Destiny Revealed (12 page)

The next morning, we slept in a little and then planned
to visit the castle in Dolceacqua just outside of town in the
morning and meet a few of the older cousins there for
lunch.

On the drive to the castle, I told Nick the little about it I
had already learned. “Monet was actually inspired by it and
it’s in two of his paintings.”

“Really? That’s cool,” Nick smiled. “I love when you
get excited about art.”
“Not just art, but it’s European history, too,” I added.
“It’s been there since 1177 and belonged to a royal family.”
The town was small and charming with it’s cobbled
streets and medieval architecture. We spent a couple of
hours walking up to the castle and around the town before
we met up with Pietro, Gabriela and Carolina at a small
café facing the bridge that was featured in Monet’s
painting.
Pietro brought his girlfriend, Isabella along. She hadn’t
ever met a were before and was excited to meet Nick. Just
like Pietro had when he first met him, she fired questions at
him for most of lunch. Nick took it all in stride and
answered everything.
After lunch, we went back to their house to hang out
some more. We played games and watched a movie, just
enjoying each other’s company. Gabriela had finally
convinced her mom to let her come to Arizona for the
summer. She had already spoken to my mom and planned
to stay with them.
“I can’t wait to meet all your friends, Nico,” she smiled
wistfully. “Oh my gosh.”
“What?” I asked.
“Maybe I can go to school there!” she said excitedly.
“That would be so awesome. And I could meet someone
and fall in love and live happily ever after like you guys.”
Nick laughed, Pietro rolled his eyes and I said, “Don’t
get too anxious. You’re still so young. Enjoy your life first.
And besides, Arizona is not nearly as exciting as you think.
I would much rather live in Italy.”
Nick turned to look at me, “Would you really?”
“Well, I guess not really. Both our families are there,
Nat, your babbo’s restaurant,” I answered. “Really it’s just
the idea of it. It’s so beautiful here.”
“True, but we have the mountains and forest that you
love so much.” I loved the forest even more now because it
made me think of Nick. He always smelled like the woods
and it quickly became my favorite fragrance.
We had a late dinner at their house and headed back to
my grandparents’. We told them about our day and talked
with Nonna about the Friday market the next day. She told
us to make sure that we went really early because it got
rather crowded quickly with all the summer tourists.

In the morning, Nonna decided to come with us to the
market because she wanted to get some eggplant, sun-dried
tomatoes, salami and parmigiano for another large family
dinner that night.

I found a cashmere scarf and a hat to wear in the winter
and some leather boots for Luca. I remembered I had
promised Robby I would bring him something as well.
“What does he like?” I asked Nick. “I have absolutely no
idea what a fifteen year old boy is into.”

