Beauty And The Alpha Don

"I'm sorry Cassie but there's no time to explain, i need you to immediately lock the shop and leave town for a few weeks, maybe take that vacation you always talked about, I will text you when it's safe to come back. Love, Dad."

Cassie furrowed her brows, her beautiful green eyes focused on the note tacked to the bookstore door, just as she was about to close up for the night. She looked left and right, hoping to spot her dad, who must have just left it as she'd only stepped out for a minute of fresh air and hadn't seen it then.

Was this some sort of stupid prank from the neighborhood boys?, knowing those shenanigans It wouldn't surprise her. Taking a deep breath Cassie re read the note. It was definitely her dad's handwriting, even his signature.

"You stupid old man, what kind trouble have you gotten your self into this time?" she mumbled, tucking back a loose strand of black hair behind her ear as her father was always getting into trouble, especially with gambling. Maybe this was just "one of those times" again

He always wasn't like this, unfortunately after loosing his wife and daughter in an accident last year he had given himself up to drinking and gambling for momentary relief, Cassie knew she was all he had left and his reason for living

"Yeah I am sure it's nothing,"she sighed, squeezing the note and tossing it in the trash can.

"Leaving already, Cassie?" Liam's voice pulled her from her thoughts. She smiled making him blush. Cassie had been his childhood friend and secretly his biggest crush, yet for some reason he never had the guts to tell her how he truly felt.

To him, no woman could compare to her beauty. He often thought she was wasting her looks as a bookkeeper when she could be a model.

His eyes lingered on her cherry lips, and a smile curved on her lips, "Crushing hard on me are you Liam?," She said dramatically flicking her hair

"Oh, please, no chance," Liam chuckled, a scoff escaping him despite having an internal turmoil, cursing himself at his inability to tell her how he truly felt

"These dazzling looks of mine would be such a waste on just one lady, don't you think?"

His mind screamed at him to shut up, but being the awkward man he was, the words just blurted out. How could Cassie take him seriously when he kept acting like a spoiled playboy?, fucking idiot he cursed himself, Cassie laughed aloud. Although Liam was being a jerk, she couldn't deny he was incredibly pretty.

Liam had luscious blonde hair and beautiful brown eyes, with a lean muscular physique

It came as no surprise all the ladies in their small town fawned over him like precious jewelry

Liam's gaze drifted to the trash and spotted a crumpled paper and jolt of jealousy shot through him as he picked it up, masking his feelings with sarcasm

"Oh, is my little Cassie receiving love letters?"

"Prick!" Cassie rolled her eyes as Liam read the content, his eyebrows furrowing.

"It's from your dad. Is he alright?"

"I'm sure he's fine, he probably just got himself into some gambling trouble like usual,"

"Should I check up on him?" Liam asked with concern.

"No, it's fine really. We spoke just this morning. I'm sure he'll resolve it soon, he always does."

"Does he normally leave letters like this?" Liam asked, tossing the paper back into the trash and crossing his arms. Just then, it started raining, forcing them back inside the bookstore.

"Not really, but nothing surprises me anymore with him," she said biting her lips in annoyance, not only does she have to constantly live with the pain of loosing her mom and sister, she also had to deal with her father.

"I'm sorry Cassie, I wish there was more I could do to help," He said with a soft smile and gently stroked her cheeks, he paused for a while before adding

"Cassie there's something I have always wanted to tell you, I...."

The sudden screech of car tires cut Liam off Both he and Cassie looked up as two black, luxurious Mercedes-Benz cars pulled up outside the shop and five men in black suits, armed to the teeth with firearms, stepped out

"Liam, did you set this up..."

"Get down!" Liam shouted pulling Cassie to the floor and holding her tightly while bullets rained through the glass into the shop as she screamed in fright from the deafening gunfire.

"Shut your eyes, and hold on tight,"She heard Liam and quickly squeezed her eyes shut as glass shattered and books were shredded by the barrage of bullets.

"That's enough, boys! We need him dead, not squashed like mashed potatoes," a deep voice boomed, and the gunshots finally stopped.

"Hey! Hey! Are you alright?" Liam asked, slowly loosening his grip on Cassie checking her for any cuts or bruises.

"I... I'm fine," Her face was stained with tears, her eyes wide with horror and fear.

"What's... what's going on?" she stammered, her words barely audible and Liam gently shook her shoulders.

"I don't know, but you need to snap out of it," Liam said wondering what was going on himself and trying to mask his own fear, he knew he needed to buy Cassie enough time to escape and get help.

"Take the back entrance and get out of here."

"What... what about you? I'm not leaving you, Lia..." He silenced her with a kiss, then leaned back and smiled.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying today." He winked at her.

