Rise of the She-Wolf

Vanessa’s pov,

After returning from South America I focused on training with the pack for a while. I had much on my mind and needed some time to think about it all. What did the kiss mean with Julietta, and should I tell Duke? Besides that, I started to realize that some rough decisions were coming my way. My Alpha was clearly lost but what was I going to do about it?

Needless to say, I needed some distractions, so for 2 weeks straight I focused on the pack and getting stronger together. Blake, Tomasso, and I made some strict schedules with a variety of training based on skills, trust, endurance, and bonding. After a while I started to notice changes, the whole pack seemed to be more in tune with each other. Everyone treated each other with respect, and we started to move and think as one instead of as individuals. In my spare time, I visited the She-Wolves as much as possible who luckily seemed to be doing a bit better. Also, I finally made up my mind about Julietta and decided I did not need to feel guilty toward Duke. I didn’t initiate the kiss so it would be better to keep it to myself and not hurt him for no reason. We texted for the last 2 weeks but I had not seen him since I went to South America.

I actually really started to miss him, so I decided to surprise him with a romantic date later that day. I was just about to go for lunch when an alarm went off. I looked around confused because I never heard it before. Lianna pulled me with her, “Come on Vanessa. The alarm means the Alpha wants us to assemble in the main hall immediately.”

We hurried inside and quickly the whole hall was filled with people. Alpha Don Lorenzo stood on the stairs with a big grin on his face and a bottle of champagne. I wondered what he was so happy about.

Don Lorenzo scraped his throat, “HELLO EVERYONE. I CALLED YOU HERE BECAUSE I HAVE JOYOUS NEWS. NEWS I HAVE BEEN WAITING ON FOR A LONG TIME. 4 OF THE SHE-WOLVES ARE NOW CARRYING MY PUPS! THE ROMANO BLOODLINE WILL LIVE ON. I SAY THAT IS A GOOD REASON FOR A BIG PARTY.”

He popped the champagne and screamed, “SALUTE!”

Everywhere around me people shouted in excitement and started jumping from happiness. I felt like I was watching everyone be overjoyed in slow motion. I started to feel cold and anxious when I realized I was the only one here that truly knew what this meant.

Lianna was jumping up and down to the music that started playing loudly when her smile slowly disappeared as she looked at my face, “Vanessa what is wrong?”

I felt suffocated by all the people and loud music, so I shouted, “Meet me in the omega room with Tomasso in 10 minutes.”

I tried to make my way out of the crowd without drawing attention and then ran to the toilet to throw some cold water in my face. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my pale eyes were red and panicked. I had to tell someone, and I was pretty sure Tomasso and Lianna could be trusted.

So, when I was alone with them I told them what the doctor told me a while ago. Which meant that someone else must have made the she-wolves pregnant. They both looked at me in shock and Lianna asked, “So what do we do now?”

Tomasso walked up and down, “You need to talk to the She-Wolves Vanessa. They trust you so maybe you can find out who impregnated them.”

I nodded, “It has to be tomorrow though. I have a date scheduled with Duke tonight and already told Don Lorenzo about it.”

“No problem, Tomasso and I will go over the schedules to see what time would be safest for you to sneak in there. They have probably moved the pregnant wolves but maybe the other ones are still there.” Lianna replied.

I hugged them and said, “Thank you for helping me. Means a lot. Together we can probably solve this.”

After that, I quickly headed out because I had a lot planned for Duke!

DUKE’S POV,

Duke had not seen Vanessa for almost 3 weeks, so he was thrilled when she texted him that she wanted to meet. She texted him that she planned a surprise and gave him some coordinates. It was a bit of a drive through the mountains and for the last part, he had to go on foot. Eventually, he came to a small hidden lake with at the side a little cozy treehouse. The treehouse was covered with little lights and under the treehouse, there was a table with food, wine, and candles.

Vanessa stood there wearing some shorts and a red t-shirt looking hotter than ever. He immediately smiled when he saw her and picked her up from the ground for a tight hug. “This is amazing Vanessa! Very romantic. Must have been a lot of effort.”

She kissed him softly, “Had to make up for being so absent lately.”

He pulled her even closer to him and his body immediately reacted to feeling her warm body against his. He wanted to kiss every inch of her and started to suck on her neck gently. She giggled but softly pushed him away, “Let’s eat first and talk. Plenty of time for that later.”

He pouted, “I will always be second place after food, won’t I?

She winked at him, “Don’t get jealous.”

They sat down by the table and talked about what he did for the last few weeks a bit. Then she took his hand and looked at him with her big pale eyes seriously, “I need to tell you something. I found out what happened to your sister.”

He immediately became tense, and his heart was beating in his chest. She pinched his hand and told him about Alicia and Tony. How they had been in love, and he tried to break it off to protect her. But that she was too stubborn to accept it and got hit by a train trying to convince Tony they should be together.”

He was silent for a while after Vanessa told him. He had been thinking about this for years and now he knew what happened. He always thought it had been the fault of the Romano pack. It drove him to be a sheriff and now he learned she had committed suicide after all. Her boyfriend didn’t use her but actually tried to protect her.

“I thought I would be relieved to find out what happened, but I just feel confused,” he said.

Vanessa softly stroked his hand, “I understand it is a lot to process.”

He balled his fist, “Doesn’t mean the Romanos aren’t still scumbags and evil.”

He couldn’t let go of his thirst for revenge when it had kept him going all these years. Who would he even be without it?

Vanessa studied him for a while and then abruptly stood up, “Come on let’s go for a swim.”

She took off her clothes and ran into the lake. He watched her round ass dive into the lake and couldn’t help but laugh because of her impulsiveness.

He thought fuck it! Took off his clothes and ran after Vanessa. She was in the middle of the lake staring at the moon and the stars clearly lost in thoughts. He swam to her and put his arms around her naked body. With his hand, he put her long hair over her shoulder so he could kiss her neck and collarbones. “What are you thinking about?”

She shook her head and turned around to face him. She wrapped her long legs around his waist, and he could feel her stiff nipples poke against his chest. She pushed her body against his and whispered hoarsely, “Just make me forget.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.