“I already told him I can’t bring him a girl,” I rolled my
eyes.
“Leather jacket?” he suggested. “He would be the
coolest wolf amongst his friends if he had a genuine Italian
leather jacket.”
“Ooh, that’s a good idea. Anything to make my sweet
Robby one of the cool kids,” I joked.
“I don’t know why you insist on mooning over him.”
“Because he’s sweet,” I said, wandering over to a tent
with everything and anything made of leather. “And don’t
try to pretend you can’t stand him.”
He sighed and said, “I know. I just like to give you a
hard time. He was the only one I told about our binding
beforehand.”
“What? You did? You never told me that. I thought you
weren’t going to tell anyone,” I was surprised.
“Despite the age difference, we’ve always been close.
He was genuinely happy for me and I knew he wouldn’t
tell our parents.”
“Wow, cool. I have new respect for him. He deserves an
extra kiss next time I see him,” I grinned. Nick rolled his
eyes and moved on to the next booth while I picked
through the jackets.
He bought some pesto, tapenade and chili jam to bring
home to the restaurant to try and replicate.
After another amazing meal with all the extended
family that night, we said our goodbyes since our plans
were to visit Aosta the next day up in the Alps where Nick’s
family lived. I was eager to see the picturesque mountains
where the weres originally came from.
The drive to Aosta was incredibly beautiful. It
should’ve taken us close to four hours to get there from
Ventimiglia, but with Nick’s driving, we made it in nearly
half the time.
“I wish you wouldn’t go so fast when you have no idea
where you’re going,” I complained.
“Sure I do, the car is telling me where to go,” he
grinned.
“Yeah, but you have no idea what the terrain is like or
how safe other cars on the road are here.” He laughed at me
and told me not to worry. He wouldn’t let anything happen
to me. “You can’t know that for sure,” I mumbled under my
breath.
Nick had called his aunt, Liliana the night before to let
her know we were coming. He wasn’t sure what his
grandfather’s reaction to me would be so he wanted to
make sure she prepared him for our visit.
When we got there, Liliana greeted us at the door with
hugs and cheek kisses. “It’s so wonderful to see you Nico
and to meet you sweet Sofia. Let’s go out for lunch.”
“Uh, okay,” Nick frowned.
“Babbo doesn’t want to see you yet,” she smiled softly
as she led us down the street to a small café. We chose a
table out front in the shade and ordered some pasta for
lunch. “I’m so sorry Sofia,” she turned to me. “He is a
stubborn old man and has never known anything other than
the hatred he has toward the witches.”
“That’s not fair of him,” Nick complained.
“It’s fine,” I said. “I completely understand. My babbo
was the same way. We did our binding ceremony in secret.
My mamma came around almost from the beginning
though. She said that she could see a connection between
us.”
Liliana smiled, “I’m sure he’ll come around by tonight.
And if not, you will stay any way and he can stay in his
room.”
“Is there anything we can do or say?” Nick asked. “To
convince him? Maybe if he just met Sofia.”
“We will try after lunch,” she said. “Now, tell me how
you met and about your trip so far.”
An incredible smile spread across Nick’s face as he told
his aunt our story. He gave her the abridged version and we
talked about our trip and plans for the following day. We
wanted to see the castles in the area and the ancient Roman
remains in the city.
After lunch, we went back to his nonno’s house to try
and talk to him. Liliana went to the backyard where he was
gardening and told him we were there. We could hear him
yelling in Italian. When Nick heard him say “demon
dancer” he had enough and went storming through the back
door. I decided it would be best not to follow.
I had never heard anyone use a derogatory name for a
witch before and it surprised me. I got very protective of
Nick anytime someone used the “dog” insult. It was as if
they were using racial slurs.
I could hear Nick actually swearing at his grandfather
in Italian. To say I was shocked is putting it mildly. Not that
I had never heard Nick swear before, but to hear him
swearing at his elder that way, I was taken aback. Liliana
was defending me as well. Insisting that I was a sweet,
young girl who couldn’t help what I was. I felt so awkward.
I didn’t know if I should sit down on the sofa in the living
room or continue to stand in the doorway just inside the
house.
Nick finally came back in, grabbed my arm and tugged
me out the front door. “We’re leaving,” he said matter-offactly. “I won’t stay another second in this house. He
disgusts me.”
“Uh, should we say goodbye to your aunt?” I asked.
“She wants to meet us for dinner later. We’re finding a
hotel for the night.” Before we made it all the way to the
car, his grandfather came to the front door, yelled out
“daughter of darkness” and spat at the ground.

Nick instantly shifted forms and ran at his grandfather.
Massimo shifted as well and they were in a standoff in the
front yard. “Holy hell, Liliana! Can’t you stop this? What if
someone sees?”

