After driving around for a few minutes, we stopped next to a water tower that was so tall it peaked over the tops of the trees around us.

A man was standing under a tree at the base of the tower, waiting for us.

He was tall and of an athletic build. His skin, a rich shade of brown, was a stark contrast to the white t-shirt he wore. His shirt was tucked into cargo pants, which were held at the waist by a thick belt that holstered a gun. Hair shaved to his scalp, I could immediately tell he was of the no-nonsense types.

Luca drove up next to him and rolled down his window to hand him my phone.

"Carrie, this is Lincoln," Luca introduced.

I smiled and he nodded curtly.

Never saying a word, Lincoln took the phone from Luca and turned to walk back towards the tower. He opened a door at the base of it and went inside.

"He works inside a water tower?" I asked.

"It's not a water tower, it's an office. He's my chief officer of information and technology. He runs a team out of IT guys out of the tower in addition to the pack's main security crew. Lincoln's one of the smartest men I know," he commented.

I looked up to see a few men walking along an observation ramp that sat on top of the tower. They looked to be surveilling everything that fell beneath and around the tower.

"Not everything is what it seems here," Luca said.

I looked at him warily, trying to decipher the ominous meaning of his words.

After we left the water tower, Luca turned onto a narrow road and drove down a hill to another gated entrance.

He rolled down his window once more to reach out and type a PIN number in against a small glass panel that was jutting out from a tree next to the road.

The panel turned green and the gate in front of us slid backward, allowing us to continue down the narrow road.

He drove up to a clearing where a large cabin sat on the edge of a stunning blue lake. It overlooked the expanse of water and the range of mountains in the distance.

He circled the driveway to the four-car garage that was attached to the house by a breezeway. Luca pressed a button on a remote that was clipped to his car visor and one of the garage doors opened.

Once parked inside, Luca unbuckled and got out of the truck.

I followed, not knowing what else to do.

As I got out and grabbed my backpack, I noticed the two other cars in the garage. One was a charcoal gray Jeep with a canvas roof and tires bigger than I was. The other was seemingly some kind of sports car. I couldn't make out what it was because it was concealed by a fitted car cover.

On the other side of the garage were a pair of four-wheelers, a dirt bike, and a four-seater go-cart that looked like it was made for off-roading.

I couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by Luca's collection of vehicles. However, I did wonder what was under the dust cover.

Walking out of the garage, I came to stand in front of the grand mountain home that I assumed belonged to Luca.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Luca said dryly, walking up behind me with my duffle bag and suitcase in his hands.

There was nothing humble about the three-story lodge that sat in front of us.

I nervously adjusted the backpack that was slung over my right shoulder, following Luca as we walked towards the house.

Built from white stucco and stone, it had thick wooden beams running along the exterior and supporting the front porch. Board and batten shutters framed the many large windows that were plastered along the front of the house. Despite its cozy cabin feel, the grandiose size of the home made it seem much more intimidating than a simple lake house.

As we walked along a stone path to the open breezeway that led to a side entrance, I couldn't help but notice how quiet it was.

There were no neighboring homes in sight, not even the road was visible.

His home was definitely in an isolated part of the pack land.

Luca used a PIN pad that was attached to his door handle to unlock the door before opening it and letting me walk past him. I noted it was the same four numbers that were used to open the gate.

When I walked in, a large laundry room was to my right with windows that overlooked the driveway. To my left was the entrance into a kitchen that was bigger than my old apartment. White cabinets sat along the lower and upper part of the walls with a wide window along one wall where the sink was, letting in ample amounts of daylight. A large soapstone-capped island was sitting in the middle of the kitchen and was lined by six countertop chairs on one side.

I had never been in a kitchen that big.

Natural hardwood floors ran the length of the kitchen and into the dining area that it opened up to where a long wooden dining table was placed under a simple iron chandelier.

To the right of the dining area was a circular staircase that led up to the second floor and down into the basement. Further on was the living room that boasted a fifty-foot cathedral ceiling and a large stone fireplace.

I took off my backpack and placed it on the ground next to the large, leather sectional sofa.

Walking around slowly, I stepped over to the right side of the room where several glass doors lined up against the wall to lead out onto a balcony that ran the length of the back of the house. From where I stood, I could see a bed swing and several other pieces of outdoor furniture that had been placed out on the covered deck.