"Leave now!" he yelled at cassie who hesitantly got to her feet intending to run through the back.

Just then, a round strange device was thrown into the shop. It exploded with an ear-splitting sound and also a shockwave that sent Cassie flying, crashing hard against the wall

"CASSIE!" Liam shouted, rushing towards her. His left ear was bleeding heavily and ringing from the blast. Ignoring the pain he felt he helped Cassie to her feet, noticing a small cut on her forehead.

"Huh? Who the fuck are these people, and how the fuck are they even still alive?" His voice echoed and she recognised his as the man that ordered the shooting to stop, was he perhaps the boss In charge?

He had a low fade haircut, blue eyes, a tall build, and a mischievous grin that sent chills down her spine. For some reason he reminded her of those hot psychopaths she read about in books.

"Hey! Who the fuck are you supposed to be?" he asked, looking confused as he titled his head to the side, Just then, the second car door opened, and another tall man stepped out.

He was incredibly tall, about six feet, five inches and she couldn't quite make out his face as a man rushed to his side with an umbrella. He moved slowly toward the shop, and Cassie's heart pounded with every took, even at first glance she could tell he was the one in charge

He stepped into the shop, ducking his head to get through the entrance. Cassie gasped, he was breathtaking and quite frankly he didn't even look human.

He stared back at her, his deep blue eyes piercing hers as he tucked a loose strand of his long black hair that was styled into a bun behind his ears. His jawline was so sharp it looked like it could cut glass.

"He can't be real," she thought It was as though every woman's secret wet dream had come to life.

He was claded in black and spoke in a deep masculine voice that was deviod of emotion. "Tell me little girl, where is your father?"

"He... he..." She couldn't speak still paralyzed by fear.

"And who the hell are you? " Liam asked with a frown, pulling Cassie to his side, his gaze never leaving the stranger's.

Slowly, the tall, dark, and handsome man turned his sights to Liam. He said to his second in command, "Kai, it seems your men missed a dirt." He then pulled out a gun and pointed it at Liam, who shivered in fright.

"No! No! No! Please don't do this, please don't do this" Cassie screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Tell me what I need to know, tell me where your father is," He demanded impatiently

"I don't know"

"Three!"

"I don't know, please I'd tell you if I did!" Cassie screamed, while Liam shut his eyes in fear.

"Two!"

"He left a letter telling me to lock the shop. I don't know where he is, I swear to you,!"

"Wrong answer pretty little girl," he said coldly before adding, "One!" He emptied his gun's clip and shot Liam directly in the head killing him instantly.

The world seemed to still as Cassie stared at Liam's lifeless body, blood spilled into the ground and she slowly crawled him into her arms, "Liam!" She called out softly, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Liam please wake up," She said, "This isn't funny Liam, Wake up!"

"Well that would be a neat trick," He said, a smirk playing on his knees as he crouched on his knees meeting her gaze, "I have never met anyone wake up from death, it'd be definitely entertaining if your friend could do the impossible,"

"You...you pychopath," She said fighting back sobs, she gasped in shock as she felt the cold of his gun against her head.

"Tell me where you father is," he asked again, "I won't ask again,"

"Go to hell..." He violently gripped her by the neck, got to his feet and pinned her against a wall, blood dripped from the cut on her forehead into his arm and suddenly he felt a thunder bolt in his heart that forced him to release his grip on her as he fell to his knees gripping his chest.

"Lorenzo!" Kai ran to his aid, a look of confusion on his face, he had never seen his boss Enzo like this, he frowned and pointed a gun at Cassie who struggled to catch her breath.

"You pretty bitch, what the fuck did you do to him," He was ready to pull the trigger when Lorenzo's voice cut through like glass.

"DON'T KILL HER!" He said getting to his feet staring curiously at her, he was certain of it that feeling was definitely the mate bond. There was no mistaken this pretty weak and feeble human was his mate.

"She is my mate," He said walking towards her while she staggered backwards in fear. Kai had a surprised expression and was quite doubtful but still he did as told.

"Stay.. stay away from me," Cassie said watching the man called Lorenzo pull out a cloth from his pocket.

"Stay away from me you psycho!" He crouched again to his knees and although she tried to fight him off, he was freakishly strong as he forcefully placed the cloth over her nose knocking her unconscious.

"Bring her to the estate!" she heard him order his men before succumbing to her drowsiness, falling asleep.

*******

She felt a warm and delicate hand stroke her cheeks as she slowly woke from her sleep

"Where am I?," She muttered fluttering her eyelids open.

"Good morning," she heard him say in a gentle tone as she turned her gaze to him she was stared the water droplets on his tanned skin. His black hair was still damp making him even more breathtakingly seductive.

