HUNTER

"Where are they?" I snarl.

I am standing on the dock beneath the pouring sky. The air smells like lightning, and electricity crackles along my skin. Infuriating me—filling me with heat and rain and fury.

Where is Jude?

We touched down in Sicily on Falcone's plan just minutes ago. Now, as I stride onto the Sicilian Harbor, scanning through the storm to see where the Yakuza are, my heart clenches.

What if she's dead?

They could have already killed her.

The thought is so unbearable I freeze in my tracks.

Rain sluices down my skin, soaking my hair and the leather of the jacket on my shoulders.

"Are you ready to go?" says Elijah from next to me.

Unsurprisingly, he is holding open a neon pink-sequined umbrella.

His rose-and-gold polka dot tuxedo are impeccable, as always. Behind him, Mikayla and Gianina step off the plane.

I turn around when I hear a voice—Angel Falcone.

Her and Cade have promised to be backup. Maybe I shouldn't, but I trust them. I know they won't let us down.

I wanted to ask the Italian Mafia for help, but Cade pulled me aside earlier and said, Don't do it.

What do you mean? I asked.

Don't trust Maria, she said grimly. You're better off.

Something about Maria did indeed seem off—but I thought I was imagining it. I decided to listen to Cade because I can't take any chances. There can be no wild cards in this game.

"Hunter," Angel calls out. "There's something you might want to see."

"Can't it wait?" Jude. Jude is my priority right now.

"No," she says grimly.

As I duck my head back into the private plane, rain saturating my hair and trickling onto the floor, Angel steps back.

She is holding something up by the back of its collar.

Something—someone.

A child.

"I'm sorry, Momma," says Lacy, sounding absolutely not sorry at all.

When I think it can not possibly get worse, Cade appears from the other end of the plane. Struggling to hold on to Kiara, who is squirming in her grip.

For a moment, I am too stunned to speak.

Chess—this is a game of chess, and yet I did not predict this move.

"You were supposed to stay with Tommy," I say in a low, dangerous voice. "Do you understand the risk of this? Do you understand how you have put your lives in jeopardy?"

"No, Momma," says Kiara innocently.

"Well, let me explain it to you," I say through clenched teeth. "We are currently in the heart of Sicily, which is the most Mafia-infested place in all of Italy. We are on the dock of a harbor where a hostage exchange is about to be made, and in exchange for 100 thousand dollars, we are getting back Jude, who might even be dead! And that is if we can even pull this off, because the Yakuza might as well just slaughter us all on the spot!"

My voice has risen louder and louder. A sign of the pain and fury and fear that is all tangled inside of me.

I am so, so close to snapping.

But first, I need Jude. I need to find her.

"You need to take care of them," I tell Angel and Cade. "Please. Don't let them get hurt." To my kids—and yes, they are my kids now—I say, "I'll deal with you two later."

I can't take another moment of looking into their sad, pitiful eyes. I only swivel around, letting the wind sweep me into a brisk embrace.

"What was that about?" says Gianina. Somehow, her red lipstick is still intact through all the rain. But I can't stand the sight of her—of anyone at all.

"Let's go," I bark.

At the end of the dock, I see a few small figures. They are specks of grey and black against a stormy sky, and out in the distance, where the ocean churns, I see what must be a ship.

"What's a ship doing out there?" asks Mikayla, but I don't give a damn.

Jude was taken because she is important to me.

I will not let anything happen to her.

And if anyone has touched her, I will slit their throats. I will slit all of their throats.

I see what must be Imai, standing under a black umbrella. He is checking his watch, something that shines gold and silver under the rain.

Pierce. I catch sight of Pierce, too.

On the dock, there are six people waiting for us. Imai, Pierce, three Japanese men I don't recognize and—

And Jude's mother.

I know it is her. I know it in the same way I knew it at the mall.

But the blinding rage of seeing Pierce fills me up so suddenly I am choking on it. Before I can stop myself, I call out above the wind. "Pierce."

She steps forward, meeting me in the center of the dock.

We must be less than a foot away.

Her eyes are bright. Her long lashes glisten with heavy raindrops. And her lush black hair is sleek, clinging to her face.

This girl once taught me how to fuck.

She is beautiful and terrible and dangerous.

I should be afraid of her. I think she might be afraid of me.

She should be, I think.

And then I crack her jaw with my fist.

All it takes is one second. One second, and I bring my hand back, gathering all the momentum inside of me, before my knuckles connect with her face. Whipping her head back.

"That was for kidnapping Jude," I say.

Before she can even make a move, I punch her again.

"That was for me," I continue. "Two-faced bitch."

Her fingers clutch her jaw. Her fist tightens, and I know she will strike back. But I am faster than her. One last time, I let my knuckles collide with her cheekbone.

This time, I give her a dark grin.

"That was for Jude again," I say. "Nobody touches my girl."