Luca brushed past me to carry my bags into a hallway past the fireplace.

Out of curiosity, I followed him to a set of double doors that he opened to reveal a master suite.

The first thing that caught my attention was the windows that made up the far wall behind the bed, showing off the view of the lake and the mountains in the distance.

"This is your room," I said presumptively.

"It's our room now, amore."

I gave Luca a side-eyed glare as he said this, making him laugh.

"I'm not sleeping in here with you," I said.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

Luca crossed his arms.

"This isn't up for discussion."

"No one said it had to be," I argued. "There's nothing to be discussed. I'll sleep in a guest room."

"I don't have a guest room," he told me.

I narrowed my eyes.

"You're telling me you only have one bedroom in a house this big?"

When Luca faltered, I smiled.

"I'll sleep in a guest room," I repeated.

Before he could protest further, a doorbell rang.

Luca and I walked back out into the living room where the front door was.

Standing on the other side of the door was a familiar stranger.

Luca opened the door to let him in and I immediately recognized his messy brown hair and tanned complexion.

When we both saw each other, we froze.

"I know you!" we both blurted at the same time.

"You're the guy I ran into at the restaurant in Vegas," I recalled aloud, shocked to see him again.

He reached out to shake my hand.

"I'm Bates, Bates Thompson," he said, introducing himself. "I'm Luca's Beta."

"Carrie Blair," I said, shaking his hand.

We both stood there somewhat stunned.

"I guess that explains it then," Bates said, looking at Luca.

My eyebrows furrowed and Bates hurried to clarify.

"We couldn't figure out how I'd gotten your scent on me that night," Bates said. "Especially since I hadn't entertained the company of any females, if you know what I mean."

He gave me an exaggerated wink, causing me to smile.

Bates walked over to Luca and placed a hand on his shoulder. Looking around the room, he sighed.

"The day has finally come, dude," he said. "We have to say goodbye to the bachelor pad."

Luca shrugged off his hand, glaring at Bates as he did so.

I saw Bates' eyes widen before he turned to me.

"Not that we ever did anything bad as bachelors," he said quickly. "There were never strippers here or anything, we just played video games and watched hockey."

I raised an eyebrow and Luca let out a long sigh.

"I think you should probably go," he said to Bates.

Bates looked at him with a confused expression.

"I just got here."

When Luca's hard stare persisted, Bates held his hands up in surrender.

"Fine, I'll leave. I just came over to let you know that Blaine needed to push back tomorrow's meeting until Tuesday."

"Yeah, right," Luca said in disbelief. "Blaine already called to tell me that. You came over here because you're nosey."

Bates shrugged, flashing me a playful wink.

"See you guys later!" he yelled out behind him as he walked out the front door. "Oh! You should also probably wait until she's met the pack to start the baby-making, yeah?"

Luca slammed the door shut before Bates could say anything else.

I heard him laughing to himself as he left the porch and walked out to the driveway where a red, door-less Jeep was parked.

Luca turned to look at me, sighing as he did so.

"As you can tell, I'm not really used to the silent treatment."

I nodded.

"Evident in more ways than one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luca asked.

Instead of answering, I turned and walked over to one of the balcony doors and opened it to walk outside.

I noticed then that the house was on a hill. While we were technically on the first floor, the backyard was a level below us.

In the backyard was a large underground pool with an attached hot tub and waterfall. Below me, I could see a concrete patio where a fire pit was cemented into the ground, surrounded by more outdoor seating.

"Pool access is downstairs in the game room," Luca said, walking out behind me. "Just in case you're interested in a swim."

I turned to look at him.

"Do you live by yourself?"

He nodded, leaning against the railing beside me.

"Why do you have such a big house if it's only you?" I asked.

Luca shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess the size isn't really necessary now. I was just planning for the future when I built it."

"You built this house?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

He nodded.

"Not by myself, of course."

"It's beautiful," I admitted.

"I'm glad you like it."

I glanced over at Luca to see him looking at me intently.

"So what else do you do besides build houses and run a pack of over five thousand people?" I asked, backing away from both his gaze and the awkward tension.