She was paralyzed by his perfection that she didn't realise she had been staring for too long until he said,

"You can do more than just watch, little girl," He chuckled

His voice jolted her back to reality "Lorenzo," she breathed scrambling off the bed in a attempt to put as much distance between them as the room allowed. Her gaze caught her reflection in a mirror, she wasn't putting on her clothes instead she was draped in a beautiful red gown that looked to be straight out of a romance novel.

A sickening thought crept into her mind her, wouldn't it mean he had changed her clothes?, had he seen her naked?

"Do you like it?" He said closing the distance between them, his green eyes locked into hers. she couldn't help but wonder how such beauty and cruelty coexist in one person?

"Let's just say I like my woman looking more....regal," he added, a smirk playing on his lips.

She panicked but tried to keep her composure as she collectively searched the room for any sign of a sharp object she could use to attack him and hopefully escape from here.

"Why am I still alive? I am certain you wanted me dead last night?" Her voice trembled as she scanned the room searching for any weapon.

Her eyes landed on a pen, just inches away, she calmly reached for it, her gaze never leaving Lorenzo's.

"Hmm I guess people change," He chuckled, "I'm not going to hurt you little girl."

"Cassie," she corrected her voice low and steady. "I have a name it's Cassie and I'm not a little girl."

"Cassie," he repeated, his tongue tracing his lips. "Lovely name."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Cassie, but I can't say the same for your traitorous father," he promised, his thumb stroking her chin.

His hypnotizing lips were full and red, almost feminine. Cassie shuddered, trying to quell the strange reaction they stirred in her.

"You're mine from this moment," he declared, his eyes cold and hard. "I demand your respect, love, and loyalty as my Lu..."

Lorenzo bit his lips and winced his brow as she leaped and plunged the pen into his right eye and dashed towards the door.

"CASSIE! YOU BITCH!" He growled in pain

Her heart pounded in her ears as she frantically searched for the keys,but she couldn't find them, which meant they were in Lorenzo's pockets.

"Looking for these?," Lorenzo dangled the keys with a devilish grin, it wasn't his grin or his astonishing high pain tolerance that scared her but the fact that his left eye had healed. How was this possible?, she was certain she had pierced right through.

"You have been a very bad girl, Little Cassie," he snarled, gripping her neck and tossing her into the bed. A dangerous growl escaped his lips as he pinned both her hands down while she squirmed in a futile attempt to break free.

"Let me go, you monster!" she cried out in fear thrashing and even spitting on his face, it seemed to enrage him even further as he slapped her hard across the face.

"You should have aimed for the heart, little Cas," he growled menacingly.

"You're mine Cassie, mind, body, and soul," he said with a dangerous growl, "I'm the prison you can't escape."

He began kissing the crook of her neck making her cry out in fear, then she felt canines pierce into her neck making her scream out in pain.

"No! No! No, please stop! Please get off me," she pleaded in fear, was he some sort of cannibal that had a taste for the flesh and blood of women?, she hit her hands against his shoulders but he wouldn't bulge.

Lorenzo retracted his fangs, pulled back and stared into her teary eyes.

"Please just kill me, if you're going to do it just do it already," She begged him already having an idea of what was going through his mind judging by his Predatory stares on her breasts.

He rolled his tongue over his lips and ripped her clothes off exposing her bare skin while she yelped in fear steeling her heart at what was to come.

"You have beautiful breasts Cassie," Lorenzo said lustfully running his hands over her breasts, his eyes glowing red with anger and lust.

"Lorenzo, please..." She pleaded as her heart pounded in fear.

Taking in deep breaths, she closed her eyes and readied herself for what was to come. But as seconds turned to minutes, she realized she was alone in the room. Lorenzo was gone.

She tried to catch her breath after she realized Lorenzo had left, she quickly got up from the bed and rushed towards the wardrobe and wore a simple white t-shirt and short blue jean.

Walking over to the large mirror that reeked of royalty she checked the crook of her neck and discovered a mark that looked almost like a crescent moon. She placed her hands over her lips, she was expecting bite marks not a tattoo.

"Now's not the time to think about this, I need to escape," She said to herself taking in deep breaths. She knew Lorenzo would return and maybe this time, he would actually finish what he started.

Her mind laced with fear as she ran to the windows staring at the green scenery of Lorenzo's castle grounds. In the distance, she could make out the imposing black gates and the hulking figures stationed there, undoubtedly his men. Wait a minute.....

Why did this place look so familiar?, she strained her thoughts until it dawned on her, this was no ordinary mansion, this was the Giovanni's Mob. She recognised this place as she usually saw it on TV and newspapers.

