Dark Redemption (3 page)

Chapter
4

“You
may be seated,” Salvatore declared, spreading his robes with a flourish before
assuming his own seat.

         
The circle of ancient wolves obediently took their seats at the scarred round
table. Salvatore glanced around the circle, nodding in acknowledgement at old
friends and even older enemies. They were the Council of Elders, the
Brotherhood of surviving alpha patriarchs from each governing family of the
seven world regions.

         
As Grand Master, Salvatore was leader and alpha to them all.
For
now.
There were those who would like nothing more than to see him fall
hard from grace. He would do anything to prevent that from happening.

         
“May the light of the Almighty guide our actions as we fulfill our sacred
obligation to defend mankind and rid the earth of the demons of darkness,”
Salvatore intoned.

         
“Amen,” the Council members resounded in unison.

         
“My brothers, you have been summoned to this gathering at the request of
Brother Mark Wolf. I would ask him to state his purpose,” Salvatore announced,
narrowing his eyes at the leader of the North American wolves under question.

         
Mark rose to his feet, demanding the attention of every wolf in the room. “May
you be led by light, my Brothers,” the blonde wolf greeted his fellow Council
members.

         
“And you also,” they intoned.

         
“My Brothers, I call you together today to discuss a matter of a delicate
nature,” Mark announced, his voice loud and clear in the enclosed space. He
paused, allowing the drama to build,
then
pressed on.
“It is my belief a change in leadership is in order.”

         
Salvatore inhaled a sharp breath. He wasn’t surprised, per say, for the
American made no secret of his desire to assume the role of leader to their
kind. The fact the audacious wolf dared to challenge him openly, however, took
him aback.

         
Keeping his voice impartial, Salvatore inclined his head in acknowledgement and
said, “Very well. Present your case.”

         
“My Brothers, Salvatore Ridolfi has led us well over the past two centuries. He
has been competent, fair, and wise.” Mark paused, letting the silence in the
room build with anticipation
.“Until now.

         
“Salvatore and his sons have failed to execute the Cacciatori heiress, not
once, not twice, but three times. Failure is not an option when the fate of our
world hangs in the balance. His incompetence is unforgivable. We all know what
her existence means for our kind.”

         
“If I may speak, my brothers,” a soft voice interceded. Salvatore glanced to
his right at
Shen
Fang, the leader of the wolves in
Asia. His gentle disposition reminded Salvatore of the saying ‘speak softly and
carry a big stick.’

         
Mark conceded the floor to the small, Chinese wolf. “Speak with light, my
Brother.”

         
Shen
inclined his head in thanks.

         
“I am not convinced we need to kill the vampire heiress,”
Shen
said, his voice flat and emotionless. “What if in doing so, we bring about the
fulfillment of the prophecy?”

         
His controversial words caused all the alphas to speak at once, their voices
rising as each tried to be heard over the ranting of the others. Salvatore
glanced around the circle of elders, studying each member of the brotherhood
and their individual reactions. Ah, yes, he knew what must be done to restore
order and regain their confidence.

         
“Silence,” Salvatore roared. “I am still the alpha and I have not given you
permission to speak.” He turned his focus to
Shen
.
“Brother
Shen
has voiced a valid concern. We do not
know by which means the prophecy will come to fulfillment. We all know killing
the heiress may prevent our destruction, but the fact remains that our efforts
to prevent our demise could be the means by which it comes.

         
“Such is the way of fate. The vote of this Council to destroy Katerina
Cacciatori was unanimous at the time of her birth. Another unanimous vote is
the only method by which this council may overturn such a ruling. With that in
mind, I put it to you, my Brothers, for a vote. Do we eliminate the Cacciatori
heiress? May you be led by
light.
”

         
Extending his hand out in front of him, palm facing down, Salvatore hovered
over the pair of thin wooden paddles resting on the table in front of him.
Slowly, his eyes never leaving Mark’s, Salvatore overturned the paddle on the
right. The ancient marking, etched into the wood and stained black, indicated
his vote, yes. Silence reined as each member of the Brotherhood overturned his
paddle, announcing his vote for or against the murder of Katerina Cacciatori.
Black.
Black.
Red.
Black.
Red.
Black.
Only two alphas considered Katerina’s death to be of
questionable risk.

