The Luna Lost Halo

"Mom, I'm home!" Hazel called out into the empty living room before glancing into the kitchen, where her mother would usually be by this time, preparing dinner-but she wasn't there.

"But her and Dad's car is packed outside," she muttered, helping herself to a cup of cold orange juice.

She placed the cup into the dishwasher and walked upstairs in search of her parents. She was about to climb the stairs when she heard her father's voice coming from the study.

"Dad, I'm home, did you leave something behind? Where is Mom?..." she asked, opening the door to see that her parents had a visitor.

"Oops, sorry," she apologized, backtracking out the door as she noticed her parents' nervous stares from her to the man opposite them.

The man looked up from the documents he was reading, his brown eyes meeting Hazel's onyx ones. His lips stretched into a warm smile as their eyes met. His smile sent Hazel's heart racing.

'Handsome!' she gasped in surprise as his brown eyes flickered gold, filled with several emotions: excitement, lust, and attraction.

He cleared his throat and beckoned her in.

"Why don't you join us, miss? Your parents and I were just completing a deal," he asked in his heavy Italian accent, sending butterflies deep into Hazel's stomach as he patted the space beside him for her to take.

Hazel took a step forward, trying to get closer to the handsome man but was stopped by her mother's shaky voice.

"No, no, she just returned from school and needs to get cleaned," her mom argued nervously, earning a raised eyebrow from the handsome man.

Getting the hint, Hazel clasped her hands together and bowed toward the stranger.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm sorry I disrupted your meeting. I need to clean up as I'm sweaty all over."

"That's fine. What's your name?" he asked, bringing out a pen from his jacket pocket to sign the document he had been reading.

"Hazel."

"You have a lovely name, Hazel. Let's not be strangers when we next meet, alright?"

As Hazel disappeared behind the door toward her room, the atmosphere in the study grew more tense.

"Lorenzo, I mean Alpha Lorenzo, is there a reason your Pack moved all the way here from Italy?" Mr. Eric Halton, Hazel's father, asked.

A smirk and a mischievous glint appeared in Lorenzo's eyes as he maintained deep and unshaken eye contact with the man sitting in front of him.

"Oh, I thought it would take some time, but I found what I have been looking for, Halton. Why have I never heard you had another beautiful daughter apart from the one-what was her name again?"

"Ruby," Eric provided.

"Ah, yes, Ruby. Fierce one, that one was, don't you think?" Lorenzo complimented, adjusting his suit as he stood up to leave, placing the document on the table separating them.

"You can't get Hazel involved. She's innocent. She knows nothing about Ruby's crimes. Please, Hazel is innocent. Eric, say something, please, not my baby girl," Amanda, Hazel's mother, pleaded nervously, her voice trembling as she remembered the last time she had met her older daughter.

Lorenzo sneered, his eyes showing contempt and disdain as he looked down at the couple.

"It's not my call whether she gets involved or not, you see. Even if I don't want her to be, she already is," he said, subconsciously caressing a particular spot on his neck where he knew the mark would be.

"The final move will happen tomorrow. Tell your men to be careful and watch their backs. I won't tolerate any form of disrespect," Lorenzo ordered while exiting the study.

Amanda broke down in tears, sobbing loudly as her husband held her closely with a distant look in his eyes.

"I told you! I warned you! I warned you not to get involved. Why don't you listen?!" she screamed, hitting him on the chest after every word. "Now my daughters, my baby girl," she whimpered, her snot rubbing all over his dress shirt.

"Relax, Amanda. Hazel is safe."

"You said those words when Ruby was taken. You told me she would be back and nothing would happen to her, but we both know the outcome, don't we?"

"It was Ruby's fault in the first place. She crossed them and got what she wanted!" Feeling exasperated, Eric yelled at his wife, his hand combing his black hair before punching the table.

"She was just being a child, Eric! They were being mean!" Amanda argued.

"She was being a child? Oh, come on... she was twenty-five when it happened. You call that a child? They had clear conditions and rules, and she broke all of them! Do you know what that cost them? Lives, Amanda, lives. So don't go telling me she was just being a child!" he yelled and stomped off, slamming the door behind him.

Hazel sat by her window unaware of the heated argument between her parents. She had been patiently waiting to see the handsome man from the study again. It had slipped her mind that she needed to shower at some point.

Something about him drew her in, but something about him also made her curious-extremely so.

Why were her parents so nervous in front of him?

Why were they trying to prevent her from getting close to him?

It wasn't the first time she'd met her father's business partners, despite not knowing what he did for a living. Sometimes he'd even take her along so he could get the upper hand in a business deal using her beauty.

'Who are you?' she muttered.

A black SUV drove into their driveway as Lorenzo stepped out of the house. Before entering the car, he looked toward her window and flashed her a smile that sent her heart fluttering, while mouthing, "See you soon, darling."