It was not only the most dangerous criminal organisation in the country but the most powerful as well, holding power in official places and from the rumours she heard the name of the leader although never been publicly seen, was...

"Lorenzo, Lorenzo Giovanni!" Her eyes widened in shock, that pycho was the leader of the most infamous mafia mob in the country. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine him to be someone in his mid to late twenties, there wasn't a soul that didn't know and fear Mr Lorenzo, the tales of his cruelty and criminal acts was a spine-chiller in town.

There had been several investigations into his organisations as well as Lorenzo himself, Kidnapping, trafficking, murder, including every evil deed known to man but he had never been convicted, not even once. It had earned him the title 'The untouchable Don' among the folks in town.

It made her wonder how her father had gotten into trouble with the mob in the first place, had he borrowed money from Lorenzo and used it all on gambling?, she knew how the mob punished Debtors,

Debtors?, no she shook off the ridiculous thought remembering Lorenzo had referred to her father as a traitor. She felt as though the world was spinning trying to piece together the truth, what was her father's connection with the Giovanni Mob,

why did Lorenzo personally wanted her father dead? why had Lorenzo spared her life? and most importantly, how the hell did he take a stab to the eye without a single scratch?

She was beginning to believe the rumours in town about Lorenzo being the spawn of the devil. It would explain how he was so cold and evil to murder Liam in cold blood, liam was innocent and had nothing to do with it.

She wiped a single tear and steeled her heart not to sob, right now she needed to escape. There was no safety in the Lion's Den.

"Shit!" Her lips twisted into a grim line realising an escape through the front gate was out of the question, it was the most secured part of Lorenzo's Mansion.

Below the castle grounds she saw men and servants tending to the sprawling gardens, she clicked her tongue, realizing how little she actually knew about this place as her mind raced, searching for an escape route.

She couldn't spend the night here, not after realising who Lorenzo truly was, perhaps his intentions were to turn her into one of his whores, or even worse sell her off as a slave to the most dangerous and powerful men.

She needed to leave, desperately. The memory of his touch, his green eyes boring into her, was a bitter pill to swallow as despite the hate and fear she had for him, there was something she felt for a moment, a magnetic pull.

"Snap out of it," she scolded herself aloud, pacing the room, Lorenzo was a fucking narcissist, murderer and a cruel, egotistical maniac.

"DAMN IT!" She roared, flipping the bed in a frenzy. Then, a sharp knock at the door startled her, before she could respond the large doors swung open. She recognised him as the psychopathic man from last night, Kai.

"Sleeping beauty is awake," He said stepping into the room, "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have a human as my Luna,"

"Luna?," She winced her brows confused by his words, he did seem a little drunk.

He ignored her words and took a dramatic bow, "This heartthrob goes by the name Kai Emiliano,"

"Mr Emiliano..."

"Kai," He corrected, "Please call me Kai,"

"I need to get out here, I'm afraid Mr Lorenzo might kill me," She pleaded, it was a long shot hoping for salvation from this pycho, but desperation fueled her drive at this point.

Again he ignored her pleas, "Please follow me, you must be starving,"

"Please I need your help..." As if on que her stomach rumbled making her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She couldn't deny she was hungry, she hadn't eaten anything and the events of yesterday had left her exhausted.

"Follow me," Kai insisted, turning his back Cassie noticed a gun tucked at his back. She hadn't recieved any formal practice on gun use, but she couldn't let this opportunity slide.

With quick movement Cassie snatched the gun and pointed it at Kai, her breath plumed in the cold air. Her hands, usually so steady holding a book trembled around the cold unfamiliar weight of the pistol.

"Don't come any closer," she stammered, the words catching in her throat

"Well look what we have here, a little fucking bird with big feathers." He took another step, his shadow engulfing hers.

"You really think you know how to use that thing?"

She'd never even held a real gun before today. It felt impossibly heavy clumsy, and utterly terrifying. "I... I will," she whispered, forcing a conviction she didn't feel into her voice

She remembered the safety catch, fumbling for it with a shaky thumb. It clicked with a sound that seemed deafening.

Kai chuckled and crossed his arms,"Go on then, little bird. Pull the trigger." He spread his hands, a gesture of mock surrender that only intensified her panic "Let's see what you've got."

"I said, don't come any closer!" she repeated, her voice rising to a near shriek. The gun wavered in her grip and in a blur the world seemed to spin around her as she found herself facing the ceiling with Kai on top.

"It is dangerous for children to play with dangerous weapons Luna," He smirked mischievously while Cassie tried to process what the hell had happened, one moment she was standing with a gun to his face and the next, she's on the ground, it was a super human speed.

Kai slowly got to his feet and placed the gun back to its holster around his waist

"We should get going,"