         
“Very well,” Salvatore said with a solemn nod. “The decision stands. Katerina
Cacciatori must die.”

         
“You still have not addressed the issue of your failures, Brother Salvatore,”
Mark protested.

         
Salvatore steepled his fingers beneath his chin and studied his opposition’s
face through narrowed eyes. “Ah, yes, Brother Mark. Let us talk about that for
a moment.”

         
Mark glared back in smug silence. The haughty American wolf thought he had him
by the balls. Well, Mark had a thing or two to learn about Salvatore Ridolfi.
When power came into question, Salvatore would swim through molten brimstone to
keep it.

         
“As you all know well, I have three sons. They have been my pride and my right
hand as I’ve ruled our race over the past two centuries. They are my blood.
However, sacrifices must be made if our race is to survive. I, more than
anyone, understand the truth of this. Believe me, Brothers, I do.

         
“My youngest son, Dominic is unquestionably the greatest warrior our kind has
ever known,” Salvatore began, his words received with nods and murmurs of
agreement from the Council. “He is also a traitor. A rogue wolf, he has turned
his back on our Brotherhood and the sacred Pact, protecting the very demon he
has been tasked to destroy. I trusted him and he betrayed us all.

         
“This is the reason behind our failure. I accept full responsibility for
misplacing my trust in him. I cannot unweave the threads of the past, but I can
make recompense for the future.

         
“From this day forward, Dominic Ridolfi is disavowed, no longer part of the
pack, no longer one with the Brotherhood, thus no longer protected by the Pact.
He is to be hunted like the demon he protects and executed on sight. I offer
his life as reaffirmation of my commitment to the Brotherhood and our race.”

         
“You would disinherit your favorite son to retain the mantle of leadership?”
The incredulous question came from Jose Villalobos, the alpha from South
America.

         
Salvatore tipped his head to the side, craning his neck to meet the keen gaze
of the South American wolf. He gave his head a slight shake. “No, I would not
disown my own son to maintain my political position and power. I would,
however, do anything to protect my pack. There is no limit to what I would do
to ensure the continuity of our race.”

         
Jose nodded in acceptance. Mark coughed his disbelief, but otherwise remained
blessedly mute. Salvatore cocked a taunting brow in his enemy’s direction,
daring him to challenge him further. Mark folded his arms over his chest and
smirked back, conceding the battle, but not the war.

         
“Shall we vote on it then?” Salvatore asked quietly, before raising his voice
to the tone reserved for official announcements. “Brother Mark has suggested a
change in leadership is in order. So, let us put it to a vote. Those in favor
of my removal, please manifest. May you be led by light, my
Brothers.
”

         
Salvatore overturned his red paddle and waited silently for each alpha to
follow suit.
Red.
 
Red.
Red.
Black.
Red.
Red.
One alpha stood against him. No matter what he
offered, that alpha always would. Mark Wolf would not rest until he assumed
Salvatore’s seat at the table.

         
“The vote of the Brotherhood speaks for itself,” Salvatore gloated. “Unless of
course, Brother Mark, you wish to issue a challenge.”

         
If looks could kill, Salvatore would be six feet under. His lips pursed in
anger, his white knuckles knitted and clenched in restraint on the table in
front of him, Mark pinned Salvatore with his sharp, black gaze. Salvatore
nodded back, acknowledging the look of loathing. The feeling was beyond mutual.

         
“If we want to play the blame game, Brother Mark, let us talk about which
domain Katerina lived in, undetected, for more than two decades,” Salvatore
taunted with a smile, showing off his teeth. Low chuckles followed his words.

