Leo Rossi: The Rise of a True Alpha (The Rossi Legacies Book 2)
Leo Rossi: The Rise of a True Alpha Chapter 23

AZURA.

We simply walked around the pack for a bit. Leo looked super pissed, and I knew he'd tell me what was on his mind when he was ready.

But the minutes were passing, and I could feel his irritation rising. Even with his impeccable skills at keeping the block up, he was still letting snippets seep through the cracks. He was on his fourth cigarette already, and I had had enough. I need him to talk. "Ok. What's wrong?" I asked, coming to a stop, and gripping his upper arm. A soft wind blew through my hair as I forced him to turn to face me. He had his jaw clenched; those plump lips set in that pissed-off pout of his.

Oh, Goddess, this man was so fuckably perfect. Was that a word? It was in my books. But right now, I was more concerned about his emotions, he was still struggling to control them. What exactly had happened?

I tilted my head, waiting for him to speak as I stepped closer, cupping his face. "Tell me, what's wrong?" I whispered.

He exhaled, his arms locking around my waist, and gave a half smile. "This pup's getting in between us now." He murmured, looking down at my stomach, and I nodded.

"Yeah... it's growing faster now." I whispered, leaning up I kissed his jaw, waiting. "Now talk to me, Blue Eyes. Don't change the subject."

He sighed, frustrated, clearly knowing he couldn't delay from telling me any longer.

"Well... I fucked up. I didn't ask Emmet if anyone in this pack was helping him. I should have asked for names... I mean, I could have the entire pack put under alpha command and ask them, but that will cause way more fucking damage to a Pack that is already crippled. Their trust isn't the same... not after everything we've been through. It will fuck em up."

Fuck. He forgot to ask Emmet that one vital question... Even I didn't think of that, and neither did the five... we were all so in the moment! But I understood what he meant about the pack... "Babe, you can't beat yourself up over that! I get that it sets us back a little, but none of us thought of that. So please, it's ok, we got this." I caressed his jaw with my thumbs, it was obvious that my words didn't ease his irritation.

He exhaled, looked away, and passed me. "I shouldn't have fucked up. I made.... Fuck." He was blaming himself unfairly. I pulled his head down, cupping the sides of his jaw, my finger brushing his ears and kissed him deeply.

'No. You didn't. It's ok, we will figure it out. Together.' I whispered through the link, letting my emotions flow through to him.

He relaxed a little, yanking me closer, as he leaned down over me, kissing me harder.

Mine...

We broke apart after a few moments and he was slightly calmer. "We're going to get the answers." I said. It hasn't been that long since we have been together... but it felt like ages...

"Yeah... we will. It was just a lead fucking wasted." He said quietly, his head tilted as he looked me over slowly. "How did I get you?"

I smirked, my stomach fluttering. "Mm, well... I'm a Westwood woman. We all know that the Rossis love us. Especially the broken, damaged ones just need us." "Oh yeah? Cocky much?"

"What can I say? You're rubbing off on me..." I said, satisfied to see that sexy smile back on his face.

Oh fuck, I was in love and I had it so bad. Everything he did made me giddy. It was a feeling I hadn't experienced before him....

"Yeah?" He asked softly, that gorgeous smile still on his face.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. "Don't say anything!" I warned, thinking these walls were so damn hard to focus on. "Come on, let's go see Kareena."

He nodded, his smile faded before I ran off. He caught up with ease, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my neck as he tickled me.

"You ain't so fucking fast."

"Leo!" I laughed, unable to stop as I writhed in his arms, gasping when his fingers caressed my waist teasingly.

"Fuck, you smell good." He groaned into my neck as we headed to Kareena and Shane's house.

It took us another ten minutes to get there. The Sangue pack was large, and with its layout, it was more of a city than any other pack I have seen. Shane and Kareena's house was in the quieter part where there were actually houses with gardens unlike the majority of the pack which were entirely apartments.

This pack was incredibly modern and stylish. I'm sure if other packs actually saw this place... they'd be jealous.

When we finally reached the double-storey house. We walked through the gates and Leo rang the doorbell, but there was no answer.

"Do you think she's gone out?" I asked, unsure.

She hadn't left since the funeral.

"I don't think so. She's been inside the majority of the time... the guards were supposed to be here... and someone was supposed to be inside with her." Leo frowned, looking around.

