Chapter Five

Zach

After their conversation, Zach returned to the compound. He was relieved that Joanna took his message so well. He hoped that Ethan and Joanna could work things out; that his friend really could be happy with his destined lover.

Going against his first decision to not let the girls know about them being a part of the mafia underground, let alone being in contact with his family, he invited Joanna and Irene for dinner that night.

He figured if Joanna knew about them being mafia, Irene would also know soon enough, so it wouldn’t matter anyway. He just hoped they would handle this secret wisely.

He drove his car into the garage and went to his suite to change into his workout clothes.

When he was in Rockdale, he didn’t have time to work out, so it was time for an intensive training. His training was heavy, much heavier than that of most of the soldiers in his family.

He always tested his limits to see how far he could make his body go. When he was done, his body was wet with sweat; the towel he carried was not of much help.

He was on his way to his suite when Ethan called. He talked through his headphones.

“Zach!”

“Ethan! What is it?” Zach had never heard Ethan so distressed. He was instantly alarmed.

“I— My instincts keep fighting me. I can’t seem to calm them down! It is getting worse. I want to find Joanna and pledge myself to her! I have no idea how to restrain these feelings! My instincts, you said they’ve been trained to sense this sort of thing, well now they’ve completely taken over in pursuit of my destined. I’m barely in control.”

“You have to stop! If you pledge now, you will scare her away!”

“Do you think I don’t know that? Zach, do something—it’s getting stronger. I can’t hold on much longer!” Ethan really sounded disturbed.

“Where are you now? I am coming!”

“Outside. The edge of the forest behind the compound.”

“Just a minute. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

When Zach reached Ethan, he saw him walking back and forth, over and over again, talking to himself, it seemed. His eyes looked possessed, a sign that his instincts had taken over. He was literally fighting himself.

When Ethan saw Zach coming, he backed away. “Don’t!” he shouted to Zach, trying to keep him at distance. “Leave me alone! I have to see my destined, she is mine, only mine!”

Zach had to act fast. He moved and stood in front of Ethan, towering over him. “Ethan! Contain yourself!” Zach commanded. They were so well trained that they had no choice but to comply when the boss commanded something. He looked Ethan straight in the eye.

Zach made Ethan’s instincts surrender to him, his boss. Their training was so rigorous that it was as if these instincts had a mind of their own. Their mafia training had been ingrained in them. This and the emotional toll of their responsibilities left them unstable at times. This instability could be balanced by a destined. He knew Ethan had lost control of his instincts and Ethan’s instincts would only surrender and obey him now. No one else would be able to control him, not even Ethan himself.

Ethan stepped backward to get away from Zach.

Zach roared again. “Surrender to your boss!”

Ethan fell to his knees; his instincts kept fighting but eventually surrendered. He had no other choice but to listen to his boss, to Zach.

Ethan gasped for air, holding his hands in front of him on the ground, head down. “I’m sorry, Boss,” Ethan said quietly, almost in a whisper. He didn’t move, and kept his head low. “I’m sorry I couldn’t restrain my instincts.”

“Are you alright?” Zach asked him, worried. He put his hand on Ethan’s back.

Ethan got back up slowly, supported by Zach. “Yeah, I think I’ll be fine now.” When he stood up straight, he finally looked Zach in the eye. “I’m just a little drained now. Thanks for helping me out.”

Zach patted him on the back, and they walked together back into the compound. “Anytime, buddy, you know I have your back. You have to be careful, though. This can’t happen again. Next time I may be too late.

“I told Joanna about us being mafia. She knows how the pledging goes, but she has yet to process it. It sounds shocking, being branded on the back of the neck by your destined, but I explained how important it is to our culture. The pain and passion come together. Anyways, that’s symbolic, a way to say you’ve pledged yourself to your destined.”

Ethan stopped Zach to look at him. “You did what? Did you give us away?”

“Yes, I did,” Zach answered, and he walked around Ethan to go to his suite.

“Why did you do that?” Ethan asked, going after Zach.

Zach stopped walking to look Ethan in the eyes.

“Everyone deserves to be with his destined, whether the destined is one of us or not, male or female, it shouldn’t matter,” Zach said. “There is a reason you were put together. Who are we to mess with the will of God?”

They continued their walk to Zach’s suite.

“When you put it like that, I can’t have anything against it,” Ethan said thoughtfully. “But you took a risk nonetheless.”

Zach opened his door and entered his suite. Ethan stopped just outside the door.

“I know,” Zach said as he turned around to face Ethan. “But if I didn’t do it, she would just have been gone tomorrow.

