Chapter 6

six

GIOVANI

Sweat rolled down the groove of my spine as I pounded the heavy bag with a flurry of jabs and crosses. My boiling frustration powered each strike.

Three days—three fucking days Kitania had been locked away from us.

With a grunt, I slammed my taped fists against the punching bag’s worn leather, the dull thud echoing through the gym. My muscles burned with exertion, but the physicality of it all helped drown out the nagging worries clawing at the back of my mind.

“You ready to do this?”

Tommas’ voice cut through the rhythmic pounding as he stepped onto the mats, bouncing lightly on his toes. Any other time, that cocky smirk across his lips would’ve irked me. But my thoughts were too consumed by the tiny Omega who’d effectively barricaded herself in her room and refused to come out.

I released a grunt, refusing to meet his gaze as I lashed out with another vicious combination. This was how I dealt with the darker shit—by punching until my knuckles were raw and my body spent. It was the only way to leash the guilt and rage over how that poor woman had been treated, and the helplessness I felt at being unable to undo her pain.

“Brooding again, I see.” Tommas’ tone was light, but I could hear the concern bleeding through. “Cut that shit out and come at me for real.”

He beckoned with a curl of his fingers, shifting his stance to prepare for my attack. Ordinarily, I’d have met his taunt with a sly grin, our back-and-forth bickering as ingrained as the bond between us. But not today. Today, the only thing on my mind was Kitania, my rational side warring viciously with the primal Alpha instincts that roared for me to tear down the door she’d locked herself behind and gather her up in my arms.

As if sensing my internal battle, Tommas blew out a breath, his posture relaxing slightly. “Just talk to me, man. You’re gonna drive yourself crazy like this.”

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to meet his steady gaze. Truth was, I didn’t know how to put this relentless ache into words—the frantic need to see her, to confirm she was okay. To chase away whatever demons were compelling her self-imposed isolation. But admitting that made me feel weak, vulnerable in a way I couldn’t afford, with everything still hanging so precariously in the balance.

“She hasn’t eaten much, you know,” I found myself saying gruffly. “How the fuck is she supposed to recover if she won’t even feed herself?”

The concern must have shown on my face, because suddenly Tommas was right there, his palm a firm weight on my shoulder as he searched my eyes with an understanding that went beyond words. We’d been through too much shit together for me to try hiding behind false bravado.

In that moment, I could have sworn his scent spiked with a protective edge. A silent promise that no matter how bad this situation fucked with my head, I wasn’t facing it by myself. My brothers, my family, had my back like they always did. And maybe—just maybe—I could let them help carry this weight.

That’s what being in a pack was about, after all. Never having to go through the hard shit alone. We did life together; the ups, the downs, all of it.

I exhaled a long, steady breath, stealing some of the strength my brother freely offered.

“She’s been through some truly fucked up shit, man.” The raw truth slipped out in a ragged whisper. “I can’t even imagine…”

Swallowing thickly, I ran my hand over the short crop of my hair, feeling the weight of her pain settle on my shoulders. I wanted to carry it for her, and yet I knew there was nothing I could do to fix this shit. I couldn’t change what she’d gone through. The tortured, hollow stare she had when we found her would be permanently etched in my memories.

Just thinking about it made my blood boil with a volatile fury that became harder to contain with each passing day she stayed hidden, suffering in silence. My hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at my sides as I fought the urge to put them through the nearest wall.

“We have to do something.” The growl that rumbled from my chest held a desperation I couldn’t mask. “I can’t… I won’t just fuckin’ stand by while she wastes away right under our roof.”

Tommy’s grip tightened, steadying me. It was almost as though he knew I was seconds from tearing out of here on a murderous spree, but the fact that Enzo and Nick hadn’t found Rocco or Vincent yet—another source of my festering anger— meant I didn’t have anyone to put in the ground. With my next fight a few weeks away, I had zero fucking outlets to manage the rage building inside. I’d probably flip on the first unsuspecting person who said or did something that pissed me off, which was why I had been trying my damnedest to work this shit out on the bag.

It was rare I ever let my control slip like this. But facing my own weaknesses, admitting my inability to fix this situation, was slowly driving me mad.

“We’ll figure it out, Gio. Together. As a pack.” His voice was a low, calming timbre. A man attempting to soothe a rabid animal before it attacked. “She’s safe here with us now. And we’re not letting anything happen to our Omega. ”

The way he emphasized the last two words sent a bolt of electricity down my spine. Our connection to Kitania had already begun to form an unbreakable bond that had only grown stronger in the long, agonizing days since she stumbled so brokenly into our world. A bond that drove my Alpha to want to bite, mark, and claim the woman as mine. My Omega.

I forced down the urge. We were so far from that point it wasn’t even funny, and there was no sense torturing myself thinking about it. Someday she’d be mine in every sense of the word, and I could be patient. Probably.

In the meantime, I gave a terse nod, reining in the storm of emotions battering me from the inside out by sheer force of will. I pushed it all down until I felt a little more in control. A little more myself.

The fog of rage cleared some, but one undeniable truth remained. Our mate needed us. And I’d be damned if I failed her again.

I nodded curtly to Tommas, the fire in my gaze hardening to steely determination. I unwrapped the tape from my hands with sharp, jerky movements. There wouldn’t be any sparring today —not with the burning desire to see Kitania still clawing at my insides.

“I’m going to her,” I growled, already turning on my heel and stalking towards the stairs.

Tommas caught my arm, his brow furrowed with concern. “Are you sure that’s wise, bro? She locked herself in her room for a reason. She just needs some time.”

I shrugged off his hand with a challenging look. “She’s had time. She’s our mate , Tommy, and she needs us, even if she can’t admit it to herself right now.”

I’ll be damned if I leave her to suffer alone any longer. Damned to let her waste away to nothing when she needed a balanced diet to aid the healing process. There was a reason Omegas needed their Alphas, and it was for moments like this. I’d been made to take care of her, and that’s what I was going to do, even if she hated me for it.

Pushing past him, I took the stairs two at a time, my pulse thundering in my ears. With each step, I felt my Alpha side giving way to the primal instinct to protect my mate. It overrode any and all rational thought, narrowing down to one.

Kitania.

By the time I reached her bedroom door, I was fucking shaking with pent-up frustration and the insatiable need to lay eyes on my girl.

My knuckles rapped against the sleek wood in a sharp staccato. “Kitania? It’s Gio… Open up, Dolcezza .” I fought to keep my voice level, gentling the command into an earnest request with a tacked on, “Please…”

There wasn’t a response from the other side. Not even a rustle of movement. My jaw ticked as I lifted my hand to knock again, louder this time. If she wouldn’t let me in, I’d just have to—

The door cracked open a sliver before I could follow through, those beautiful dusky-blue eyes I’d been dying to see peering up at me warily from the shadows.