He knocked once more and rang the bell.

I felt him lowering his walls so I could enter his mind. 'Kareena?' He called her through the link. 'Kareena?'

Nothing.

'Who was the last one with Kareena?' He asked through the mind link.

'You.' Ace's voice came into Leo's mind. 'You said you were going to head there after the hearing, an hour ago... Leo, what's wrong?'

'Yeah, is everything ok?' Jax's worried voice came.

My heart thudded just as Leo's eyes flashed and he slammed his shoulder into the front door. The door trembled at the powerful impact, but it was made to withstand a werewolf's strength. He stepped back and this time he kicked it. It splintered as it went flying, creating an intense blast and if Kareena was asleep or didn't hear the door, she sure would have now.

"Kareena!" He shouted, his voice was cold, but I could sense his panic through the bond. "Check upstairs! I'll check down here." I nodded as he ran through to the lounge whilst I ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time and following my nose, I ran to her bedroom. Pushing open the door, I saw that it was empty.

"Kareena?" I called, stepping into the room, when my gaze fell on the bathroom door in the corner.

My heart thumped, and that's when I heard the tap running and I felt relieved. Thank the goddess...

"Kareena?" I called, walking over to the door. Nothing. I knocked again "Kareena?"

I tried the handle of the door, only to realise it was locked.

Fuck!

'She's up here!' I called through the link.

My eyes blazed and a flare of power blazed around me, wrapping around my hand and frying the entire lock and handle off. I pushed it open, freezing in my tracks.

"Azura?!" Leo called, but I couldn't reply, the sight before me making my stomach sink.

The tap was running into a bath that was overfull already, but what sent a chill down my spine, was the hand that hung out of the bath. The coppery smell of blood hit my nose as I approached the bath that was coloured pinky-red. A faint heartbeat could be heard, but it was so quiet...

"Kareena?" I called, as I stopped at the bath and stared down into the bloody water, my eyes widening in horror.

"Leo!" I shouted, panic making my voice shake as I plunged my arms into the bloody water, lifting the body from the water.

Leo rushed in just as I placed her on the floor.

Deep cuts ran along her wrists. They were still bleeding, which meant she probably used a poisonous blade to create them.

My mind was spinning as I tried to remain calm, dropping to my knees beside her body. I needed to perform CPR right now! Placing one hand over the other, I began on chest compressions.

Leo seemed frozen for a moment, his heart thundering. "Leo, we need help! Now!" He blinked, snapping out of his reverie.

One, two, three! I kept going, quickly opening the airway. I pinched her nostrils shut, and gave her mouth-to-mouth, feeling her heart beat slightly.

"She's breathing!" I shouted in panicked relief.

He nodded, and I knew he was mind-linking as I switched to chest compressions again.

I couldn't focus on Leo right now, but the fleeting glimpses of his thoughts told me I needed to save her at all costs. All he could think about was that he had failed Shane. That once again, his carelessness had almost cost us... No Leo. You're wrong.

"She's going to be fine." I said to Leo, we were all seated in the hospital. It was late in the afternoon, and we were exhausted. The doctors said if I hadn't performed CPR that perhaps things could have been worse... She had used a lethal poison to create those incisions, and she had also taken a high dose of wolfsbane orally. It had been a well-thought-out plan. They had to pump the poison from her body too.

I never thought that it would be useful... especially when I always thought magic could fix everything. Sometimes even something like CPR with no magic involved, could save a life...

I was grateful for Kiara's adamance that all of us girls needed to know first aid, and the medical side that she pushed on us. I mean, apart from Kat, me and Sky did it for the sake of it... You may not be here Kia, but you're still saving lives. Thank you. Kareena was currently unconscious in the hospital room with a doctor and nurse tending to her. Leo's injection had helped heal her faster, and the doctor had expressed how impressed he was with them.

Currently, Jax, Dan, Leo, and I were sitting in the hallway.

"We almost lost her..." Leo said quietly.

He had been quiet since everything had happened.

I don't know what Leo would have done if something had happened to her, but he would have blamed himself for not going to visit her sooner.

