The Lonely Wolf by Monica La Porta Page A

caressed his jaw. “The vampires will hire the best lawyer…” He let the rest of the sentence trail away as he studied the boy’s reaction.
    The more Ludwig looked at him, the more he wondered about his alpha-demeanor and the little quirks that made the boy unique and yet so similar to Quintilius in certain aspects. Same build, same mannerism, although those were shared traits in alphas. And yet at a closer look, his facial traits too reminded Ludwig of Quintilius. But then again, the boy had startling blue eyes, a shade Ludwig had never seen before, with a brown and gold ring around the pupil, whereas Quintilius’s were dark brown.
    I miss him so much, I see my wolf everywhere, Ludwig chided himself. I need a good flight.
    Crossing his ankles, Lupo said, “You said you’ll provide a lawyer for me—”
    “I will.” The boy was ready to give in, but Ludwig wasn’t proud of how he had reached his goal. “I won’t leave you alone.”
    Lupo nodded. “The pin is mine.” He averted his eyes, directing his gaze outside. “I guess it fell out of my jacket that day.”
    Despite the long pause that followed, Ludwig felt the werewolf hadn’t finished and waited for him to talk.
    Several seconds of awkward silence passed before Lupo shook his head and asked with a choked voice, “Is the bloodsucker alive?”
    “Yes, I arrived just in time to save him. At least you won’t be tried for murder.”
    “It’s not that. I mean I’m glad about it, but I needed to know if he was alive or if…” The cub’s façade crumbled and he sobbed once before hiding his face in his hands. “I didn’t want to kill him. I thought I could, but I can’t.”
    Before Ludwig could say something to calm Lupo, Ravenna stormed into the room and took the boy in her arms.
    “It’s okay. Don’t worry,” she said while cradling him.
    Peter had walked inside too and was now at the boy’s side. “We’ll help you.”
    Ludwig collapsed on the couch opposite the trio. “Why did you have that pin?” The question couldn’t be delayed any longer.
    Looking up from the comfort of Ravenna’s embrace, Lupo wiped his eyes. “What?”
    “Why did you have Quintilius’s clan pin on you?” Enunciating the words slow, Ludwig shook his head at Ravenna who gave him a reproachful stare. “It can’t wait,” he whispered to her. Maternity had truly changed the stern enforcer.
    His eyes suddenly dry and focused on Ludwig, Lupo sat straight. “I’ve been carrying around that stupid pin since I was eight years old. It brought me nothing but pain.”
    “But why did you have it?” Ravenna softly asked.
    “Because I wanted that bastard to be my father.”
    There was something about Lupo’s curt answer that worried Ludwig.
    Then Lupo said, “Too bad now that I know he is my father, I don’t want to have anything to do with him.”
    And the whole room fell into astonished silence, while all the pieces of a puzzle Ludwig had been staring at all along finally composed a complete picture.

Chapter Eight
    Another busy day in the office for Quintilius, who would have done without Ludwig calling him when he was about to take his lunch break. Only powered by espresso, he spent the afternoon thinking about the angel while trying to review the contracts Iris had sent to him earlier in the morning.
    “Why are you so agitated?” Camelia asked during dinner, while Quintilius served her a small portion of lasagna.
    They were eating in the kitchen. Quintilius wasn’t in the mood for the formality of the dining room. After giving the staff the night off, he had asked Camelia if she wanted to keep him company as he cooked.
    Lowering his fork to the porcelain plate with the wolf head and laurels circling its edge, he answered, “He called, earlier today—”
    “I thought you explained to Ludwig you didn’t want to hear from him any longer.” She placed her hands on her lap and gave him an unblinking gaze, her head slightly tilted to the side exposing her