         
“Perhaps had you shared knowledge of her location the
two
times
you
failed to execute her, Brother, she’d be dead by now,” Mark growled in defense.

         
The quiet laughter stopped. Salvatore smiled at the blonde wolf, his lips thin
and tight. “Why would I entrust such an important task to a leader who can’t
find one helpless girl in his own home?”

         
Mark’s mouth flapped in and out, imitating a fish out of water in his wordless
floundering. Salvatore watched him is silent satisfaction. Salvatore cleared
his throat.

         
“Well, now that that ugly bit of business has been taken care of, let us
discuss our plans to destroy the Cacciatori heiress.”

Chapter
5

         
“I still don’t think this is a good idea,
cara
,”
Dominic grumbled, concern furrowing his dark brow as they stepped out into the
crisp night air.

         
“Keep making that face and it might get stuck like that,” Kate joked,
tightening the scarf around her neck against the chill in the air. The cold of
winter was her friend, for it meant shorter days and longer nights. Besides,
the cold here had nothing on Chicago winters.

         
Though she was thrilled to be out and about, Dominic’s displeasure dampened her
joy. She’d never seen him quite so edgy. A bundle of nerves, he seemed ready to
shoot up the whole city if someone so much as looked at her wrong. When he
didn’t laugh, Kate squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

         
“It’ll be fine, Dom,” she soothed, reaching up to smooth away the worry line
creasing his forehead. “Try to relax. I need this. I’m tired of being a
prisoner. I’ve spent almost every minute of my immortal life under lock and
key, sheltered from the world. I can’t live like that. I want to
live
.” 

         
“I want you to live too,” Dominic said, amusement twisting his tense lips into
a rueful smile. “
Which is exactly why this is a bad idea.
”

         
“Oh, come on, my love,” Kate coaxed. “It’ll be just like before. You can take
me on one wild adventure after another. We could play hide-and-go-seek in the
Coliseum, go skinny dipping in the Tiber, or go base jumping off the leaning
tower of Pisa.”

         
Dominic chuckled. “That does sound like fun, but,
cara
,
you forget, we have to be careful. Both of our families will be searching for
us now. Yours would probably just kill me and drag you kicking and screaming
back to their compound, but mine would kill us both. That’s a fifty-fifty
chance you end up dead and a hundred percent chance I do if we get caught. Not
great odds, no matter how you slice it.”

         
Kate waved off his skewed statistics. “That’s if we get caught. We’re not going
to get caught. Besides, I have the biggest,
baddest
wolf in town on my side. I couldn’t be any safer.”

         
The look on his face said he was less than convinced. Dominic’s hand
disappeared beneath his jacket. “Fine, but if we run into any kind of trouble,
I want you to use this.” He pressed the solid weight of a handgun into her
palm, its cold steel sending shivers through her.

         
Curling her nose, Kate held it out in front of her like a dead fish.
“Yeah… no.
You don’t want me to have this.”

         
Dominic looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Yes, I do.” He drew his jacket
aside to reveal a gun secured to each side of his body in a concealed,
dual-sided holster. “I’ve got mine. One for wolves,” he indicated the gun on
his left, “and one for vamps,” he indicated the gun on his right. “Yours is
only loaded with silver bullets, which will only protect you from the wolves,
but I figure you wouldn’t need to shoot to kill your own kind.”

         
Kate shook her head. “You don’t understand, Dominic,” she said with a dry
laugh. “I hold the record for worst aim
ever
. I’d aim for an attacker
ten feet away from you and still probably hit you instead.”

         
Dominic scoffed in amused disbelief. “Oh, come on. You can’t be that bad.
Nobody
is that bad.”

         
“Oh, believe it, honey. I have worse aim than a blind drunk playing darts in a
bar -- with no target.”

         
“This I’ve got to see.”

         
Kate held the gun out for him to take back. “It could be the last thing you
see,” she warned.

