Alpha Leo and the Heart of Fire novel Chapter 67

67. A Turn of Events

AZURA.

It was the following afternoon, and we were ready to head back home. Last night when I had thought all hope was gone, I realised I was the answer. Sure, we didn‘t know exactly how it would work and I knew Dante wasn‘t going to tell me the answer, but at least we knew the main thing and we wouldn‘t let the chance pass by. There were less than two weeks until the next full moon and we‘d figure it out. Or I‘m sure Leo would, and I will just stick to Leo and hope for the best.

Last night we didn‘t sleep much, he had held me in his arms, stroking my hair and back. It wasn‘t sexual but it was so intimate that the emotions I was feeling, were unexplainable. I loved him and as much as that was gushy mushy, I did want to tell him. I just needed to find the right time.

“Are these all for me?” Corrado asked in awe as Dante finished loading the trunk with all the toys and clothes that Kiara had gotten for Corrado.

The weather was warm, and despite the sun being up, a cool wind was blowing. “Yes, they are.” She smiled as she leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. “Thank you so much Aunty Kia... but I don‘t need so many things. My Daddy gets me lots of things.” He replied, looking at Leo who was smoking, as if for approval if he can have the things. I placed my hands on my knees bending over next to him. “It‘s ok kiddo, it‘s from Aunty Kia, we can keep them all.” I whispered, ruffling his hair. “Aunty? She‘s his grandma.” Alejandro smirked as he came out of the house with another two boxes.

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“She isn‘t as old as you, besides she‘s my sister. So, he can call her aunty through me. You can stick to being a grandad, I mean you‘re old enough to be my grandad” I stated, making him grab my head, I knew he was going to give it a squeeze, so I ducked, swatting his hand away. “You need to treat the Westwood women better.” I glowered.

He always treated Raven, who was one of Kiara‘s best friends, in the exact same way.

He dumped the boxes in the boot, only for Kiara to catch them in time, and place them down gently. Dusting his hands off, he looked at me. “Oh yeah? You‘re

practically a Rossi now. Remember when you used to go on about hating Rossi men?”

I rolled my eyes; he got me there... “Not really I mean, I said most men, I‘m ok with the Giant Shrimp and Rayhan–” Leo‘s eyes narrowed and I stuck my tongue out at him. “And of course, Leo, besides he‘s totally different from you.” “Is he?” Rayhan asked, as Dante scoffed, before he hid it fast, earning himself a glare from me. “I don‘t see much difference.” Rayhan added as he walked down the steps, raising an eyebrow as he looked at me. Folding my arms, I pouted slightly. “You have a point...” Kiara laughed as Corrado looked between Leo and Al. His eyes became wide as saucers. “Oh, I see it!” Both tattooed men looked at him, Alejandro smirked as Leo raised an eyebrow. Both speaking at the same time.

“I‘m his secret role model.” “We‘re nothing alike.” Leo glared at him. “Like I said, we aren‘t alike...”

Dante simply chuckled, pulling the trunk shut, and leaned against it. “Oh, you two definitely have so much in common. It isn‘t a bad thing.”

“Whatever, let‘s get going.” Leo said, taking a final drag of his cigarette before getting rid of it. Our eyes met, and he closed the gap between us and pulled me into his arms, kissing my neck. Clearly not bothered that everyone was watching us.

He wanted me, and I wanted him as much... It‘s crazy how strong this connection and the hunger for one another was.

“Atlas.” Alejandro‘s voice made me slowly move away from Leo.

He approached, holding a bag and smiling slightly. His gaze went to Leo who simply watched him coldly and it was then a thought occurred to me. One regarding my other brother Liam, Leo was not going to forgive him as easily as the rest had... 6

“Hi.” Atlas greeted. Kiara smiled, brushing her hair back. “Hello, you came just in time.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I‘m glad I made it in time, I wanted to say goodbye.” He looked at me and I nodded, gesturing at Leo. “This is my mate, Leo and this is our son Corrado.” He didn‘t question anything, simply holding his hand out to Leo, who took it,

giving it a firm shake before he winked at Corrado.

“Hello.”

Corrado tilted his head “Hello. Who are you?”

