Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

LUCA

" W ell, that was a shit show," Bishop mutters as he watches our little mate walk through the portal. He scrubs both of his hands over his face before closing the rip in space.

Even though she's out of our sight, Izzy is burned into my memory. When I close my eyes, all I see is her delicate heart-shaped face, small button nose, and kissable pink lips. Her gray eyes are striking, in part because of the pain swimming in them. Even when she's smiling, Izzy's eyes are still drowning in heartache.

Her anguish kills me. She's so young. There's no reason she should be hurting so much. But I'm probably the last person she wants to open up to about it now.

How small Izzy is also triggers my protective instincts. Nightshade wolves tend to be tall and pack on more muscle. She's almost a whole foot shorter than me and four inches shorter than most women in my pack.

Yet, even with her small stature, Izzy refused to back down. I could tell we scared her multiple times. She never cowered or ran, though. Izzy just tipped up her chin and wordlessly dared us to do our worst. That takes a hell of a lot of courage.

Archer laughs. "That's one way to put it. Would it kill you not to be a prick, for once, Luca?"

I wince because he's right. For the millionth time, I find myself wishing my parents were still here. My dads were always the charmers. They'd know exactly what I should say to get Izzy to forgive me and what I shouldn't say going forward.

My mom would have loved Izzy's fire. She'd have cackled at Izzy's sarcastic remarks and given her tips on how to get under our skin even more. Mom would have been overjoyed at finally having a daughter to do girly stuff with. She'd love someone to share all the Nightshade family recipes with.

All four of them are missing out on so much. I sometimes wonder if all the good parts of me died that night. It never bothered me until I met Izzy.

The only thing I can say in my defense is, "She ran."

"Yeah, dickhead, we know," Cain grumbles. "How you acted just makes her want to keep running."

I groan because he has a point. I certainly didn't do myself any favors by being a dick to Izzy.

I'm surprised Cain gives a shit about me scaring her off. With everything he's been through, I would've thought he'd be happy that we made a horrible first impression on her.

Most people would be shocked I let Cain and Archer talk to me like this. As the Nightshade Alpha, I have a merciless reputation. Outsiders think I rule our pack with an iron fist and don't tolerate dissent.

While I'm not a pushover, I don't rule the pack through fear. They're my family. A good alpha listens to his pack and meets their needs. A weak alpha uses his pack to meet his own needs. I just have to hope my dads would be proud of how I'm leading our pack, because everything I do is for their sake.

After what happened to my parents, I realized the Nightshade Pack needed to be stronger to prevent anything like that from happening again. That's why I've created the reputation I have. Although I'm not violent with my pack, I am with anyone who poses a threat to us. I've earned every inch of my murderous, cruel reputation. The things I've done to keep my family safe have tainted my soul. It's worth it to protect everyone.

Shoving a hand through my hair, I try to think about how to fix the mess I made with Izzy. But first, I need to know something. "Did you know she was our mate, Bishop?" I growl at the mage.

He barks out a humorless laugh. "No, Luca, I didn't. If I had, I sure as hell wouldn't have introduced her to you like this. I actually want her to like you assholes."

"I always wondered what made you ballsy enough to approach us in the first place, Bishop. Now I know," Archer comments with a chuckle.

Two years ago, Bishop approached our pack about working for us. I was skeptical of him at first, but he's been invaluable in protecting our pack. Without his spells, our pack would have been an easy target for our many enemies. His magic is also a massive help in running our businesses. The mage doesn't shy away from dirty work.

At first, Bishop was a threat. Now, he's as much a brother to me as Archer, just like Cain. Bishop's proven his loyalty over and over again, and he's repeatedly shown that he's a good man. We're lucky to have him on our side.

"I'd do anything for Izzy. The woman has no idea she holds my heart in the palm of her hand. She still encourages me to fuck other people," he says while shaking his head.

My brows jump up in surprise. "Why?" That's not normal mate behavior. Most mates are extremely jealous. I haven't even known Izzy for a day, but I'll kill anyone, other than her mates, who touches her.

Bishop sighs. "She thinks it'll keep me safe."