         
“Alright,” Dominic sighed, reluctantly accepting the gun from her. “But the
offer stands.”

         
“Thanks,” Kate smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind, you know, in case you ever piss
me off.”

         
With a chuckle, Dominic tucked the firearm into the waistband of his jeans and
took her hand in his.

         
Hand-in-hand, they strolled down the cobbled streets of Rome. Dominic’s small, but
luxurious apartment overlooked the Piazza
Navona
,
placing them right at the heart of the city. Kate soaked up the breathtaking
ancient architecture like a plant did sunlight.
So much
history, so much culture, so much life.

         
The cold, crisp January night air kept the tourists away and the locals bundled
up in their homes. Kate and Dominic practically had the city to themselves as
they strolled the blocks of the historic epicenter. Kate hoped she would have
the chance to see the region’s iconic sights before fleeing the country, but
knew the chances were slim to not-on-your-life.

         
Just ahead, the back end of an enormous, domed building towered above them.
Kate knew she should recognize it, but yet wasn’t quite sure. “Is that the
Pantheon?” she asked, studying the old, textured stone building in amazement.
“It’s so beautiful.”

         
Dominic nodded. “Yes, it is, but I have something you will like even more.”

         
Kate arched a brow at him. “What could be better than seeing the sights in
Rome?”

         
That dazzling grin spread across his face. “You’ll see.”

         
They turned a corner and Dominic led her down a narrow pathway between
buildings, their walls marred by the occasional patch of graffiti. Kate
couldn’t imagine what in the small alleyway could possibly be better than the
Pantheon. Dominic stopped and gestured to a little shop on their right.

         
“How about the best gelato in Rome?”

         
“Have I mentioned how much I love you?” Kate asked, hardly able to curb her
excitement.

         
She’d changed a lot since her transition, but one characteristic remained the
same. She loved chocolate. Sure, she didn’t need to eat it, but that didn’t
make it taste any
less decadent
. The only thing she
craved more than chocolate was blood. While she was pretty sure the little shop
didn’t offer any blood gelato or sorbet, she couldn’t help but think they had
to serve some form of chocolate.

         
“Not recently enough,” Dominic said with a smile. “Come on. Let’s get your chocolate
fix. This is one of my favorite places.”

         
The bell atop the door jingled as they stepped into the warmth of the empty
shop. Brightly colored rows of gelato and sorbet lined the glass display
counter, each garnished with an elaborate flourish. Even the air was sweet, as
though sugar had been atomized to make patrons crave the tasty wares.

         
“Welcome to
Si, Per
Favore
,” a young woman
with olive skin and a pretty smile called to them in Italian.

Ceri
, her name
tag announced in bold script.
Kate disliked her instantly. For
Ceri’s
dark
gaze
lingered on Dominic, appreciation gleaming in her
bright brown eyes.

         
Kate wanted to flash her fangs and snarl at her to back the hell off. Or rip
her throat out.
Either one.
The violent, jealous
impulse was so foreign. Kate shook her head to clear her mind. Katerina was
rubbing off on her.

         
Much to Kate’s delight, Dominic thanked the girl politely, but otherwise
ignored her. He only had eyes for Kate. The way he watched her made her feel as
though she was the only woman in the world. Kate decided
Ceri
could live another day.

         
The menu, carefully scripted in colorful chalk on a giant blackboard, had been
designed to delight locals and tourists alike. The little shop served more than
frozen treats, offering sandwiches and pastries as well. It was the kind of
place Kate would’ve loved to have tried as a human.
Not that
she couldn’t enjoy it as a vampire
, she just couldn’t appreciate food
the way she had in her previous life.

         
Knowing she wouldn’t eat much of it, she couldn’t justify ordering more than a
small scoop of gelato. Thrilled to find chocolate on the menu, Kate selected a
chocolate hazelnut gelato and gave her order to the girl.