“I’m a frien–” “This is one of my brothers. Atlas.” I announced cutting Atlas off. He looked up at me, surprise clear in his eyes, but I wasn‘t going to lie. I realised I was being unfair; he had done nothing wrong and the time I spent with him showed he wasn‘t a bad person. He didn‘t deserve my hostility. Sure we weren‘t close, but who knows, maybe someday?

A small half smile crossed his lips, and I smiled back before brushing my hair back.

“Oh... So you‘re my uncle. I have such a big family now. I need to remember everyone‘s names!” Corrado said thoughtfully. 3 Atlas smiled at him. “Definitely, but once you get to see everyone more and more, it gets easier.” Corrado nodded before I motioned Atlas to follow me to the mansion steps. He followed and I stopped on the bottom step looking at him. Ah, this was better, the step gave me some additional height. The rest could still hear but I didn‘t really care, at least the Rossi giants weren‘t surrounding me. Atlas looked down at the bag in his hand. “I won‘t keep you for long, this is just a little something for you. I‘m sorry I didn‘t know you had a son or I would have made sure to get him something too.” He explained, holding the bag out to me.

Accepting it, I smiled, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Don‘t apologise it‘s not like I told you, you didn‘t even need to get me anything but thanks.” I replied with a small smirk.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Thanks... for reaching out to me.”

I looked down at the bag, then glanced at the Rossi men, watching Rayhan and Leo conversing before they shook hands. I smiled softly and looked at Atlas. We did the right thing. “I‘m glad I did.” He was about to speak when the mansion door opened and Song stepped out, busy texting on her phone. She was so lost in her phone that she didn‘t realise there were steps and fell face forward, stumbling as she slipped on the stairs. “Whoa!” I exclaimed, making to grab her, only for Atlas to catch hold of her. She

snatched hold of his shirt, her heart thundering as she slowly regained her balance, his hands supporting her waist. Atlas slowly let go of her. “Easy there.” She glanced up at him, her eyes widening as she stared up at him. My eyebrow shot up and I cleared my throat. “This is Atlas.” I introduced.

Her eyes widened and she nodded jumping back, almost stumbling over the bottom step and if Atlas didn‘t grab hold of her elbow I was sure she was going to get knocked on her ass again.

“Oh hey!” She said, her cheeks tinged pink. “I mean thank you!” It was amusing seeing her so flustered, she waved at him before looking as if she wanted to kick herself. Ah babe I‘m not going to let this slide, first Rayhan now Atlas? The girl needs to get laid. Smirking at my own thoughts, I crossed my arms.

Atlas smiled slightly, holding his hand out to her. “It‘s nice to meet you...” He trailed off, and Song smacked her forehead.

“Oh yeah, sorry I haven‘t introduced myself, I‘m Song.”

“Nice to meet you.” He said as I saw Leo getting Corrado into the car.

“Come on Mommy!”

My heart skipped a beat, last night he had called me ‘Mommy‘ without Azura once and I had loved it, but I had thought he hadn‘t realised and had done so by accident.

“Coming!” I called turning to Atlas and raising the bag. “Thanks for these and I‘ll definitely keep in touch.” He nodded as we looked at each other, almost as if waiting for the other to make the first move. Oh for fucks sake! Stepping forward I gave him a quick awkward hug around the shoulders, I was about to move away when he gave me a gentle squeeze. I really was glad we did this... He let go of me and gave me another smile. “Take care of yourself.” “You too, I‘ll be fine.” I said confidently before Alejandro called us. “You three fucking done?”

I rolled my eyes, and Atlas smiled slightly, “Coming! Are you desperate to get rid of me?” I questioned as we walked over.

“Na, but I just realised you three got some weird shit for names.” , “What do you mean, I like my name.” Song protested. “A song, atlas and a colour.” Alejandro smirked. Maybe I need to staple gun his ass too. Oh my god imagine if Alejandro has a pierced dick! Wait does he? Eww, I don‘t want to know! Gross Gross!

‘Yeah, why the fuck are you even thinking about that shit?‘ Leo‘s voice came through the link. Shit these damn walls.

I needed to really question Selene about the right to privacy.