“She would come back, and she would just have to accept, whether she likes it or not. Now she has the chance to decline the job offer and go back to her life.

“But she can also decide to stay here anyway. She can make up her mind, and it will be her own decision.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Ethan said thoughtfully, still doubtful about the right thing to do.

“You think you can handle your instincts now?” Zach asked, still a little concerned. “I invited the girls for dinner tonight here in the compound. Will that be a problem?”

“No, I don’t think so. At least, I hope not,” Ethan said with a sigh. “I have to talk to her sooner or later. Maybe it is better to go through this now, so it doesn’t drag on.”

“Alright, I am going to take a shower now. I feel like I stink really bad.” Zach smiled a little.

“I wondered what I was smelling the whole time, but it’s you I smelled. Go wash yourself, stinky.” Ethan smiled a little; he just loved to tease his boss.

“I’ll see you at dinner.”

A few hours later, Zach stepped into the dining hall. Dinner would be ready soon. All the tables had already been set, ready for the family to take their places. He heard a knock on the door and said, “Enter.”

“Er, Zachary?” It was Joanna who peeked inside coyly. “You didn’t tell me what time dinner was, so I came to see—”

She didn’t finish her sentence; she didn’t really know what to say. Her eyes fluttered to the floor. She was aware of his dominating aura.

“Come in. Dinner is almost ready. It won’t take long,” he said in a friendly way, then he frowned a little when he realized her friend wasn’t with her.

“Is your friend not with you?” Now that he’d thought of her, he remembered the sweet smell in their cabin.

She stepped a little further into the room and shook her head lightly. She was still a little overcome by his powerful aura.

“No, she went on a hike this afternoon and was still freshening herself up when I left. She told me to go already and that she would come right after me.”

She was startled when someone burst through the door. It was Ron, Zach’s captain.

“Boss, the underboss of the Vance Family is on the phone. He wishes to speak to you.”

“I’m coming,” he told Ron, then he turned to Joanna. “Joanna, you can wait here until dinner starts. The bell will ring any minute. If you’ll excuse me now.”

He turned to look at Ron again. “Ron, bring Joanna here to her seat, please. Make sure she is well taken care of. She is a guest here, along with her friend Irene.”

“On it, Boss,” Ron said with a little bow.

Zach walked out of the dining hall to his office to pick up the phone. He wondered why his brother Adrian, the underboss of the Vance Family, was calling him at this hour.

When he put down the phone in his office, he stared ahead, wrapped up in his thoughts. What his brother just told him was worrying. His family was dealing with small attacks by unknown thugs.

It was always small groups of them that attacked, but the attacks were becoming more frequent, and they were getting closer to their compound.

Adrian feared it was all coming from a bigger group, maybe even a family with its own boss. He feared that it would get worse, that they were planning to weaken Adrian’s family and then launch a big attack.

Adrian wanted to warn Zach, but also ask for help on behalf of his boss. Zach promised to do what he could, but he had to discuss this with his underboss, advisor, and captain.

He had to come up with some kind of strategy to defeat these thugs. He rubbed his face with his hands. This was not good, not good at all.

He sent a mass email to warn all his soldiers and all the higher ranks of the family to be on high alert.

Thugs had been attacking the Vance Family, and they must pay close attention to their surroundings. Everything that was even just a little bit off needed to be reported at once.

He kept thinking about the attacks until his stomach rumbled, about an hour later. He decided to see if anything was left over from dinner; he couldn’t think clearly with an empty stomach.

When he descended the stairs, he smelled that sweet scent again. Her perfume lingered. She must have just left.

His instincts perked up, telling him there was something special about this one.

Zach looked around but didn’t see anyone. He walked into the dining hall; he could smell her perfume there too. But there were only some family members doing their chores, cleaning up the remnants of dinner.

He stole some leftover bread from a basket and returned to the hallway.

His gut told him to go after her. She must be outside.

“Wow, stop!” Zach thought to himself. It looked like his instincts were acting the same way Ethan’s instincts had. Trying to make him pledge to her before she even understood what pledging meant. That would only scare her away. He didn’t want to force her into a relationship. He wanted her to be with him because she wants to, not because he forced her to pledge herself to him without consent.

His instincts didn’t agree with his rational brain, but he didn’t care. His instincts would have to listen to him. He just wouldn’t insist on pledging now.

He walked through the main entrance of the compound and looked around outside. He couldn’t find her. He was annoyed he’d missed a chance to talk to her. This was what he got for denying his instincts, but it was for the best. He felt his instincts calm down. He decided to go to bed. He wouldn’t find her tonight.