I know she is going to hit back, I know she will lash out—but Imai stops her.

She looks back at him for one fleeting moment, and he shakes his head.

Restraint—it takes her a great amount of restraint to step back, letting the wounds I gave her blaze on her face.

"Where is the money?" Imai purrs.

"100K," Elijah says, shoving a suitcase in his direction. "Where are they?"

They—the hostages.

But before I can focus on that, my eyes narrow on Jude's mother.

This would be important to Jude—she would want me to do this. To ask.

"Mary," I say. "You let them kidnap your daughter."

"Hunter," she says. Her eyes seem blank, and her smile is empty. "It's been so long. I've missed you—and so has Jude. Though she didn't know it was you she was missing."

"Why did you lie?" I say.

"I had to," she says simply.

Behind her, the ocean rages against the dock. I taste salt and sea and harsh water. There is a flash of lightning in the distance.

"Tell me," I whisper suddenly. "Tell me what you should have told me all those years ago. Why couldn't I let Jude know who I was?"

"Your parents are the ones who saved me from the car accident," she says absently. As though she didn't hear me. "Did you know that? You probably didn't. Your parents and I go way back. We were each the Alphas at one point, and both our families were powerful."

I notice something in Imai's hand. But my eyes are caught on Mary Chopin.

"Did you know you and my son were once engaged?" says Mary. "Yes . . . that's right. You were going to be married one day to him. And you two would make for powerful, powerful leaders of the Wolves. You were going to revolutionize the Underground."

I don't understand. I still don't understand.

"But then Jeremy died, and your parents wanted out," Mary continues. "So they left. And your ruthless, conniving sister got the throne. It was never supposed to be her. It was going to be you and Jeremy. You and Jeremy . . . until he died. And do you know what I noticed? Do you, Hunter?"

"No," I whisper.

"My daughter and you had a connection," she says. "Something I never noticed before. A connection. And I thought to myself, I never noticed this before. You had chemistry. A spark, a fire. Right then, I knew just how useful that could prove to be. Jeremy was dead, but Jude . . . you and Jude could still be the powerful leaders I wanted. Our families could live on."

There is a fire between Jude and I. I've always loved her and she . . .

But Mary is wrong about one thing. I don't know how Jude feels about me.

I don't know if she could possibly feel the same way.

Because the way I love her? It is hot and devouring and ruinous. It is glorious and soft and lovely. It is chaos and sweet redemption.

Maybe Jude doesn't feel the same way.

But if she feels even a fraction of what I feel, then I know I will spend the rest of my life loving her.

I don't think I could ever stop.

"Do you know how difficult childhood relationships are?" Mary spits. "Jude's father and I grew up together. There is so much time spent doubting that fire you have. Delaying the inevitable. Rejecting the possibility of it. And you and Jude . . . why waste all that time? So after the accident, it was a clean slate. It guaranteed you wouldn't meet Jude until you were both older, and when that happened, you wouldn't be able to deny the attraction between you. That is why I told you to find me at 22. Because I knew you and my daughter would already be together."

For a moment, I am stunned into silence.

"All that time spent wasted," I hiss. "Hiding myself from her . . . it was because childhood relationships are difficult?"

"I didn't want your ridiculous, stupid, selfish sister to be the Alpha for much longer," Mary says. "You and Jude are attracted to each other—are you not? And tell me, how much longer would it have taken if you had grown up knowing her? Because you probably would still even be denying the possibility of it."

I growl, "You made me keep this secret because childhood relationships are difficult?"

"I'm glad you understand," says Mary Chopin.

Instead of wasting another moment on her, I say, "Where the hell is Jude and the others?"

Imai's lips curve into a predatory grin. "Right there."

And he points behind him—towards the ocean.

The ship. The ship we saw earlier.

Jude and the other hostages are on that ship.

In the middle of a fucking storm.

I snap.

It doesn't take long to beat all six of the Yakuza—including Jude's mom—into unconsciousness and tie them up. With help from Elijah, Gianina and Mikayla, we leave them there.

I shouldn't hope that they somehow choke on rain and drown.

There is a small boat latched to the dock—likely the one they would have told us to use—and so I unhook it and climb in.

There is only room for two people.

"I'm going," Elijah says roughly, and I notice his pink sequin umbrella is tucked away. He is shaking with cold and rage.

I don't argue—it is the people we care about aboard that ship.

Except for Alistair. Anise is not coming for Alistair.

For a moment, real sadness hits me when I think of my sister. The faked suicide note. Why? Why? Why? But there is no time for that.

So as the storm heaves around us, the wind swirling against the wooden craft, Elijah and I begin to row the boat.

The love of my life is waiting.

Hang on, Jude, I think. I'm coming.

>>>

How do you guys stand this? Am I just too attached to my own book? Because this drama is absolutely killing me.

From the moon and back,
Sarai