"I don't have time for much else, I'm afraid."

We were both quiet for a moment before Luca cleated his throat awkwardly.

"Speaking of the pack, I have a few things I need to see to. You're more than welcome to look around. If you need me, I'll be in the apartment that's over the garage. I typically utilize that space as an office."

I nodded quickly, glad that I would get some time to myself.

Luca walked back into the house and disappeared.

Immediately, I felt like I could breathe normally again. I slumped into the couch that was beside me, trying to figure out what to do next.

It wasn't long before I felt my eyelids begin to get heavy. As I tried to wake myself up, it occurred to me that I had been awake for over twenty-four hours. I hadn't slept since our only night in Vegas.

As soon as I came to this realization, I felt a wave of drowsiness rush over me.

I managed to drag myself off the couch and back inside the house. Searching for a few minutes, I finally found a guest bedroom that was attached to the third-floor loft.

I took my shoes off and pulled my hair out of a ponytail before laying my head against the pillow.

Only a few minutes had passed before I fell asleep.

When I finally woke up, I felt even worse than I had before I slept.

The sun had begun to set, leaving very little light to come through the bedroom windows.

I sat up on the bed, unable to remember getting under the blanket that I was now covered by.

A headache pounded behind my eyes, leaving me to regret the nap I had taken. I couldn't tell if this had been the reason I'd woken up, or if it was because of the hunger that rumbled in my stomach.

I pushed back the blanket to swing my legs over the side of the bed. I walked over to the door to walk downstairs, running into Luca on the staircase.

"You're awake," he said, seeming surprised. "I was just coming to wake you. I went and picked up dinner."

My stomach rumbled again as he said this.

"I'm starving," I admitted, beginning to follow him back down the staircase.

He led me into the kitchen where a white bag was sitting on the countertop.

"I hope you like barbecue."

Nodding, I took a seat behind the counter as Luca pulled out two styrofoam trays and a white paper bag.

He placed one tray in front of me and the other tray in front of the chair next to me.

"I hope you're okay with potatoes and green beans," he said. "I didn't know what sides you would like so I let the woman at the restaurant make your plate."

"No, that's fine," I assured him quickly. "Thank you."

Luca opened the drawer behind him and pulled out two forks. Placing them down beside me, he walked to the refrigerator.

"Drink?" He asked.

"Water is fine."

Luca reached in the cabinet next to the refrigerator and pulled out two glasses. He filled them each with ice and water from the refrigerator before walking back over to the counter.

I thanked him for the drink as he handed me my glass and took a seat next to me.

What began as a small sip of water turned into a gulp and then, before I realized it, I had finished the entire glass in one go.

Luca looked at me warily as I placed the empty glass on the counter.

"I didn't realize how thirsty I was," I said sheepishly, getting out of my chair to refill the cup.

Once I had done so, I drank the entire glass again and refilled it before returning to my seat.

"Did you sleep well upstairs?" He asked me.

"Yeah," I lied, shoveling a forkful of green beans in my mouth.

When Luca didn't say anything, I wondered if he saw right through it.

I hadn't slept well. I was sure I looked like garbage with my dark under-eye circles and messy hair. My voice was groggy and shallow.

I was terribly sleep-deprived and there was no denying it. I could feel myself getting sick from it, too.

My body was overly warm and shaky. The back of my throat was so dry that I knew it would take several more glasses of water to aid the scratchiness.

With the added stress of the past two days, I knew I was getting sick.

I glanced down at the food in front of me.

I desperately wanted to eat it. It looked delicious and smelt divine. But I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up.

"You okay?" Luca asked.

I shook my head slowly.

"I don't feel very good," I said honestly. "I think I need to go back to bed."

I got out of my chair slowly and closed the styrofoam plate. Placing it in the refrigerator, I thanked Luca for getting it before heading back towards the staircase.

"Let me know if you need anything," he said, watching me with concern.

I nodded before walking upstairs, back to bed.

Falling asleep the second time wasn't nearly as easy as it had been the first time.

I found myself sweating. I got out of the bed to turn on the ceiling fan. When that didn't help, I resorted to sleeping on top of the blankets.

After what felt like hours of tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up a few hours later, I could have sworn I was on fire. My throat and stomach burned like I had swallowed hot coals.