Heat rose on her cheeks as she jumped off the windowsill.

She saw it again.

His eyes turned gold. Was that a medical condition?

Or was she hallucinating?

"I heard we got a new art professor! They say he is handsome and has the sexiest Italian accent. Have you seen him? What does he look like? Is what they're saying true?"

Hazel did her best to tune out her best friend Tori, who had been bombarding her with questions all morning.

She had seen him alright, not only once but only twice.

The face that haunted her dreams all night, the smile that made her knees weak, that perfectly sculpted body with toned muscles, and that accent.

Oh God, that accent she so desperately wanted to hear swear as he groaned in pleasure above or beneath her.

"Fuck, what has gotten into me? Why can't I get my mind off him? He blatantly ignored me all through yesterday's class, pretending we were strangers," she thought to herself, drowning in frustration.

I mean, we are strangers, technically, but still...

"Cut it out, Tori. No one asked you to miss a day of school just to hang out with your irresponsible boyfriend," Beth, Hazel's second friend and the third in their little circle, chided while adjusting her glasses.

"Since when have you gone back to wearing glasses, nerd? What happened to your contact lenses?" Tori asked as they entered the cafeteria.

"I misplaced the right lens again and can't afford to get another yet. Plus, Mark said I look good with glasses on." Tori scrunched her nose at the mention of Mark's name.

"Fuck! That dude has no taste. Anyway, I'm still curious, and you both will satisfy my curiosity. Have you two met the new professor? Is he hot? Or hot hot?"

"Hot, hot, hot, smoking. He's a ten out of ten in looks and voice and has this super sexy Italian accent that would make your knees go weak and your legs open up to the north and south as you cry out 'Daddy.' Very strict in the classroom. Satisfied?" Hazel explained, her voice bored and indifferent, contradicting what she was feeling.

She definitely wasn't bored or indifferent. For whatever reason, all she wanted to talk about or hear was her new fascination.

"Oh my gosh," Tori gushed excitedly, her cheeks stained red as some adult image flashed through her mind.

"How the hell did we end up being friends with Prof. Con?" Beth asked.

"Just in case it slipped your mind, she's your boyfriend's twin sister," Hazel pointed out as the three returned to their seats with trays full of food.

"Do you think it's too late for me to switch to the creative arts department? I'm bored of seeing Professor Vincent's face already. I need a new handsome face to look at. Do you think I'll get a chance?"

While Tori was busy grilling Beth about the new handsome professor she hadn't met, Hazel was lost in thought, her mind wandering to a certain brown golden-eyed man who happened to be the new professor of her major.

Was it a coincidence?

Was she overthinking it?

Why would someone who made her father so nervous and out of his wits transfer to a college as an art professor?

It doesn't add up. It just doesn't.

She had stayed up all night racking her brain and searching the internet about him but came up with nothing. Her parents were even worse, refusing to hear anything about him.

No social media profile, and no information whatsoever about him, not even from when he was younger.

Suspicious, so suspicious! Her mind screamed.

Most importantly, why was she so attracted to him just after meeting him twice?

Why couldn't she get him out of her head despite the dangerous vibe she was getting from him?

***

"Miss Halton, we meet again," Lorenzo called out while winding down the window of his car.

"How surprising for us to run into each other here again. How have you been?" Lorenzo, dressed in a black and gold tuxedo with a black dress shirt and dress shoes, stepped out of his black SUV with a smile as charming as the one that had taunted her dreams since the first time they'd met.

"I wouldn't say surprising, Professor. After all, I was in your class yesterday."

"Professor?" Lorenzo chuckled in amusement. "I've been called several names, darling, but none of them was 'professor,'" he smirked, resting by the car with his hands folded across his chest.

"You don't have to tell me; I won't be associating with you in school or outside school. It's not like we're close anyway. Isn't that why you were so cold to me in your class yesterday?"

"Are you sure you don't have the wrong person, Miss Halton? I can assure you I wouldn't have been able to keep my eyes off you if we were in the same enclosed place for an hour-too long, thirty minutes. Fuck audiences; they can watch but not touch." He winked and laughed as he saw her face turn bright red in embarrassment.

Half of his words were true; it was taking a whole lot of self-control on his part to stand this far apart from her.

His hands itched to bring her closer, caress her round and supple cheeks, his lips ached to taste her, to feel her close, her breaths intertwining with his as they engaged in sinful pleasure.

"Well, except you have a twin, then you are my professor."

"But I do have a twin," he pointed out. "He looks too much like me also," he added.

"Lies."

"Why don't you look behind you, Miss Halton?" Lorenzo raised his head and pointed behind her.

With a raised eyebrow, Hazel turned towards the direction he pointed and saw another Lorenzo staring back at her calmly, his arms crossed over his chest with a proud smirk on his face.

"Well, I didn't know ignoring you would affect you so much, princess," the second Lorenzo said in his deep baritone voice, sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine and blood to her nether area.

