The Code of The Alpha

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Necromancer by Night

I woke up, hours later, to the bright sunshine in my eyes.

Squinting, I sat up as I realized it was early afternoon. I looked around to see the room was empty, noticing the blood stains all over the sheets and duvet.

Remembering what had happened, I was suddenly wide awake.

I lifted my hand to my neck and felt the scab that had formed over the wound. Getting off the bed, I walked into the bathroom to inspect it further.

God, I'm a mess, I thought, staring at my wild hair and the dried blood caked along my neck and shoulder.

I took a washcloth and rubbed at my skin with warm water, exposing the scar and the bruising around it.

The mark looked more like a bite than I had anticipated it would. Every mark I had ever seen looked more like a pale, mouth-sized ring. But then again, I had never seen a mark left by an Alpha.

Their canines were longer and more prominent, meaning the bite was deeper and left behind more scar tissue.

While a mark didn't technically ward off offending males, it was way for other wolves to see that a female had found her mate. The bigger the scar, the higher the rank of her mate.

Most males with even an ounce of common sense —this excluded Johnathan, of course—stayed far away from female wolves who were mated with Betas and Alphas, as they tended to be more aggressive and territorial.

I quickly shook the thought of him from my mind.

After showering to wash away the remaining dried blood, I exited the bathroom to change into clean clothes with a towel tucked under my arms.

Luca was removing the dirty sheets from the bed as I walked out.

He turned to me, doing a double take.

"Good morning, amore."

Luca scowled as he balled up the sheets, now staring at the mattress topper, which was also stained red.

"We made a mess," he said.

"It'll wash out," I told him, pulling clothes from my duffle bag.

"It's blood, though."

"Blood comes out of sheets," I said. "Trust me, I'm a girl. I should know."

He grimaced and turned away.

"You have four sisters and you still get grossed out when someone talks about periods?" I asked him.

"I was out of the house when they started having their monthly issues," he explained.

"Monthly issues," I repeated, laughing.

I pulled on a pair of panties under the towel.

"If you're waiting for a show, you're not going to get one," I told Luca.

Although my back was towards him, I could feel his eyes watching me as I dressed.

He let out an exaggerated huff.

Once I had on my underwear, I dropped the towel and began to put my bra on.

I felt Luca's fingers take over as I struggled with the clasp. I couldn't do much of anything properly with my broken hand, much less with him watching me.

"I'd love to be helping you take this off," he admitted, fastening the clasp.

His hands slid around my waist and up to cup my breasts over the bra.