Page 14 of Merciless & Mated

“I thought you didn’t like Bianca?”

“The gratitude of a young man only extends so far. I’ve spilled plenty of blood on Bianca’s behalf, debased myself, bowed when I should have stood. Bianca gave me power and money, but it comes with a steep price.”

“That sounds like everything in this life. We all pay prices for things we never asked for, for people who couldn’t be bothered to pay themselves.” I sat down on the opposite edge of the bed from him, only because my legs were struggling to keep me upright and not because I wanted to be near him, though I couldn’t ignore the quiet thrill of the bond when I reached out my toes to make contact with his skin.

“You’re not wrong,” he said quietly. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry you were born into it.”

I let out a puff of air and settled more comfortably. “You and me both.”

The food arrived, and I held my breath as the door swung open, revealing all of the writhing bodies on the other side of it. When we were closed off from that world again, I scarfed down the freshly filled cannoli. I didn’t miss the soft curve of Marco’s mouth as he looked at me, but I chose not to address it.

I ate my way through a platter of fresh fruit and cheesy garlic bread before chugging down a protein drink followed by an electrolyte solution. “I’m going to explode.”

Marco looked barely better than I felt as he settled against the headboard after inhaling every crumb he could reach.

“What now?” I asked.

“Your heat isn’t over yet.”

“But when it is.”

“Then you’ll move into the Gallo compound with me. You’ll meet Bianca, Santo, Elio, and Enzo. You’re the first mate of the inner circle so I’m not sure what expectations will be.”

“They won’t…” I swallowed hard. “They won’t share me, will they?”

He let out a sharp laugh. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“And what if you don’t? What if Bianca wants me?”

Marco chewed his lip, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. “That’s not an easy question to answer. Everything I have, everything you’ll have, is because of her.”

Ice settled in my stomach. “So I’ll never be safe?”

“I won’t let her hurt you.” A muscle in his jaw flexed. “My first instinct when you asked was that I would rip her head off her body, but I think we both know the reality of the situation. Bianca is a doña. Her network is wide, and her power is absolute in her territory. If she tries to come for you and I stop her, assuming we get out of anything alive, our only recourse is to run far and fast, become someone she wouldn’t want to chase.”

I curled onto my side and let my fingertips trace down his arm. “Is she as bad as they say?”

“Worse. I would expect nothing else from the daughter of Darius Gallo.”

I lapsed into silence, trying to figure out some way to bridge the gaping maw between us. I never wanted to be part of this life. I had always figured I would be forced into something eventually, but being thrust so close to where the wolf could see me, I felt more like a frightened rabbit every day. I hadn’t realized before how many in the Gallo upper echelon might also be rabbits, fearing the day Bianca would turn her feral jaws on them instead of her enemies.

“I changed my mind,” Marco said after a few beats of silence. “Maybe I will rip her head off if she comes for you. I’ve lived a long time under her power, and if saving my mate is what gets me taken out, so be it.”

The words were sinking in bit by bit. He would fight for me, even knowing how unlikely it was he would win. No one had fought for me a day in my fucking life. I scooted closer and let my cheek rest on his shoulder, setting a tentative hand on his chest.

My reward was the soft rumbling of his purr that melted every ounce of stress from my body. He curled his fingers into mine, not daring to look over at me as if he knew it might break the quiet spell we had woven.

Eventually the silence felt like too much. “Would you ever want to be the boss?”

Marco let out a bitter laugh. “There’s a lot of bloodshed between me and the top spot.”

“I never said it was practical.”

“Certain securities would be nice, but I don’t have the same thirst for blood that Bianca does. The Gallo Empire would crumble and then we would all be at the mercy of the Rossis. I’ll follow Bianca until she does something unforgivable.”

That unforgivable line could be anywhere for a mafioso. I wanted to ask, but we were still too early in the heat to waste much time on anything that wasn’t eating or sleeping between spikes. So I gave in to the pull of exhaustion.

The next couple of days passed similarly. We fucked, stuffed our faces, and slept for however long the heat allowed.

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