Fuck! This is trouble!

"You are Leonardo," Hazel confirmed, pointing to the one in the black and gold suit, before turning to face her professor, who wore a blue dress shirt and black pants.

"And you are Professor Dylan," she concluded carefully.

"I'm hurt, Princess," Dylan complained with mock offense, feigning hurt as he placed his hand dramatically over his heart. "You call him by his first name and then go Professor on me."

Ignoring his playful complaint, Hazel's eyes flitted from one to the other, trying to find any physical difference between them.

They both had the same eye colour, identical build, same hair length, and same dangerously heart-stopping smile. Every feature was just a perfect replica, and the worst part was-both stirred the same deep feelings within her.

She found herself wanting them both.

It was no secret to her that she was attracted to older men; she had always known boys her age were simply too immature for her tastes.

This, however, was the first time she'd been attracted to two people at the same time.

'How could I be attracted to both of them at the same time?'

'I blame it all on that annoying handsome face and that stupid sexy accent!' she thought bitterly.

"If you're looking for a physical difference between us," Dylan said with a sly glint in his eye and a suggestive smile tugging at his lips just as the waitress approached their table, "you won't find any-at least not where you're currently looking."

"What can I get you today?" the waitress asked, her eyes lingering flirtatiously on both men as she ignored Hazel, who sat opposite them.

Hazel frowned at the obvious provocation from the waitress but said nothing, picking up the menu to look it over.

"What would you like to have, Miss Halton? They have nice pasta choices here," Leonardo asked without giving the waitress a second glance, his eyes buried in the menu as he scanned through dessert and wine choices.

"I'll have what you guys have," she replied, closing the menu and leaning back into the chair, somehow feeling relieved that the two hadn't noticed the waitress' flirty eyes.

"Then we'll have three plates of spaghetti bolognese and two plates of carbonara," Leonardo ordered smoothly.

They had invited her to dinner immediately after dropping the bombshell on her.

She felt totally stupid for mistaking her dad's business partner for his twin, who also happened to be her professor-and almost throwing a tantrum about being ignored.

How childish. They weren't even friends. If anything, they were total strangers, possibly ones she should never get close to.

As the waitress left, Leonardo raised his head and asked,

"What's going through your pretty little head, darling? You look distracted."

"You. Both of you," she blurted out without thinking, covering her mouth as she realized what she had said.

"I don't mean it like that, I'm just curious," she quickly corrected, waving her hands in front of them.

"About us?"

"Yes, about you two, especially you, Leonardo. Who are you? And why was my father so nervous around you last time? I couldn't find any information online, which unnerved me. Maybe I read too many mystery books and I'm reading too much into nothing, but still, why can't I..." She shut her mouth before finishing the sentence that would leave her embarrassed for the rest of the night and probably the rest of the school year.

'Why can't I fucking get you out of my head!'

They raised their eyebrows at her unfinished sentence simultaneously, making her groan in frustration.

This is not going to help.

Is it too late to pick another major in my third year?

"Whatever is between me and your father stays between us. I won't get you involved," Leonardo's playfulness disappeared as he spoke, his jaw twitching and his eyes flashing gold briefly before returning to their usual shade.

"As for you checking the internet about us, more specifically him," he pointed to his twin. "You won't find anything. If you had checked for me, you might have found something-not relevant, but something to feed your curiosity, right?"

"Are you sure you're not trying to get me involved in my father's business with you? Why else would I be sitting here having dinner? You're trying to blackmail him with me?" she asked, causing Dylan to chuckle lightly.

"Oh, Princess, Eric did a good job raising an innocent one this time," he muttered.

"This time?"

"I don't need to blackmail your father for anything. He owes half his success to me, but that's a story for another day. Now let's eat. You have to be home to finish a project, right?" Leonardo asked as the waitress returned with their orders.

"Ah, yes. Just so you know, if you plan on using me as some blackmailing pawn for my father's business, it won't work."

"I'm hurt. You think so lowly of me, Hazel," was the last thing Leonardo said until dinner was over.

Hazel could feel and see that her words truly hurt him, but she couldn't understand why.

They were just strangers and she was only trying to protect herself.

Dylan filled the night with funny and adventurous stories about Italy as they ate, telling her about fun places, food, the arts and culture of the Italian people, and times when people would mistake him for his twin and vice versa.

By the end of the night, Hazel realized that although they had the same face, their personalities and voices were different.

Dylan's voice was a little lighter than his brother's.

Outside the classroom, Dylan was playful and easier to get along with. Although they could mirror each other's personalities when needed, their true personalities contradicted.

While Dylan was the playful one, Leonardo was cold and distant. His aura of dominance was more intense than his twin brother's.

It was clear Leonardo was the decision-maker of the two.

Even with that knowledge, Hazel found herself even more drawn to both of them than she thought possible.