine how he still had such a light in his eyes. But I didn't feel right refusing such a request, and certainly not from my alpha.

Fetching my coat, I followed Duccio to the castle forecourt, where his carriage awaited us. It had just returned from escorting his majordomo home after the Christmas Eve banquet.

As we left the castle and pulled through the night into downtown Como, I couldn't help but steal glances at Duccio. I was just as curious as I had been the night he took me from San Giovanni's in Morbegno. Even in his servant's livery, he was such a regal man with his black hair pulled back into a ribbon.

Though we had spoken directly very little, with his orders assigned through his beta and filtered through Pompeia, I was deeply fond of the man. Though I didn't have the same intimate relation with Duccio that I enjoyed with Sempronio, I would never forget his kindness. His sensitivity during those nights when he plucked me from my former world of despair was profoundly significant to me. To receive a gift from him, after watching his astonishing generosity all night, was but one more reason to love him dearly. My allegiance to Duccio would never falter—of that, I was confident.

In thirty minutes, the carriage pulled into a narrow street of shops, all darkened at this hour. I stared left and right through the carriage windows, hoping to find the source of Duccio's secret gift for me.

Do you sense him? he asked quietly.

Who? I asked, turning again to look out both windows onto the street. The block was lit by a solitary torch that had not yet burned out in the frigid air.

From Duccio's mind, I saw the image of a man that seized me with fear.

Cecco Alfonsi, he said. Your husband.

I was speechless and choked when my lungs finally forced me to breathe.

I presumed you might feel him, as you did with the woman in Cantú. Perhaps that isn't how it works for you?

I shook my head in response. It was all I could do.

Very well. Signori Alfonsi lives in the third house from the corner across the street.

Duccio turned to identify the front door with his eyes.

When you parted ways, your husband attempted to recover his standing among his business peers. He also tried to remarry. Both attempts failed for reasons you might already expect. Through my influence, I arranged for him to move to Como and had him introduced to the merchant's guild here. Last month, a peer accepted his proposal of marriage to his youngest daughter. They have agreed to marry the day after tomorrow.

Tears flooded from my eyes—the only response I seemed capable of. Duccio stared at me, and I sensed his concern that I had not fully received his telepathy.

"My gift to you is this," Duccio finally said aloud, "to decide Signore Alfonsi's future."

I could only stare in confusion.

"Your first option is to forgive him for his crimes—absolve him entirely of what he's done to your family and you. Let him marry his innocent betrothed, sire children from her, and live the rest of his days in Como under my protection.