Ceri
continued to stare at Dominic
as though Kate hadn’t even spoken, looking at him as though he was the three
scoops of strawberry, pistachio, and chocolate gelato he ordered after Kate.

         
Dominic seemed oblivious. Tossing a handful of paper bills on the counter, he
turned to smile at Kate. But his eyes locked on something beyond the shop
window and the smile faded from his face. “Shit.”

         
Kate followed his gaze. In the alley beyond, a trio of dark figures watched
them through the shop windows. They were big and powerful, with a strong
supernatural vibe Kate could sense clear across the distance. “Who are they?”

         
“Wolves from
Matteo’s
patrol,” Dominic growled,
drawing the firearm from its holster at his left side.

         
“Uh, sir, you can’t have that in here,”
Ceri
said,
her voice trembling as she spoke.

         
If Kate hadn’t been so nervous herself, she might have delighted in the girl’s
sudden fear of Dominic. As it was, the pair of them ignored her wide, horrified
eyes and half-hearted warning. They had bigger issues to deal with.

         
“Why didn’t they just shoot me from there?” Kate asked, eyeing the men with a
shudder.

         
“Probably because you’re too close to the human for them to
get a clean shot.
To hurt a human is to violate the Pact. The Pact binds
the fate of all the wolves. Violation demands the forfeit of immortality and
condemns a wolf to an eternity of damnation,” Dominic whispered. “Now get
behind that counter with the human, before they decide it’s worth the risk and
take a shot anyway.”

         
Kate tipped her head to scowl at him. “I’m not hiding behind the counter while
you fight off three of
Matteo’s
thugs by yourself.
I’m tougher than I seem. I can help.”

         
Dominic’s look of exasperated desperation spoke volumes. “
Cara
, I know
you are a perfectly capable individual,” he said through gritted teeth, his
patience fading beneath frustration and concern. “But the second those bastards
have a clean shot, they’ll shoot you without
so
much
as a thought. I like you alive, sans bullet holes. So, get behind the damn
counter.”

         
Kate opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it. The man had a point.
She nodded and dove behind the counter.
Ceri
looked
at her like she’d lost her mind.       

         
“Ma’am, you can’t be b-b-back here.”

         
The fear in her voice both irritated and thrilled Kate.

         
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Kate reassured her, not one hundred percent
convinced herself. “But I’m not getting out from behind this counter until
he
tells me to. That man is my world. And if you do anything to risk his life,
I’ll kill you.”

         
The girl looked ready to cry or bolt for the door -- or both. Yeah, Kate was
so
not up for a blubbering, panicked teenager.
Time to fix that,
pronto
.

Placing
her hands on either side of the
Ceri’s
head, her
palms pressed up against the young woman’s temples, Kate focused on
manipulating the girl’s mind. Katerina begged her to just snap the girl’s neck
instead -- or at least sink her teeth into it. Kate growled at her to shut the
hell up and focus on what mattered. The girl needed to be under control, not
dead, no matter how much she’d lusted after Dominic.

         
“Calm down,” Kate whispered in a low, soothing tone, compelling the girl into
obedience with the strength of her mind. “You are going to stay right here with
me. You are going to remain quiet and do as exactly as you’re told by either me
or the man with me. And after we leave, you will forget us.”

         
The girl’s pupils dilated then contracted as her mind accepted the commands.
The girl
nodded,
her dark ponytail bobbing. “Okay.”

         
“Good. Sit down.”

         
The girl sank to the floor, her back pressed against the counter. Kate sat
directly in front of her, watching Dominic through the glass of the
gelato-filled display case. The bell atop the door jingled and Kate craned her
neck to see the three men enter the shop.

         
“Greetings, my brothers,” Dominic greeted them with a jovial smile. His words and
tone belied his true sentiments. Kate could see the tension in his shoulders,
the readiness of his right arm as it hung at his side, weapon in hand. 
“Come for some gelato and sightseeing, have we?”