‘Hey, don‘t make me sound like I‘m weird, I just have a very advanced overactive imagination. I bet you men think of women‘s boobs and stuff.‘ I felt a sliver of jealousy at just the thought. Na, not once have I wondered who has what piercing or what fucking wax they got going on. Unless it comes to you. You‘re really something else you know that?

I smirked smugly. I had the perfect comeback. ‘Of course, I am, I‘m the Heart of Fire.‘ I cackled, hugging Kiara tightly. “Something totally special.” ‘I‘m going to hear that often, aren‘t I?‘ ‘Absolutely. Once I had greeted the Rossi‘s, I got into the car. Alessandra wasn‘t around but I had met her in the morning before she had left. Leo leaned over, shutting the door for me, and kissing me softly. I kissed him back before he strapped me in and we began our journey. We would drop Song off at home and then return home...

We had dropped Song off over an hour ago, and had stopped at the service station for McDonalds. It had taken a little longer with an accident on the motorway, but we should be home within the hour.

Home.

I smiled softly sitting back in my seat, as I finished my fries off. Corrado had fallen asleep in the back after eating. Leo was tracing circles on my thigh, making sparks dance, his eyes on the road.” Any ideas exactly how I would heal you? Maybe you have to like drink my blood.”

He cocked an eyebrow, smirking and I knew before he even opened that sexy mouth of his, he was going to mock me. I shoved a few fries into his mouth.” Don‘t you dare.” I warned. He swallowed and was about to reply when his phone rang. He accepted the call, it on as the music lowered.

“Leo, you need to get back here!” Jax‘s voice was strained. My own heart lurched wondering what was going on, I had never heard Jax sound so... distraught?

Leo‘s heart was racing, and his entire body looked tense. “Update.” His voice was icy as he slammed his foot on the accelerator, speeding up. I was thrown back into my seat as the speed increased superfast. I could hear shouting in the background of the call. Jax took a shaky breath. “Three is down.”

Suddenly Leo‘s face paled, and his foot hit the brake, making the car jolt. A horn blared from behind and we narrowly missed the lorry as Leo pulled us back into our lane speeding up again.

My heart was thundering as Corrado stirred in the back.

Three? Who was three?

“Jax, what happened?” I asked.

“Shane... He‘s dead.” His voice barely hid his anguish, making my blood run cold. A

Turning to Leo, I realised he had just lost another loved one.

Leo‘s eyes were blazing. “What happened?” The passing cars were a blur as he rushed to get back.

“He and Dan were performing some tests–” “She‘s dead... FUCK!” 3 Ace‘s voice came from the background. “Shit... Leo get back here... I‘ll tell you everything then.” “No, tell me who is Ace talking about?” Leo threatened. His heart was thundering no matter how in control he was acting. “Jackie, she tried to sedate him but he... Fuck I‘m sorry Leo, but she‘s dead.” 18 My own heart sank, horror enveloping me, and my ears rang. Leo‘s shock and

pain began seeping through the bond, mixing with my own. I knew they were close but the pain I was feeling in my chest was intense. She was dear to him. 1

Like a sister to him.

Tears stung my eyes as memories of them as children flashed in my head. Him promising to be there for her always...

My heart bled for the man I loved.

He had just lost two of his closest people in the blink of an eye... just when he had begun mending his broken bonds.

She would never know that Leo would be ok... I never got to thank her for caring. She had an entire future in front of her…

I wish I called her last night... Goddess...

I ran my shaking fingers through my hair as Leo began questioning Jax. “... Details now.” His voice was so cold and void of emotions, that I almost didn‘t recognise it. How was he able to hide his pain? I felt his walls go up, and once more he was in Alpha mode.

“Dan and Shane were conducting some tests; we were all fucking there this shouldn’t have happened but... I don‘t fucking–”.

“Fuck it, get to the point.” Ace‘s voice came in a menacing growl. But it was his next words that shook me to the core. “Judah the dead guy, well he wasn‘t fucking dead. He‘s gone Leo and I‘ll tell you one fucking thing. He ain‘t no werewolf.”

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A/N – For those on my social pages, please do not leave spoilers in your comments. ♡