Chapter 16: Messages from Blaze

Selena

I stepped into the sleek car, my heart heavy after that gut-wrenching goodbye with Ciro and Talia. As the vehicle pulled away from the estate gates, I couldn't stop the tears that streamed silently down my cheeks. Leaving my precious babies behind, even for a short while, felt like someone had carved out a piece of my soul.

But I knew this journey, as painful as it would be, was necessary. I had to confront and extinguish this primal mate bond to Blaze once and for all if I ever hoped to be truly at peace. Only then could I give Enzo and my children the focused, whole version of myself they deserved.

As the city streets began whizzing by outside, I mentally prepared myself for the even more devastating confrontation ahead - telling Enzo I needed space to resolve my inner demons. His devastated expression flashed in my mind, making me wince. My alpha was the proud, fearless leader of one of the most powerful Mafia families. To have his mate reject him, even temporarily, would cut him to his core.

I was so lost in my swirling thoughts that the insistent buzzing of my phone startled me. Frowning, I dug it out of my purse, expecting it to be Enzo calling again. But it wasn't a call - it was a string of text messages...from Blaze....

My breath caught in my throat as I read the first few words on the screen.

"My dearest Luna, how I've missed you..."

"Not a day goes by that I don't torture myself over how things were left between us..."

"You have to let me make amends, explain myself. You mean everything to me."

Message after message in that same vein, growing more impassioned and pleading with each new buzz of my phone. Tears blurred my vision as a tidal wave of emotions deluged me - hurt, anger, longing, regret. Seeing his words resurrected so many potent memories of our bond, both beautiful and terrible.

A part of me ached to respond, to pour my heart out about the constant anguish of being torn between my fated mate and the man who had become my life partner. The side of me bound to Blaze by mate bond still loved him profoundly, despite his multitude of sins against me.

But then another memory flashed, white-hot, through my mind - the sight of Blaze taking my own sister Elena as his lover while I was imprisoned. Denied I have his heir!

In that moment, my lingering tenderness for my former alpha curdled into searing hatred and revulsion. How dare he reach out to me now with empty platitudes after such depravity? As if he could ever atone for the levels of violation and sick cruelty he had put me through.

Gritting my teeth, I began firing off terse replies with shaking hands.

"Don't you dare try to play the wounded lover now, you sadistic bastard. You destroyed me in every sense of the word."

"I will NEVER forget the sight of you as you cheat me with my own sister. There is no forgiveness for that, Blaze."

"The only way to cut this bonds is to end your pathetic existence once and for all. Then my soul can finally heal from the stains you left on it."

With each blistering message, more of the white-hot fury and pain stored up over the years came pouring out unrestrained. My thumbs flew furiously over the screen as I purged my heart of all the poison Blaze had filled it with.

"You are a cancer, a contagion that must be eradicated before it can infect anyone else I love. Once I'm free of you, the light can banish your darkness forever."

"So save your pitiful mewlings of 'regret' and meet me like the monster you are. I'm coming for you - and this time, it's an extermination. Don't dare show your face again!"

I fired off the last message with finality, chest heaving. As if giving voice to the abhorrence I'd suppressed could lance the festering wound and allow it to finally begin closing up.

My phone went silent after that, though I could picture Blaze reeling from the venom of my rebukes. Good - let him drown in the consequences of his actions for once instead of lashing out at others. Let him understand just an infinitesimal fraction of the suffering he'd put me through.

Outside, the cityscape had given way to an industrial area on the outskirts, ramshackle factories and warehouses blurring past in streaks of grays and browns. Marco was taking me to one of our Mafia crew's discreet safe houses, no doubt - somewhere insulated where I could begin planning how to cut the terminal ties to Blaze decisively.

As the agony of those memories roiled through me again, white-hot and all-consuming, I felt more resolute than ever before. I would meet this devil that had shattered and remade me so many times, look him in the eye...and then extinguish his foul existence for good.