“No one will see. Our home is very isolated and we
rarely get visitors,” she shouted over the growling.
“Do something,” I shouted.
“I can’t,” she answered. “I won’t get in between two
Alphas.”
I felt completely useless. It didn’t even occur to me to
use magic to make them stop. I was so startled by the entire
thing that I froze in place. I couldn’t believe Nick would act
this way to his elder. I watched in horror as they circled,
snapping at one another.
Suddenly, Nick leapt in the air and landed on top of his
grandfather. He growled in his face and bit down on his
shoulder. “Liliana! He’s going to kill him. Do something
damn it!”
“No, he won’t. He’s expressing his dominance. He’s not
biting hard enough to do any permanent damage.” She
continued to stand in the doorway, watching them like it
was no big deal. When Massimo finally whimpered, Nick
let go of his shoulder, stepped off him and shifted back to
human form. As a last act of defiance, he spit at him while
he lay there on the ground unmoving.
I stood there with my mouth hanging open in shock and
Nick came over and opened my car door. I got in slowly
and tried to calm my breathing. He got in, started the car
and pulled away from the house. “What the crap just
happened?” I stuttered.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” was all he said.
“Explain please.”
“You heard what he called you, not just once, but twice
he insulted you. You’re not only my wife, but my mate. My
true mate. That is unforgivable to weres. He’s lucky I didn’t
kill him.” He continued to look forward at the road as we
drove closer to town. I didn’t know what to say to that so I
stayed silent for awhile, hoping Nick would calm down.
He pulled up to the first place we saw, a darling bed and
breakfast. As he turned off the car, he sat there silently for a
minute. I waited quietly for him to speak first. “I know you
probably think that was unacceptable. In our Italian culture,
it’s extremely disrespectful to stand up to your elders. Like
when you yelled at your father,” he looked at me. “But you
have to understand something about weres. It’s different.
I’m an Alpha. I may be way younger than him, but I’m still
an Alpha. And in two different instances, we challenge each
other. One is when we are fighting for dominance. It is a
fight to the death, or until one bows to the other and accepts
defeat. The other is when our mate is threatened.”
“Are you going to get in trouble though? Will Aberto be
upset with you? It’s his father after all.”
“It may be his father, but he will completely
understand. That’s just the way things work for us. I am
really sorry though that you had to witness it.”
“I was worried you might…”
“I wasn’t going to kill him. I was in complete control.
Not like the times I’ve attacked Ky,” his chest rumbled
softly. I was surprised he said his name. “This was
different. He wasn’t trying to steal you from me.”
“Will he ever speak to you again?” I wondered.
“Probably not. But I honestly don’t care. I don’t want
anything to do with someone who would treat you that
way.” He sighed deeply. “I should probably call Babbo
tonight to tell him what happened before Nonno does. I’m
sure his version wouldn’t be the correct one.”
We got out of the car and went into the bed and
breakfast. They had one room left and we checked in for
the night. Nick got on the landline right away to call home.
It would be cheaper to charge it to the room than use his
cellphone. I was already annoyed that I would have several
charges just from the few texts that Jack sent me.
I decided to take a quick shower before dinner while
Nick was on the phone. When I got out, he was lying back
on the bed with his eyes closed. “You asleep?” I whispered.
“No, just thinking,” he said, still lying there.
“About?” I asked as I got dressed.
He sat up and looked at me, “Everything. It’s so stupid
that people are still acting this way.”
“If you recall, we were acting this way a few months
ago,” I reminded him.
“We weren’t anywhere near this bad.” He pulled me
onto his lap. “Especially not after that first kiss,” he
reminded me. I felt butterflies in my stomach at the
memory and couldn’t help but smile. Nick leaned in and
kissed me softly.
We left and met Liliana at a restaurant in the main
square in town. She apologized profusely all throughout
dinner, but Nick was still upset. He changed the subject
whenever she would bring it up.
After dinner, as we walked through the square back to
our hotel, I asked him what Aberto said about the incident
with his grandfather.
“It was like I said,” Nick shrugged. “He completely
understood and agreed with me. Actually, he was rather
proud of me for acting like a true Alpha. You’re not still
freaked out about the whole thing, are you?”
“No, I get it. I mean it’s weird to me, but I understand
now. And thank you for standing up for me. No one has
ever called me any kind of name before,” I was still a little
astounded at the crude things Massimo had come up with.
“Do you mind if I go out tonight?” Nick asked. I knew
he needed to shift. It had been awhile and it was almost as
if the woods started to call to him.
“Of course not. Are you going back up to the
mountains?”
“Yeah. There was plenty of space and tree cover up
there.”
“Please don’t do anything stupid,” I added.
“Like?”
“Go back to confront your grandfather again.”
“I want nothing more to do with that man,” he seemed
disgusted.

I didn’t wake when he finally came in that night, and
the next morning we were up early to explore the town and
surrounding sights. It wasn’t a very big town and most of it
was surrounded by mountains and ski lodges. Our people
tended to live in smaller areas.