Dan placed a hand on his shoulder. "But we didn't, and that's all that matters..." He stood up, stretching before giving us a small smile. "Look, I'm going to go check up on Eric. He's been really down. I mean, regardless of what Emmet did, he's still his brother. He needs some closure."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah... Go, and thank you, for being considerate. He at least deserves comfort." I said quietly, making a mental note to talk to Eric myself, too. Leo gave a small nod, simply sitting there, sometimes running his hand through his hair. "That's what we're here for, us Six and Leo. To look out for one another, even if one of us is gone. We will take care of one another," Dan said, giving me a gentle smile. I could still see the pain in his eyes at the loss of Jackie and Shane... the guilt... "The six of you..." It hurt saying the five, it seems even he couldn't.

"Yeah, the six of us." Dan said, pointing to himself, then at me. "Welcome to the gang."

Leo looked up sharply as Dan gave me a wink, before turning and walking away, leaving me standing there, shocked.

The six of us...

"He ain't wrong... you fill that gap..." Jax said quietly. "And as a team... I think we need to decide what to do with Kareena."

"Do what? What can we do to help her?" Leo asked, frowning as he looked at his friend.

Jax frowned, looking at his hands. "Well... I've been thinking some stuff over... like Shane, he always was a goddamn protector. He always went to protect everyone... remember the time he took a bullet for me? Or the time he pushed you out of the way of that car?" These guys sure had an adventurous life...

"I was thinking... I mean, I'm not mated... and I don't think I'm ever going to replace her. I'm not even looking anymore."

"Mates aren't a bad thing." I said, seeing his deep frown.

"No... they're not, but we don't always replace them... so I've been thinking..." He seemed to hesitate, which wasn't like Jax.

Leo sat back, tilting his head as he observed him. "What is it?" He asked sharply, wrapping his arm around me, and I leaned against him, welcoming his embrace.

"What if I mark her to break the bond she has with Shane? So, she can live."

Both Leo and I stared at him, shocked.

I understood what he meant. After all, many who took chosen mates were able to live...

"You don't have that relationship... you've never been-"

"I know. I'm just saying if she was bound to someone alive." Jax cut him off, frowning.

"You will be bound to her... and she you. There's no guarantee she'd ever accept you." Leo murmured, clearly shocked as he sat back, pondering over his words.

Jax frowned and nodded. "Yeah... and the aim isn't for her to accept me, but for Shane... I'd do it." He said, looking at Leo, as he rested his head against the wall behind him. His eyes didn't mask his pain as he looked at Leo.

For Shane... he was willing to sacrifice his own future.

"Say she even agrees... you're ok to be bound to someone?" Leo asked him quietly.

"Yeah, they say you need love to be able to mark someone... out of love, right? Well, I loved Shane. We were brothers... and we promised one another, if anything was to happen to any of us... that we'd look out for each other's families, right?" Jax countered, staring at the light on the ceiling. The gravity of the situation was clear in his voice.

I didn't say anything as I watched them. Both were in pain, talking of promises they never realised they would one day have to honour...

For his brother, Jax was willing to sacrifice his all...

I looked out the small window down the hall, staring at the sky.

Shane... if you can hear me... just know you have us all. We will take care of her. Your brothers will.

Leo's voice brought me back to the present. "If she agrees... I think it could work." He said quietly, as the door opened and a doctor stepped out. We could hear the sobbing from behind him.

"She's awake, but very distraught, Alpha."

"We'll go in." Leo said as both men stood up and I followed suit. Pushing the door open, I stepped inside first.

My heart was breaking when I looked at the woman who had her wrists bandaged, wearing a pale grey hospital gown, her brown hair falling in front of her beautiful face, as tears streamed out of her light blue-grey eyes.

"Why did you save me?" She asked as she glared at us. "I want to die."

"Don't say that Kar." Jax said quietly.

She didn't respond, shaking her head, as she buried it in her knees.

A woman, broken without her mate. The purpose of living was gone from her...

Leo walked over to her. Sitting on the bed by her side, he wrapped his arm around her. "Shane wouldn't want you to do this." He said quietly as I slowly sat on her other side, taking her hand.

The guilt that I was the reason Shane was gone, was eating me up inside. Leo placed a hand on her back as she sobbed.

The nurse left us and Jax stood there, arms crossed, frowning deeply.

I wonder... Would he be able to save her? Because I knew... she needed it. She needed a thread to hold on to... Something to keep her afloat...

Could Jax be her saviour?

Please, Goddess, give her the strength to live on...

Please.