I was drenched in sweat. My clothes were stuck to my body.

I felt my stomach lurch and I jumped off the bed, rushing to make it to the toilet in time. Once in the bathroom, I fell to my knees and puked.

Placing my hand over my forehead, I winced.

I was burning up.

Something wasn't right.

When I was sure I wouldn't throw up again, I crawled from the bathroom-unable to find the strength to stand up.

I was gasping for air as I pulled myself up to my feet, using the staircase railing to lean on.

"Luca..."

I knew there was no way he heard my whisper from his bedroom, but I couldn't find the breath in my lungs to yell.

"Luca."

I was slightly louder that time.

A few moments passed and I shook my head, feeling tears coming to my eyes. If I needed help, I was going to have to find a way down the stairs to get it.

My body was shaking from the pain as I gingerly took a step down the staircase. I was so weak. I knew my knees would buckle under at any given second.

Just as I was building up the strength to take another step, I heard a door open.

"Luca?"

Footsteps bounded towards the staircase.

I could have cried when I saw him making his way up the stairs.

Concern etched on his face, he immediately reached out to hold me. I felt my whole body go completely weak and I fell into his arms.

"Jesus, you're burning up," he said, placing a hand on the side of my face.

"I feel like I'm dying," I whispered.

I laid my head against his chest, unable to hold it up any longer.

"C'mon," he said, "I'll run you a cold bath, that will help."

I mourned his body when it pulled away. He tried to usher me forward on the staircase but I just shook my head.

"I can't take another step."

Without any hesitation, Luca reached back out and lifted me off the stairs and into his arms.

I immediately felt better as his strong arms wrapped around me. I closed my eyes, resting my head against his shoulder and lingering in the feeling of being held.

He carried me into his bedroom and then through his bathroom door. Setting me down on the countertop of one of the two vanities, he walked over to start running the water in the large clawfoot tub that sat between them.

Luca helped me down off the counter and walked me over to the tub.

"I'm not taking my clothes off if that's what you're waiting for," I said.

He let out a quiet laugh before picking me up and lifting me over the side of the tub to place me in the water.

I gasped and pulled myself back into his arms as he tried to lower me into the cold water.

"It's freezing."

"It'll help," he assured, lowering me back down into the water.

I gulped and gently let go, feeling the water rushing over my feet.

After a moment, I began to feel a little better but not as good as I did while Luca held me.

"And?" He asked, gauging my reaction carefully.

I nodded slowly, splashing the cold water on my legs and face.

Another hot flash rolled over me and I whimpered, feeling all satisfaction of the cold water disappear.

"I'll be right back," Luca said, standing from beside me and leaving the bathroom.

When he came back a few moments later, he carried a large cup filled with ice water.

Luca handed me the cup and I drank the water quickly.

He took the empty cup from my hands and began to pour the bathwater over my head, soaking my hair.

With the next hot flash came a twist of my stomach and I doubled over.

"I think I'm going to puke," I warned.

Luca stood up, grabbed me from the tub, and carried me over to the toilet where I threw up again, a puddle of bathwater pooling under my knees.

He held my hair back out of my face as I puked.

A few minutes went by and with them, came more hot flashes. Each one made me feel progressively worse.

I was on fire but chill bumps erupted across my skin and caused shivers.

Luca carried me back over to the bath and laid me down in the water. Wordlessly, he sat next to me for what felt like forever.

Finally the sensations passed and I felt a little better.

When I went to stand from the tub, Luca stood as well.

He grabbed a towel and began to dry me off.

I wanted to tell him that I was more than capable of doing this myself, but I couldn't find the energy to.

"Turn around," I told him, taking the towel from his hands.

Luca did as I told him and I stripped out of my clothes and wrapped myself in the towel.

"Do you want something to change into?" He asked me, turning back around.

I nodded and followed him out to his room.

When he went inside his closet, I laid down on his bed.

I had already fallen asleep by the time he came out of the closet with something for me to wear.

- - -

Good morning, again! The earlier updates seem to be popular with most everyone's schedule, including mine haha.

As always, let me know what you think of the chapter in the comments and don't forget to vote!!

See you tomorrow!

MaybeManhattan .x