Everest's POV:

"Thank you for getting me out of there," Matteo says, smiling sweetly at me. "I really appreciate it."

He has a thicker accent than Matias, which makes sense since he's lived here for his entire life. It suits him, though, and it's pretty cute.

"Yeah, fuck that guy," I say, still holding Matias' hand and ignoring how his eyes are locked on our  joined hands.

Anthony scoffs from the driver's seat. "You do realize that Mr. Mancini has quite a bit of influence?"

"Shut up, driver." I stretch in my seat, yawning. "You're not paid to talk."

"You don't pay me," Anthony replies.

I lean up between the seats and pat his shoulder. "You work for my apparent mate's family, so... doesn't that give me the right to boss you around? Besides, you're a dick, so I'm not going to stop."

Anthony finally falls silent and parks the car in front of the mansion that has become a glorified prison for me. Well, from the sound of it, it's also been a prison for Matteo and has become one once again for Matias.

The three of us hostages enter the building first, with Anthony ordering his guards to keep an eye on us.

"I will be here tomorrow," Anthony says, looking between the three of us. "Don't do anything foolish. We will not have a problem tracking you down, and I am not past killing him."

He nods at me when he says that and I'm not too surprised that I'm the person receiving the threat. After all, I don't think Matias' parents would be too happy with Anthony killing either of their sons.

"Yeah, yeah, got it," I say, waving him off. "Trust me, I don't plan on running."

Anthony walks toward the front door.

"Yet."

He turns back around and scowls. "Matias, you should control him before he gets himself into trouble."

"You brought him," Matias responds, gently grabbing the back of my bicep. "Come on, don't give him a heart attack."

I sigh. "I'll restrain myself."

Matteo is giggling behind us and waves to Anthony before dashing up the stairs. He doesn't bother to compose himself and continues to cackle as he runs down the hallway, probably to his room.

Matias takes my hand in his and leads me up the stairs to his room, which I haven't even gotten to really check out yet because I was half asleep when we got here.

It's really clean and kind of boring, honestly. It looks more like a home office with a bed as opposed to a bedroom that someone enjoys living in. There's a desk in the corner and several stacks of papers that have been organized across it, and the bed has a grey comforter.

There's not even any plants on the windowsill! The room at the hostel didn't have much and I couldn't go crazy with decorating, but I did have a cute little cactus on my windowsill.

They better not let it die while I'm gone.

"Your room needs a plant," I comment, sitting down on the bed and looking out the window. "It's a bit minimalist in here."

Matias hums, opening his wardrobe and grabs a pair of pajamas for himself and then gestures toward it.

"I don't know what you like to wear to bed. And, my room is minimalist because my parents don't allow me to change it all that much. No posters or paint changes... just pictures of myself and Cody, items that have to do with work and training to lead the company... other than that, I wasn't allowed to spend too much time in here. I was always paraded to parties and meetings for the company's benefit."

I choose a simple sky blue t-shirt and a pair of underwear that must have been Cody's because they're too small to be Matias'.

"Are you okay with me wearing something of his?" I ask quietly, seeing Matias looking at the bottom section of the wardrobe that must have been Cody's.

He nods. "Yeah, it doesn't smell much like him anymore. Most of his stuff was brought with us when we moved to the United States, so whatever he left he wouldn't have wanted anyway." Matias forces a smile and points to the restroom. "You can go change in there. We can go shopping tomorrow for some new clothes."

"Okay... hopefully not too much, though, because I don't plan on staying here for too long," I murmur, changing into my pajamas that smell way too much like Matias and makes me feel way too safe. "Am I sleeping in here?"

"Yes, but if you don't want to share a bed-"

I cut him off. "It's okay, we spent a week having sex, so I think sharing a bed will be okay."

"I'd let you sleep in another room but I don't want you out of my sight with these guards being willing to harm you or you'd just be carried back here."

I lay down on the bed and turn my back to Matias.

It's not like I'm upset or trying to ignore him. It's more of being tired and feeling kind of depressed because this has been quite the overwhelming experience. Not everyone gets taken and told they're going to get an experimental surgery and that they're now mated to someone who is going to lead some big Italian company.

Tears prick my eyes, but I try to wipe them away without Matias seeing.

"Are you okay?" Matias whispers, and I feel him move closer to me.

Well, I'm not as stealthy as I thought.

"Yep, perfect," I say, my traitorous voice cracking.

His arms wrap around my waist and he turns me onto my other side so we're facing each other. Matias pulls me to his chest and lays his chin on top of my head, rubbing my back soothingly.

"I'll find you a way out of this," Matias whispers. "I promise."

"You don't sound like you're lying but I don't know if I can take your word for it," I respond, looking up at him and pulling away slightly so we can make eye contact.

Matias uses the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tears under my eyes. "I don't plan on breaking my promise, Everest. I wouldn't lie about something like this."

"There's no way out of here, Matias. I don't have an ID, a passport, or any money. There's no way for me to leave," I whisper, and I haven't felt this helpless in a while. "So don't make a promise just to make me feel better."

"I wouldn't lie about this, I promise you," Matias murmurs, softly smiling down at me.

I stay quiet and close my eyes. I have no reason to argue with him; there's not much I can do anyway, since I don't even speak the same language as most people in a forty mile radius.

I don't even know what that is in kilometers.

I hear the door open and Matias tenses. Since I have literally no say in what happens here, I keep my eyes shut and don't do anything as Matias hugs me closer.

A female voice says something in Italian, and Matias responds in the same language, so of course I can't understand shit about what they're saying.

"He doesn't speak Italian," Matias says, which makes me zone back in to their conversation. "And we need to get some rest, so I will see you and father tomorrow."

"The purpose of speaking Italian was so he could not eavesdrop. His... display this evening was not appreciated, so I am not willing to speak with him yet."

I sit up. "Does that mean I can leave?"

The lady, who I recognize as Matias' mother, scowls at me. "Of course not. You were chosen by my son, and in time you'll learn how to behave here."

"Probably not, but I love your optimism," I deadpan, making Matias snicker as she leaves the room. "Matias, I hate your parents."

"We have that in common," he replies, scoffing and laying back down. "She said that she wanted to get a better look at you and that she wishes that I followed their rules because she liked Cody more. He was quieter around them."

I gently pat his shoulder. "I'm sorry she brought him up," I say because I know that anything about Cody makes Matias hurt.

He deserves his mate, and I would honestly give anything to have Cody back so Matias could be happy. Even if I don't know him all that well, he is a good guy and he deserves to be happy.

He'll never be happy with someone like me.

Ugh, that sounds so needy. He'll never be happy with someone who isn't his true mate.

Like me.

It's happened with other wolves, but Cody sounds like the ideal person and Matias sounds so in love when he's talking about him. He'd never fall for someone else in the same way, and it kind of hurts, but I shouldn't expect anything from this.

He said he'd get me home, but that's it.

There's nothing else attached to it.

"It's alright," Matias says, sighing deeply. "Anthony will probably be trailing us, but we will be spending as much time as possible out of the house. Try to think of it as a vacation, as I'll be getting you home soon enough."

"Will you be going as well?" I ask. "I don't want to leave you behind."

"Eventually. Probably not right away, though, as it will be difficult for both of us to move at the same time... it also depends on how I'm able to get you out of here."

I look at the clock, which is annoyingly a 24-hour clock instead of a 12-hour clock. Anyway, it's pretty late and I'm tired as hell, so I close my eyes and sigh.

"I have no choice but to trust you," I comment, rolling over and pulling the blanket over myself. "Goodnight, Matias."

He doesn't respond, but I feel him readjust the blanket so it's covering me even more.