Only then could I well and truly rise from the ashes as my own person - a mother, a mate, a daughter, a Don of iron will and unbreakable spirit. Blaze would torment me no more.

I tilted my face towards the tinted window, glaring out at the desolate scenery as a hardened mask slipped over my features. The time for appealing to his shriveled soul was long past.

This was a reckoning forged in blood - my blood, my family's blood. And only his complete elimination could ever hope to wash that crimson tide clean.

.....

I felt nervous as the car pulled up to the plain warehouse building. But when Marco opened the door for me, I saw Enzo himself come out and I got so happy. His face looked both joyful and worried at the same time.

"Selena, my love, you're back," Enzo said in a rush as he pulled me into a tight hug. I melted into his strong arms, feeling comforted by his familiar warm body and nice smell.

"Enzo, I'm sorry I left without saying anything. I just...had some difficult things I needed to figure out," I told him.

Enzo cupped my face gently in his big hands, looking into my eyes with his intense dark ones. "I was so worried about you, my love. Please don't ever disappear on me again without a word."

His thumbs stroked my cheeks as I nodded. "I promise, I won't do that again."

Feeling relieved that I was truly there with him, Enzo kissed me hard and passionately. I eagerly returned his kiss, feeling the spark between us blazing to life once more. His lips moved against mine with a hunger that ignited a fire within me.

As we kissed deeply, I lost myself in the sensation, the heat of his body pressing against mine sending shivers of pleasure down my spine. I was so grateful that this time, my primal bond to Blaze didn't make me push Enzo away. Instead, I embraced the passion between us, letting it wash away any doubts or fears.

Enzo's hands roamed over my body, his touch igniting a fierce desire within me. I moaned softly against his lips, my fingers tangling in his hair as I pulled him closer. The taste of him was intoxicating, his kiss a heady blend of sweetness and desire that left me craving more.

"We shouldn't..." I gasped between kisses, my resolve weakening as his lips trailed down my neck, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

"We shouldn't what, princess?" he whispered, his breath hot against my skin as he nipped at my earlobe. "We shouldn't show each other who we love each other?"

I shook my head, unable to form a coherent response as his lips found mine once more. All I could think about was the way he made me feel, the way he set my body on fire with just a touch.

"Enzo..." I moaned his name, the sound muffled by his lips as he deepened the kiss, his hands sliding down to cup my ass and pull me closer. "God, yes..."

We were lost in each other, our bodies pressed together in a passionate embrace as we kissed beneath the moonlight. And in that moment, all thoughts of Blaze were pushed to the back of my mind, replaced by the overwhelming need for Enzo.

When we finally stopped kissing, Enzo rested his forehead on mine. "I need you by my side, Selena. You are my partner, my equal in all of this."

He waved his hand around at the plain warehouse which was the front for our underground operations. "This life, this bloody work, means nothing to me without you here."

I smiled at him, tracing the strong line of his jaw tenderly. "And I am fully committed to you, my love. Always."

I meant it with every part of me. Facing my lingering feelings for Blaze had only made me more sure of how much I loved Enzo. He was my light, my partner who had saved me from the darkness.

Enzo seemed to see the sincere truth in my eyes. His shoulders relaxed as the tension left his body. "Good. Then let's get to work, my Luna. We have an entire criminal empire to run."

He laced our fingers together and led me inside the warehouse. I walked beside him proudly, the powerful Mafia and his fearsome fiancee ready to rule over our illicit kingdom together again.

No ghosts from the past would haunt us or threaten to undermine the life we had built. Blaze was an old evil that still needed to be destroyed, but I felt confident I could get rid of him for good this time without losing my bond with Enzo.

My beloved Mafia Lord deserved nothing less than my complete, undivided devotion. And I would show him that in every decision, every fight, every embrace from now on. Enzo was my heart, my home - the only man who could truly complete me. Not Blaze!