Merging Factions — Liberty Parker

As the second-born son to the Alvarez family, Luca was content with his station in life. He figured it's what was expected of him, and being the loyal son that he was, he never sought anything more. With his hands coated in blood, he didn't expect to find the missing half of his soul, but once he did, once he felt his cold, dead heart beat for the first time, he vowed he'd do whatever it took to keep her. She showed him humility, gave him his humanity, and made him want… more. For the first time in his dreary life, he wasn't following orders, he wasn't being a good son, he was more than a formidable soldier—he was a man. A person. A protector. A provider. He was a man in love. But that gave him a weakness, something that could be held over his head. And when that became his reality, his world once again became a haze of red-hot anger. If it's a war the Crumleys want, it's a war they'll get. Luca will pave their streets in blood. After all, the tinge of blood's metallic-crimson flavoring on his tongue will be sugary sweet. He'll savor it. His palette will rejoice. Tammera never felt the bonds of love. Sure, she felt friendship, loyalty, and understood the concept, but she believed she was dead inside. She put on a good poker face for the bystanders, but when her parents left her on the doorsteps of the convent, her entire psyche shattered. She felt disposable. Unwanted. Unloved. She was nothing. She existed. But when she locked eyes on Luca Alvarez for the first time, a spark of life ignited in her. Excitement swamped her, and she knew that she'd just found the sole reason for her birth. She was meant to find him, to support him, to be… his. They verbally tousled, they bantered to the point where you'd think they were enemies, but it was nothing more than foreplay. Because at the end of the day, he was hers. And now that his enemy has taken them both, she'll have to mentally combat them in order to keep her and Luca alive. It'll be a battle of wills. She'll have to be smarter, more cunning, and manipulative than them. She was born a fighter and she'll die being one. Because everything is at stake.