"Why would it keep you safe?" Cain interjects. He pushes his floppy onyx hair out of his eyes. It's always getting in his way, but he refuses to cut it. Even though I know why, I still wish he was able to. The past still has such a hold on him. Maybe our little mate can help him break free of it.

"I can't tell you," Bishop growls, fury seeping into his voice. He takes an agitated swing at one of the punching bags in front of us, his fist connecting with a solid thump. Muttering under his breath, he asks, "Why can't Izzy ever catch a break?"

"Why can't you tell us?" I press, trying to understand what's going on. I can't keep my little mate safe if I don't know what's threatening her.

"Izzy would never forgive me. Telling you would put the three of you in danger. I'm willing to do almost anything for Izzy's happiness, but betraying her trust isn't one of them." Bishop hangs his head when he finishes.

"Fair enough, man," Archer replies, trying to defuse the situation. He's a natural peacekeeper, always trying to make everyone happy. "Can you at least tell us about what she meant with her last comment?"

My heart rate kicks up at the reminder of our mate talking about her death like it wouldn't kill us too. She clearly doesn't understand what mating means if she thinks we can just find someone else to replace her. From the moment we met her, she's all there will ever be for us.

Bishop clenches his jaw and closes his eyes. He scrubs a hand over his face before opening his eyes again. "People like Izzy don't have a long life expectancy. Part of what she can do is also dangerous. She swears she's stopped doing it after she almost died, but I don't know if I believe her. That's the thing about her. Izzy will always put everyone else before herself. Even if it kills her."

I trade concerned looks with Archer and Cain at what Bishop is sharing. What the fuck does he mean, our mate doesn't have a long life expectancy? It also worries me that Izzy's so quick to put everyone else before her own well-being. That's a recipe for burnout.

I won't press Bishop for more information on what she is, because I respect him protecting her trust. But I do have one other question about her. "What caused her reaction to me pinning her?" The sheer terror on her face as I pinned her down will haunt me for the rest of my life. I never want my mate to be scared, but it's so much worse when I'm the one who did it.

Other than the end, I enjoyed sparring with her. I'm impressed with her skills. Izzy was so sure she'd lose, but she put up a good fight. Her technique was spot on, both with sparring and her punching bag work earlier.

As soon as I came into the gym tonight, I knew my mate was here. Instead of rushing over, I observed her as she pounded on the punching bag. Her form was nearly perfect. I'm surprised she was able to hit the bag for almost two hours straight. Most mages don't have that stamina.

After our sparring, her punching was sloppy. That's probably why she broke her damn hand. I'm not sure what worried me the most—the fact that she fractured two knuckles or that she had a minimal reaction to the pain. There's no reason she should be so accustomed to pain that broken knuckles barely phase her.

"I don't know. I've pinned her many times before. She's never had a reaction like that. But I'm damn well asking her the next time we're alone." Bishop's blue eyes are swimming with both rage and pain. I understand the feeling when it comes to Izzy. The little mage has turned me inside out in a matter of hours.

"Let us know what she tells you or at least what we can do to avoid triggering her. What's the best time for us to take her out on the dates?" Cain's the planner out of us. Without his meticulous organization, there's no way our pack would be thriving like it is.

"If you don't want Izzy to hate you, ask her yourself. She can't stand people deciding things for her," Bishop informs us. He squints his eyes in thought. "Izzy should be free Monday afternoon. If you head down to Hawthorne Grove, we can all hang out together. Hopefully Izzy will be a little more receptive to you three after cooling off this weekend."

Both Archer and I look at Cain. He knows our schedule better than either of us. After thinking for a moment, he nods to himself. "That'll work. Text me the address and time, and we'll be there."

Bishop gives us a curt nod in response, clearly lost in his own thoughts. I bet he's worrying about Izzy. That'll be the norm for all of us from now on. I can already tell she'll make me go gray way before a hundred.

He opens up a portal ringed in blue magic almost the same color as Izzy's. Bishop starts toward it before turning back to me at the last second with a half grin. "Bring the Charger, Luca. Izzy will get a kick out of it, and you could use all the brownie points you can get with her right now."

I huff out a laugh, wondering if my little mate likes cars as much as I do. "I can do that. We'll see you Monday, Bishop."