Chapter 44

**LORENZO'S POV**

I saw Luciana with Damon and I could help but clench my fists. The bastard still had the audacity to hug her. I was so enraged that I had no idea when my aura began to explode. He could feel it,so as soon as Luciana asked to be released, he had no choice but to.

I was satisfied with the outcome of my outburst. I didn't plan on doing that,but it helped in getting rid of him. The fact that he had identified her as his mate made my blood boil even though he was still experiencing the aftereffects of the possession.

As soon as Lincoln had informed me that he wouldn't be able to handle the situation on his own,I knew that someone important was involved.

She continued walking and I observed, her facial expression changed and I found it cute. She hit her leg on something and whimpered. I chuckled, wondering how something minor could make her yelp.

I decided to reveal myself to her.

“Don't go like that.” Lincoln warned behind me.

“What do you mean?”

“The look in your eyes is enough to make the north pole melt.”

“What?”

“What he's saying is that,you love her too much,and the jealousy in your eyes when that guy hugged her made him shiver.” Eddard commented with a bored expression.

“No,I did not.” Lincoln defended. “What I mean is that you should arrange your face,so she won't think you're a sister complex.”

I whipped my head to him in annoyance and he simply handed me a mask with a smile.

I wore the mask and he undid the invisibility spell on me.

I approached her,my footsteps quiet so she wouldn't hear me.

Her hair was on one side of her neck and the other place where her neck was revealed was where her mate would mark her. I subconsciously rubbed my tongue against my canines and imagined her bearing my mark.

She raised her head and saw me,she shrieked and I was forced to remove my mask.

When she recognized me,she jumped on me immediately and pulled me into an embrace. I was happy, it felt so right for her to be in my arms but then her grip tightened and she had to release me.
….

“.... does a mother behave like that?” She questioned, her voice heavy and filled with emotion. Emotions of pain and the anguish she had to endure over the years. My eyes became watery as I listened to her talk,aware that I played a major part in her misery.


“.........At first,I always thought that parents treated their female children like that until I saw the alpha of Brownwood pack with his children, his daughter to be precise. Does she still qualify as a mother to me?”

My chest became heavy and I gave in. “I'm sorry,it's all my fault. I am the cause of it all.” I confessed.

“It's not your fault,you weren't even with me until I turned eleven. If there's anything that you did, it's making my life better.” She comforted,smiling at me gently.

She did not understand. I could have easily been with her so she wouldn't need to suffer as much but I couldn't. We were being punished,and she suffered the most.

I couldn't meet her until she was ten,and she would suffer all kinds of things at a young age. The moon goddess was angry with her but because she was her daughter, she could not just watch. She tempered justice with mercy.

“It is really my fault. I caused all this pain for you.” My shoulders slumped.

“What?”

I couldn't speak,I was forbidden from saying anything to her and I almost spilled.

“Oh,Lorenzo. It's really not your fault.” She paused. “ I am really blessed to have someone as nice as you for a brother. You're trying to defend both Larissa and Luciana. Trying to keep the family together. It's admirable but I am no longer part of that family. You are my only family.”

My chest tightened at her words. They didn't always used to be like that,but the curse affected them all. My heart ached for the loving family she used to have and the family that she lost. If only I wasn't in the picture.

I shuddered.

She patted my shoulders gently and I couldn't help pulling her into a hug. She suddenly chuckled after a while.

I frowned. “What's funny?”

She cleared her throat. “Nothing..”

“I know you're lying… Why did you laugh? Or,did you find your brother crying a funny situation?”

She bit her lips as snort escaped.

“You sound like a pig,” her stomach rumbled and I smiled. “A hungry pig.” I added and she punched my arm slightly.

“Let's get something to eat,I know a good restaurant.”

She appeared to be thinking and shook her head. “I know a better place, and there's someone I want you to meet.”

“What kind of restaurant is it?” I asked Luciana who had already continued walking.

“A homemade restaurant!” She replied.

“What the…. That doesn't exist!”

“No,it does. You just don't know it because you're dumb.” she ran as soon as she said that.

“What!! You're calling me dumb? Mind you, I was always at the top of my class!”

She turned back and poked her tone out. “Being school smart doesn't make you smart,it only makes you educationally dumb.”

I watched her scurry off,trying to run away from me. The Luciana I knew never did that. She never smiled easily and she never expressed herself. I was grateful to whoever took her in.

“Do you think I'll let you get away with that!” I asked, running after her.

I finally caught up to her after five minutes and, the moon,she was fast.

She stopped and placed her hands on her knees, panting hard as she tried to regain her breath.

“What do you say about school? I can fund you,no, I will fund you.”

“I'm not against it,but I still wanna think about it.”

She hailed a cab and gave the driver the address of the location she was headed to.

“Where is this place exactly, the homemade restaurant?”

“You'll see..” she answered with a yawn.

I watched her fall asleep gradually until she eventually dozed off. I wondered why she didn't tell me of her kidnapping.

The drive took thirty minutes and she jerked awake in my arms.

“Why are you carrying me? Why didn't you wake me up?”

“You looked like a sweet fat potato and I didn't want to disturb your potatoey nap.”

“What the fuck!! Put me down.”

I obliged, immediately placing her on the floor.

She arranged her clothes and pointed to a house. “That's where I live.”

I followed her trail and saw the house. It looked cozy and comfortable but as I got closer to it,I couldn't help but notice it had a familiar scent,and it didn't belong to Luciana.